Kuriositas

Mildred and the Copycat: The Brilliant Kids’ Story About Art, Credit and Creativity

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 12:38:48 +0000

This is for kids, but I am going to feature it quite unashamedly as it tells such a cool story! Based on the children’s book Mildred and the Copycat by Jono Ganz (and published by Tate in the UK), it tells the story of a cat called Mildred (you guessed it). She isn’t seen much in the day as she spends her time napping, but at night, when the gallery in which she lives closes, she comes to artistic life. The gallery (and its visitors) witness a new masterpiece each day. However, one day a dog called Barksy inadvertently gets given the credit for these works of art and… just goes with the flow, really.

A furious Mildred becomes determined to expose the copycat. How will she go about doing this? Well, you will have to watch the animated short below to find out. It is narrated by David Rintoul, who you might know from his TV role of Aerys II Targaryen (The Mad King) in Game of Thrones or perhaps from the RuneScape video game as Zaros. The original author, Jono Gonz, created the script and directed the short, while animation is by Wolf Horn (great name, whether that’s a studio but particularly if it’s a person). This is Mildred's second adventure and both books are published by Tate and available at its shop.

Tate Kids does some great videos about art, and this one is no exception. This animation also has one of the best one-liners I have come across for a while – delivered by a middle-class lady as she exits the gallery (I can’t give the game away, it’s too good). Watch Mildred and the Copycat below and see whether Mildred manages to reclaim credit for her art.

Valonia ventricosa: The Giant Single-Celled Organism (Also Known as The Sailor’s Eyeball)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 16:32:08 +0000

Have you ever seen something that has immediately made you do a double take? Valonia ventricosa is one of those things – and that is even before you discover how truly strange this organism is. At first glance, it looks like a green bubble, perhaps a glass bead that has found its way into the sea or onto the beach. However, that double take (and a little investigation) would soon tell you that you have come across something considerably stranger than a glass bead. This is one enormous single-celled organism. Image

Image Credit

Found in tropical and subtropical areas, Valonia ventricosa is a species of green alga. It is mostly discovered around coral reefs and rocky shores. It has several other names – the best by far of which is the sailor’s eyeball – and it is easy to see why it attracted that particular nomenclature. The rounded translucent spheres can be easily converted into a visual metaphor for the sole remains of some unfortunate mariner. Remarkably, they can grow up to several centimetres across (in other words, the size of an eye), not bad for something that is biologically a single cell.

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And that is the extraordinary part. We usually think of cells as microscopic entities – things that we can see under a microscope but would otherwise be invisible to the human (even a sailor’s) eye. Our own bodies contain billions of them, and each perform their own specialised job, working together to keep us up and running. However, Valonia ventricose manages to get by as a single cell, albeit a ginormous one. Its other names are bubble algae and the sea grape – so you can probably see why my favourite is the sailor’s eyeball…

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The outer surface is full of chloroplasts, structures that allow it to capture energy from sunlight through photosynthesis. All cells have vacuoles – that is the fluid-filled space inside it – but the sailor’s eyeball has a large one, despite much of its living material concentrated around the outside.

They also appear in groups...

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Inside this seemingly simple sphere lies a remarkably complex cell. Its outer surface contains chloroplasts, the structures that allow the alga to capture energy from sunlight through photosynthesis. It is also unusual in having a large central vacuole, with much of the cell's living material concentrated around the outside. There doesn’t seem to be one single proven reason why this vacuole – and so the cell – is so large. It is thought that its large size helps it compete for space and sunlight in its marine environment. Not only that, being a larger spherical cell can also make it harder for small organisms to eat or damage it. In other words, the jury is out on the reason for the size of this organism, but it’s certainly one of evolutions quirkier moments.

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Despite its almost manufactured appearance – the reason why many people pick one up when it is encountered – it is a natural organism quietly getting on with life. Its outer wall is, despite looking robust, fairly delicate. If handled roughly, (squeezing it can cause a rupture) it’s game over for the cell, no matter how quickly it is put back into the ocean. Unsurprisingly, it feels like a water-filled balloon to the touch, although it's best to avoid picking it up, since disturbing or damaging it can do irrevocable harm to the organism. So, the cell above, likely did not survive this photo opportunity.

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The color of Valonia ventricosa varies from a silvery or pale green to a much darker green, and that all depends on its condition and surroundings. This does not mean it is like a chameleon. Its colour can change because its chloroplasts and the way light interacts with the cell can vary. Likewise, while some specimens are almost perfectly spherical, other have more irregular shapes. They are also known to congregate (not just for reproduction) and can sometimes look like someone has placed a collection of glass marbles into the water.

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It does have another interesting “trick” up its sleeve. Valonia ventricose is multinucleate. Although cells overwhelmingly have a single nucleus, some can have many (including our own skeletal muscle cells) – and that is the case with this one. In its case, multiple nuclei allow the giant cell to keep genetic control relatively close to the areas that need it. Cytoplasm (the thick, gelatinous fluid that fills the inside of a cell) can be coordinated locally, which is more efficient.

Is being multinucleate why Valonia ventricose gets to its huge size? Fungal cells can contain multiple nuclei while still being microscopic. So, having multiple nuclei isn't what makes a cell enormous. In V. ventricosa, the multiple nuclei presumably help the giant cell coordinate its activities, but we can't say that being multinucleate is what causes it to reach such a huge size. Yet – time and study may allow us to uncover this answer.

Image Credit

This remarkable alga can reproduce both sexually and asexually. It produces gametes (reproductive cells) which are released and can fuse with gametes from another individual. If the alga finds itself isolated, it can produce new individuals itself. How? Through a process called fragmentation, in which part of the alga can separate and develop into a new individual. New growth comes from specialised parts of the thallus (that’s another word for the entire giant spherical structure) and eventually develops into a new alga.

Some aquarium keepers consider V. ventricosa a pest because it can spread rapidly under favourable conditions. As far as I can tell, however, no study has established a precise doubling time. Since the alga is typically introduced into aquaria on materials collected from the ocean, my sympathy for the frustrated aquarist is somewhat limited. Still, thinking of this earthly organism as the “tribble of the aquarium world” is fairly amusing.

Sorry, couldn't resist...

For me, perhaps the most appealing thing about Valonia ventricosa is that it challenges one of our simplest assumptions about life: that a single cell must be tiny. As such, it’s a useful reminder that nature doesn't always follow the rules we have invented in our heads. Sometimes, apparently, one cell is quite enough.

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The Strange Sarcophagi of the Chachapoya

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:40:16 +0000

By the time the Spanish arrived in Peru at the beginning of the 16th Century the Chachapoya people had already been subsumed in to the great Inca Empire. Although they had resisted the Incas fiercely, the lands of these Warriors of the Clouds as they were known had been annexed and had been forced to adopt the customs and culture of their conquerors. Yet they left one thing behind – the strange sarcophagi in which they would bury their dead.

Image Credit Flickr User Sophs74

About thirty miles away from the city of Chachapoyas (named after the Inca word for the tribe, what they called themselves is lost to time) lies the Utcubamba valley. There was an earthquake here in 1928. As the hills shook, something strange fell from the cliffs that lined a river gorge in 1928. It was an odd seven foot tall clay man, impassively square-jawed, almost in the manner of the Moai of Easter Island.

Image Credit Flickr User World Surfr

Archaeologists were called in – and they were excited. They knew that this was a purunmachu – the name given to the sarcophagi in which the Chachapoya would place their dead. It was an incredibly rare find – most had been either partially or fully destroyed by looters.

Image Credit Flickr User C-Monster

It was not long before they had scaled the ravine to discover seven more of these extraordinary objects. The relatives of the dead had been supremely careful to place these purunmachus in as inaccessible a place as possible and they had escaped the fate of most other examples of this unique form of burial. Carbon tests have been done on them and it is believed that these purunmachus date from around the 1470s – the time that the Inca overwhelmed the Chachapoya.

Image Credit Flickr User Pirindao

Image Credit Flickr User Mederic

Despite their hiding place, time, of course, had weathered them. Yet their original coat of white paint was still visible, as were other details. Yellow ocher and two red pigments had been used to give detail to the body of the purunmachus. The feathers on the tunics were still visible as were the organs which indicated that the bodies inside were very likely to be male. An unusual, macabre, touch had been added. On top of the heads of the purunmachus, human skulls had been placed.

