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The future of us manga
The future of us manga
mad science
Proof that the Brain Cannot Distinguish Between Human and Humanoid
Humans who interact with computers and robots often attribute emotions to their machine cohorts. That's why we curse at our inefficient laptops, or say thank you to the robot who smiles and hands us drinks. Now a group of researchers in Germany have proven that the human brain has a hard time distinguishing between humans and humanoid robots. This neural hardwiring could mean that we'll never be able to treat humanoid robots as if they are emotionless machines. Even if they are. More »
Television
SF To Dominate This Fall's New Hit Shows
Surprising no-one, television analysts are predicting that JJ Abrams' new Fox show Fringe will be the breakout hit of this year's new fall TV shows, but apparently NBC's Knight Rider revival won't fare so well. There's also an unexpected show being named as the third most-likely-to-succeed series coming in September, especially considering the trouble that it's currently in. Find out what everyone thinks you'll be watching in just a few months under the jump. More »
morning spoilers
First Pics Of Battlestar Galactica's Cool Prequel Caprica
It's mostly TV spoilers today, thanks to a ton of scans from TV Guide. But today's spoilers do include some new set pics from the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica, which reveal what it would be like to live on Caprica some 50-70 years before the Cylon apocalypse. And there's one more new Dark Knight trailer with some new splodey footage. There are new Heroes promos and some hints about Lost, plus tons of spoilers for Sarah Connor Chronicles, Stargate, Smallville, Kyle XY, Knight Rider and Fringe. Spoilers rule! More »
found footage
Headless Zombie, Meet Helpless Scientist. Naked. (NSFW)
This is something I've been wanting to share with you for a long time: The very best visual pun to hit the B-movie screen EVAR. Plus, this could be the most perverted thing I've ever seen. Well, let's just say it's among the most perverted, how's that? From classic 1980s horror flick Re-Animator, directed by mega-genius Stuart Gordon, we get the monster-menaces-damsel scene with quite a twist. Do not watch unless you are prepared to douse your eyes in lye to recover. More »
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doctor who
Davros Should Have Stayed Dead In 1975
The BBC recently put out a DVD box-set of its time-travel show Doctor Who, focusing on the mad genius Davros, who created the mad-killing-machine Daleks. That means that every single Davros story is now out on DVD, including the painful "Destiny of the Daleks." And eep, there are a lot of them. Really, Davros only had one good story, and then he turned into the Daleks' excess baggage. Davros-bashing, with absolutely no spoilers, ahead. More »
space porn
See that cool pattern around this edge-on spiral galaxy, NGC 5907? The one that sort of looks like two halos? Those are the only remains of another galaxy, which NGC 5907 slaughtered in cold blood. (Or maybe cold dark matter?) We've shown you galaxies colliding before, but here's an arresting look at the aftermath of one of those galactic hit-and-runs, courtesy of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias. These "stellar fossils," or "ghost galaxies," result from the spiral galaxy's collision with a dwarf galaxy, which it mostly absorbed. Click through to see a bigger image, plus a look at NGC 4013's "ghost trail."
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Murdered Galaxy Gets A Double-Halo Memorial
See that cool pattern around this edge-on spiral galaxy, NGC 5907? The one that sort of looks like two halos? Those are the only remains of another galaxy, which NGC 5907 slaughtered in cold blood. (Or maybe cold dark matter?) We've shown you galaxies colliding before, but here's an arresting look at the aftermath of one of those galactic hit-and-runs, courtesy of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias. These "stellar fossils," or "ghost galaxies," result from the spiral galaxy's collision with a dwarf galaxy, which it mostly absorbed. Click through to see a bigger image, plus a look at NGC 4013's "ghost trail."
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Hollywood Slavebots
In The Battle Between 3D And IMAX, We All Lose
Now that Dark Knight director Chris Nolan has boasted about shooting his bat-epic on IMAX how many will follow in his footsteps and make movies for the big boy screen? Flight Of The Dragon has announced that it will be going the way of the Bat and filming the live-action dragon flick in 4K resolution for IMAX release. And while it's not particularly scifi, everyone knows that once you get the dragons, zombies and superheroes are never far behind. But with the rise of Avatar and other 3D scifi epics (who also combine IMAX screenings with their 3D techniques) are we about to see a rift between 3D and IMAX technology, as Nolan seems to think? More importantly, is storytelling going to take a backseat to 3D and IMAX whizbangery? More »
Debate
Science Versus Magic -- Is There a Difference in the World of Fiction?
