It may not be bigger on the inside like the real TARDIS, but Doctor Who fans will rejoice in drinking coffee (or tea) with this Figural TARDIS Mug from the NeatoShop.
Tags: Doctor Who, TARDIS
Star Trek Theme Park Coming to a Galaxy Near You
The Strange Powers of the Placebo Effect [Video]
“Placebos: pretty freakin’ weird.” That just about sums it up.
Created by:
Daniel Keogh – http://www.twitter.com/ProfessorFunk
Luke Harris – http://www.lukeharrisgraphics.com
Wind Waker Cake [Pic]
30 Years of the PC: an Infographic Timeline
PC Mag is celebrating the PC’s third decade (and the 30th year of its own publication, too) with an illustrated history of the technology and magazine, including notable names, hardware and benchmarks along the way.
Follow along with our timeline as we point out a few of the important folks, products, and waystations in this journey through technology over the past 30 years. And if you’re suitably intrigued, we have an even more extensive timeline for you to check out.
[PCMag]
Comic Books as Journalism: Outstanding Graphic Nonfiction
Comics get a bad rap. Say the words “comic book” to anyone who’s unfamiliar with the breadth of the medium and all the many forms it takes, and an image of Action Comics or Archie or X-Men comes to mind. But some of you know that comics are as varied as their non-illustrated counterparts (that is, books), even including nonfiction in an endless array of variety. Essentially, Rule 34 of the Internet can be translated to comics as well: if it exists, there’s a graphic novel of it.
On Wednesday, The Atlantic featured “Comic Books as Journalism: 10 Masterpieces of Graphic Nonfiction” by Kristin Butler; these are a few of the books covered, but you should take a few minutes to check out the rest.
1. THE BEATS
The Beats invokes the immediacy of 1940s and ’50s art, music, and writing; even better, it provides political context and introduced us to an entire panoply of artists whose contributions to the era are lesser known. From painting sessions in Jay DeFeo’s flat to strains of mental illness throughout the movement, The Beats is an invaluable addition to our picture of a charged moment in creative history.
5. THE STUFF OF LIFE
If only all biology textbooks were as cool as The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA. [. . .] The book starts with the mind-boggling story of how an inchoate mass of chemical elements formed into life over five billion years ago, and then drills down to the cellular level before getting into applied genetics (even Dolly the Sheep makes an appearance).
If only all biology textbooks were as cool as 7. THE INFLUENCING MACHINE
Written by Brooke Gladstone, longtime host of NPR’s excellent On the Media, and illustrated by cartoonist Josh Neufeld (yup, he of A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge fame), The Influencing Machine takes a refreshingly alternative approach to the age-old issue of why we disparage and distrust the news. And as the book quickly makes clear, it has always been thus.
As a writer who frequently finds herself trying to ascertain the level of truthiness behind news stories, I find Brooke Gladstone’s book especially appealing, but I recommend the list in its entirety to everyone who enjoys nonfiction.
NASA’s “Up All Night” Perseids-Watching Party
If you’ve ever dreamed of staying up late chatting with NASA astronomers while watching the Perseids streak across the sky, tonight might be the best of your life. And even if you aren’t all OMGNASA, you can still catch a glimpse of the meteor shower if you’re in the right place (and the moon doesn’t outshine them all in your location).
Make plans to chat with NASA astronomer Bill Cooke and his team from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center as they answer your questions about the Perseids via live Web chat. Join them on Friday, Aug. 12 at 11 p.m. EDT — 03:00 UTC GMT — then make plans to stay “up all night” until 5:00 a.m. EDT on Saturday, Aug. 13.
Joining the chat is easy. Simply return to this chat page a few minutes before 11 p.m. EDT on Friday, Aug. 12. The chat module will appear at the bottom of this page. Simply type your name to join the chat, then we’ll start taking your questions at 11 p.m. EDT.
And if that’s not enough info for you, you can head over to the NASA Chat page for more.
[image]
Death Star Cake Made of Win, LEDs [Gallery]
This almost-entirely edible Death Star was created by Rachel Linhart for a friend’s 7-year-old son, a project that took several days and about 24 hours of baking and artistry. So naturally something horrible happened to it, right? This Death Star was destroyed not by Luke and Han but a New York City taxi ride. It’s a shame, too, because this is some fine bakerycraft. Linhart reports that the boys at the party were ok with the road-weary cake, though, and “decided it was the Death Star after Luke destroyed it. Superfans!”
[DVICE]