Kuriositas

Red Moon

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 08:18:00 +0000

Two girls meet in their youth and become inseparable, even though there are obstacles. This short summary doesn’t do Red Moon justice. It tells a coming-of-age story about two girls who move through life side by side, sharing its highs and lows as they grow, change, and learn what it means to step into womanhood together. Red Moon is an animated poem (metaphorically) to female friendship and the bond between women and girls that cannot be broken. It’s a quietly crafted film, which doesn’t preach and doesn’t give answers – it just presents things as they are, as they should be – and it does this with subtlety.

As well as the story – so brief but with such depth – I was particularly drawn to the way that the characters have been drawn and also the backgrounds (particularly towards the end) which are just beautiful. Red Moon was directed and animated by Katherine Yuan during her time at RMIT. The fact that this is an undergraduate film makes it all the more impressive, demonstrating a level of creativity, emotional depth, and technical skill that feels far beyond what one might expect at this stage of study. Watch Red Moon below:

Miranda Priestly Meets Anna Wintour in Elevator: The Devil Wears Prada 2 Teaser Video Revealed

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 14:01:00 +0000

What would happen if Miranda Priestly met Anna Wintour? At first glance from this video, not very much at all. There is no explosion, no visible drama, no theatrical collapse beneath the weight of mutual frostiness. But there is Dancing Queen by Abba playing in the elevator that they share (a lovely nod to another of Meryl Streep’s roles). Miranda Priestly is, of course, a fictional character. Anna Wintour is the woman that said fictional character is based on. So, it’s all getting a little meta in the elevator, frankly - and quite cleverly the short film is called Do We Know Each Other?

Why now? You may have been blissfully unaware, but The Devil Wears Prada 2 is officially on its way and in a stroke of marketing genius, the people at Vogue managed to get Meryl Streep and Anna Wintour to collaborate on this short, chance meeting between the two icons of fashion. And if you still read magazine printed on paper, you will soon notice that the May 2026 issue of Vogue features the editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, with Meryl Streep on the cover... Whoever did the marketing for this deserves a medal.

Nearly twenty years after the original first snapped its fingers at an unsuspecting world, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is set to arrive in cinemas on 1 May 2026, with Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci all returning, alongside director David Frankel and writer Aline Brosh McKenna. In other words, this is not some flimsy, bargain-bin resurrection, but a properly assembled return to the polished battlefield of fashion, publishing and exquisitely delivered contempt.

But I expect you really want to know what they’re wearing… and, naturally, this super-short film doesn’t disappoint. Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep) is dressed in a sharply tailored Givenchy suit, finished with sunglasses, shoes and a bag by Prada, while Anna Wintour (played by, erm, Anna Wintour) appears in a Chanel dress pretty much hidden an Alexander McQueen coat, accessorised with Manolo Blahnik boots and jewellery by S.J. Phillips - a line-up so extravagantly curated it practically announces itself before either woman says a word.

Watch the video below:

China Breaks World Record with 22,580 Drones in Spectacular Sky Show

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 07:53:00 +0000

The Guinness World Records people have recently announced on their YouTube channel that the record for the most drones simultaneously airborne has been broken again – inevitably by a Chinese company. On 3 February, the Guangdong EHang Egret Media Technology Co., Ltd (couldn’t they have come up with a shorter name) set aloft 22,580 drones in the city of Hefei (the capital of China’s Anhui province). If I caught it properly, about 25 failed to set sail into the sky. It beats the previous record by something of a margin – 15,847 had been the previous record (which was only set a few months ago – it’s getting difficult to keep up with this particular record).

The sight is beautiful – with lots of Chinese cultural motifs coming to life in the night sky. There are lanterns, cityscapes and beautiful patterns, filmed by some of the drones themselves (I don’t know if they participated as well as filmed), so you get some interesting camera angles, both from below and above the display. What I found fascinating, too, was seeing all of the drones lined up and being checked before the event began. The only downside to this video is that the narration is mostly AI-driven, which could be argued as appropriate for this kind of technological achievement, I guess. Regardless, I will stop droning on and allow you to enjoy the spectacle. Enjoy!

The Greater Glider – Is This the Cutest Wild Animal in the World?

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 08:54:00 +0000

Meanwhile, our sibling site, the Ark in Space, has a new feature on the above – possibly the cutest, most adorable looking wild animal on the planet. It is called the Greater Glider, and as a marsupial you would not be wrong if you guessed that its home was Australia. A nocturnal animal, the greater glider was thought to be just one species, but all of that changed a few years ago, and now we get three for the price of one. Read much more about this fascinating – and super cute – animal over at the Ark in Space, which also has an extensive gallery of beautiful pictures of this irredeemably adorable creature. And yes, you will also get to see the greater glider glide! Image

The Golden Hour: Magical Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 09:25:00 +0000

Have you ever taken a photograph that seems to have a magical quality to it, because of the way in which the light has been captured in the shot? The chances are that you took the picture during the two times of day that photographers know as the golden hour.

Image Credit Flickr User Martin Sojka

Image Credit Flickr User Alessandra S Alba

The first hour of sunlight of the day makes the first golden hour. As the sun rises the light is softer than later in the day when the full and harsh rays of the sun shine down upon us. Likewise at the end of the day in the hour before sunset, the sun is close to the horizon again. As in the morning, the light travel in an oblique manner and so, instead of hitting objects straight down, hits them at an angle.

Image Credit Flickr User Mike Baird

Image Credit Flickr User *Seth

The result is that shadows are more pronounced and the pictures take on a much warmer, golden quality. The warmth of the colors that the sun, in its low position, produces, gives a photograph a completely different quality than when taken at other times of the day.

Image Credit Flickr User Martin Sojka

Image Credit Flickr User {Lina}

One of the main problems about taking photographs when the sun is at its full height is that overexposure will happen, draining out of the picture the colors that are there in the scene. Often, too, the shadows can be too dark in the middle of the day. The first hour after sunrise and before sunset enables the photographer to take pictures in which the shadows are considerably less pronounced.

Image Credit Flickr User Pjan Vandaele

Image Credit Flickr User JM Hulot

Some photographers are more technical and precise in their definition of when the Golden hour actually starts and ends. The period during which the sun is between 6 degrees above and below the horizon is how they define it, better accounting for the speed at which night becomes day and vice versa.

