Join me this week for a hypnotic aural journey into Polish Drum & Bass, debunk some boomer memes, uncover the rudest sounding town names in America, dozens of abandoned mini castles in Turkey and much much more!
A Steampunk Plantyflutesizer by Bichopalo
The Plantyflutesizer by Bichopalo is a charmingly inventive musical instrument that blurs the line between horticulture and melody. Part art piece, part botanical orchestra, the contraption harnesses the electrical conductivity of plant leaves to activate array of flutes and percussive elements, all powered by a network of pumps. The result is a whimsical and surprising interaction that turns a gentle leaf touch into a symphony.
A Cat’s Eye View of Japan: Hokkaido
Amerigo Gazaway – Strange Moods
Another funky, 70s sounding soul track from master producer Amerigo Gazaway
Polish band Cheap Tobacco blow up on YouTube
PB and I saw Cheap Tobacco late one night in a basement jazz venue in Kraków. Their female vocalist Nathalia Kwiatkowa reminded me of Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I think she sang Janis Joplin that night and she did an amazing job. She totally blew my mind with her live performance – it was raw, bluesy and totally electrifying. Anyway that was about 10 years ago and they had almost no following then. I happened to see on YT this video of their had over 200K views…YAY for them!
Managing your moods during a difficult news cycle
Instead of doomscrolling…do this. Via Badger0us on Mastodon
An Evening on the North Shore by Clarence Gagnon
“An Evening on the North Shore” by Canadian artist Clarence Gagnon is a visual ode to tranquility, encapsulating the tranquil charm of rural Quebec. The painting invites us to pause and savour the quietude and beauty of our natural surroundings. Via Francisco Ribeiro on Twitter
Debunking Boomer Memes!
Amazing historian J Draper does some digging into media archives to debunk some common and slightly racist generalisations of the Boomer generation
Porn-ready names of American towns
Why you should wear folk headscarves
A delightful new Youtube find for me is Pretty Shepherd who is all about celebrating Slavic and Hungarian folkloric traditions through her sartorial choices and particularly how she does her hair with colourful headscarves. I enjoy seeing these kinds of traditional ways becoming more popular through these channels.
A visualisation of Pi making pretty fractals
This is rather beautiful and hypnotic. Any given oscillation and point on this fractal paused could be a beautiful design pattern for artwork I think. Found via Reddit
Polish Ambient Drum & Bass
Anything with a smiling whale on the cover gets my seal of approval. The mix is incredibly relaxing!
The strange abandoned mini castles of Burj Al Babas in Turkey
Nestled in the blue-rimmed mountains of Turkey’s Mudurnu valley, the Burj Al Babas could easily be mistaken for a fantastical film set. There are rows of totally identical, battered and half finished mini-castles. The ambitious development project was poised to fuse modern luxury with the charm of historical architecture, designed for aspiring magnates. These 732 chalets stand sentry as an eerie tableau of halted construction and unfulfilled dreams. Now a fascinating and offbeat tourist attraction.
Linocut Print Making
A guide from a mastercraftswoman at the V&A museum
The Roman Ruins in Schönbrunn by Carl Moll (1891)
A physical exam of George an adopted kitten mascot from Battleship North Carolina, 1944
“I pulled George out of the bay at Noumea. The Ship’s photographer made up a liberty card for him. George lived with me in the Lighting Shop for over a year and went over the hill when we reached Seattle.”
Ed Cope, Battleship North Carolina
Found via Reddit and learn about other seafaring cats here and here.
Did you enjoy this collection? let me know what you think of it below. Thank you for reading my dear friends!
Content Catnip 
What lovely distractions from my workday…I mean, things to watch on my free time of course 😉
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Hehehe I am so glad to provide these distractions to you dear River
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You never know what’s out there on the Internet until you stumbled upon it! Doom scrolling is something I do and sometimes it’s a way for me to switch off from my problems in real life, and be more aware of what’s out there. Then again, that can lead to too many hours on the phone or consuming too much heavy news can be anxiety-inducing. I like what the infographic says – turn off notifications, and I normally have just a handful of apps which I have notifications on.
The boomer memes was entertaining. Fascinating how ‘brown bread was something only poor people ate’ was an idea at some point. These days glad that we have a more diverse view of food and nutrition – and bread comes in all shapes and colours.
Those castles in Burj Al Babas look fascinating. They look identical and such a sight to look at!
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Thank you so much Mabel for reading and for your thoughtful comments on this. I’m so glad you enjoyed this post.
Yes doomscrolling can be tempting I agree but makes you feel bad afterwards. Anxiety-inducing is a good way to describe it and it makes me feel this way too. I turn off all notifications to give myself a break too. That historian on Youtube who did that video had a lot of other amusing ones too…worth a follow.
So glad you enjoyed these dear Mabel, big hugs 🫂
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Too much of anything is not ideal. With doomscrolling you really can go really deep down the rabbit hole. I think browsing the internet for too long in a sitting can also have the same effect 😄 Balance is key. Thank you for sharing 🫂
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Thank you as always for your insightful and kind comments Mabel 😊
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