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China's Enormous Derelict Shopping Mall Does Not Bode Well For Humanity's Future

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China's Enormous Derelict Shopping Mall Does Not Bode Well For Humanity's Future

China is known for building ambitious infrastructure projects, and finding humans to populate them after the fact. Sometimes, it doesn’t go according to plan. This is one of those times.

Meet the Pentagonal Mart, a gargantuan, $200 million shopping complex inspired by the US Pentagon, which has the dubious honor of being the largest vacant building in Shanghai. According to the People’s Daily News, the 70-acre mall was completed in 2009 and remains virtually empty to this day, “mainly because of its location and confusing inner structures.” Hmm, minor planning details.

Only in small sections of the shopping mall/business center/human maze will a person occasionally be spotted pushing a lonely shopping cart down an aisle lit by endless fluorescent lights. Canned foods and packaged goods gleam untouched on shelves; museum pieces in an exhibition of superfluous development that needs no signage to explain itself.

If modern society were to collapse under the weight of egregiously unsustainable resource consumption, our dystopian swan song would probably look something like this.

[People’s Daily News | Business Insider]

Follow the author @themadstone

Top image via SPM Park


We'd Watch a Whole Show About Galavant's Bawdy Princess Jubilee

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We'd Watch a Whole Show About Galavant's Bawdy Princess Jubilee

Last night’s Galavant two-episode block—“Giants vs. Dwarves” and “About Last Knight”—saw the characters fumbling a lot but accomplishing little (and singing, of course). One huge problem was settled, however, by a certain Princess Jubilee, who helps Princess Isabella escape her Bridezilla spell.

Jubilee is played by British theater and TV star Sheridan Smith, and she gets a big rock ‘n’ roll number about being a “different kind of princess.”

We'd Watch a Whole Show About Galavant's Bawdy Princess Jubilee

She don’t like glitter and she don’t like pink.

We'd Watch a Whole Show About Galavant's Bawdy Princess Jubilee

BUT she does like to start fights, live fast, make big messes, swap spit with boys and girls—and is capable of unleashing a booze-fueled belch so powerful it knocks Princess Isabella’s mind-control crown right off her head.

Fun and saucy and propelling the plot forward (seriously, that crown thing was getting SO TIRED), Princess Jubilee killed it. A PJ spin-off is probably too much to ask for, but don’t you kinda hope she comes back again before the season ends?

We'd Watch a Whole Show About Galavant's Bawdy Princess Jubilee

Photos courtesy of ABC

Working for a Wizard Is Bad Enough When They Do Pay You

Gizmodo The 25 Most Popular Passwords of 2015: We’re All Such Idiots | Gawker Black Lives Matter Pro

The Reason Why We Still Haven't Seen Civil War's Version of Spider-Man

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The Reason Why We Still Haven't Seen Civil War's Version of Spider-Man

Stan Lee talks about a Star Wars/Marvel crossover movie, because of course he does. Maisie Williams adds another twist to Game of Thrones’ worst kept secret. Ben Affleck offers a mysterious comment about directing the solo Batman film. Plus, Wonder Woman set pictures, and a long wait for Sherlock. Spoilers now!

Captain America: Civil War

In an extensive Q&A with Collider, the Russo brothers discuss their work on The Winter Soldier as well as the upcoming sequel—and jokingly claim that Spider-Man’s appearance won’t be unveiled until the day the film comes out. In fact, they say the real reason Spider-Man has not yet been revealed is partially because of the long-reaching deal that brought Marvel and Sony together:

Part of the reasons of what was so secretive was that the deals were always lagging slightly behind how we were using the character. We were always in danger of upsetting the deal—there were still sensitive issues going on between the two studios that they needed to agree on. When we were casting Tom Holland, when we were screentesting him for the movie there was a whole very involved kind of process that was under the radar and secretive, because of the fact that it was still a sensitive business issue.

... The reason why I preface that is we’re still kind of in “deal zone”. The reason why we still won’t talk about [the costume] is that Marvel and Sony still have to work out what uses they have for the character, on a promotional level, on a commercial level. There’s still complications as far as that goes that involves business deals.

There’s much more in the full video below.


Star Wars: Rogue One

Birth Movies Death offer an update on last October’s rumors that Chris McQuarrie was drafted in to polish the script for the film, citing sources claiming that McQuarrie “saved” the movie during the time he was involved in updating the script.


