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Bigger Streaming Royalties Sound Like Trouble for Spotify

The review panel in charge of setting rates for songwriter’s royalties reportedly issued the biggest rate increase for artists in its history over the weekend—a 4o percent hike. For the music streaming industry, which runs on thin margins, this could be an issue. For Spotify, a price increase for users could be inevitable, but the…

Tech News Rhett Jones Jan 29 '18

This Rom-Com About a Dude Trying to Time Travel His Way Out of the Friend Zone Feels Like a Bad Idea

On paper, the idea is intriguing. A time-travel comedy about a man trying to win the girl of his dreams. There’s potential there, right? Well, in the first trailer for When We First Met, that potential feels misguided. Directed by Ari Sandel, When We First Met stars Adam Devine (Pitch Perfect) and Alexandra Daddario (San…

Trailers Germain Lussier Jan 29 '18

Washington Governor Shuts Down Gigantic Fossil Fuel Project

Washington state Governor Jay Inslee scored a major win for environmentalists on Monday when he rejected a permit to build what would have been the nation’s largest oil-by-rail terminal. The decision was a long time coming: In 2013, joint developers Tesoro Corporation and Savage Companies announced the proposed $210 million project, which they dubbed Vancouver…

Environmental Justice Yessenia Funes Jan 29 '18

Frog Species Breaks Record for Most Sex Chromosomes in a Vertebrate

You may have learned in school that humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes: 22 “autosomes” and their partners, which contain pretty much the same genes and in the same order, plus one pair of sex chromosomes that lead to the differentiation in sexual traits. But enough about us. The Amazonian Leptodactylus pentadactylus (smoky jungle frog)…

Biology Ryan F. Mandelbaum Jan 29 '18

The Midwest Is About to Freeze Its Ass Off While the Southwest Roasts

Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday, Arctic air will descend on the central U.S. as a trail of sub-zero temperatures marches down the the Canadian Rockies and parks over the Midwest. It will be short-lived and not quite as severe as the early January cold snap, but it also arrives at an inopportune time…

Earth Science Brian Kahn Jan 29 '18

The Proclaimers’ Classic ‘500 Miles’ Impressively Recreated Using 127 Movies

You really can find anything on the internet. Like, for example, this video of movie clips edited to “sing” the relentlessly cheery ‘90s hit “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by the Proclaimers. It’s something you’d never think to watch or make, but now that it exists, we’re all better for it. The amount of work…

Movies Germain Lussier Jan 29 '18

What’s the Speed of Dark Matter?

Based on physicists’ measurements, most of the mass in the universe is actually taken up by dark matter. Whatever this stuff is, we can see its effects on the behavior of distant galaxies, though no experiment has detected it here on Earth. Doing so probably requires knowing how fast it moves. That’s a puzzle that…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum Jan 29 '18

Watch David Tennant Reprise His Role as the Doctor in the Weirdest Way Possible

It doesn’t take a fancy Doctor Who anniversary event to bring back a former incarnation of the world’s favorite Time Lord. Sometimes, all you need is something much more specific—like, say, a good friend emigrating to another country. Actress Georgia Tennant—who starred in Doctor Who’s fourth season alongside her future-husband-to-be as, err, his clone daughter…

Television James Whitbrook Jan 29 '18

Artificial Intelligence May Have Cracked Freaky 600-Year-Old Manuscript

Since its discovery over a hundred years ago, the 240-page Voynich manuscript, filled with seemingly coded language and inscrutable illustrations, has confounded linguists and cryptographers. Using artificial intelligence, Canadian researchers have taken a huge step forward in unraveling the document’s hidden meaning. Named after Wilfrid Voynich, the Polish book dealer who procured the manuscript in…

Artificial Intelligence George Dvorsky Jan 29 '18

How to Stream President Trump’s State of the Uniom

Donald Trump delivers his first State of the Uniom tomorrow, addressing a beleaguered nation tired of public, easily-avoidable fuckups on the world stage. Luckily the invitations mailed out for the event were free of basic spelling mistakes. Speculation abounds on what Trump will address in his State of the Uniom speech, though immigration and the…

Tech News Avery Ellis Jan 29 '18

10 Feature Films Inspired By Real-Life Ghost Stories

“Real-life” doesn’t necessarily mean “true,” especially when the context is ghost stories but spooky legends have a way of influencing pop culture, as in the upcoming Winchester starring Helen Mirren. The film is based on the life of a real person who believed spirits were guiding the construction of her mansion. In honor of Sarah…

Movies Cheryl Eddy Jan 29 '18

Steven Soderbergh Loves His iPhone So Much He Wants to Make All of His Movies With It

You might love your iPhone because it’s easier than ever to take snapshots of your misbehaving dog. Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh loves his Apple product so much he made a feature film with it. It’s a horror flick, and Soderbergh reportedly enjoyed the experience so much he wants to shoot all his movies using…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Jan 29 '18

Elon Musk Has Already Made $5 Million Selling Really Big Crème Brûlée Torches [Update: Sold Out, $10 Million]

