Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2299

WESTWORLD’s Mesmerizing Opening Credits Are Sci-Fi Perfection

Have we been forthcoming enough with you about our full-on obsessive love of Westworld yet? The HBO TV-serialization of the 1970s Michael Crichton movie of the same name premiered last Sunday and has already overwhelmed our brains with its questions of morality, evolution, technology the nature of existence, and what combination therein defines the difference between humans and artificial intelligence. But it also simply dazzles on a visual level.

Opening credit sequences have certainly upped their game in recent years, weaving a beautiful visualization of the story at hand into, essentially, an artistic thesis that lends itself to mood and tone of the story about to be told. Particular sequences like those from Marvel’s Jessica Jones and WGN America’s gone-too-soon (sob) Manhattan stand out in recent memory, and we’re going to add Westworld‘s to that mix as well.

Designer Patrick Clair and his team at Elastic have brought a real nuts-and-bolts reality to a show about how far we’ll go to deceive ourselves in the name of self-fulfilling moral freedom in their credits sequence. The construction of the robots—so often seen as background color in a scene more than anything else we’ve seen thus far—and flesh takes center stage in Clair’s animation. It’s a welcome reminder of the blurred line this show tows, and that all that you see may not be actuality.

Oof. Heavy stuff, right?

What do you think of the opening credits? Are you enjoying Westworld so far? Let us know in the comments below.

Featured Image: HBO

Alicia Lutes is Managing Editor of Nerdist and creator/co-host of Fangirling. Find her on Twitter freaking out about AI.

Inked Wednesday #106 – The Geekiest Deathly Hallows Tattoo and More

Skin real estate is limited, so why not combine several of your fandoms into a single piece of permanent art? I’ve seen people do this in all sorts of creative ways, but Ann’s Deathly Hallow tattoo might take the cake. The symbol is from Harry Potter, so she has that covered automatically, but there’s also a wand in the symbol and a sonic screwdriver from Doctor Who, an arrow, an axe, and a Poké Ball from Pokémon. Whew. Please take a look:

Nicely done, right? This fandom combo tattoo as well as the rest in this post were done by Reime Jahr. She’s based in Bloomington, Minnesota and works out of Evolution Tattoo. You can see more examples of her work on Instagram. And yep, there’s more than a few nerdy tattoos in her portfolio.

But back to Ann because she has more ink we need to look at. Keep on scrolling until you hit the gallery to see her Harry Potter tattoo with Fawkes, an out of this world TARDIS from Doctor Who, Daryl from The Walking Dead, and some bad-ass Game of Thrones ink.

If you have geeky ink of your very own or you’re a tattoo artist that applies pop culture-inspired ink on a regular basis, then please hit me up because I’d like to highlight you in a future Inked Wednesday gallery. You can get in touch with me via email at alratcliffe@yahoo.com. Send me photos of the tattoos you’d like me to feature, and let me know the name of your tattoo artist if you have it, as well the name of the shop he or she works in.

Images: Courtesy of Ann Hill

RIVERDALE and AMERICAN GODS Get Graphic Adaptations

It’s the calm before the storm that is New York Comic Con, but we still have plenty of announcements in your mid-week edition of Comics Relief, staring with the return of an Oscar winner to the world of comics.  Read on for all the details.

John Ridley Returns to Comics With American Way Sequel

Oscar-winning screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years A Slave, American Crime) is set to return to the medium of comic books with The American Way: Those Above And Those Below, uniting with his series artist Georges Jeanty (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). The six-issue monthly miniseries hits shelves in 2017 and will be published under DC’s Vertigo imprint. Staying true to the original The American Way, this sequel will explore historically significant sociopolitical and racial themes which are still relevant today. The story will pick up in 1972, when social and political tensions in America were at an all-time high.

In a statement Ridley said, “On the 10-year anniversary of the series, it feels both fantastic and appropriate to be able to return to The American Way. Though I have been very blessed over the last decade in both film and television, there is a very special sense of accomplishment that comes with seeing your work on display at the local comics shop.”

