Weird, dimming star Betelgeuse may have a dusty explanation – Ah, remember those bygone days when our biggest worry was a red giant star going supernova?
Foo Fighters ‘Times Like These’ Quarantine Mix Is Unreal – I’m not crying. You’re crying.
Danger Zone – X-Wing Tribute – Ok, that was a bit intense. Time for some good ol’80s era with Kenny Loggins … and X-wing clips taken from all of the Star Wars movies. Punch it, Chewie.
The Book of Fiends 5E – Green Ronin is crowdfunding the latest version of its book dedicated to the denizens of Hell, the Abyss, and Gehenna. As a dungeon master itching to get in some more high-level D&D play, a modern book of fiends could be just what I need…
Can Genetic Engineering Bring Back the American Chestnut? – New York Times Magazine tells the story of the death of the American Chestnut and its possible rebirth by introducing disease resistance to the tree. Horror stories about dinosaurs run amok aside, I’m in favor of using technology this way.
If Planet Nine Is a Tiny Black Hole, This Is How to Find It – Something is herding the rocky microworlds of the Kuiper Belt. Probably something massive, and it’s probably orbiting at 500 AUs from the sun. While traditional speculation talks about gas giants and brown dwarf stars, a black hole could also fit the bill. Finding such a thing – which would likely be very, very small – would require some creative thinking … and a swarm of nanoprobes.
“It Will Be an Entirely New Thing”: Zack Snyder’s $20M-Plus ‘Justice League’ Cut Plans Revealed – It’s being released on HBO Max, possibly as a quasi-miniseries. The original version of the Justice League was a disjointed, muddy mess of a movie that ignored plot points set up by Batman v Superman (which certainly had problems of its own). That said, descriptions of the Snyder Cut, which restore those lost plot points, sounds intriguing. I’ll watch it when it comes out.
Free RPG Day moves to July 25th – The annual event was scheduled for June 13, but the COVID-19 outbreak foiled that plan. Learn more at the official website.
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The red giant Betelgeuse. Credit: Wiki Commons.