READY FOR A SKY-RACE | It’s a beautiful afternoon for cloud-chasing. Concept art by J.P. Rasanen, via CoolVibe.com.
https://gizmodo.com/the-coolest-scene-of-alien-fighting-from-last-nights-fa-5813849
The Coolest Scene of Alien-Fighting from Last Night’s Falling Skies
Steven Spielberg’s new show Falling Skies launched last night on TNT, and the good news is, it got gangbuster ratings for a basic cable show: 5.9 million viewers, more than The Walking Dead’s first episode on AMC. The bad news is, the opening two parter has a lot of storytelling weaknesses. More »
What are the top ten failed states of the past year?
https://gizmodo.com/what-are-the-top-ten-failed-states-of-the-past-year-5813841
Every year, Foreign Policy magazine and the Fund for Peace do a survey of “failed states,” nations whose citizens they judge to be in the most dire circumstances in the world. More »
What happened the last time the icecaps melted?
https://gizmodo.com/what-happened-the-last-time-the-icecaps-melted-5813830
The fact that sea levels are rising probably won’t come as a huge surprise. But we now have some much-needed historical context for the melting icecaps and rising waters…and there’s zero doubt that, in geological history, higher sea levels meant higher temperatures. More »
Robopocalypse may well be the summer’s best movie – in book form
https://gizmodo.com/robopocalypse-may-well-be-the-summers-best-movie-in-b-5813819
Cool robots unlike any you’ve seen before battle humans in a near-future world where computerized cars and military drones are out to smash all homo sapiens. More »
Is this TARDIS Damask shirt the classiest Doctor Who tee money can buy?
https://gizmodo.com/is-this-tardis-damask-shirt-the-classiest-doctor-who-te-5813766
This “TARDamask” t-shirt by Rosemary Travale recently debuted on Threadless, and it exudes that understated Time Lord chic. Massive scarf and/or tweed jacket optional. More »
High-res Transformers 3 pics sure do look pretty
https://gizmodo.com/high-res-transformers-3-pics-sure-do-look-pretty-5813774
Say what you want about Michael Bay: The man can take a couple hundred million dollars and turn it into some top quality giant robot porn. Two dozen high-res photos from Transformers: Dark of the Moon showcase awesome robotic destruction. More »
The Amazing Power that Comes from Grief, on Game of Thrones
https://gizmodo.com/the-amazing-power-that-comes-from-grief-on-game-of-thr-5813683
Last night’s Game of Thrones was one of the most powerful portrayals of grief I’ve ever seen, on television or in any medium. And yet, the episode lasted just long enough to show that powerful things can come from grief. More »
10 Psychological States You’ve Never Heard Of – And When You Experienced Them
https://gizmodo.com/10-psychological-states-youve-never-heard-of-and-when-5813475
Everybody knows what you mean when you say you’re happy or sad. But what about all those emotional states you don’t have words for? Here are ten feelings you may have had, but never knew how to explain. More »
Grittier Toy Story action figures show how terrifying Buzz and Woody could be
https://gizmodo.com/grittier-toy-story-action-figures-show-how-terrifying-b-5813512
What would Toy Story’s leading plastic men look like if they were retooled for grittier, “realistic” action figures? Take a look at “Toy Story Unleashed” a darker new look at our favorite toys. More »
Gladiator’s tombstone complains about bad refs 1,800 years ago
https://gizmodo.com/gladiators-tombstone-complains-about-bad-refs-1-800-yea-5813526
For as long as there have been sports, there have been fans complaining about referees whose terrible calls rob their team of victory. The oldest – and most brutal – example of this can be found on a gladiator’s epitaph. More »
This Week’s TV: Have True Blood and Futurama finally gone too far? (Answer: No.)
https://gizmodo.com/this-weeks-tv-have-true-blood-and-futurama-finally-gon-5813479
Two of television’s great champions return this week: True Blood is shaking things up with some major changes in Sookie’s life. And Futurama is shaking up its characters in… a very different way. More »
Man realizes he owns the last immensely stupid “Square Earth” map in existence
https://gizmodo.com/man-realizes-he-owns-the-last-immensely-stupid-square-5813557
Here’s another reason why you shouldn’t throw away anything ever. Since the mid-1970s, former North Dakota state senator Don Homuth has been in possession of the only known complete copy of a singularly strange “Square Earth” map from the 1800s. More »
The first cancer vaccine that works
https://gizmodo.com/the-first-cancer-vaccine-that-works-5813493
Cancer vaccines may come sooner than you think. And each vaccine will be tailor-made for a specific kind of cancer. This isn’t just a theory anymore. More »
The Justice League membership exam is surprisingly lax
https://gizmodo.com/the-justice-league-membership-exam-is-surprisingly-lax-5813545
1975’s Justice League of America 115 featured a quiz in which any non-superpowered Jack or Jane could apply for JLA membership. I imagine Batman had to take this thing at one point. More »
Is this the beginning of the end of the superhero movie boom?
https://gizmodo.com/is-this-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-superhero-movie-5813471
Green Lantern is the second superhero movie in a row to perform disappointingly in its opening weekend, after X-Men: First Class. If Captain America also stumbles, we could look back on this as the summer that superheroes lost their invulnerability. More »
