Gizmodo

The world of Middle-earth and its adaptive iterations has had a long history of strange and peculiar owners, even before Peter Jackson’s iconic movie trilogies came along and made that even more complicated. Now, a huge sea-change in the rights to Tolkien’s work has made things even more complex... thanks to a video…Read more...

At first glance, the story looks like something your aunt might post on her Facebook from her local newspaper. “Midland County judge ‘pardons’ jaywalking puppy,” the headline reads, with a photo of a startled-looking Pomeranian behind a microphone, seemingly on a witness stand. The post details how a Texas judge found…Read more...

The world is currently mourning the unclear future of one of the great streaming services—HBO Max—amidst its ongoing merger with Discovery+. This week, HBO Max is reportedly removing 36 titles from the streaming service, including 20 of its own productions, which is the largest dump in recent history.

Another day, another round of the newly formed Warner Bros. Discovery boss finding some way to make HBO Max subscribers unhappy. This time, beloved animated series Infinity Train, OK K.O.!—Let’s Be Heroes, Summer Camp Island, and much more.

“Would that it were so simple,” the young, aspiring western actor Hobie Doyle mouths in the Coen brothers film Hail, Caesar! He struggles endlessly to portray a style of high-society speech far away from his roots as a simple good ol’ boy. Hail, Caesar! is currently watchable on Netflix, though recent reports show…Read more...

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Looking for a satisfying building toy that’s not about stacking colored bricks? GraviTrax instead lets users create sprawling marble runs that send metal balls racing across elevated tracks and through obstacles like inverted loops. This fall, GraviTrax is finally getting electronic elements, allowing for more…Read more...

Madame Web pictures throw in a mandatory Spider-Man reference. Rick & Morty teases “Wormageddon.” The Hellraiser reboot gets an obvious rating. Plus, new footage from Vampire Academy and Peacock’s climate disaster Last Light. Spoilers, away!

We all have those celebrities or notable figures we’d like to sit down with for a conversation. It would be nice, for instance, to be able to ask a talented musician about their creative process. Or, to find out directly from the source what actually happened in a defining cultural moment. (Petition to Let This…Read more...

On Thursday Motorola announced the Edge, its latest affordable Android phone. Not to be outdone by Google and Samsung’s mid-range devices, the phone boasts flagship-like features at a retail price of $500. But it still may be too much for too little.Read more...

Not a month ago, 53 House lawmakers voted, for the first time this century, to send a comprehensive federal privacy bill to the floor. It was a laudable achievement, but it’s been frozen in place ever since. Now, with fewer than 100 days until the midterm elections, any hope of getting national privacy reform done…Read more...

There’s more disheartening news out of the Discovery and Warner Bros. merger as the latest casualty of cuts have fallen on DC’s animated series Young Justice. According to TV Line, season five will not be moving forward.Read more...

Tech accessory company Drop has released its newest collaboration, this time creating keyboards featuring two famed Lord of the Rings languages, Dwarvish and Elvish. If you’re looking to type in Quenya or in Khuzdul you’ll still have to download a font or two, but if you’re interested in the aesthetics, Drop has you…Read more...

It appears Dave Franco really wants us to know he loves playing characters with musical aspirations (see: The Afterparty). This time around he’s gotten himself on a Jamie Foxx track released for their Netflix vampire film Day Shift, with a new music video arriving today.Read more...

When a wildfire, flood, or storm strikes a community, the damage is far-reaching: Homes and infrastructure may be destroyed, people are forced to evacuate, and pets are sometimes lost or left behind.Read more...

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Reddit, the centralized online forum, has been coasting along well-traveled roads for a long time. The jalopy’s been maintained well, but it’s never been given a true fresh coat of paint. Now, the company behind the social ranking site has plans to let certain users open up the old girl’s hood to add some aftermarket…Read more...

