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Feast your eyes on a jaw-dropping “Cosmic Holiday Ornament,” courtesy of Hubble Telescope

Yesterday, NASA’s Cassini imaging team brought us a rare view of a backlit Saturn to commemorate the holidays. Today, the Agency’s Hubble Space Telescope celebrates the season with a gorgeous “cosmic holiday ornament.” https://gizmodo.com/this-rare-view-of-saturn-is-among-the-most-awe-inspirin-5969581 Via HUBBLESITE: Tis the season for holiday decorating and tree-trimming. Not to be left out, astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Dec 19 '12

Brooks PureDrift Review: Shoes for Minimalists Pushing Mileage

When you’re running “barefoot style,” you have be careful as you’re building strength. Try to run too far or too fast in minimal shoes, and you could really hurt yourself. Brooks’ all-new PureDrift is yet another shoe designed to bridge the gap between cushioning and minimalism. Let’s see if it can succeed where others have…

Reviews Brent Rose Dec 19 '12

Over a hundred research chimps are set to be rescued and moved to a sanctuary

Chimpanzee research is on the way out in the United States. The latest move in this direction is the announcement that the National Institutes of Health is set to retire 109 chimpanzees (as opposed to io9 chimpanzees — those are other creatures entirely) who are currently being held in Lafayette, Louisiana’s New Iberia Research Center…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 19 '12

io9 Book Club Reminder: Meeting 1/8 to Discuss Gail Carriger’s Soulless

The io9 Book Club meets every month to discuss a book, and then the author usually joins us for a chat. This month, we’re reading Gail Carriger’s Soulless, the first book in her popular Parasol Protectorate series. The fifth book, Timeless, came out this year — but we figured it would be best to start…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz Dec 19 '12

The World’s Scariest Robot Now Listens to Its Human Master

There’s nothing on the planet that’s equal parts terrifying and spectacular quite like DARPA’s LS3 “Big Dog” robot. It has the horrific realism of an actual dog, mixed with the horrific robot quality of… a robot. Now it’s even more powerful. In the latest demo, DARPA shows Big Dog with some new tricks. Instead of…

Tech News Sam Biddle Dec 19 '12

This Insane Life-Sized Lego Hobbit Bag End Is Made With Two Million Bricks

Lego has made one of their best sets of 2012 at human scale. Made using two (2!!!) million 1×1 bricks—and 3,000 man-hours—it’s so big that you can walk inside. It even has a chimney that smokes! https://gizmodo.com/the-best-lego-sets-for-the-holidays-2012-5964438 The set is called An Unexpected Gathering. It didn’t make our best Lego sets of 2012 gift guide…

Movies Jesus Diaz Dec 19 '12

Are These the First Leaked Star Wars Episode VII Plot Details?

This would count as a pretty big leak if it turns out to be true. Buried deep in a Reuters report about Star Wars and Guatemala is a possible leaked plot detail involving the location, and Episode VII. Possible spoilers ahead. Here’s the paragraph in question: Yavin 4 and the rebel base return to the…

Tech News Kyle Wagner Dec 19 '12

When will we finally have a world government?

Political scientists and science fiction writers alike have long been taken with the idea that humans would one day form a global government. Yet few of us take this prospect very seriously, often dismissing it as an outright impossibility or very far off in the future. Given the rapid pace of globalization, however, it would…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 19 '12

This Mouse With a Brain Is Your Details-Make-The-Computer Deal of the Day

While some hardcore nerds like to tweak their computers by overclocking or installing new internal components, often the best way to improve your compter experience is as easy as plugging something into a USB port. Yep, having a nice keyboard or mouse is the kind of small expense that will make you smile every time…

Tech News Kif Leswing Dec 19 '12

Here is your possibly leaked Star Wars: Episode VII plot of the day

In celebration of the Earth’s impending Mayan-mandated apocalypse, the good folks of the Reuters news agency decided to take a look at some Mayan temples, including the one seen in the background of the original Star Wars movie (on Yavin-4, to be specific). Tucked inside this little article was a bit of a thermal detonator:…

Movies Rob Bricken Dec 19 '12

The Best Small Tablet

Big screens are nice. But sometimes the extra real estate isn’t worth the lack of portability. If tablets are considered mobile devices, they should be easy to take with you, right? That’s the idea behind a new class of small tablets with screens measuring roughly 7 inches diagonally. Over the last six months, some really,…

Reviews Brent Rose Dec 19 '12

I wrote a science fiction story, and parts of it came true by the time it got published

