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If there were cities in heaven they would look exactly like this one

Japanese visual design studio WOW made this stunning video showing rare images of Tokyo covered by a dense fog. That, combined with the relaxing music, the beautiful locations, and the calm pace at which the fog moves, transforms Tokyo into a gorgeous dreamlike city. From WOW’s website: These images show the face of Tokyo through…

This Digital Mondrian Was Made in 1964

Piet Mondrian sits well in the world of science and technology, his clear geometric forms so neatly and rationally ordered. But perhaps the earliest example of technology and Modrian intersecting is in these images, created digitally way back in 1964. https://gizmodo.com/visualizing-data-in-the-style-of-famous-artists-1291400221 Overhead Compartment explains howJapanese philosopher-programmer Hiroshi Kawano set to recreating Mondrian’s work in algorithmic…

Animated Life‘s Paper Puppets Show How the Arctic Inspired Pangea

The latest installment of Animated Life, a series of animations by Flora Lichtman and Sharon Shattuck chronicling major scientific discoveries from inspiration to acceptance, is about Alfred Wegener and his then-controversial ideas about Pangea and continental drift. In this paper-puppet documentary short, Lichtman and Shattuck shine a light on three themes of discovery. First, that…

Lenovo Installs Adware on New Computers That Could Steal Private Data [Update]

Oh no, Lenovo. Users are reporting on the company’s forums that its computers are coming installed with adware straight out of the box—adware that can spy on your secure transactions. According to a number of Lenovo users, the software called Superfish is installed on factory-fresh laptops. The adware injects third-party ads into Google searches and…

This Cyberpunk Landscape is Actually The Skyline of Las Vegas

This futuristic night view of Las Vegas was captured from a Royal Australian Air Force C-130J Super Hercules when it was landing after a training mission, during Red Flag 15-1 at Nellis Air Force Base, on February 9th 2015. [Senior Airman Thomas Spangler/U.S. Air Force]

The Clearest View Yet of Pluto’s Two Tiny Moons

NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft was launched to give us the first close-up view of Pluto, and it’s delivering. This footage shows the best-ever view of two of its tiny moons—one of which never been seen before. The two moons, Nix and Hydra, are visible in a series of images acquired by New Horizons between January…

What Makes the Sun Look Like a Flowering Thistle?

When you are looking at a specific kind of red light emitted by hydrogen. This color-inverted photo was taken in October of last year by the Big Bear Solar Observatory’s 1.6 meter New Solar Telescope. They say it looks like a rose, but I definitely see a thistle. Image: Big Bear Solar Observatory/NJIT The photo…

Revenge Porn Kingpin Hunter Moore Pleads Guilty (to Hacking, ID Theft)

Over a year ago, the revenge porn king of the Internet, Hunter Moore, was arrested by the FBI. Now, the 28-year-old has pleaded guilty to unauthorized access to a computer, aiding and abetting unauthorized access of a computer, and identity theft. http://gawker.com/revenge-porn-kingpin-hunter-moore-arrested-by-fbi-1507555135 Moore was the operator of the revenge porn site IsAnyoneUp.com, which became popular…

How a Satellite Is Transforming Earthquake Monitoring

The European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1A was launched just last year, and it’s already proving its importance as the first satellite actually optimized to target areas of seismic activity. The proof is in the pudding. In this case, the pudding was the August 2014 San Francisco area earthquake. Image credit: Napa Post Office Following the August…

Meet Nix And Hydra, The Tiny Moons Of Pluto

Eighty-five years ago today, Clyde Tombaugh found a small dot of light shifting position while hunting for the trans-Neptune planet predicted by Percival Lowell. Now, the New Horizons probe en route to Pluto has photographed its tiny moons, Nix and Hydra. https://gizmodo.com/new-horizons-historic-pluto-encounter-has-officially-be-1679719913 Top image: Pluto, Charon, Nix, and Hydra seen by the Hubble Space Telescope…

Hellboy Turns 21 With a Beer. Because What Else?

Hellboy beer! Just in time for the comic to legally drink it, we have been given the gift of Hellboy beer. Which is, of course, a red ale. Drink it until it really does feel like you’ve been hit with the right hand of doom. For the 21st anniversary of Hellboy, Dark Horse has partnered…

So, About Those Supposedly Encrypted Samsung SmartTV Voice Commands…

Remember, oh, about a week ago when Samsung had to clarify that its new SmartTVs aren’t actually ambiently listening to every word you say? That’s all well and good—but it sounds like what those TVs do hear is being transmitted without any encryption whatsoever. Whoops. David Lodge, a white hat hacker with Pen Test Partners,…

The amount of detail that goes into making these headphones is unreal

These Fostex TH900 headphones run for $1,300 which is completely silly and ridiculous and insane until you watch how they get made. The amount of detail put into each part, the careful consideration of each step, it’s all pretty impressive. I know I would never spend that much money on headphones but I can’t say…

We’re watching you! Scary graffiti from Buenos Aires, photographed by Gustavo Carbonaro/ Flickr

Life feels pretty epic when you film it from 25 unusual places

Part of the fun of having a GoPro is being able to see from perspectives you’ve never seen before. So as cool as it is to strap that thing onto your head or throw it across your chest while you’re doing extreme stunts, it’s also really fun to see a GoPro in random spots like…

If You Love Computers, This Novel Should Be on Your Must-Read List

Liu Cixin’s science fiction novel The Three Body Problem was a smash hit bestseller in China, and has finally been translated into English by Ken Liu. It’s a mind-bending tale of politics, aliens and gaming — and it also contains the most awe-inspiring description of computers I’ve ever read. What’s immediately fascinating about The Three…

Kelly Link’s New Book Is The Funniest And Darkest She’s Ever Been

It’s been an eternity since we had a book of Kelly Link stories for adults. And Get in Trouble is somewhat different than I was expecting. Less dreamlike and strange than I remember her work being, more snarky and comedic, with lots of pop culture humor. But it’s also some of her darkest, most indelible…

The Magnificent Evolution of Polar Icebreakers

Modern icebreakers are the most marvelous of civilian ships. They are huge, they are strong, they are powerful, and their history is amazing. Without them, there would be no safe waterways for other ships in the icy waters around the poles of the Earth. Here is a spectacular look into their evolution, from steamers and…

J.J. Abrams Is Making A Thomas Edison Movie, But What About Tesla? 

J.J. Abrams’ production company Bad Robot is secretly working away on a Thomas Edison biopic. But will it show him electrocuting an elephant? TheWrap is reporting that Paramount and Bad Robot are teaming up yet again to make a Thomas Edison film that will “depict the legendary inventor as a rugged eccentric genius.” Honestly, the…

Oscar winning movies perfectly recreated with just stock footage

Dissolve is back at it again with one of my favorite recurring series: recreating famous movie scenes with just stock footage. This time they focus on Academy Award winning movies and make you guess the film using hints such as ‘theme park fail’ and ‘midlife strife with rose petals’. It’s pretty uncanny how close they…