Content Catnip
Quirky Internet Wunderkammer
Comforting Thought
Bite-sized comfort and spirituality in a turmultuous world
Comforting Thought: The pursuit of our ‘true feelings’ infantilises us
Or to put it more bluntly and less delicately – Fuck your feelings! At least that’s the general idea that I extracted from this quote by Danish philosopher and psychologist Svend Brinkmann. “There is nothing about feelings in themselves that means we must trust them – let alone express them. In an ever-changing cultural situation,Continue reading “Comforting Thought: The pursuit of our ‘true feelings’ infantilises us”
Comforting Thought: ‘Being yourself’ has no intrinsic value whatsoever
It is without a doubt better to be an inauthentic Mother Theresa than to be an authentic Anders Breivik. Indeed, being yourself has no intrinsic value whatsoever. “On the other hand, what does have intrinsic value is fulfilling your obligations to the people around you, with whom you are connected (i.e. doing your duty). WhetherContinue reading “Comforting Thought: ‘Being yourself’ has no intrinsic value whatsoever”
Begin with brokenness, begin again
“Stories have endings, that’s why we tell them, for reassurance that there is meaning our lives. But like a diagnosis, a story can become a prison, a straight road mapped out by the people who went before. Stories are not the truth. Begin with brokenness, begin again. We are not all, not only, the charactersContinue reading “Begin with brokenness, begin again”
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Ancient Word of the Day
Words dredged up from the pelagic zone of language
Ancient word of the day: Cirrocumulus
Origin: 1650s. Cumulus ” a heap, pile, mass, surplus ” in Latin *keue “to swell” in Latin. Cirrocumulus are flocks of fleecy clouds that whisk past us on a glorious spring day. Often their appearance in the evening foretells of a stormy morning the following day. At least thats old shepherd’s wisdom. German Schäfchenwolken: LittleContinue reading “Ancient word of the day: Cirrocumulus”
Ancient Word of the Day: Crudelis
Crudelis: Latin To delight in blood and gore. Over time this word came to mean being vicious and cruel The word Crudelis comes from an even older word in Proto-Indo-European, simply Kru which means blood, gore and viscera. Kru words show up in the English language a lot in association with bloody and awful deaths.Continue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Crudelis”
A history of the world’s languages as a gnarly willow tree
The world’s mother tongues have blended and intermingled since humans first stood upright and emerged out of the primeval forests. Here’s a really awesome family tree beautifully illustrated by Minna Sundberg. Minna is an immensely talented illustrator who has been creating a wonderful tales set in northern Europe for her online web comic Stand Still,Continue reading “A history of the world’s languages as a gnarly willow tree”
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10 Cool Things I Found On the Internet
A weekly palate cleanser of quirky wonder
10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #45
Haere mai and welcome to another edition of the internet-famous 10 Interesting Things edition 45. This week we roll out the red carpet for some mystical delights and delightful folks for your viewing and listening pleasure. Phillip Peris – “Lightning & Thunder” Didjeridu Dreamtime Hypnotic, earthy and mystical music that’s great for focus and concentration…Continue reading “10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #45”
10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #44
Roll-up, roll-up to the bizarre three-ringed circus of 10 Interesting Things, where acrobats breathe fire and things go bump in the night. I hope you enjoy this carnival of weekly delights…. Fairytale images from Yakutia, Siberia by Alexeï Vassiliev I love the ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ vibes of these places and the combination ofContinue reading “10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #44”
10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #43
In the areas between the two hemispheres of your brain there is a cloudy twilight zone where weird things hang out, this is where you will find these random things. I hope you enjoy them! Thank you for reading… Sampson is allowed into the lab, so long as he wears full PPE A Golden RetrieverContinue reading “10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #43”
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Book Reviews
Mind-expanding fantasy, quirky history books and more
Book Review: Colour A Journey by Victoria Alexander
Genre: Non-fiction, Reference Publisher: Murdoch Books Rating: 🌟 This book looked promising from the high-quality appearance of the cover and the imagery in this book. This could be a pleasant coffee table book if you ignore the words. Written by a former fashion editor of Vogue Australia and Cosmopolitan. There is a surface appreciation forContinue reading “Book Review: Colour A Journey by Victoria Alexander”
Book Review: The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction. Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Publisher: Virago Press *No spoilers. This is a magnificent journey into Renaissance Florence that you can sink into like imbibing a glass of Chianti. It’s the story of Alessandra Cecci, a precocious and intelligent 15 year old girl who adores painting and lives in RenaissanceContinue reading “Book Review: The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant”
Art shows us that not all scars are ugly
Art has a strange negotiating ability between people, including people who never meet and yet who infiltrate and enrich each other’s lives. It create intimacys; it does have a way of healing wounds, and better yet of making it apparent that not all wounds need healing and not all scars are ugly.