Image Credit Flickr User Michelle McFarlane

Image Credit Flickr User Jorge Gobbi

Other purunmachus have also been discovered in nearby Aya-chaqui and the differences between the two types can be noted even though they belong to the same culture. It seems likely that this practice was widespread for possibly hundreds of years.

It has been surmised just how they were constructed. First a low wall would be built around a body – or it would simply be placed on a ledge. Then, around this bundle of human remains, a thin wall would be constructed. This would cover the body and poles would be inserted in to the structure. As a capsule it would then be smeared with a thick mixture of mud and straw. Once dry it would first be painted white and then decorated with details such as facial characteristics, necklaces and body parts.

Image Credit Flickr User George Gobi

Image Credit Flickr User Jorge Gobbi

As for the Chachapoya themselves, a century after the arrival of the Spanish they had been effectively wiped from the face of the earth. It is believed that they persist only as remain as a strain within the DNA of general indigenous ethnicity in contemporary Peru. Once their culture had disappeared the sarcophagi were no longer untouchable. The vast majority were destroyed by those willing to desecrate a tomb in search of what riches might lie inside.

If you do not feel curious about what lay within the purunmachus, then it is time to scroll upwards. The Museum of Leimebamba has a number of the mummies of the Chachapoya. Warning: human remains are pictured below.

Image Credit Flickr User C-Monster

Image Credit Flickr User pmoroni

The Secluded Secrets of North Peru

If you enjoyed this Kuriositas feature, then why not discover more about Peru? The country has many mysteries, from Machu Picchu to the Nazca Lines. One of the greatest mysteries, however, is why so few people travel to the north of the country. Only a fraction of those who visit Machu Picchu consider going up north, but this is where you will find some of the most remarkable geography, archeological sites and wonderful colonial towns from which to explore. Take a look at the Peruvian road less traveled.

Image Credit Flickr User CPDA
First Image Credit Flickr User Jungle Boy

A Tiny Tale – Charming Animated Short About a Secret World of Toys in the Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 11:33:13 +0000

I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I dig up parts of the garden, I come across the remnants of toys long ago abandoned. They’re the tiny ones – toy soldiers, pieces of Lego – you get the idea. This charming animation – A Tiny Tale - by students at Rubika takes the idea of toys left to their own devices in a garden and runs with it. We have, more or less, a micro-version of our own society, complete with abandoned dogs, a spaceship-mad boy and a cyclist who really just wants to beat her own records. But toys sometimes break...

How they come together is up to you to find out – but this inventive and beautifully made animated short is a joy to watch.

It was directed by Chloé Bourdic, Théophile Coursimault, Sylvain Cuvillier, Noémie Halberstam, Maÿlis Mosny and Zijing Ye, with music by Romain Camiolo, performed by Louise Gagnac on flute and Aryane Roy on vocals, and sound design by Théophile Coursimault.

The Odyssey – Pub Edition: Munya Chawawa’s Hilarious Modern Take on Homer’s Epic

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 10:11:52 +0000

Why might a modern-day Odysseus be late home? This sketch, written and directed by Munya Chawawa, gives us a very British reason for his tardiness – and there’s no surprise when Penelope is a little bit miffed. His excuses aren’t terribly good, either! This particular Odysseus has been out with his mates to the pub (if you’re not aware of what that means, it’s short for Public House, which in its own turn means a bar). Here, Odysseus and his drinking buddies (Onthelashius, Chuggamemnon and Session) face a number of perils, including a bouncer who just happens to be a cyclops (which provokes possible the best one liner of the sketch) and a trip in a Troyota Prius – not to mention… well, watch it and find out.

As well as Munya Chawawa, the sketch features a brilliant mix of comedians, presenters and performers, including Romesh Ranganathan, Amelia Dimoldenberg, Axel Blake, Joe Marler, Hayley Morris, Theo Shakes and Sam Cornforth. Highlights include Munya’s trademark character comedy, Romesh’s dry delivery, Amelia’s deadpan style and Joe Marler’s chaotic energy, all brought together to give the ancient Odyssey a very modern and ridiculous twist. The mix of well-known comedy personalities and newer performers is what makes the sketch particularly fun.

Magic in You – Cody Fry & The Blue Devils Bring Joy to the Screen

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 11:48:33 +0000

Back in 2023, Cody Fry first teamed up with the Blue Devils for his track Caves in their Drum Corps International competitive field show. If a collaboration works, then it’s worth revisiting, and so today we have the pleasure of seeing and hearing Magic in You. If you need a little cheering up today, this video may just do the trick. Its enormous joie de vivre is something to behold.

The high-energy track combines Cody Fry’s signature orchestral pop style with the world-class brass and percussion power of the Blue Devils, who have won the DCI World Championship a remarkable 21 times. Not only is the song great, but the video is a celebration of music – as well as marching, of course. There is something wonderfully infectious about watching so many musicians performing with such precision while simultaneously throwing themselves into the sheer joy of the music. It's great to see Cody (whose Unlikely Mariner we featured back in May) give his supporting performers the spotlight so often.

And that’s perhaps what makes Magic in You so effective. It doesn’t feel like a showcase of technical ability for its own sake; instead, the musicianship, choreography and sheer scale of the performance all serve to create an overwhelming sense of optimism.There's even a few Busby Berkely-style moments tucked away in there. It’s difficult not to smile watching it. See if you can resist the temptation by watching Cody and the Blue Devils perform the song below.

Andy – What Happens When an Android Carer Becomes Self-Aware?

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 08:30:32 +0000

Although the subject of robots becoming self-aware is something that we are all a little overused to right now (especially with Ann Droid, courtesy of the BBC), having watched Andy, I felt I had to share it for several reasons. Created by Black Elk Productions, It tells the story of Anne Malone. Elderly, with a husband in a care home and a son, Nick, who is too busy to be around much, Anne has recently had an accident. Nick provides her with a carer who turns out, much to Anne’s surprise, to be an android. Hastily named Andy, the two form something of a bond but things quickly go awry and events quickly spiral out of the control of both human and android. To say much more would provide you with too many spoilers, so watch the short and discover what happens.

What is quite remarkable about this is that Anne is played by Jane Merrow, who also wrote the screenplay. I have to say here that it felt like there was a feature-length project crying to get out of this short, as sometimes there seem to be not so much gaps but sleight of hand going on, plot wise. Anne’s neighbour, Pamela (played by Beverly Hills) is criminally underused, but does manage to get both quirkiness and friskiness across in the short time she is on screen. I would have liked to have seen more of her, perhaps an attempt to seduce Andy would have made for great comedic relief. Plus, Andy’s first foray to the farmer’s market with Anne is a little baffling – that such an advanced AI robot could malfunction so badly in terms of interacting with humans!

Regardless, this short does come across as a complete whole and it is very firmly down to the two leads who are both fantastic in their roles. I thought the name Jane Merrow was familiar, and a little research quickly allowed me to discover more about the actress who has been professionally active since the sixties. It might be easier to list what she hasn’t been in, but UK productions she appeared in that you have probably heard of (!) include Danger Man, The Saint, The Prisoner, The Avengers, and UFO. During her time living in America, Merrow also appeared in Alias Smith and Jones, Cannon, Police Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Hart to Hart, Magnum PI, Airwolf and MacGyver. Phew! And that’s only part of her CV.

In Andy, Merrow gives an understated but powerful performance. Her experience as an actor comes through from the outset – complex emotions are expressed so subtly that the audience is drawn to her character and sympathises with her situation from the outset. Her character, Anne, is obviously someone who has enjoyed both independence and control over her destiny and her frustration at being left in the care of an android comes across very convincingly, as does her reluctance to accept her need for help. The growing bond between her and Andy comes across beautifully and the Judas Kiss moment (that’s all I’m saying) is heartbreaking.

