#BUT ALSO. I’m 90% sure summer 2013 was when I watched AtLA for the first time

[cuteniarose]

Most of the time you can’t really tell that I have a 10 year age difference with the two mutuals/friends I talk with the most, but then @rokurookajima will randomly do something like, idk, post her art from *2013* that DOESN’T look like an elementary schooler’s scribbles and suddenly the gap is very very obvious lmao

For reference, in 2013 I was 6 going on 7 and my artistic capabilities were limited to poorly drawn ponies and cotton-candy-coloured stick humans because I thought the first Equestria Girls movie was an unmatched cinematic masterpiece :P

[filosofablogger]

Good Saturday morning, friends, and welcome to yet another weekend.   Lest you think you can have a nice peaceful, relaxing weekend, maybe watch a bit of football on television, a nap sounds nice, or just hang out with a good book all weekend … please allow me to remind you that Christmas is precisely 52 days from today!  😱😱😱

I have two, maybe three Christmas presents bought.  Good enough for the moment.  I’m not yet in the mood for Christmas, and I’ve informed the girls that if my dishwasher is not fixed before Thanksgiving, there will be no turkey/stuffing/trimmings this year, but only sandwiches and chips.  Yes, I’ve been a bit peevish of late.  I’ve no idea why.

I was at a bit of a loss for what to do for this week’s Saturday Surprise, so I started trolling around my usual haunts, National Geographic, Bored Panda and Atlas Obscura.  Nothing really excited me, but I came up with a bit of this and a bit of that, so I hope you find something to start your weekend off with a smile.

Let’s start with a few sort of off-the-wall cartoons …

Now, with Hallowe’en just a few days past, I realize this may be a bit late, but there were some really cool Hallowe’en things still about, and I couldn’t resist.  First, how about a NASA pumpkin carving contest?

Yes, for the past seven years during the Halloween season these brainiacs have competed in an ‘unofficial’ pumpkin carving contest, which NASA mechanical engineer Mike Meacham said gives them a chance to let out some creativity and bond.

There are plenty more where those came from!

Reddit held a contest for short (500 words or less) stories appropriate for the scaring season.  Most were a bit too chilling or bizarre, but I thought this one was rather cool …

“Please, I am literally begging you,” I say, but the executioner only sighs and gives me a truly sorrowful look as he slides the IV into my arm.

The chaplain sits beside me. “Once he pushes the button, the drugs will be administered in quick succession. Unconsciousness will occur in roughly thirty seconds, and death soon after that,” he explains, even though I have heard it so many times before already. “Any final words?”

“Just, again, I beg you not to do this,” I say.

The chaplain nods sadly, sorrowful that I do not face my executioner with a clean conscience.

That’s the thing, though. I haven’t murdered anyone. It’s been this way my entire life. I don’t know why, but whenever I would accidentally hurt myself, others near me would receive the wound. I once got a paper cut in class that caused the three people around me to bleed from their fingers. In high school, I was in a car accident, and even though my side of the car was hit, my girlfriend developed a broken leg.

I’m always very careful. I take care of myself, trying to stay in the very best of health. But when I was mugged by that trio and he shot me in the face, their faces exploded, not mine. And when the cops came, they found me kneeling beside their bodies, trying to figure out what to do and stupidly holding their gun.

Around thirty seconds after the execution started, I see both the executioner and chaplain fall to the floor with a hard thump. “I begged you,” I repeat sadly.

And lastly, an abandoned water tower that tells a whimsical tale.

The vibrant visuals tell the story of Uppspretta, who was clearly the Curious George of puffins.

As the tale goes, Uppspretta studied everything he could about his native Iceland and discovered that his homeland was actually colonized by the Norsemen. Which meant he had to journey to Norway to find a wife, of course! As puffins are not really meant for lengthy flight it’s not surprising he didn’t reach his destination, but instead landed in the middle of the Netherlands. Highjinx ensued and, finally, upon returning to Iceland, he did eventually marry a Norwegian puffin and became Leader of the Puffins of Iceland.

Uppspretta’s tale is captured visually n vibrant, vivid color on a disused water tower hiding in plain sight in Keflavík, Iceland. How on Earth did it get there? Two words: The Toyists.

Birthed in the early ‘90s in Emmen, a northeastern berg of The Netherlands, The Toyists are an international collective of artists who espouse a clear-cut manifesto for the physical appearance of the artwork. This manifesto is secret (only Toyists can access it) but one thing is for sure: color and a sense of the playful appear to be important. Anonymity is also key: each artist on the Toyist team adopts a pseudonym and the works, which are mostly site specific, are done as a collective. The result is not only eye-catching street art but a refreshingly ego-free expression of creativity in the often narcissistic business of art.

Uppspretta’s legend was authored and painted by 11 Toyists from five different countries during the summer of 2013. It took seven weeks to complete due to foul weather. Uppspretta is The Toyists’ first piece of art outside of The Netherlands. Other works include The Dot (a giant painted spherical gas container) and Dreams for Breakfast (on the Hotel Ten Cate), both in Emmen.

And on that note, my friends, go forth and have a nice, relaxing weekend start that Christmas shopping!!!

Saturday Surprise — This ‘n That Good Saturday morning, friends, and welcome to yet another weekend.   Lest you think you can have a nice peaceful, relaxing weekend, maybe watch a bit of football on television, a nap sounds nice, or just hang out with a good book all weekend ...