A House Fit For A Frog

This is what happens when I attempt a small home renovation.

Allow me to introduce you to the most ridiculous yet amazing thing you will see this week. pic.twitter.com/MHlGmz9Ph2

— fragrance and foolishness (@Brieyonce) February 27, 2023

Via DasKraftfuttermischwerk

It Came From Outer Space…

This reminds me of the Flying Saucer Restaurant in Niagara Falls, Canada.

NFB Women at the Oscars

In 2016, the National Film Board of Canada launched a pioneering gender parity initiative and has maintained its commitment to ensuring that half of its productions are directed by women and half of its key creative positions -screenwriting, editing, sound mixing, cinematography - are filled by women.

Flamenco at 5:15 by Cynthia Scott is a favourite of mine. Produced by Studio D, the women's studio of the NFB, the film won an Oscar in 1984 for Documentary Short Subject.

Flamenco at 5:15,  provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Read more about award winning films by women at NFB Blog

All the Trees

This audiovisual installation by @joanielemercier combines laser art with real trees. It will be shown in public spaces, parks, gardens, nature and forests.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VISUAL FODDER (@visual.fodder)

via Boing Boing

Mandala

Art Clokey was a pioneer in the popularization of stop-motion clay animation, best known as the creator of the character Gumby. He and his daughter  Ann were working on Mandala when she witnessed a friend's death from a lightning strike after which she took her own life at the age of 19. The film is dedicated to her memory.

via Perfect for Roquefort Cheese 

RIP Gordon Pinsent

 

Cartoon by Michael de Adder

Gordon Pinsent, Canadian acting icon and renaissance man, died on Saturday. It was said that one could listen all night as he read the phone book. Below is a video of him reading 16-year-old Justin Bieber's "autobiography" for This Hour Has 22 Minutes. It's hilarious.

 

Video via Alan Parker

Baby Rhinos

 

The sound baby rhinos make voice their displeasure (they drank all their milk)
by u/Deamonfart in interestingasfuck

Balloon-Wheeled Citroen DS, 1959

In the October 1959 catalog Citroen’s communication department wanted to highlight the car's hydropneumatic suspension.

More:  Vintage Everyday

Montréal, Snowbec

This film by Ezra Soiferman shows the ballet-like snow-clearing operations of the city’s mammoth plows as they prowl Montreal's 10,000 kilometres of streets and sidewalks, taking endless dump truck loads to gargantuan municipal dumps.

via Metafilter

Lavatory Lovestory

A charming little animation by Bellerofonte.

Via everlasting blort 

Hiding out In The Open

Something new from Feist! Multitudes, out April 14, is the musician’s first record in six years.

Sunday Links

Image: Aude Guerrucci/Reuters

Snow covers beaches and the Hollywood sign in a rare California snowstorm (photo above). See more at the New York Times link

Read The Tiddler, a very short story by Charlie Gilmour. (via Web Curios)

Guitar Made from IKEA Furniture Sounds Amazing

Canadian Super Pigs are migrating south from Canada and could pose new problems for the U.S.’s problematic pig population.

International Dark Sky Sanctuaries are designed to increase awareness of these fragile sites and promote their long-term conservation. There are just seventeen of them in the world.

If You Give a Bear Cocaine: He’ll check himself into a rehab center called Think Pawsitive. He’ll get clean and go to group sessions and talk about his father, who went viral after breaking into a house and playing piano on a security camera, how the press called his father “Bear-thoven,” and how that put a lot of pressure on him when he was growing up.

Cute: When you leave the potatoes in the bag for a month

Mouth actor demonstrates how different actors reveal their teeth to speak.

You can buy Ferris Bueller's 1961 250 California Spyder replica.

Mariposa Gets Feist, Tegan and Sara, Rufus Wainwright for 2023 Festival It's been a long time since my last Mariposa concert. The lineup for this year's festival is stellar! 

Giant Clothespin Bench designed by Matheson Woodwork features a painted non-functioning spring assembly. Prices start at $8,250.

Inland Iglu helps you build the ultimate winter ice fort.

The Invisible House in Joshua Tree is for sale but you probably can't afford it. 