The series tracks an alternate timeline in which costumed superheroes fall into disgrace during the turmoil of the 1960s, and a man named Jason Fisher—one of the few “heroes” who still operates in the public sphere—finds both resistance and outright hostility from the very people he is trying to help, who see him not as a savior, but as a tool of the heavy handed police force that targets America’s young, black men through racial profiling. Jason’s dilemma: to uphold the law, or to serve the people. The new series arrives in summer, 2017.

Neil Gaimain’s American Gods comes to Dark Horse Comics

Before it arrives on televison on the Starz network next year, Neil Gaiman’s modern fantasy novel American Gods is receiving a comic book adaptation starting in 2017 from Dark Horse Comics. The new comic will be written and laid out by longtime Gaiman collaborator P. Craig Russell, and will feature art from Scott Hampton and covers from Glenn Fabry. The series is going to be made up of three story arcs comprising 27 issues.

In a statement from creator Neil Gaiman, he said, “There’s a tremendous amount of excitement, in my house and in the world, about the American Gods TV series coming up on Starz. What we’ve managed to keep a secret until now is that there is something just as exciting out there: American Gods, the comic…. the American Gods comic is going to be an astonishing, faithful, and beautiful adaptation.” The first arc, entitled American Gods: Shadows, will begin in American Gods #1 on March 15, 2017. You can check out Glenn Fabry’s first promo image for the series above. [Newsarama]

Vampirella returns, puts on clothes

Comics’ first lady of bloodsuckers Vampirella is getting a revamp (pun intended) from Dynamite Entertainment, the publisher revealed in a pre-NYCC announcement. And she’ll be coming with an A-list pedigree, as writer Paul Cornell (Doctor Who) is re-teaming with frequent collaborator artist Jimmy Broxton. The introductory issue will only be $0.25, so you have no excuse not to buy this one.

“I’m delighted to be writing a Vampirella that takes onboard everything she’s been and moves it forward into a new setting, where the gothic meets science fiction,” said Cornell in the press release. He went on to say, “I’m hoping especially to find a female audience.” The fact that Vampirella seems to be wearing clothing this time and not just strings might help. You can see promo art for the new series above. [CBR]

The Spirit receives all-new mini series in 2017

Dynamite Entertainment has also revealed ahead of NYCC that Francesco Francavilla is writing and drawing a new series featuring Will Eisner’s The Spirit, titled The Spirit: The Corpse-Makers. The five issue mini-series will arrive in early 2017, and will see the hero attempt to solve the mystery of a string of seemingly unrelated disappearances and deaths in Central City.

In a statement, Francavilla said, “I couldn’t be more honored and humbled to have been asked to do a story with one of the icons of the comic universe. I’m not going to lie — tackling one of Maestro Will Eisner’s most famous creations and following in the steps of my dearest friends Darwyn Cooke and Matt Wagner is not gonna be an easy task, but I’ll make sure my love for the character, for those legendary creators, and for the medium will show. And I hope readers will be along with me on this new ride!” [Comics Alliance]

Riverdale TV adaptation gets its own comic series

The upcoming CW Riverdale TV series was inspired by Archie Comics, and will now, in turn, inspire a comic of its own. The new comic will be written by showrunner and Archie Comics CCO Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and the members of the show’s writers’ room, along with art by illustrator Alitha Martinez. The one-shot Riverdale comic, which will arrive early next year, will then be followed by an ongoing series set in the universe of the TV show.

The new show will offer a bold, subversive take on Archie, Betty, Veronica, and their friends, exploring small-town life and the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale’s wholesome facade, and feature modern takes on the characters of Archie Andrews, Betty, Veronica, Reggie, Jughead, and Kevin Keller. In addition to the core cast, Riverdale will introduce other characters from Archie Comics’  library, including Josie and the Pussycats. You can see a preview for the cover of the one-shot above.

