Andrew Liptak

Mars has long been a destination for science fiction authors. As we’ve learned more and more about the Red Planet, our stories have changed along with it. Over on Clarkesworld Magazine, I wrote about Science Fiction’s history with Mars.

Michigan Farmer Uncovers Rare, Near-Complete Woolly Mammoth Fossil In Field

While digging in his field on Monday, Michigan farmer James Bristle found what he thought was ordinary debris in his field. After digging further, he discovered that what he had found wasn’t a fence post, but bones from a Woolly Mammoth. After the discovery, Bristle contacted the University of Michigan, who arrived to excavate the…

Get Ready For Transformers 5. And 6. And 7. And 8. 

Yep, that’s right: more Transformers sequels are on the way. Stephen J. Davis of Hasbro noted during a Q&A that the company has recently planned out installments 5, 6, 7 and 8 for the franchise. Davis dropped the news during a keynote in which he spoke about how the company had put together a writer’s…

It Takes 30 Minutes To Run Through All Of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Kills

Jean-Claude Van Damme is known for movies like Universal Soldier and Cyborg, as well as the awesomely ridiculous action scenes. Someone’s just gone through and counted up all of the people he’s killed on screen, and it takes a good half-hour to run through the list. Here’s the criteria the video uses: THE RULES 1.…

Florida Sheriff’s Department Deputizes Boy To Fend Off Zombie Attack

Here’s your heartwarming story of the day: 7 year old Spencer Holt was deputized by the Pasco County Sheriff’s department to fend off a zombie horde in their jail cells. Holt is terminally ill with a Mitochondrial disease, and was a fan of both zombies and police officers. The Sheriff’s department decided to cheer him…

Barnes & Noble has been one of the world’s most successful booksellers since it was founded in 1873, and in that time, they’ve changed the bookstore market more than once. MentalFloss has a great list of 14 facts about the company that you might not have known about.

Lego’s Doctor Who Tardis Set Will Be Landing Soon

Lego posted an update to Facebook this morning with an exciting image: A Lego Tardis, with a message: Landing soon… Earlier this year, Lego announced that the Tardis would be part of the next wave of Lego Ideas, along with a Wall*E set. It’s looking like this set will be coming in the very near…

Jam Out In Orbit To Thomas Oliver’s If I Move To Mars

‘If I Move To Mars’ is the latest song from New Zealand artist Thomas Oliver, and it comes with a great video of an astronaut jamming out as he spins away in orbit. The world needs more Apollo-styled guitars. The video is a bit fun to watch, and it lands at the best week possible:…

Open Channel: What’s Your Favorite Movie About Mars?

The Martian is doing pretty well at the box office this weekend: it’s poised to take the #1 spot and overtake Gravity’s record from a couple of years ago. So, with that in mind, what’s your favorite film that takes place on the Red Planet? Mine? (Aside from The Martian) Mission to Mars. It’s a…

It’s Black And White In The Animated Video For PilotPriest’s The Last Goodbye

In PilotPriest’s video for their song The Last Goodbye, an astronaut goes off on a desperate chase after her companion jets off into space. It’s a really simple story of loss, and what strikes me the most with this video is the use of black and white artwork in space – it’s stark and minimal,…

Guillermo Del Toro Wants To Put Maisie Williams In A Jaeger

A sequel to Pacific Rim might be a long ways off, but it’s still on director Guillermo del Toro’s mind. And, he has a fantastic idea for who he wants behind the controls of a new Jaeger. Sounding off on Twitter earlier today, he noted that he had lunch with none other than Maisie Williams…

Our Favorite Images From NASA’s Incredible New Apollo Gallery

Earlier this week, NASA uploaded an incredible treasure trove of images to a new gallery on Flickr: unprocessed photographs from all of the manned Apollo missions. They represent an incredible look into what the astronauts saw on their missions to the moon. NASA’s astronauts are known for taking some of the world’s best pictures, but…

Exploration Is The Perfect Trailer To Show Off NASA’s Legacy

NASA is holding a short film contest called CineSpace, and one entry, Exploration, by Ryan J. Thompson caught our eye. It’s the perfect movie-style trailer to show off NASA’s scientific legacy. With a voice over from President John F. Kennedy, Thompson has picked out a dramatic set of archival footage shot from space and a…

Locke & Key Is Just As Haunting As An Audio Drama As It Is A Graphic Novel

Audible is taking one of the best comics in recent years has turned it into a dramatic audio presentation: Locke and Key. The production is a stunning adaptation and it proves that Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s horrifying graphic novel series is just as terrifying off the pages. Best of all? It’ll be a free…

Furious 7 Director James Wan Will Bring MacGyver Back To Television

Another old television show is being dusted off and given a new life: CBS announced that they’re rebooting MacGyver with Furious 7 director James Wan slated to direct the pilot. Color us interested. According to CBS (via EW), the new MacGyver will be a revised concept, rather than any sort of continuation of the existing…

This Life-Sized Hulkbuster Cosplay Will Blow Your Mind

Prop builders have created some awesome costumes in the recent past, but this might be one of the coolest: a life-sized Hulkbuster. Extreme Costumes assembled the towering 9-foot tall costume, and put more than 1600 hours of work went into the Iron Man variant. You can scroll through their facebook feed for a build process:…

Open Channel: Blood-Red, Supermoon Eclipse Edition 

So, tonight is the big #superbloodmooneclipse event that happens only every couple of decades. The next time this event will happen? 2033. Staying up tonight? Share your pictures and thoughts in the comments tonight!

Join The Brainery Online Writer’s Workshop To Level Up Your Short Fiction

Looking to level up your short fiction game? The Brainery Online Writer’s Workshop has a course in short fiction starting up this week! The short fiction workshop will be taught by Valerie Valdes and K. Tempest Bradford, and is dedicated to crafting short speculative fiction through a collaborative, workshop experience with a bunch of other…

A Firefighter Is Captivated By Flames In This Gorgeous Animated Short 

In Wildfire, a firefighter is utterly captivated by the flames which surround her, and it’s an obsession that begins to spill into her personal life. This short film is brilliantly animated, and it’s a beautiful, poetic affair: a firefighter who can’t seem to escape a morbid fascination with the flames that she’s supposed to fight…

In 1972, Science Fiction’s Best-Known Authors Went On One Hell Of A Cruise

In 1972, a number of notable SF authors and scientists boarded the S.S. Statendam for a unique experience: witness the night launch of Apollo 17. Some of the biggest names in science fiction and science were aboard the ship: Isaac Asimov, Frederik Pohl, Theodore Sturgeon, Robert Heinlein, and Carl Sagan, among others. https://gizmodo.com/the-real-story-of-apollo-17-and-why-we-never-went-ba-1670503448 In the…