Jason Farries seems to be made for the part of Andy – and I am frankly amazed that he isn’t a household name in the UK (at least in my household) – but there is still plenty of time for that. His good looks make him perfect for the part – a combination of boy next door and slightly preppy charm which robot designers would go for to make their product attractive to the eye but non-threatening. Handome seems like an old-fashioned word to use these days, but it's the right one, here. Physically, too, he fits the role – Andy has the body strength needed to help lift and carry but not over-pronounced to the point where he looks like a Terminator! This sounds a little like objectification, but these aspects are essential in enabling the audience to believe that he resembles something that an AI company would go for in their robot design. I can imagine Andy being a very popular model (but maybe for the wrong reasons, cough cough!).

Farries combines the innocence of new “life” with, later, an underlying menace as things go pear-shaped (to put it mildly). As Andy’s sentience and self-awareness grows, the confusion this create for the robot comes across beautifully and we have great sympathy for this new monster. Farries also directed the film and produced it (together with Emily Stanley).

Hats off, too, to the Frankenstein of the piece – Damien, played by Finn Macmillan who has the difficult job of delivering a lot of the film’s important expository detail through telephone dialogue. I would have liked to have seen his character further developed – and this is another reason why to me this film feels like something originally much longer that has been cut down. I don’t know if I am right there, but it didn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying the film and all the performances. Still, for an AI genius, Damien does seem remarkably ignorant of Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics!

The comments under the film are overwhelmingly positive. The strongest recurring themes are that viewers found the film moving, unsettling and thought-provoking, with particular praise for the acting, especially Jane Merrow and Jason Farries, as well as the writing, pacing, production and sound. Several viewers were struck by how plausible the story feels as a prediction of where technology might be heading, while others loved the humour and Andy’s character and are already asking for a longer film or series. There’s also a lovely sense that the film genuinely affected people emotionally, with comments describing it as heartbreaking, brilliant, funny, and leaving them with “food for thought.” Even the few criticisms are minor and specific, such as the mechanical sound of Andy’s movements. I thought that too, but then I considered this. Modern electric and hybrid cars generally make artificial sounds at low speeds so pedestrians can hear them approaching. This design feature would probably be incorporated into a robot to differentiate between it and a real human, as well as to enable humans to register its approach. So that would explain that...

Overall, the response suggests that Andy has connected with audiences not simply as a piece of science fiction, but as a human story that leaves people thinking about AI, ageing, companionship and where this technology could take us. Thank you to everyone involved in this wonderful production – another example of how important independent filmmaking is and how it shouldn’t ever be underestimated.

Gaming Psychology: Why Fast-Paced Games Hold Our Attention

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:59:26 +0000

If there is one thing that will capture and hold the attention of most people, it’s a fast-paced game. It might be a video game, played competitively between family members or friends. It could be an intense esports match or even one of the crash-style casino games out there. Whatever the game, there are close connections to gaming psychology – that is the exploration if how game design works in terms of the rewards and challenges it presents to its players. That, of course, includes emotions which have a massive impact on the way that individual players think and behave. If you understand a few of the psychological principles behind gaming psychology, it can really help explain why some games really do feel impossible to put down – whether it’s for food, study or sleep!

The Power of Immediate Feedback

You may have guessed, but it’s all about feedback. It’s constant – each and every time a player makes a decision, they see the result immediately. Then it’s very much up to them to decide what they are going to do next. Decisions, decisions! This rapid cycle of action and response demands one thing – that the brain is focused entirely on the “here and now”.

Of course, in slower games there are often extended periods of time between a decision and an outcome – the action, reaction. However, fast-paced games reduce that gap, usually providing an instant reward. Mistakes usually provoke a stream of information giving feedback about what to change at the next attempt. This continuous sense of momentum makes each moment feel meaningful to the player – and that’s one of the reasons games sometimes get in the way of “real life”!

Anticipation and Uncertainty

Have you ever felt uncertain? The sense of anxiety this creates in our brains is a crucial factor in gaming psychology. If you can’t predict what is going to happen next, then that means you give it more attention – and remain attentive too. This could be the anticipation of the next move a player might make or whether a difficult level will suddenly become even more challenging. There is also the uncertainty around the strategies you may already have built – will they work?

So, uncertainty creates a need to monitor the situation (in this case the game). Our brains are wired to give situations with unclear outcomes more attention, especially if there is a significant reward if we get things right. This principle is extensively used by games designers – they introduce unpredictable events, challenges that quickly evolve or change and even variable rewards. A little nuance in any of these directions can make a game more exciting to play.

The Reward Loop

Are you in the loop? A reward loop goes like this. There is an action (by you) which creates and outcome – often with a reward. Then, very quickly, there is another opportunity for action – and so on (you get it!). This can make gameplay feel highly satisfying because there are regularly new reasons presented to players to continue the game.

Here’s the thing – the rewards are not always what you might classify as a “major achievement”. They often boil down to points, new abilities, sounds, progress indicators or something as simple as a stimulating visual effect. Small rewards are a reinforcement – they encourage the continuation of participation, particularly when they are well-timed.

Challenge and Skill

We all like a challenge, don’t we? That’s compounded when the challenge involves skills that we already have or are honing. These are two essential elements of gaming psychology as well. If a game is too easy, then players are going to get bored very quickly. On the other hand, if it is too hard, then frustration develops and many gamers will just throw their hands in the air, give up and go on to another game. So, designers must get the balance right – and the most engaging gaming experiences are usually those which sit comfortably between the two extremes.

There is also a definite relationship between challenge and skills – and this is sometimes associated with a concept known as “flow”. Simply put, that’s the state you are in when you are deeply absorbed by something – think of it as “going with the flow” in some ways… Fast-paced games encourage flow by demanding quick decisions – and at the same time increasing the player’s level of ability. It’s a fine line between the two.

Why Short Sessions Can Feel So Engaging

Although you hear a lot of boasts about 24 hours (plus) of gaming, many modern games are designed around short and intense periods of activity rather than dragging things out ad infinitum. Strangely enough, this makes it easier for players to think to themselves “go on, just one more game”. That’s because each session has a clearly delineated beginning and end – so starting another round doesn’t feel like a massive commitment.

I know what you are thinking now – and you are right. The same psychological mechanisms that make a game entertaining also encourage us to spend more time than we had originally intended playing it! Recognising and reflecting on how rewards, uncertainty, feedback and challenge (basically what I have written about in this post!) attract attention can also help us, as players, to make more conscious decisions about our gaming habits.

At the end of the day, gaming psychology has shown that fast-paced games are engaging for more than, say, graphics or competition. They are created with the fundamental aspects of human attention and motivation firmly in the minds of their creators – and this is one of the reasons that many universities now offer degrees in Games Design with units based around the whole psychology of gaming. That’s why elements such as instant feedback, uncertainty, rewards and achievable challenges are always to be found in the most popular games. With these elements in place, the games create experiences that remain compelling not after the first round begins, but repeatedly.

Image generated by Co-Pilot

The Story of Argus, Faithful Dog of Odysseus– as Painted by Briton Rivière

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 08:01:41 +0000

Painted by Briton Rivière, this oil painting (usually dated as created in 1885) shows the reunion between Ulysses (also known as Ulysses), finally returned to Ithaca after twenty years (Troy!) and his faithful dog Ulysses. This video by Inspiraggio calls it “one of the saddest paintings ever made” and although there is a hint of hyperbole in that description, it is certainly one that is emotionally very charged, especially for dog lovers.

Odysseus had owned Argus before he went to the Trojan war and had trained him as a puppy. By the time he returned, to reclaim wife and kingdom from would-be usurpers who wished to declare him dead and marry Penelope, the dog was over twenty years old and unable to stand. Yet despite the fact that Odysseus was heavily disguised as an old beggar, Argus still recognised him. Yet there is a tragedy behind this reunion. Odysseus could not pet his faithful dog, or wish him a final goodbye with a few strokes to the dog’s ancient head. Instead, they locked eyes and Argis was able to die happily, knowing that his master had finally returned. It must have been agony for Odysseus– knowing that the dog had steadfastly waited for his return, but unable to thank him through touch lest it gave the game away.

This painting was painted at the height of Riviere’s fame. He had full Royal Academy Status, granted in 1881 – the highest honour for a British painter at this time. He was also revered by his contemporaries as the foremost painter of animals in the land. I won’t go on, as all of this and more is covered in the wonderful video below.