Anime has been influencing Western art since its inception—and although anime music videos are swiftly disappearing, music videos inspired by anime are not. In between nostalgia, streaming, and accessibility, anime is making moves into music videos in a big way, especially as more and more people are reveling in their…Read more...

I’ve always gravitated to genre stories about heroes that are defined by their power to persist. Peter Parker, famously raising himself out from under a pile of rubble in Amazing Spider-Man #33, was burned into my mind as a kid, and Tom King, Mitch Gerads, and Clayton Cowles’ Mister Miracle is one of my all time favoritesRead more...

In case you didn’t know, the U.S. Navy has militarized sea mammals that help identify undersea mines, defend against enemy swimmers, and protect about a quarter of the U.S. nuclear stockpile. Recently, a team of researchers equipped some of the Navy’s dolphins with cameras and captured some remarkable footage of the…Read more...

Wednesday’s Russian spacewalk didn’t exactly go as planned, as one cosmonaut’s spacesuit malfunctioned, forcing him to head back inside the International Space Station (ISS) due to an unexpected drop in voltage.Read more...

A brand new superhero potentially coming to the big screen has been revealed in the way most of them are: a toy. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse won’t be in theaters until June 2, 2023, but since it was originally supposed to be out in October, merchandise is finding its way on shelves. One such piece of merch,…Read more...

The deep sea is filled with creatures adapted to intense environments, and new research describes how biofluorescent snailfish near Greenland use antifreeze proteins to keep themselves alive in frigid waters.Read more...

If you love ultra-low-budget, dare we say schlocky (but in-on-the-joke schlocky, not “we think we’re making a masterpiece” schlocky) horror movies—well, you are well familiar with animal-attack saga Birdemic. The original (2010's Birdemic: Shock and Terror) caused a sensation... and kick-started a cult franchise…Read more...

Do you think of Google as a “Web3” company? No? Well at least as far as their investing portfolio is concerned, they’re pretty deep into blockchain and crypto technology, just based on the investment rounds they were party in.Read more...

The robots are coming...to relieve you of doing the dishes. Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently revealed new details about Optimus, an artificial intelligence humanoid robot which he envisions will take over so-called “boring” tasks at your average household.Read more...

A Spanish YouTuber who fell from grace—although it’s doubtful that a man who hospitalized a stranger with an electric shaver ever had grace—wants you to know that his 8-minute apology video was fake. Borja Escalona had enraged much of Spain after threatening a server for declining to give him a $2 empanada for free…Read more...

We spent pretty much the entire arc of Game of Thrones’ TV existence, and then some, wondering about one of the biggest questions in Westeros: just when the hell was The Winds of Winter going to come out? Well, we kind of have an answer now; you’ll know when George R.R. Martin is damn well sure of it.

Fresh off the heels of “Hot in Herre,” Nelly blessed the public with yet another hit: “Dilemma.” The R&B song was released in June 2002 and features Kelly Rowland as a woman smitten with Nelly despite being in a relationship with someone else. The song is a staple in Y2K music culture, and today is actually a special…Read more...

The West Nile virus is having a great summer in New York City. Health officials this week reported that at least two people have recently contracted the viral illness, while a record number of mosquitoes are estimated to be carrying it currently. Officials are warning people to use repellant and wear protective…Read more...

Netflix has released the first full-length trailer for Wednesday, the new series directed by Tim Burton that follows the eldest Addams Family child as she attempts to find her way in her new school. Jenna Ortega takes on the lead role, alongside Catherine Zeta-Jones (Morticia), Luis Guzmán (Gomez), and Isaac Ordonez…Read more...

TikTok is rolling out new features and doubling down on lessons learned from the 2020 Elections as we head into the midterms this November. The social media giant wants influencers to know that paid political content and ads are not allowed. The app is also launching an Elections Center to connect its young and…Read more...

In an unusual production decision, Superman & Lois will recast the role of Jonathan Kent following Jordan Elsass’s immediate exit. Elsass did not arrive in Vancouver by the deadline given to the cast, according to Deadline, and the recasting announcement came shortly after.

