Dinosaurs and the Vietnam War? Primitive War Trailer Unleashes Prehistoric Terror

Primitive War is a film that I will probably have to see based on the trailer alone. It looks like a combination of Apocalypse Now and Jurassic Park, frankly, with possible a little bit of Predator (original) thrown in for good measure.  For me that’s a win-win and although it could end in disappointment, it seems that fans of the original novel by Ethan Pettus are also drooling in anticipation.  Published in 2017 it (and its sequels) have become hugely popular. 68% of over 1,000 reviews of the novel on Amazon give it a five-star rating, and it has a 4.5-star rating overall.  The reviews there are full of praise and apparently the body count is through the roof (which it should be – it’s dinosaurs).  It doesn't have any characters in it played by kids, either (just saying).

The trailer looks like we’re in for something of a roller-coaster ride, and although one or two of the reviews of the trailers have pointed out some differences from the book already, most of the reviewers are not shy of admitting that they are, nevertheless, “pumped” (seems to appear a lot).  The film is set in 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War.  A recon unit (who go under the name of Vulture Squad) are commanded to find out what has happened to a platoon of Green Berets that has gone missing under mysterious circumstances.  The mystery of their disappearance is soon sorted (dinos), leaving Vulture Squad to try and get out of the terrifying situation.

The film stars Ryan Kwanten (who you will know from HBO’s vampire drama, True Blood) and Tricia Helfer (she played Number Six in the science fiction series Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009).   Add in support from Nick Wechsler (from both Roswell and Revenge) and Aaron Glenane from the Snowpiercer series and you have a cast who are already immersed in the science fiction genre from the  neck up.  Take a look at the trailers below and see what you think!

When will Primitive War be released? It hits theaters on August 21, 2025.

People of 1925: A Year Through the Lives of Those We Never Knew

A century ago, the world danced precariously between wars, flappers twirled to jazz, and telephones still had cords. But the people of 1925 laughed, worried, posed for photos, and waited for buses - just like us. In this snapshot of time, let’s take a look at the faces, fashions, and fragments of ordinary lives from 1925 - and where possible, what happened to them afterwards.

Note

I used Flickr’s The Commons and Wikimedia Commons for this project.  The first obstacle I came across was unexpected but on reflection it shouldn’t have been – human nature! Many photos from this era were not marked with exact dates or even years and so unless they were associated with a specific event, then the curators had to be vague (between 1920 and 1925 and so on).  Before I started using a phone and the date stamp that goes with digital photography, I didn't take the time to scrawl dates on the back – leaving me to guess about the exact year from my own history, let alone that of complete strangers. So, if I had not recorded dates myself, how could I expect others to do so?  Yet because I wanted to try and feature people as ordinary and everyday as possible, rather than politicians and actors, this precluded so many great photographs that I soon lost count. 

The second issue is the Eurocentricity of most photographs included. This was not a choice but due to the available sources. Most accessible historical photographic archives come from Europe and North America, where photography was adopted earlier and preservation institutions were established, resulting in better-documented collections.

When I have included people who were well known or even celebrated in 1925, it is in more informal settings wherever possible. A few photographs that have been recorded as circa 1925 have been included, simply because they were irresistible, so please forgive me for that. There were other issues that I came across as I went along, too (more of those later). However, the decision to select only photographs with verifiable dates was a good one. 

Photography in 1925 was affordable enough for many ordinary families to participate but still a small luxury, especially when compared to how easy and cheap digital photos are today. Each shot counted, and people often took photos to capture special moments rather than daily life.  So, many of these photos will seem arranged, organized and posed for a good reason: they were!

I hope you enjoy this gallery of the people of 1925.

Source

Let’s start with something quite silly. The National Archives of the Netherlands has this great picture of a group of young swimmers with bike tyres tied around their bodies as a swimming aid. Taken in Germany, 1925.  It must have seemed like a clever idea at the time, but from the look of the smirks on some of the faces we can see here, I doubt whether this idea was every taken seriously.   These young people all look as fit as the veritable butcher’s dog and it’s highly unlikely that they would have needed any support to help them swim!

Dublin’s Molly Malone Statue is Being Rubbed Up the Wrong Way

Poor old Molly Malone.  When Kuriositas first reported on her (in our 2013 article Statues of Dublin and their Notorious Nicknames), the photos we were able to source at the time showed her untouched and unsullied. Apparently, shortly after, a tourist guide was “inspired” to tell people that rubbing her breasts would bring good luck.  As her more than ample bosom is well within groping distance, the sticky paws of countless tourists rubbed and rubbed and rubbed away at the carbonate patina which had given her an added aesthetic beauty and the sense of age (even though the statue only dates from 1988).  Now, instead of saying “look at the breasts on that statue”, people are much more likely to say “look at the statue on those breasts”.