Image Credit Flickr User Anemone Jones

Image Credit Flickr User blmurch

Yes, but what time of day is that exactly? It really does depend on where you are in the world and what time of year it is. If you are interested in taking pictures during the golden hour, though, it is best to be in position to take your picture before sunrise. Light changes very quickly and if you want to take a particularly striking landscape then even a couple of minutes either side of the perfect time means that you might miss what most photographers will think of as the best light.

Image Credit Flickr User John Morgan

Image Credit Flickr User pbkwee

Your latitude will also determine how quickly and steeply the sun will climb. The best think to do – as with most things including photography – is to experiment. So, don’t stay in bed until the very last minute and then dash out expecting to get the perfect shot as that will be unlikely to happen. There really isn’t much of a rule of thumb going on as cloud cover is also an important factor in how your pictures will turn out.

Image Credit FLickr User Dean Miles

Image Credit Flickr User Nattu

Image Credit Flickr User Marina + Enrique

Although some will not care to admit it, photography in the golden hour can be a matter of luck. The difference between what makes a photograph interesting and what could make it unique may simply boil down to the capture of a moment of light that was there one second and gone the next. It can take years to capture that moment.

Image Credit Flickr User snappED up

Image Credit Flickr User The US Army

Image Credit Flickr User Muffet

If you are taking portraits then you have a slightly different set of problems. The first is trying to get the subject of your pictures out of bed. However, objects look particularly good in the golden hour, as it highlights their shape and textures so if you are taking pictures of, say, a rock group, try and do it during the golden hour. As children tend to get up at unfeasible times of the day, if you want to get some great shots of your offspring then the golden hour is a good time to take them – the light is great and you can spend time capturing and interacting with the children rather than fretting about the light.

Image Credit Flickr User Fr Antunes

Image Credit Flickr User Vince Alongi

Image Credit Flickr User Dani Gama

Golden hour is sometimes referred to as the magic hour but should not be confused with the blue hour. This is twilight time, when another sort of light altogether can be captured on film. If you are blond and considering an outside photo shoot then the blue hour is the best time for you as the time between full light and darkness is considered most flattering photographically for your skin tones and hair color.

Image Credit Flickr User Ian Sane

Image Credit Flickr User FH Mira

If you would like to calculate when the golden hour is in your locality there is no need nowadays to do much more than turn on your PC. Simply visit the golden hour website and you will have the exact times of your golden hours in seconds.

Image Credit Flickr User Axel-D

First Image Credit Flickr User Thomas Hawke

The History of the Paris Catacombs: From City Cemeteries to Underground Ossuary

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 17:59:00 +0000

Despite numerous visits to the French capital over the years, there is one place I have never really wished to visit – the famous catacombs of Paris - even though it's in the dead centre of town. It’s not so much an aversion to deathly things, but, OK, definitely an aversion to the quantity on display. So, fortunately, this TED lesson comes along, enabling me to take a quick tour of the Paris catacombs and discover, thanks to some animated grisliness, how the people of Paris took action in the 18^th century. I wonder if they realised that what they were creating would become a tourist attraction a few hundred years down the line.

It could all have been avoided, of course, had the good people of the 9^th century not thought it a great idea to bury their dead in the grounds of Les Innocents – and then carry on doing it for 800 years. A little bit of town planning may not have gone amiss! Just as well there was an abandoned network of quarries underneath the city, which themselves were causing the city a problem or two. The solution must have been obvious!

The lesson is by Stephanie H. Smith, directed by Laura Jayne Hodkin and narrated by Adrian Dannatt. Watch it below.

Love & Gold – Student Emmy Winner for Best Animation 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 08:29:00 +0000

I’ve been waiting for this to be unleashed… and here it is. The 2026 winner of the Best Animation at the National Student Emmys is Love & Gold, written and directed by Connor VanDyke and produced by Jaysen Duckworth. Representing BYU, it’s the university’s fifth consecutive win in this category and has now been released in full on YouTube. Watching it in full for the first time today, this animated short certainly does have winner written all over it – from start to finish.

Before I take a look at the film, I would like to add a note of praise and thanks to the host of talent BYU pulled together to create this film. This was the university’s Center for Animation’s short film project for 2025 and from the credits, it looked like the whole department worked “in the trenches” for this short. What better way to learn one’s craft than to be involved in a project of this size and ambition? Little wonder that BYU’s graduates almost inevitably turn up in the credits for major animation projects. So, hat’s off to this splendid team – too many to mention here, but thank you.

The plot is quite straightforward – the audience rocks up at the end of two separate quests for the same thing: the treasure left behind by a king and queen hundreds, perhaps thousands of years before. So, tension is immediately created because the young explorer/adventurers (OK, thieves) have no intention of sharing the booty (they are both seeking a huge gem). Yet they soon discover that the old king and queen had no intention of allowing someone with purely selfish motives to claim their treasure and that teamwork will be necessary if they are to survive their ordeals inside the castle.

You might be thinking “so far so tropey” and you would be right. I don’t often spot in-movie references to other movies, but I think writer VanDyke may have watched the Indiana Jones series on repeat when he was a kid! Yet, take into consideration that people have been recycling basic plot patterns for thousands of years, picking over the skeletons of old stories and revivifying them for contemporary times and audiences. Of course stories – truly successful stories – are more than simply plots.

Much more important is who it happens to and how it’s told, as well as what the audience now understands that older audiences didn’t (and there are a few gleefully placed anachronisms in this dungeons and drangons-esque setting). The references to the undying love of the previous king and queen, and how it impacts on the dual quest presented in this story are subtly and quickly disclosed to the audience. The nature of the characters, likewise, are revealed through the narrative, which bops along at quite a speed (but not too fast to confuse the audience – it’s all there for us). The writing is deft and tight, the structure almost perfect. So, certainly, all the right boxes are ticked for how it’s told.

So, on to who it happens to. Although the characters are not named during the film, I discovered in the credits that they are Rayden and Robin (voiced by Parley Lambert and Darci Ramirez – not that they say an awful lot!). So, that’s how I will refer to them from now on. The characters are particularly well-formed, something vital in such a short film. Rayden seems like the kind of young man who has, perhaps, walked somewhat effortlessly through life, a sort of cross between Phoebus in Hunchback and Kristoff in Frozen. Yet there’s no swagger – he’s quite a sweetheart which makes him immensely likable.

