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New Scott Pilgrim trailer is romantic comedy platinum

Could Scott Pilgrim be this year’s breakout sleeper hit? If enough people watch this new trailer that just popped up on Facebook, the answer’s clearly yes. It’s romantic comedy with video-game action and brilliant comic timing. What’s not to love?

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Ask a Physicist: Could you survive a trip to the nearest star?

Could we travel to the nearest stars in a human lifetime? Yes. If we could harness the full power of the sun, it would be far less unpleasant than you think. Welcome to this week’s “Ask A Physicist” column. Before we get started, I wanted to put out a special request. A few recent questions…

io9 Dr. Dave Goldberg

Iron Man Nikes Light Up Like Tony Stark’s Arc Reactor

Somewhere, in a market brimming with plastic arc reactors and cologne bottles, there is a gap just waiting to be exploited. Custom-sneakers people Diversitile seized that opportunity and will be selling these Iron Man Nikes very, very soon. https://gizmodo.com/power-the-electromagnet-in-your-heart-with-the-iron-man-5480851 They’ll of course be limited edition, but with those replica arc reactors on the tongue of…

Movies Kat Hannaford

The star that kept exploding

160,000 light years away, in the Large Magellanic Cloud, an object is being expelled from the remnant of a supernova at 500 million miles an hour. And NASA got this shot of it. What you’re seeing here is a composite image of X-rays (blue) and visible light (yellow), showing what remains of a star exploding.…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Join the Dark Side with two new Star Wars game trailers

Did you doubt that Siths have more fun? Two new trailers for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II and Star Wars: The Old Republic will help bring out your inner Darth. First of all, there’s the new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, featuring some fascinating glimpses of what Starkiller has been up…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Recap of the damned: the last episode of FlashForward, ever

Last week, FlashForward protagonist Mark Benford barged into my home, soused to the gills and absolutely livid that ABC axed his show for Fall 2010. Since then, we’ve reached a shaky rapprochement, had some bro-chat, and wrote FlashForward’s ending. https://gizmodo.com/the-second-to-last-flashforward-recap-guest-starring-5545049 I’ll be honest – living with Mark Benford (above) for a week wasn’t easy. For…

Television Cyriaque Lamar

“The Hobbit” loses director Guillermo Del Toro

Guillermo Del Toro, director of Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy, has stepped down as director of the two Hobbit movies currently in pre-production with Peter Jackson’s Weta Studios. The project had apparently suffered too many delays for Del Toro’s schedule. According to OneRing.net: “In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for…

Movies Annalee Newitz

And now, a slew of The Empire Strikes Back playsets

To cap off this month’s 30th anniversary of Empire, here are bunch of toys that are worth more than your house. Or at least they would be…if you didn’t open them. Goddamn it, childhood pursuit of fun. [John Rozum]

Movies Cyriaque Lamar

Why is Twilight insanely popular? This short film has answers.

What’s the appeal of Twilight to women? According to this film by The Oatmeal and Epipheo Studio, it’s because Bella has the physical characteristics of a Lego brick and Edward = Superman + Jesus. [Spotted on Jezebel] https://jezebel.com/how-twilight-works-an-animated-explanation-5551226

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Alien Languages: Not Human

In the following essay, Anassa Rhenisch discusses why alien languages will have almost nothing in common with human tongues…and why alien forms of communication could eschew language altogether. Contrary to Hollywood and the majority of fictional languages, alien languages are almost certainly not going to look like human ones. They’re not going to have the…

io9 Anassa Rhenisch

Is Upside Down’s inverted romance the next great scifi love story?

We’re getting lovesick looking for more details on Juan Solanas’ scifi romance Upside Down. Not only will it star the heart-flutter-inducing Jim Sturgess, but Solanas put the brilliant Watchmen designer Alex McDowell in charge of his trippy inverted worlds. Upside Down takes place in two worlds that are literally on top each other, each city…

io9 Meredith Woerner

Further proof that ancient Aztecs invented rubber-soled shoes

When Europeans reached South America roughly 500 years ago, they were awed by all the rubber products in Aztec cities, including giant bouncy balls and rubber bands. Now scientists have figured out how the Aztecs manufactured different grades of rubber. MIT materials scientist Dorothy Hosler worked with a team to recreate the manufacturing process the…

io9 Annalee Newitz

You could be a zombie on The Walking Dead TV series!