Green Lantern set to visit The Planet of the Apes

After crossing over with the characters from Star Trek at IDW, DC’s Green Lantern is now heading to the Planet of the Apes. Publishers BOOM! Studios and DC made the announcement this week that a six-issue Planet of the Apes/Green Lantern miniseries is set to arrive in February 2017, and they have just released a teaser image announcing the story, which you can see above. The creative teams and cover artists are set to be announced after NYCC. All I can say is I hope we see Dr. Zauis with a power ring at some point. [CBR]

Marvel reveals Divided We Stand variant covers

And finally, Marvel is debuting more variant covers for their post Civil War II “Divided We Stand” storyline, and they’ve revealed seven so far: Avengers #1, Champions #2, Deadpool & The Mercs For Money #5, The Unworthy Thor #1, Solo #2, Foolkiller #1, and The Unbelievable Gwenpool #8. You can see the covers in our gallery below. [Comic Book]

Images: DC Comics / Marvel / Dynamite Entertainment / BOOM! Studios / Archie Comics / Dark Horse Comics 

GARBAGE’s “Magnetized” Video is Delightfully Spooky

We’re definitely in love with Garbage‘s new music video for “Magnetized,” the second single and seventh track off the iconic alt-rock band’s latest album, Strange Little Birds (you can read the full Nerdist album review here). This video has everything you could ever want in October–mysterious lab, test tubes, glowing ropes, and a pink-haired Shirley Manson dressed up like a witch–just in time for Nerdoween!

Another weird and awesome thing about this video: it’s directed by Scott Stuckey, the creator of the cult-classic children’s show for PBS, Pancake Mountain (you can read some Nerdist memories about that crazy show here). This has to be one of the most perfect pairings of awesome oddballs this year! In a comment for Dazed’s behind-the-scenes article, Stuckey said, “‘Magnetized’ is one of my favorite songs on the album. Any time you get to send 300,000 volts of electricity through an eight-year-old Shirley Manson doppelgänger and the real Shirley, then YES, sign me up!” Apparently Manson and Stuckey are IRL neighbors! The gang–Manson, Butch, Duke, and Steve–just had to hop over to the Pancake Mountain Headquarters and start filming.

Strange Little Birds was a successful throwback to their earlier, gritty mid-’90s start, so it makes sense that their first single, “Empty,” had a simple and hauntingly nostalgic look and feel. Stylistically, “Magnetized” plays with bold underground notes from their later ’90s era–the video itself is particular reminiscent of their futuristic 1998 music video for “Push It.”

Manson added, “We wanted to create an ode to the magic of science and the mysteries of love.” And even though, based on science, people can’t literally be magnetized but rather electrified, this music video is winning in all the right ways. The band kicks off their anticipated world tour on October 21 in California, finishing on December 14 in Chile. What’s your favorite song off Strange Little Birds?  And more importantly, what’s your favorite music video by Garbage? Let us know!

Images: Stunvolume Records

YOUNG HAN SOLO Movie Testing for Female Role that Sounds Like Sana Starros

We’ve got a good feeling about this. The still-untitled Young Han Solo movie from directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller may not be in production yet, but rumor has it that they’re looking to add a fan-favorite character in the lead female role. According to a report from Variety, three actresses tested for the female lead role in the Star Wars spinoff this week in London. The actresses in question are Tessa Thompson (Creed), Zoe Kravitz (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), and Naomi Scott (Power Rangers). Apart from being rising stars in Hollywood, one thing these actresses share is a striking resemblance to a Sana Starros

The character, who first appeared in Jason Aaron and John Cassady’s Star Wars #4 from Marvel Comics, is a smuggler who—comic book spoiler alert!—claimed to be Han Solo’s wife. In reality, she wasn’t married to Han; rather, she pretended to be married to Solo in order to pull off a robbery. After Han made off with her cut of the loot, Sana tracked him down, and wound up trying to capture Han and claim the bounty on Leia. As you can imagine, that didn’t sit particularly well with the princess and the scruffy-looking nerf herder.

Let’s put on our tinfoil speculation hats real quick. If this is, in fact, a casting call for Sana Starros, then one could surmise that the Young Han Solo film could tell the story of that ill-fated heist that Solo and Starros pulled off together. Throw in known ne’er-do-wells and less-than-scrupulous characters like Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca into the mix, and this is starting to sound like Ocean’s Eleven in the galaxy far, far away. Speaking of Lando, the future administrator of Cloud City is also reported to be a part of the movie, with Donald Glover being eyed to play the part.

