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See the lights of Tokyo, before and after the earthquake

YouTuber Darwinfish105 (who made that stunning time-lapse video of Japan’s Gundam statue) now shows us the lights of Tokyo before and after March’s earthquake and tsunami. The metropolis’ lights have dimmed due to power shortages and energy conservation efforts. https://gizmodo.com/this-giant-gundam-time-lapse-video-makes-an-excellent-c-5607693 [Darwinfish105 via Pink Tentacle]

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

What I Am Legend would have looked like with non-CG monsters

Here is video proof that I Am Legend would have been a lot better with practical monsters. Watch this makeup test for an I Am Legend plague zombie, that the film-makers passed over in favor of a CG army. Steve Johnson, whose behind the scenes work on The Abyss and in Ang Lee’s Hulk we’ve…

io9 Meredith Woerner

Alfonso Cuarón’s astronaut thriller Gravity is finally ready to go. Plus Chris Hemsworth explains Thor’s Marvel movie future!

Writer Zak Penn explains why The Avengers is like no other superhero movie, while Roberto Orci and Simon Pegg explain where Star Trek is headed next. Plus new Hunger Games cast members, tons of Games of Thrones interviews, and more! Spoilers from here on out! Top image from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

The Original Kick-Ass

Long before Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl, long before Super, there was Hero At Large, the original story of a regular guy who becomes a superhero. And gets his ass kicked massively. 1980’s Hero At Large is actually a pretty fun movie, with that goofy sense of humor that so many late 1970s-early 1980s comedies had. And…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Hear King Tutankhamun’s trumpets played for the first time in 3000 years

Among the remarkable treasures found in Tutankhamun’s tomb were two ornate trumpets, one made of silver and the other of bronze. In 1939, BBC radio broadcast the trumpets’ music to 150 million people, and they’re now re-releasing the original audio. The trumpet music – performed 72 years ago by bandsman and soldier James Tappern –…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Drone weapons systems risk leading us to “a Terminator-like reality,” warns a British government study

The U.S. government isn’t the only one using more robotic weapons in places like Iraq and Afghanistan — the British government is doing it too. But a new study from Britain’s Ministry of Defence warns we could be creating Skynet. The Guardian got a look at the MoD’s report, called “The UK Approach to Unmanned…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Why did the BBC’s tribute to books ignore genre fiction?

Britain’s BBC 2 had a whole evening of book-related programming in celebration of World Book Night, including the promisingly titled The Books We Really Read: A Culture Show Special. So why did the featured books not include genre fiction? That’s what a host of writers, including genre authors like Michael Moorock and Iain M. Banks,…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

The Euthanasia Coaster, the last roller coaster you’ll ever ride

Royal College of Art PhD student (and former amusement park employee) Julijonas Urbonas has drafted designs for a project he calls “The Euthanasia Coaster,” a fast and fatal thrill ride designed to starve the rider’s brain of oxygen. Urbonas designed this deadly contraption to give the rider agency over their final voyage. Here’s his description…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Legendary “royal star” was an actual supernova

In 1660, Britain restored the monarchy after a decade of Oliver Cromwell’s puritanical dictatorship. Charles II’s supporters pointed out that his birth was marked by a glorious noon-day star, proving his divine right to rule…and that wasn’t necessarily just propaganda. Royalist pamphleteer Edward Matthew offered this predictably flowery description of the star in 1661, the…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

5 Minutes of Falling Skies footage shows how the alien invaders will kill us all

Spielberg’s new show Falling Skies may be much darker than we anticipated. Watch this five-minute sneak peek (which was shown to the crowd at WonderCon) of little kids drawing pictures of how their parents died in the alien invasion. Chilling. The more we see, the more we’re starting to warm up to this post-apocalyptic alien-invasion…

io9 Meredith Woerner

The glamorous, thrilling life of a television writer on the job market

Daniel Thomsen, a television writer who has worked on staff at Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Melrose Place, explains just what goes into the “staffing season” for television writers. This piece originally appeared at John August’s blog, and you can follow Daniel on Twitter here. Here is what it means to be a TV…

Movies Daniel Thomsen

28 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies That Could Rock Your Summer

Could this be the biggest movie summer of all time? It’s sure looking like it. Almost every weekend features at least one, and maybe two or three, movies with a science fiction, fantasy or comics pedigree. https://gizmodo.com/is-summer-2011-going-to-be-your-ultimate-movie-nerdgasm-5681270 There are superheroes, mutants, alien invasions, barbarians, monsters, tributes to Steven Spielberg, giant robots, boy wizards, weird horror…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

The deadliest martial art is awkward super-laughter!