Robin is more difficult to pin down. She is the most complex but least trusting of the pair – and at the same time the least trustworthy too – her selfish acts put the couple into danger more than once. Perhaps she has been betrayed in the past? Yet like every good character arc, hers is offered the chance of redemption. I won’t reveal any spoilers, here – it’s up to you to watch the film and find out for yourself whether she gives in to avarice or not. Hang around for the end credits sequence, too – it reveals what might be in store for Rayden and Robin in the future.

Once again, thank you students (and staff) of BYU for bringing Love & Gold to the world. Some of the commenters on YouTube have said, this would make a great feature-length movie. It’s pretty much perfect as it is – so, maybe, a sequel? Please?

Watch Love & Gold below:

I’ll Start Tomorrow... If You Are a Procrastinating Student, Stop What You're (Not) Doing and Watch This

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 20:17:00 +0000

Have you ever given up on an assignment simply out of fear of getting a low grade? As an educator (in my real-world job), I see this all the time – in fact often it’s worse. Assignments are one thing – but whole qualifications? I have seen some of my students give up revising for resit exams because they are so afraid of putting in the work and still not passing that they would rather not try at all - and fail again. (it seems to be, emotionally, the outcome with the least risk). I'll Start Tomorrow could have been written and produced by any number of my own students!

What makes it all the more tragic is that most of the students I see exhibiting this kind of behavior are perfectly capable of passing the qualification I teach (which is exam only with no coursework). However, they choose to fail it – and although I have been able to get through to them beforehand, some still slip through the metaphorical net.

There must be some serious psychology behind this – and perhaps the video above should give me some insight into this – even though it depicts a student “doing” an assignment, rather than preparing for an exam. From the comments below the video on YouTube, it certainly looks like a similar train of thought. First, there is time – so much time before the assignment is due that procrastination invariably takes hold.

One commenter admitted that “this animation was like so beautifully relatable it hurt” and another said “literally my whole entire life described without using words right here.” I could go on – there are so many different permutations and combinations of the same thoughts and feelings that it would be an act of procrastination in itself to carry on reading them or, indeed, adding more here.

I wonder what advice I would give to this student. It would have to be different from that which I give in classes when students focus more on their conversations than the work they are supposed to be doing. That is always “work now, chat later” and that often works in a classroom situation because they know that if they do the work I am far more relaxed about them having a chat with each other once it is done. This is different. I guess I could also say try to study a subject that you are interested in enough to look forward to doing the assignments – but my own experience at university (where I studied English Literature) didn’t really reflect that either – I love literature, discussing it, reading it, embracing it – but it was very different when it came to writing about it critically.

I suppose this is something I can think about another day (see what I did there?). I have to say this animation does seem to have hit a huge nerve with the viewers. Technically, it is pretty flawless – I love the design of both the protagonist and the backgrounds. The story is cleverly told, with a number of flash-forwards about the consequences of procrastination (and the end of the world would probably put a stop to it, that’s for sure). Some of the visual metaphors are, surely, taken from real dreams. Yet what it captures very well is the state of panicus pensi (fear of the assignment and yes, I just made that up) which goes with the whole student malarkey and a condition that usually goes hand in hand with rigor pavoris (stiffness of fear). Yup, made that up too.

This very clever, very entertaining and very true animated short was directed by Skye Wei. It was produced by Shi Hao and Ling Chen with additional animation by Dou Yang and Xixi Hu. Originally created for Bilibili’s (basically China’s version of YouTube crossed with Twitch and anime fandom culture) 2026 Bainianji, a special produced annually by the platform to celebrate Chinese New Year. This is the English language version and hats off to Skye for releasing this fantastic work for those of us who don’t speak Mandarin.

So, is the student in this animation able to overcome their procrastination and commit to work without deviation until submission? You will have to watch it and find out – but if you are a student reading this, you may find the ending a little bittersweet to say the least!

Why Are Ancient Ruins Always Buried Underground?

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 08:15:00 +0000

One question which always bothered me as a kid who was interested in archaeology was why was it that ancient ruins were always found underground? Was the world getting bigger, in some way, that these ruins were being buried by the ever increasing size of the Earth? While you can probably get my youthful logic, this isn’t the case. One of the main reasons is that cities are simply built on top of each other, with each successive wave of construction simply building on top of the rubble underneath (for the sake of expedience – clearing is hugely expensive and time-consuming). So, if a building was rebuilt, it meant that it would be higher than the surrounding streets. The obvious solution there was to raise the streets too. That means that in some places, buildings are 18 meters higher than they were in the 1^st Century AD.

When it comes to archaeology, building one layer on top of another isn’t the only reason why so much archaeology lies underground. The cities of Shanghai and Seattle, for example, are gently sinking into the ground because of the weight of the buildings on top, not to mention the extraction of drinking water from below.

Still a little discombobulated by it all? Then watch this video from Primal Space, which explains it very clearly and with great computer-generated animations to match.

But this still leaves another puzzle: what about places like Roman villas, farmsteads or temples that weren’t built over by later generations, but simply abandoned? Why are they buried too? The answer is that ruins often begin by burying themselves. Roofs collapse, walls tumble, plaster crumbles and timber rots away, creating a mound of debris. Over the centuries, wind-blown dust, flood silt, leaf mould and soil gradually build up around and over the remains, while roots, weather and farming slowly break them down further. In other words, even when nobody builds on top of them, time and nature usually do the job anyway.

Amen – These Porkers aren’t Ready for the Pot

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 08:22:00 +0000

There comes a time in a young pig’s life when human eyes notice his increasing dimensions and decide enough is enough – this porker is ready for the pot. So it is with the young pig featured in Amen, a graduate thesis film by students at École des Nouvelles Images. Although he almost gets the chop, his ingenuity – not to mention a somewhat revelatory experience in the monastery’s church – will save him and his friends from sizzling. Or will it? You had better watch the animated short below to find out!

I have no idea if this film was inspired by pig escapes, such as the famous Tamworth Two, but as our porcine pals have a habit of getting away from their human overlords, this could have been inspired by any number of tales of daring escape in the real world.