Last December, we got a sneak peek at a radical new way to interact with the myriad of smart devices in our homes. It was a point and click iPhone app that eliminated the need for voice commands or jumping between device specific apps. But it turns out developer Bastian Andelefski’s neat iOS demo wasn’t just a concept;…Read more...

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Get a look at the Addams Family from Netflix’s Wednesday. She-Hulk’s showrunner Jessica Gao teases a big question from the show’s first post-credits scene. Plus, get another look at the Supernatural prequel series. To me, my Spoilers!

The short-term rental app Airbnb announced back in June they were making a partial prohibition on parties permanent. Now, they’re updating their software in the hopes it will nip any thoughts of backyard blowouts in the bud.

Although Steve Jobs condemned the tool when he announced the iPhone, a stylus is now essential for many artists working on the iPad. But the 2nd generation Apple Pencil isn’t a cheap accessory, and if you’ve already dropped a small fortune on an iPad, Adonit’s new Neo Pro offers much of the same functionality for…Read more...

Log on to your Apple Store or Google Play account, and you’ll find dozens of apps that say they’ll keep track of your time of the month or that’ll help you know the status of your little bun in the oven. They’re also keeping track of you, and it’s become increasingly apparent since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the…Read more...

The biggest selling point of a wireless Bluetooth speaker is that it can be used anywhere, with 2019's Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 taking that to the extreme with full waterproofing and even the ability to float when dunked. As tiny speakers without smart assistants go, the UE Wonderboom 2 is one of our favorites, but…Read more...

Universal Studios Orlando just unveiled its full slate for Halloween Horror Nights 2022, and it’s scary good. This year includes 10 haunted houses, five scare zones, two live shows, as well as an after-hours selection of the theme park’s ride attractions (Petition to keep E.T. Adventure open during the event).

As Inu-Oh rocks theaters, I keep thinking about Tomona Dan-No-Ura, whose narrative ostensibly begins and ends the film. As he passes through all the stages of his life, becoming Tomoichi when he joins the Biwa priests and then Tomoari when he begins his own musical theater sect, his art becomes intimately tied to his…Read more...

It’s no secret that despite the massive boon in online shopping and packages needing delivery, traditional mail service is struggling. No one writes nice letters to each other any more, but that could soon change as the Royal Mail in the UK is about to introduce some truly amazing postage stamps featuring heroes that…Read more...

Two top Democrats in the House of Representatives have issued requests to a host of federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, demanding details of alleged purchases of Americans’ personal data. The lawmakers accuse the seven federal agencies of using commercial dealings…Read more...

Unexpected how suddenly the prospect of a Big Thunder Mountain movie has gone from intriguing to very, very much having our attention. Thanks to quite the exciting attachment of Bert and Bertie, who Deadline reports have hopped aboard the train for their take on the classic Disney Parks attraction.Read more...

Meta, owner of social media platforms repeatedly cited amongst the top purveyors of falsehoods and fake news, wants you to know it’s super serious about combating lies and bogus claims ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.Read more...

Hackers infiltrated the corporate-side of a utility that supplies water to about 1.3 million people in the United Kingdom. However, the apparent data breach may not have been the one the cyber-criminals were aiming for.

Roscosmos just revealed a model of its own space station to rival the International Space Station (ISS) in a move that outlines the Russian space agency’s plans following its debated departure from the orbiting station.

She-Hulk comic book fans might be a little confused later this week when the character finally makes her debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the comics, the character’s origin happens when Jennifer Walters, successful lawyer and cousin to Bruce Banner, is shot in a mob hit. Her cousin tries to save her but…Read more...

With its recent high profile PC releases of formerly exclusive games like God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn, Sony seems to be making a shift to marketing its video game arm as a hybrid console-PC company. Now, newly datamined files pointing to a PlayStation PC game launcher could mean the company wants to ape Xbox in…Read more...