When Institutions Keep Records: How Hidden Histories Eventually Surface

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:16:35 +0000

In Michigan, history is rarely held in one place. It sits in city archives in Detroit, parish memories in Grand Rapids, courthouse files in Lansing, small-town stories across the Thumb, and diocesan records from Marquette to Kalamazoo. The state’s religious history is shaped by distance as much as doctrine. A church in the Upper Peninsula may have served a close-knit town, while a parish in metro Detroit may have been part of a large urban network.

That geography matters when hidden histories begin to surface. Records tied to clergy abuse allegations are connected to schools, parishes, families, and communities that may have carried unanswered questions for years. Once those records are released, arranged, or investigated, they can change how a community understands its past.

Michigan offers a useful example because its Catholic history is spread across several dioceses, each with its own files, leadership decisions, parish assignments, and local memories. Information once held inside an institution can eventually become part of a public record, giving people a clearer view of events that were once scattered, private, or difficult to trace.

Why place matters when old records become public

Institutional records are rooted in place. A personnel file may name a parish. A diocesan report may identify a city. A survivor’s account may describe a school, a rectory, a youth program, or a local church where trust once felt ordinary. When those details are gathered, they create a map of institutional history.

In Michigan, that map is complex. Detroit has large Catholic communities shaped by immigration, education, and urban growth. Grand Rapids and Lansing developed their own religious and civic identities. Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula often had smaller communities where a parish could serve as a central social institution.

These differences affect how records are understood. In a large city, one accused priest may be remembered through several assignments across multiple parishes. In a smaller town, a name may carry a more personal weight because the institution was close to daily life.

How lists turn scattered allegations into public memory

Historical clergy abuse records are rarely found in a single place at first. Allegations may appear in court documents, diocesan statements, news reports, law-enforcement files, survivor accounts, or internal church records. Some names become public through official investigations. Others appear through diocesan disclosures or civil claims.

That is why state-specific lists matter. They create structure around information spread across decades and jurisdictions. Because Michigan’s diocesan boundaries cover regions from Detroit and Lansing to Marquette and Gaylord, a Michigan accused priests list can help show how names, locations, and allegations are presented within a clearer public record.

This kind of list helps readers see patterns of assignment, geography, institutional response, and public disclosure. It also gives context to people trying to understand whether a local parish, school, or diocese appears in the broader record.

A list can also show the difference between memory and documentation. People may remember rumors, sudden transfers, or unexplained absences, but public records give those memories a framework. They do not erase uncertainty or replace careful investigation, but they make scattered information easier to examine.

Michigan’s dioceses show how regional histories differ

Michigan’s diocesan structure makes the state a useful lens for understanding institutional records. The Archdiocese of Detroit covers a dense and historically influential region. Lansing, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Saginaw, Gaylord, and Marquette represent different parts of the state with distinct community patterns.

In Detroit, records may involve parishes that served generations of families in large urban and suburban areas. In Grand Rapids, the history may connect to western Michigan’s religious schools, local parishes, and civic institutions. In Marquette, the geography of the Upper Peninsula can make institutional memory more intimate because communities are often smaller and more spread out.

Institutional harm is experienced locally, even when records are collected statewide. A name in a report may be tied to a school gym, a parish office, a confessional, a youth group, or a local church. Records become meaningful when they are connected back to the places where people lived.

Public access helps people see more than fragments. A list, report, or archive can show where an accused priest served, when allegations became public, and how different dioceses responded over time.

Why official investigations matter decades later

Many institutional histories surface slowly because the people involved are separated by time, fear, geography, and authority. Survivors may wait years before speaking publicly. Records may remain inside church offices. Local memories may fade or become difficult to verify. By the time an investigation begins, some witnesses may have moved away, some documents may be incomplete, and some accused individuals may no longer be alive.

Official investigations can still bring order to these difficult histories. Michigan’s statewide clergy abuse investigation shows how survivor reports, police work, diocesan records, and seized documents can be examined together long after alleged abuse first occurred.

The passage of time does not make these records irrelevant. A person who was a child in a Michigan parish decades ago may only later understand the significance of what happened. A family may learn that an allegation connected to one city also appears in records tied to another. A community may discover that a transfer was part of a larger institutional pattern.

Official investigations also help distinguish between different types of information. A public record may include allegations, diocesan disclosures, criminal charges, civil claims, or substantiated findings. These categories are not identical, so careful reading protects both the historical record and the people affected by it.

The difference between a name, a record, and a conviction

A public list connected to accused clergy must be read responsibly. The presence of a name in a record does not mean the same thing in every case. Some individuals may have faced criminal convictions. Others may have been named in civil actions, church disclosures, investigative reports, or survivor allegations. Some cases involve allegations deemed credible by a diocese, while others appear because they are part of public documents or official reviews.

This distinction is important for Michigan readers because the state’s records cover many decades and multiple dioceses. A name connected to Detroit may have a different record history than a name connected to Marquette or Lansing. Dates, assignments, allegations, institutional responses, and legal outcomes should not be collapsed into one category.

Careful language does not weaken the importance of public documentation. Communities need accurate information to understand their history. Survivors need records that acknowledge what was reported. Researchers, journalists, families, and local residents need ways to connect public information with specific places and time periods.

The strongest records make distinctions clear. They help readers understand what is alleged, what has been confirmed, what remains unresolved, and where the information came from.

Why communities remember differently in different cities

The memory of institutional abuse can look different across Michigan. In Detroit, a large parish network may mean that one person’s assignment history crossed many parts of the city and surrounding suburbs. In Lansing, records may intersect with the state capital’s civic and educational institutions. In Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo, local church communities may have their own patterns of trust, silence, and eventual disclosure. In northern Michigan, a parish may have been one of the few central institutions in town.

These differences shape how people respond when old records become public. In a large city, the story may feel like part of a wider institutional reckoning. In a smaller community, it may feel personal and immediate, even decades later. A name in a public list can return people to a specific church building, a school hallway, or a family conversation that never had a clear ending.

Geography gives the public a way to understand how institutional decisions moved through real communities. A transfer placed a person in a new setting, with new families, new children, and new layers of trust. Records help show how what happened in one city may be connected to decisions made elsewhere.

Religious history, reform, and the long life of documents

Religious institutions have always depended on records. Baptismal registers, parish histories, letters, theological disputes, meeting notes, and personnel files all shape how later generations understand the past. Some records preserve rituals and milestones. Others reveal conflict, reform, failure, or harm.

The history of Christianity is filled with moments when documents became central to public debate. Questions of religious reform and public memory rarely remain confined to one generation. Writings, records, and challenges can return long after leaders believe a chapter has closed.

That broader history helps explain why clergy abuse records carry such weight in Michigan and elsewhere. Institutions are eventually judged by what they preserved, concealed, acknowledged, or released. A file that once seemed administrative can later become evidence of institutional decisions. A list that once seemed technical can become a tool for public understanding.

Documents also change the balance between private memory and public knowledge. Before records are released, people may carry stories alone. Once names, dates, assignments, and allegations are placed in relation to one another, those stories can be viewed as part of a wider history.

The responsibility of reading difficult records

Public records about accused clergy require care. Readers should understand the difference between allegation and conviction, diocesan disclosure and court finding, local memory and documented fact. They should also remember that behind every record are people whose lives were shaped by what happened or by what was reported.

In Michigan, this responsibility is especially important because the records are tied to real places. These are churches in communities, schools near family homes, diocesan offices in recognizable cities, and towns where faith may have played a central role in daily life.

Responsible reading also means understanding why people search these records. Some are survivors. Some are relatives. Some are journalists, historians, or community members. Some are trying to learn why a priest was moved, why a parish changed, or why a story remained hidden for so long.

The goal is not to turn painful history into a spectacle. The goal is to understand how institutions work, how memory survives, and how public records can help communities face what was once hidden.

The past is not always past

Across Michigan, from Detroit’s urban parishes to the churches of the Upper Peninsula, institutional histories remain tied to place. A record can sit quietly for years, but it does not disappear. A name in a file, a parish assignment, a survivor’s account, or an official report can eventually reshape how a community understands its own story.

