The Shining shrinky dinks.

#HappyHalloween from your friends at Bad Robot! pic.twitter.com/AYCb4V9RXo
— Bad Robot (@bad_robot) October 31, 2014

Enhance:



Enhance:

Virgin Galactic:

Virgin Galactic’s partner Scaled Composites conducted a powered test flight of SpaceShipTwo earlier today. During the test, the vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of the vehicle. Our first concern is the status of the pilots, which is unknown at this time. We will work closely with the relevant authorities to determine the cause of the accident and provide updates as soon as we are able to do so.

Nightmare fuel.  And also.

Today only, free downloads of MS Corley's haunted house zine.

My score on this week's Slate news quiz.

First paragraph of Rolling Stone's profile of Stephen King:

Stephen King's office building sits on a particularly dreary dead-end road on the outskirts of Bangor, Maine, just down the street from a gun-and-ammo store, a snowplow dealership and, appropriately enough, an old cemetery. From the outside, the anonymous building looks like a new branch of Dunder Mifflin, a very deliberate choice meant to keep King and his tiny staff safe. "We can't be on a main road because people would find us," says one of his assistants. "And it's not people you want to find you. He draws some weird people."

On his heavy use of cocaine:

But the books start to show it after a while. Misery is a book about cocaine. Annie Wilkes is cocaine. She was my number-one fan.
...
Yeah, it did. I mean, The Tommyknockers is an awful book. That was the last one I wrote before I cleaned up my act.

And the Dark Tower:

I'm never done with The Dark Tower. The thing about The Dark Tower is that those books were never edited, so I look at them as first drafts. And by the time I got to the fifth or sixth book, I'm thinking to myself, "This is really all one novel." It drives me crazy. The thing is to try to find the time to rewrite them. There's a missing element – a big battle at a place called Jericho Hill. And that whole thing should be written, and I've thought about it several times, and I don't know how to get into it.

On politics:

I never really cared for Tom Clancy's books, but it wasn't because he was a Republican guy. It was because I didn't think he could write.

Via.

Block No. 20 - Mermaid / Siren, and we are done! pic.twitter.com/CODK2qcaIq
— Simon Lee (@SpiderzeroSimon) October 31, 2014

Here's all 20 blocks of clay he sculpted for the project.

Details on Telltale's upcoming games:

In Game of Thrones we're taking that multi-protagonist design even further with five playable characters from the same family whose choices affect everyone in the family, and that adds a whole new layer to things that we're really excited about.
...
We are on track to launch both premiere episodes of Tales from the Borderlands and Game of Thrones before the end of [2014], so stay tuned.

Classic music: Promised You a Miracle by Simple Minds. (Available at Amazon.)

NECA posted a bunch of new photos of the Kane with facehugger and removable helmet figure. Preorder at the BBTS.

New minimalist Blade Runner tee at Last Exit to Nowhere.

Winner. #OculusRift pic.twitter.com/1bFEOnET8H
— Scott Kerr (@scott_kerr) October 31, 2014

Figma Solid Snake available for preorder.

How to turn jeans, a t-shirt, and a belt into a Sub-Zero costume.

CB DeAngelo Hall, who tore his Achiles last month and underwent surgery to repair it, tore it again this week and will have to redo surgery.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 31, 2014

Playing GTA as a horror movie slasher:

This dude plays GTAV on passive mode, so he can’t kill or be killed. He also plays creepy music through his mic and slowly, wordlessly stalks people across the city. 

At which point he turns passive mode off and stabs his victim to death.

Emily Carroll posted an excellent new horror webcomic.

(You should also buy her book Through the Woods. It's one of my favorite purchases of the year.)

"Here are the winners of the New York Times Best Illustrated Books Awards for 2014."

(The only one that really caught my eye was Shackleton's Journey. My son just wrote a report about him.)

Last Exit to Nowhere's latest tee is based on Trading Places.

Gawker's latest edition of The Best Restaurant in New York.

