welcome to the first edition of KEEP IT INTERESTING, a newsletter where i share some of the cool things i stumble upon (anyone remember that website? RIP). expect things like weird science, nerdy throwbacks, wholesome stories, and deep emotional stuff.
if anything i share gets your interest and you want to talk about it some more (read: nerd out), leave a comment!
let’s get to werk~
heartwarming: a hitchhiker you wouldn’t mind picking up
tl;dr—tiny owl accidentally hitchhikes 170+ miles on the rockefeller center tree.
forget that this year’s rockefeller tree was totally on-brand for 2020—we’ve got a cute lil birb that managed to hang onto the very same tree for its 170mi travel from upstate new york to midtown manhattan, nyc. he was a little worse for wear when found, but seemed to have made a full recovery after properly fed and watered.
now nicknamed “rockefeller”, the tiny adult northern saw-whet owl was released back into the wild in the catskills. apparently northern saw-whets are pretty nomadic, so it’s of little consequence where they go or end up.
thanks for gifting us a cute story to open up the 2020 holiday season, rockefeller.
keep it 5ever: original meme format enters the online library
tl;dr—your fave flash games find their “san junipero” at the internet archive once adobe kills off flash later this year. #blessed
remember “badger badger”? what about “peanut butter jelly time”?
a lot of these early-day memes found their way onto the internet not as video, but as flash animations. but dec 31st, adobe is planning to pull the plug on flash, meaning the original format in which those memes were birthed and distributed is going away.
but because the world can be pretty awesome sometimes, the internet archive, a non-profit organization, will be keeping a library of flash faves for us to be able to go back to—when the desire for nostalgia hits.
brb gonna check on how albino black sheep and newgrounds are doing these days.
run it back: if it’s not on the internet, does it even exist?
tl;dr—concept art & beta tracks from old sonic games revealed during sega charity livestream.
since i’m just coming off from a runthrough of the story mode in sonic adventure 2, i was pleasantly surprised when i heard about sega’s extra life 2020 charity livestream and how they revealed all these old-school goodies to incentivize folks to donate.
it looks like they raised $6300, well above their $5k goal, and rewarded the community with some never-before-seen and -heard art and sound tracks. amazing stuff.
for those of you wondering, yes, there’s a beta track for city escape. no lyrics, but it’s cool to hear the early version and how it evolved into the version we know now.
what other sonic game would you want to see concept art from? i’d be so curious about sonic riders!
other cool stuff
i don’t mean to be corny, but…if you want to spruce up your cup of coffee, try this sweet corn milk iced coffee recipe. i love the taste of sweet corn and will def be creating a dairy-free version of this ASAP. who would try this? if you get a chance to experiment, report back on how it tastes!
are you using the full potential of your schnozz? 👃 learn to breathe properly if you’re prone to random moments of hard breathing or if you want to make the most of your workouts. your body benefits from nose-breathing (vs. mouth- and mouth-and-nose-breathing), like being able to more efficiently distribute oxygen throughout your body and having a higher upper limit before hitting physical exhaustion. plus, there are some theories that nose-breathing can help reduce your risk of catching COVID because of the nitrous oxide your nasal cavity produces (that your mouth does not!).
any links catch your eye? have a hot take you want to share? leave a comment to let me know your thoughts~