In a strange repeat and intensification of last year’s Northampton Clown Scare, It seems the town of Wasco, California has multiple clowns creeping its streets by night:
Less disturbing was this surprise visitor to my backyard, Saturday:
Hey, every Newspace can’t bring you groundbreaking science news! Below, find videos of recent Comic, SF, and Fantasy events from around the world:
Last week saw the first successful birth of a human child from a transplanted uterus, and the release of a study showing a fairly accurate account of the early-twentieth-century origins of the HIV/AIDS pandemic
This week will see a Tuesday spacewalk and a total lunar eclipse Wednesday, and both will be up for view.
Meanwhile, lab-grown replacement penises may be just around the corner.
A retrospective on TV superheroes and some Con video, below:
India’s Mars Orbiter Mission satellite joins Maven around the red planet.
And speaking of Mars…
Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars Trilogy, the novel series that sparked the hard SF Renaissance in the 1990s, will become a TV show!
…on Spike. I’ll be adopting a “wait and see” attitude.
Of course, earth still reveals surprises, like this recently-discovered species of teeny-tiny poisonous frog.
Those other heroes travelling through time in a phone booth, Bill and Ted, will receive another sequel. This one will address the slackers’ middle-aged adventures.
This week’s Con/Cosplay videos come from Copa Cosplay Pacifico (Mexico) and Long Beach Comic-Con.
The Maven spacecraft arrives in Mars orbit:
Space-X delivers a 3-D printer and mice to the International Space Station:
Monster galaxies tend to absorb or “eat” smaller one.
Scientists have discovered how to create ultra thin diamond nanothreads.
Below: some footage of the Japan Weekend 2.0 cosplay in Madrid, Spain, and the Geek Gathering, 2014, Shefield Alabama:
The International Space Station has been in the news recently, due to reports of microbes allegedly living on its surface and Earth-imaging satellites apparently launching themselves.
Paleontologists announced the discovery of the well-preserved remains of a Dreadnaughtus—the largest dinosaur– or any land animal– ever identified.
Dendrogramma, a deep-sea species first identified in 1986, continues to defy attempts at classification.
Japan’s Silicon Studios bring videogames a little closer to VR The rendering engine demo appears below, followed by the Science of Beer, and a belated Fan Expo video by Northern Belle.
iCloud hack? What iCloud hack?
NASA announced the intention to get our butts to Mars in 2018. Otherwise, this week’s Newspace is rather Con-heavy, what with Atlanta’s DragonCon, Seattle’s PaxPrime, and Toronto’s Fan Expo (where William Shatner pontificates on the mythological appeal of SF.
As a bonus, you’ll find footage of Dubai’s recent Comic-con and an aerial drone vid of Burning Man, now wrapping up for another year.
Some language/content may be mildly NSFW.
Reprogrammed cells have been used to build a functional organ.
Fan view of Anime Revolution Vancouver
The recent launch of the Soyuz-Fregat to position Galileo satellites proves unsuccessful, as the navigation satellites have been left in a “useless” orbit.
And SpaceX experienced a setback on Friday, when a three-engine version of the F9R test vehicle exploded.
Nearly twenty lifts later, the charming Hitchbot has completed its cross-Canada journey. My favorite moment may be Hitch beside a B.C. mammoth.
Also, that pristine copy of Action #1 that was up for bid on ebay? It sold last night for $3.2 million!
Wizard World ComicCon Chicago, and some Con Ice Bucket challenges, below:
The Definitive Guide to the DC Universe… For now!
And speaking of Darkseid, the Net has been awash with rumors this week that Disney will release the original Star Wars trilogy theatrical versions on Blu-Ray. It’s likely wishful thinking, but we can all revel in this new hope for now….
…at least until it gets shot down as flaming garbage:
The ISS released a garbage-filled Cygnus, which had its swan song earlier this week in earth’s atmosphere.
Loncon 3 (World Science Fiction Con 72) and Gen Con 2014, as seen by attendees, below:
Robin Williams, the gifted comedian and actor who launched to fame playing a sitcom alien, has died of an apparent suicide. R.I.P.
NASA tests robotic refuelling.
They’re not quite transformers, but these MIT/Harvard-made shape-shifting robots, inspired by Origami, are amazing and inexpensive.
Predictably, Disney will be expanding its Star Wars attractions at the Disney parks.
A politician known for getting high blasts into space, and other video, below:
Star Trek Axanar, the forthcoming fan film, has a kickstarter and a prelude movie.
Japan is recruiting air force personnel for a Space Force that will protect the earth from alien invaders space debris! Initially, they will be using telescopes and radar.
NASA has tested a seemingly impossible engine that could advance space travel significantly. Results look tentatively good, though the possibility of lab error cannot be discounted yet.
The Amazon still holds tribes that have had no direct contact with the modern world…
While Forbes reminds us why we need science unencumbered by politics.
Fans attending some premieres of The Guardians of the Galaxy were shown a slightly different film than they expected.