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What do Death’s daughter, revenge and a dead rabbit have in common?

They’re all in Pretty Deadly, Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios’ new Western-horror-fantasy comic from Image. A butterfly and a dead rabbit relate the story of Death’s daughter’s quest for vengeance, and it’s weirder, more brutal and simply more amazing than I can describe here. That and more, in this week’s comics! New Issues Dark…

io9 Rob Bricken Oct 22 '13

Facebook Changes Its Mind Again: It’s Now Re-Banning Decapitation Videos

After flipping to ban brutal, gruesome decapitation videos six months ago and then flopping to allow such videos to appear in the ‘book yesterday, Facebook has flipped again (or is it re-flopped?) in less than 24 hours and will reinstate its previous ban on such decapitation videos. It’s an ugly tug of war between free…

Social Media Casey Chan Oct 22 '13

A Stick-On Speaker That Uses Your Windows To Silence Noises Outside

That suspiciously cheap apartment you just moved into? Turns out to be right next to a deafening hourly commuter train—and since you signed a one year lease, you’re looking at either twelve months wearing noise cancelling headphones. Or desperately hoping Rudolf Stefanich’s Sono noise cancelling window device comes to fruition. We’ve probably all seen those…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Oct 22 '13

Utterly Bitchen Car Dashboards Inspired By Spaceships

Let’s be honest — when you’re driving, you’re pretending that you’re at the helm of a starship. The digital dashboards in these cars will help keep that illusion alive. Aston Martin Lagonda Series 2 (1976-1985) with LED dashboards, touch pad controls and gas plasma displays (via Retrorides) Citroën Karin, a concept car from 1980 (via…

io9 Vincze Miklós Oct 22 '13

This image shows the first matter ever created by the Big Bang

This extraordinary image shows something never seen before: a proto-galaxy feeding on the first stuff ever, violently making stars from the pristine hydrogen produced by the Big Bang itself, shortly after the Universe began to exist. It’s like having a glimpse into the beginning of everything. Discovered by Dr Neil Crighton and his colleagues from…

Sploid Jesus Diaz Oct 22 '13

James Gunn’s Transcendental feels like a lost Golden Age classic

Cracking open James Gunn’s latest novel, Transcendental, is like finding a lost manuscript from the Golden Age of Science Fiction. And while reading it, I enjoyed the retro-stylings — but couldn’t help but think this is the kind of thing science fiction has left behind for a reason. Gunn’s novels features a mixed group of…

Books & Comics Andrew Liptak Oct 22 '13

This Matrix-style rig creates ‘bullet time’ GIFs with 130 smartphones

In an effort to show off its powerful Snapdragon 600 processors, Qualcomm recently constructed a 540-degree bullet time photo booth using 130 HTC One smartphones. And then they let the residents of Venice Beach go to town with it. The company has set up a page on its website to post GIFs made with its…

io9 George Dvorsky Oct 22 '13

Would You Pay $75,000 to Ride This Spectacular Balloon to Space?

Space tourism sounds exciting and unforgettable and all, but with a single trip costing as much as a small house, it’s simply out of reach for the average person. A company called Paragon Space Development Corp is hoping to change that with a new, more affordable ticket to space. It’ll cost as much as a…

Space & Spaceflight Adam Clark Estes Oct 22 '13

Here’s Benedict Cumberbatch doing mo-cap as The Hobbit‘s Smaug

The most exciting thing about this December’s new Hobbit film is the appearance of Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug, the fearsome dragon. And these behind-the-scenes photos of Cumberbatch doing motion-capture show just how much he put into the role. These photos of Cumberbatch doing mo-cap were posted on Flickr by user Tolkienerd. Check out more at…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 22 '13

Step Aside, Street Lamps: These Ordinary Paths Glow On Their Own

Charging off-grid street lamps with solar power is a positive step towards reducing energy consumption. But what if our sun-baked public walkways also glowed in the dark? https://gizmodo.com/self-contained-solar-powered-streetlights-stay-complete-1446549431 A UK-based company has patented a spray-on substance that gives plain old pavement an after-hours glimmer. Pro-Teq developed the product, Starpath, as a way to reduce energy…

Tech News Jordan Kushins Oct 22 '13

Haunting Aerial Photographs of Drowned Villages in Canada

Photographer Louis Helbig is archiving aerial views of Canadian villages drowned by the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway on his website Sunken Villages. The photos are haunting and gorgeous, almost emerald-like, but often difficult to read. Outlines of houses and roads barely emerge from the silt like scenes from a dream by J.G. Ballard,…

