Mobile device customization is a rarity. Manufacturers might offer a few different colors and there are a plethora of cases, but you're probably carrying the same black or white rectangle in your pocket that everyone else is. But if you have a Samsung Galaxy S8, there's a DIY option that is sure to make you stand out in the crowd — JerryRigEverything's tutorial on making the back of the phone totally clear. Although it voids your warranty, it's also a call back to one of the best handheld gaming systems of all time. If you're brave enough to try it yourself, check ou the full walkthrough here.
It's a lesson nearly as old as film itself: Show the audience what you want them to know instead of explicitly telling them. Like the saying "actions speak louder than words", how a character reacts to situations gives a much sharper definition to the role than reeling off chunks of dialogue. In this video essay, Lessons from the Screenplay takes on the touchy subject of critiquing Rogue One and The Force Awakens, contrasting the character of Jin with Rey, and how Rey's far more active role in shaping the story makes her a more engaging character.
Elon Musk hates Los Angeles' infamously terrible traffic as much as anyone. While you might think his electric car company Tesla and his dream of fully autonomous cars might solve that problem, there isn't much that satisfies a supervillain. Now he wants to disrupt the construction industry with The Boring Company and build tunnels underneath cities to transport cars on electric sleds at speeds of up to 124 MPH. This demonstration video shows Elon's idea to relieve congestion in cities once and for all.
Sometimes it takes more than a trusty lighter to get a fire going. Zippo has an answer with their Fire Starter Kit. It includes a Mag Strike ferrocerium rod and a 420 stainless steel precision-cut striker blade that pack together for protection from the elements. Five natural pine tinder bundles are also included, coated with paraffin wax for water resistance with a burn time of up to eight minutes. Once the flames get going, a collapsible manual bellows lets you apply extra airflow right where it's needed.
The return to routine deserves a wardrobe that can keep pace. Nike's Back to School Collection is built for wherever the season takes you. The Nike Par ADV Golf Jacket delivers weather-ready protection from the first tee to rainy commutes, while the Nike Club Wool Varsity Jacket brings timeless athletic style into cooler evenings. Heading beyond the pavement, the ACG "Misery Ridge" GORE-TEX Jacket is ready for changing mountain conditions. Complete the look with vintage icons like the Air Jordan 4 Retro or lace up the Nike Alphafly 3 when it's time to chase your next personal best. Whether you're heading back to campus, back to the office, or simply back into your routine, Nike's latest collection is built for the season ahead.
Close-ups, medium shots, long shots, panning shots, tracking shots, zooms, dolly zooms — there are a million different ways to shoot a scene. That makes trying to categorize and then pick the best of each a monumental task, one which Cinefix is up too. In the first part of their Best Shots of All Time, they work through the close-up, medium, long, extreme close-up, and extreme long shots in their search.
Mathematics and art are two things that aren't usually thought of as going together. The geometric spirals of Stanford professor John Edmark combine the two in animated sculptures that seem to bloom and fade and bloom again — a never-ending cycle of life captured in a time-lapse. SciFri visited John to discuss his process, inspiration and the role of math in his art.
From its base in the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii's inactive volcano Mauna Kea rises over 33,000 feet, with 14,000 of that above sea level. Atop the mountain is the Mauna Kea Observatories that form some of the most important astronomical observation sites in the world. The dry atmosphere and subsequent lack of clouds make it a perfect place to watch the stars. The light pollution project Sky Glow Project spent a day on the mountain, capturing this incredible time lapse of the crystal-clear skies above Hawaii.
The annual Activision cash cow is returning from space and getting back to its roots. The 14th entry in the venerable first-person shooter franchise takes us to the beaches of Normandy during the D-Day invasion. The hyper-realistic CGI sequences are nearly Saving Private Ryan-worthy, but the actual gameplay remains to be seen. Call of Duty: WWII is planned to release later this year on multiple platforms.
Ensure you stay safe when driving with this kit from Uncharted. It includes a Zeus Air unit, which can jump-start engines, inflate tires, and charge devices, a First Aid Pro kit packed full of emergency medical supplies, and The Extractor, a static tow strap rated to 17,500 lbs. Also included is a robust multitool, a waterproof tactical flashlight, and chem lights to serve as backup illumination. It's all packed into custom-cut foam inside a custom-branded Pelican case, making it easy to pack in the trunk or cargo area.
Minecraft Dungeons II takes the block-building phenomenon into a new action-RPG adventure, expanding the dungeon-crawling formula with a fresh campaign, deeper combat, and more ways to play together. Players can explore sprawling, procedurally generated environments, battle familiar Minecraft mobs and formidable new enemies, and build out their characters with customizable gear and abilities. Designed for solo players and co-op crews alike, it blends the accessible creativity of Minecraft with fast-paced action, exploration, and loot-driven progression for a new way to experience the Overworld.
With Superman and Batman, she's long been one of the three pillars of DC Comics — but after 72 years on the page, Wonder Woman is only now getting her big screen debut. While the argument has been made that Wonder Woman is as marketable as her peers, a look at how widespread Wonder Woman has become as a major part of our cultural symbolism begs otherwise. But before you can begin to understand the character, you first need to understand the character's origins. Kaptain Kristian goes all the way back to her comic premiere and the people who created her for a look at what she stands for today.
What begins as a simple exercise extrapolating a line across a grid quickly becomes an otherworldly animated adventure. As the line crosses the boundary of the grid a surreal deformation begins that spreads across the frame, again and again. Read more about the creation of this hand-drawn animation at artist Johan Rijpma's website.