Joking aside, Dublin City Council are now considering moving the statue if tourists do not desist from putting their grubby mitts on Molly’s tits. Sorryfor the informal language, I couldn’t resist that little rhyme – but you could imagine the real Molly paraphrasing those words as a retort if she was still around.  I’m fairly sure she wouldn’t have any unwanted hands on her mammary glands.  On a serious note, the patina on bronze statues, as well as adding to the overall aesthetic, can also help protect the metal underneath from further corrosion.  In fact if you look closely, you can see that the erosion is becoming a problem.

Repeated rubbing can permanently stain or alter bronze, especially in outdoor conditions. It's a mix of chemical staining and mechanical wear.  It isn’t a case of just leaving it for a patina to occur naturally again – the statue will need extensive and expensive (just can’t stop rhyming today) restoration work in order for Molly’s bits to once again resemble the rest of the piece.

Perhaps Dublin City Council should just accept that this is going to happen, and it happens to statues across the globe.  Poor old VictorNoir, interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris has had close to 150 years of people rubbing his trouser bulge. Below is the report on the Molly Malone statue by the Irish public service broadcaster RTE.

The Ruins of Bannerman's Island

Quite how unlucky can one building be? Abandoned, neglected and decaying, at first sight you may think that Bannerman’s Castle is located in Europe, perhaps a Scottish remnant from the days of the lairds or a site in Ireland forsaken by retreating British aristocrats. Yet the Castle, sitting blithely upon Pollepel Island is only 50 miles north of New York City, on the Hudson River. Its history is a long and strange catalogue of disaster. Image Credit Flickr User gsz

Image Credit Flickr User kilgub

Image Credit Flickr User dbfoto

Bizarrely, it isn’t even a castle. What you can see here are the remains of an abandoned military surplus warehouse.

The fact that it was built in the style of a castle says much for the eccentricities, not to mention wealth, of its builder, Francis Bannerman VI (seen left).

Yet from the moment it was built the castle was, so many maintained, doomed.

What was designed to be a testament to and record of the wealth and power of a single interview was to befall no less than four disasters. In little more than a century it would fall in to complete ruin.

The Wraparound Spider – Now You See Me…

Say what you will about Australia’s wraparound spider – it isn’t out to get you.  At least, that’s what this article tells us. Unlike (apparently) most of Australia’s animal population, this little guy (and it is little) just wants to be left alone.  In order to ensure that, it has evolved a way of wrapping its body around a twig or small branch, pressing itself down, so that it is indistinguishable from the twig, making it very difficult for its predator (the local bird population) to see it during daylight hours.  Our sibling site, the Ark in Space, has the lowdown on this fascinating spider species, as well as a fantastic picture gallery to go with it.

Image Credit

Back Soon… Well… Possibly - Maybe

Meanwhile, my local butcher put this sign up outside of his shop.  His summer break – well deserved – has arrived and he lets those of his customers who don’t already know (or, alas, have not planned ahead) into the fact that he will not be opening his doors for a while. He does it every year, so we have come to expect the humour in it.  However, I thought I would share it with you this year!

You can tell I live in the UK - an old red public telephone box has been caught in the window's reflection!

Crash Site - Starring Steven Yeun and Sam Richardson

If you were on a hiking trip and found something suspiciously extraterrestrial, you would take it home and try to find out more about it, wouldn’t you?  It’s perhaps a little bit of a trope, but it nevertheless forms the basis of this hugely enjoyable short film starring Steven Yeun and Sam Richardson.  Both of them put in excellent performances but – at the same time – looked a little younger than I remember them from their recent projects.

Crash Site was directed and edited by Jason Sperling and written by Miles Brandman.  I enjoyed the director’s note on YouTube which says tells us that no AI was used in the film but not for the reasons that you might imagine.  Also, that it was created back in 2013. That would at least explain why I thought both actors looked young in this!

Watch the full film below.

Terrible Lizards

 
This is awesome.  Throughout our history, our perception of dinosaurs – the “terrible lizards” of the title, has evolved according to our understanding of these prehistoric beasts.  This animation tells a single story, but the animation changes to show the various forms of dinosaur depictions that have come about throughout the few short centuries since they first siezed our collective imagination.

It was created by David James Armsby, a Scottish animator, artist and filmmaker.  Armsby is an autodidact when it comes to animation.  He started experimenting at the age of 16 and through a process of trial and error he learned how to create his own films.  I think I will end this short post with his own words, so you can then get on with watching this amazing short.

