superman

Neil deGrasse Tyson locates Superman's home planet

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman's home star system! Thanks to astrophysicist and geek all-star Neil deGrasse Tyson, Krypton has been located within the known universe.

Tyson teamed with DC Comics to track down a Krypton-like system that matches hints from the comics. He found a fitting red dwarf in the constellation Corvus (the crow) in the southern sky, a mere 27.1 light years from Earth. … Read more

Campaign aims to turn Kansas town into real Smallville

Turns out Smallville may be real after all. Superman's fictional home on our planet has some suspicious similarities to the town of Hutchinson, Kan. There's now an active Facebook campaign to rename Hutchinson as Smallville.

The campaign has culled facts from various Superman sources, including graphic novels, comic books, and the "Smallville" TV series, to find ways Hutchinson statistically matches up.

Here are some of the overlaps. Smallville is on the Arkansas River. So is Hutchinson. Smallville has a population of 45,000 people. Hutchinson has 42,080. They are both located in agricultural areas. The nearest big city for each is about three hours away (Metropolis for Smallville and Kansas City for Hutchinson). … Read more

Personalized superhero action figures: You are Iron Man!

Advances in 3D printing hold great promise for the creation of drugs, medical implants, prosthetics, and now superhero action figure versions of ourselves.

The $125 Personalized Superhero Action Figure available from Firebox is several big steps up from doodling a superhero version of yourself on the inside of your Trapper pocket folder.

It's pretty simple to turn yourself into a mini-me full of rippling muscles and superhuman strength. Take two pictures of yourself, one from the front and one from the side. Send them in to Firebox. Wait for the 3D-printed version of your head and your choice of action figure to arrive.… Read more

No free lunch? Who cares when there are free comic books!

How can you not love a world where once a year, comic book retailers across North America and the world open their doors and offer comics gratis to anyone who drops in?

That's exactly what's happening tomorrow -- on Free Comic Book Day. According to the official Web site, "Free Comic Book Day is a single day -- the first Saturday in May each year -- when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their stores."

To be sure, there are … Read more

Not so super, man

The latest incarnation of an officially licensed Superman video game turns out to be as mediocre as its many predecessors--passably fun, but somehow also capturing the tedium of life as an all-powerful, invulnerable superhero.

This 2D arcade-action game has some things going for it: The graphics are sharp (especially when you download the optional HD assets), and flying around as Superman--especially when you fly up into the darkness of space above Metropolis--looks and feels great. The cheesy comic back story (involving Lex Luthor and a weather-control satellite, naturally) can feel tacked on, alternating between superfluous single panels and long stretches … Read more

MIT lab invents X-ray vision, sort of

I am always of two minds about knowing what my neighbors are doing behind their closed doors. I know it must be something weird.

Why, one of my neighbors sits in his car--which is running and parked outside my house--for hours on end watching videos. Of course, he's married.

So I (or at least a part of me) is grateful that I might soon have the opportunity to see straight through their walls and spy on what kinds of videos they watch at home. You see, extremely clever people at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory have come up with a … Read more

Man turns to surgery to become Superman

Superhero fans, we give you Herbert Chavez of the Philippines.

Chavez obviously read a comic book or two during his 35 years of life on Earth because he turned to extensive surgery to transform himself into everyone's famous Son of Krypton.

According to a ABS-CBN Filipino news report, Chavez has been undergoing Superman-ish procedures for 16 years now, including chin augmentation, rhinoplasty, silicone injections to his lips, and (my favorite) thigh implants. … Read more

The 404 920: Where we're on a 7-second delay (podcast)

Wilson's out sick today so CNET Labs' Joseph Kaminski fills in with a 7-second delay, just in case.

Today we're discussing the controversial details of Steve Jobs' use of psychedelic drugs, what's being taught at Cupertino's Apple University, pre-crime becoming a reality, and this morning's speedbumps for iPhone 4S preorders.

The 404 Digest for Episode 920

Pre-crime might become a reality. Unlocked iPhone 4S coming in November. Galaxy Nexus launch delayed due to Jobs' death. Sprint to cover 120M people with 4G LTE next year (scoop). Did dropping acid make Steve Jobs more creative? Steve Jobs' virtual DNA to be fostered in Apple University. Superman fan turns to surgery to become Man of Steel. Florida school district taking attendance by scanning students' fingers. Google-designed Nikes prove Google has no taste. Fear abounds in images from Nightmares Fear Factory.

Episode 920 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Crave 55: Commander Riker's wingman (podcast)

Donald and Eric receive a record number of viewer e-mails, with tons of great suggestions. Stephen unveils his epic intro for Eric's Geek News segment. And of course, there's no shortage of Crave-worthy gadgets to talk about, including the Sony S tablet, a Sony head-mounted display, self-inflating tires, and a fan that might eat your cat.

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