Looks like it was taken yesterday...

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.

Surf City Surf Dogs Catch the Waves

Wipeout! Now in its fifth year the Surf City Surf Dog event, held in Huntington Beach, California brings together over forty surf fans together with their human companions who are there to ensure that all the fun is safe for the surfer dogs.  This fund-raising event helps to raise awareness of various dog related causes, including animal rescue and medical care.  The Ark in Space has a feature on these surfing canines accompanied by some fantastic photos.

Image Credit San Diego Shooter

Surfing in the City: Munich’s Eisbach

If you live in a large town or city and it isn’t situated anywhere near an ocean then probably one of the last things you might expect to see is the sight of someone in full wetsuit sporting a surfboard walking nonchalantly down the street.  For the residents of Munich in Germany, which is about 500km from the sea, it’s nothing strange. Thanks to the Eisbach (or ice brook in English) you can go surfing in the city with https://www.globosurfer.com/best-dive-watches/.

Image Credit Flickr User FSBerg

Lord Vader on Vacation

Image Credit Flickr User abell

When you are a Dark Lord of the Sith sometimes you have to take time out – after all, ruthlessly controlling a galaxy far far away is a tiring and thankless task. Occasionally you need to remember what (or who) you once were. What better way to do so than to take a vacation and relive some of the joyous activities of your adolescence?

Image Credit Flickr user abell

Image Credit Flickr User abell

OK, so the movies don’t exactly show Anakin Skywalker as a surfer dude but, let’s be frank, it doesn’t take a huge leap of the imagination to picture the young Jedi surfing the waves. Yet the power of the dark side is such that even when Lord Vader takes to the sea once again, he cannot quite shake off the shackles of his current life.

Image Credit Flickr User abell

There is little doubt why psychiatrists have often considered Vader a useful example to explain borderline personality disorder to medical students. Given these photographs the proof is self evident. What kind of imagination it took to come up with this is another issue entirely. The marvelous figure of Vader on vacation is the creation of abell.

Image Credit Flickr User Abel

It is certainly a twist on the any number of traditional figures of Vader that you can get your hands on – and we love the humor and creativity involved here. It is the brainchild of Indonesian based toymaker Abell Octovan. We would like to thank him in his guise as Flickr user abell for giving us permission to reproduce the pictures of his creation here. Please visit his photostream for more pictures and information.

Image Credit Flickr User abell

Ifyou would like to see another of Abell's fantastic toys, take a look at his barking gun, which is something else!

If you are interested in having the Lord on Vacation in your own home you can drop Abell a line at jellyokky@yahoo.com or if you prefer, send a message on their Facebook page.