A wonderfully clever mash-up of the H2G2 and Doctor Who. Don’t Panic, you say? Fuck that, I’m gonna do my best Looney Tunes imitation and run through a damn wall if I see a freakin’ Dalek.
Though, it you throw your towel over their eyestalk, you will have a significantly better chance of surviving. Just a little hint there for ya.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide Reminds You Not to Panic if You Meet a Dalek [Topless Robot]
Well, apparently those 80s cyberpunk films were correct; in the future, abstract tribal facepaint will totally be in. A student at the Interactive Telecommunications Program of New York University, Adam Harvey, has been experimenting with methods of fooling facial detection software. He’s found that abstract, asymmetrical designs work best; he then posits that, as privacy concerns increase, people will then start adapting such patterns into their personal style as a matter of habit. I like where this is going, personally.
That facial tribal tattoo still makes you look like a fucking idiot though. Seriously, what were you thinking?
Abstract, Cyber Warrior Makeup May Hide Your Face From Surveillance [Switched.Com]
My favourite thing about Twitter is the random links that people toss onto it. Todays example, a very damn bizarre ad for Cadbury’s Milk Chocolate Bars. I mean, what the hell is this trying to say to us? I find the girl on the right particularly disturbing; she looks like a 60 year old librarian in the body of an extremely unimpressed 10 year old.
The young lad, on the other hand, looks far too much like me on school picture day for me to honestly comment.
Cadbury Dairy Milk – Eyebrow dance [YouTube, via stephenfry]
Don’t get me wrong, I am so fucking pleased that Obama won, but frankly I think this was the coolest thing of the evening. Holographic projection communication! In full colour too, better than the tech they had in Star Wars!
Hologram reporter with Blitzer [CNN.com]
Let’s be frank here, this is just an ad for a video game. With that out of the way, let’s talk about how awesome it is! The Fallout games have always had a wickedly black sense of humour, and it’s nice to see that Betheseda haven’t forgotten that spirit as they’ve taken over the franchise. From the wickedly retro stylings to the always-plucky Vault-Boy, this video just furthers my frothing desire for the post-apocalyptic future. Mutants ahoy!
Aerospace behemoth Boeing has announced that it will build a hybrid airship/helicopter combination aircraft, able to lift heavy loads across long distances. Boeing will work with Canadian firm SkyHook International.
Finally, the industrial-corporate hegemony has seen the value of lighter-than-air craft! Oh, how I’ve yearned for a world where giant zeppelins drift silently through the sky, like massive lofty whales of the aether. Thank you Boeing, for making this young man’s dreams a wonderful reality. Now, I just need to convince someone that these are needed in Vancouver…
Boeing to build combo airship-copter flying cranes [The Register]
Ah, the bright shiny future! come my friends, and view the glories of the time to come, 1960! This video clip is a visual document of The Futurama, a exhibit/ride at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Sponsosred by General Motors, The Futurama is a perfect example of the type of optimistic idea people had about the future back then. Admittedly we now know it’s all lies and cookies, but think what could have been! Automated highways, “gyro-coptors”, and suburbs that don’t suck you of the will to live. Oh, shiny future, where’s my fucking flying car?
Retro Futurism: The Great Metropolis of 1960 and What Criswell Found There [io9.com]