By 2013, Your Virtual Avatar Will Need a Suit and a Haircut

Analyst firm Gartner predicts that by 2013, 70% of companies will have issued their employees guidelines on how virtual avatars involved in company business should act and dress. The question is: do avatars observe wacky Hawaiian shirt day? [via Slashdot]

Seabiscuit Director Turns Venom Into A Lovable Rogue

Seabiscuit director and Spider-Man 4 scribe Gary Ross is going to direct the Venom screenplay. But here’s the twist: Venom will now be portrayed as an anti-hero… with heart. If Venom is going to be, as the trades describe it, “transformed into an anti-hero who becomes a defender of the innocent,” then this will most…

Crazy-Sexy Doctor Who Set Pics, A Psychedelic Doctor Parnassus Trailer, And Your First Darth Sidious Clip!

Almost too much spoilery goodness: Doctor Who says goodbye to an old friend in can’t-miss set pics. There’s a new Doctor Parnassus trailer. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin joins Chuck! Lesbionic Heroes clips! Plus Gentlemen Broncos, Lost, Smallville, Fringe and FlashForward. Doctor Who: Where to start? Today’s set reports are almost too much to contain in…

Sylar’s Return And Claire’s Lesbian Kissage

Vampire Penis Puppet Torture – In Space!

If you want a horror movie that scares you, go see Paranormal Activity. But if you want to see hot, half-vampire babes in space fighting penis muppets, then you’re going to have to watch Vampire Wars: Battle for the Universe. Aired originally on SyFy Channel as Bloodsuckers, this is one of those awesome movies where…

Nerdcore Horror Calendar

Nerdcore Horror Calendar

Get Ready for the First Meeting of the io9 Book Club Tomorow!

The io9 Book Club starts its first meeting tomorrow, where we’ll talk about Paul McAuley’s novel The Quiet War. Read more about the Book Club (co-sponsored by our pals at Borders), and The Quiet War, in our previous post. Don’t worry if you’re not quite done with the book – we’ll be chatting about it…

Evil Singing Robot Of Death Should Be Smashed With A Hammer

The Yamaha HRP-4C sings for the crowd this week at the CEATEC conference in Tokyo. What comes out of its mouth is pure evil: Listen at your own risk. Clearly the robot revolution will start with a song. Gizmodo pointed out another robot that sings a little better, but no less creepily…. https://gizmodo.com/girlbot-sings-looks-better-than-britney-spears-5376148 [via Dvice]

Does the Pill Really Affect Our Choice of Mate?

A new paper suggests that the hormonal changes that come with oral contraceptives affects which individuals both men and women are attracted to. But does the pill really have that much impact on how we choose our mates? A paper published this week in Trends in Ecology and Evolution reviewed a series of recent studies…

Captain Sunshine Flies In Venture Brothers Premiere!

Check out the brand-new collection of stills from the Venture Brothers premiere Sunday, October 18th. Find out who’s bringing back the old VB style. Spoilers ahead! Here’s the trailer for the new season again, this year looks packed with lunacy and clone free! First person to start the real life orchard street wolf pack larp…

Leonard Nimoy is Concerned About the State of Science Fiction on TV

Leonard Nimoy talked to the press this afternoon about his return to Fringe tomorrow as dimension-hopping mogul William Bell. He was pretty tight-lipped about the show, but did tell us what’s wrong with today’s science fiction on TV. Nimoy revealed little about his upcoming Fringe appearance, except to say that we will learn a great…

Handheld Device Electrifies Your Breast Tissue, Diagnoses Cancer Risk

Soon, you could be determining your breast cancer risk with a simple needle jab, to collect a small amount of tissue — which doctors would electrify and subject to weird chemicals, before extracting the estrogen for analysis. Researchers believe that the estrogen levels in breast tissue are an early indicator of breast cancer risk. So…

The Venture Bros. Gallery

The Venture Bros. Gallery

Crowdsourcing Leads to Madness In “The Sunless Countries”

Karl Schroeder, author of Pirate Sun, is a master at writing crazy, swashbuckling adventures in strange worlds – then making you think. His latest, The Sunless Countries, balances breathtaking worldbuilding with an intriguing critique of “the wisdom of crowds.” Spoilers ahead. The Sunless Countries is the fourth novel that Schroeder has set in the world…

Next SGU Clip: Carlyle Is Still Bananas And Now Hates Your Dad

Whoa holy misplaced anger Dr. Rush. Watch the clip from the next Stargate Universe episode and see Robert Carlyle unleash on babyfaced Matthew Scott. Can you say daddy issues?

Bloody Zombie Clones Fill The Star Wars Death Troopers Trailers

The publishing team behind Star Wars Death Troopers, by Joe Schreiber, held a contest to see which fans could come up with the scariest book trailer. The results were pretty fun and a little scary, even when made by tykes. For Kids! Vote at SUVUDU for your favorite.

Forget Mars — Russia Sets Its Sights on Venus

While other space programs are sending probes to explore the surface of Mars or the moon, Russian scientists have their eyes on another target: Venus, a planet last explored by Soviet scientists over two decades ago. From 1961 to 1985, the Soviet Union launched 17 missions to our other planetary neighbor. The US has since…

Did Stupid Marketing Kill “Jennifer’s Body”?

Jennifer’s Body may not be an artistic masterpiece, but it’s a smart, fun horror movie with a big star. It was a cut above the usual B-grade horror fare. So what caused its abysmal box office returns? Misguided, boy-targeted marketing. If you somehow managed to exist within the American mediascape and miss the ads for…

The One Sentence That Can Ruin Your Whole Day

Your space-warping, mind-bending science fiction/fantasy novel isn’t just action set pieces and breathtaking ideas — it’s got character and atmosphere. And when you’re developing those things, it’s tempting to reach for that great tool, the Topic Sentence. But beware. Yes, it’s time for another outing of Free Advice for Struggling Writers, our semi-regular writing advice…

How the Robinsons’ Zany Future Went from Page to Screen

The 2007 film Meet the Robinsons painted a madcap future packed with whimsical technologies and eccentric people. Artist William Joyce has shared the oddball concept art that shaped the movie’s retrofuturistic world. Joyce wrote and illustrated the book A Day with Wilbur Robinson, which was eventually optioned by Disney and turned into a film about…