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A naked princess and slave rebellions in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ first Martian trilogy

In the second installment of our “Reading Barsoom” series, we delve into the swashbuckling wonders of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ first three Mars novels, A Princess of Mars, Gods of Mars, and Warlord of Mars. The first book of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s famous Mars series, A Princess of Mars, gets off to a creaky start. A…

Books & Comics John Marr

Bear Grylls Survival Knife

British outdoorsman Bear Grylls had a fancy knife before, but it was really, really expensive. What if you didn’t want to spend $700 to stab something? A solution presents itself. A $60 consumer-grade survival knife. The knife has a serrated blade, a rubber grip, a stainless steel pommel (for hammering or knife-whipping someone), and an…

Tech News Jason Chen

Art Appreciation 101: The two rules of awesome SF/fantasy art

Where would science fiction and fantasy be without their awesome visuals? Orbit Books Creative Director Lauren Panepinto gives us a crash course in appreciating speculative artwork, and reveals the two unshakable rules of science fiction and fantasy art. Welcome to Science Fiction & Fantasy Art Appreciation 101. (a.k.a. SFF Art). The fabulous folks here at…

io9 Lauren Panepinto

io9 Book Club reminder: Next week we discuss N.K. Jemisin’s “The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms”

If you want to join us for the io9 Book Club this month, be sure to start reading N.K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, to prepare for our August 30 meeting. But wait – what is this io9 Book Club? Allow me to explain. For those unfamiliar with the io9 book club, here’s how it…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

This Explains So Much About AT&T Service

Now I understand why AT&T representatives react so cheerfully when I call to complain about my reception. [Shoebox]

Books & Comics Rosa Golijan

Visit Mega City One as it should have looked in the Judge Dredd movie

Fan filmmaker Steven Sterlacchini has just released this terrific work-in-progress trailer for Judge Minty, based on the 2000AD comic book character. It looks a lot better than Judge Dredd, which is based on a more famous character from the same books. Here’s the synopsis: The film will be based on Judge Minty, a character created…

Movies Annalee Newitz

Viewmaster With Tiny LCD Screens Inside

What do you get when you take two Coby digital keychains and cram them into a Viewmaster, then rig them up so the lever loads a new pair of stereoscopic JPGs? Heresy. Beautiful heresy. [Hacker Consortium]

Tech News Joel Johnson

Black People Call and Text Way More Than Everyone Else

According to a new year-long study by The Nielsen Company, black people use more voice minutes and send more text messages than any other race. Like, way more. The new study found that African-Americans averaged 1,300 voice minutes a month, far outpacing Hispanics (826 minutes/mo.), Asians and Pacific Islanders (692 m/mo.), and Whites (647 m/mo.).…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert

Want to get into science fiction? Here’s where to start.

It’s time to start packing your bags for school and buying the latest educational brain implants. We’re celebrating back-to-school season this week with some introductory courses on science fiction. The history of science fiction goes back nearly two centuries, to the publication of early SF novel Frankenstein. Some would say it stretches back thousands of…

Movies Annalee Newitz

Expat Ad Agency Crams English Cottage Inside Its Office

Take a quick look around the offices of Bartle Bogle Hegarty, and you might think you missed your plane to Shanghai. Rooms ripped straight from a meticulous English household offer a respite for the homesick, and commentary on Shanghai’s boom. BBH hopes the cottage cross-section will serve as a “catalyst for social commentary,” though at…

Tech News Sam Biddle

NFL Player Fined $25,000 for Tweeting During Game Time

Cincinnati Bengals’ wide-receiver Chad Ochocinco recently upset some folks at the NFL when he tweeted during game time and was slapped with a $25,000 fine as a result. His reaction? To apologize and complain about his car payments…on Twitter. Apparently there is a rule which specifies that “NFL players are not permitted to post messages…

Tech News Rosa Golijan

Ridiculously Addictive Angry Birds Game Now Available on WebOS

Incredibly popular mobile game Angry Birds is now available on WebOS—specifically on Palm Pre and Pre Plus devices running webOS 1.4.5. While this’ll certainly make Palm users happy, I’m surprised that the game hasn’t hit Android devices yet. https://gizmodo.com/angry-birds-5484090 That surprise aside, the webOS game is bound to be a success if it’s anything like…