Amen has enjoyed an impressive festival run, picking up awards at the Tirana International Film Festival 2025 in Albania, VIEW Conference 2025 in Italy, the Internationales Trickfilm-Festival Stuttgart in Germany, Cyber Sousa – Xiamen International Animation Festival in China, The Great Canadian Horror Film Festival, Curtas Vila do Conde – Festival Internacional de Cinema in Portugal, and La Guarimba Film Festival in Italy, among many others. The film was directed by Orphée Coutier, Bettina Demarty, Kimie Maingonnat, Laurène Perego, Louise Poulain, and Avril Zundel, with an original score by Nicolas Cornil (MAAAV). Production was overseen by Julien Deparis for École des Nouvelles Images, with sound mixing by Pierre-François Renouf.

If You Said This Was London’s Oldest Outdoor Statue, You’d Be Half Right

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 19:32:00 +0000

Tucked away in London’s Trinity Church Square stands a tall statue. Larger than life, it stands 8.5 feet high (2.6 metres), depicting a wise old king. Who that king is, no one is completely sure but it is widely believed to be a representation of King Alfred the Great, who ruled in the 9^th century. The statue was once thought to have been made at some point in the 1300s as it reflects the statuary style then prevalent. Simply put, no one ever knew its true provenance although debate raged off and on (no doubt in a very polite British way). Image

Image Credit

What is known with certainty is that it has been in the square since 1831 – getting on for two hundred years. Rather annoyingly and contrary to the often meticulous record-keeping habits of Victorian Londoners, the name of who gifted it to the square is not recorded. So, for all that time, no one knew much about it at all or could offer anything more than educated guesswork. But the statue held a secret or two.

All that changed in 2021 when it was decided, as London and the rest of the UK peeked shyly through the thick curtains of three Covid lockdowns, to restore the statue. London Stone Conservation was commissioned by the Heritage of London Trust to undertake the task. An analysis of the stone as well as a restoration was requested. It was hoped that the analysis might help confirm one of two popular theories about the statue’s origins. First, that it could be an 18^th century statue – one of a missing pair – from Carlton House in the neighboring borough of Westminster. Secondly, that it could be one of eight lost statues that adorned Richard II’s Westminster Hall in the late 1300s. As it transpired, neither would prove to be the case.

In fact, the analysis presented a few surprises. The statue is not a single piece of art, sculpted from the same stone. It’s two. The top part of the statue, from Alfred’s belt upwards is made of Coade Stone. Now, this stone was often called “artificial stone” in Victorian times (many would just call it “fake stone” today). It was a mix of ball clay from Dorset and Devon (60-70%), soda lime glass (10%), fine quartz (5-10%) and crushed flint (5-10%). About 10% of the mix was grog (a mix of alumina and silica, with small amounts of iron oxide, calcium oxide and magnesium oxide and not, as you might guess, rum and water). So, yes, we would call it “fake stone” and much of London’s statuary is made of it. It was invented by Eleanor Coade in 1770. This means that the top half of our statue was created at some point between 1770 (unlikely to be that early) and when it was deposited in the square in 1831 (a much likelier approximate age of creation).

Image

Wait, there’s more. What of the bottom half of the statue? Whence came the flowing robes? The London Stone Conservation analysts discovered that this was made of Bath Stone. It is a pale, honey-coloured limestone that is easy to carve and was widely used in historic buildings and sculpture from Roman times onward. It is quarried around Bath in Somerset, about 115–120 miles (185–195 km) west of London.

Bath was a significant Roman city. The stone was likely brought to London around 80-130 AD and carved there by a sculptor (probably imported himself from another part of the empire). As the lower part of the statue is remarkably similar to a statue of the Roman goddess Minerva in a collection at Woburn Abbey, it is thought that, likewise, the lower part of “Alfred” is also of Minerva. She was the goddess of a number of things at the time the statue was made, including the arts, professions and handicraft (not to mention war). When complete, she would have stood at almost 10 feet (3 metres) in height, a little taller than the current incarnation. So perhaps at one point in time she looked something like this…

Image before visualisation

Apologies, but I couldn’t resist visualising how the statue may have looked originally even though I acknowledge that mine is probably not terribly accurate. Yet in a way, it is an accidental but fitting fusion - a Roman goddess and an English king joined in one figure, both linked by ideas of wisdom, protection and civic pride. So, the statue isn’t quite Minerva and it isn’t quite Alfred. Perhaps it should be renamed “Minerfred” – and you can pronounce that any way you wish because it’s very unlikely to catch on. So, how might the original statue have looked in situ?

Here’s a further representation of how the Minerva statue may have looked in a temple dedicated to the goddess. She would certainly have been painted. Plus, there is archaeological evidence for a Romano-Celtic temple complex at Tabard Place near the statue’s current resting place. Of course, this reconstruction is speculative, and based on AI-assisted visualization, (and it even keeps in the modern information plaque) but it gives an idea. Perhaps the statue was, after the Roman retreat from Britain, broken apart by Christian zealots (they did that quite a lot to Roman era statuary) and the lower half survived as a reused piece of stone?

Then, at some point in the early 1800s it was recovered from building rubble or an older structure in the Southwark area and passed on to a curious gentleman who came up with a cunning plan. So, the Alfred statue’s base may have been spotted and incorporated in the 1830s into the new public statue, not because someone dug up an actual temple, but because the stone fragment had survived in the urban fabric - a common fate for Roman sculpture in London.

One note here – the process would not have been as simple as plonking Alfred’s top onto Minerva’s bottom (that sounds like a line from a Carry On film). Coade Stone shrank in the kiln. So this would have required very expert calculations of size and shrinkage, making the finished statue a product of someone with significant resources.

So, at least half of this strange amalgam is London's oldest outdoor statue after all. We may never know the full story of this remarkable artistic hybrid, but it’s fun to imagine.

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Bio Dad - A Comedy Song by Riki Lindhome featuring Hunter Doohan

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 09:22:00 +0000

Sometimes, you can put off being a parent for a while. That while can sometimes become a little too long and you might find yourself without the prerequisite other half with whom to share the moment. When this happens, there are options – and Riki Lindhorne’s new song Bio Dad, shows a woman asking a male friend to make a little donation in order to fulfil her desire to be a mother. This is funny - but also heartfelt – and not only makes a great comedy-drama sketch, it feels more like a song from a musical than anything else – I would like to see the whole thing (as it were!).