When hidden histories surface, they often do so through ordinary forms of documentation. Lists, files, reports, and archives may seem dry at first glance, yet they can carry the weight of memory, accountability, and acknowledgment. They help connect local experiences to wider patterns and give future generations a clearer record than silence ever could.

Michigan’s geography makes that lesson clear. Each city and diocese has its own history, but public records reveal where those histories overlap. What was once held separately in offices, memories, and local conversations can become part of a shared account. Institutional records are one way communities learn what happened, where it happened, and why remembering still matters.

Coin Operated: A Heartwarming Animated Short About Dreams, Life and Going to the Moon

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 15:44:00 +0000

Always allow your dreams to last you your lifetime. I guess that’s the message behind this very sweet animated short, written and directed by Nicholas Arioli. A young boy wants to be an astronaut, as makes sure that he wears his space helmet wherever he goes, just in case he gets the chance to reach his destination – the moon. Then one day he comes across a coin operated ride which is – of course – a rocket ship. At five cents a go, it’s a must – so his mum leaves him to it while she goes inside the store to do her shopping. The ride isn’t quite what he expected – but he figures that is five cents gets him a few bumpy seconds, what would a whole heap of five cents pieces get him?

There are a lot of theories on the YouTube comments below this animated short debating what the story is really about. The ambiguous ending and the symbolic storytelling have assured that. Does the old man die at the end? What happened to him mother? And why did he spend his own life selling lemonade? There are countless interpretations – and I for one like to see this animated short as something of a meditation on the pursuit of dreams – and that even if they take a lifetime to achieve, they are still there for the getting. Have a watch and see what you think!

The Babson Boulders of Dogtown

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 14:49:00 +0000

Roger Babson had a problem. His family thought he was crazy or felonious or both. He had started to carve mottoes in to the boulders which lay in the fields near the long abandoned settlement of Dogtown close to his home in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Image Credit Flickr User aaronknox

Babson was later to write in his autobiography: My family says that I am defacing the boulders and disgracing the family with these inscriptions, but the work gives me a lot of satisfaction, fresh air, exercise and sunshine. I am really trying to write a simple book with words carved in stone instead of printed paper. Besides, when on Dogtown common, I revert to a boyhood which I once enjoyed when driving cows there many years ago.

Image Credit Flickr User aaron.knox

Image Credit Flickr User d4vidbruce

By 1930 Babson was in his fifties and a renowned entrepreneur and business theorist, the scion of a ten generation dynasty based in Gloucester. He went to MIT and founded Babson’s Statistical Organisation which analysed business reports and statistics for clients. It perseveres to this day as Babson-United Inc. Perhaps his decision to carve mottoes on to the rocks near his home represented an attempt to boil down his knowledge in to easily digestible, pithy sayings.

Image Credit Flickr User aaron.knox

Image Credit Flickr User d4vidbruce

In fact his desire to deface was more than a mid-life craving to carve mottoes in to stone, to leave behind platitudes for later generations. The project was undertaken during the Great Depression and it was Babsons intent to help out the unemployed stonecutters of Gloucester by giving them work. Perhaps a sense of responsibility also led him to this act of charity – he had, after all, predicted the crash with alarming prescience.

Image Credit Flickr User d4vidbruce

On October 5 1929 Babson had given a speech. In it he had proclaimed that Sooner or later a crash is coming, and it may be terrific. That very day the market declined by 3% and it became known as the Babson Break. Yet more was to come – within two weeks the London Stock Exchange crashed. A short while later $14 billion value was wiped off the stock market value on October 29 alone. The Wall Street Crash, as predicted by Babson, had come to pass.

Image Credit Flickr User d4vidbruce

Babson died in 1967 at the age of 92. The fields in which he carved his rocks are gone but the boulders remain. Now they (24 all told) lie in what is a young but somewhat overgrown forest. Yet his memory remains as the area has been turned in to The Babson Boulder Trail and is used by many for hiking and mountain-biking. It can be difficult to find some of the boulders but once discovered their inscriptions – and their plain but sensible messages – are still unmistakably visible.

Image Credit Flickr User D4vidbuce

Image Credit Flickr User d4vidbruce

You may think that Babson's mottoes state the obvious but as Einstein once said - if you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.

Image Credit Flickr User d4vidbruce

Picture of Babson - Wikipedia
Use Your Head - Flickr User iandavid

Little Shrew: Kate Bush’s Haunting Animation for ‘Snowflake’

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 04:03:00 +0000

I had no idea that this existed until recently. Back in 2024, Kate Bush released a short animated music video called Little Shrew (Snowflake) – the word in brackets being the name of the track from her 2011 album 50 Words for Snow that is used as the soundtrack for this startling and poignant anti-war story. Apparently, the image of the destroyed block of flats that you see in the video is based on a real photograph that Bush saw – an image of the war in Ukraine. Yet the video doesn’t focus on graphic violence, rather its impact on the young and timid shrew – although the bleak monochrome of the animation certainly drives it message home.

The animation was written and directed by Kate Bush, with the help of animation company Inkubis and production company Tomato Twist. If you don’t know Snowflake well, you might think Hey! That’s not Kate! for about half of the song. That’s because she shared the song with her son Bertie (Albert McIntosh). In fact, the guitar work on the track is by Dan McIntosh, so father makes three. I like it when people keep it in the family! The animation was created to help support the charity War Child. It is – as you might expect – a work of art.

Valencia Hyperlapse: Exploring the City of Arts and Sciences and Historic Old Town

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 15:41:00 +0000

Valencia is a remarkable city. On one hand you have the City of Arts and Sciences, which looks like it could be set from a science fiction movie (several have been filmed there). On the other you have the Old Town, with its sweeping historic squares, not to mention the cathedral and city hall. It’s like past and present come together in one seamless motion, particularly if you watch this hyperlapse by Kirill Neiezhmakov. It’s a masterclass in how timelapses are evolving into an art form – thanks to great photography and some equally impressive technology. Although we have featured Valencia before on Kuriositas, I have never seen it look so beautiful as in this video.

Neiezhmakov always carries a folding bike with him, on which to move between locations. Valencia’s network of cycle paths enabled him to do this with ease and to chase what he calls “the perfect light”. Amazingly, there were no drones involved in the making of this short film – but I for one certainly wouldn’t blame you if you thought that there were. Instead, the creation of this hyperlapse involved painstaking work, with each shot created by moving the camera and tripod manually. Watch the resulting magic below.

Star Trek Bohemian Rhapsody 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 20:18:00 +0000

Manny Patel made the first version of this over thirty years ago when he was a high school student. Now he has returned to his Star Trek Bohemian Rhapsody media mix as a celebration of the show’s 60^th anniversary (and Queen’s song is 50, so a double celebration). The footage has been upscaled to 4K, giving the original mashup a makeover. It is certainly a labor of love – each two or three second clip exactly matches a line in the song. I’ve been a bit cheeky and put the lyrics in the picture above to give readers an idea of what they are in for (the video itself doesn’t have any “singalong” subtitles… now there’s an idea!

What we do have is Dr Crusher and Kira Neris getting swept away with anywhere the wind blows and Odo playing the piano in perfect time to the song. We have most (if not all) of the mothers of Legacy Trek featured here as the song mentions “mama” so often, so why not? You might want to guess whose death is featured for the line Too late, my time has come, but I reckon you will get that right, no problem. All told, this is a joy to watch, to proceed below.

Wings: A Heartwarming Animated Short About a Mouse and an Injured Bird

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 08:02:00 +0000

A little mouse, foraging for food, comes across and injured bird. It has been trapped by the wing and the mouse makes the decision, on the spot, to help the bird, release it and share its home with it until it is fully recovered and can fly again. That’s it – a very simple tale, but so beautifully animated and with great (wordless) character development that it’s simply (see what I did there?) a joy to watch. This was Casey McDonald’s (aka gothfrog) final film from the School of Visual arts. She directed, background painted, animated, and did about half of the cleanup and coloring herself! The rest was handled by her team (credited at the end).

