Breaking Bad‘s “The one who knocks” as written by famous authors

One of the most quotable moments from Breaking Bad is Walter White’s menacing “I am the one who knocks” speech. But what if that speech was written not by the show’s staff, but by the likes of George R.R. Martin or J.K. Rowling? Over at McSweeney’s, Laura Spadanuta pokes fun at various authors by rewriting…

A young Finnish man and his dog get stuck in a fox spirit’s dream

While guiding the Aurora Borealis across the sky, a mischievous young fox spirit accidentally traps an entire Finnish town in a land of slumber. Now the only hope for restoring everything to normal is Hannu, a grouchy young slacker, and his faithful dog Ville, who must convince their fellow villagers to return to the waking…

River and the Doctor’s date goes awry in Neil Gaiman’s minisode

River and the Doctor are in danger of being sacrificed to the rain gods in this Neil Gaiman-scripted Doctor Who minisode. Naturally the Doctor has an escape plan—though it’s not necessarily an elegant one. Over on his Tumblr, Gaiman explains that this started as a deleted sequence from the episode “The Doctor’s Wife,” and was…

The Cast of Adventure Time, Carved Out of Crayons

What time is it? Crayon Time! Artist HQ Tran carves fictional characters out of Crayolas, and he’s been working his way through the cast of Adventure Time. If you head over to Tran’s Wax Nostalgic blog, you can see his other crayon sculptures, including of characters from Futurama and Star Wars, and the house sigils…

Wolverine & Captain America battle robot ninjas on Ultimate Spider-Man

It’s a big week in the world of cartoons! Ultimate Spider-Man returns from hiatus this Sunday, Anarky makes a pivotal appearance on Beware the Batman, and the Avengers find out what it’s like to walk in the Hulk’s shoes. Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. is off this week. As always – minor spoilers ahead!…

Guillermo del Toro is directing the opening sequence of The Simpsons’ “Treehouse of Horror.” This year’s Halloween episode will kick off with a del Toro-created opener featuring monsters from the past several decades of horror movies. The episode airs on October 6th.

You must only speak the words to enter the realms beyond

Weary traveler, I’m not sure how you made it here through the darkness. But now you are almost home. Our gates will open to all who know the languages spoken in secret among slaves, because we have built this place as a refuge. Pablo Palomeque is a concept artist in Buenos Aires, Argentina. You can…

NBC has bought a TV show based on my story about psychics in love

Now it can be told! NBC has put a television adaptation based on my novelette “Six Months, Three Days” into development, with Krysten Ritter, Eric Garcia and David Janollari producing. I didn’t really think this was actually going to happen, and I am kind of gobsmacked. In case you missed it, “Six Months” is a…

Comment of the Day: Sewage and Statistics Edition

In today’s comments, we learned how to calculate the event horizon of a black hole, where to look for the very best in sci-fi inspired music, and one very surprising fact about where those between-year census figures come from. In this post calling for the trade secrets from commenters fields of expertise, commenter BrigadierGeneral shared…

This fashion show is like a glimpse of the future

Fashion designer Rick Owens debuted his new line in Paris this week with this incredible, futuristic show featuring steppers. It’s absolutely mesmerizing, and reminds me of Afro-futurist art or the movie Born in Flames. Just gorgeous.

Beautiful Destroyed Structures of the Modern Age

Some of the world’s most beautiful buildings have risen up, only to be destroyed or demolished just a few years or decades later. Here we remember some these great structures for what they once were. The Crystal Palace, Hyde Park, London, designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, built for the Great Exhibition of 1851 The building…

There are secret messages left aboard the International Space Station

In a practice that’s reassuringly similar to roommate-behavior here on Earth, astronauts aboard the International Space Station have been known to leave eachother notes – little messages, requests and reminders to one another, posted inside (and, occasionally, outside) the spacecraft. Above: A diagram of a space toilet, with a relevant note on bathroom etiquette. For…

Skull in a salt lake GIF is eerily relaxing

For the weekend: a skull sits idly in the shallows of a briny lake, long since caked in the salt that saturates the waters. We came across this GIF at Fresh Photons via these-shoes via osteo-princess, who found it over on reddit. After a fair bit of searching, we’ve had no luck tracking down the…

Don’t Remake These Movies, Film These Books Instead!

Hollywood’s addiction to remakes and reboots continues unabated, with dozens of films in development. And meanwhile, bookshelves are straining with hundreds of original, thrilling novels that have never been adapted to the screen. Here’s a second dose of our list of books that should be adapted instead of yet another remake. Missed our first list…

What is the greatest science fiction-inspired song ever written?

Science fiction themes have ruled pop music, from 1950s rockabilly tunes about Martians, to David Bowie’s 1970s Ziggy Stardust and Janelle Monae’s current tales of the android Cindi Mayweather. But what is the absolute best song with science fiction themes that’s ever been written? Tell us your choice, and be sure to include a picture…

How did people dance 800 years ago?

So you’ve traveled back in time to Medieval Europe. But as you’re checking out the nightlife, someone takes you by the hand and asks you to join in on the dancefloor. What’s an unschooled time traveler to do? Here’s a quick primer on your best 12th century dance move. A book by historian Robert Mullally…

What if Dr. Seuss wrote Jurassic Park?

If Dr. Seuss created Jurassic Park, it would probably look (and sound) a lot like this bananas creation Seusstastic Park. Behold, all the stripey wonder! In celebration of a Best Western getting a dino-overhaul, the toy designer Sillof was hired to create some “Dr. Seuss meets Jurassic Park” figurines. And we think they are just…

Behold the power of a supermassive black hole

At the center of this image is a supermassive black hole, shooting radiation out from the heart of its galaxy. Those two bursts of pink to the left and right are jets of particles that the black hole is shooting out of the galaxy at unbelievable speeds. Chandra X-ray Laboratory reports on what you’re seeing:…

Why is this man growing a nose on his forehead?

Yes, this man actually has a nose growing on his forehead. It’s part of a cutting-edge transplant procedure, and doctors will eventually replace his damaged nose with the new, healthy organ. Image via Reuters According to Reuters: A new nose, grown by surgeons on Xiaolian’s forehead, is pictured before being transplanted to replace the original…

We love this officially licensed, gender-swapped Doctor Who coat

Tired of playing the Tenth Doctor in a ill-fitting trenchcoat? No problem, ladies — the BBC has released an official, tailored Doctor Who coat. So awesome. Sure it’s a whopping $329.99, but it’s legit. [via The Mary Sue]