Symbols need context to have meaning. If you allow a symbol to have emotional power over you absent all context (or recognition of intent), then the issue is with you, not the symbol (or necessarily the person using it). Cultures should feel free to use symbols that have a particular meaning for them, without concern…

I think io9 tries to be careful about calling these things, "possible breakthroughs". Still, in this hype-oriented culture we live in, a report about something exciting that might be true is just as good (ratings-wise, if you will) as a report that it is true. For journalistic outlets today, there is no practical…

C'mon, folks, don't you know by now that anything dumb people can't explain is the work of extraterrestrials? In the past, such mysteries used to be the work of either God or the Devil, depending on whether the dumb person in question liked what they experienced. Nowadays, with pop culture sci-fi pervading every nook…

Wow, we really have hit the bottom of the barrel in Hollywood, haven't we. This will probably score big at the box office, but it has to be one of the dumbest vampire spin-off ideas I've heard in a long time. Vampires who are still "young enough at heart" to be into all the youth-oriented trends (facebook, fashion,…

I guess I'm just wondering why, as seems to be reported, so many teens today are drawn to and connect with YA protagonists who suffer from slavery, abuse and torture, who resort to self-mutilation and extreme violence as a coping mechanism, and contemplate suicide as part of their "heroic journey". I'm glad that the…

We're talking about Disney here, which means whatever this project is, it won't be someone else's material. Disney only builds franchises out of properties it creates—and thus completely owns—itself. Lindelof is a gun-for-hire in this scenario, and while he may get some piece of the back end, he will not ultimately…

I don't think the Tor Challenge would lead to the August 3 event. And without that, the rest of the timeline becomes moot. "Rogue tech staff" agents could strike at any time, with tools far more sophisticated than a Tor relay, and the fact that none have ever done so is, I think, enlightening.

But these YA novels do speak to a period in our lives when we feel put upon and awkward and alone and unwanted. The period is fairly short but it is profound and it is extremely common.

If I went back in time and met my fifteen year old self, I would give myself a sports almanac for the twenty year period between 1980 and 2000, tell myself to beware of the real estate bubble bursting in the 80s, tell myself to invest in Microsoft immediately, and then leave. I don't think there's much from my teen…

Again, you may be right.

You may be right.

Copyright isn't the same as patent protection. For one thing, patents have expiration dates, whereas copyrights effectively have none (not anymore). The requirements for defense of the two are also quite different. The tapping mechanism is supposedly patented, right? Copyright infringement isn't really an issue, I…

You know, I figure if nobody has ponied up the cash to challenge WotC in court over "tapping" by now, nobody ever will. The time to do it was 15 years ago when everyone was making money hand-over-fist on the CCG craze and other companies had the funds—and the motivation—to take a pot shot at WotC. But I just don't see…

I too am of the opinion that what hurt the film the most was the completely uninspired set of mutants chosen to carry the film. I didn't care about any of them outside of Charles and Erik. I almost liked Mystique, but I couldn't get past all her winsome teen angst and thinly veiled gay pride allegory. I honestly…

I pretty much agree with all the comments and criticisms expressed so far (January Jones is just not pretty enough to compensate for her lack of acting ability, IMO). As departures from canon go, most of them in this movie worked pretty well (Charles' paralysis, for instance, has far more resonance in the movie than…

You are quite right. "Vampire", as a label, has been applied to many cultural variants.

Why are all the authors female? Are all the readers female too? Cuz I've never heard of this stuff aside from the Pern novels.

Well, given the evidence...

Well, I don't think Daleks look awesome. I think they look stupid. Always have.

Breathing isn't exactly a "habit". It is an activity driven by autonomic brain function that occurs because the body demands oxygen. Unless you propose a new kind of vampire that still needs oxygenated cells in order to function, breathing is as unnecessary as eating. And just as blood replaces food for a vampire, the…