WEEKEND ROUNDUP: 6/11-6/12 | Camerabots by Andrea Pertachi (via Nerdcore).
In “Americus,” the Harry Potter censorship drama plays out in small-town America
https://gizmodo.com/in-americus-the-harry-potter-censorship-drama-plays-5810817
Neil couldn’t survive life in small-town Americus without his favorite fantasy series. But when a fundamentalist group threatens to censor the books, Neil finds himself on the frontlines of a social war – and may just find his own strength. More »
The mundane home lives of the world’s greatest superheroes
https://gizmodo.com/the-mundane-home-lives-of-the-worlds-greatest-superhero-5810909
Photographer Gregg Segal follows superhero impersonators from the glamor of Hollywood Boulevard to their homes, capturing them still in costume, going about their ordinary household chores. More »
Tom Hanks producing 6 seasons of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods for HBO
https://gizmodo.com/tom-hanks-producing-6-seasons-of-neil-gaimans-american-5811012
Here’s some good news for those readers upset that the television adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman stalled out. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tom Hanks’ Playtone Productions will produce a whopping six seasons of Neil Gaiman’s earthbound-deities novel American Gods. More »
https://gizmodo.com/the-new-beast-talks-x-men-first-class-plus-stunning-g-5785204
If this robot is any indicator, the Cylons’ first steps were extremely awkward
https://gizmodo.com/if-this-robot-is-any-indicator-the-cylons-first-steps-5811036
Researchers at Japan’s Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology recently released footage of their HRP-4C humanoid (which is best known for its forays into pop stardom) enjoying an experimental test stroll last year. They walk shuffle among us! More »
https://gizmodo.com/this-dancing-japanese-robot-will-be-your-next-pop-overl-5666054
https://gizmodo.com/evil-singing-robot-of-death-should-be-smashed-with-a-ha-5376658
New Cowboys and Aliens trailer brings even more cowpoke vs. extraterrestrial mayhem
https://gizmodo.com/new-cowboys-and-aliens-trailer-brings-even-more-cowpoke-5811043
The latest lengthy trailer for Cowboys and Aliens aired last night on Spike’s Guys Choice Awards. Are Sam Rockwell and Harrison Ford shoo-ins for next year’s “Best Totally Bitching Bromance Award (sponsored by AXE)?” You be the judge, brah. More »
Scenes from an open-air airplane graveyard in the Russian Far East
https://gizmodo.com/scenes-from-an-open-air-airplane-graveyard-in-the-russi-5811068
If you ever find yourself 60 miles north of Vladivostok in the city of Ussuriysk, you can visit the crumbling Vozdvizhenka Air Base, where gutted planes sit in the open for trespassers to explore. Crazily enough, security’s nonexistent here. More »
English city admits it’s woefully underprepared for a zombie attack
https://gizmodo.com/english-city-admits-its-woefully-underprepared-for-a-zo-5811074
Thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request by “concerned citizen” Robert Ainsley, the Leicester City Council was forced to concede (by law) that it did not have a zombie survival plan on the books. More »
What do Doctor Who and The Dark Knight have in common?
https://gizmodo.com/what-do-doctor-who-and-the-dark-knight-have-in-common-5809803
We didn’t really know what to expect from the midseason finale of Doctor Who, but we definitely didn’t expect the Last of the Time Lords to turn out to have something crucial in common with the Caped Crusader. More »
Blackbeard terrorized the high seas with scrap iron missiles
https://gizmodo.com/blackbeard-terrorized-the-high-seas-with-scrap-iron-mis-5811109
Blackbeard, who is almost certainly history’s most infamous pirate, is a figure shrouded in myths and wild rumors. Now archaeological excavations into his sunken flagship is revealing that the historical Blackbeard was far scarier than any legend ever could be. More »
NSA declassifies 200-year-old book
https://gizmodo.com/nsa-declassifies-200-year-old-book-5811133
A cryptology instruction book…202 years old. A photograph of the U.S. Army’s cypher bureau…from 1919. A breakdown of Russian electoral districts…circa 1948. Schematics for a magnetic tape memory system…nearly half a century old. More »
If you want to revolutionize science forever, don’t give your paper a joke title
https://gizmodo.com/if-you-want-to-revolutionize-science-forever-dont-give-5811105
Nothing breaks the ice like a good joke, right? Sadly, that isn’t the case with scientific papers, as those with the funniest titles get swept aside in favor of dry, technical titles. When did science become so hopelessly square? More »
Scott Pilgrim’s creator drew the Transformers…when he was 8
https://gizmodo.com/scott-pilgrims-creator-drew-the-transformers-when-he-5811148
On his Flickr account, Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O’Malley’s posted some of his earliest comics work: a Transformers choose-your-own-adventure from when he was eight-years-old. Can you see echoes of the Katayanagi brothers’ robots in these illustrations? More »
Shredder goes Uncle Sam in Foot Clan recruitment poster
https://gizmodo.com/shredder-goes-uncle-sam-in-foot-clan-recruitment-poster-5811158
This poster by Emily Bawn and Brandon Schaefer casts Oroku Saki in the role of a star-spangled military recruiter. If you join up, you get to listen to all the MC Hammer you want. You can pick up prints here. More »
Is this the most regrettably shaped spaceship in anime history?
https://gizmodo.com/is-this-the-most-regrettably-shaped-spaceship-in-anime-5811166
Yes, we’re aware that the swastika predates the Third Reich by millennia, but this spaceship from the early 1990s anime Karasu Tengu Kabuto is just…well…damn. I suppose flying around on a giant swastika dragon is one way to get around. More »
Why did humans and monkeys evolve to hate the color red?
https://gizmodo.com/why-did-humans-and-monkeys-evolve-to-hate-the-color-red-5811107
Red is the color of anger and hatred, of imminent danger and deadly heat. Even the English language tells us that “seeing red” is a bad thing. And this aversion for red might go back to our earliest primate relatives. More »
