Texarkana, Texas and Arkansas newspaper. Includes news, sports, opinion, and local information. Air Force Falcons Alabama Crimson Tide Arizona State Sun Devils Arizona Wildcats Arkansas Razorbacks Army Black Knights Auburn Tigers Baylor Bears Boise State Broncos. After more than a year, Game of Thrones has made its very welcome return. It was a reasonably quiet episode, by which I mean at least 50 people were still murdered. In Praise of the Irish Goodbye. Theres no need to make a big deal about leaving every gathering you attend. Just leaveits fine. Last week, the entire Lifehacker staff convened in New York City. Our writers traveled from allRead more Read. What Is an Irish Goodbye The Irish goodbye or French exitnot be confused with ghostingis the act of leaving an event without actually telling everyone that youre leaving. You just go. Sound rude Its not. To understand the Irish goodbye, you have to understand why it came to be. As Cahir ODoherty explains at Irish Central, Irish goodbyes are simply the opposite of Irish welcomes. You see, the Irish are famous for being extremely hospitable. So hospitable, in fact, it can be a bit overwhelming. Youre offered something to drink, something to eat, and constantly being taken care of. This kind of hospitality translates to an extremely long farewell, like this example Are you leaving us Ah, youre leaving us. Watch Jack Irish: Black Tide Online Freeform' title='Watch Jack Irish: Black Tide Online Freeform' />Would you like a cup of tea Would you like a biscuit There are leftovers. I have Tupperware and tinfoil, sure well put it in that. Its no trouble. And a custard cream. Well put it in the bag, sure. No, well put it in your pocket. Say nothing. And take this and this and this and this and this and this and this. And let me hold your coat. Is this your coatIs this or this or this or this or this or this your coat Look it, its raining. Stay until it stops raining. I am not letting you go and its raining. So, when you think about it, Irish goodbyes arent rudetheyre actually pretty considerate. Youre sparing your host the trouble of giving you a long farewell, youre not interrupting peoples conversations with an egotistical Goodbye everyone Stop what youre doing and look at me, and you avoid wasting anyones time making plans youll never follow through with. Besides, nobody cares if you leave. The party will go on without you. Making plans is hard, especially when youre making them with a chronic flaker. There are ways toRead more Read. How to Do an Irish Goodbye Properly. While Irish goodbyes arent inherently rude, you still have to do them right. Some scenarios arent meant for the Irish goodbye, for example. Theyre best used for exiting parties, and perhaps some work events, but probably not when youre visiting grandma or having an intimate dinner with friends. Heres how to do it Plan ahead, if you can If you know youll be pulling an Irish goodbye, think about your exit strategy. Dont bring anything youll need to retrieve before you leave, like coats, plates, games, etc. And make sure you pay your tab first. Watch Every Thing Will Be Fine Megavideo on this page. Dont stick anyone else with the bill. Pick an exit When youre ready to go, look for a route thats out of the way and wont draw attention. Let someone know You dont have to completely disappear for this to work. Its okay to tell a close friend youre taking off so no one starts to worry about you. A text works too. Ninja vanish Disappear into the night and make your way home or wherever it is youre headed. If that all still feels too impolite for your tastes, you can always send a thank you email or text the next day. Or make your exit, then send a text once youve gone. Theyll understand, trust me. And if someone sends you a Where r u text, be nice and respond. And thats it The Irish goodbye is easy as pie. Now, if youll excuse me. How to Make a Jon Snow Cloak Out of an IKEA Rug. I bet you, like me, took a gander at the cloaks of the Nights Watch on Game of Thrones and thought Damn, if they werent so flea infested and covered in the blood of the dead Id wear that in a heartbeat. Where do I even get a cloak like that Well you can fashion a cloak of your own the same way the shows costume designer does with SKOLD and LUDDE sheepskin rugs from friggin IKEA. Game of Thrones costume designer Michele Clapton explained the origin of the rug cloaks in a talk about medieval garments at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. In short, theres nothing fancy about them. The ratty cloaks on the Nights Watch members arent made of mammoth pelts but sheepskin rugs from IKEA that are dyed, roughed up, and shorn to look like theyve been to the Fist of the First Men and back. These caps are actually IKEA rugs. Its a bit of a trick. We take anything we can. We cut and we shaved them, and we added strong leather straps and then break them down. I want the audience to almost smell the costumes. The rugs are further distressed, and receive a thorough waxing and frosting to give them that lived in for way too long look. Since learning the news, people have apparently gone to IKEA to purchase the sheepskin rugs in droves, presumably to wrap themselves up in them and prepare for the coming of the Night King. How to Make Your Own. Feeling creative Clapton may be a professional costumer, but that doesnt mean you have to fawn over the cloaks in the show while you shiver in the cold. You can make your own with a few materials and some sartorial know how. As for measurements, be sure to look at this handy guide to figure out how much fabric youll need. Got a favorite pair of jeans that have seen better days You dont have to ditch them or turnRead more Read. Gather Your Materials. Rug and fabric Of course, if you want to dress like the Nights Watch, youll need the same fabric they use. That means a trip to IKEA is in order. Snag your SKOLD and LUDDE rugs just call the store beforehand to make sure theyre still in stock and get out. Actually, you should probably grab some black DITTE fabric for the rest of the cloak before you leave the Walmart of Sweden. They sell it by the yard, which is nice. Dye I think you can tell that the blindingly white IKEA rugs arent exactly a good match for your Nights Watch cloak just yet. Heres where clothing dye comes into play. Youve probably dyed your favorite jeans to bring them back into your outfit rotation, and you can use the same process to turn that white rug pitch black. Straps and buckles A cursory search for leather straps and buckles yields hundreds of results online. Your best bet Figuring out the strap length and picking a supplier you trust, perhaps one familiar with leather goods. As for the buckles, you could always just search e. Bay, where suppliers tend to place miscellaneous goods like buckles for cheap compared to places like Amazon. Sewing materials The Nights Watch didnt have a sewing machine, but you can bet your ass Clapton did while she made these cloaks. Granted, your consumer grade sewing machine might not be able to get through the leather, so you might have to sew that part yourself with a needle, thread, scissors, and a hole punch. Measure Twice, Cut Once. Of course, before you go off looking for rugs, sewing kits, and fabric to stitch together a cloak of your own, be sure you know how much material you need. Longer cloaks require more fabric, of course, but if its too long or too short youll be left tripping over yourself or cursing your frigid calves. Some fabrics might not be wide enough to be cut in a semicircle on their own. In that case you may have to stitch multiple pieces together, either in a wedge shape think pizza slices, or by filling in the outer edge of the semicircle with smaller, curved pieces of the same fabric. Distress the Shit Out of It. I havent see a pristine cloak on any member of the Nights Watch. What makes you so specialIts time to put that newfound cloak through the wringer. Grab some scissors, throw it in a bucket full of rocks, let your dog roll around in it for a few days minutes, and voila Your very own cloak, ready to weather storms from Hardhome to Highgarden.