"Terrible Lizards is my own personal tribute to all things palaeontology, paleoart, and paleo-media throughout the past two centuries, and our ever-evolving understanding of these ancient and fascinating animals.”

Slow Light

Slow Light was written and directed by Kijek / Adamski - that’s Kasia Kijek and Przemek Adamski. Based in Poland, they design and direct animated films where technique and storytelling are inseparable and when you watch their work, you’ll notice how carefully those elements are interwoven.

Take Slow Light, for example, their latest stop-motion short. The animation itself feels alive with meaning. It tells the story of a man whose sight is delayed by seven years, so he experiences life out of sync with the present moment. The film is haunting, beautiful, and intricately crafted and like all their work, it blends visual ingenuity with emotional clarity.

Like all their projects, Slow Light was built from the ground up, with a focus on strong visual concepts, smart use of materials, and a clear narrative arc. From concept through to final render, they handle each stage of production themselves, ensuring every frame feels purposeful and every story lands just right.  I have to admit, on first viewing I found Slow Light a little perplexing but here's the thing: I couldn't stop watching it.  It's a melancholic story and if you're looking for a simplistic happy ending, don't bother (don't get me wrong, I love simplistic happy endings, but that is not what Slow Light is about at all).

At its core, Slow Light explores alienation, memory, and the passage of time - themes deeply rooted in the Polish cultural psyche. The protagonist’s delayed vision, where he only sees the present seven years after it occurs, creates a painful disconnection from the world. He witnesses joy, love, and tragedy long after the moment has passed. This narrative is quietly tragic, mirroring the longing and loss common in many traditional Polish tales.

If you haven't yet seen Slow Light, it’s well worth your time. You're not just watching an animation. You're witnessing how time, memory, and vision can be sculpted by hand. Watch it below.

Volcanoes in the Back Yard

Even when you know that the area in which you live is prone to earthquakes, perhaps the last thing you might expect is a volcano in the back yard. Yet these are not the volcanoes we see in Hollywood movies. Neither are they the mud volcanoes which occur near geysers. These are something quite different. These are sand volcanoes.

Image Credit Flickr User Mollivan Jon

A sand volcano usually occurs after an earthquake. It is formed when sand is thrown up to the surface from a central position. As the sand is ejected it builds up in to a cone, taking on the appearance of a volcano as the sand comes to rest on its sides. A crater forms which can range in size from the tiny, just a few milimeters, to one which can extend to several meters.

Bat Bomb Boondoggle: The WWII Plan That Actually Happened

Gistory is a relatively new YouTube channel, launched in January this year. Despite its recent arrival, it’s quickly gaining a reputation for producing delightfully absurd animated history videos that recount real – but sometimes scarcely believable - events.  Happen they did, however.

The most recent animated short is about America’s plan, during World War II, to develop bat bombs to help in the fight against Japan.  It was something of a farce from the start and stretches credibility to the max but a quick check of the Wikipedia page about it will prove to you that yes, this absolutely happened.  I won’t say anything more about this particular slice of history (except maybe that it was batsh*t bonkers) as the animation will explain everything..

I will definitely be featuring more work by Gistory on Kuriositas.  This is an entertaining short, ideal for both young people wanting to learn more about offbeat history in a fun way and adults who enjoy quirky takes on lesser-known historical events.  Watch the story of the bat bombs below.

Jurassic Limericks: Rhyme Time with Dinosaurs

 
Do you have a dinosaur mad child?  Then, show them these. You won’t see Rhymesaurus or Limerickodon or even a Musephyll in this collection of short poems… Even so, Jurassic Limericks was probably inevitable at some point in time (lots of people are probably wondering why they didn't think of it, now). No, these are the real deal.  There's Triceratops, Pteradactyl, Troodon and others, all with their own limerick. Founded several years ago as a theatre and media company, CarryTale is now stepping into the spotlight with this exciting new venture, bringing to life playful dinosaur-inspired limericks through vibrant 15-second animated shorts. With creativity rooted in family fun and poetic whimsy, this new series invites viewers young and old to embark on a joyful journey where dinosaurs and poetry collide.

Jurassic Limericks originated from a playful game of creating spontaneous limericks and poems inspired by dinosaurs, enjoyed with founder Jeremy Baker’s children. These imaginative verses were then accompanied by original dinosaur-themed drawings. Now, these creations have been transformed into 15-second animated shorts.  If you are going to do things as a family, you might as well go the whole hog...

And, as I also went to university with Jeremy, a shameless plug to celebrate the launch of CarryTale Studio’s new YouTube channel is in order. A new Jurassic Limerick video will be released each day over the course of a week. Fans and young dinosaur enthusiasts alike are invited to enjoy and share these delightful animated shorts.  Watch them below and let us know which is your favourite.