Elon Musk’s tunnel-drilling company made millions over the weekend by selling a product that has nothing to do with tunnels or drilling. On Saturday night, Musk announced pre-orders for the Boring Company Flamethrower, a $500 gimmick that is really more of a flame-sputterer than a flamethrower. Flamethrowers shoot out an ignited stream of flammable liquid…

Tech News Jennings Brown Jan 29 '18

Eighth State Quietly Quit Free Anti-Voter-Fraud Program Over Security Concerns and ‘Unreliable’ Results

The State of Kentucky has pulled out of the Interstate Crosscheck System, Gizmodo has learned, making it the eighth state to quit the program so far—even though it cost nothing to participate. A source with direct knowledge of the decision told Gizmodo that Kentucky never used the data that it received from Crosscheck for the…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron Jan 29 '18

Sam Raimi May Join Lin-Manuel Miranda for The Kingkiller Chronicles

Lionsgate has their eyes on a genre master to help bring its fantasy adaptation, The Kingkiller Chronicles, to life. Variety reports the company is in talks with none other than Sam Raimi to direct the film, which is based on the first in a series of novels by author Patrick Rothfuss. Raimi, who’s best known…

Movies Germain Lussier Jan 29 '18

Hey, Trump Nominated a Science PhD to Lead a Science Agency

President Trump’s political appointee nomination process is opaque, and oftentimes just ass-backwards. So when it was announced Friday that former astronaut and geosciences PhD James Reilly was being nominated to direct the U.S. Geological Survey, there were certainly some double takes. According to Nature, Reilly is only the second person with a science PhD to…

Earther Ari Phillips Jan 29 '18

Facebook Conveniently Declares ‘Privacy Principles’ Ahead of Stringent New Regulations

A few months before the EU enacts substantial new privacy rules, and just in time for Data Privacy Day, Facebook has both revamped privacy controls for users to make them simpler and published its internal “privacy principles,” which detail the company’s commitment to protecting user data. Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), made law last…

Tech News Sidney Fussell Jan 29 '18

Counterpart Shows Us More of Its Paranoid, Depressed Alternate Reality

The pilot episode of Counterpart introduced viewers to two versions of Howard Silk; one a no-nonsense field operative, the other a meek paper-pusher. The two men lead their lives in vastly different worlds and, last night, we got to see the Earth that Doppel-Howard hails from. Episode two of Counterpart began on the series’ alternate…

Television Evan Narcisse Jan 29 '18

Intel’s Never-Ending Spectre Saga Continues to Be a Hot Mess

We’re nearly a month since The Register first revealed that every single major processor in devices today is subject to a series of harrowing security vulnerabilities known as Spectre and Meltdown. Today, in light of news that Intel informed foreign interests of the vulnerabilities before the US government, and that Microsoft is pulling its latest…

Privacy & Security Alex Cranz Jan 29 '18

Tomy Is Bringing Back Its Transformers/Star Wars Mashup With Some Smugglers in Disguise

Over a decade ago, Hasbro launched a collection that turned the vehicles and characters of Star Wars into giant transforming robots. As you do. The line came to an end in 2012, but now it’s back in a suitably grand style, kicking off with the fastest-transforming hunk of junk in the galaxy. Behold, the new…

Toys & Collectibles James Whitbrook Jan 29 '18

Bigger Streaming Royalties Sound Like Trouble for Spotify

This Rom-Com About a Dude Trying to Time Travel His Way Out of the Friend Zone Feels Like a Bad Idea

Washington Governor Shuts Down Gigantic Fossil Fuel Project

Frog Species Breaks Record for Most Sex Chromosomes in a Vertebrate

The Midwest Is About to Freeze Its Ass Off While the Southwest Roasts

The Proclaimers’ Classic ‘500 Miles’ Impressively Recreated Using 127 Movies

What’s the Speed of Dark Matter?

Watch David Tennant Reprise His Role as the Doctor in the Weirdest Way Possible

Artificial Intelligence May Have Cracked Freaky 600-Year-Old Manuscript

How to Stream President Trump’s State of the Uniom

10 Feature Films Inspired By Real-Life Ghost Stories

Steven Soderbergh Loves His iPhone So Much He Wants to Make All of His Movies With It

Elon Musk Has Already Made $5 Million Selling Really Big Crème Brûlée Torches [Update: Sold Out, $10 Million]

Eighth State Quietly Quit Free Anti-Voter-Fraud Program Over Security Concerns and ‘Unreliable’ Results

Sam Raimi May Join Lin-Manuel Miranda for The Kingkiller Chronicles

Hey, Trump Nominated a Science PhD to Lead a Science Agency

Facebook Conveniently Declares ‘Privacy Principles’ Ahead of Stringent New Regulations

Counterpart Shows Us More of Its Paranoid, Depressed Alternate Reality

Intel’s Never-Ending Spectre Saga Continues to Be a Hot Mess

Tomy Is Bringing Back Its Transformers/Star Wars Mashup With Some Smugglers in Disguise

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