Deadpool

In perhaps unsurprising news, the film has been banned in China for its graphic content. [FilmSchoolRejects]


Star Wars/Marvel Crossover

Stan Lee has randomly decided to ponder the possibility of Disney merging two of their most successful brands into one unholy crossover film:

Yeah, probably. It’ll be the most expensive film ever produced! But anything that the public want to see you can be sure it will eventually be produced.

Well, I don’t know how many characters you can have in a movie but obviously the people who produce these things are looking to be as successful as possible. If they feel that incorporating Star Wars with the Marvel characters will be very successful, they’ll find a way to do it. Can you imagine Spider-Man saying: ‘May the force be with you’? It may come to that!

Suffice to say, this is more of an example of Stan’s imagination than an actual rumor. [Big Issue]


Batman

Ben Affleck has a rather nebulous response to the long running rumor that he will direct himself in a solo Batman movie:

I’ll just say going through the process, I would never have imagined that I could or would direct a movie like this.

[I]n working with [Snyder] and seeing what he did and watching him every day, I got really inspired by that and by seeing the scope on which he was telling the story, by seeing what he was able to do with this kind of mythic story on a grand scale.

[USA Today]


Assassin’s Creed

Michael Fassbender briefly discusses his character, Callum Lynch:

He is an outsider. He’s been institutionalized from his early teens. He’s a little bit of a lost soul of sorts. He starts to identify [his] lineage and where he comes from in a way.

[Wall Street Journal]


Wonder Woman

Here’s a few new set pictures from filming, featuring a WWI-era-garbed Diana and Steven examining a decidedly non-WWI-era sword and shield.


Jessica Jones

Melissa Rosenberg says that David Tennant’s Kilgrave will definitely not be back in the second season:

Well, sure, I mean, we have David Tennant and you want him around forever. I mean, he’s such an extraordinary actor and he’s really, truly one of the loveliest people you’ll ever work with, but, you know, the show is called Jessica Jones ... the story is about Jessica’s arc and how does that play out as best we could, so that was the arc of the first season.

[Comicbook.com]


Daredevil

Contrary to the first season, there’s a lot more people in superhero costumes by the time the second season concludes, according to Co-Executive Producer Marco Ramirez:

‘Cause of what Drew [Goddard] and Steven [S. DeKnight] did so well season one - and much to Marvel and Netflix’s credit - was allow them to ground the show and make it as gritty as possible. Anything like a comic book costume, to us, a fun part of the challenge is making it organically feel part of the world or the tapestry of the world that makes it seem like season one.So, will people be wearing kick ass costumes in this show? Yes. Yes, everybody does - we promise! But, that said, we wanted to make it feel as organic and grounded as possible.

[Comicbook.com]


Game of Thrones

In a new video interview, Maisie Williams offers another teasing twist in the long, long saga of Jon Snow’s life/death in the show:

It was awful, it was really awful – everyone was so sad about it. And I feel so mean because I speak to people and they’re all like ‘Jon Snow, is he back?’ and it’s really heartbreaking because people are like ‘yeah, but he’s coming back though?’.

There’s a great twist – but I can’t say that he’s going to be alive

There’s a little more in the video below. [Radio Times]


Sherlock

PBS president Paula Kreger has confirmed the fourth season of the show will land in the U.S. in early 2017. [Comicbook.com]


Star Wars Rebels

During a breakdown of the recent trailer for Entertainment Weekly, Dave Filoni teases the ultimate battle between Padawan and Master, Ahsoka vs. Darth Vader:

I like a lightsaber fight like anybody, or a big action sequence like we’ve done in the past, but I always find that those have little meaning if you don’t have the emotions going into it to support it — you don’t have the tension and the stakes. There’s some really powerful scenes coming up for fans involving Ahsoka.

As well as the incoming appearance of Princess Leia in the show:

We were really focused on trying to discover who Leia was prior to A New Hope. We know that she’s very strong, somewhat rash, super intelligent, but how did she develop those skills? In A New Hope, she’s really an impressive character when you think of her standing face to face with Tarkin, standing face to face with Vader, talking back to them, lying to them, deceiving them, misdirecting them.


