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The 1973 study "Graffiti: Some Observations and Speculations" by Dr. Harvey Lomas included this colorful chart matching bawdy vandalism from First Century Pompeii with its thematic descendants in Sixties Los Angeles. As you can see here, we've had our mind in the gutter for approximately two millennia. More »
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From the annals of moving large objects come two stories, one of a rock, the other a bridge. More »
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Filmmaker Ross Ching created this short film, Running on Empty, imagining the usually traffic-clogged L.A. without an auto in sight. It's a masterfully simple piece of cinematic trickery — and a perfect look at L.A. after the zombie apocalypse. [Slashfilm] More »
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At the blog Narrow Streets: Los Angeles, self-proclaimed "urban planning geek" David Yoon takes the yawning boulevards of La-La Land and shrinks them to a scale on par with European cities...and manages to create an amazing change in perspective. More »
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A Boy and His Dog, a rarely-screened, trippy post-apocalyptic film based on a novella by Harlan Ellison, will be shown in Los Angeles as part of a double feature with Christian documentary Waiting for Armageddon. Why the odd pairing? More »
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Charlie Huston's new novel Sleepless is the most science-fictional thing he's ever written. And he partly credits the influence of moving from New York to Los Angeles, because L.A. is a more science-fictional city. Let the debate begin! More »
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Keeler, California was once an attractive lakeside resort on the shores of Owens Lake. But as waters from the lake were diverted to Los Angeles, the shoreline receded, triggering a small, quiet apocalypse in Keeler. More »
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What will the New Yorks, Londons, and Tokyos of tomorrow look like? Will they be technological Edens, grim dystopias, or entirely obliterated? We look at science fiction's take on the future of today's cities to gauge our urban future. More »
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London just wouldn't be the same without its werewolves, and the real charm behind New York lies with the giant alligators in the sewers. These t-shirts let you show off the monsters that really make your favorite city special. More »
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I've been thinking about this haunting piece of photoshoppery ever since I saw it on the Dinosaurs and Robots blog last week. Designer Kevin Kidney created it by merging two images of the Los Angeles street where he lives: One from today, and one from 1909, when Los Angeles was riddled with cable cars. Human ghosts are not the only ones that return to remind us of the past. Sometimes the ghosts of public transportation return too. More »
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Urban history is littered with the dead bodies of scrapped public transit projects. When eager commuters and car companies turned the automobile into the most popular form of transit in the world in the twentieth century, many cities set aside plans for expanding their public transit systems, such as the electric tram system planned for regions feeding into Melbourne, Australia. In some cases, city planners actually ripped out existing transit systems like Los Angeles' once-enormous cable car network. What would these cities and others look like if their public transit systems had continued to thrive and we lived in a world without cars? We've got five alternate urban histories of public transport for you below. More »
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This is probably my favorite giant monster scene ever, just because it shows dragons fighting helicopters. I'm not sure why it's so satisfying, but my heart just leaps when that huge snakey dragon BITES A HELICOPTER. With his MOUTH. Oh, you need back story? This is a clip from D-War, AKA Dragon Wars, which is about some ancient prophesy blah blah blah dude from Roswell stars blah blah DRAGONS FIGHTING IN DOWNTOWN LA. On that cool round US Bank building! First there's the big giant dragon, and then his little buddies come to help out. This is such a great fucking scene. I don't understand why this movie didn't become a blockbuster. [D-War] More »
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Syd Mead's concept artwork for Blade Runner has always looked a bit like a jazz painting. It's meant to portray a saturnine view of downtown Los Angeles in the future, but the only things in it that are even slightly futuristic are the armored-looking dumptruck on the street, and the hulking mega-skyscraper in the background which is probably meant to be the Tyrell corporation. Besides that, the image is a wash of signage, mostly featuring Asian text. All it needs is an accompanying saxophone track and this could serve as the cover image to an album, circa 1963. More »
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If you're a temporal traveler stuck between decades and you find yourself in need of Mammoth Chunks, Anti-Robot Fluid, or Barbarian Repellent, you can now head to Time Travel Mart in Echo Park, Los Angeles. They'll probably have it in stock. Unfortunately, you'll have to come back yesterday if you want something from the Time-Freezy Hyper Slush machine — that's the last time it was working properly. No problem! You're a busy time traveler, but everybody needs a hyper slushie. Find out more inside, and check out our gallery of chronolistic goodness. More »
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Click to view io9 took a spin through Gallery 1988 and Golden Apple Comics last night in Los Angeles as artists like Ruben Rude, Travis Lampe, Brandon Bird, Patrick Gannon, Misha, Angry Woebots, Jeff McMillan, Sarah Coleman and Daniel Danger paid tribute to Stan "The Man" Lee through reinterpretations of some of his most famous characters. The result was some seriously trippy artwork ranging from X-Men plushies to a sort of wacky Mickey Mouse meets The Hulk on acid painting. Take a look for yourself in the gallery below. More »
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Sure it's cool to destroy New York, but it's even cooler to destroy Los Angeles. That's why Omega Man, the 1970s version of I Am Legend, took place in Los Angeles. Viral decimation is only one of the many ways LA has been crushed, according to a 1998 book by Mike Davis, Ecology of Fear, in which the irascible social critic gives us a helpful list of how LA is destroyed in 145 scifi/disaster novels. Of course nukes top the list, with a whopping 49 books wiping out LA in a big blast. But you'll be surprised by some of the lesser-known forms of LA-elimination. More »
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Director Richard Kelly brought us the cult hit Donnie Darko, and he's been hard at work on Southland Tales, a weird mix of science fiction, music, comedy, and drama set against a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. Sounds like the perfect backdrop for a light-hearted romp, right? More »
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