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Apple Might Be Trying to Launch Its Own Pandora Knock Off

The Wall Street Journal tonight is reporting that Apple may indeed be looking to launch its own streaming radio service, much like the one offered by Pandora. Such a service would represent a major strategic shift for Apple, branching out beyond its hardware market to expand its stake in the online music-listening game. Pandora creates…

Why won’t these idiots ever listen to Mark Hamill?

Mark Hamill is best known for playing the Joker in a variety of Batman stories*, but here’s a role you’ve probably never seen him do before. The older, curmudgeonly guy who’s the only voice of reason in the midst of complete drooling morons. It works really well here. The above is an exclusive clip from…

Check out hyperrealistic Pokémon that resemble dinosaurs on LSD

What if Pokémon looked like hungry prehistoric fauna instead of pudgy anime creatures? This is the project R.J. Palmer has embarked upon. Check out such huggable (or at least semi-pettable) Pocket Monsters like Scyther, Garchomp, Druddigon, Tyranitar, and Nidoking transformed into psychedelic Cretaceous killing machines. Click on any image to expand. [Arvalis via Buzzfeed]

Future Islands: Grease

Last year, Future Islands released the album On the Water, and they’ve been touring ever since. The record was—and is—odd and lovely and wildly underrated. And the beautiful, slightly sad, new video for “Grease” embodies all those sentiments. Shot in a gorgeous 360 degree panning style, the black and white video is a slice often…

Online Porn Stars and Literary Construction Workers, in a Strange New Story Collection from the Author of Witz

Joshua Cohen’s previous book Witz, an epic about the last Jew on Earth, received a healthy amount of review coverage for such a large and difficult novel. (See my io9 review here.) One of the more penetrating observations about the book’s encyclopedic nature was this one, from Dan Visel’s review: https://gizmodo.com/in-witz-a-plague-makes-the-last-jew-on-earth-a-mega-5658714 One can’t help noticing,…

The Imposter Who Stole My Father’s Place

In this excerpt from his new book The Ravenous Brain, neuroscientist Daniel Bor explores how a brain injury reveals the truth about human consciousness. On the night of Thursday, May 8, 1997, my father had a stroke. When I visited him in the hospital, I felt profoundly disturbed by what I witnessed. This sluggish, exhausted…

[YourName]@ CrownFriedChicken.com Could Actually Be Your New Email Address (Updated)

What good is a Gmail account if you love crispy fried chicken and can also have a customized @CrownFriedChicken address? Because if you consider yourself a member of the Crown Fried Chicken Family (and even if you don’t think you are, you totally definitely are), you can soon have your own email address proclaiming that…

iPhone owners can’t sue Apple over broken glass, says judge. Which kind of imbeciles sue for breaking their own stuff?

Ask Maureen McHugh anything you want about After the Apocalypse

In August, the io9 Book Club read Maureen McHugh’s After the Apocalypse. Now McHugh is coming to answer your questions about the book today, Friday, September 7, from 12-1 PM PST. Ask her whatever you want about the book! https://gizmodo.com/the-io9-book-club-is-in-session-lets-talk-about-mauree-5940337 Photograph by Ellen Datlow. McHugh will be joining us in the comment thread on this…

The CW lassos a new Wonder Woman origins series

You can’t kill Wonder Woman — she’ll only come back stronger. Not long after NBC officially pulled the plug on its own Wonder Woman show, The CW has decided that they would like a shot at the lady with the lasso of truth. Vulture is reporting that the CW, Warner Bros. and DC are all…

The Science of Orgasms

Think you know orgasms? In the latest installment of asapSCIENCE, Mitchell Moffitt and Gregory Brown serve up a quick, but extensive, overview of the science behind la petite mort. Most of you probably have at least some understanding of what goes on, anatomically, during an orgasm (which is covered in the first section of the…

Who the Hell Cares About Ads In the New Kindle Fire?

Some people are whining that the new Kindle Fires shows Amazon’s “special offers” when locked. They’re upset because “I can’t put my own pretty background!” Or “I can’t put the face of my cat!” Or “I can’t cycle through those photos of the Grand Canyon that I took on two years ago when I thought…

Travel + Leisure Tripeze: Plan Your Next Vacation/Staycation

Travel + Leisure is a lovely magazine so it’s no surprise it made an app of similar beauty. And it’s perfect for both the adventurers who fantasize about throwing a dart at a map and traveling where it lands and the people that just want to go on a voyage that’s within driving distance. What…

1950s Rockabilly Batman came to life at Dragon*Con

There was bunch of fantastic cosplay at Dragon*Con — here’s one particularly ingenious costume. Last weekend, Cosplayer Josh brought Denis Medri’s greaser Batman concept art to the real world. (He was also joined by a 1950s Barbara Gordon.) You can check out Josh’s design process here. [Via Fashionably Geek] https://gizmodo.com/ultimate-proof-that-dragon-con-has-the-best-cosplay-on-5940438 https://gizmodo.com/meet-the-entire-cast-of-1950s-greaser-batmans-gotham-ci-5911595

Today’s Crazy Rumor: The Dark Knight Rises DVD will have a longer Director’s Cut

Given Christopher Nolan’s avowed hatred for including deleted scenes on his DVD releases, this seems unlikely. But the website Nuke the Fridge is claiming that the DVD/Blu-ray release of The Dark Knight Rises will include a “Director’s Cut” that’s half an hour longer. Including the origins of Bane, plus more screen time for Liam Neeson…

Neuroscientists take aim at Naomi Wolf’s theory of the “conscious vagina”

Well, if Naomi Wolf wanted to draw attention to herself through the publication of her new book, Vagina: A New Biography, she has certainly succeeded — though it may not be the kind of attention she was hoping for. A number of commentators have taken exception to her unfortunate foray into neuroscience, particularly her claim…

Holy shit, you guys are really going to like Looper

Joseph Gordon-Levitt says Looper is the film he’s most excited for lately. But how does his time-traveling gangster movie actually hold up? It’s everything we wished for — and more. Here are our completely spoiler-free first impressions on the smartest time-travel movie we’ve seen in years. And by spoiler-free, we mean that you won’t learn…

This director’s video pitch for Hunger Games might be better than the real movie

We liked Gary Ross’ movie version of The Hunger Games — but it could always have been better. And here’s one example of how: Director Kevin Tancharoen’s video pitch, from when he was gunning for the job. Sure, this video is merely stitched together footage from Doomsday, X-Men, The Book of Eli, among others —…

This Insulated Blanket Keeps Your Beer Cozy and Cold

Your typical white Eskimo cooler is a cheap way to keep drinks cold and food warm or cold, but it’s not very flexible. And its boxy shape is downright awkward when compared to the Wunder Bundler—an insulated blanket that can wrap up anything from a six-pack of beer to a stack of Chinese takeout containers.…

A Keychain To Stamp Your John Hancock Everywhere

Slap your signature all over everything like a very demure tag artist with these wonderful customizable inspector stamps. For $23 a pop, you can add your address, your website, your twitter handle if you’re desperate, or whatever your little Lisa Frank-channeling heart desires. Except these 3/4-inch circles are like Lisa Frank’s cool, refined, much older…