Kathryn Beaumont Modeling for Alice in Wonderland (1951)  Via Memo Of The Air

A 5,000-year-old tavern with food still inside was discovered in Lagash, Iraq, a 1,000-acre archaeological site that was was one of the largest and oldest cities in all of southern Mesopotamia.

The real story behind fish Fridays: lust, lies and empire

Centuries ago many Britons paid their rent in eels. An interactive map shows the places where eel-rents appear in the historical record. (via everlasting blort)

How to Quit Just About Anything for Lent (Or Just Because) Via Memo Of The Air

Shake Shacks: In the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the government built 5,610 "earthquake shacks" to help resident weather the winter months.

Portraits famous photographers have taken of their partners

Listen to James Joyce read "Anna Livia Plurabelle" from his frustratingly complex masterpiece Finnegans Wake (1939) 

Music For Sunday Morning

When Covid was going full-throttle we had a trip to Scotland planned and a Gregory Porter concert was one of the highlights. We were so disappointed when it was cancelled.

Let It Be

In an unlikely collaboration stars from the 80s and 90s perform the Beatles song Let It Be for Norwegian TV.

via everlasting blort 

The Impossible Architecture of Étienne-Louis Boullée

18th century architect Étienne-Louis Boullée became famous for his designs that were never realized.

via Aeon Videos

The Fallen of World War II

The Fallen of World War II by Neil Halloran looks at the human cost of the second World War.

Via Kottke

All That Breathes - Trailer

Two brothers rescue birds of prey falling from the polluted skies of Delhi. The film won best documentary at Sundance and Cannes and is nominated at the Baftas and the Oscars.

In Their Own Words

“In Their Own Words” by artist Phil Vance is an exploration of one of the oldest art forms, the portrait, with the subjects rendered in their own quotes.

Via Kottke

Anatomy of a Scene From The Banshees of Inisherin

Director Martin McDonagh narrates a crucial scene from his Oscar-nominated film.

Dool-Hoff

This 1705 maze (Dool-hoff), signed by the Dutch Catholic printer Claes Braau explores "the labyrinth of God’s mysteries". Ezekiel’s vision of New Jerusalem is at its centre.

Read more: The Public Domain Review

Fantastical Mantises

These images of praying mantises by wildlife photographer Pang Way look otherworldly. 

More: Design You Trust 

Photo of the day

This dramatic image by travel and aerial photographer Alex Visbal was taken from a small Cessna plane. It shows the meeting of Icelandic braided glacial rivers. 

Read More: Smithsonian Magazine

What Fictional Couples' Kids Would Look Like

Artist Hidreley Leli Diao has created a set of AI portraits that show the hypothetical children of actors who have played couples on screen.

Sandy Olsson And Danny Zuko from Grease

 

Wednesday Addams and Tyler Galpin from Wednesday

See More: PetaPixel

Preparing 50,000 Meals Every Day

Singapore airlines makes 50,000 in-flight meals a day. Antony McNeil is their food and beverage director. His challenge is to develop meals that can regenerate well in small aircraft ovens while still tasting good.

Via Miss Cellania

Tiny 'powdered' wigs for cats

These Barrister and Marie Antoinette cat hats are super cute. Which do you prefer? Patterns for both  are available as instant downloads from Patricia of Oona Patterns on Etsy.

Via Boing Boing

Maneki-Neko Factory

A visit to the Umetsuki Tomimoto Doll Garden factory where most of the ceramic maneki-neko (Lucky Cats) sold in Japan are made.

Transfiguration

An ever-evolving walking figure, with a foley-based soundtrack by Simon Pyke.

Via Facebook friend Daniel.

Bow Gamelan Ensemble

With instruments made from rusted metal and other rubbish, the group of three artists explored the potential to salvage art from abandoned infrastructure.

Via bookofjoe

Sunday Links

(Kaushik Vijayan / SWNS.com)

In Malabar there are multicoloured squirrels that are 36 inches long!

The NYT compiled a list of  Tweets That Show How Twitter Changed the World 

Tatiana at the Beach - Beautiful autochromes by artist  Ernest-Louis Lessieux

The secret diary of Sir Boyd Tunnock. He’s Scotland’s most famous baker and, at 90, he shows no sign of slowing down. (via MeFi)

The Ruin and Revival of the City that Built America Do you know which city it is?

