WEEKEND ROUNDUP: 7/30 – 7/31 | Mark James Yamamoto’s organic Voltron, which you can see in full here. (Via Super Punch)
Clarissa Explains It All prophesied the movie Cowboys & Aliens
https://gizmodo.com/clarissa-explains-it-all-prophesied-the-movie-cowboys-5826141
Way back in the early 1990s, before Cowboys & Aliens was a graphic novel/film pitch, Clarissa Explains It All predicted the existence of the film in a throwaway line courtesy of Clarissa’s dorky brother Ferguson. Now we know where Hollywood gets its ideas — trawling Nickelodeon teen sitcoms. More »
Fine art with a dash of Turtle Power
https://gizmodo.com/fine-art-with-a-dash-of-turtle-power-5826127
At the “Shell-Shock” art show, artists paid tribute to our favorite quartet of mutant reptiles, with pizza-filled paintings and illustrations from Dimension X. More »
The secret history of the greatest Thor stories ever written
https://gizmodo.com/the-secret-history-of-the-greatest-thor-stories-ever-wr-5826183
At Comic-Con, io9 had a nice long talk with Walt Simonson, the man responsible for the defining run on The Mighty Thor in the 1980s (indeed, Simonson’s tenure on the comic was a big influence on this summer’s Thor movie). More »
https://gizmodo.com/fresh-off-thor-and-x-men-first-class-hollywoods-next-5798178
How to use dice to stop people from lying on surveys
https://gizmodo.com/how-to-use-dice-to-stop-people-from-lying-on-surveys-5826021
Whenever we turn on the news, we’re treated to statistics about things there seem to be no way of verifying. How many people has the average person slept with? How many crimes has the average person committed? The numbers quoted are often the result of surveys. In a survey, there’s nothing to keep people honest, especially about things like crimes. Scientists have found that dice can shake the truth out of people. More »
Holy hell, the 1970s Alien comic book was awesome
https://gizmodo.com/holy-hell-the-1970s-alien-comic-book-was-awesome-5826225
We recently ran an interview with Thor writer Walt Simonson in which he mentions an Alien movie adaptation he worked on for Heavy Metal back in 1979 with Archie Goodwin and John Workman. I’d never read it before, so I looked it up. And guess what? It’s an absolute jaw-dropper. More »
The new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a magical mystery tour through Alan Moore’s head
https://gizmodo.com/the-new-league-of-extraordinary-gentlemen-is-a-magical-5826236
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century – 1969 sees Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s Britannic literary superteam in Love Generation London, where Aleister Crowley analogue Oliver Haddo conspires with Terner Purple, a thinly veiled reference to Mick Jagger’s role in the rock-and-roll drama Performance. More »
The Rapture will be televised, on Torchwood
https://gizmodo.com/the-rapture-will-be-televised-on-torchwood-5826253
With the clip above, Torchwood zeroes in on two strands of Protestant politics, especially in America. There’s the “City on the Hill,” in which the elect are chosen in advance for paradise. And then there’s the forgiven sinner, in which the worst sin can be wiped clean as someone is lifted up by the grace of God. More »
Jango Fett attended a prom in New Zealand
https://gizmodo.com/jango-fett-attended-a-prom-in-new-zealand-5826257
Here’s a cute story about bounty hunters and school dances. When New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison (Jango Fett, Abin Sur in Green Lantern) was asked by his niece to attend a Star Wars-themed school ball in the city of Rotorua, he made a guest appearance. In other news, a school held a Star Wars prom! More »
Tremble before Bane’s full costume from The Dark Knight Rises!
https://gizmodo.com/tremble-before-banes-full-costume-from-the-dark-knight-5826294
Yesterday in Pittsburgh, Tom Hardy braved the summer heat wearing his full Bane get-up to deliver a speech to some bad guys. Also, some new camouflage Batmobiles rolled down the street. Warning: spoilers and supervillain fashion galore! More »
Art installation allows you to be a kaiju in the city of the mole people
https://gizmodo.com/art-installation-allows-you-to-be-a-kaiju-in-the-city-o-5826308
For the upcoming MS Dockville music festival in Hamburg, Germany, designer EVOL transformed an empty field into a weird subterranean cityscape that visitors can tromp through. More »
Saying swear words actually stresses your brain
https://gizmodo.com/saying-swear-words-actually-stresses-your-brain-5826290
While there’s nothing quite like reeling off a string of profanities to blow off some steam, our brains might not agree with that sentiment. Saying swear words out loud actually triggers reactions deep in the emotion centers of the brain. More »
You tell us what Bane is reading on this piece of paper
https://gizmodo.com/you-tell-us-what-bane-is-reading-on-this-piece-of-paper-5826338
Earlier today, we posted photos of Tom Hardy decked out in Bane attire on the set of The Dark Knight Rises. One of the stranger snapshots has Bane staring intently at a scrap of paper. More »
https://gizmodo.com/tremble-before-banes-full-costume-from-the-dark-knight-5826294
There were just too many humans for Neanderthals to survive
https://gizmodo.com/there-were-just-too-many-humans-for-neanderthals-to-sur-5826353
The extinction of the Neanderthals remains a matter of intense debate. Were we smarter than them? More warlike? Or perhaps we simply sexed them into extinction? The real answer might have more to do with our quantity than our qualities. More »
https://gizmodo.com/confirmed-all-non-african-people-are-part-neanderthal-5822357
David Tennant’s first TV role was in the world’s worst anti-smoking PSA
https://gizmodo.com/david-tennants-first-tv-role-was-in-the-worlds-worst-an-5826372
Before he became renowned the world over for playing Barty Crouch Jr. (and some other role I can’t remember off the top of my head), David Tennant starred in what was possibly the world’s most stultifying anti-cigarette program. Together with some bemulleted child, a 16-year-old Tennant plays a teenage smoker with “beautiful legs.” More »
Tree DNA tests prove that Benjamin Franklin isn’t ruining the Gulf Coast
https://gizmodo.com/tree-dna-tests-prove-that-benjamin-franklin-isnt-ruinin-5826359
Much of the southeastern US is struggling with Chinese tallow trees, an invasive species that is overrunning the Gulf Coast and wreaking havoc on the natural habitat. And, until now, people figured it was that big jerk Benjamin Franklin’s fault. More »
