A rollercoaster, a cat calendar, and combat juggling.
9th January 2023
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Hello from Australia!
It's always a bit nerve-racking* being on this side of the planet, because the weekly video launch happens while I'm asleep, at 4pm UK time. Is there a mistake? Is something wrong? I won't know until I'm awake the next morning. So with all that in mind: here (I hope) is a rollercoaster that doesn't stop automatically.
*I had to Google to check whether it was "nerve-racking" or "nerve-wracking".
And in this week's Lateral: all-new guests from an all-new set of recordings! Cleo Abram, Simone Giertz and 'Legal Eagle' Devin Stone face questions about colossal chains, prudish paintings, and golden goblets. I'm really proud of this new run, and there are, as ever, highlights on the YouTube channel too.
Right! What else have I found on YouTube this week?
- First: I need to shout out Julian O'Shea, who makes great videos about Australia, and who was holding the camera for some of this week's video! I would absolutely have made a video about how Australia's most remote phone booths work, but he got there before me.
- I didn't need to know how to cross
water on a motorcycle. I can't even ride a motorcycle. But this is made up of a series of "commitment to the bit" gags that mean it stays interesting even if you don't have the basics to build on. (Occasional profanity.) This is another corporate-backed channel, which does explain the quality and budget... but also means it's a bold choice to have a nearly minute-long midroll sponsor read in there as well!
- One man's quest to run the length of every street in Pittsburgh. It has taken him years, and he has an entertainingly nerdy amount of data.
Away from the world of video:
- I can't explain why the Army Corps of Engineers Portland District made a 2023 calendar by Photoshopping giant cats towering over their infrastructure (7MB PDF), but I'm glad they did.
- Every Noise at Once (may not work on mobile) is not what the title says. It's actually every genre in Spotify's database, all on one big page, clustered in a fascinating chart — and they're all clickable to hear a sample. Once a genre is playing,
click on the guillemet on each to drill down and see other artists. (Thanks Alexander for sending this over.)
- The infrastructure of vending machines: everything you wanted to know and probably many interesting things you didn't.
And finally: of course combat juggling is a thing.
All the best,
— Tom
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