Agent Carter

Hayley Atwell ponders on if the show will ever explore Peggy’s backstory in England:

I think in Season 2, without giving anything away, there are moments that we see of what her life potentially could have been before back in England, and it also sets up a very rich background for her. So knowing that her roots are there, knowing that there are certain things that happened in her past in England that defined who she was as a woman, as a person, I think there’s plenty of opportunity to explore that a little bit more. It would just mean we wouldn’t be able to bring the whole crew over, and we love the crew here. So we’d be having to say goodbye. But we’ve always had this kind of strong sense of as much as we are a family here, we want to protect the show and do what’s best for the show.

[CBR]


The Flash

Finally, here’s a new trailer for the show’s return tonight.


Additional reporting by Gordon Jackson and Charlie Jane Anders. Image: The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

The power of Star Wars is such that, even a month after release, high-res stills from The Force Awak

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The power of Star Wars is such that, even a month after release, high-res stills from The Force Awakens are big news. As part of an interview with Neal Scanlan about the 110 practical alien creatures made for the film, USA Today has a gallery of new images showcasing some of the most prominent aliens.

The Real Dystopia Is When Advertising Starts Invading Your Dreams

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The Real Dystopia Is When Advertising Starts Invading Your Dreams

Studio Smack’s “Branded Dreams” taps into a nightmare I didn’t even know I had. This feels like it takes place in the same future as the product placement-fueled Minority Report. People selling ad space in their dreams.

[Vimeo Staff Picks]


Contact the author at katharine@io9.com.

Scientists Discover Spider-Man Isn't Realistic (Again)

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Scientists Discover Spider-Man Isn't Realistic (Again)

Spider-Man ain’t got nothing on the Gecko, it turns out. Geckos are well-known for their ability to adhere to almost any kind of surface, making them fantastic climbers. In fact, they’re the largest creatures able to maneuver along vertical walls, and a new study concludes that this is because of scaling limitations as animal body size increases.

The gecko’s impressive climbing ability is due to billions of tiny hair-like structures on the footpads on the bottoms of their feet, which are small enough that the so-called Van der Waals forces between molecules become significant. That’s also true of other animals with similar abilities, like spiders, cockroaches, and beetles, as well as bats, tree frogs, and lizards. Although they are quite different creatures in many ways, they all have sticky footpads of varying sizes.

Scientists Discover Spider-Man Isn't Realistic (Again)

University of Cambridge zoologist David Labonte and several colleagues measured the size of those footpads relative to body surface area in 225 animals, ranging from mites to geckos. And they found that adhesive pads in mites, for instance, require 200 times less body surface area than those for geckos. Following that scaling law, Spiderman would need to cover 40 percent of his body—fully 80 percent of his front—in adhesive pads if he wanted to scale a vertical building.

“If a human wanted to climb up a wall the way a gecko does, we’d need impractically large sticky feet—and shoes in European size 145 or US size 114,” co-author Walter Federle said in a press release.

Scientists Discover Spider-Man Isn't Realistic (Again)

That’s because body surface area per volume decreases as an animal grows in size, according to Labonte. “An ant has a lot of surface area and very little volume, and an elephant is mostly volume with not much surface area,” he explained. Bigger and heavier animals need a lot more stickiness to climb a vertical surface, but there’s just not enough body surface area for the necessary large footpads that wold be required. The way the scaling works out, a gecko is pretty much the biggest size possible, given those constraints.

There’s a great deal of interest among scientists in developing biologically-inspired adhesives. Thus far, the prototypes have only proven effective on very small areas, and the Cambridge study helps explain why that’s the case.

But bigger footpads are not the only strategy animals have devised to become better climbers. The researchers found that tree frogs, for instance, evolved to make their footpads stickier rather than bigger. If scientists can tease out the exact mechanism behind how the frogs do that, we would have one more avenue toward super-powerful adhesives in the future.

[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]

Images: David Labonte/University of Cambridge.

http://gizmodo.com/super-sticky-g...


120,000-Piece Lego Model of the Titanic Breaking in Half Is Heartbreakingly Beautiful

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120,000-Piece Lego Model of the Titanic Breaking in Half Is Heartbreakingly Beautiful

Not since James Cameron put Leo and Kate on-screen in his disaster flick have we experienced so many feels for the Titanic tragedy. But Lego Jedi Ryan McNaught also manages to infuse some humor into his 120,000-piece model of the doomed ship breaking in half before sinking.

