Arizona’s Wildlife World Zoo had a contest to name their new pygmy hippo. Visitors had a choice between Cadbury, Twixi, Jellybean, and Taffy and the winner was… Jellybean!
Happy Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year, Tujia New Year, Tsagaan Sar, Hmong New Year, Ryukyu New Year, Korean New Year, and Vietnamese New Year to those who celebrate, in whatever way you celebrate, and in whatever name you call it around the world!
2026 is the Year of the Horse—the Fire Horse to be specific—and a particularly lucky time as The Smithsonian wrote another related piece about horses and how the Chinese zodiac associates them with prosperity and success. NatGeo recalled the first Fire Horse new year in 60 years and what the zodiac cycle all means, Teen Vogue looked at the year ahead, and something from 10 years ago where someone asked why it’s supposed to be bad to be born in the year of the Fire Horse.
I’m honoured to have engineer and musician incognitothief as my next interviewee.
What is favourite city in the world?
Mumbai. Every single crack and crevice of the city is alive. The energy is incomparable to even Los Angeles or New York.
What’s the most unusual item you take everywhere you go?
There are a few items I would rather not mention.. In general though, I keep a notebook with me.
Why do you do what you do?
I am an engineer and a musician. I have been a musician longer than I have been an engineer and music is something I take to naturally. I love it; I don’t think I will ever put it down. When it comes to engineering, I feel that I operate out of necessity. As far as I know, engineering is just a material extension of curiosity and if I have an idea, more often than not I like to test it. On the rare occasion that those two practices intersect… sparks fly.
The latest occasion being the discovery of faircamp.
When I realized that there was an established method for musicians to separate from mainstream audio platforms, reclaim autonomy, and have a fighting chance at redefining what it means to publish music online.. A grenade was tossed into my imagination. I immediately set out to investigate and break down any barriers for a non-technical user.
Approximately 15 days later, version zero of The Public Library was born. A public infrastructure, network aggregator for independent streamers with the intention of building tools to make it easier to become independent and increase the opportunities for those who choose to remain (or participate as an) independent (you can read the documentation on docs.whereditgo.diamonds)
I am a digital artist, and this is my craft. I have other interests.. but I could not escape this work even if I tried.
Where do you go to relax?
Away from the computer:
69, 280, or 420?
I am not a math guy… but I prefer 180–220 BPM
How do you say goodbye in your culture(s)?
We say mahál kitá before departure
(P.S. Check out thief’s latest album, youthful academics!)
Getting rid of ICE won’t solve all the inherent problems behind what is called “law enforcement” but it’d be a start because the constant funding and murdering can’t continue if we want a better world. Solidarity with Minneapolis and every person who has been a victim of fascism.
Some ways to help:
TIL: the word ‘shamone’ has a Wiktionary entry. You may also be surprised to know that the word didn’t originate with Michael Jackson!
According to the WSJ, pizza restaurants are now outnumbered by coffee shops and Mexican-inspired eateries1:
Once the second-most common U.S. restaurant type, pizzerias are now outnumbered by coffee shops and Mexican food eateries, according to industry data. Sales growth at pizza restaurants has lagged behind the broader fast-food market for years, and the outlook ahead isn’t much brighter.
I guess it makes sense as tastes and levels of disposable income change, not to mention the ever-increasing cuisine options. And it’s not just the US either as UK pizza outlets like Pizza Hut and Pizza Express have struggled for many years as other fast-food competitors take a piece of the pie (no pun intended) and supermarkets take more slices too.
At least the government will keep them afloat. Just don’t call 999/911 about it.
YouTube recommended this to me (maybe because of all the mediocre Hallmark movies I’ve been watching this Christmas) and I haven’t laughed so hard in a while. I’m not above a good fart gag and this video of The Holiday with farts—and the whole channel to be fair—knows how to pull them off.
Venezuela is going through a lot of sociopolitical turmoil with the illegal capture and arrest of its president, Nicolas Maduro. There are lots of contrasting feelings from its citizens—relief that Maduro has been removed (at least in person) but also worry about the future given that Trump did it and claims that the US will “run” the country now.
So the reason I’m writing this is to 1) help me educate myself more on the country and some of its cultural history (as I have done for countries like Australia and Argentina) and also draw more attention to the cultures rather than just associations with political warfare and dictatorships.
Firstly, happy new year everyone. I hope 2026 is even more prosperous than 2025.
It’s that time of year again: 1st January is Public Domain Day as I’ve documented in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. This year, that means that certain works of art from 1930 become free of copyright in the US and available to the public to do what they want with it and without permission.
The biggest names include Betty Boop, Pluto (when he was known as Rover), and the first four Nancy Drew mysteries.
Below you will find a list of works from 1930 you might find interesting. As always, check works from any years prior to 1930 to make absolutely sure you follow any licence requirements (if there are any), particularly in other countries or regions such as the EU. That’s because copyrights may have been extended or follow slightly different laws outside of the US. Happy hunting!
In countries with life + 50 years law
In countries with life + 60 years law
In countries with life + 70 years law
Remember RiotGrlErin’s Muppet-themed Christmas movie posters? Well now we have fireworks for a Muppet’s New Year’s Eve. Such bright colours!
My son found this yesterday and I was intrigued to see what made the list in the last 64 years. A lot of the early stuff was alien to me but as it entered the 80s, it all made sense and then as it went through the 2000s and 2010s, I was clueless again.
I was also surprised not to see Woody and Buzz Lightyear feature anywhere from 1995–1999. I wanted those so badly and only managed to get a Woody toy that wasn’t the “proper” one thank to my auntie in the US. They were all sold out everywhere. Maybe one day, Buzz…
The Christmas period isn’t over yet so keep the festivities going with this beautiful cat “singing” Jingle Bells with its meows. And as a bonus, you can watch the cat unwrapping their presents.
RiotGrlErin put a bunch of Muppets onto some Christmas movie posters and they’re so funny. I love the Die Hard poster but there’s something about the Home Alone one that fits the brief so to speak. (via)
Join Big Bird and the gang from Sesame Street as they celebrated Christmas Eve. It’s such a heartwarming episode of Sesame Street so I strongly recommend you curl up with a warm drink when you watch this.
Originally aired on Sunday 3rd December 1978, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street was nominated for an Emmy a year later and was up against itself (kinda). CBS also had a Sesame Street special called A Special Sesame Street Christmas but it wasn’t produced by the same people (Children’s Television Workshop, now Sesame Workshop).
A few years ago, Tony Hawk—dressed as Santa—teamed up with Berrics to deliver gifts in San Diego. But in true Tony Hawk style, he traded a sleigh for a skateboard and found some time to yell at fellow skaters to do a kickflip. It’s not just the season of giving, you know!