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We’ve seen Gravity and it’s even better than we’d hoped

We’ve seen Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity and it is one of the best space films we have seen in ages. One part giant showcase of the cosmos and one part a deeply harrowing action thriller, Gravity is about to show Hollywood what a real white-knuckled audience looks like. And here is our spoiler-free first impression of…

Compare 1836 and modern-day New York with this interactive map

Travel back in time with this interactive map of New York, which lets you take a spyglass to any part of the city and uncover what that circle of space looked like in 1836. David Rumsey is a map expert and collector, and he calls this wall map, drawn by Joseph Colton, one of his…

New Connectors Let Solar Cells Withstand the Power of 70,000 Suns

The power of 1,000 suns? Pfft. That ain’t nuthin’. A recent breakthrough in solar panel connections has allowed scientists to create arrays of solar cells that can stand strong under the blazing glare of 70,000 suns. Not that they’d ever have to, but still. Stacked solar cells—which are exactly what they sound like—are some of…

Gene Roddenberry’s 1968 memo on improving Star Trek‘s characters

As Star Trek embarked on its final season, creator Gene Roddenberry issued a memo directing the writers on how to approach the characters of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Chekov. It’s a great peek into Roddenberry’s management of the show. Mission Log Podcast came across this memo, from April 1968. It’s fascinating to see what Roddenberry…

In a high-class brothel, sex is a fantasy but love is complicated

Welcome to the Teahouse, where beautiful men and women attend to the sexual needs of the lords and ladies of Ivore. But even transactional sex isn’t uncomplicated when some of the clients and their favorite courtesans fall in love. Last year, I compiled a list of sexy science fiction and fantasy webcomics and heard one…

Order Everything from the Internet and Never Leave Your House Again

Go outside? Are you kidding me? Have you seen what goes on out there? You’re way better off staying in the safety and comfort of your own home. And thanks to the power of the Internet, you too can enjoy the best of what the outside world has offer without having to wade through all…

This animation about a heroic knight ends with a tragic twist

Don’t watch Un Conte unless you’re prepared to be sad for the rest of the day. This brief, beautifully animated short film follows a knight’s quest to rescue a woman in peril, but reality proves far crueler than fantasy. Heads up: This one contains images of domestic violence. Un Conte was directed by Guillaume Arantes…

Holy crap, this woman’s hanging GLaDOS cosplay is incredible

Unless you happen to be a potato, it isn’t easy to dress up as Portal’s malevolent AI GLaDOS. But Athena Cole, a.k.a. Enayla, commits to the costume by suspending herself from a frame. The Vine is a great way to show of Enayla’s costume; first there’s seeing GLaDOS so animated, then realizing that there’s an…

A Badass Rocket Launch Is the Perfect Addition to Any Skyline

Yesterday we East Coasters had the chance to see a real life rocket launch. Did you miss it? You missed it? That’s OK. Here’s a highlight. https://gizmodo.com/east-coasters-watch-tonights-nasa-launch-from-your-ya-1259914226 Taken by Ben Cooper of LaunchPhotography, this fantastic shot shows the trail of fire the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer’s Minotaur V rocket left behind as it…

We learn that Plastic Man sports Batman pajamas on DC Nation

This week in the world of cartoons, Beware the Batman returns, Regular Show and Adventure Time spotlight relationship woes, and we bid farewell to Futurama! As always – minor spoilers ahead! Futurama – “Meanwhile” It’s the last episode of Futurama! I don’t want to give away too much on this one – if you are…

How FX Wizards Turned Tennis Balls Into Dragons for Game of Thrones

Sure, we’re not talking practical effects like with the chestburster or T-600, but the magic behind the Game of Thrones dragons is just as impressive, except with computers. https://gizmodo.com/even-behind-the-scenes-that-chest-burstng-alien-is-terr-1262882733 Wired got to dig into the process of how these dragons were born, and it’s pretty complex. Light spoilers: you’ve been warned. Who’d have thought a…

The Lumia 1020 is getting a nice price drop to $200 on contract from AT&T. It’s still a little pricey, but not as absurd as the original $300, and if you pick one up at the Microsoft Store, you’ll even get a camera grip. Tempted?

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: above

When was the last time you spent your afternoon in a field watching the clouds pass? Your answer is about to be, “why just now, thank you” after viewing Suishu Ikeda’s mesmerizing time-lapses of Japan’s summer skies.

East Coasters: Watch Tonight’s NASA Launch From Your Yard, Here’s How

For the longest time, Floridians had all the fun, getting to see NASA rockets launch into the night sky. Tonight, folks from North Carolina to Maine get to join that club, by watching the first moon mission to launch from NASA’s Wallops Island facility in Virginia. It’s just about as easy as walking outside, but…

This Week’s Top Comedy Video: Sperm Bank

It’s probably a thankless job working a sperm bank since no matter how professional you keep things and no matter how numb your are to creeps and no matter how much paperwork you file and no matter how much pornography you offer, you’ll still run into awkward situations. It’s like a ruder version of working…

What Upcoming Tech Gadget Are You Most Excited For?

So we talked about smart watches this entire week, we’ll talk about the next iPhone and different color options all of next week and we’ll eventually start seeing if the upcoming iPad and iPad Mini are worth a damn next month which will give way for a conversation about the Xbox One, PS4, Kinect, rumbling…

This week, we explored mysterious ruined cities, the promise of space, and why the hell DC won’t let Batwoman get married. We discussed what plot threads we’d kill to see resolved, and worried about RoboCop. And, just in case you were getting comfortable, there are some kinds of life that can’t be categorized. Illustration by…

Forced 40-day dating experiment ends as embarrassingly as it started

These are Jessica Walsh—an insufferable woman who “enjoys running around the city pretending to be Amelie”—and Tim Goodman—an insufferable man who is a total dick. 40 days ago these two unabashed attention whores decided to force themselves to date as an experiment—which actually was even worse than you can imagine. https://jezebel.com/40-days-of-dating-and-one-big-asshole-1264875873

This Time Lapse of Rio de Janeiro Will Take Your Breath Away

Everyone agrees that Rio de Janeiro is a beautiful city with beautiful beaches filled with beautiful people doing beautiful things. Everyone can also agree that the favelas in Rio show another side of the city where people’s lives are seemingly next to, on top of and even inside other people’s lives. This wonderful time lapse…

Most Beautiful Items: September 1 – 6, 2013

With the unveiling of Samsung’s first smartwatch and the storm of controversy over a car-melting skyscraper, it was an eventful week for design—and it was rife with beautiful images. As you’re waiting to make a graceful exit from work, check out some of the most compelling imagery from this shorter-than-most week. https://gizmodo.com/galaxy-gear-hands-on-more-watch-than-youll-ever-need-1252470567 Watch a Virgin…