And now, a news report that out-Satans that Christmas light fiasco that ignited the Eastern Tennessee media market last December in a geyser of hellfire. Obviously, we’re not thrilled that anybody’s lawn ornaments were stolen, but seriously, this is the apotheosis of regional news. A duo of Satanists in Mountain View, Colorado were aggrieved when … Continued

What if you could play the second season of Game of Thrones through a role playing game? It would be bloody and brilliant. Watch and behold the glory that is a 1990s Game of Thrones RPG — a sequel to last year’s fantastic computer game version of season one. But be warned there are serious … Continued

Most of us listen to music in places where speakers just won’t do. But we all have different preferences for how we go about doing that. Some like the big sound and presence of over-the-ear headphones. Others like the portability and isolation afforded by in-ear monitors. But what do you use to listen to music … Continued

io9 is proud to present fiction from Lightspeed Magazine. Once a month, we’ll be featuring a story from Lightspeed’s current issue. This month’s selection is “Requiem in the Key of Prose” by Jake Kerr. Enjoy! Top image: “City of Sad Shadows” by Chris Cold. Requiem in the Key of Prose Jake Kerr Metaphor There is … Continued

If you’re in the habit of giving credence to tired clichés, you’re probably aware that a good chef never blames a mistake on his tools. That’s not quite true when it comes to case modding. Anybody who’s ever tried molding metal (or anything else) into newfound shapes knows that skill is definitely a factor, but … Continued

This week, the United States celebrates its independence from Great Britain. But throughout the nation’s history there have been plenty of people who have sought their independence from the US, not in it. Some of these rebellions against the US have been mere publicity stunts, while others genuinely threatened to tear the country apart. Still … Continued

Ice Cream Sandwich is now installed on 10-percent of active Android devices, according to Google’s own numbers. About 64-percent of users are still using Gingerbread. And the latest iteration of Android, Jelly Bean, is already on its way. When developers express concern about Android fragmentation, this is what they mean: Users are distributed over so … Continued

Take a peek inside the brains and guts of the new Google Nexus 7 tablet and then compare it to the iPad 3, the Kindle Fire, and this fish. Not surprisingly, they all share some similarities. Here’s the component list: • NVIDIA T30L Tegra 3 processor—plenty fast brain. • 1GB of Hynix HTC2G83CFR DDR3 RAM—the … Continued

Fuel cells are amazing things but, just like any portable energy source, they occasionally need topping up with juice. This one, however, can keep on going even when it runs out of fuel. What kind of sorcery is this? In fact, this is a new solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) developed at Harvard that converts hydrogen … Continued

There are many types of superhero movies: campy, dark-and-gritty, kid-friendly, gonzo, etc. But really, there are just two kinds: movies that actually have something to say about heroism and sacrifice, and ones that don’t. On that basis alone, Amazing Spider-Man is a win. You might feel like it’s too freaking soon to retell Peter Parker’s … Continued

The UK mobile carrier O2 released some usage stats from its smartphone user base, revealing that talking on the phone is only the fifth most popular thing (web surfing, facebooking/tweeting, gaming, and listening to music were all more popular). And as the Atlantic points out, thats not a trend exclusive to the UK, as other … Continued

Then it might bear a strong resemblance to this concept animation by Malcolm Sutherland. Sutherland took cues from the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle comic book, which experimented with many bizarre art styles. Here’s a pared-down look at those familiar sewer shinobi of New York City. And is Michelangelo smoking the reefer? Explains Sutherland of … Continued

The art of generating buzz at San Diego Comic-Con has become a loud, angry, and sometimes beautiful dance between the convention-goers and the hordes of marketers. No longer impressed with panels and screenings of free media, the crowd demands more. What started as a small little comics convention between West Coast friends has now transformed … Continued

Batteries are essential in our everyday lives. But their prevalence doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s easy to understand how they work. In this video, the engineering guy Bill Hammack takes a look at perhaps the most basic battery of all—the lead-acid cell—in order to explain the fundamental science behind every single battery you’ve ever used. … Continued

Last week’s awesome Google Glass demo proved that strapping a decent quality camera to a person’s face makes for awesome first-person viewing. Funnily enough, the porn industry thought the exact same thing. It’s incredibly easy to see why porn’s interested in Google Glass—we don’t need to spell out exactly why first-person shots are attractive. But … Continued

While bored in class one day, Malaysian artist The Durrrrian decided to doodle Earth’s Mightiest Heroes going medieval. In these illustrations, the shawarma is replaced with mutton, and Tony Stark’s exoskeleton is traded out for luscious silks with an absurdly high thread count. We’re not normally ones to encourage students to be delinquent in their … Continued

Google’s Jelly Bean mascot has only been standing outside Google HQ for a week, but it’s not coping well with the Californian heat. According to Android engineer Dan Morrill, the statue’s head partially melted in the sun, then popped off. To add insult to injury, a passer-by made off with one of the jelly beans … Continued

Entertainment Weekly has released a handful of stills from The Hobbit for their big Comic-Con debut, and on the cover is Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf looking quite stately. Inside the issue is a collection of revealing Hobbit snaps including the dwarves all tucked away in their escape barrels. Plus, look how director Peter Jackson has … Continued

Of course, that’s what they would say, isn’t it? The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a statement explaining that no evidence of the existence of mermaids “has ever been found.” NOAA explains helpfully that belief in mermaids may go back as far as 30,000 years, to a time when humans first began “to … Continued