120,000-Piece Lego Model of the Titanic Breaking in Half Is Heartbreakingly Beautiful

The massive model is peppered with countless Lego Minifigs desperately clinging to life, falling into the ocean, and trying their best to tread water as the tragedy unfolds.

120,000-Piece Lego Model of the Titanic Breaking in Half Is Heartbreakingly Beautiful

Some Minifigs were definitely luckier than others when it comes to how events played out that night/seven days ago when Ryan finished this epic model after putting in some 25o hours of work designing and assembling it. Insane! [Flickr - Ryan McNaught via The Brothers Brick]

120,000-Piece Lego Model of the Titanic Breaking in Half Is Heartbreakingly Beautiful

120,000-Piece Lego Model of the Titanic Breaking in Half Is Heartbreakingly Beautiful

120,000-Piece Lego Model of the Titanic Breaking in Half Is Heartbreakingly Beautiful

Photos by Ryan McNaught


You’re reading Leg Godt, the blog with the latest Lego news and the best sets on the web. Follow us on Twitter or Facebook.

Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

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Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

SwissGear laptop backpacks, Rainbow Six Siege, and Anker charging gear highlight today’s best deals. Bookmark Kinja Deals and follow us on Twitter to never miss a deal. Commerce Content is independent of Editorial and Advertising, and if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here to learn more.

Coming Soon: Today’s Best App Deals

Blanket Scarves You Can Leave The House In, Starting at $24

http://deals.kinja.com/blanket-scarve...


Top Deals


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

If your laptop bag is starting to wear out, here’s a great chance to replace it with a quality backpack from SwissGear for just $34-$43.

All of the included bags all have solid reviews and look really nice to my eyes, but the star of the show is the $40 ScanSmart backpack. Its laptop pocket actually folds all the way open so you won’t have to take your computer out when going through security at the airport. That may seem like a minor feature, but any shred of dignity you can wrest back from the TSA is a win in my book.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

Again, this is a Gold Box deal, meaning these prices are only available today, or until sold out. [SwissGear Gold Box]


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

You could certainly argue that multiplayer-only games shouldn’t cost $60, but that’s a non-issue today, as Rainbox Six: Siege is already down to $35 (or $60 for the Gold edition) as part of an Amazon Gold Box deal.

http://kotaku.com/a-few-hours-wi...

As with all Gold Box deals, this price is only available today, or until sold out. Happy hunting! [Rainbox Six Siege, $35-$60]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

Anker makes some of the most popular and reliable USB charging gear on the market, and several of their Quick Charge 2.0 products are on sale right now.

As an aside, I own the PowerCore+ battery, and it has the best build quality of any battery pack I’ve ever seen.

Anker Quick Charge 2.0 18W USB Wall Charger ($6) | Amazon | Use code HITW3AYN

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014F3D8FQ/...

Anker PowerCore+ 10050 QC 2.0 Battery Pack ($25) | Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013HSQXZC/

Anker PowerCore+ 26800 Premium Portable Charger & USB Wall Charger with Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 ($60) | Amazon | Promo code T3CRX4LK

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016HNALOI/

Anker Dual-Port QC 2.0 Car Charger ($14) | Amazon | Promo code 55ANZPZ6

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Anker QC 2.0 Car Charger ($6) | Amazon | Promo code 4KNIDWPL

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VHV0SAS


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

This unique measuring cup doubles as a kitchen scale, so you can work seamlessly with both volume and weight-based recipes. My mom had this when I went home for the holidays, and she said it worked great. [Etekcity Handy 11lb/5kg Digital Multifunction Kitchen Cup Scale, $14 with code PN5Q7LS5]

http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Digit...

http://deals.kinja.com/kinja-deals-it...


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

Aukey’s newest Bluetooth speaker is tire-shaped, water resistant, and only $15 today. That’s a good price for any Bluetooth speaker, let alone one that you can take into the shower with you. [AUKEY Rugged Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker, $15 with code J95FUXF9]

http://www.amazon.com/Aukey-Waterpro...


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

Update: Code seems to have expired, but $40 is still a good price.

Despite the extremely low price, this 1080p dashcam has really solid Amazon reviews, and the sample videos and video stills uploaded by reviewers look perfectly serviceable. It’ll even automatically detect accidents, and lock the footage accordingly. [DBPOWER Ultra thin HD Car Black Box, $31 with code 3A2CJQVM]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014F4EGXI


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

There’s no such thing as owning too many Lightning cables, and any time they dip down to $3, I recommend stocking up. [Omars MFi-Certified Lightning Cable, $3]

http://www.amazon.com/Certified-Comp...

