Culture

2066 articles on Culture

• Game|Life Podcast: Reporting From Inside The Skinner Box
  Wired editors talk seriously addictive games, like Diablo III, on this episode of the Game|Life podcast.
  14 hours ago

• Review: Men in Black 3 Will Erase All Meaning in Your Life
  Will Smith has starred in lots of formulaic movies. And he knows better than anyone that there's something comforting as well as exhilarating about a movie that plays out according to a set of steps. Which is what makes Men in Black 3 so weird: It's a movie where the blockbuster formula is the opposite of comforting.
  14 hours ago

• Exclusive Video: Time Jump Is Men in Black 3's Flash of Sci-Fi Genius
  The memory-wiping Neuralyzer has been a staple in Barry Sonnenfeld's Men in Black movies since the first one came out 15 years ago. Agents J and K, played by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones (and now Josh Brolin), swoop in to treat unsuspecting victims with a flash from the penlike object after a close encounter of the Rick Baker kind.
  16 hours ago

• Star Wars' Coolest Gadgets — And Their Real-World Analogs
  To celebrate Star Wars' 35th anniversary the Gadget Lab way, we decided to gather nine of our favorite pieces of tech from a galaxy far, far away and see what gadgets come closest to being the real-world equivalents.
  17 hours ago

• Wired's 7 Favorite Star Wars Videogames
  Wired editors name their personal favorite Star Wars videogames on the 35th anniversary of the original film.
  17 hours ago

• KlabLab Provides a Soundtrack for Creative Learning
  Teenagers in class at the end of a school year aren't often thrilled to do things like critique Communism. For some lucky classrooms in southern California, a visit by KlabLab ¿ a education platform that encourages learning through music ¿ had students vying for a chance to give an oral report. Such is the power of song.
  19 hours ago

• The Strange History of Star Wars and the Cow Con
  It's time for ConQuesT, the convention hosted by the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society, otherwise known as KaCSFFS. (pronounced Kax-fiss). This year I'm one of the guests, so I hope if you're in the area, you'll come see my panel on TV shows that were cancelled too soon. And now for the cows. I'll also get to Star Wars. I might even mention towels.
  19 hours ago

• Happy 35th Birthday, Star Wars!
  1977 was a big year for geeks as Star Wars debuted in theaters. The world of science fiction was never the same after that. GeekMom Chaos Mandy was also born that year, so Star Wars has been there for her for the past 35 years.
  20 hours ago

• Dork Tower Friday
  Read all the Dork Towers that have run on GeekDad. Find the Dork Tower webcomic archives, DT printed collections, more cool comics, awesome games and a whole lot more at the Dork Tower Website.
  20 hours ago

• Cops: Tech Exec Built Stolen 'Legoland' in $2M Home
  On the surface, Thomas Langenbach had it all. A $2 million home with a killer view high up in the hills of San Carlos, California; a wife; two children; a nanny; and a prestigious job at technology giant SAP. But when police searched his home on May 8, they found something else: meticulously sorted bins filled with Lego pieces, and hundreds of Lego toys.
  23 hours ago

• Ben Burtt on Star Wars, Forbidden Planet and the Sound of Sci-Fi
  The cosmic hum of the lightsaber, the ominous deep breathing of Darth Vader, and the electronic voice of R2-D2 are but a few of Ben Burtt's iconic contributions to Star Wars. An interview with one of cinema's most legendary sound designers.
  23 hours ago

• The 35th Birthday of Star Wars? It Died 15 Years Ago
  Today, we celebrate the 35th anniversary of a movie few will ever see again.
  23 hours ago

• 35 Greatest Star Wars Tributes of All Time
  Thirty-five years ago today, George Lucas changed the world forever with his scrappy sci-fi movie about space rebels battling an evil galactic empire. Since then, Star Wars references have become the lingua franca of pop culture.
  23 hours ago

• A Google-a-Day Puzzle for May 25
  Google's daily brainteaser helps hone your search skills.
  05.25.12