However, the video does go through the whole story we need to see – including the compulsory visit to the clinic where the unfortunate donor has to perform. One of the commenters on YouTube said about this part: “as a man who's used those plastic cups in IVF clinics, let me say that section of the song (thin doors, weird reactions from the woman at the desk, etc.) was SPOT ON”. Another commenter added: “As always a welcome and unexpected pleasure”, which I have to say is pretty much how I feel about this song.

Of course, one of the (many) things that Riki Lindhome is known for is playing Dr. Valerie Kinbott on the Addams Family Netflix show Wednesday. So, of course it is only natural that she should as a good-looking member of a show she has appeared in to feature as the potential bio-dad. Step forward Hunter Doohan, who played opposite her in Wednesday as Tyler Galpin, the sheriff’s son who turns out to be a Hyde. One commenter said: “I know your song is what every woman thinks about when she sees Hunter Doohan, but I cant prove it...“. Regardless, if Tyler Galpin and Dr. Valerie Kinbott ever had a baby, it would probably come out already in therapy and somehow covered in suspicious claw marks – but they are playing different characters here so let’s just scrub that and watch the video.

Not Sophie’s Choice – Short Film Starring Katherine Tate and Alex Macqueen

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 08:28:00 +0000

Sometimes, children discover things about their parents that perhaps they shouldn’t have. As Oscar Wilde once said: 'Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them.' In Sophie’s case, that might be quite unlikely as she has developed the unfortunate tendency of coming across her parents at some fairly unforgivable moments .

Of course, the best thing to do is to sit Sophie down and to explain what has happened in terms that a child can understand and – of course – outline what happens next, underlining at many moments through the conversation just how much they love her. And that’s exactly what these parents do. Katherine Tate and Alex Macqueen shine here as the parents, full or remorse and guilt for what their daughter has been through – and Skye Lucia Degruttola is excellent as their daughter - it must have been hard for her to keep a straight face watching these two pillars of British comedy go through their motions. This may have to be filed under “peculiarly British comedy” as I am unsure whether other cultures may fully “get” this or even whey we might find it amusing. Not Sophie's Choice gave me a chuckle, though – and I think that’s what it sets out to do. Job done.

Another Day: Compare Your Birthday to Historical Events and Feel Very Old (Possibly)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 18:17:00 +0000

I don’t need to be told that I’m getting on – my friends, family, colleagues and the mirror will all tell me (to varying degrees of truthfulness). However, there’s nothing quite like a computer programme to really stick the dagger when it comes to brutal honesty. So it is with Another Day, which asks you to enter your age so you can discover which historical events, going backwards historically from your birthday, are now closer to it chronologically than today.

As you can see from the above, my grey hairs are definitely more than implied when I am told that the sinking of the Titanic is now closer to my birth date than the day today! If there is any real evidence that lying about your age is a good idea (if you want to escape the gasps that sharing this site will provoke when you type in your birth date), then this is it.

Here's another based on my birthday...

There’s more. You can share this on social media, so not only can you share a plum fact about your own age, you can freely ridicule your aging (or already aged) friends by doing the same thing for them and gleefully pointing out the cold hard fact Another Day will come up with.

So, were my mother (who has yet to slip of her mortal coil despite in her own words feeling positively ancient) on social media, I could definitely annoy her by posting this…

If you want, you can compare one historical event to another. There’s some “proper” history in here, as well as plenty of pop-culture references, so something to suit everyone.

So, for example – the release of Michael Jackson’s Thriller video is closer to the end of the Second World War than today.

Or, did you know that the release of Game Boy in the USA is now closer to Rosa Parks refusing to move on the bus than today? There’s a host of fun facts to be found that will make you feel older than you are on the site. Thanks to the folks on Neatorama for pointing out this little gem.

Key & Peele’s Substitute Teacher – in LEGO

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 16:28:47 +0000

Of course we’re huge fans of Key & Peel’s famous Substitute Teacher sketch - and their follow ups. But a remake in Lego? We didn’t quite see that one coming. Mr Garvey has long been a hero in educational circles and it is good to see him recreated in one of the most intuitively instructive toys ever designed. Of course, we have the rest of the cast too - Dee-Nice, Jakequaline, Balakey, Ay-Ay- Ron are all in the classroom, as is Tim-o-thee. I have to say that NL Films have really done a great job on both the set and the characters – it is almost like watching the original sketch again. Except it’s in Lego.

As a (lazy) aside, I wonder if the young actors who make up Mr Garvey’s unwilling students saw any major impact on their careers after appearing in this sketch. Did it help or hinder their professional progress? Do they see it now as a great opportunity that led to type-casting in the extreme or a great opportunity that led to even greater opportunities. I put lazy in brackets because, of course, I could do some research and find out, but I’ve always resisted those “Cast of Substitute Teacher – Where are they now?” kind of features at Kuriositas.

So, take it away Lego Mr Garvey!

The Adiyogi Shiva – the Largest Bust Sculpture in the World

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 17:35:49 +0000

In the beautiful foothills of the Velliangiri Mountains in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, an immense head and shoulders seems to burst from the ground, dominating the surrounding landscape. This jaw-dropping spectacle – a male, eyes closed in contemplation, with lustrously dark features, full lips and flowing locks of hair epitomising an ideal of both male beauty and masculine voluptuousness - is Shiva, the Adiyogi (the First Yogi). Little wonder that people flock from all over India and beyond to see this sculpture, listed in the Guinness World Records as the largest bust sculpture on the planet. Image

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The sculpture looks like it is made from black granite, but it was built using thousands of kilograms of steel plates and pipes. In fact, it weighs in at approximately 500 tonnes. In order to give the bust its rich, deep appearance it is coated with dark matte finish paint – a job which one can only imagine as never ending to maintain the exquisite exterior.

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It was opened in 2017 by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Impressively, the design stage had been less than three years before. Even when building had started, this immense sculpture took only eight months to construct from start to finish.

