Giant Freakin Robot

Who knew that all of those hours you spent playing with stackable plastic blocks as a child may have been preparation for a strange new career path, or at least a budding art form. This current trend crafting full-scale LEGO replicas of iconic science fiction creations is something I can totally get behind. We’ve recently seen an X-Wing Fighter that took more than five million pieces to construct, and which is the largest single LEGO structure ever assembled, as well as an ornate, creepy-ass Alien facehugger. Those are both pretty cool, but for my money, neither of them hold a candle to this T-800 from Terminator.

Built by LEGO enthusiast Martin Latta, this T-800 took more than 15,000 blocks to finish, and it was worth every single one. He captured all of the intricacies of the pistons and hoses and joints. For Christ’s sake, the eyes even light up. If this came back in time without the evil red eyes, it wouldn’t strike nearly as much fear into your heart.

Now, the real trick is going to be crafting a life-like exterior to go over the mechanical core. After all, a T-800 just isn’t a T-800 unless the outside looks like a former Austrian bodybuilder turned action movie hero turned California governor turned action movie hero again. However, if this is any indication, if anyone can pull off something like that, Latta sure is a prime candidate. The man clearly has some mad LEGO skills.

Hey, remember that time, earlier today, when we reported that the announcement of the new Doctor Who would come down the pipe tonight? Yeah, as many of us suspected (including me, who wrote the damn thing), that may have been a little premature. Who ever would have thought that a rumor on the Internet could turn out to be wrong? Shocking, isn’t it?

Ed Stradling, a documentary producer—including extras for many for Doctor Who DVD and Blu-rays—has apparently been talking to showrunner and writer Stephen Moffat and tweeted this on the matter at hand:

Steven Moffat says this morning “I haven’t a clue who it is, we’ve barely started.” So no #doctorwho announcement this evening I fear!

— Ed Stradling (@edstradling) June 8, 2013

Well that was much faster than anyone expected. It was barely a week ago that we learned that Matt Smith will not return to the BBC’s long-running sci-fi adventure Doctor Who. Filling a role this big usually takes some time, but we may find out who will play the twelfth Doctor sooner rather than later.

Sources have told Starburst Magazine that an unnamed Sunday newspaper intended to release the name of the next Doctor tomorrow, before the BBC had a chance to announce it. There had been a rumor that in order to prevent being scooped in such a manner, the network would reveal the identity of the next Time Lord tonight. However, the BBC now says no announcement is planned. They don’t say, however, whether that unnamed Sunday paper actually has the goods.

Smith will return for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special later this year, and also pop up in the annual Christmas Special, but that’s it, you’ve already seen the last of him in regular rotation.

In this picture Mars appears to be wearing a hat, only a cold hat, one that will do nothing to keep your head warm. This is not hat at all, rather a photograph of the polar ice cap that covers the northern most reaches of the Red Planet.

The image is a mosaic compiled from 57 individual stills taken by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express Orbiter. Captured by a high-resolution stereo camera, the pieces of this puzzle were selected from those taken throughout the craft’s mission, soaring over the poles at an altitude of between 300 and 500 km. And it just so happens that we’re celebrating the tenth anniversary of the launch this year, so, party.