Tech News Geoff Manaugh Oct 22 '13

Add Your Own Wireless Capability To Your DSLR, And Save On Said DSLR

Camera makers have been extremely stubborn about adding Wifi to their DSLR’s, but you add your own wireless capability to your photo rig with the Toshiba Flash Air 8GB SD Memory Card. It’s about as elegant as a third-party solution to a first-party problem gets, and it’s cheap. I always keep one in my memory…

Tech News Shane Roberts Oct 22 '13

Amazing Short Film: The Race to Develop a Machine that Stops Time

We’ve all noticed that time seems to move faster as we grow older — but what if you could build a machine that slowed time to the point of imperceptibility? In Mark Slutsky’s gorgeous new film The Decelerators, a group of people manage to do just that — and the result is almost worthy of…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 22 '13

A Headphone Jack Laser Pointer That No One Will Be Able To Spot

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise; highlighting a character’s crotch on-screen at the movies is hi-larious, and always will be. But getting caught with a laser pointer in your hand and tossed out of the theater isn’t. So thankfully red lasers have been around for decades, and have been miniaturized to the point where they…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Oct 22 '13

Scientists Discover Gold Literally Growing on Trees in the Outback

Every parent’s favorite line about how money doesn’t grow on trees just became a little more irrelevant, thanks to a fascinating find down under. Researchers in Australia recently found gold—yes, real gold—in eucalyptus trees growing in the outback. A team of unlikely prospectors recently ventured into the arid land of the Goldfields-Esperance region in Western…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Oct 22 '13

Stephen Lang will be the “Darth Vader” of the Avatar sequels

Good news, every actor who’s cast in James Cameron’s Avatar universe — you no longer have to fear death. Everyone who died in the first movie is apparently coming back for the second! Cameron has already hinted that he’s bringing back Sigourney Weaver for Avatar 2, and now he wants Stephen Lang back as well.…

io9 Meredith Woerner Oct 22 '13

Carl Sagan’s “Pale Blue Dot” as you’ve never experienced it before

Carl Sagan’s timeless ode to Earth is all the more compelling in this captivating treatment from Reid Gower and The Sagan Series. Like previous installments in series, this latest video commemorates the late, great astrophysicist by setting narration from his television show, Cosmos, to beautiful music and powerful footage of our world. It’ll give you…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Oct 22 '13

What’s the greatest science fiction action movie of all time?

Tons of science fiction movies feature crazy stunts, fight scenes, chases, and explosions. And plenty of action movies have some science-fictional ideas buried in their plot twists. But what’s the absolute greatest science fiction (or fantasy) action movie ever made? Please include a photo, movie poster or clip of your chosen movie. Plus the movie’s…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 22 '13

Before The Age of Automobiles, Cyclists Fought For Better Roads

If you’re a time traveler who’s looking for a good cyclist’s map of California in the 1890s, well, today’s your lucky day.** Rebecca Onion over at Slate’s The Vault history blog has found this beautiful 1895 map of California that rated the state’s major roads and their suitability for bicycles. Before the dawn of the…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 22 '13

A stunning example of nature’s resilience

The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens is regarded as the deadliest and most destructive volcanic blast in U.S. history. And yet, just thirty-three years later, life has returned to the area in almost equally impressive force, as newly released photographs illustrate. Above: ASA Earth Observatory images by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using Landsat…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Oct 22 '13

What do Death’s daughter, revenge and a dead rabbit have in common?

Facebook Changes Its Mind Again: It’s Now Re-Banning Decapitation Videos

A Stick-On Speaker That Uses Your Windows To Silence Noises Outside

Utterly Bitchen Car Dashboards Inspired By Spaceships

This image shows the first matter ever created by the Big Bang

James Gunn’s Transcendental feels like a lost Golden Age classic

This Matrix-style rig creates ‘bullet time’ GIFs with 130 smartphones

Would You Pay $75,000 to Ride This Spectacular Balloon to Space?

Here’s Benedict Cumberbatch doing mo-cap as The Hobbit‘s Smaug

Step Aside, Street Lamps: These Ordinary Paths Glow On Their Own

Haunting Aerial Photographs of Drowned Villages in Canada

Add Your Own Wireless Capability To Your DSLR, And Save On Said DSLR

Amazing Short Film: The Race to Develop a Machine that Stops Time

A Headphone Jack Laser Pointer That No One Will Be Able To Spot

Scientists Discover Gold Literally Growing on Trees in the Outback

Stephen Lang will be the “Darth Vader” of the Avatar sequels

Carl Sagan’s “Pale Blue Dot” as you’ve never experienced it before

What’s the greatest science fiction action movie of all time?

Before The Age of Automobiles, Cyclists Fought For Better Roads

A stunning example of nature’s resilience

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