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Its dimensions are equally impressive and have special significance to Shiva (the pan-Hindu deity). The bust is 34 meters tall or 112 feet (and here lies the key). To attain nirvana, there are 112 meditation techniques (moksha) that can be used; depending on which suits you best, they are all entry points to self-awareness. There are also 112 chakras (energy points) in the human system. Each chakra represents a different dimension of experience (survival, emotion, intellect, awareness) which can lead to liberation. So 112 was decided as the height of the sculpture from its inception. It is also 45 meters (147 feet) in length and has a width of 25 meters (82 feet).

In front of the sculpture, there is a smaller one, known as the Yogeshwara Linga. This embodies a concentrated, symbolic form of the same spiritual essence as Adiyogi Shiva. A linga is a traditional representation of Shiva, signifying formless, infinite consciousness rather than a human-like figure. So, the Adiyogi statue portrays Shiva as the first yogi, the origin of yogic knowledge, whereas the Yogeshwara Linga represents that knowledge in pure energy, consecrated for meditation.

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Together, they complement each other: the Adiyogi’s face inspires and teaches, while the linga provides a direct meditative experience. Visitors can both understand yoga intellectually and engage with it experientially in the same sacred space. Devotees often choose to make an offering of water and neem leaves to the linga. Known in India for its purifying and healing properties, offering neem leaves represents a desire for cleansing - physically, mentally, and spiritually.

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The sculpture is surrounded by 621 tridents, one of Shiva’s most recognisable symbols, representing his power and role in maintaining cosmic balance. When a devotee visits the site, they can offer a vastram (a piece of cloth offered as a mark of surrender, devotion or simply respect) around one of the tridents. It is only a simple piece of black cloth and so is not meant as a physical offering. Rather, it symbolises giving something of yourself to the divine. It shows not only devotion but a connection to Shiva’s energy.

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You might have spotted a necklace around Adiyogi’s neck. This is believed to be the largest Rudraksha mala (prayer beads) in the world, made up of 100,008 beads instead of the usual 108. Over the course of twelve months, these beads are said to absorb divine energy, and during Maha Shivaratri (the Hindu festival called “the great night of Shiva.”), they are distributed as prasadam (blessings) to devotees on this sacred night, to be worn or used for meditation as they carry both spiritual significance and blessing.

The Adiyogi Shiva bust was created by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, the founder of the Isha Foundation. His vision does not stop with just one bust, either. He plans to put Adiyogi Shiva statues at each of the historic Four Corners of India. If he can do it once, then one suspects that four more are not too much of a stretch.

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Mighty Morphin’ Rotterdam – Amazing Netherlands Hyperlapse

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 11:38:27 +0000

There are some things that you just have to sit back and watch – and this is one of them. The immediate question I have watching Rotterdam: Shifting Shapes of the Future, a hyperlapse of the Dutch city by award-winning filmmaker Kirill Neiezhmakov is how does he do this? The answer to this question is most likely I don’t care as he long as he keeps doing these amazing videos.

As you will see from the video, the AI morphing transitions really make this stand out from other time-lapses or hyperlapses. Neiezhmakov describes Rotterdam as “the perfect playground for this” and the transitions are seamless and quite astonishing. Plus he confides that the secret to a great hyperlapse is “pure manual precision”, so perhaps we have finally found something that combines AI and human creativity to hugely impressive effect. Take a look at the video below and see if you agree.

Tulip – a Charming Stop-Motion Adaptation of Thumbelina by Hans Christian Anderson

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 10:47:43 +0000

If you are familiar with the story of Thumbelina, then I suspect you will enjoy Tulip, as it is an adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen tale, cherished by generations of children and adults alike. There are some differences in the telling, here – so, for example, we don’t have Thumbelina traveling to a distant land in order to meet her prince of flowers, but the fan favorites are there in the shape of the lonely woman who first discovers her and the various animals she encounters, such as the mole, the mouse and – of course – the swallow.

After Tulip is discovered by the lonely old woman, she grows and becomes restless, confined to the woman's cottage (the old lady is scared that the outside world is too dangerous for the tiny Tulip). Of course, Tulip takes matters into her own hands...

Purists may balk a little, but I think this is a wonderful retelling, created by Andrea Love and Phoebe Wahl (production, direction, writing, animation - the lot). The stop-motion work is simply wonderful but I think the one thing that stands out most to be about this short is its use of colors. Vibrant would be an understatement, and the detail is painstaking. The stop-motion is seamless – the water in the pond and Tulip’s tears were particularly impressive, given how difficult water is to animate properly using stop-motion techniques.

The characters, too, are beautifully made. All of them are lovely, but I particularly like the bossy mouse in her sky-blue Victoriana. I was entranced by this from start to finish. All the voice actors are excellent, but a special mention must be given to Christopher Flockton who tells the story in a charmingly mellifluous manner. Watch the film below.

Raye - Click Clack Symphony featuring Hans Zimmer is a Must-Watch Delight

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 08:13:31 +0000

Well, isn’t this just fabulous? Raye’s Click Clack Symphony, taken from her upcoming album This Music May Contain Hope is quite the number. It’s an ode (well, a symphony) to those around us who make life better. In this case it’s Raye’s buddies, who, when they hear her call, march around to her house and get her out of it (the home and her downer). I love the metaphor of the click click click clack symphony echoing the sound of their heels as they come to her rescue! They are definitely going to heel her (OK, very bad joke).

The video to accompany the song is hugely imaginative; the animated RKO-style intro (well, you know me and animation) gives us the odds of being born on this planet at 1 in 400 trillion (no idea where Raye got this statistic, but quite happy to go with it). It then quickly jumps to Raye’s house where she is awaiting the arrival of her friends (and when you don’t have enough wine in the fridge to get yourself going, you need a few mates), then to their escape into the street and beyond. The video accompanies Raye’s (really clever) lyrics perfectly – it’s something of a tour de force, frankly.

The message is certainly unambiguous – you should never settle for depression on a Friday night! Life is (as always) too short, so get your friends and click click click clack a symphony of your own – not only on a Friday but any day of the week. Like Raye, you could “believe for the first time that she would again feel the sun”. As layered as this song may be (and it has many but the monologue at the end takes it to another level), I think the message is that bad times must always come to an end, but patience and faith “in the seeds that are planted beneath the snow” are also vital in getting you through and back into that sunshine. What a fabulous song.