If you want longer cables, those are on sale as well.

iOrange-E [2 Pack] 6ft 8 Pin Lightning Cable ($13) | Amazon | Use code 8VYBDQHV

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

iOrange-E 10ft Rose Gold Lightning Cable ($9) | Amazon | Use code 8QV3MUG3

http://www.amazon.com/iPhone-iOrange...


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

Most of the night lights we publish are battery-operated, but if you’d rather plug them in, this deal will net you four lights for just $16. [2x2-Pack OxyLED N30 LED Night Light With Dusk to Dawn Sensor, $16. Add two to cart and use code 86Y2TBED]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013OM6RLG


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

Everyone likes a little candlelight every now and then, but if you don’t want to keep buying new candles (or houses after you burn yours down), this 6-pack of flameless alternatives is just $13 today. [Realistic Battery-Powered Flameless Pillar Candles - 6 Pack, $13 with code XDLIS6XZ]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LHQBAUK


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

We see a lot of deals on smartphone mounts for your car, but here’s a treat for all of you bike riders out there. [Liger Universal “SuperGrip” Bike Mount Handlebar Holder for Smartphones, $6]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YAYPR2I/...


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

Today only, $23 gets you nine popular Mel Brooks films on Blu-ray, including Blazing Saddles, Robin Hood: Men In Tights, and Spaceballs, plus a ton of special features. That’s about $17 less than usual, and within $1 of an all-time low price. [The Mel Brooks Collection, $23]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007LNBS2I/...


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

If you’re curious about gaming mice, but want to see what the fuss is about before dropping a ton of money on a high end model, how’s $13 sound for a starter mouse? Even at that price, you still get adjustable DPI, six programmable buttons, and built-in LED lighting. Not bad! [Etekcity Scroll FLY 3200 DPI Wired USB Gaming Mouse with 6 Programmable Buttons, $13 with code 9HYIFLBQ]

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http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Scrol...


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

It’s not quite as exciting as all the new 4K monitors coming down the pipeline, but if 1080p is all you need, it’s tough to argue against an IPS display for $100. [AOC i2267fw 22-Inch IPS Frameless LED Monitor, $100]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CLZ047Q/...


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

If your computer doesn’t have a webcam built in, this 720p Logitech model has never been cheaper. [Logitech HD Webcam C270, $18]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004FHO5Y6/...


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

If you ever pay for iOS apps, movies, music, or iCloud storage with your credit card, you’re throwing money down the drain. Instead, stock up on iTunes gift cards at a 20% discount.


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

Give that awesome smartphone camera some cool new tricks for just $10. [Mpow 3 in 1 Clip-On Lens Kits, $10 with code BN6ERLKM]

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Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

This great looking grinder is perfect for spices, herbs, or things that aren’t legal in most states. Add in its clever magnetic lid and 4.6 star review average, and it certainly seems like a steal at $9. [Ohuhu 4 Piece 2.38" Tobacco Spice Herb Grinder, Gun Metal, $9 with code QN9D6CZ4]

http://www.amazon.com/Ohuhu-Piece-To...


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

10 tools for $10, and you don’t even have to drink your own urine. [Gerber Bear Grylls Compact Multi-Tool, $10]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004DT2912/...


Today's Best Deals: SwissGear Bags, Rainbow Six, Anker Chargers, and More

The Golden Globe winner for best comedy (???) is already down to $15 on Blu-ray. Bring it home. [The Martian, $15]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017S3OP34/...


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Giant Clams Light Up Like Plasma Screens, Only Better

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Giant Clams Light Up Like Plasma Screens, Only Better

I bet you’ve never thought about how giant clams will revolutionize future technology. It’s okay. You probably didn’t know about the incredible way these massive mollusks turn sunlight into power.

Neither did scientists, until a team of researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara decided to study the iridescent cells some giant clams use to produce brilliant white light. Incredibly, these structures operate in a manner analogous to electronic displays—only they require nothing but sunlight to charge up. That discovery, published today in the journal Optica, could inspire a new generation of energy efficient displays.