FREE scary story! You've just 24 hours to download my scary "Click Clack The Rattlebag" story from @audible_com . http://t.co/Ba4fHqqIFo RT
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) October 31, 2014

Substantial drop in price on Mondo's first toy, one week after being posted for preorder, explained in this way:

We had planned on listing Lil' Mikey for under $100 from the very start, but for reasons beyond our control, we were unable to make it happen before the official release date. For the past week, we have been fighting to bring down the price for you guys, and today we are proud to announce that Lil Mikey will now be available for Pre-Order for $85 (plus shipping).

From an interview with Guillermo Del Toro:

We unfortunately were involved on a game that took about two and a half years’ pre-production with THQ that was called Insane, and then THQ went under before we could make the game, but I learned a lot there. 

With Hideo we are still in the early stages. I don’t think the game will come out for another couple of years.

So the bad news is Silent Hills is years away. And the worse news is that his prior game history indicates the game may never come out. I suppose the silver lining is there will be plenty of time for more demos like PT.

Today we’ve had some little friends playing the all new expansion levels that nobody has seen yet. Good critics. pic.twitter.com/FiKckPjUWx
— ustwogames (@ustwogames) October 30, 2014

The latest Monument Valley tease.

The first episode of Cartoon Network's Over the Garden Wall is terrific--you can watch it here or download at iTunes.  I liked it so much I ordered the entire series to show my support. $10 gets you all episodes, which I'm currently downloading.

There's a new download available for Kentucky Route Zero, and also a strange ebay listing:

ALL THE BEERS! pic.twitter.com/wfp8bbY82N
— nick pants (@nick_pants) October 30, 2014

Bayonetta by Eva Vilhelmiina Eskelinen.

Día de Muertos Blue Beetle costume for Infinite Crisis.

*Buy Infinite Crisis toys at Amazon.

Madama Butterfly cake by Karen Portaleo.

Seinfeld episode cosplay.

NY Times:

The investigator who led the Department of Homeland Security’s internal review of the Secret Service’s 2012 prostitution scandal quietly resigned in August after he was implicated in his own incident involving a prostitute, according to current and former department officials.

Elon Musk 10/21/12:

One of our competitors, Orbital Sciences, has a contract to resupply the International Space Station, and their rocket honestly sounds like the punch line to a joke. It uses Russian rocket engines that were made in the ’60s. I don’t mean their design is from the ’60s—I mean they start with engines that were literally made in the ’60s and, like, packed away in Siberia somewhere.

Today:

A private Orbital Sciences-built cargo launch to the International Space Station ended in a fiery explosion just seconds after liftoff Tuesday night

If you have less than 8 tabs open in your browser you just don't believe in yourself.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) October 29, 2014

Painted water tower for The Art of the Tag. Opening night: sat nov 1 7-10pm @myplasticheart #boundlessbrooklyn #watertower

A photo posted by Chris Buzelli (@chrisbuzelli) on Oct 10, 2014 at 4:48pm PDT

Sideview #watertower @boundlessbrooklyn @myplasticheart

A photo posted by Chris Buzelli (@chrisbuzelli) on Oct 10, 2014 at 5:20pm PDT

"Cornell University Research Team Devises a Miniscule 3D Printed Spider Harness"

Trapped in a Room with a Zombie:

Prepare to be locked in a room with up to 11 other people and a Zombie that is chained to the wall! Hidden in the room is a key that will unlock the door to your freedom. To find the key you must locate numerous clues and solve riddles. Every five minutes the hungry Zombie’s chain will be released another foot. Within an hour, the Zombie will be able to reach you. You have 60 minutes to the find clues, solve the puzzles, unlock the door and escape the room without getting eaten!

(Here's a review of the downtown LA experience.)

Gotham paper masks available for download.

If you're looking for a slow burn horror movie to watch, try The House of the Devil on Netflix. Sort of like a bizarro version of the game Gone Home.

The 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a good Netflix choice, too. Creepy aliens, although I think it's mostly a warning about divorce and marijuana cultivators in San Francisco.

Kali Ciesemier:

Playing DnD tonight! I drew my character Snorra, she’s a bored teen half-orc with a lot of enemies, little sense, and a giant fear of embarrassment.