In this completely out-of-context clip from 1983’s Holy Flame of the Martial World, a young kung fu practitioner attempts to destroy an elderly master using the power of forced laughter. Unfortunately, she has learned the secret of prehensile ears! And here’s a dozen or so more deranged martial art techniques. https://gizmodo.com/acid-zits-laser-peaches-and-dracula-the-most-inexpli-5766631

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Game of Thrones Week One: It’s all about family values

Last night, HBO’s Game of Thrones took us to a magic kingdom. Really, Westeros is just like Disneyland: There are castles, there are supernatural beings, there are cute creatures… okay, maybe not quite like Disneyland. We were shocked and outraged and intrigued and thrilled by “Winter is Coming”… but actually what really jumped out at…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Real-life Mannequin is way creepier than the movies

Enchanted mannequins coming to life to try on costume jewelry and fancy hats is all well and good. But what if your mannequins are already alive, and creepily filming you while you pee? Such was the case in Birmingham. One rotten male mannequin was busted loitering in the women’s restroom at the shopping mall, snapping…

io9 Meredith Woerner

In this sneak peek of Kill Shakespeare, a happy dagger gets overzealous

Here’s an exclusive preview of the tenth issue of IDW Publishing’s fantasy series Kill Shakespeare, which hits stands Wednesday, April 20. In this preview, an enchanted dagger wreaks havoc on the book’s bardly denizens. And here’s the solicitation information from IDW: KILL SHAKESPEARE #10 (OF 12) Conor McCreery, Anthony Del Col (w) • Andy Belanger…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Watch the first clip from Harry Potter’s final movie, The Deathly Hallows: Part 2

This July, we’ll all have to say goodbye to Harry Potter when “he-who-shall-not-be-named” fights “the-boy-who-lived” in one final magically epic wizard showdown. But until then, enjoy this first clip from The Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Beware spoilers… And not surprisingly, it looks like this is going to be a brutal goodbye. The Deathly Hallows: Part…

Movies Meredith Woerner

Titan’s weird orbit reveals a giant ocean hidden beneath the moon’s surface

We know that Saturn’s moon Titan is home to everything from ice volcanoes to methane lakes to possibly even very simple forms of life. But its biggest secret is still hidden from sight: a giant subterranean ocean, possibly of water. The evidence for this ocean comes from careful analysis of Titan’s orbit around Saturn. Its…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Marvel superheroine pajamas are a great gift (if you want your wife to divorce you)

Do you wish that special lady in your life had the gamma-irradiated décolletage of She-Hulk? The 40-10-40 measurements of Black Widow? The willingness to traipse about in her underwear like Emma Frost? Body proportions out of a Rob Liefeld comic? Why not get her these classy Marvel pajamas from Spencer’s, which overlay the Marvel heroines’…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

10 Greatest Libertarian Science Fiction Stories

Looking for an antidote to Star Trek’s utopian but overbearing Federation? Like your science fiction with a bigger emphasis on personal liberties? Then check out our list of the greatest libertarian science fiction. Here’s an io9 flashback to a list we originally published in 2009. https://gizmodo.com/10-greatest-libertarian-science-fiction-stories-5254742 Top image: Detail from the cover of Heinlein’s The…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

See the lights of Tokyo, before and after the earthquake

What I Am Legend would have looked like with non-CG monsters

Alfonso Cuarón’s astronaut thriller Gravity is finally ready to go. Plus Chris Hemsworth explains Thor’s Marvel movie future!

The Original Kick-Ass

Hear King Tutankhamun’s trumpets played for the first time in 3000 years

Drone weapons systems risk leading us to “a Terminator-like reality,” warns a British government study

Why did the BBC’s tribute to books ignore genre fiction?

The Euthanasia Coaster, the last roller coaster you’ll ever ride

Legendary “royal star” was an actual supernova

5 Minutes of Falling Skies footage shows how the alien invaders will kill us all

The glamorous, thrilling life of a television writer on the job market

28 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies That Could Rock Your Summer

The deadliest martial art is awkward super-laughter!

Game of Thrones Week One: It’s all about family values

Real-life Mannequin is way creepier than the movies

In this sneak peek of Kill Shakespeare, a happy dagger gets overzealous

Watch the first clip from Harry Potter’s final movie, The Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Titan’s weird orbit reveals a giant ocean hidden beneath the moon’s surface

Marvel superheroine pajamas are a great gift (if you want your wife to divorce you)

10 Greatest Libertarian Science Fiction Stories

‘Scream 4’ Is Back, and on Tape

Iran Threatens to Attack U.S. Tech Companies Starting April 1

Amazon Clears Out Netflix-Licensed Nebula Capsule 3 Mini Projector at 32% Off, Dolby Audio Home Theater for Less

Anker 160W Laptop Charger Briefly Returns to Black Friday Pricing in a Last-Minute Amazon Spring Sale Deal

The New ‘Backrooms’ Trailer Is Packed Full of Endless Dread

Logitech Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Combo Falls Under $25, a Budget Bundle Deal in the Final Hours of Spring Sale

Liquids Crack With an Audible Snap, Study Finds

Dyson V15 Detect Plus Cordless Vacuum Is a Late Spring Sale Deal at a Record Low on Amazon

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

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