I do love an animated short that tells a very simple story – young animators often make the mistake of writing plots that are way too complex for five minutes or so, and when things get complicated, people turn off. Yes, this is a very simple story and told in a way that very young kids can get it, but adults can appreciate it for the extended visual metaphor it really is. Kindness is its own reward, but sometimes, something done with no obvious incentive can be the best thing you can ever do.

This is not a new animated short – but there are so many out there that I didn’t show on Kuriositas when they first came out, mostly because I didn’t spot them, that I thought I would take the opportunity to showcase some. So, put this another way – I may be late to the party, but at least I got there in the end! At the time of writing Wings has attracted almost 12 million views on YouTube – quite a feat for a student film. Watch it and discover why it is so well-loved.

The Shanghai Lightshow for the World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 17:12:06 +0000

The skyline of modern Shanghai is something of a wonder – it’s like a mix of Bladerunner, Ghost in the Shell and The Fifth Element combined, even though that fairly lazy simile doesn’t do it justice (I shouldn’t really imagine the present using yesterday’s science fiction – it’s there in front of me). Yet although this is one of the most striking cityscapes on the planet by day, when the sun sets the city comes to iridescent life, with lights reflecting across the Huangpu river.

For visitors to this year’s World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), the nightly light show that the city offers to inhabitants and visitors alike was given a further boost with a sequence of dazzling synchronised projections and animations which were designed to celebrate and showcase innovation and technology. So, there is an extra layer of spectacle on top of what is already seen each evening. The phrase that kept coming into my mind as I watched this film of the lightshow by LaLin Photography was effortlessly elegant. Take a look below – it’s quite dazzling on film – it must have been something special to have been there.

The Threads of Time (時の糸)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:15:14 +0000

There are several films and shows that have phones boxes with connections to time travel. There is of course, Doctor Who – and who could forget the Bill and Ted movies? So, here’s another one to add to the list – in a way. Threads of Time was created by Kohei Yamashita in Tokyo, and it follows the trials and tribulations of a young man (played by Kazuma Ozaki). Perhaps he is a university graduate beginning the shūkatsu (就活) job-hunting process, but he isn’t having much luck. The first thing that we witness is him being turned down for a position.

After he puts the phone down, he notices that someone has left behind a notepad and a pen, and so writes a message (more of a statement of his current feelings). The next time he visits, he finds that there are responses in the notebook. Who wrote them? Well, that’s up to you to discover by watching the short film below! The film is short but beautifully made. It’s only a few minutes long, and if you need your spirits lifting a little, it may be just what you are looking for!

Summer Fun on Days Long Gone

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 16:00:24 +0000

Have you ever felt that dread when, on their return from some far flung place, your friend threatens to show you their summer holiday photos? You may have to sit through that particular agony. In the meantime, here is a collection of photographs spanning the first seven decades of the twentieth century which show summer in all its glory. Times and social mores may have changed, but these may still be the type of pictures you wish your friend had taken.

Image Credit Florida Memory
A group of young women make fun of a sign demanding that they wear full bathing costumes while on Florida’s Miami beach. Come on, this is 1934, after all! Sure enough, there were a number of women arrested that year for wearing two piece bathing suits.

Image Credit Florida Memory

You can be fairly certain the young women above didn't stay here.

Image Credit State Library of New South Wales

Just as the women of Miami were in open rebellion, on the other side of the world the men were taking risks too. The man in the center of the picture is Alf Gould, surrounded and being teased by his surfing buddies on Bondi Beach, Australia, in 1932. Alf had decided to go backless. His bathing suit, which revealed his back contravened the law that said men could not expose their upper torso on the beach. By seeing how far he could stretch the law, Alf helped to start a process which has ended up with the tiny speedo trunks we see on our beaches today. He has a lot to answer for.

Image Credit Australian National Maritime Museum

The little madam above has more to worry about than her swimsuit, however. This 1905 postcard harkens back to the days when many beaches were segregated. The men would go one way and the women another. Perhaps we might not express too much surprise, after all, when other cultures still do this.

Image Credit State Library of New South Wales

Even in 1932 some people were simply too cool for the beach.

Image Credit Library of Congress
This photograph was taken around 1912-13 on Brighton Beach in New York City. It is not known whether the tango dancers here were accompanied by musicians or by one of those new-fangled gramophone records which, by 1910 had won an early format war over cylinders.

Image Credit Library of Congress
The need to keep cool was as pressing then as it is now. This picture was taken some time between 1910 and 1915 but it is quite likely to be 1911. Why? The summer of that year saw an 11 day heatwave on the east coast of America which killed hundreds of people. These young New Yorkers are taking advantage of the kindness offered by a storekeeper. Slabs of ice have been left outside and they are licking it voraciously. You have to wonder whether any tongues got stuck.

Image Credit University of Washington
Crowds of people in the water and on the shore at Greenlake beach, Seattle, Washington, between 1929 and 1932. The world was a mess – the Great Depression was in full swing – but people still knew how to enjoy themselves, despite the financial doom and gloom of the time.

Image Credit Missouri State Archives
Fast forward to 1955 and if swimming wasn't out of fashion, taking the family out for a jaunt in an amphibious car was definitely in.

Image Credit Nationaal Archief
Jude Law’s granddad, in bathing suit and a lady friend share their sandwiches. This was taken somewhere in the Netherlands, circa 1930.

Image Credit US National Archives
This group of youths, photographed in their home town of New Ulm, Minnesota, have the difficult task of deciding what to do on a hot 1975 summer's day. They have the bikes, they have just about the right gender ratio. Spielberg movie, anyone?

Image Credit Jewish Historical Society
Some youngsters were luckier and had their entertainment provided. These Minnesotan boys, pictured in 1940, were enrolled in a "Stay At Home Camp" that allowed them to engage in camp activities in their own neighborhood. Is that a young Marty Crane in the cap?

Image Credit Library of Congress
There were plenty of people willing to provide the entertainment, too. Taken in the early 1910s at Coney Island, this photograph was captioned The Whole Drand Family. While it is possible that the people here are, indeed, the Drands, this was most likely a play of words to avoid the word darned. The inclusion of monkeys in the photograph makes it all the more likely.

Image Credit Library of Congress
About the same time, swimming races were all the rage at Coney Island.

Image Credit Library of Congress
Yong ladies of the wealthier classes were, however, expected to pursue rather more sedate summertime activities. Here, blindfolded girls had to cut a rope to get a prize on Bastille Day celebrations in the New York of 1914. It looks like the little girl in the center is getting a little help from her older sister, however.

Image Credit Library of Congress
You didn’t have to be rich to afford scraped ice. The ice man would scrape the ice on to a piece of card and offer a choice of flavors from the large glass jars he carried with his portable store. The small child to the right of the flavor jars doesn't know whether to laugh or cry, such is his anticipation.

Image Credit George Eastman House
A 1932 group shot from the Ladies Home Journal of Summer 1932. These are somewhat more modest than a number of the outfits we will be seeing.

Image Credit US National Archives
Fast forward forty years and the models featured in the swimwear feature hold a reunion. In fact these are residents of the Century Village Retirement Community in Florida, gathered around the pool for their daily exercise session. Taken in 1973, these game old timers would perhaps have worn something like their 1930s counterparts in their youth.

Image Credit Nationaal Archief
Although the location and date of this photograph is not known it is probable that it is over a century old. Guess what girls just wanted to have, even back then?

Image Credit US National Archives
Sometimes, though, the date really doesn't matter when the subject matter is so timeless. There should always be some time for a little summer loving. In the background of this 1973 photograph you can see planes taking off from Boston’s Logan airport. If the couple pictured were twenty at the time, and just married, they would now be celebrating their Ruby Wedding Anniversary.

Image Credit Nationaal Archief
Summer in Amsterdam. People enjoying themselves on a beach in the city in1923. They may not have been rich but they knew how to have a good time.

Image Credit Nationaal Archief
Others preferred their beach breaks a little better prepared, even if Junior does looked bored senseless.

Image Credit Library of Congress
New York, probably at the time of the great heat wave which started on July 4 1911. The two boys with shaven heads may have had a mother who was a little too keen in her attempts to keep her boys cool. It is more likely, however, that they both had had a case of head lice or ringworm. Never mind the boys, though. What about the poor man in the background, his suitcases and the world weighing him down in equal measure.