Variety reports that this is the second round of testing for the female lead, the first of which took place earlier this summer. Considering that the film does not even enter production until early 2017, there’s still plenty of time until a likely decision will be reached. For now, we’ll just have to rejoice in the one fact we do know: Alden Ehrenreich will be playing Han Solo. And if you’ve seen anything Ehrenreich has done recently, you’ll understand that is a very good thing.

The untitled film hits theaters on May 25, 2018.

Who do you think this female character will be? Who should play her? What do you want to see from a Han Solo standalone film? Let us know in the comments below.

Did you know that Han Solo is a time traveler, according to science?

Image: Marvel/Star Wars

Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).

ARROW Recap: “Legacy” Starts Season 5 Off on a Brutal, Ruthless Note

Warning: the following recap contains spoilers from the season five premiere of Arrow, “Legacy,” because it’s, well, a recap! And that’s what recaps do. Don’t say you weren’t warned …

It’s been a long summer, but we finally made it, folks. Arrow‘s back! And I’m also back, recapping all the punches, kisses, and flashbacks for you once again. Did you miss me? Because I sure missed you and this show. And based on the action-packed premiere alone, this season is promising to be the bloodiest, most brutal and ruthless year yet. You thought they couldn’t top an all-out nuclear apocalypse from last year? Think again! Let’s get to recapping “Legacy,” shall we?

Welcome back to the world of Arrow, where one man can act as both mayor and vigilante! Somehow, some way, Oliver is actually pulling off the double duty job of a lifetime and no one suspects a thing. Sure, he’s not exactly doing both jobs well—everyone thinks he’s slacking off as mayor in favor of his old party boy lifestyle—but he’s still getting both jobs done. That’s impressive all on its own.

And while Thea is still staying far away from Team Arrow, she’s working for him during the day as his … assistant? Job title is unclear. However, she’s getting frustrated with his attitude about being mayor – he claims it’s only a front so he can get actionable intel for “the other guy” aka Green Arrow, but she reminds him he actually wanted to be mayor once upon a time. He also said at one point during the hour that he could focus more on being mayor when the old team gets back together, but everyone knew that wasn’t going to happen, so I’m pretty sure he didn’t actually mean it.

Oliver spent the entire hour in denial about Thea and Diggle rejoining Team Arrow, and even tried to get Thea back in her Speedy uniform (which she did for a night, and it only reinforced her desire to put vigilante work behind her) and video chatted with Dig, trying to convince him to come home. Of course, he failed on both counts, so Felicity eventually finally wore him down about recruiting some new members. First up was wannabe vigilante Wild Dog who Oliver had previously put an arrow in his leg when he tried to “help” during the fight with Lonnie Machin. Then, there was Black Canary impersonator from season four, Evelyn Sharp. And after Curtis got jumped on the street by two knife-wielding criminals, he was ready to sign up as trainee number three.

It’s a good thing that Oliver is filling out his ranks, since there’s a new gangster in town, and his name is Tobias Church, a.k.a. Charon. After tearing up Hub City and Bloodhaven with his crew, Tobias decided to come to Star City, and he wants to rule the criminal world there. That includes killing some of the SCPD cops who are dirty, something that the city has been struggling with a lot lately. And now that Quentin Lance is no longer on the force, Oliver lost his best SCPD liaison, so when he heard Lance was back in town, he paid him a visit. He was shocked to see Lance off the wagon, hungover and a mess, and Lance told him he was no longer with Donna (“Opposites attract, but not that much,” he told Oliver with a grimace) and with Laurel gone and Sara time traveling who knows where, he was all alone. But Oliver convinced him to come to the city’s memorial for Black Canary, and his speech moved the grieving father.

That is, until Tobias and his men unleashed a spray of bullets onto the crowd and kidnapped some hostages, including Oliver who wasn’t able to fight back because of all the cameras pointed at him. He has to keep up the ruse that Oliver Queen can’t fight! You could tell that holding back was absolutely killing him. Tobias wanted to follow prison yard etiquette and take down the biggest player in Star City, aka the Green Arrow, so he used his hostages to try and call him out. While in captivity, Oliver killed his kidnapper (while saying his badass line from the pilot: “No one can know my secret”) just as Thea arrived to help him out as Speedy. She was shocked to see him kill so many of the gunmen while they escaped, but he told her that if he showed a little less restraint when it came to his no killing rule, then maybe Laurel would still be alive. Ouch. Clearly he’s still blaming himself for her death, and it’s making him the most ruthless version of himself. We haven’t seen him drop this many bodies since season one! Is it bad that I’m really excited about this? I love me some ruthless Oliver Queen.

