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Lifelike Naga doll looks ready to carry Korra to Republic City

Korra’s trusty polar bear dog looks ready to bound across the tundra or through the streets of one of The Legend of Korra’s industrial cities thanks to this posable furry sculpture by Worms and Bones. The monster doll makers sculpted this as a one-of-kind item, which they are currently offering though silent auction, with 25%…

Television Lauren Davis Jan 9 '14

Texas A&M University wants to archive your filking songbooks

If you’ve ever been at a science fiction or fantasy convention late at night, you’ve heard people singing ballads based on their favorite stories and characters. That’s the magic of filking, and at last a university library will be collecting materials related to this time-honored custom. Top image: Danger Woman, Disabled but Able to Rock.…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jan 9 '14

Lightning kills three people on a beach, injures 22

Argentina’s beaches are getting quite dangerous during the southern hemisphere’s summer. 70 people were injured by a swarm of piranhas about two weeks ago and now lightning has killed three teens and injured 22 people in a seaside spa of Villa Gesell, a coastal town in the province of Buenos Aires. Earth can be quite…

Sploid Jesus Diaz Jan 9 '14

Mewbacca the Wookiee Cat proves today is a great day for cat cosplay

It seems like only a few hours ago that the glory of Armor Cat was bestowed upon us, but now there is a new challenger to the throne of January 9th, 2014’s greatest cat cosplay! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… Mewbacca. https://kotaku.com/no-cat-is-complete-without-a-set-of-leather-battle-armo-1497856186 I sincerely hope Disney’s new Star Wars Story Group determines him to…

io9 Rob Bricken Jan 9 '14

Reading the Day’s Weather as a Musical Composition

Each Thursday at the Disquiet Junto group on SoundCloud.com a new compositional challenge is set before the group’s members, who then have just over four days to upload a track in response to the assignment. Membership in the Junto is open: just join and participate. Tracks by participants will be added to this playlist as…

Tech News Marc Weidenbaum Jan 9 '14

Concept Art Writing Prompt: A Village Sheltered by a Dragon’s Corpse

Each week, we invite you to participate in the Concept Art Writing Prompt by writing a story based on a fantastical image. In this week’s writing prompt, we take you to a small village with a large and unusual landmark. This painting is by Chris Ostrowski and it’s titled “Dragon’s Village,” via r/ImaginaryVillages. See if…

io9 Lauren Davis Jan 9 '14

Population distribution of the United States, measured in Canadas

The population density of Canada is incredibly low compared to the United States. This map is a great way to visualize the difference between the two countries. You could fit the entire population of Canada into each area on the U.S. marked “Canada.” (Spotted on Stephen’s Lighthouse; original mapmaker unknown)

io9 Annalee Newitz Jan 9 '14

This Xenomorph nesting-doll tells the whole story of Alien

Chest-bursting aliens have never looked quite so adorable as they do here in this nesting doll. The doll was made by commenter redfarex, who tells us: “I’ve only got the biggest one and the littlest one finished so far, but the order is Adult > Egg > Facehugger > Kane > Chestburster.” https://gizmodo.com/what-are-you-working-on-1497828427 Of course,…

io9 Ria Misra Jan 9 '14

Explore Old Manhattan In Pics From Street Photographer Bill Cunningham

A few years ago, a documentary came out that introduced longtime New York legend Bill Cunningham to the world at large. The film was fantastic—now streaming on Netflix!—and made it pretty much impossible not to fall in love with the octogenarian photographer who, for decades, has biked boldly through the Big Apple’s crowded avenues capturing…

Tech News Jordan Kushins Jan 9 '14

The world is losing its large predators — and that’s a big problem

On the same day we learn that lions are all but extinct in West Africa, a new study points to the devastating ecological and environmental impacts of losing large carnivores across the globe. The new report, which now appears in Science, considered the ecological and environmental role of over 30 large carnivore species, 17 of…

io9 George Dvorsky Jan 9 '14

Watch America’s Tallest Hotel Get Built in Less Than 60 Seconds

The only thing cooler than gawking at record-breaking architecture is watching record-breaking architecture get built. The tallest hotel in North America, a Marriott Residence Inn on top of a Marriott Courtyard, just opened in Times Square. This is what it took to build the tower. https://gizmodo.com/inside-the-highest-hotel-rooms-on-earth-1497119712 https://gizmodo.com/inside-the-highest-hotel-rooms-on-earth-1497119712

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Jan 9 '14

15 Weeks: The Role Sound Plays in the Media Landscape

This coming spring 2014 semester I will, again, be teaching my course on the role of sound in the media landscape at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. The class meets Wednesdays from noon until 2:50pm. There are 15 weeks in all, running from January 29 through May 14 (there’s no class on March…

