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Neil deGrasse Tyson promises a whole new journey in Cosmos promo

Last night during the World Series, Fox aired its first promo for the new Cosmos series hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, introducing its TV viewership to its updated show on the wonders of the universe. This is a shorter version of the much grander trailer that premiered during San Diego Comic-Con. It’s a shame that…

Trailers Lauren Davis Oct 27 '13

Here are the Coolest Custom Lego Minifigs You Can Buy on Etsy Right Now

The Lego minifig. That 1.5-2″, articulated plastic figurine that brings your Lego creations to life. The history of the minifig is long and illustrious, and over the years enthusiasts have created their own custom ones to reflect their personalities and interests. Here are the coolest minifigs you can now buy on Etsy. https://gizmodo.com/exclusive-the-evolution-of-the-minifig-5070884 The Blocking…

Tech News Tatiana Danger Oct 27 '13

SNL gives Wes Anderson the quirkiest home invasion movie ever

Last night’s Saturday Night Live asked the question, “What if Wes Anderson directed a horror movie?” The result, The Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders, is naturally an offbeat and delightful little gorefest. Watching Edward Norton do his Owen Wilson impression makes me really want to see Norton and Tom Hiddleston go head-to-head in an Owen…

Television Lauren Davis Oct 27 '13

Use Giffen goods to exploit the poor in your dystopian society

So you’ve taken over the world. Good for you! But how are you going to make the most of your newfound kingdom? By wringing all the money you can out of the oppressed poor using Giffen goods. Welcome! First of all, let me salute you in your newfound status as supreme overlord of Earth. And…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 27 '13

Healthcare.gov’s Technical Problems Are Taking Their Toll

First it was a bad script at the tech support hotline. Then it was general institutional failure stemming from the U.S. government’s reliance on outside contractors. And now it’s just the plain fact that when you’re on a schedule and things go wrong you get behind. https://gizmodo.com/obamacare-customer-service-blindly-told-people-to-reset-1444331078 The deadline for having active health insurance coverage…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Oct 27 '13

A dark fairytale inspired by Guillermo del Toro’s nightmares

Inspired by a story of Guillermo del Toro’s late-night childhood visions of monsters, the short film Shhh… finds young boy Guillermo trying to deal with a nasty sister and a scary hair-eating monster who lives in the bathroom. At the very beginning of the interview below, Guillermo del Toro discusses his childhood experiences with monster…

io9 Lauren Davis Oct 27 '13

Did real people inspire these famous fictional monsters?

Was Godzilla inspired by an overweight stagehand? Does Count Dracula have more English actor in his background than Eastern European prince? And does Chucky trace his roots to a little boy and his creepy doll in Key West? We look at some of the legendary tales of real people behind fictional monsters. Many writers are…

io9 Lauren Davis Oct 27 '13

LastPass vs. KeePass: What’s the Best Online Password Management?

For years, we’ve been touting the virtues of KeePass Password Safe, a free open-source program for storing all your website passwords and associated notes behind a single master password. And to synch KeePass across multiple machines, we’ve been recommending that readers store the encrypted database on Dropbox. However, we got to wondering whether the popular…

Privacy & Security Katherine Stevenson - MAXIMUMPC Oct 27 '13

The Moon, Lasers, and the Ultimate James Bond Torture Device

This week, we learned that NASA can beam data to the moon — at a frankly astounding 622Mbps — using a high powered laser. Sounds like cutting edge modern tech? Perhaps. But it also sounds like the best weapon from the best scene of the best James Bond movie ever made: Goldfinger. https://gizmodo.com/nasa-has-a-622-mbps-data-connection-to-the-moon-1450623457 Auric Goldfinger…

Tech News Bob Sorokanich Oct 26 '13

Bender dresses up as a Laputa robot for Halloween

Amidst all of the Halloween horror, Bender lightens things up by playing a robot from Laputa: Castle In The Sky, although he offers his human friends something less appropriate (but tastier) than a flower. Illustration by cartoonist Boulet.

io9 Lauren Davis Oct 26 '13

Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation Art Had an Odd Led Zeppelin Easter Egg

Sonic Youth released its greatest record, Daydream Nation, 25 years ago in October 1988. And even after all of those years, the Led Zeppelin reference in the album’s art is still puzzling. The record’s packaging is best known for its burning candle cover, but elsewhere on the record (the location depends on the edition and…

Tech News Mario Aguilar Oct 26 '13

Bilbo eavesdrops on Gandalf and Elrond in extended Hobbit clip

It’s amazing to think that anything from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ended up on the cutting room floor, but this exposition-heavy scene between Gandalf and Elrond—and overheard by Bilbo and Thorin—didn’t quite make it into the first film intact. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition comes out on DVD/Blu-ray November 5. ‘The Hobbit’:…