But unlike Oliver, Quentin was inspired to keep moving forward instead of going backwards, so he decided to help Oliver clean up the SCPD with a few officers that he trusts. And Oliver knew that Laurel would have wanted them to work together, so he agreed. We also got to see a flashback to Laurel’s final moments in the hospital and the promise she made Oliver agree to before she died: “Please don’t let me be the last Canary.” She wanted Oliver to train a new Canary, and he actually agreed!

Who is going to be the new Canary? Is it … possibly … Felicity? Is that crazy to even think? What is a little crazy to watch is how “in love” she seems to be with her new boyfriend, Detective Malone. Something tells me Oliver has no idea this dude even exists, let alone is potentially living with Felicity. Here’s to hoping he’s a dirty cop so we have a quick and easy reason to hate him and get him out of the picture to clear the way for Olicity to get back together.

Working with his new team of trusted SCPD officers with Lance and Felicity running point in the Arrow Lair, Oliver returned to fight Tobias and free the three hostages. The next morning, as mayor, he gave a speech about the proposed Anti-Crime Initiative he had previously spoken out against, and decided to put into effect the Anti-Crime Unit with the four officers Green Arrow worked with the night before. And they’re going to need all the help they can get, since Tobias united all the crime families under his leadership to take out the Green Arrow, and another, masked archer killed one of the four ACU cops right outside the SCPD station later that night. Hello, Prometheus! Welcome season five villain number two. This dude seems way scarier than Tobias, but that might just be the fact that we can’t see his face.

And here’s the best part of the season five premiere: this year’s flashback storyline is actually interesting! And has stakes! Whoa! We finally are going to see just how Oliver became such a high-ranking member of the Bratva, the Russian Mob. When we pick up with him in the premiere, he’s keeping his promise to the late Taiana to find and kill Mr. Kovar, the government strongman who was responsible for her and her brother Vlad getting sent off to Lian Yu.

Oliver worked his way through the Russian underground fighting ring to try and get an audience with Kovar, but when he messed with the Bratva’s gambling (he killed a man that was supposed to win the fight, and he was the Bratva’s top earner), they tried to kill him. Luckily, his friend from Lian Yu, Anatoli, was a high-ranking captain of the Bratva and was able to intervene just in time. Oliver told Anatoli all about his promise to kill Kovar, and he agreed to help even though he didn’t agree with it and thought it would get Oliver killed. And since the only men who can get through Kovar’s government army are Bratva, it was time for Oliver to get initiated. And it was a hell of a bloody process.

Buckle up, kids, we’re in for a brutal season, and I could not be more excited about it. What did you think of the Arrow premiere? Tweet me your thoughts @SydneyBucksbaum!

Images: The CW

Adorable Little Robot Opens Doors and Climbs Fences

Dogs might be man’s best friend, but if this little door-opening, fence-climbing, stairs-navigating mini robot gets any more adorable, well then old Fido might have to make room for a new housemate. Especially because Fido can’t let himself out of the house in the middle of the night when he needs to go.

This cute mechanical guy—called the Ghost Minitaur from Ghost Robotics—is “highly adept at perceiving tactile sensations,” which allows him to traverse otherwise imposing obstacles and terrain. He comes equipped with torque motors, motor controllers, and what they describe as a “specialized leg design,” along with high-speed, high-resolution encoders that let him “see and feel the ground” (even though he looks like a headless skeleton of a dog).

They say that those encoders allow him to adjust to whatever he encounters “faster than the blink of an eye.” In the sample video provided you can see Ghost Minitaur quickly reacting to various impediments, as he climbs his way up a chain link fence, and even opens the handle of a door before pushing it open. (You thinking about Velociraptors right now? Me too.)

