Mimoco announced today their new line of Green Lantern Mimobots!

From their press release:

(BOSTON – May 17, 2011) — Mimoco, creator of the MIMOBOT® line of designer USB flash drives, and Warner Bros. Consumer Products on behalf of DC Entertainment, the world’s largest publisher of comic books, introduce the Green Lantern wave of MIMOBOT flash drive designs. The new collection consists of favorites from the Green Lantern Corps including Hal Jordan, Tomar-Re, Kilowog and Sinestro.

To celebrate, we’ve teamed with Mimoco to do another giveaway!

We’ll be giving away one of each of the four characters in the set.

All you need to do to enter is send an email to EDITOR (at) Big Shiny Robot.com (except formatted like a real email address) with the headline IN BRIGHTEST DAY!.

For an extra chance to win, you can go to our facebook page and invite all of your friends to like us. Or you can ask your followers on twitter to follow us @BigShinyRobot. Just be sure to mention in your email that you’ve done it.

The contest ends on Friday, May 20th at midnight MST! Winners will be announced Monday the 23rd!

If you just can’t wait that long and need to get one of these bad boys in your hand, I can’t argue with you at all. You can pick them up at Mimoco’s website. They also have plenty of other lines to choose from. My particular favorite? The Star Wars line.

Laser Brain Podcast – Episdode 19 – Part 1

This week, Patrick gets one over on the WKU Testing Staff, Tristan tries to have a serious conversation about pornography, and Nick pitches his own film ideas.

Listen on iTunes

Listen on MP3

Be sure to check out Tristan’s kickstarter page!

This is a doozy, folks. According to Gizmodo, a S.H.I.E.L.D. briefcase (really a press kit from Acura/Thor) was mistaken for a bomb when it was discarded in an Ann Arbor, Michigan bus station. It brings back bad memories of the Boston/Aqua Teen bomb scare back in 2007. While the stories are similar, you can’t really ridicule the Michigan State Police bomb squad for evacuating the bus terminal. Just look at some images of the package (all images courtesy of Gizmodo)…

"I'm just an unassuming box, no bomb materials here!"

Acura and Thor, a bombastic combination!

"OK guys, here is our press kit. Perfectly innocuous!"

"Well, this could be seen as odd, but we're still OK."

"What? The mushroom cloud and the word 'atomize' brings the whole package together!"

"What!? There is no way anyone could confuse this with a bomb!"

So yeah, with a close inspection, the package is obviously not a bomb, but the circumstances behind it’s discovery in the bus station make it a “better safe than sorry” situation. The press kit was discarded by a writer from Automobile magazine. He left it to be recycled, but since it is not recyclable material, it was left after the rest of the refuse was collected. At a distance, having a nondescript black box just sitting in a place where people congregate is definitely cause for concern. We may poo poo it for obviously not being a bomb, but the second bomb officials start ignoring suspicious items because they seem innocuous, that’s when we have to start worrying.

Now, I’m not saying that things were handled as well as they could have been, but given the circumstances, I have to commend the MSP bomb squad for *ahem* diffusing the situation without causing mass panic. Let us know what you think in the comments!

Netflix’s services (Instant Watch streams and to your door delivery) have made it so you never have to read a book again, if you’re so inclined. The only problem with that is, there are so many things to watch, it can be incredibly overwhelming. If you’re a sci-fi fan, the people over at SFSignal are there for you. They’ve concocted a handy flowchart that caters to just about every sci-fi taste. Start in the middle, and before you know it, you’ll be ready to watch your new favorite show! The great thing is, most of the shows on the flow chart are already available on Netflix Instant Watch, and a good amount of the ones that aren’t will be available soon. Here’s the chart below, but you’ll want to click on it for the higher res (ie. readable) version. Happy TV watching!

Neil Gaiman made his Doctor Who debut this evening with an episode called “The Doctor’s Wife.”

It had plenty of Neil Gaiman hallmarks, but it also had the great distinction of being one of the better episodes of Doctor Who since its relaunch.  At least in my humble opinion.  When the Doctor and his companions, Amy and Rory, intercept a distress call from what could be a living Timelord, they go to investigate at top speed.  It doesn’t matter that the distress call came from outside the known universe.