Image Credit Missouri State Archives
In 1955 escape was to be found on the water. Yet water bikes proved to be a short-lived fad.

Image Credit UW Digital Collections
Other fads have an even shorter shelf life. Some people retain their senses in the summer sun. Others defy logic and do some crazy things. This young woman, pictured in around 1929, takes refuge from the heat in a wooden crate full of rabbit fur.

Image Credit Nationaal Archief
Sometimes a fad can border not just on the silly but on the dangerous. This group of sun worshippers from 1961 have decided to top up their tan with a foldable reflector. It is unlikely this would do anything more than burn the skin and possibly damage the eyes. However, the search for the perfect tan was as much trial and error as anything else.

Image Credit Library of Congress
Back to the long, hot summer of 1911 and these New York street kids are lined up for a race. It looks as if they have already been enjoying playing in a fountain. Where to, next?

Image Credit Flickr User Library of Congress
Unfortunately the proprieties of the day meant that although the young boys can divest themselves of their clothing in public spaces, grown men cannot. The best they can do is to flop down, exhausted by the heat and take a rest in New York’s Battery Park.

Image Credit Nantucket Historical Society
In 1937 the residents of Nantucket awoke one morning to find a giant sea serpent had washed up on their beach. Unperturbed they nevertheless went to inspect the gargantuan beast. The old lady on the center right of the picture is saying to her friend: we’re going through a severe worldwide economic depression and they spend their money on this?

Image Credit The Library of Congress
A group of young ladies from the Washington Irving High Schools in New York City, have a picnic at the Midsummer Day Festival which was held at Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx on June 23, 1911. This was before the great heat wave of that year, so perhaps that’s why the girls don’t look too overheated with the possible exception of the one with the banana.

Image Credit OSU Special Collections
Sometimes, though, a girl just wants to be on her own with just her dog and her thoughts...

Image Credit Library of Congress
...and her parasol. In the summer of 1913 two women were appointed policewomen at Newport Beach, California. The photograph above shows either Jeannette Buchanan or Minnie Smith. The New York Times reported in the June of that year that they wore military blouses of blue, but brass buttons, blue skirts to match, and straw hats. One promenaded the beach with a parasol. Women would get the vote in the United States seven years later.

Image Credit George Eastman House
These two very dapper young women, taking advantage of the swings on Atlantic Beach in 1905 prove three things. First of all, one should never look anything but one’s best, even when the occasion is of an informal nature. Secondly, that bow ties always were – and always will be – cool. Finally, they prove that when it comes to the summer, sometimes it's best just to sit back and relax.

First Image Credit National Maritime Muesum

The Big Leap (Le Grand Saut): An Award-Winning Animated Short About a First Crush at the Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 10:57:54 +0000

This is precious. Le Grand Saut is the French title, so that translates as The Big Leap and I think it’s a great name for this animated short, given that the girl protagonist takes one literally and metaphorically. It doesn’t tell a big story, but for our young protagonist, it’s something of a coming of age. A simple day at the beach. There’s the sun, the sand – and, of course, the completely annoying toddler brother that you have to look at (no doubt while the parents go an have an extended lunch at a local bar!). Perhaps that last bit is reading too much in to it, but there is another thing – the awakening of attraction. When our young heroine sees a cool young boy on the beach, it’s pretty much love at first sight – but how do you get him to notice you?

There are number of outstanding features to this animated short. First and foremost, it was created without dialogue (so overcoming any possible language barrier to help achieve a bigger audience), but the animation is so subtly done that you know exactly what is going through the girl’s mind at any given time – and the body language is also expertly conveyed. Both of these things are difficult to do with animation, so hats off to the students who created this. The other stand out for me was how the colours so wonderfully expressed the tone and feel of a day at the beach – vibrant and saturated with the sun in charge of how everyone sees the day’s events. It really does give this animation a lovely, almost nostalgic texture.

The award-winning animated film was directed by Martina Doll, Anaïs Dos, Coline Reverbel, Kenzo Talma, Edgard Vernier, and Lisa Vlaine during their time at École des Nouvelles Images. It received the School Jury Award at the Catch the Moon – Festival Internazionale di Cinema d'Animazione, the Jury Prize (Prix du Jury) at the Big Cartoon Festival, and the Best Animated Film Award (Prix du Meilleur Film d'Animation) at the Kristiansand International Children's Film Festival. The original score was composed by Aloïs Benoit (MAAAV), with production by Julien Deparis and sound mixing by Pierre-François Renouf.

The Doll’s Eyes Plant – The Woods Have Eyes Too

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 14:31:44 +0000

Have you ever taken a stroll through a wood and felt that you were being watched? Yet when you turn around, no-one is there. You carry on with your walk but that feeling of disquiet lingers. Perhaps you were being watched by something almost as disquieting as that galloping, mad axe murderer you were dreading. The Doll’s Eyes Plant could be eyeing you up as you innocently ramble. In North America, not just the hill have eyes.

Image Credit Flickr User Soul Motor

Image Credit Flickr User Stephanie Davidson

Image Credit Flickr User Distant Hills Garden

This plant gives the saying eyes on stalks a whole new meaning. It looks as if some Hannibal of the Hinterland has been preparing his evening meal; eye kebab no doubt washed down with a nice Chianti. Yet the common name for this plant makes no reference to these eyes being human – which is all very well unless you are a pediophobe and have a fear of dolls.

Image Credit Flickr User Kent McFarland

The doll’s eyes, also known as the white baneberry is native to eastern North America and often grows to two feet tall. Although it looks unremarkable for most of its life-cycle when it produces its berries, which ripen over the summer, it takes on this rather sinister look. The berries last until the first frost and, of course, give the plant its popular name.

Image Credit Flickr User BlueRidgeKitties

Image Credit Flickr User Benet2006

The black spot (we should call it the pupil perhaps?) is a residual scar created by the stigma of the plant’s flowers earlier in the year. It is perhaps just as well that the appearance of these berries may discourage someone who otherwise might be tempted to taste this fruit of the forest.

Image Credit Flickr User dogtooth77

If ingested in any quantity they would quickly provoke a heart attack such is the power and speed of their poison. However, birds are unaffected and this is how the seeds are spread throughout the woodlands.

Image Credit Flickr User KP McFarland

Image Credit Flickr User John B

Skilled herbalists, however, can produce a medicine from the plant (Actaea pachypoda) which is beneficial in the treatment of pain and bronchial complaints. If you eat them raw, however, your cardiac muscles will quickly become sedated and you know what happens when your heart stops beating.

Image Credit Flickr User Diane Cordell

So, if you go down to the woods today, you may be in for a big surprise. Yet as much as the eyes of this plant seem to be following your every move, silently tracking your progress through the forest, leave them be. If you decide to imitate Mr Lecter and feed on these white and wide-eyed treats then you will be the victim, not the cannibal. Any anthropophagic urges are to be resisted!

Image Credit Flickr User Shimeh Barger

Image Credit Flickr User Eastpole

First Image Credit Wikimedia

Wuthering Heights Day 2026: Kate Bush Fans Recreate Iconic Dance in Whitstable – Complete with Drone Footage

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 08:48:32 +0000

These days, most people know Kate Bush for Running Up That Hill, which was iconically featured on Stranger Things. However, outside of the US, ask people of a certain age and they will immediately cite Wuthering Heights, her 1978 hit, as her most popular song. In fact, inspired by the music video that went with it, each year women get together in community events all over the giff-gaff to recreate the famous dance from the video. They also try their best to reproduce the flowing dress Bush wore in it, and many don a wig to complete the ensemble. While you don’t have to be (ever so gently) bonkers mad to join in a group event like this, I suspect it helps...

The sleepy English seaside town of Whitstable holds it own version - Whittering Heights (get it?) and this year the global event was branded as The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever. Apparently, when women (some men have been known to join in, too) get together in this manner, it is known as a Mass Wuther, and the one in Penistone Hill, close to the famous Brontë parsonage in Haworth, is probably the most famous. However, the Whitstable organisers this year employed a drone to capture the full majesty of this particular Mass Wuther. This Community of Cathies (I counted 33) have been getting together once a month since February to rehearse the dance – but I am pretty sure that there has been a lot of bedroom mirror work going on as well. This is a Mass Wuther par excellence. A captivating community of Cathies.