And even though we know that this is a highly sophisticated piece of machinery, both impressive for what it already can do but also for what it portends about the future of robotics (think about how helpful something like this would be in an emergency situation, like aiding firefighters in trying to locate people trapped in a fire, or assisting soldiers in a war zone situation) we can’t help but also notice that he just seems like a happy puppy as he goes about his business, bouncing like he’s chasing his owner around for a treat.

Of course, unlike Fido, you won’t actually need to have a treat for him. So even though your dog might not have to give up his spot at the foot of your bed, he might need to share the house with another adorable four-legged little guy.

What other type of obstacle would you like to see this mini robot overcome? What other situations do you think he would prove most useful in? Bounce into the comments below to tell us what you think.

Images: Ghost Robotics

LUKE CAGE Recap: The World Explodes in Bullets and Luke Changes Minds

Warning: This is a recap, and as such, contains spoilers for the Luke Cage episode, “Now You’re Mine.” Get out of dodge if you haven’t watched the episode yet.

“Now You’re Mine” was primed to dive into action given how the previous episode ended. Harlem’s Paradise erupted into utter chaos, transforming from a political rally to a crime scene in seconds. It brought to light one of the biggest contrasts between Diamondback and Cottonmouth; the latter could play the game and show restraint. But Diamondback? He’s all emotion. He’s so driven by revenge it’s a wonder he didn’t discover Luke’s location sooner—he seems like the sort who would have thrown every second into verifying Luke’s death after Seagate. Anyway, he risked everything on slapping Luke down.

Throughout the fiasco, I liked seeing Shades call out Diamondback for not having a plan. I saw someone point out Shades is the Littlefinger of Luke Cage, and I don’t think they’re wrong. He’s the talk less, smile more type and has been slowly collecting everything he needs to move into his own position of power. He followed Diamondback’s sloppy orders, but he probably would have been okay with Diamondback getting arrested or killed.

As it was, Diamondback lived to fight another day. He couldn’t corner Luke or any of the people Luke cared about—Misty and Claire—and instead, performed a disappointing “here’s why I’m terrible” monologue. He divulged details about his background to a captive councilman and waxed on and on about his anger at being second fiddle to Luke. Part of the rage was also directed at their father because he stopped caring about Willis’ mom. Whew. I mentioned this before, but this doesn’t ring true as sufficient motivation. Though if Diamondback has a few screws loose, you can squint your eyes and see how his past twisted him.

The drawn out soliloquy was part of another problem in this episode: it dragged out too long. The frenzied hostage situation probably didn’t need to last an entire hour. But, while the time proved boring for our villains, it did give our heroes time to breathe. In the case of Misty, it gave her a reason to open her damn eyes about Luke.

Misty was in terrible condition after being shot in the arm–a nod to her bionic arm in the comics—but thankfully she had Luke there to help her. (Because that’s what he does.) He went above and beyond to keep her safe, and she finally saw the hero within. She learned from actually talking to him. Go figure. Luke owning the hero role was an obvious move, but Claire stepping up should have been something I saw coming too. She found a way to get away from Diamondback’s men and helped Luke and Misty. She did so without any superpowers besides her incredible gumption. She’s the best.

We all knew it was overdue for Misty to come around, but since she was so convinced Luke was involved in nefarious actions, it couldn’t be an instantaneous flip. Luke had to earn it. The extreme situation was just the thing and stretching it out gave Misty the time she needed. She had the chance to see Luke do enough heroic things to get a peek at his true nature. And she was injured enough she couldn’t really move, so she didn’t have a choice but to listen to Luke and Claire’s explanations for everything. I bought her coming to the light.

I also bought more into the Luke and Claire ‘ship. They have an easy way about them, and I’m warming up to it. I particularly enjoy Claire bossing him around.

Though Misty got on board, her inspector and the chief weren’t beside her to witness all Luke did. Diamondback got away, and though hostages reported Luke wasn’t the one firing bullets, he was the only man standing they wanted to bring in–well, besides Shades. Side note: how badass was it for the severely wounded Misty and Claire to take him out? That’s the new team-up show I want.

Anyway, the police were all about using the Judas bullets and stopping Luke. The inspector pushed back as much as she could, but she was constrained by the system. Blake Tower, who you might have recognized from Daredevil, helped as much as he could and revealed Mariah was in a closed door meeting with the mayor. I’m not going to comment on the weird timing of the meeting, but I do want to point out this is yet another juncture where Misty’s starting to see the cracks in the procedures.

