Watch as Grasshopper sets a new record by ‘hopping’ over 1,000 feet

SpaceX’s Grasshopper reusable rocket established a new standard a few weeks ago by climbing to an altitude of 1,066 feet (325 meters) — and then descending back down to Earth for its most accurate landing yet. The previous record, which was set back in April, saw the Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing (VTVL) rocket reach a…

Primates shows us what it takes to make it as a scientist

Whether you’re looking for a graphic novel about the early breakthroughs in primate research, an account of the rigors of fieldwork, or just a scientific version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Louis Leakey as a slightly horny Willy Wonka, this is the book for you. The book is called Primates: The Fearless Science…

Could the Lone Ranger still play Batman in the Justice League movie?

There’s a Wolverine poster, the Rock shows off the Hercules set, and James Cameron and Alfonso Cuarón talk Battle Angel and Gravity. Ryan Reynolds talks about the Deadpool movie. Could Russell Crowe star in a Krypton prequel? Plus Ming-Na Wen describes her character on Agents of SHIELD. Spoilers now! The Wolverine Here’s a new image…

Young Adult: You Can Go Home Again (But Maybe You Shouldn’t?)

When a ghost writer of a failing young adult book series heads back to her hometown, things go… poorly. Very, very poorly. If you thought Charlize Theron was a monster in Monster, you should see her in Young Adult. Don’t let the name fool you; Young Adult is a dark comedy of the highest order,…

A Dramatic Tribute to Moebius

Nicolas Delort‘s black-and-white airship roars onto the page in this piece inspired by the legendary artist Moebius. Delort created this homage for a contest for the Moebius-themed blog The Airtight Garage. Delort has other equally striking ink illustrations on his blog, notably his Harry Potter pieces. [Nicolas Delort via The Art of Animation]

The Sunday schedule for Comic-Con is now up, making the schedule complete! Also check out the map of the convention floor to finish planning your Comic-Con week.

Original Doctor Who theme song slowed into 20 minutes of alien music

YouTube user telegenicx slows songs down and stretches them out into long and languid sonic experiences. Ron Grainer’s original 1963 Doctor Who theme song is particularly well suited to this time stretching, transforming into 20 minutes of otherworldly mood music. [via Dangerous Minds]

A charming and absurd black comedy about a family’s killer curse

Michael Duignan’s short film Ten Thousand Days has a definite Quentin Tarantino flavor with a frothy topping of macabre absurdity. Every male member of the Duncan clan dies on his 10,000th day of life, and Darby Duncan is convinced that he’s next. But what happens when death doesn’t go according to plan? Benedict Wall plays…

Sleek and Sexy Bus Concepts from the Future that Never Was

Our mass transit future looked much cooler in the mid-20th century, with these slick bus designs. Just imagine taking to the roads in these retrofuturistic buses. GM Futurliners from the 1940s, designed by Harley Earl for General Motors These vehicles were used to display modern innovations of its time like microwave ovens and television sets,…

Crowdfund a quantum physics board game and a Victorian taxidermy doc

If you love adorable kittens that have been modeled into macabre taxidermy scenes, you can kick in to fund a documentary about Victorian taxidermist Walter Potter. You can also try to grab a board game about quantum physics, a video game that uses real Martian topography, and fund a new season of the web series…

Phoenix Jones mini-doc peeks into the psyche of a real-life superhero

Phoenix Jones‘ tenure as a “real-life superhero” patrolling Seattle’s streets has not been without controversy, but it’s still fascinating to hear him talk about his costumed crimefighting in his own words. This mini-documentary by the Avant/Gard Diaries interviews Jones about his experiences. Jones is still very much active in Seattle. Just this past week, Jones…

Claymation aliens turn a petty dispute into an all-out animated war

For the latest entry in his Illustrated Aliens series, Andy Martin takes us to Planet Six, where his part-claymation, part-hand-drawn aliens find themselves engaged in a small argument that escalates quickly into a violent battle. The clay will fly. Earlier, we shared two earlier videos from Martin’s series: Planet Four and Planet Five. Each month,…

Intricate illustrations of elaborate and impossible buildings

Toby Melville-Brown began his Tower series as a fanciful mishmash of his favorite architectural styles. But as his towers grew more elaborate and fanciful, he began to imagine the futures in which these buildings might exist. Melville-Brown explains that he is fascinated by the “synthetic landscape” of human civilization, and to that end, he imagines…

Designer creates a narrow house suspended between two sheets of fabric

Tanya Shukstelinsky’s Cocoon project is a whimsical take on urban housing, imagining a world in which skinny dwellings are made from cleverly segregated sheets of fabric. Shukstelinsky created this prototype, which she describes as “temporary living spaces for urban nomads,” as part of her final year project Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem.…

The first Time War took place in the 16th century

The fact that the number of days in a year doesn’t perfectly match up with the Earth’s rotational cycle has posed a problem throughout history. Pope Gregory’s attempt to combat some of the complications of that problem caused riots in what has to be the first time battle in history. In 1583, Pope Gregory had…

Incredible X-ray video captures a bat in flight

To better understand why bats are the only mammals capable of sustained flight, a team of biologists at Brown University is examining ultra high-speed X-ray videos of fruit bats as they launch themselves into the air. Led by Nicolai Konow, the team used X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology (XROMM), a technology that integrates 3D renderings…

A History of Plagiarism Claims Against James Cameron

James Cameron was recently sued yet again for Avatar, the latest in a long line of plagiarism accusations against the director stretching back to Terminator. But is Cameron a serial plagiarist, or just a popular target for copyright lawsuits? There are certainly some cases (Sally Mann’s in particular, and given the similarities between the openings…

Aliens‘ Xenomorph Queen Was Way Less Scary in Her Larval Form

There’s no denying that the Xenomorph queen is terrifying in Aliens, but she doesn’t seem quite has bad when her lifeless head is just sitting on a table in its earliest form, not quite sculpted into the horrifying finished product. She’s still no looker, though. Stan Winston School brings us yet another fantastic behind-the-scenes look…

Calvin and Hobbes enjoy an imaginative summer and winter

Artist Andrew Kolb pays tribute to Calvin and his indefatigable imagination with a pair of seasonal prints. Whether it’s summer or winter, Bill Watterson’s duo can travel through space and meet up with dinosaurs, UFOs, giant robots, and, of course, those mutant snowmen. These pieces are part of the RED gallery show that opened last…

Pay what you want for these two scifi ebook bundles

There are currently not one, but two ebook bundles that let you pay what you want for a bunch of science fiction ebooks. Head over to the Humble eBook Bundle and StoryBundle to grab several books for potentially little money. Humble Bundle is running its second ebook bundle with Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, Cherie Priest’s…