All the Tardises (via Memo Of The Air)

An explainer of all the key facts you need to know about the Neom development in Saudi Arabia and its megacity The Line.

There were no open doors or windows. No signs of a struggle to escape. Not an owl dropping in sight. Just a big barred owl sitting on the sofa.

Water Silk: A seal pup's journey from abandonment to independence.

167-year-old shipwreck carrying rare ceramics gains historical protection

InspiroBot helps to skewer the concept of inspirational quotes, with an automated bot that creates random quotes over cliche stock images.

In 2016 Moffat became the first European town to receive International Dark Sky Place certification. People with lanterns guide travellers through the dark streets, as was done in Victorian times and donate the tips they get to charity.  Read more.

The Nova Scotia roots of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song via my friend Alan.

A beautifully restored Art Deco public lavatory in Paris.

Humourist David Sedaris talks about Happy-Go-Lucky, his new collection of autobiographical essays.

Stunning photographs of Pagodas Around Myanmar 

Large collection of stews from around the world (via TMN)

Japanese Maki Chair has a tunnel for cats to explore.

Photographer Captures Awesome Images of Hong Kong's Gigantic Buildings

Music For Sunday Morning

Elis Regina was perhaps the biggest Brazilian popstar of her time. She
died from an alcohol and cocaine overdose in 1982, 36 years of age. 

The Best Seats At The Colosseum Back In The Day

 

  Source

Big Tree

Source

Yesterday I saw this Giant Pohutukawa in Praça 5 Outubro in Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal. It was planted in 1870. Below is a closeup of the massive trunk.

Image: Marilyn Bellamy

Raquel Welch: a life in pictures

 See more: The Guardian

A Great Discovery For Some But An Unfortunate Travel Story For Others

 In 1923 the archaeological team of Howard Carter broke into the tomb of Tutankhamen.Ten days later Carter postponed the dig and had the doorway blocked with tonnes of sand to spare the excavators from working in the brutal heat of summer. 

This must have come as an unwelcome surprise to 250 American tourists who had just set off for Luxor on the SS Adriatic to view the tomb.

Via Perfect for Roquefort Cheese

Making a Go Board from A Log

The world’s oldest game, made the old-fashioned way.

Via Aeon Videos

The World's Smallest Working 3D Printer

This 3D printer by My N Mi measures just 18 x 31 x 41 mm

via The Awesomer 

Si Tu Vois Ma Mère (Sidney Bechet)

A beautiful composition from one of the greats of the early Jazz age.

Flying Down the Side of the World's Tallest Skyscraper

André Larson gives us a drone's-eye view of what it's like to fly down the side of the 2717-foot-tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

via  The Awesomer 

Avalanche And Landslide

From "Settler" - the new Malcolm MacWatt album. With special guests Gretchen Peters, Eliza Carthy, Kris Drever, Laura Cantrell and Jaimee Harris.

Colourized Tap Dance Scene

The Nicholas Brothers' tap dance scene from the movie "Stormy Weather" (1943).

Salmon Cannon

The "salmon cannon", created by Whoosh Innovations, has been around since 2014 but I've only just discovered it. It's a fish handling and transfer system that assists in helping salmon and other migrating fish over dams and structures.

All That Breathes - Trailer

An exploration of humankind’s connection to wildlife and climate change.

via kottke

Flipped Shots In Movies

To flip or not to flip? Does it actually improve a scene, or is it better to leave it alone?

 

Via DOOBYBRAIN.COM

The Drum Beat That Changed Hip Hop Forever

How a 20-second drum loop became one of the most popular sounds in music history.

Via Kraftfuttermischwerk

The Kiffness x Snore Dog

via Memo Of The Air

Heartless Romantic

À propos Valentines Day

Carmen - Marilyn Face Swap

Petswitch puts your face on your pet. The one (above) of me morphed with my cat, Carmen, is truly terrifying.  Not as terrifying as this image posted on  BoingBoing though:

Dave Grohl's Shout Out To Canada

In a Super Bowl ad for Crown Royal Canadian whisky Dave Grohl thanks Canada for many wonderful things. Peanut butter. The paint roller. Poutine. The replay. The walkie. The battery. The egg carton. The ironing board. The electric wheelchair. Hawaiian pizza. Instant potatoes. Canola oil. Trash bags. Hockey. Basketball. And even Football…

The World's Most Democratic Countries

The Economist has mapped out the country rankings of the Democracy Index in its article The World's Most, and Least, Democratic Countries. On this map authoritarian regimes are colored red and democratic countries are colored blue. If you hover over a country on the map you can view its Democracy Index score and its overall ranking.

via Maps Mania

A Tea-Break T-Shirt for Charles Darwin's Birthday

The Imaginary Foundation  celebrated Darwin Day (Feb 12) with new artwork and apparel honouring the naturalist's life and work.