Think back to earlier in the season when Misty and Scarfe shared their thoughts on vigilantes. Scarfe was pro, Misty was anti. But since then, Misty hasn’t seen due process work. Cottonmouth was arrested and let go almost instantly. They haven’t been able to pin down Mariah. Cops have beat up children. You get the idea. Misty’s tried to have the police department’s back, but they haven’t necessarily had hers.

In closing, allow me to say that this series wins all the gold stars for working in a, “What you talking about, Willis?”

What are your thoughts about the shootout at Harlem’s Paradise? What did you like best about “Now You’re Mine?” Talk to me in the comments.

Images: Netflix

Watch the Blue Man Group’s Insanely Fun Tiny Desk Performance

Usually the thought of NPR (National Public Radio) brings to mind even-tempered discussions about the day’s politics, perhaps some droll looks into quaint American lives, and—of course—a large medley of hosts with deliciously peculiar one-off names. But all of that calm, listener-soothing atmosphere went right out the window recently when the Blue Man Group visited the desk of All Songs Considered to celebrate their 25th anniversary as a band and put on a classically quirk-tastic performance.

The video of the performance, which is posted above and comes via Laughing Squid, shows the Blue Man Group invading the NPR offices, scurrying around to collect personal items from various hosts, and finally dragging All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen away from his desk in order to take over his space for their show.

The performance is one installment in a recurring series titled the “Tiny Desk Concert Series,” which forces musicians to make due with the small area around Boilen’s desk, and has previously featured incredible acts such as Adele, Phoenix, and Andrew Bird.

Blue Man Group’s performance was definitely unique in the series however, as they utilized a series of instruments of their own making, including: the Chapman Stick (“[a] combination of a guitar, a bass guitar, and a washboard”), the Cimbalom (a stringed Hungarian instrument that they wail on with drumsticks), the Spinulum (which takes after the Wheel of Fortune wheel), and the Shredmill—”a treadmill-shaped, electro-mechanical sequencer” that’s used to make rhythmic patterns.

The set consists of three songs, “Vortex,” “The Forge,” and “Meditation For Winners,” and is perfect background music if you’re trying to get work done at the office. That is of course, if there are no blue men currently invading your building.

What do you think about this Blue Man Group set? Have you ever seen the group perform live? Share your experiences in the comments below!

Images: NPR

Flushing 240 Pounds of Mercury Is Totally Heavy Metal

Have you ever wondered what would happen if the T-1000 from Terminator 2 attacked you and you tried to flush it down the toilet? Of course you haven’t, but why not find out what would occur in that situation anyway? Or at least find out what happens when you flush a whopping 240 pounds of mercury down a toilet—which is not connected to any public waste disposal system.

Cody, of the YouTube channel Cody’s Lab, decided to take on the task of flushing an extraordinary amount of mercury down a toilet to see how the heavy metal would hold up against the pressure of the flushing water. And it turns out that when it comes to mercury, less is… less. In other words, you can flush a little, but clog a porcelain throne up with a Chipotle burrito-sized mercury log and that quicksilver will be draining out really really slowly.

A lead bullet floats on the denser mercury.

As Cody points out, the reason this occurs is because Mercury is 13 times heavier than water. This means that if “you put multiple pounds of mercury in a toilet, it won’t flush it through.” It will, however, look like Robert Patrick is reforming in your toilet and attempting to make all of your worst potty training nightmares come true.

After attempting to flush multiple pounds of mercury, Cody then loads up the tank with mercury, and then proceeds to lift the flapper by hand—please don’t try that at home even though the metallic mercury Cody is using doesn’t absorb through skin—effectively making a mercury toilet that can flush gold and lead bullets. This is, of course, perfect for anybody who’s just robbed a bank and wants to hide their booty as well as commit some environmental crimes while they’re at it. (Although again, Cody is in the clear here as his toilet is not connected to any waste system.)

What do you think about this epic mercury toilet? Flush your thoughts into the comments system below!

Images: Cody’sLab