diff --git a/basic/tools/__init__.py b/basic/tools/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/basic/tools/templatetags/__init__.py b/basic/tools/templatetags/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/basic/tools/templatetags/capture.py b/basic/tools/templatetags/capture.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c1fd843
--- /dev/null
+++ b/basic/tools/templatetags/capture.py
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+from django import template
+from django.utils.safestring import mark_safe
+
+register = template.Library()
+
+@register.tag
+def capture(parser, token):
+    """{% capture as [foo] %}"""
+    bits = token.split_contents()
+    if len(bits) != 3:
+        raise template.TemplateSyntaxError("'capture' node requires `as (variable name)`.")
+    nodelist = parser.parse(('endcapture',))
+    parser.delete_first_token()
+    return CaptureNode(nodelist, bits[2])
+
+class CaptureNode(template.Node):
+    def __init__(self, nodelist, varname):
+        self.nodelist = nodelist
+        self.varname = varname
+
+    def render(self, context):
+        output = self.nodelist.render(context)
+        context[self.varname] = mark_safe(output.strip())
+        return ''
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/basic/tools/templatetags/comparison.py b/basic/tools/templatetags/comparison.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0ebdc6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/basic/tools/templatetags/comparison.py
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+from django.template import Library
+from django.template.defaultfilters import lower
+
+register = Library()
+
+@register.filter
+def gt(value, arg):
+    "Returns a boolean of whether the value is greater than the argument"
+    try:
+        return float(value) > float(arg)
+    except (ValueError,TypeError):
+        return ""
+
+@register.filter
+def lt(value, arg):
+    "Returns a boolean of whether the value is less than the argument"
+    try:
+        return float(value) < float(arg)
+    except (ValueError,TypeError):
+        return ""
+
+@register.filter
+def gte(value, arg):
+    "Returns a boolean of whether the value is greater than or equal to the argument"
+    try:
+        return float(value) >= float(arg)
+    except (ValueError,TypeError):
+        return ""
+
+@register.filter
+def lte(value, arg):
+    "Returns a boolean of whether the value is less than or equal to the argument"
+    try:
+        return float(value) <= float(arg)
+    except (ValueError,TypeError):
+        return ""
+
+@register.filter
+def is_content_type(obj, arg):
+    try:
+        ct = lower(obj._meta.object_name)
+        return ct == arg
+    except AttributeError:
+        return ""
+
+@register.filter
+def is_equal(obj, arg):
+    "Returns a boolean of whether the value is equal to the argument"
+    return obj == arg
+
+@register.filter
+def round(obj):
+    "Returns a number rounded."
+    try:
+        return round(obj)
+    except (ValueError,TypeError):
+        return ""
+
+@register.filter
+def has(obj, arg):
+    "Returns a boolean of whether the value is in a list of values or a string"
+    try:
+        if arg in obj:
+            return True
+    except TypeError:
+        return ""
+    return False
+
+
+@register.filter
+def is_string(obj):
+    return isinstance(obj, str)
+
+
+@register.filter
+def is_number(obj):
+    return isinstance(obj, int)
+
+
+@register.filter
+def get_vars(obj):
+    getvars = obj.copy()
+    if 'page' in obj:
+        del getvars['page']
+    if len(getvars.keys()) > 0:
+        return "&%s" % getvars.urlencode()
+    else:
+        return ''
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/basic/tools/templatetags/stringutils.py b/basic/tools/templatetags/stringutils.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c8c5518
--- /dev/null
+++ b/basic/tools/templatetags/stringutils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import re
+
+from django.template import Library
+from django.contrib.markup.templatetags.markup import markdown
+from django.template.defaultfilters import urlizetrunc
+from django.utils.safestring import mark_safe
+
+register = Library()
+
+
+@register.filter
+def twitterize(value):
+    try:
+        new_value = re.sub(r'(@)(\w+)', '\g<1><a href="/\g<2>/">\g<2></a>', value)
+        return mark_safe(new_value)
+    except:
+        return value
+
+
+@register.filter
+def strip(value, arg):
+    return value.strip(arg)
+
+
+@register.filter
+def smarty(value):
+    from smartypants import smartyPants
+    return value
+
+
+@register.filter
+def format_text(value):
+    return twitterize(urlizetrunc(markdown(value), 30))
diff --git a/basic/tools/templatetags/thumbnail.py b/basic/tools/templatetags/thumbnail.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b795cd2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/basic/tools/templatetags/thumbnail.py
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+from django import template
+from django.conf import settings
+register = template.Library()
+
+
+# Useful functions
+def _get_path_from_url(url, root=settings.MEDIA_ROOT, url_root=settings.MEDIA_URL):
+    """ make filesystem path from url """
+    import os
+    if url.startswith(url_root):
+        url = url[len(url_root):]       # strip media root url
+    return settings.MEDIA_ROOT + url
+
+
+# Tags
+@register.filter
+def thumbnail(url, size='200x200'):
+    """
+    Given a URL (local or remote) to an image, creates a thumbnailed version of the image, saving
+    it locally and then returning the URL to the new, smaller version. If the argument passed is a
+    single integer, like "200", will output a version of the image no larger than 200px wide. If the
+    argument passed is two integers, like, "200x300", will output a cropped version of the image that
+    is exactly 200px wide by 300px tall.
