This Week in Geekdom

Woot! We're back up to a normal publication schedule! Sorry about the little hiccup last week. Things got a little more crazy than we expected after back-to-back blizzards. But, as mentioned yesterday, we have a lot of great content headed your way, including more exciting projects from indie board game developers. For now though, less snowy talk and more This Week in Geekdom!

The Sapporo Snow Festival gets creative with their frozen precipitation

Comics

Well, that was 'fun' while it lasted? On Friday, DC announced that it will be ending its new 52 run on June 3rd of this year, after which time publication will split into 24 new comics and 25 ongoing titles.

Games

EA now claims that their offerings are simply too hard for new players to learn.

If you're ever perusing the website of Platinum Games and turn up a 404 error, you'll find that the page is actually a Bayonetta-themed mini-game.

Movies/TV

Tonight is the mid-season premiere of the Walking Dead. Can't wait for this evening? Check out the first two minutes of the episode in the embedded video below.

So the Teen Titans live-action TV series apparently will have the Titans, but they won't be teenagers...and some of your favorite characters may not be in the lineup. Check out this breakdown of how the show is shaping up. 

ABC announced that it will be reviving BattleBots as part of this summer's lineup.

Science/Technology

The Hubble Space Telescope sent us back these stunning shots of three of Jupiter's moons traversing its face simultaneously. 

Speaking of gobsmacking images from high-powered telescopes, the European Southern Obervatory's VISTA scope turned up this gorgeous evidence of previously hidden pulsating stars in the Trifid Nebula.

File this one under Potentially Unsettling: Google is now in the process of synthesizing human skin.

Raspberry Pi 2 is now available for purchase (for only $35 USD). Bonus: the diminutive PC will be able to run Ubuntu and Windows 10.

Does staring at a screen all day really damage your eyesight? Here comes the answer (and the science).

Up until this point, nearly all research pertaining to quantum mechanics had been carried out at the most micro of microscopic levels. Now physicists at Aalto University are trying to conduct experiments on a macro scale using, among other things, supercooled temperatures.

General Awesomeness/Feats of Nerdery

Ready to lose yourself in some epic images? These are some of the greatest GoPro shots ever taken.

She's faster than she looks. Check out this impressive effort by drone enthusiast Oliver C that resulted in a very unique-looking miniature Millennium Falcon. Bonus: there's a video of the mini-Falcon in flight!

It took Su Daocheng two months to build, but he was successful in his quest to make a ridable robotic horse.

Crowdfundables For Your Consideration

We did just talk about it yesterday, but, if you haven't already, you definitely should check out the Kickstarter for Amino. It's a fast, fun, thoughtful game that'll prove fun to both board game noobies and seasoned gaming veterans.

AMPL Labs launched an Indiegogo campaign for its SmartBackpack. The clever accessory not only serves as a standard backpack, but also is capable of charging all of your mobile devices. The project is already fully funded, but will be taking on new backers until March 4th.

J.S. Skye is writing a comic book based on one of his supporting characters from his Flurry the Bear series and has a Kickstarter that will hopefully support this effort. Three words guys: red panda samurai.

Finally, a very happy 83rd birthday to one of the greatest composers of all time: John Williams!

As always, best wishes for an excellent week ahead!