Best British singer-songwriter since Kate Bush? I reckon so.

Top 13 Male Ballet Dancers Of This Generation

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 18:55:00 +0000

Recently, Timothy Chalomet made some remarks about opera and ballet which I am sure he probably now regrets, considering the furore they created. Although we feature dance quite a lot on Kuriositas, it has been a while since we featured either opera or ballet. That’s a little remiss, so here is a very cool video of 13 of the very best male ballet dancers – and the list is contemporary rather than historic (just to show the art form is still well and truly alive). The video was created by Ballet Posted.

I think, for me, the standouts are Kangwon Lee, who dances with such a joie de vivre it is almost impossible not to smile with him. Then there is Antonio Caslhino whose moves are something to behold. I suppose my favorite, though, has to be Takumi Miyake – just a sublime dance if ever there was one. Which will be your choice? Watch the video below and decide!

Itadakimasu - a Beautiful Japanese Short Film

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

In Japan, you will hear Itadakimasu (いただきます) a lot. Connecting to Buddhist ideas of gratitude and life, the phrase is spoken before eating a meal. It’s meaning translated into English is approximate – you could say it roughly means “I humbly receive (this food)”. The verb itadaku (いただく) means “to humbly receive” and the “masu” part of the phrase is a polite ending which is added to verbs. Yet, like many Japanese phrases, it has a much deeper meaning, one which speaks volumes about the nature of Japanese culture. The key is probably in the word “receive” which is used rather than “eat”. It says a lot.

The phrase is central to this charming short film, which pivots around food but is essentially about the love between a mother and her son. Itadakimasu tells the story of Ryota (Ren Okada), who has left his countryside home to live and work in the big city.

Although not exactly estranged from his mother (Mika Murakami), his attitude to her has become distant and somewhat terse, especially since the premature death of his father. Ryota is struggling at work and his inability to emotionally communicate with his mother means that when she pays him a surprise visit, the reception she gets is cold and Ryota quickly makes his excuses to leave for the day.

How is this resolved? Well, I urge you to watch this precious short film for yourself – but reconciliation is on the cards (I want you to know that this does not have a sad ending, even though it isn't sugary sweet). The film’s characters are drawn by a series of subtle flashbacks to scenes from their lives – we see little Ryota grow as the film develops. One pivotal scene gives those of us who do not come from Japan more insight into the emotional resonance of the phrase Itadakimasu. It is so much more than just a few words of thanks – it gives gratitude and respect for nature, the animals and the plants whose lives became the food as well as the farmers and workers who produced the ingredients. Last but certainly not least, it expresses thanks to the person who prepared the food – and in this case it is almost always mum. Whether it is hot from the stove or cold in the fridge while she works in a factory to make ends meet, food always makes its way from mum’s hands to Ryota’s stomach.

Even when he is being a sulky teenager and resorts to Pot Noodle in his bedroom, we see Ryota put his hands together, bow his head a little and utter Itadakimasu before he begins to eat. It’s a phrase you will hear all over Japan – at home, school, restaurants (or like me on TV shows and anime). It’s a cultural connector and the big question this film painstakingly asks (my only criticism is perhaps a few minutes could have been shaved off its running time) is whether shared and collective memory, bound by words and food, can help to restore a relationship.

The film is elegantly written, and poignantly directed, shot and edited by Fumiya Nakagawa. Much of his work focuses on his home region of Kumamoto, using film to promote local culture and communities - and Itadakimasu shows Kumamoto off really beautifully. This short film was produced by Yamachiku Co Ltd with music by Yukiko Kamata. The producer is – well I never – an intergenerational chopstick manufacturer well known in Japan. I have only realised this when writing this short review – it must be about the most subtle product placement I have ever come across! Yet far more subtle are the performances by Ren Okada (best known as a style influencer) and Mika Murakami, especially the latter whose adoring looks at her truculent son are simply heartbreaking.

I think one of the commenters on YouTube sums the film up perfectly: “Had me in tears at the end. Sometimes children lose sight of how much love and support their parents have given them over the years, and they need some type of experience to make them see how fortunate they are. This short film expressed this theme so well. The music was perfect also.” Indeed. This film is really something very special.

Watch the full film below.

As a footnote, once a meal is finished, Japanese people usually say “gochisōsama deshita” (ごちそうさまでした), which means something like “thank you for the meal”. So we have a few more Japanese phrases to add to our collection. Also, a big thank you to Fumiya Nakagawa and team for this particular, very satisfying meal.

If you are interested in more Japanese phrases, you might be interested in our short articles about:

Taidama

Koi No Yokan

Hadoken

All Fall Down – The Vampire Lestat (Official Video)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 18:37:00 +0000

It only happens once in a lifetime – a new artist arrives on the scene and suddenly, music is never the same again. All Fall Down – the debut single by The Vampire Lestat is such a perfect piece of rock, that it seems written by a singer songwriter with many, many years of musical experience behind him. Instead this new artist – real name unknown – arrives with a great alter-ego (reminiscent in some ways of the way Bowie would take on different personas throughout his career) in vampiric form. The song itself is hypnotic, mesmerizing – almost as if it is calling out to something. It’s enough to wake up the souls of the dear-departed rock and roll greats, who would no doubt welcome a new member of their pantheon.

We will just have to live in anticipation of what the Vampire Lestat’s live shows will be like, the first of which is planned later on in the year on June 7. Until then, we must make do with this taster of things to come. I am sure seeing him live will bring together so many fans of great music, all of whom have heard this message and will travel for many, many miles to hear his voice.

Thunderbirds Vintage Adverts are FAB (but some might make you cringe)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 09:04:00 +0000

If, like me, you spent your childhood coveting a Thunderbirds Tracy Island playset, then you are probably aware that the minds behind the globally adored TV show for kids (and discerning adults) were not averse to turning the popularity of the characters and settings intro products. The main idea was to drive kids like me into a consumer frenzy (especially around Christmas) and it worked.

