If you were on a hiking trip and found something
suspiciously extraterrestrial, you would take it home and try to find out more
about it, wouldn’t you? It’s perhaps a
little bit of a trope, but it nevertheless forms the basis of this hugely
enjoyable short film starring Steven Yeun and Sam Richardson. Both of them put in excellent performances
but – at the same time – looked a little younger than I remember them from their recent projects.
Crash Site was directed and edited by Jason Sperling and written
by Miles Brandman.I enjoyed the director’s
note on YouTube which says tells us that no AI was used in the film but not for the reasons that you might imagine. Also, that it
was created back in 2013. That would at
least explain why I thought both actors looked young in this!
This is awesome.
Throughout our history, our perception of dinosaurs – the “terrible
lizards” of the title, has evolved according to our understanding of these prehistoric
beasts. This animation tells a single story, but the animation changes to show the various forms of
dinosaur depictions that have come about throughout the few short centuries since they first siezed our collective imagination.
It was created by David James Armsby, a Scottish animator, artist
and filmmaker.Armsby is an autodidact
when it comes to animation.He started experimenting
at the age of 16 and through a process of trial and error he learned how to
create his own films.I think I will end
this short post with his own words, so you can then get on with watching this amazing
short.
"Terrible Lizards is my own personal tribute to all
things palaeontology, paleoart, and paleo-media throughout the past two
centuries, and our ever-evolving understanding of these ancient and fascinating
animals.”
Slow Light was written and directed by Kijek / Adamski - that’s Kasia Kijek and Przemek Adamski. Based in Poland, they design and direct animated films
where technique and storytelling are inseparable and when you watch their
work, you’ll notice how carefully those elements are interwoven.
Take Slow Light, for example, their latest
stop-motion short. The animation itself feels alive with meaning. It
tells the story of a man whose sight is delayed by seven years, so he
experiences life out of sync with the present moment. The film is haunting,
beautiful, and intricately crafted and like all their work, it blends visual
ingenuity with emotional clarity.
Like all their projects, Slow Light was built from the ground up, with a focus on
strong visual concepts, smart use of materials, and a clear narrative arc. From
concept through to final render, they handle each stage of production
themselves, ensuring every frame feels purposeful and every story lands just
right. I have to admit, on first viewing I found Slow Light a little perplexing but here's the thing: I couldn't stop watching it. It's a melancholic story and if you're looking for a simplistic happy ending, don't bother (don't get me wrong, I love simplistic happy endings, but that is not what Slow Light is about at all).
At its core, Slow Light explores alienation, memory, and the passage of time - themes deeply rooted in the Polish cultural psyche. The protagonist’s delayed vision, where he only sees the present seven years after it occurs, creates a painful disconnection from the world. He witnesses joy, love, and tragedy long after the moment has passed. This narrative is quietly tragic, mirroring the longing and loss common in many traditional Polish tales.
If you haven't yet seen Slow Light, it’s well worth
your time. You're not just watching an animation. You're witnessing how time,
memory, and vision can be sculpted by hand. Watch it below.
Even when you know that the area in which you live is prone to earthquakes, perhaps the last thing you might expect is a volcano in the back yard. Yet these are not the volcanoes we see in Hollywood movies. Neither are they the mud volcanoes which occur near geysers. These are something quite different. These are sand volcanoes.
A sand volcano usually occurs after an earthquake. It is formed when sand is thrown up to the surface from a central position. As the sand is ejected it builds up in to a cone, taking on the appearance of a volcano as the sand comes to rest on its sides. A crater forms which can range in size from the tiny, just a few milimeters, to one which can extend to several meters.
Gistory is a relatively new YouTube channel, launched in
January this year. Despite its recent arrival, it’s quickly gaining a
reputation for producing delightfully absurd animated history videos that
recount real – but sometimes scarcely believable - events. Happen they did, however.