• Let's Hope Jennifer Egan's Twitter Story Heralds the Return of Serial Fiction
  When fiction writer Jennifer Egan takes to Twitter this evening, she won't be tweeting about the latest headlines or her favorite nightspot. Instead, she'll be doling out her new short story "Black Box" at the rate of one tweet a minute.
  05.24.12

• An Analysis of Blaster Fire in Star Wars
  Star Wars has captured more attention for a longer time than almost any other movie ever made. But there are still questions that remain unanswered. For example, what exactly are the blasters? Physicist Rhett Allain analyzed these machines to answer burning questions every true Star Wars fan needs the answers to, such as: How fast are the blaster bolts? Do the blasters from the spacecraft travel at about the same speed as the handheld blasters? Why do people still think these are lasers?
  05.24.12

• Cows, Wind and Drive-Bys: Wired Bike Team Plows Through All Obstacles
  The weather forecast has predicted little besides 80-degree temps and sunny skies this week. Wind is something that you expect but hope doesn't come your way. Something you can't really plan on is people drive-by-shooting at you from minivans after you crest a ridge. But that, plus the occasional cow in the middle of the ...
  05.24.12

• 35 Years After Star Wars, Effects Whiz Phil Tippett Is Slowly Crafting a Mad God
  In a warehouse space in a picturesque neighborhood, Star Wars visual effects genius Phil Tippett is toiling away on a passion project called Mad God, an experimental animated film that he might never see completed.
  05.24.12

• Experience Resident Evil-Style Horror Puzzles in Tokyo Hospital
  Players stuck in an abandoned hospital will solve puzzles in order to find a vaccine and an exit before time runs out.
  05.24.12

• Lego for Girls, Done Right
  A lot of people were up in arms about Lego Friends -- unfairly, for the most part. A Lego set is only what you make of it. Still, a lot of people bemoaned how the geekiest set, Olivia's Inventor's Workshop, still wasn't all that elite. Thanks to the magic of Lego CUUSOO, any set that ...
  05.24.12

• Bring Mars Curiosity to Life Through Lego CUUSOO
  Stephen Pakbaz has been working on a Lego 1:20 scale model replica of the Mars Curiosity rover, currently on its way to the red planet aboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). Would you buy scientifically accurate models? Come support this cause.
  05.24.12

• Soul vs. Marshall -- Headphone Showdown
  This past week I was given the opportunity to have a showdown between two sets of headphones, Soul and Marshall. At first glance, it looked like it was going to be a tough fight.
  05.24.12

• Heads-On: MindWave Lets You Control Mobile Games With Brain Waves
  When you think of mobile gaming, you probably imagine a game of Cut the Rope or Angry Birds -- tapping, flicking, touching your device's capacitive screen. But now there's a new way to play: with your mind, using the Mindwave Mobile headset.
  05.24.12

• Nicktoons MLB, Mario Tennis Open Get It (Mostly) Right on 3DS
  It's NHL playoff season, but, even through two nail-biting scoreless periods of Saturday's Rangers/Devils game, my head hasn't exactly been in the game. It's also been in my Nintendo 3DS.
  05.24.12

• Incantor Game Brings Magic Wand Duels to the Real World
  Incantor, a smartphone-based augmented reality game currently in the works by developer MoveableCode, hopes to offer geeks like me a way to wizard-duel in the real world. With a Bluetooth-enabled wand and a smartphone app, I'll cast spells, battle my friends, and complete quests, all in my own backyard. It's an intriguing niche project, and one that needs backing on Kickstarter in order for the developers to continue work on it. MoveableCode is looking for $100,000, which isn't a lot of money when you think about how much cash goes into less ambitious games that don't include well-crafted magic wands.
  05.24.12

• A Google-a-Day Puzzle for May 24
  Google's daily brainteaser helps hone your search skills.
  05.24.12

• Wait, We Still Like Paper!: How to Screen Print on an Inkjet
  When designer Briana Bolger-Schuth took a break from advertising work, she wanted to make art. She had no art studio, but she did have access to a new Epson inkjet. Working on a project one night, she says, "I suddenly thought, 'Hey, I wonder what would happen if I set these up as separations and ran the paper through each time for different colors?'"
  05.23.12