They land in a junkyard, the stopping drain of the galaxy, where an unknown entity has sucked the soul out of the TARDIS and put it inside the body of a woman.

Perhaps some of the best interactions in this entire episode, maybe even the season so far, are between The Doctor and the human female form of the TARDIS (who is named Sexy, apparently.)  They are so revealing of the Doctor and his past (not just his recent past, but his origins from the beginning) that I was a little shocked to hear what I was hearing.  Gaiman and Moffat managed to reveal new dimensions to the Doctor’s origin that I didn’t think were possible.  It really makes you wonder.  He also talked at length about his killing of the Timelords and his desire to seek out any of those that were potentially living that might be on the side of good.

This episode also lays to rest once and for all (until something else catches our eye) the idea that Paul McGann will be returning as the Eighth Doctor this season.  I really loved the theory that our own Shaz-Bot came up with, and I would love to see something with the most recent incarnations of the Doctor coming together, but sadly I doubt it.  Seriously though, could you imagine a team up between Doctor’s 8 through 11?  That would be a crisis of epic proportions that would need to be solved.

This episode also gave us a couple of tantalizing teases into the future of the show, the most notable being the reference to a River in the forest (River Song?  Most likely, but would they give us something so obvious?)

It was also really great to see an Ood back on the show.  I’ve missed them and this one was no less or more creepy than the others featured in the series to date.  And am I the only one who thinks that since the transition to Matt Smith the references to the past seasons have been less and less?  In any case, I’m glad to see an Ood back.

What it all boils down to is that Neil Gaiman should be writing more episodes, Moffat is a very capable showrunner for Doctor Who, and something tells me that I’m going to be extremely pissed during the mid-season break after the cliffhanger we’re going to be left with.

And you all really need to be telling your friends to be watching this show.  This is some of the best science fiction on television, not just now, but some of the best that I’ve ever seen.

Well, it looks like our long international nightmare is finally over. Earlier today, a mandatory PlayStation 3 firmware update was pushed through to users. The update was ostensibly released to prepare users for the inevitable return of the PlayStation Network, and it seems that’s already happening! The news has been flying fast and furious, here’s what we were given to start with:

We have been working on a new PS3 system software update that requires all PSN users to change their password once PlayStation Network is restored. The update (v3.61) is mandatory and is available now.

If using a PS3, your password can only be changed on your own PS3 (or a PS3 on which your PSN account was activated), as an added layer of security. If you have never downloaded any content using your account on the system, an email will be sent to the registered sign-in ID (email address) associated with your account when you first attempt to sign-in to PSN. This e-mail will contain a link that will enable you to change your password. In this email, click on the link and follow the instructions to change your password. Once you have changed your password you can sign-in to your account using your new password.

We strongly recommend that all PSN account holders with PS3s update their systems to prepare for when PlayStation Network is back online. The release of this update is a critical step as we work to make PlayStation Network significantly more secure. Thank you for your continued support and patience.

Then, we were given a video by Sony’s Kaz Harai announcing the PSN’s return trip:

Finally, we were given a literal road map of PSN’s return. It isn’t everywhere in the country as of this writing, but service is expected to be up everywhere by this time tomorrow (excepting PlayStation Store and actual monetary transactions). Here’s Sony’s official word on that piece of news.

Please note that these services will take a bit of time to be turned on and rolled out to the whole country. The process has begun and some states are being turned on now, so please be patient as we reach your city and state. We’ll be updating the map below as service comes online in individual states. It will take several hours to restore PSN throughout the entire country, so please keep checking back for the latest updates. In the meantime, now’s a great time to get your PS3’s firmware updated, which is required to get online.

And finally, here’s the current progress of the restoration (last updated 9:04 pm PST)

I’ll be honest, I’m still not 100% certain that things are up to snuff yet, on the comments at the PlayStation Blog, it seems everyone who can sign in with a PlayStation Network ID is seeing their name show up as “jtender”

All I’ll say is, when the PSN comes back up in your neck of the woods, go ahead and do the whole password reset thing, then make damn sure your credit card information isn’t attached to your account anymore. Other than that, Game On, I suppose.