The most recent animated short is about America’s plan,
during World War II, to develop bat bombs to help in the fight against Japan.It was something of a farce from the start
and stretches credibility to the max but a quick check of the Wikipedia page
about it will prove to you that yes, this absolutely happened.I won’t say anything more about this
particular slice of history (except maybe that it was batsh*t bonkers) as the
animation will explain everything..
I will definitely be featuring more work by Gistory on
Kuriositas.This is an entertaining
short, ideal for both young people wanting to learn more about offbeat history
in a fun way and adults who enjoy quirky takes on lesser-known historical
events. Watch the story of the bat bombs below.
Do you have a dinosaur mad child? Then, show them these. You won’t see Rhymesaurus or Limerickodon or even a
Musephyll in this collection of short poems… Even so, Jurassic Limericks was
probably inevitable at some point in time (lots of people are probably wondering why they didn't think of it, now). No, these are the real deal. There's Triceratops, Pteradactyl, Troodon and others, all with their own limerick. Founded several years ago as a
theatre and media company, CarryTale is now stepping into the spotlight with
this exciting new venture, bringing to life playful dinosaur-inspired limericks
through vibrant 15-second animated shorts. With creativity rooted in family fun
and poetic whimsy, this new series invites viewers young and old to embark on a
joyful journey where dinosaurs and poetry collide.
Jurassic Limericks originated from a playful game of
creating spontaneous limericks and poems inspired by dinosaurs, enjoyed with founder
Jeremy Baker’s children. These imaginative verses were then accompanied by
original dinosaur-themed drawings. Now, these creations have been transformed
into 15-second animated shorts. If you are going to do things as a family, you might as well go the whole hog...
And, as I also went to university with Jeremy, a shameless plug to
celebrate the launch of CarryTale Studio’s new YouTube channel is in order. A
new Jurassic Limerick video will be released each day over the course of a
week. Fans and young dinosaur enthusiasts alike are invited to enjoy and share
these delightful animated shorts.Watch
them below and let us know which is your favourite.
Almost everyone who has ever failed their driving test has
some kind of excuse. I cannot calculate the amount of “I should have passed”
stories I have sat through – often regaled in excruciatingly minute detail –
recounting the reasons why they should really, honestly, absolutely have
passed. And the excuses that they come
up with! Yet, here’s one story about
potential failure that I wouldn’t mind hearing (except I’ve already watched
it).
Student Accomplice is tells the story of a nervous teen who
is in the middle of her driving test when she gets caught up in a robbery, with
the villain of the piece choosing her car as his getaway vehicle.Suspending your disbelief for a moment,
prepare to do it for several minutes as the high-speed chase (through what
looks like San Francisco) unfolds.
This highly enjoyable animated short was created by a group
of students at Brigham Young University (BYU) while studying at its Animation School.It was directed by Spencer Baird and produced
by Briele Hanson, with art direction by Brandon Beltran.Many more students, too numerous to name
here, were included in the making of Student Accomplice. Hats off to them all!
Fukuoka City is Japan's youngest major city and has Japan's
fastest growing population.Even so, it
has a history that goes back at least 1500 years – it just took its time getting
big.It is also the closest Japanese port
city to mainland Asia and its local culture and population reflects that.This amazing hyperlapse of the city shows it
off perfectly – a fascinating five minute snapshot from a place that many
outside of Japan haven’t really heard of.The video also contains a glimpse of two of the intriguing Yamakasa
festival (pictured above) that is held every year in July.
In case you wonder, as I did, why a hyperlapse about a city
called Fukuoka has so many signs that seem to indicate that we are in a place
called Hakata, there is a good reason for this. Hakata was once a city in its
own right, but has been subsumed into Fukuoka as the latter became larger.The two cities became one in 1878 but it is
still thought of, in many ways, as a city within a city.