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Artists, Writers & Musicians In Their Own Words
Unique and inspiring art by interesting people
Artists & Writers in their Own Words: Maria Strutz
Maria Strutz is a German artist, printmaker, sculptor and translator, who lives in the UK. Her art weaves together the magical and liminal worlds of animals, nature, spirits and mythology She has delighted her fans and followers for many years with her unique linocut prints and sculptures that tap into the primeval story of humansContinue reading “Artists & Writers in their Own Words: Maria Strutz”
Artists & Writers in Their Own Words: Jarod K Anderson AKA The Cryptonaturalist
The Cryptonaturalist podcast is the creation of Jarod K Anderson. It’s a completely unique, poetic and quirky fictional podcast in the genre of a classic nature documentary. Yet that’s where its similarity with the known world ends. This is David Attenborough meets The X Files, or Jane Goodall meets Big Foot. In the lingering shadowsContinue reading “Artists & Writers in Their Own Words: Jarod K Anderson AKA The Cryptonaturalist”
Artists & Writers in Their Own Words: Jari Österberg AKA Liuos
Jari Österberg AKA Liuos first became a techno producer in the early 90’s. He became a one-man band with the help of the Amiga 500 computer and produced vast swathes of interesting and experimental techno albums. As years went by, he started to use more hardware and his production started to lean more towards minimalistContinue reading “Artists & Writers in Their Own Words: Jari Österberg AKA Liuos”
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The Natural World
Organisms, real, imagined, extinct and extant.
Ancient Australian megafauna: Procoptodon goliah
I don’t know about you, but large Australian mammals and marsupials have got a special place in my heart. However of all of the large beasties to have lurched around in Australia I am most besotted with animals that have long ago passed into the dusts of yesteryear such as the behemoth 200 kilo ProcoptodonContinue reading “Ancient Australian megafauna: Procoptodon goliah”
Behold the tui: seductive songstress of the shaky isles
This is a bit of a remix. We had a resident tui when we were living in Auckland in 2014 to 2018, she (I prefer to think of her as a she) was very vocal, flirty and beautiful. The Polish Bear got a very impressive Sony camera that was great for these close up shotsContinue reading “Behold the tui: seductive songstress of the shaky isles”
Ecomysticism: The Profound Experience of Nature as Spiritual Guide by Carl Von Essen
Ecomysticism: The Profound Experience of Nature as Spiritual Guide by Carl Von Essen
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Te Ao Māori
All about the indigenous culture of Aotearoa, New Zealand
Kaumātua Wisdom: Raparapa
The spiral begins at the marae which is the forum where every word and the silences in between are heard te whare tangata cycle of birth in the whare nui where Rongo of the peaceful arts ascends and connects us to the universe and nature to the propensity to give, receive and return and toContinue reading “Kaumātua Wisdom: Raparapa”
Words and music: Go East To Your Mountain
Go East of your mountain Where he founded a home Rest there – nothing said Rest there – nothing unsaid Go East beyond the swelling Richness of oil, siphoned To a father of a dying majority You might see the clear water Go east to my fortress There look through my mountain Again see theContinue reading “Words and music: Go East To Your Mountain”
Words and Music: Pets, plants, places and people long for the intimacy of touch
Ka tau te kārohirohi te katoa O te taiao nei I have learned that… Pets, plants and places And people long for The intimacy of the Human touch Kua rongo ake au… Na, tirotiro ana mō te aroha me te rangimārie Mehe e tirotoro ana kei whea te rangimārie ka kitea e Te aroha eContinue reading “Words and Music: Pets, plants, places and people long for the intimacy of touch”
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Content Catnip TV
Transportative videos made by Content Catnip
Travel: Kolejcowo is a cute and creepy version of Poland in miniature
When I was in Poland in 2019, I didn’t hesitate to visit the Kolejcowo in Świebodzki Station in Wrocław. This is the largest model railway in Poland, but also a rather amazing depiction of how life in Poland actually looks. Everything, right down to the petrol stations, graffiti, and the shops actually exists in realContinue reading “Travel: Kolejcowo is a cute and creepy version of Poland in miniature”
Travel: Magnificent Ryoan-ji temple and gardens, Kyoto
Ryōan-ji (meaning the Temple of the Dragon at Peace) is a Zen temple located in Kyoto, Japan. The Ryōan-ji garden is considered one of the finest surviving examples of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles arranged in immaculate linear patterns, designed to facilitateContinue reading “Travel: Magnificent Ryoan-ji temple and gardens, Kyoto”