One of the biggest debates among people who like scifi — aside from the Star Wars vs. Star Trek thing — is where to draw the line between science and magic. Some adhere to the idea that magic is simply science that we don't yet understand, others feel that magic represents an essential mystery that can't be understood rationally. Of course the other big dividing line between magic and science has to do with genre: magic appears mostly in fantasy stories, and science (of course) in science fiction. And yet there is currently a trend in the scifi world toward creating stories that blur the line between science and magic: A lot of steampunk novels blend technology and sorcery (one of my favorite examples is in Elizabeth Bear's New Amsterdam, where one of the characters is a "forensic sorceress"). And shows like Lost and X-Files have frequently mingled the mystical and the rational. We talked to five authors whose fiction blurs the line between magic and science to find out what they thought of the difference between the two. Here's what they said. More »
Discover Your Next Favorite Science Fiction Author
Want to discover some cool new authors, and feel in-the-know about one of the most important Hugo awards at the same time? It's your lucky day. You have two easy ways to get to know the nominees for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New SF Writer. Arachne Jericho's Spontaneous Derivation blog has a rundown of the Campbell finalists, including what they've written, their website URLs, and a brief writing sample. And finalist Jon Armstrong is interviewing the other finalists on his podcast, If You're Just Joining Us. Find out how Joe Abercrombie feels about bad reviews, or Mary Robinette Kowal's magic formula for elevator pitches, by clicking the links. [Spontaneous Derivation and If You're Just Joining Us]
The Blob
This Weekend, Indulge Your Inner Blob
Looking for something to do this weekend? Why not celebrate the 50th anniversary of Steve McQueen-monster movie The Blob at Phoenixville, PA's Colonial Theatre? The three-day event features not just the geltastic movie, but also special guests, audience participation and the chance to discover the best way to avoid alien brainwaves. More »
medical mysteries
A Happy Ending to the Movie "Pi" in Real Life
If you saw Darren Aronofsky's frenetic, disturbing flick Pi, you know that its hero, a supergenius who invents a super algorithm, meets a rather terrible end. Though he wants to use his algorithm for the forces of good, he's pursued by evil corporate schemers who want to use it to predict the stock market. Eventually our hero has to destroy his work in a tragic, horrifying scene I won't spoil for you. But the New York Times is reporting today on a real-life inventor of super algorithms whose entanglement with the financial industry did not end tragically. In fact, billionaire David E. Shaw used the cash he gained from developing computer-based strategies for Wall Street trading to found a company whose new mega-computer places them on the cusp of making tremendous medical discoveries about proteins (pictured). More »
watchmen
Nite Owl's Study Is A Museum Of The Minutemen
In the latest behind-the scenes Watchmen diary from UGO original graphic novel artist Dave Gibbons explains how shocked and amazed he was by the attention to detail all around the set. And so are we — especially when it comes to has-been superhero Nite Owl's study. Click through for a clip, plus a gallery of the old time photos that adorn Nite Owl's walls, showing him at the height of his crime-fighting days. Plus some copies of his tell-all novel Under The Hood. More »
retro futurism
1964 Teen Mag Predicts Inflatable Sofas, Glass Houses, and GPS
Co-ed was “The High School Magazine for Homemakers” from the 1950s to 1970s. In 1966, it took a peek at future household technology. Home computers figured prominently (“Imagine having a mechanical secretary to keep budgets, figure your income tax, or plan your menus!”), along with home video recorders. Not surprisingly, the balance of the items featured in the article “Tuning in Tomorrow” were aimed at the future housewives of America. More »
Marienbad, My Love
Thrill-Crazed Space Bugs Swarm Through World's Longest Novel
Got some spare time? The world's longest novel is available as a free download! Coppell, TX writer Mark Leach has just published an expanded 12.6 million word edition of his apocalyptic novel Marienbad, My Love. It's nearly ten times longer than the official record-holding longest novel, Proust's In Search Of Lost Time, not to mention the previously longest science fiction novel, L. Ron Hubbard's Mission Earth. And Leach says he's just getting warmed up. How does he fill so much space? More »
Stargate's Commander Makes Movie For Genius Kids
Star Trek: Voyager's holographic doctor, Robert Picardo, joins John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Michelle Gellar and James Earl Jones in the animated feature Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey. Picardo calls the movie not only entertaining but educational. The film explains quantum physics and breaks down protons, photons, animatter and the big bang theory. What kind of kids are going to watch this movie exactly? The release date is Decemeber 2009. [Scifi]
Star Trek: Voyager's holographic doctor, Robert Picardo, joins John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Michelle Gellar and James Earl Jones in the animated feature Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey. Picardo calls the movie not only entertaining but educational. The film explains quantum physics and breaks down protons, photons, animatter and the big bang theory. What kind of kids are going to watch this movie exactly? The release date is Decemeber 2009. [Scifi]
The Dark Knight
So that shocking Harvey Dent image we ran in this morning's spoiler round up? The one I was pretty sure was a fake? It's looking more like it might be real. Spoiler TV's movie blog posted a bunch of screencaps from The Dark Knight, including a better version of that image. And it does look as though Nurse Joker is going to the hospital to visit a very special patient. Click through for spoilery images.
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Look Who Nurse Joker Is Coming To Visit
So that shocking Harvey Dent image we ran in this morning's spoiler round up? The one I was pretty sure was a fake? It's looking more like it might be real. Spoiler TV's movie blog posted a bunch of screencaps from The Dark Knight, including a better version of that image. And it does look as though Nurse Joker is going to the hospital to visit a very special patient. Click through for spoilery images.
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