Movies Lauren Davis Oct 26 '13

Brilliant Wackos Are Acting Out “Back To The Future” On Twitter

Look, Marty McFly isn’t coming back until 2015. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have some BTTF fun right now! The movie started out on October 25th, 1985, and last night, some brilliant wackos marked the anniversary by kicking off a real-time reenactment — on Twitter. https://gizmodo.com/paleofuture-psa-2-more-years-before-marty-mcfly-arrive-1450274656 We know this isn’t the first time someone…

Movies Bob Sorokanich Oct 26 '13

Report: NSA Spied on German Chancellor Before She Even Took Office

Well this puts a new wrinkle on things — according to a new report from Der Spiegel, the NSA has been spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone since 2002. That’s long before she became chancellor, though it’s unclear how deep the snooping went. https://gizmodo.com/report-the-nsas-been-spying-on-35-world-leaders-1451598576 According to the report, secret NSA documents show Chancellor Merkel’s…

Tech News Bob Sorokanich Oct 26 '13

Nathan dreams of naughty teacher Audrey in this week’s Haven

It’s not unusual for a supernatural TV show to feature an episode where people’s dreams have deadly consequences in the waking world, but in Haven, a nightmare contagion may be part of something far larger. Meanwhile, Jennifer investigates one of Haven’s most intriguing residents: herself. Sometimes when watching Law & Order, I’ll notice that one…

Television Lauren Davis Oct 26 '13

Proof that Wolverine is the greatest Disney princess of them all

While we’ve seen lots of remixes of Disney princesses—princesses dressed as the Doctors, as Sith Lords, as their princes, and more—but David J Prokopetz is flipping that artistic script, collecting drawings of Wolverine in gowns worthy of a singing princess. https://gizmodo.com/disney-princesses-doing-doctor-who-cosplay-is-the-most-5950946 https://gizmodo.com/disney-princesses-make-for-some-pretty-intimidating-sit-470841029 https://gizmodo.com/disney-princesses-look-dapper-in-their-princes-clothes-1311064482 Prokopetz has collected 14 of these dressed-up Wolverine images so far in…

io9 Lauren Davis Oct 26 '13

Learn How to Time Travel In Just 3 Minutes

Time travel has always been the thing we associate with the future. But we keep reaching the future, only to find that time travel still eludes us. What’s holding us back? Nothing, it turns out. Okay, traveling through time at the same speed as everyone else is kind of … commonplace. But compared to the…

Physics & Chemistry Bob Sorokanich Oct 26 '13

Ten Short Horror Films for Quick Halloween Scares

In the span of just a few minutes, short films can offer up spine-tingling chills, nightmarish monsters, and plenty of grim humor. Here are a few of our favorite horror shorts that we’ve featured in the past year, ready to deliver a quick hit of Halloween horror. Have a favorite horror short that you’ve seen…

io9 Lauren Davis Oct 26 '13

10 Steps You Can Take to Protect Yourself from Internet Surveillance

One of the trends we’ve seen is how, as the word of the NSA’s spying has spread, more and more ordinary people want to know how (or if) they can defend themselves from surveillance online. But where to start? The bad news is: if you’re being personally targeted by a powerful intelligence agency like the…

Privacy & Security Danny O'Brien -- Electronic Frontier Foundation Oct 26 '13

Climb Your Family Tree With These Online Genealogy Tools

The questions of who we are and where we came from can often be answered, not by looking inward, but by looking backward. While nature and nurture certainly play the primary roles in our development as individuals, it’s only through the study of one’s ancestry that we develop a more complete view of ourselves as…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Oct 26 '13

Neil deGrasse Tyson promises a whole new journey in Cosmos promo

Here are the Coolest Custom Lego Minifigs You Can Buy on Etsy Right Now

SNL gives Wes Anderson the quirkiest home invasion movie ever

Use Giffen goods to exploit the poor in your dystopian society

Healthcare.gov’s Technical Problems Are Taking Their Toll

A dark fairytale inspired by Guillermo del Toro’s nightmares

Did real people inspire these famous fictional monsters?

LastPass vs. KeePass: What’s the Best Online Password Management?

The Moon, Lasers, and the Ultimate James Bond Torture Device

Bender dresses up as a Laputa robot for Halloween

Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation Art Had an Odd Led Zeppelin Easter Egg

Bilbo eavesdrops on Gandalf and Elrond in extended Hobbit clip

Brilliant Wackos Are Acting Out “Back To The Future” On Twitter

Report: NSA Spied on German Chancellor Before She Even Took Office

Nathan dreams of naughty teacher Audrey in this week’s Haven

Proof that Wolverine is the greatest Disney princess of them all

Learn How to Time Travel In Just 3 Minutes

Ten Short Horror Films for Quick Halloween Scares

10 Steps You Can Take to Protect Yourself from Internet Surveillance

Climb Your Family Tree With These Online Genealogy Tools

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