Sam Bosma:

Finally playing DnD again. Here’s my Cleric, Roy, 13-year-old child of destiny. His dad was a survivalist who convinced Roy that he is mankind’s only defense from the oncoming darkness (whatever that is). Dad’s dead now, though, so we’re off to adventure. He worships the sun and he’s here to help.

Timely--Mondo will be selling two Doctor Strange posters tomorrow by We Buy Your Kids. ($40 each.)

Printable Space Minotaur mask, from The Black Glove kickstarter, which has a brand new trailer:



The creators also participated in an AMA session at Reddit, answering various questions about working on the Bioshock games.

Slate:

Of all of Uber’s numbers, one is particularly important: $90,766. In a late-May post on its blog, Uber cited $90,766 as the median annual income of a driver for UberX in New York City.
...
In several months of reporting on Uber, I have yet to come across a single driver earning the equivalent of $90,766 a year. Those I’ve spoken with report that they gross around $1,000 a week after commission and sales tax—but before gas and other expenses—for annual income closer to $50,000. And despite broadcasting the $90,766 figure far and wide, Uber has so far proved unable to produce one driver earning that amount.

TK Project KT-001 Takeya Style Jizai Okimono Kirin Iron Rust Look Edition available for preorder.

Illustration by Francesco Francavilla for an article about horror movies.

Deadline says Benedict Cumberbatch will be Doctor Strange.

The first few panels of The Deep Ones (Why We Fear the Ocean) by Sean Collins and Julia Gfroer.

10 bits of interesting Star Wars costumes trivia

Some interesting bits of trivia I learned from the gorgeous new coffee table book, Star Wars Costumes:

1. George Lucas insisted on all costumes having no visible fasteners.

2. Luke's Tatooine pants are colorless Levi's.

3. One of the Duros in the Cantina scene is wearing a costume from Escape from the Planet of the Apes.

4. Lucas ordered that the Hoth Rebel uniforms be destroyed so that they could not be reused on other films.

5. Children were dressed in Hoth Rebel uniforms and placed in the back of the hangar to make it look bigger.

6. Yoda's face is partially based on Albert Einstein.

7. A stuntman suffered a broken arm when he accidentally fell into the Sarlacc.

8. Leia's slave bra was modeled in wax, kept in a ice chest, and then placed on her body to be formed as it warmed with her body heat.

9. Lando's guard helmet was inspired by a baseball glove.

10. The Emperor is played by a woman in The Empire Strikes Back, and her eyes were replaced by a chimpanzee's eyes in postproduction.

The book is about as great as a coffee table can get. It's oversized, but not absurdly heavy. The photographs are large, unmarred by text, and make even the simplest costumes look like holy relics:



Every costume is accompanied by lengthy descriptions of their creation and glamorous photos, with the more complex costumes getting several pages of coverage, and in some cases foldouts:



Pilot and skiff guard helmets are gathered for comparison:



And there are even costumes from deleted scenes:



The 232-page hardcover is currently 38% off at Amazon and comes out tomorrow.

Classic movies given boring descriptions:

Guy gets a ring gifted to him by his uncle. He doesn't want it so he returns it to the manufacturer. 

Man takes care of a hotel in the winter and writes a dull book 

Old man travels to Venezuela to visit a waterfall 

A rich orphan beats up a clown

The three colorways of threeA's Doctor Doom.

Madison Bumgarner tee.

He asked and oh boy did he receive.

Voldemort's name of Tom Riddle was changed in many languages to create an anagram. For example:

French   TOM ELVIS JEDUSOR                     JE SUIS VOLDEMORT
Danish   ROMEO G DETLEV JR                    JEG ER VOLDEMORT
Dutch     MARTEN ASMODOM VILIJN        MIJN NAAM IS VOLDEMORT
Faroese   TOM EVILDO REGER                     ER ERI VOLDEMORT

So John Wick is apparently good....

For obsessives--11 interesting details from the Matrix (just the first movie). Including that the building Neo works at looks like a spinal column, and the spelling of the company's name changes inside.

I was skimming Amazon looking for a plush tiger for my my Calvin and Hobbes-obsessed son, and found this one.

Original art for Mondo's Batman show on sale now.