+
+    Examples:
+
+    {{ story.leadphoto.url|thumbnail:"200" }}
+    {{ story.leadphoto.url|thumbnail:"300x150" }}
+
+    """
+    import Image
+    import os
+    import urllib
+
+    original_url = url
+
+    # First, find the image, either via local file path or http.
+    filename = os.path.join(settings.MEDIA_ROOT, url)
+
+    if url.startswith('http://') or url.startswith('https://'):
+        # If it's a remote image, download it and save it locally. This expects a
+        # directory called downloaded/ in your MEDIA_ROOT
+        download_filename = url.rsplit('/', 1)[1]                                         # Filename of image
+        full_image_path = '%sdownloaded/%s' % (settings.MEDIA_ROOT, download_filename)    # Local filesystem path where image should be saved
+        local_image_url = '%sdownloaded/%s' % (settings.MEDIA_URL, download_filename)     # URL to local copy of image
+
+        if not os.path.exists(full_image_path):
+            unsized_image = urllib.urlretrieve(url)                                         # Fetch original image
+            unsized_image = Image.open(unsized_image[0])                                    # Load the fetched image
+            local_image = unsized_image.save(full_image_path)                               # Save the resized image locally
+
+        url = local_image_url
+        remote_image = True
+    else:
+        # If it's a local image, note it and move on.
+        remote_image = False
+
+    # Define the thumbnail's filename, file path, and URL.
+    try:
+        basename, format = url.rsplit('.', 1)
+    except ValueError:
+        return os.path.join(settings.MEDIA_URL, url)
+    thumbnail = basename + '_t' + size + '.' +  format
+    thumbnail_filename = _get_path_from_url(thumbnail)
+    thumbnail_url = thumbnail
+
+    # Find out if a thumbnail in this size already exists. If so, we'll not remake it.
+    if not os.path.exists(thumbnail_filename):
+        # The thumbnail doesn't already exist. Log a message that we are resizing.
+
+        # Open the image.
+        try:
+            image = Image.open(_get_path_from_url(url))
+        except IOError:
+            return os.path.join(settings.MEDIA_URL, url)
+
+        # Make a copy of the original image so we can access its attributes, even
+        # after we've changed some of them.
+        original_image = image.copy()
+
+        # Find the size of the original image.
+        original_width = original_image.size[0]
+        original_height = original_image.size[1]
+
+        # Parse the size argument into integers.
+        try:
+            # See if both height and width exist (i.e. "200x100")
+            desired_width, desired_height = [int(x) for x in size.split('x')]
+            new_size = (desired_width, desired_height)
+            # Flag this image for cropping, since we want an explicit width AND height.
+            crop = True
+        except ValueError:
+            # If only one exists ( i.e. "200"), use the value as the desired width.
+            if size[0] == 'x':
+                desired_height = int(size[1:])
+                new_size = (original_width, desired_height)
+                crop = False
+            else:
+                desired_width = int(size)
+                new_size = (desired_width, original_height)
+                crop = False
+
+        # If we are to crop this image, we'll thumbnail it, and then figure out the proper crop area
+        # Crops are done from the center of the image.
+        if crop:
+            if (original_height / (original_width / float(desired_width))) < desired_height:
+                image.thumbnail((original_width, desired_height), Image.ANTIALIAS)
+            else:
+                image.thumbnail((desired_width, original_height), Image.ANTIALIAS)
+
+            if (image.size[0] >= desired_width) and (image.size[1] >= desired_height):
+                left = (image.size[0] - desired_width) / 2
+                top  = (image.size[1] - desired_height) / 2
+                right = left + desired_width
+                bottom = top + desired_height
+                cropped_image = image.crop((left, top, right, bottom))
+                image = cropped_image
+        else:
+            # If we are not to crop this image, simply thumbnail it down to the desired width.
+            image.thumbnail(new_size, Image.ANTIALIAS)
+
+        # Finally, save the image.
+        try:
+            image.save(thumbnail_filename, image.format, quality=85)
+        except KeyError:
+            return ''
+
+    # And return the URL to the new thumbnailed version.
+    return os.path.join(settings.MEDIA_URL, thumbnail_url)
\ No newline at end of file