My story “Intestate” is up now at Tor.com — it’s one of the weirdest things I’ve ever written, sort of an attempt to do something like The Royal Tenenbaums except with mad science. But perhaps the strangest part is how much has changed since I was writing “Intestate,” back in the heady days of 2011.…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Dec 19 '12

Oh Great, Augmented Reality Eyepatches Will Probably Lead To Super Pirates

The excitement for Google’s Project Glass has been lukewarm at best, but apparently there are at least a few technophiles out there excited for the technology. Like Gregory McRoberts, who apparently couldn’t wait for Google to finish its augmented reality-enhanced specs, so he designed his own that’s worn like an eyepatch instead. It makes the…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Dec 19 '12

Joss Whedon wanted the Wasp and an extra villain in The Avengers

The Avengers was one of our favorite movies of the year, in large part because it avoided excessive clutter, with just one villain and mostly characters we’d met in previous Marvel Studios movies. But now, it turns out that if Joss Whedon had gone with some of his earlier ideas, the film could have been…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Dec 19 '12

Do you really know what kind of fish you are eating?

If you buy fish in New York City, you’ll get the type of fish you wanted only 61 percent of the time, according to a new study by watchdog group Oceana. The study, released last week, was the result of the group’s latest investigation into fish fraud in major American cities. They report: Oceana found…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 19 '12

The Onion: Apple’s New College Girl-Friendly iPhone Comes With a Pre-Cracked Screen

Apple is really targeting a niche market with its newest device—an iPhone geared toward college girls that comes with an already shattered screen. I mean, they’re going to crack it at some point, so why not just get it out of the way? No surprise, but The Onion is totally onto something in this video.…

Tech News Leslie Horn Dec 19 '12

Watch This Awesome Dog Driving a Car Through San Francisco—Then Adopt One This Holiday

Watch this video of a dog “driving” a car. Then watch the animated GIF at the end of this post. Then watch the video again. Now look at the GIF. Now think about this: If you must get a dog this holidays (like, for your kids) don’t buy it from a breeder. Call a local…

Tech News Jesus Diaz Dec 19 '12

Woman undergoes untested stem-cell wrinkle treatment, sprouts bones in her eyelid

Let it be said that stem cell therapies may well be the future of medicine, but untested stem cell therapies have the potential to give rise to the stuff of nightmares. Case in point: the unnamed cosmetic surgery patient in this piece by SciAm’s Ferris Jabr, who, after dropping 20 grand on an untested, non-FDA-approved…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Dec 19 '12

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Masterclass in Why 48 FPS Fails

Peter Jackson, a terrifically talented film maker and pioneer of new cinema technology, has given the world of cinema a very important, and perhaps unintended, gift with his latest film “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” as we wrap the year 2012. Tonight I went to see his latest film in all three flavors of its…

Movies Vincent Laforet Dec 19 '12

A child’s treasury of 13 horrible Frank Miller comic panels

Frank Miller is a genius whose seminal works helped transform comics in the ’80s from a children’s medium to a legitimately accepted art form. Unfortunately, he’s recently been under attack… by Frank Miller. The current work Miller is doing seems like it’s purposefully, relentlessly trying to destroy his own reputation with horrible comics, horrible art…

io9 Rob Bricken Dec 19 '12

Feast your eyes on a jaw-dropping “Cosmic Holiday Ornament,” courtesy of Hubble Telescope

Brooks PureDrift Review: Shoes for Minimalists Pushing Mileage

Over a hundred research chimps are set to be rescued and moved to a sanctuary

io9 Book Club Reminder: Meeting 1/8 to Discuss Gail Carriger’s Soulless

The World’s Scariest Robot Now Listens to Its Human Master

This Insane Life-Sized Lego Hobbit Bag End Is Made With Two Million Bricks

Are These the First Leaked Star Wars Episode VII Plot Details?

When will we finally have a world government?

This Mouse With a Brain Is Your Details-Make-The-Computer Deal of the Day

Here is your possibly leaked Star Wars: Episode VII plot of the day

The Best Small Tablet

I wrote a science fiction story, and parts of it came true by the time it got published

Oh Great, Augmented Reality Eyepatches Will Probably Lead To Super Pirates

Joss Whedon wanted the Wasp and an extra villain in The Avengers

Do you really know what kind of fish you are eating?

The Onion: Apple’s New College Girl-Friendly iPhone Comes With a Pre-Cracked Screen

Watch This Awesome Dog Driving a Car Through San Francisco—Then Adopt One This Holiday

Woman undergoes untested stem-cell wrinkle treatment, sprouts bones in her eyelid

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Masterclass in Why 48 FPS Fails

A child’s treasury of 13 horrible Frank Miller comic panels

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