Are you good at groaning, moaning, and listless shuffling? If you’re in the Atlanta metro, you could showcase your range playing an undead roamer in Frank Darabont’s The Walking Dead TV series. https://gizmodo.com/amc-greenlights-frank-darabonts-walking-dead-tv-series-5453390 According to On Location Vacations, The Walking Dead TV series is set in Atlanta (like the first few issues of the comic)…

Television Cyriaque Lamar

A brief history of alternate history fiction

This week we take a break from examining alternate timelines and recap the real-life origins of the alternate history genre. Did you know such historical luminaries as Benjamin Disraeli, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and H.G. Wells were alternate history aficionados? The first writing that looks anything like modern alternate history dates back to the first century. In…

Books & Comics David Daw

This comic teaches you the dos and don’ts of LARPing

Nick Edwards’ cartoon LARPing guide covers the basics of giant polyurethane broadsword play, from etiquette (no cell phones) to relationship advice (you’ll have to slay your spouse, sorry). Lightning bolt, lightning bolt! [Team Dynamite Lazer Beam via Super Punch]

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

What does an ageless time traveler dream about, anyway?

The seventh episode of the new Doctor Who season sets out to be about Amy choosing between happy domesticity with her betrothed, Rory, and a vagabond existence with the Doctor. But it turns into something much more sinister. Spoilers ahead… So I’m just going to go ahead and own up to the fact that I’m…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

The most terrifying comic-book ad in history?

This 1990 comic-book advertisement for the TurboGrafx-16 horror classic Splatterhouse was 100% nightmare fuel. Imagine reading Spider-Man and BLAMMO! This terrifying tableau pops up on the next page — this is how you sell a video game, gosh dangit. [VG Museum]

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

Congrats to the winner of io9’s Bear McCreary contest!

Congratulations to Kris (a.k.a. txtphile) for winning an all-expense-paid trip to see Battlestar Galactica composer Bear McCreary create the score for Sony PlayStation’s SOCOM 4 at the palatial Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, California. Read Kris’ paean to Bear below. Bear’s music makes me cry, in the good way. I wish I could be more…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

The science fiction roles of Dennis Hopper

The great Dennis Hopper died today in Venice, California after battling cancer. Hopper was incredibly prolific and starred in numerous scifi films. Even if a film was flawed, Hopper’s mere presence made it memorable. Here are Hopper’s forays into scifi. http://gawker.com/5550872/actor-dennis-hopper-dead-at-74 As neo-Nazi Peter Vollmer in The Twilight Zone (1963, “He’s Alive”). As sailor Johnny…

Movies Cyriaque Lamar

How To Tell If You’re Really Dealing With A Mad Scientist

There’s a crazy guy with a death ray threatening to take over the world and claiming to be a mad scientist, but is he really a mad scientist? Here’s how to find out. [Cowbirds In Love via Reddit]

Books & Comics Rosa Golijan

New Scott Pilgrim trailer is romantic comedy platinum

Ask a Physicist: Could you survive a trip to the nearest star?

Iron Man Nikes Light Up Like Tony Stark’s Arc Reactor

The star that kept exploding

Join the Dark Side with two new Star Wars game trailers

Recap of the damned: the last episode of FlashForward, ever

“The Hobbit” loses director Guillermo Del Toro

And now, a slew of The Empire Strikes Back playsets

Why is Twilight insanely popular? This short film has answers.

Alien Languages: Not Human

Is Upside Down’s inverted romance the next great scifi love story?

Further proof that ancient Aztecs invented rubber-soled shoes

You could be a zombie on The Walking Dead TV series!

A brief history of alternate history fiction

This comic teaches you the dos and don’ts of LARPing

What does an ageless time traveler dream about, anyway?

The most terrifying comic-book ad in history?

Congrats to the winner of io9’s Bear McCreary contest!

The science fiction roles of Dennis Hopper

How To Tell If You’re Really Dealing With A Mad Scientist

A QR Code Too Small to See Hints at a New, Non-Annoying Use for the Format

Andy Weir Apologizes After ‘Star Trek’ Comment Backlash

Scientists Discover Hidden Behavior in Water That Helps Explain Why Ice Floats

The ‘Paradise’ Season 2 Finale Paved the Way for a Wildly Sci-Fi Season 3

A $1 Samsung Galaxy Smartphone Lands at Mint Mobile With Unlimited Data at 50% Off in a Clearance Push

Your Wimpy Workouts Aren’t Cutting It, Scientists Say

Anker Prime Power Bank Drops to an All-Time Low (200W, 20,100mAh, 3-Port) as Amazon Clears Out Remaining Spring Sale Stock

Students Are Now Renting Smart Glasses to Cheat on Exams

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

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

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