Whoever thought of filming it with a drone (not to mention organising that) deserves a Blue Peter badge for this genius move which allows us to really take in the full spectacle. Hats off, too, to the Cathies in this video. I love the way that each has adapted the famous red dress and black sash to their own taste, with some versions going down to the ankle while at least one has gone for a mini version (perhaps Babooshka Day for you next year?). Hopefully, that means that these dresses get more than an annual outing. What the original article (as it were) has to say about Wuthering Heights Day has not been recorded. Kate Bush is famously reluctant to appear or talk in public and gives interviews once a millennium, but I hope that if she sees this video it puts a smile on her face as big as mine is right now!

OK, here's the original just for comparison. Oddly, there were two videos for the song. The first featured Kate in a white dress. The one below (known to fans as Version 2) was created for the American market and as you can see, every expense was spared. Still, decades later, it continues to inspire our communities of Cathies to go forth and Wuther. Wuthering Heights peaked at No. 8 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, which is essentially the chart just below the main Hot 100. It took Kate a while to crack the States.

Spider-Plant Man Starring Rowan Atkinson – Comedy Sketch for Comic Relief

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 07:33:55 +0000

It was a long time coming, but the Comic Relief people have finally released Spider-Plant Man on their YouTube channel. It was originally created for Red Nose Day (when people buy a red nose to wear to support charity) in the UK (back in 2006 so makes this sketch – astonishingly – 20 years old already). It quickly picked up something of a cult following as it very accurately takes the rise out of superhero films in general. Starring Atkinson as Peter Piper, this origin story shows our unlikely hero visiting Very Safe Labs Incorporated and being bitten in a delicate place by a genetically engineered spider plant.

Cue a transformation that pleases the reporter no end, especially when an opportunity (very quickly) arises for him to save his school sweetheart, Jane-Mary, who is being mugged very slowly by a masked assailant. Of course, no sooner is she out of peril than she is in peril again, thanks to a rather bedraggled Batman. Atkinson was not the only British comedian to lend his talents to this sketch for Comic Relief. You can see Rachel Stevens, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Mackenzie Crook, Jim Broadbent and Atkinson’s Blackadder chum Tony Robinson in the sketch too. I am not too sure who wrote it but if I had to guess I would say it had Simon Pegg's paw prints all over it! It still stands up very well, despite being 20 years old, and is probably one of the best Comic Relief sketches ever made. Watch it below.

Inpatient – End of the World: Ren and Chris Webby's Brilliantly Chaotic New Collaboration

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 16:49:36 +0000

End of the World, is a track from the first album (Asylum) by Inpatient, and the video is a blast (well, it is the end of the world…). It’s lyrically dense – and very funny (love the line about the Vatican, allegedly, but there are too many standout lines to mention here). The song seems to be a (tongue in cheek) shrug of the shoulders at the world in general. Let’s self-medicate and get on with it, because we’re all f**ked anyway. Yet when I finished the watching the video, which is hugely creative and a perfect accompaniment to the song, I was left thinking that this is more like a call to arms – to make the most of it too. Even if it isn’t, listening to a song about how screwed we all are cheered me up no end.

Plus, anything with a kazoo interlude gets my vote.

So, who are Inpatient? I went to Bangor University in North Wales from 1983-1986 and had a fabulous time with some fabulous people, thank you very much. I loved the (very small) city and its people – and it’s great to see that Bangor is still producing brilliance. Ren, a musician, rapper, singer-songwriter, guitarist, and storyteller, was born there in 1990. Of course, as he is Welsh, you could say some of those things I just listed were most likely in his blood from birth. There is something Dylanthomasy in some of these lyrics - but there is fatalism rather than rage (perhaps the message is drink, drink [or insert substance of choice] against the dying of the light - Thomas would no doubt have approved of that).

Now Ren has joined up with Chris Webby, an American rapper and songwriter from Norwalk, Connecticut known for fast, technically sharp rapping, punchlines, pop-culture references, and an independent approach to his music. Mix in production and some of the song-writing from JP On Da Track and you have this collaborative project (band?) called Inpatient. This is one of my favourite songs of the year already.

The comments on YouTube are massively positive, with fans describing the song as a brilliant soundtrack to what feels like the end of humanity, while somehow remaining incredibly fun. One listener summed it up perfectly: “I've been talking with friends for several years now about how we have a front row seat to the end of humanity. You guys just brilliantly put it to music.” Another wrote, “Only Ren and Webby can make a song about the end of life as we know it but make it so fun that me and my wife can't stop singing to it.” Others called the pair “a gift to the world,” thanked them for the music (not in an Abba way), and declared it their new favourite, with one fan simply calling Asylum the “album of the year” which is praise indeed.

The excitement around the collaboration is clear, with comments describing Ren and Webby as their “two fave artists” and praising them for “smashing it again.” There is a real sense that listeners aren't just enjoying the song but embracing its strange, darkly comic message: if we're going to have a front-row seat to the end of the world, we might as well have Ren and Webby providing the soundtrack.

The video manages to look both home-made and very expensive at the same time, which is quite a feat. Have a watch...

Young Faces of the American Civil War

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 20:34:23 +0000

Somehow we expect their faces to be different, not so staggeringly modern looking. Place them in contemporary clothing and all of these young men would not look out of place in a mall or a high school yearbook. Yet these extraordinary ambrotype and tintype photographs were taken during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Over 160 years separates their lives from our own yet their youthful faces retain a powerful resonance and an immediacy which brings that dreadful conflict feel strikingly close to us..

Who were these young men? What sort of lives did they live during and (one hopes) after the Civil War? The names of many of the young men pictured here are unknown; their fates a mystery. Yet despite the century and a half gap between their careful posing for the camera, some can still be identified. Astonishingly, names can still be discovered, as well as insight in to their character and personality.

This is Sgt Barnes. Bryan Watson of Wyoming had bought three photographs of Civil War soldiers from an estate in Florida. The above was identified with a tag as William Sharpe Barnes, 19 years old.

The officer above (a captain) was one of the other pictures. Mr Watson guessed that his identity would never be discovered until one day he visited Flickr to peruse ambrotypes (a hand colored photograph) belonging to the large and rare collection of the Liljenquist family of Virginia which they recently donated to the Library of Congress. As he went through the pictures he came across this handsome young Captain from the North Carolina Infantry. It just had to be the same man.

Through some great detective work, Mr Watson deduced that this had to be none other than Captain Jesse Sharpe Barnes, the older brother of Sgt Barnes. Unfortunately, Captain Barnes was killed at the Battle of Seven Pines near Richmond, Va., in the late spring of 1862. You can read the rest of this fascinating story here, as Mr Watson unearthed more intriguing information about Captain Barnes and his family.

The above goes to show that the seemingly impossible can happen thanks to what could be described as a series of fortunate events. The Library of Congress on Flickr would love to hear from you if you recognize any of the photographs here – and in their photostream.

Among the rarest images are African Americans in uniform. By the end of the Civil War they made up ten percent of the Union Army. They were known as United States Colored Troops (USCT) and were first recruited in 1863. They would later receive the nickname Buffalo Soldiers when they fought in the Indian Wars later in the century.

Some have already been identified. Above is William W. Smith of Company G and Company K, 4th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in uniform and his tricorn hat.

Pictured here is William T. Biedler, a desperately young looking sixteen years of age, already a captain in Company C, Mosby's Virginia Cavalry Regiment - with his musket.

As well as infantrymen there are also photographs of sailors.

Many of these soldiers seem little more than boys. Once can only imagine their fervor to fight for their respective side - and perhaps the blind eye cast by the recruiting officer responsible for allowing them to join up.

These photographs are of immense historical importance – they hold a fascination that leads people on a voyage of discovery. Have a read of Brandon Liljenquist’s articulate essay about why the family collected these portraits if you need any more convincing.

All pictures courtesy of the US Library of Congress.