Solar System Necklace – Neat necklace that represents the solar system, each bead being 20 million miles. Geek Dad – Book of “awesomely geeky projects” for parents and kids to share; from the guy who does the GeekDad blog on wired.com. Two from the Star Wars shop: Bow TIE Tuxedo Shirt Slave Leia BBQ Apron…

On your Last Day you report to Carousel or you’re a runner. Who chases after runners? Name the Pink Floyd album Stanley Kubrick wanted to use music from for his film A Clockwork Orange (but the deal was never made to allow it). What happens in all of these novels? The Iron Dream (Spinrad), The…

Crispian Jago created this wonderful Periodic Table of Irrational Nonsense. I particularly like the element “blocks.” He’s also made the image available on T-shirts and other bric-a-brac at CafePress. (via Friendly Atheist)

I really heart Improv Everywhere. Read about the full “mission” here.

One of the best-loved items of SF terminology, this item is the antigravity device used to drive flying cities through the Galaxy in James Blish’s series collected as Cities In Flight, though he was using the term as early as 1950. Name it! How long did it take to catch the killer in Marooned In…

Clone Trooper Cupcakes – Tutorial for making the most adorable little troopers imaginable. Super-Summer Vacations – From Latveria to Krypton, visit comics’ greatest tourist traps. How to Fight a Fake-Looking Monster – Giggle. (See the follow-up cartoon here.) Amazon, Woot, and You: But Mostly Woot – This is the best letter from a CEO in…

In what story by Arther C. Clarke does the spaceship Endeavour investigate a mysterious object from far, far away? Coined in the late 1980s, on the analogy of Cyberpunk, this term describes the modern subgenre whose SF events take place against a 19th-century background. In Jack Vance’s hauntingly beautiful story of a far future Earth…

The League of S.T.E.A.M. (Supernatural and Troublesome Ectoplasmic Apparition Management) is a group of steampunk ghost-and-monster hunters. They frequently post their exploits on their YouTube channel, and they recently did this amusing ad for their services. (via BoingBoing)

“Nerd Approved is a website dedicated to all things weird and interesting in the world of gadgets and toys. If it’s nerdy and entertaining, you will find it here.” You need to check this site out. No, really.

The intelligent species of Earth (men, apes, and dolphins) seem to be highly exceptional in having advanced to technological sophistication without the alien Patrons who generally supervise the “uplift” of sentient species throughout the galactic culture. Name this David Brin novel! In Keith Laumer’s Retief series, Retief’s boss/sidekick is named what? Who wrote West Of…