What I had forgotten, though, until I watched the video below, is that Thunderbirds were also used to advertise things which weren’t wholly connected to the show. So, here from the Gerry Anderson channel is a selection of the adverts that you might remember from your childhood. Although most are aimed at kids – like the Tracy Island playset or the iced lollies, some take full of the intergenerational appeal of the show. So, with tongue firmly in cheek, there are car insurance adverts, not to mention Exchange & Mart if you happened to be looking for a new, used car. Thyere are also riffs on familiar advertising tropes, such as the one for a popular chocolate biscuit brand.

What hits home more than anything is the pretty rampant sexism going on in the ads. Girls are targeted with the first ice lolly made specially for girls (named FAB) because who knew their taste buds were different. Then there is Lady Penelope taking her pink Rolls Royce out for a spin on Parker’s day off – and needing a little rescue from her insurance company at the end of the day. It’s unlikely these particular adverts (and some of the products) would be made these days unless intended to provoke some kind of furore, but they do shine a certain spotlight onto how things have changed over the years.

Brains doing a breakdance to flog mineral water is now seared onto my brain.

Amped - Award-Winning 2D Animated Short

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 14:33:00 +0000

You know that time at work on a Friday, just a few minutes before it hits five? Oh, the anticipation of the weekend, together – of course – with a little downtime in the office. It’s that magic time when you can relax and take in a few minutes of that ten hour goats screaming like humans video that you have been meaning to watch all week. Such is the case with the two office workers featured in Amped, which was written and directed by Vincent Salvano.

What sometimes happens on a Friday at close to five is that a load of new work seems to miraculously make it to your desk. And so our two workers must stay behind and work into the night – except that proves difficult. However, they both discover a mysterious drink – one which will not only give them the power to stay awake but to enable them to work at speeds they could previously only imagine. If you think that is a cue for things to go wrong, you’re right.

Amped was produced with the support of Pixar Animation Studios Co-op Film Program, and brought to life by a small independent team of artist, including Head of Story Matthias De Clercq, Editor Alia Rezk, Director of Photography Andrew Jimenez and music by - Aaron Daniel Jacob. Produced by Logan Hester, Amped is a fantastic animated short, reminiscent in some ways of the old Tom and Jerry style, with outrageous actions and reactions in abundance. Also, don't you think there is something a little Flintstoney about the characters? I can't quite put my finger on what! It also has something very special – it has great character development and story momentum, quite something to pull of in such a short piece of work.

Oh and watch the end credits - another story in itself!

Saint Michel d'Aiguilhe – the Chapel Built atop a Volcanic Plug

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 09:40:00 +0000

Back in the year 951, a French bishop was celebrating his return from a major pilgrimage. It had taken Bishop Godescalc many weeks to go from his home of Le Puy-en-Velay in France to Santiago de Compostela, almost 500 miles away in Spain and on his return he decided to celebrate. On the route his pilgrimage took, he had visited many shrines and chapels and so he decided to build one himself so that future pilgrims could use it as their own starting point. As Le Puy had a remarkable geological feature – a volcanic plug 279 feet (85 metres) high, that must have seemed like a very good place indeed to build a chapel. Image Credit

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In fact, Godescalc wasn’t quite the first person to come up with that idea. The Dean of the local cathedral, Truannas, had previously requested that a chapel be built atop the volcanic plug. Local chronicles show that at this time the town was being ravaged by plague, and the dean had vowed to Saint Michael the Archangel that he would build a chapel there if the plague ceased. It did and so, the vow was fulfilled. Whether Bishop Godescalc’s pilgrimage was also an attempt to alleviate the plague through prayer and penance on his journey has been lost to history, but it is these two men who we must thank for the chapel’s existence.

Why Saint Michael? In the Christian tradition, the warrior of God is also the patron saint of mountaintops and high places in general. Aiguilhe translates as needle and this slim but ancient plug must have seemed simply appropriate to dedicate the chapel to this particular archangel. Hearts may have risen when the top was reached, but many must have sunk at the prospect of climbing to such a height. The 268 stairs, even today, remain the only way to gain access to the chapel.

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Did I mention there were 268 stairs leading to the chapel? The climb is not for the faint-hearted.

You might not want to look down, either...

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It is believed that the chapel was originally completed in 961 and there was great fanfare when it was dedicated and then consecrated. It took a while for pilgrims to arrive en masse, as it were, but in the 11^th century they started to come in even greater numbers, so the building was enlarged to accommodate them. This included the addition of the bell tower and the porch in front of he nave. The chapel was also raised to abbey status at this time. In later years, buildings were also built to house the serving priest, meaning that he could be resident at the church rather than make the tiring journey up the steps painstakingly carved into the rock of the volcanic plug.

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The French are, unsurprisingly, proud of the chapel, It was included in the country’s very first list of historical monuments in 1840. As recently as 2022, it was voted the 4^th favorite monument of the French people in a poll. 1955 was also a landmark year – as it heralded restoration work but also a fantastic discovery. As the work progressed, the marble facing the high altar had to be moved. Below it, workers discovered a previous altar slab made from the local rock. When this, too, was removed it revealed a circular cavity hewn into the volcanic rock – and inside it, a hoard was discovered.

The items found were from the 1000s or early 1100s and included a silver cross, to be worn across the chest, a wooden crucifix in Byzantine style, and an ivory casket containing another silver cross. These, and the other finds, were left beneath the altar. Later, however, they were recovered once more and put on display so that visitors could see the collection of pilgrimage objects, perhaps just before they set off on their own trek.

But old that these discovered objects may be, the story of the rock on which it stands begins far earlier. Around two million years ago, the basin of Puy-en-Velay was covered by an immense lake. Beneath its waters, volcanic eruptions slowly shaped the landscape. As lava forced its way upward, it encountered large quantities of water near the surface. The contact triggered numerous small explosions that shattered the molten rock into fine fragments. These particles quickly fell back into the lake, where they accumulated in layers and gradually fused together.

Over time, this process created a type of rock known as volcanic tuff. Each explosion also caused chunks of rock to collapse within the volcanic chimney. As a result, the rock formation is made up of large slabs that stand almost vertically today, a fragile pile-up of debris that once filled the deep volcanic vent.

Little wonder, that two million years later, Bishop Godescalc peered up at this incredible formation and decided something. If Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of high places, needed a place to rest and to pray, then the towering volcanic plug was the perfect spot.