Travel: Oeshiki Festival of Light, Ikegami Tokyo
Oeskiki is an annual buddhist festival held on the 13th of October that commemorates the death of Nichiren in 1282. He was a revered buddhist teacher who lived during the Kamakura period, about 700 years ago. Although celebrated throughout Japan, the main Oeshiki festival is held at Ikegami Honmonji Temple located in the Ota wardContinue reading “Travel: Oeshiki Festival of Light, Ikegami Tokyo”
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Travel Tales
Nostalgic travel from the time before ‘you know what‘ happened
Cuba Dupa Wellington 2021
Each year at the end of March there is a street festival in Wellington. Cuba Dupa is always vibrant, vibrational and brings out the wild and vivacious side of the little city. Even though I’m a total introvert, strangely enough I really like loud concerts and street festivals where I can dance and have aContinue reading “Cuba Dupa Wellington 2021”
Wellington Walks
Over the summer (which is Christmas and New Year in New Zealand) we were walking nearly every day over the hills and to the beach. Here’s a record of some of these walks. It is a pretty place for nature,hills and beaches Wellington. Although it is not a good idea to swim in the oceanContinue reading “Wellington Walks”
Celestial ceilings and soaring skies in Poland
Poland in the summer is filled with enveloping sunlight, as bright and life affirming as a hug. Vibrant life, bees and flies take a circuitous route through fields of barley, poppies and wheat in the countryside. The air filled with drifting dandelion and pollen. A cacophany of bird song fills the countryside accompanied by aContinue reading “Celestial ceilings and soaring skies in Poland”
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Obscure Music
Unusual little-heard music to inspire creativity
The art of Kulning: Night-scented stock are called in for the long summer evening
Kulning is an ancient, sweet and sorrowful form of Scandinavian music used to herd cows and goats back down from their high mountain pastures in parts of Norway and in certain provinces of Sweden, Jämtland and Härjedalen. In practical use since medieval times, the mysterious tones were also thought to be a deterrent to potential predators like wolvesContinue reading “The art of Kulning: Night-scented stock are called in for the long summer evening”
Awesome low-fi / house / ambient / psychedelic artists from New Zealand
Skip to the end for an amazing playlist of these artists on Youtube Aldous Harding From Christchurch, Aldous Harding is known throughout the world for her strange, unnerving stage presence and her delicate and yet raw brand of folk. She’s quite enigmatic and unlike any other artist. You may take a while to warm toContinue reading “Awesome low-fi / house / ambient / psychedelic artists from New Zealand”
Laid back self-isolation mix #1
Hi my friends. I am going to start doing semi-regular playlists of music that are laid back, joyful, soul warming. Music that will help you to get through hard times in self-isolation, particularly if you are separated from those you love, or if you are feeling lonely. These mixes will be eclectic styles – house,Continue reading “Laid back self-isolation mix #1”
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Quirky History
Lesser-known morsels of olden day stuff
Otherworldly and Abandoned Soviet Monuments
These sculptures and old buildings before the end of the Cold War era look futuristic and strange. Some structures demonstrate the military might of Russia. While others are scintillating, harshly modern, and located in beautiful forested landscapes. These monuments are artistic and architectural wonders. Could these lost and forgotten objects ever be revived and resurrected, albeitContinue reading “Otherworldly and Abandoned Soviet Monuments”
Beautiful maps & beautiful Welsh tales: The Mabinogion
The Mabinogion is a magical and mythical Celtic classic from the thirteenth century or earlier. It’s thoroughly Welsh and is considered a masterpiece of medieval literature. Although written down during the middle ages, experts think these stories may date from the dawn of Celtic civilisation in Britain. The Mabinogion has given rise to all ofContinue reading “Beautiful maps & beautiful Welsh tales: The Mabinogion”
Japan’s 72 gossamer-light and poetic microseasons
The traditional seasons in Japan are marked out by impercetibly small changes in nature across 72 miniature seasons in a year, each lasting 5 days and reflecting the fleeting, impermanent and diaphanous beauty of nature and all of its wonders. There are 24 divisions or sekki in the calendar that are split into 72 kōContinue reading “Japan’s 72 gossamer-light and poetic microseasons”
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