You might not know the name Dan Hipp, but you’ve probably seen his work. Dan is the artist behind such greatness as The Amazing Joy Buzzards and Gyakushu! When he’s not doing that, he’s making amazing pop culture art on his blog. He’s featured just about anything you can think of, from Robocop, to John Carpenter’s The Thing, to various and sundry Star Wars imagery. Lately, he’s been doing some truly inspired mash-ups of different pop culture icons. Here are a few of my favorites:

Not only are these images really cool, they are things I would gladly hand over my money to see in action. Bond/Batman? Sign me up. Indy/Cap? I can not give you my money fast enough. If mash-ups aren’t your thing, you should still go check out Dan’s blog. There is literally something for everyone’s own geeky pleasure.

You know, I was gonna give the Grant Gardner incarnation of Cap here some credit. He’s taking on the forces of the Scarab because he loves his county, but he’s still just a man. There is no Super Soldier Serum running through his veins, he doesn’t even have a shield! He has a lot going against him, but he still perseveres. I was rooting for the guy, despite not being “my” Captain America. Then I watched this episode, and he broke the cardinal rule of heroism (for me, your mileage may vary). I won’t spoil, as you’ll see it in a few minutes yourself, but bad form, ersatz Cap… Bad form. At any rate, here’s chapter 4: Preview of Murder!

This week’s additional content is a lobby card for this serial’s re-release in 1953. It was re-titled Return of Captain America, and as far as I can tell, it was just as inaccurate the second time around. At least we almost, almost get Cap punching Charlie Chaplin Hitler.

Sad news for fans of everyone’s favorite Amazing Amazon… According to the Hollywood Reporter NBC has officially rejected the pilot, featuring a Wonder Woman as head of a multinational corporation selling, well, herself (or at least her image). Here’s the word straight from HR:

WHAT’S OUT:

Wonder Woman

Despite having the most buzz of any pilot this season, the David E. Kelley reboot failed to score a pickup. The news comes after lackluster buzz and a network screening that went poorly, multiple sources tell THR. The drama, produced by Warner Bros. TV, is a reinvention of the iconic DC comic in which Wonder Woman (Adrianne Palicki) is a vigilante crime-fighter in Los Angeles but also a successful corporate executive trying to balance all the elements of her extraordinary life. Joining Palicki is Elizabeth Hurley, Tracie Thomsand Cary Elwes. Jeff Reiner (The Event) directed the pilot. In recent weeks, sources had suggested that the network would renew Kelley’s first season drama, Harry’s Law, instead.

Despite all of the grousing from internet fandom, this series could have been great. In a world where Smallville can go ten seasons without technically having Superman, who’s to say how Wonder Woman could have done. What appeals to the audience of comic readers may not appeal to the “mainstream audience”. It’s sad that we won’t have a live-action superhero prescence on the small screen, but be sure to be on the lookout for Wonder Woman on bit torrent at your next local comic convention.

Bryan Young, the editor of Big Shiny Robot!, has a new collection of short stories and it is now available!

The collection is called “Man Against the Future.”

Just like Lost at the Con, there are two options for ordering. One is is for shipping to the continental United States, and all other shipping. Every copy ordered here will be signed by the author. Please make sure to note if you want the book personalized at all.

From the back cover:

Bryan Young, sensational author of Lost at the Con, brings his dark visions of the future, the past, and worlds never seen, all in one stunning collection. Enter and be transported from alien battlefields and the post-apocalypse to the very gates of heaven and back!

Here’s the cover of the book:

It is 207 pages and contains 17 short stories.

About the author: Bryan Young is a man of many talents who works across many different mediums. As a film producer, his last two films (“This Divided State” and “Killer at Large”) were released by The Disinformation Company and were called “filmmaking gold” by The New York Times. He’s also published comic books with Slave Labor Graphics and Image Comics. He’s a contributor for the Huffington Post and the founder and editor in chief of the geek news and review site Big Shiny Robot!

If you’re a member of the press and would like a review copy or request an interview, email a request to editor (at) bigshinyrobot.com