"As Charles Darwin sipped his steaming cup of tea, his mind was brimming with revolutionary ideas that would change the scientific world. The warmth of the beverage seemed to invigorate his thoughts, fueling his deep contemplation of the mysteries of life and its origins. He reflected on the countless hours he spent observing nature, collecting specimens, and studying species diversity. As he gazed out of the window at the lush landscape of his home in Down House, a wave of epiphany swept over him. He realized that species were not static, but instead evolved over time through the process of natural selection."

Via Boing Boing

Drawing by Hergé sells at auction for record £1.9m

Hergé’s drawing for the cover of Tintin in America (1946) . Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images

An artwork by Tintin creator Hergé has set the world record for the most valuable original black and white drawing by the artist after selling at auction for more than €2m.

Cat Women of the Moon (1953)

Astronauts travel to the moon where they discover it is inhabited by attractive women.

Via Miss Cellania

Puritan Valentine's Day Cards

More: Imgur

It's Super Bowl Sunday

(I don't even know which teams are playing)

A cartoon by Sophie Lucido Johnson and Sammi Skolmoski.

 #NewYorkerCartoons

Music For Sunday Morning

Sunday Links

Egyptian Cat Mummy (above)

For those who like football: Top 15 SNL Superbowl Skits 

Clarallel: Plug in your name and it will spit out a tune. (via WebCurios)

How a furniture conservator helped crack the code of Ice Age cave art Scientists say they have begun to decipher the symbols on Ice Age cave art — and it all started with a hunch by an enthusiastic layperson.

The first YouTube video was posted on April 24, 2005. To date it has 255 million views and remains the only video on the user's account.

Baby Map A light flashes on the map every time a baby is born in a country (via Miss Cellania)

Can an RC-PLANE cross the Atlantic? (Thanks Bruce!)

Habitat 67 by Safdie Architects is an iconic structure in Montreal that was originally built for the 1967 world exposition in the city which is still considered to be one of the most successful World's Fairs of the 20th century. Here's what a $1,350,000 Condo in the building looks like.

The most comprehensive photobooth resource on the internet: Photobooth.net 

via Rusty's Electric Dreams

The Complete Master List of Palindrome Baby Names (via Miss Cellania)

A lawsuit filed against London's Tate Modern by nearby residents say the gallery's viewing platform violates their privacy. The court agreed that "living in such circumstances would feel for any ordinary person – much like being on display in a zoo.” Ten buildings that became embroiled in legal battles

Business Vulnerable, Fish Tank Chic, Traffic Court Casual? Wedding Dress Codes to Befuddle Your Guests (via Perfect for Roquefort Cheese)

The Smoker by Ottessa Moshfegh, one of my favourite writers.

The great European house cat migration Domestic cat bones around 8,000 years old have recently been found in both Serbia and Poland. This pushes back the arrival in Europe of one of humanity’s earliest companion animals by several thousands of years.

Wilco's Jeff Tweedy will be publishing a book about his 50 favorite songs.

A rare comet, a super blue moon, several spectacular meteor showers and more  Celestial Events to See in 2023

The Norwegian Lundeund was bred to hunt puffins.

Fodor's List of Destinations you might want to avoid in 2023 because people are ruining them.

Veterinarian mental health: The story of Lacey, and why I had to kill her.

Baroque Wigs Tiny ships sail on whimsical paper wigs.

The newest Tokyo Toilet addition in Japan (via Things Magazine)

Open Letter To Stephen Frye

(A repost from 2011)

"On YouTube, one of the highest compliments you can pay someone is telling them that you want to have their babies. This song isn’t necessarily about that. I adore Stephen Fry, and think that our gene pool would be better with his traits running around in it."