“If we are able to make screens that show color [like giant clams], these could be much more efficient—in the same way e-ink screens are way more efficient than LEDs,” lead study author Amitabh Ghoshal told Gizmodo in an email.

Giant clams inhabit some of the most nutrient-poor tropical waters in the world, and yet they can grow up to four feet long and live for a century. That’s because the clams have worked out a clever symbiotic relationship with algae. Algae turn sunlight into sugar for the mollusks, which provide their tiny green sun machines with shelter. Clams also augment the light algae receive from the sun, using specialized cells called iridocytes that bend, scatter, and reflect a dazzling array of iridescent colors, including blues, greens, golds, and occasionally, whites.

In the new study, Ghoshal used microscopy and spectroscopy to describe the structures that produce rare white iridescence in two different species of giant clam, Tridacna maxima and Tridacna derasa. What he found was completely unexpected. Both species are using their light-scattering cells to create an palette of individual colors that, on a macroscopic level, appear white. This is similar to how an LCD or plasma screen TV works—look closely, and you’ll see an array of individual pixels—but it’s never been observed in animals before. (Most whites found in nature are based on an individual pigment.)

Clams and TV screens may produce white light in a similar manner, but the technology clams use is arguably far more advanced, requiring only small amounts of sunlight. If we could harness their ability, Ghoshal says, “it might be possible to build color-reflective displays that work with ambient light sources such as sunlight or normal indoor lighting. Producing color the way giant clams do could lead to smartphone, tablet and TV screens that use less power and are easier on the eyes.”

Ghoshal also notes that the clams’ light-making mechanism could “lead to more efficient solar cells, which would require a smaller [collecting area] for generating energy.” He’s now collaborating with engineers at UCSB’s design school to build the world’s first clam-inspired solar cell.

It’s worth noting that giant clams, despite their remarkable survival tactics, are disappearing across the world due to overfishing. As we learn more about the amazing adaptations nature has evolved over billions of years, the case for preserving biodiversity is only going to grow stronger. If we wipe out creatures like this, we’ll lose our best source of inspiration.

[Optica]

Follow the author @themadstone

Top: A giant clam spotted off the coast of the Maldives, via Malcom Browne / Flickr

Our First Look at the Justice League Is Here, and It's Damn Rad

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Our First Look at the Justice League Is Here, and It's Damn Rad

There have been teases for months and months about DC’s cinematic take on the Justice League and how they might be involved in Batman v Superman. But a new image that’s hit social media might just be our first official look at the Justice League standing tall.

The image comes from an as-yet-unverified Facebook page called “DC Films Official” which was created on the social media site today. Usually, that would give us enough cause to be wary. But ahead of tonight’s CW special DC Films Presents: Dawn of the Justice League, DC and Warner Bros. have started setting up social media accounts for its upcoming comic book movies—the Wonder Woman film, for example, started tweeting today. So there is a chance this is an official page, that’s just getting set up in anticipation of the special. The recently created Wonder Woman movie Facebook page has also “liked” the page (alongside the verified pages for Warner, DC Comics, and Gal Gadot), which lends credence to its legitimacy too.

Our First Look at the Justice League Is Here, and It's Damn Rad

If it is real, and from the special, it’s our first look at the Flash and Cyborg, who both look pretty faithful to their comic book counterparts from what we can see. Also interesting? The lack of the Green Lantern—presumably down to the fact that any casting for the role (or that should be roles, as last we heard Green Lantern Corps will feature multiple heroes) has been officially unveiled.

For now though? The Justice League is looking awesome. We’ll see more in DC Films Presents: Dawn of the Justice League when it airs tonight on the CW.

Here's the First Trailer for Pee-wee's Big Holiday on Netflix

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Here's the First Trailer for Pee-wee's Big Holiday on Netflix

It’s been over 30 years since Tim Burton made Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, but Mr. Herman (Paul Reubens) is peppy as ever in this first trailer for his feature-length Netflix movie, Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, which debuts March 18. The bow tie and laugh are, naturally, completely unchanged from the 1980s. Yay!

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According to Variety, the movie will be about the character having “a fateful meeting with a mysterious stranger that inspires him to take his first-ever holiday in an epic story of friendship and destiny.” (Guess that epic journey to look for his stolen bicycle, with stops at the Alamo and the Cabazon Dinosaurs, among others, doesn’t count.) From the trailer, it looks like Pee-wee’s universe has gotten a little less candy-colored than some of his earlier adventures—but no less filled with wonder. My goodness, is that a traffic light?