You would be forgiven for thinking that the vibrant, perhaps lurid, colors of the Morning Glory Pool in the Upper Geyser Basin of the Yellowstone National Park in the US were completely natural. After all, it has been a popular tourist destination for tourists for many a decade. However, only five decades ago the pool was a completely different color. Cue much scratching of heads.Image Credit Flickr User alh1
Sometimes, you come across something so perplexingly, brilliantly, deliriously
and completely whole, you wonder two things.You
wonder how and when the idea
sprang into existence.Then you wonder
why it took this long to make it to the rest of us.Such is the case with We’re Kinda Different
by Ben Meinhardt (with artistic direction and trumpet playing by his young
son).
It tells the story of a little fella who has been born with
his butt underneath his face.This three
minute musical interlude introduces us to his world and tells us how he came to
terms with his condition – even though he thinks he needs to get checked out by
a doctor.I think this should be
compulsory viewing for teenagers who are so enveloped and overwhelmed by the
beauty standards they have imposed on them by the internet (yes, that was a bit
lazy of me), that this might serve as a reminder that they, too, are kinda different
in a special way – their own way.We’re Kinda
Different conveys a very powerful message in possibly the silliest way
imaginable, but that does not detract from its point.
One of my father’s favourite sayings was “Blessed be the
cracked, for they let in the light.”I never
thought that it could become even more of a layered statement than it already
is, but there you go.This little fella
has certainly let a little more light into my day - through his particular crack, as it were...
Sometimes, you just can’t get the staff. When you work for MIB as a field agent, the
main aim of the job is to protect humanity from any threat posed by aliens – but
also to provide refuge for any seeking to immigrate or to seek asylum. The two agents at the heart of MIB: Neuralize This! get it wrong on virtually
every conceivable level… but the viewer has a lot of fun on the way.
The production values here are pretty high – it’s sometimes
difficult to distinguish this fan film from the real thing.It has an alien incident, action, lots of
action (it starts in media res, so you need to understand the Men in Black universe to
an extent) and, most importantly for me, tight plotting and scripting.It’s a self-contained MIB incident with a
very satisfying end (well, not for the alien, perhaps).But the fact that it is so well
self-contained – a MIB vignette as it were – is its greatest strength, though
hats off to director and writer Martin Sofiedal for the atmosphere, VFX and
pace of this seven minute short.There
is no self-indulgence here, which can be a flaw of so many fam-made homages.
A mention for the
cast, too.Despite the brevity of the
film, they all bring their characters to life in this short time.The agents seem to know each other’s
shortcomings well, which might indicate that they have worked together for
quite a while – although I am not entirely convinced that their success rates
will have them on the office leaderboard.You might feel sorry for the alien, who isn’t given much of a chance to
explain itself, but perhaps the human witnesses get the rawest deal – watch the
film to see why!
(This short is not affiliated with Sony or the official Men
in Black franchise. It is a not-for-profit fan film.)Get yourself a cuppa, press play below and
have a fun seven minutes.
Have you ever seen a photograph from decades ago and almost refused
to believe that it is so old. So it was
with this one. While researching an
upcoming article for Kuriositas on Flickr’s The Commons (where various organisations
upload their archive pictures) I came across the picture above. Of course, it is in black and white, but I
was immediately struck by how modern the subject of the picture looked. The picture has not been upscaled or put through AI. He looks like a model for Abercrombie
& Fitch, Nike or Calvin Klein, with his tanned body, gently tousled
hair and (slightly moody) good looks.
In fact, this photograph was taken in 1922.That’s 103 years ago…
It really is one of those double-take moments.This is someone from 2025 who has access to
the Tardis, surely?
So, who is this athletic time-traveller? Thomas Edward 'Tom'
Blake (March 8, 1902 – May 5, 1994) was an American athlete, inventor, and
writer, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of
surfing. He played a crucial role in evolving the sport from a local Hawaiian
tradition into a nationally recognised pastime.It is thought that this was taken at Brighton Beach (situated along the southern
coast of Brooklyn, right next to Coney Island) where he competed with a certain
Johnny Weissmuller in an open water swimming race.
Looks like it was taken yesterday.
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