Tech News Marc Weidenbaum Jan 9 '14

Berkeley Breathed’s concept art for a Grinch movie with Jack Nicholson

In an alternate universe, the feature-length adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! isn’t a live-action film starring Jim Carrey but a CG animated film, with Jack Nicholson voicing the Grinch and designs by Bloom County cartoonist Berkeley Breathed. As you can read in the text accompanying the images below, this concept was…

Movies Lauren Davis Jan 9 '14

Pretty Up Your Muffin Top With a Geometric Mold

We’re already well aware that the muffin top is the irrefutable epitome of all that is good about muffins. But did you know that this marvel of modern culinary science can still be improved upon? Say hello to the geometric muffin mold. The tins come with two sets of three differently shaped toppers, each with…

Tech News Ashley Feinberg Jan 9 '14

Early Nuclear Safety Posters Are Perky and Disturbing

These Radiation Protection posters were produced at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the late 1940s, where the most of the work was done on the Manhattan Project. Before the Cold War was in full effect, these posters warned of dangers that would come to define a generation. Health Physics Surveyors are trained and equipped to…

io9 Vincze Miklós Jan 9 '14

When The Economy Stinks, Our Books Get More Depressing

American futurism gets pretty dark during bad economic times. Many people start to see technology as the enemy, like they did in the 1930s and 1970s. And people generally feel less optimistic for the future. https://gizmodo.com/18-bizarre-letters-to-the-future-that-only-70s-kids-wil-1451498047 But new research shows that it’s not just futurism that becomes more gloomy during economic recessions. When the economy…

Tech News Matt Novak Jan 9 '14

Watch The Simpsons’ astounding tribute to Hayao Miyazaki

Astounding animator and world builder Hayao Miyazaki is getting a full tribute on an upcoming Simpson’s episode which you can preview, right here right now. Perhaps as a farewell to the filmmaker, who’s said his last animated feature will be The Wind Rises, this strange sequence (which features a ton of Miyazaki imagery) will appear…

Television Meredith Woerner Jan 9 '14

Astronomers may have just discovered a new class of planets

Located nearly 500 light-years away, ROXs 42Bb is a newly discovered object that astronomers are struggling to define — a unique celestial body that’s challenging conventional notions about how planets and stars form. Using observational data from telescopes at Mauna Kea, Hawaii and the W.M. Keck Observatory, an international group of astronomers detected the object…

io9 George Dvorsky Jan 9 '14

The Physics Behind Why Sausages Split Lengthwise

I like sausages. I like grilled sausages. I like fried sausages. I like beef, pork and chicken sausages. I even like vegetarian sausages. Sometimes when you cook sausages, they burst. This occasionally happens if you try and cook them too fast. It can also happen if the brand of sausage you are cooking is overly…

Physics & Chemistry Nick Berry - Data Genetics Jan 9 '14

What if the rest of the alien universe was terrified of humans?

In almost every sci-fi movie worth re-watching, it seems that us humans are always less technologically advanced, dumber and only serve as a mere speed bump into an alien race eliminating humans to take over our planet and suck Earth dry of its resources. We’re always the weaker ones in alien wars. Well, what if…

Sploid Casey Chan Jan 9 '14

Lifelike Naga doll looks ready to carry Korra to Republic City

Texas A&M University wants to archive your filking songbooks

Lightning kills three people on a beach, injures 22

Mewbacca the Wookiee Cat proves today is a great day for cat cosplay

Reading the Day’s Weather as a Musical Composition

Concept Art Writing Prompt: A Village Sheltered by a Dragon’s Corpse

Population distribution of the United States, measured in Canadas

This Xenomorph nesting-doll tells the whole story of Alien

Explore Old Manhattan In Pics From Street Photographer Bill Cunningham

The world is losing its large predators — and that’s a big problem

Watch America’s Tallest Hotel Get Built in Less Than 60 Seconds

15 Weeks: The Role Sound Plays in the Media Landscape

Berkeley Breathed’s concept art for a Grinch movie with Jack Nicholson

Pretty Up Your Muffin Top With a Geometric Mold

Early Nuclear Safety Posters Are Perky and Disturbing

When The Economy Stinks, Our Books Get More Depressing

Watch The Simpsons’ astounding tribute to Hayao Miyazaki

Astronomers may have just discovered a new class of planets

The Physics Behind Why Sausages Split Lengthwise

What if the rest of the alien universe was terrified of humans?

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