The cast for Pee-wee’s Big Holiday also includes True Blood/Magic Mike alum Joe Manganiello and Arrested Development’s Alia Shawkat. It’ll be directed by John Lee (Broad City) and co-written by Reubens and Paul Rust (Comedy Bang Bang), and comedy kingpin Judd Apatow (Bridesmaids, Trainswreck) co-produced with Reubens.

A Look Inside the Making of One of Adventure Time's Scariest Moments

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We were thrilled to get a whole miniseries focusing on Marceline, Adventure Time’s resident vampire, a while back. Adventure Time: Stakes is out on DVD today—and to celebrate, here’s an exclusive clip showing the animatics of the story’s scary climax.

Spoilers ahead...

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In this scene, Marceline has been cured of vampirism AND she’s killed the super-vamps who came back to life after her vampire essence was released into the world. But now the essence of the most powerful, terrifying vampire of all has become a huge dark cloud, and Marceline feels like it’s all her fault. The creatures getting sucked up into that horrible cloud is even scarier as a series of sketches, for some reason.


Charlie Jane Anders is the author of All The Birds in the Sky, coming Jan 26 from Tor Books. Follow her on Twitter, and email her.

An Action Movie Legend Just Joined Vin Diesel in the Third xXx Movie 

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An Action Movie Legend Just Joined Vin Diesel in the Third xXx Movie 

xXx: The Return of Xander Cage has added Jet Li to its cast, and our interest in Vin Diesel’s latest project just became exponentially stronger. While not much is known about the martial arts legend’s character—is he the main villain, or what?—he will definitely get to “square off” against Diesel’s Cage.

According to Revolution Studios’ Scott Hemming, quoted in the Hollywood Reporter:

“We are extremely excited to have Jet Li join the cast of xXx 3: The Return of Xander Cage as Raif, who is pitted against Vin Diesel’s Xander Cage, and watch these two in action as they raise the bar with some of the most incredible stunts on film.”

Well, that sounds promising. Li—last seen being woefully underused in the Expendables movies—joins a cast that also includes Nina Dobrev (Vampire Diaries), Ruby Rose (Orange Is the New Black), and Samuel L. Jackson, who’s played the NSA agent/mentor character in all three xXx movies.

Aside from hinting at some kind of Diesel vs. Li battle royale (we hope, anyway), the report in THR has scant details on the story. However, it seems the third xXx movie (Diesel’s second, since Ice Cube took over the lead in part two ... hence the “return” of Xander Cage) will be modeled after a certain other long-running hit franchise:

Plot details are being kept redacted, but just as Diesel found renewed success when Fast & Furious was rejigged as an action ensemble, xXx, too, is being reconfigured to surround the action star with a team of toughs and wiseacres.

Director D.J. Caruso (Disturbia) will begin filming xXx next month.

Jet Li attends the Clinton Global Initiative Asia Meeting in Hong Kong on Dec 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)


This Suicide Squad Poster Shows Us Everything Wrong With Batman v Superman's Marketing

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This Suicide Squad Poster Shows Us Everything Wrong With Batman v Superman's Marketing

Suicide Squad has been on a bit of a media blitz lately, ahead of tonight’s new trailer airing as part of a DC Cinematic Universe special on the CW—including a new poster. It’s nothing like the sort of we’ve seen from a DC movie before: It’s vivid. Colorful. Garish, even. And it’s fantastic.

Yesterday, the cast of the film tweeted out their own individual character posters, each based on a skull motif:

This Suicide Squad Poster Shows Us Everything Wrong With Batman v Superman's Marketing

That was then aped in the full poster revealed today—this time, with the motif culminating with the squad itself representing the “teeth” of the skull:

This Suicide Squad Poster Shows Us Everything Wrong With Batman v Superman's Marketing

It’s a brilliant aesthetic for the film—but like I said, it’s also a far, far cry from the glum, desaturated promotional material we saw for Man of Steel, or for Batman v Superman. It’s the direct polar opposite: there’s actual color, for starters. It’s bold, but in a comic book-y way, and it catches your eye. It oozes personality (whether or not you like that personality is a different matter, but at the very least it oozes it). Hell, there’s characters smiling, and actual, honest to god emoting. Compare that to the most recent posters for Batman v Superman:

