Your little escapes for November 2024
Sharing the creative things I saw this month that refilled the well.
This month was hard. Here are six things I loved that crossed my path, made me giddy, and eased the pain.
It's like Chatroulette but less risky
Watch other people's home videos and feel nostalgic for a place you've never been with Riley Walz's IMG_001 project.
Between 2009 and 2012, iPhones had a built-in "Send to YouTube" button in the Photos app. Many of these uploads kept their default IMG_XXXX filenames, creating a time capsule of raw, unedited moments from random lives.
Reject film bro, become film comrade
The end of the 1950s. Four geologists are searching for diamonds in the Siberian taiga. After a long and exhausting work, the diamond tube is mapped. The heroes rejoice at their victory, dream of returning home soon, of meeting with their relatives. But a natural disaster occurs - the taiga is engulfed in fire for many miles around, cutting off the path to boats with food and equipment.
The Mosfilm Cinema Concern channel on YouTube has over 1,000 Soviet and Russian films. I found this from Gretchen Felker-Martin on Bluesky.
Mosfilm's golden collection presents over 1000 Soviet and Russian films. You can watch the best comedies, melodramas, detectives, action films, dramas, adventures online in high quality on our YouTube channel.
One user called out Letter Never Sent (1h 36m, 1959) as a particularly interesting movie, and I have to agree. I embedded it above, because I know it's easy to be interested in something in the abstract (Soviet and Russian films!) but harder to set aside specific time to watch something.
Maruchi and Arachi, the Taekwon Kids
Taegwondongja Maruchi Arachi (1977), or Maruchi and Arachi, the Taekwon Kids, is a delightful animated film directed by Lim Jung-kyu and restored by the Korean Film Archive to 4k in 2022.
I found this film on the Korean Film Archive channel on YouTube with 110 Korean films from the 1930s and upwards, which I found in response to Felker-Martin's post linked above.
Out: drug mules, in: drug gnomes
Okay, now I know why Fallout 76 keeps getting me to collect garden gnomes: Dutch police find gnome made of MDMA during drug bust from BBC News
"The gnome himself was visibly startled," police said, referring to the gnome having its hands covering its mouth.
Gothic Romance, Medium Pulp
I can't deny I love a pulpy gothic romance book cover, so this thread from Pulp Librarian on Bluesky was a real treat.
NPR Book Picker-Outer
Speaking of books, NPR has blended together my two passions: data viz and wonderful books. Pick the publication year and select a few filters on the side to find your perfect read (or a great gift). Take it for a spin.