Tech News Rosa Golijan

A Little Extra Engine Noise For Your Prius

Toyota is offering an optional $148 speaker system for your Prius when it’s on battery mode that lets pedestrians—especially blind pedestrians—know that you’re coming. Great idea, but it’s strange that it’s optional. Buyers who want in on this attachment need to pay for the hardware and pay for the installation, something that’s weird since it’s…

Tech News Jason Chen

Amazon’s Got the Samsung Captivate for 1 Cent On-Contract

If you’re an Android fan on AT&T, you’re only serious option is the Samsung Captivate. And aren’t you lucky! AmazonWireless is selling the handset for a penny on-contract—a $199.99 discount. No word on how long the deal will last, but it’s a nice shot at a Galaxy S phone on the supercheap. [Amazon via Engadget]…

Tech News Brian Barrett

World’s Biggest Drum Machine Projected Onto Stockholm Skyscraper

Music software pioneers Propellerheads are billing their DDR-like dance pad as the “world’s biggest drum machine“. It’s certainly capable of turning even sanguine Stockholm citizens into some of the world’s thrashiest spastics.

Tech News Joel Johnson

Download an up-and-coming science fiction magazine for a quarter

Greatest Uncommon Denominator is selling its latest issue as a PDF for just 25 cents (instead of $3.50), and you can download five issues for just $3.00. But the price goes up tomorrow, so move fast! This is a great chance to check out one of science fiction’s more adventuresome magazines. The PDF of the…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

10 incredible traffic jam videos, from around the world

A 10-day traffic jam may be clogging the streets of Beijing, but traffic around the world continues to toot along – or not. Take a peek at our video gallery of traffic scenes around the world, from Lagos to Saskatoon. In Hyderabad, India, the traffic is comprised of many kinds of vehicles: Here you can…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Know Your Rights: These Cards Might Help You Dodge Photo-Bullying

We’ve already explained why harassment against photographers is illegal and intolerable—but now resistance might be easier. PetaPixel is now selling a set of portable cards that clearly state your legal rights as a camera-carrying citizen. https://lifehacker.com/why-photography-bullying-is-illegal-and-you-dont-have-5592808 The durable set, drawing on the legal expertise of attorney and photography expert Bert Krages, also doubles as standard…

Tech News Sam Biddle

David Goyer’s alien armageddon book series gets a movie deal

The Dark Knight co-writer David S. Goyer just landed a movie deal for his still yet-to-be-published book trilogy about aliens careening towards the Earth, called Heaven’s Shadow. According to Deadline. Goyer is writing the novel, which will be in stores in the summer of 2011, with Michael Cassutt: The trilogy begins when an object is…

Movies Meredith Woerner

Please Stop Making New Phones With Old Firmware

We’ve reached the point where buying a “new” Android phone could still mean you’re using firmware that’s 18 months old. There’s got to be a better way. Today’s release of the Android 1.5-laden Dell Aero might be the most recent (and egregious) example of a manufacturer gimping its product’s operating system, but it’s a problem…

Tech News Brian Barrett

A naked princess and slave rebellions in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ first Martian trilogy

Bear Grylls Survival Knife

Art Appreciation 101: The two rules of awesome SF/fantasy art

io9 Book Club reminder: Next week we discuss N.K. Jemisin’s “The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms”

This Explains So Much About AT&T Service

Visit Mega City One as it should have looked in the Judge Dredd movie

Viewmaster With Tiny LCD Screens Inside

Black People Call and Text Way More Than Everyone Else

Want to get into science fiction? Here’s where to start.

Expat Ad Agency Crams English Cottage Inside Its Office

NFL Player Fined $25,000 for Tweeting During Game Time

Ridiculously Addictive Angry Birds Game Now Available on WebOS

A Little Extra Engine Noise For Your Prius

Amazon’s Got the Samsung Captivate for 1 Cent On-Contract

World’s Biggest Drum Machine Projected Onto Stockholm Skyscraper

Download an up-and-coming science fiction magazine for a quarter

10 incredible traffic jam videos, from around the world

Know Your Rights: These Cards Might Help You Dodge Photo-Bullying

David Goyer’s alien armageddon book series gets a movie deal

Please Stop Making New Phones With Old Firmware

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