This Suicide Squad Poster Shows Us Everything Wrong With Batman v Superman's Marketing

The difference is stark. Everything’s so muted. The characters look either mildly concerned, or outright bored. All the personality and vibrancy these characters should have—Batman! Superman! Wonder Woman! The World’s Finest!—is just drained, replaced by an endless malaise. Remember when people were actually surprised at the color in Wonder Woman’s costume, because all the promo pictures were so desaturated? Remember those endless months when people had no idea what color Batman’s batsuit was, because the only picture was in black and white? Or when Aquaman’s first picture was likewise drained of all color? Even today’s first look concept art for the cinematic Justice League, although a little better in this regard, is all muted and self-serious.

This Suicide Squad Poster Shows Us Everything Wrong With Batman v Superman's Marketing

It’s all emblematic of the far too serious tone that’s been leveled at DC ever since Man of Steel hit theaters—a tone that these Suicide Squad images are missing. The Suicide Squad posters are a breath of fresh air, even when what we’ve seen of the movie itself is still pretty dark and “grounded”. They actually seem to embrace the boldness of the comic books they’re drawn from. They stand out in the sea of bleakness by simply daring to have a vivid color palette and an emotive quality that doesn’t make the cast look like they’re wondering if they left the kettle on.

What kind of absurd world do we live in where it’s the villains that look like they’re having all the fun, and the superheroes just have to solemnly glower slightly off-screen, trapped in their dark, colorless dystopia? The bizarre world of DC movie marketing apparently, where our heroes are far too busy looking glum all the time to stand up to the comics they represent.

Sure, Suicide Squad could end up being terrible. Batman v Superman may be the grand dawn of a new comic book movie universe that Warner Bros. and DC comics want it to be. The posters won’t decide the ultimate fates or quality of these movies. But man, they really show that having a sense of fun and personality can go a long way in how you view a movie. If only even a fragment of Batman v Superman’s marketing could look as vibrant and exciting at this.

The 10 Best Opening Scenes in Movie History

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The 10 Best Opening Scenes in Movie History

What’s your favorite type of opening shot for a movie? Is it when they drop you in the middle of their world and expect you to catch up immediately? Is it when they slyly insert a spoiler that you don’t realize is important yet? Or maybe it’s when they neatly bookend the film with the beginning and end of the movie having the same scene. My favorite is when it’s a mysteriously gorgeous shot of the world of the film. Like in Blade Runner.

Here is CineFix’s list for the top 10 best opening shots of all time (and the style the scene is done in):

  1. Long Take - Touch of Evil
  2. Long Take - The Player
  3. Long Scene - Flowers of Shanghai
  4. Movie Microcosm - Day for Night
  5. Movie Microcosm - Fight Club
  6. Space - Contact
  7. In Media Res - Star Wars: A New Hope
  8. Beautiful - Apocalypse Now
  9. Beautiful - Raging Bull
  10. Symmetry - The Searchers


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The New Suicide Squad Trailer Is Insane In Every Way Imaginable

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Marvel may have brought together all their best superheroes in The Avengers, but DC is bringing together their very own team of super villains in Suicide Squad. Hitting theaters in August, the dark comic book adaptation just released a crazy new trailer.

Expertly edited to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” director David Ayer’s love letter to the bad guy looks like a whole lot of fun. We’re wondering, though, how serious does this movie take these characters? The Queen makes it seem like “Not so much” which is the exact opposite of the tone we got from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which takes place in this same world.

We’ll have much more on this wacky trailer soon, including some gifs of Jared Leto’s Joker.

Written and directed by David Ayer, Suicide Squad stars Jared Leto, Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, Joel Kinnaman and more.


Contact the author at germain@io9.com.

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First Wonder Woman Footage Arrives in Man's World

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First Wonder Woman Footage Arrives in Man's World

Last night, the CW aired a special titled DC Films Presents: Dawn of the Justice League, which gave us our very first look at Wonder Woman. And we saw Diana everywhere in a bunch of different situations.

The footage in the special didn’t have any dialogue, but we saw what looks like Diana training on Themyscira, fighting World War I soldiers, disguised in 1910s garb, and riding a horse. It’s not much, but it looks pretty great so far!

[video via Screen Slam]


Contact the author at katharine@io9.com.

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