Backward Car

In the 1970s artist Philip (now Pippa) Garner converted a '59 Chevy into a fully drivable "backward car" by flipping the body of the car around so that the back became the front. 

Cardboard Truck

Papercrafter DanCreator transformed an RC Bugatti into a cardboard truck to carry tiny cardboard boxes.

via

Blind Date with The Beatles' John Lennon

John Lennon reviews the singles of January 1964.

See reviews by George, Paul and Ringo at  Open Culture

Drone

A malfunction at a CIA press event causes a Predator drone installed with an ethical AI personality to go rogue.

Via Webcurios

Nightmarish Underwater Dioramas

Japanese artist Thalasso hobbyer creates Nightmarish Underwater Monster Dioramas using resin sculptures.  Each video in the series will be part of a longer story. The video below shows the sculpting of a DUNKLEOSTEUS:

Rainbow Connection

Nerdist's mashup of Benoit Blanc (the detective from the Knives Out film series) and The Great Muppet Caper.

Via Kottke

Pimlico Cat

From Dubai to Suffolk via the Victoria line tunnels at Pimlico Tube station: Mr Jingles made quite the journey to get to his forever home.

 

Read More: BBC

Nature Portals

Nature Portals is a lovely, hypnotic video by Marcos Kay.

Aran Islands 1929

The 19th century lifestyles of the Aran Islanders, AI colourized and upscaled to 4K 60fps resolution with added sound.

(The Banshees of Inisherin was filmed recently on Inishmore, the largest of the islands.)

Singing Dogs

New Guinea Singing Dog
Image credit: Patti McNeal / Wikimedia Commons

Our sweet Liz (2004-2023)
Image: Marilyn Bellamy

Often when we were walking our old dog, Liz, people would ask what breed she was. Harold always replied (jokingly) that she was a New Guinea Singing Dog, the world's rarest canine. It is estimated that only 200-300 of these animals are in existence today. Our dear dog died earlier this week at the ripe old age of 19. Of course we are terribly sad but our friends have supported us with kind condolences over the past few days. Sally who walked her dog, Parker, with Harold and Liz every day for years made a thoughtful donation in Liz's name to a centre that rescues primitive dog breeds, including New Guinea Singing Dogs. Although Liz did not vocalize much she certainly bore a striking physical resemblance to the breed as you will see in the pictures above.

Customer states their vehicle sounds like...

My car is so quiet I sometimes forget to turn it off until a beep reminds me.

   

 (Thanks Bruce!)

Donks

An exploration of ocean plastic, avatars and adaptive bottom feeders.

via everlasting blort 

This Girl Blew My Mind

Amazing seven-year-old Molly Wright gives a TED Talk on the benefits of play on lifelong learning. 

via Rusty's Electric Dreams

St. John's Newfoundland

 

via Troisieme Lence

Dans l’ombre (In the Shadow)

Fabrice Mathieu wrote this fantasy film noir around shadowy clips from more than 60 movies. The story is narrated from the shadow's point of view.

via Miss Cellania

The Voice Actress

The voice acting world is changing and Kingyo, a veteran voice actress, must find a way to adapt to the modern industry.

Cat Harpist

A terracotta figurine of a cat playing the harp. From Egypt, Roman period, late 1st century AD.

 

On display at Museum August Kestner, Hannover.

Socializing Feral Kittens

Photo: Marilyn Bellamy

I'm posting a how-to video on socializing feral kittens from the Flatbush Cats rescue but first I thought I'd share a personal story: My cat Carmen appeared in my yard almost 5 years ago. She was about 10 weeks old but afraid of people and very feisty. I sat on the porch each morning about 6am with a saucer of kibble which I moved closer to me every day until I was feeding her from my hand.  One day there was a huge thunder clap and she ran into the house through an open door. I closed the door behind her and watched as she wreaked havoc on the house. Eventually I was able to direct her into the sun porch where she lived with lots of toys and food for a couple of weeks while I attempted to socialize her. It was a major task and she still distrusts most people but she has turned into a wonderful pet. My intention was to find a home for her but, when the time came, I found I couldn't part with her. Above is a photo of her during her "Carmen Verandah" days.

  

Via Miss Cellania