...And there's more!

Student Accomplice - a Driving Test Adventure

Almost everyone who has ever failed their driving test has some kind of excuse. I cannot calculate the amount of “I should have passed” stories I have sat through – often regaled in excruciatingly minute detail – recounting the reasons why they should really, honestly, absolutely have passed.  And the excuses that they come up with!  Yet, here’s one story about potential failure that I wouldn’t mind hearing (except I’ve already watched it).

Student Accomplice is tells the story of a nervous teen who is in the middle of her driving test when she gets caught up in a robbery, with the villain of the piece choosing her car as his getaway vehicle.  Suspending your disbelief for a moment, prepare to do it for several minutes as the high-speed chase (through what looks like San Francisco) unfolds.

This highly enjoyable animated short was created by a group of students at Brigham Young University (BYU) while studying at its Animation School.  It was directed by Spencer Baird and produced by Briele Hanson, with art direction by Brandon Beltran.  Many more students, too numerous to name here, were included in the making of Student Accomplice. Hats off to them all!

Watch the animated short below.

Fukuoka City (福岡市) Hyperlapse - Visit Japan's Youngest Major City for Five Minutes

Fukuoka City is Japan's youngest major city and has Japan's fastest growing population.  Even so, it has a history that goes back at least 1500 years – it just took its time getting big.  It is also the closest Japanese port city to mainland Asia and its local culture and population reflects that.  This amazing hyperlapse of the city shows it off perfectly – a fascinating five minute snapshot from a place that many outside of Japan haven’t really heard of.  The video also contains a glimpse of two of the intriguing Yamakasa  festival (pictured above) that is held every year in July.

In case you wonder, as I did, why a hyperlapse about a city called Fukuoka has so many signs that seem to indicate that we are in a place called Hakata, there is a good reason for this. Hakata was once a city in its own right, but has been subsumed into Fukuoka as the latter became larger.  The two cities became one in 1878 but it is still thought of, in many ways, as a city within a city.

Watch the amazing hyperlapse video below.

The Morning Glory Detective Story

You would be forgiven for thinking that the vibrant, perhaps lurid, colors of the Morning Glory Pool in the Upper Geyser Basin of the Yellowstone National Park in the US were completely natural.  After all, it has been a popular tourist destination for tourists for many a decade. However, only five decades ago the pool was a completely different color. Cue much scratching of heads. Image Credit Flickr User alh1

Image Credit Flickr User Daveynin

We’re Kinda Different

Sometimes, you come across something so perplexingly, brilliantly, deliriously and completely whole, you wonder two things.  You wonder how and when the idea sprang into existence.  Then you wonder why it took this long to make it to the rest of us.  Such is the case with We’re Kinda Different by Ben Meinhardt (with artistic direction and trumpet playing by his young son).

It tells the story of a little fella who has been born with his butt underneath his face.  This three minute musical interlude introduces us to his world and tells us how he came to terms with his condition – even though he thinks he needs to get checked out by a doctor.  I think this should be compulsory viewing for teenagers who are so enveloped and overwhelmed by the beauty standards they have imposed on them by the internet (yes, that was a bit lazy of me), that this might serve as a reminder that they, too, are kinda different in a special way – their own way.  We’re Kinda Different conveys a very powerful message in possibly the silliest way imaginable, but that does not detract from its point.

One of my father’s favourite sayings was “Blessed be the cracked, for they let in the light.”  I never thought that it could become even more of a layered statement than it already is, but there you go.  This little fella has certainly let a little more light into my day - through his particular crack, as it were...

Watch the full song below.

MIB: Neuralize This! - A Men in Black Comedy Short

Sometimes, you just can’t get the staff.  When you work for MIB as a field agent, the main aim of the job is to protect humanity from any threat posed by aliens – but also to provide refuge for any seeking to immigrate or to seek asylum.  The two agents at the heart of MIB: Neuralize This! get it wrong on virtually every conceivable level… but the viewer has a lot of fun on the way.

The production values here are pretty high – it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish this fan film from the real thing.  It has an alien incident, action, lots of action (it starts in media res, so you need to understand the Men in Black universe to an extent) and, most importantly for me, tight plotting and scripting.  It’s a self-contained MIB incident with a very satisfying end (well, not for the alien, perhaps).  But the fact that it is so well self-contained – a MIB vignette as it were – is its greatest strength, though hats off to director and writer Martin Sofiedal for the atmosphere, VFX and pace of this seven minute short.  There is no self-indulgence here, which can be a flaw of so many fam-made homages.

 A mention for the cast, too.  Despite the brevity of the film, they all bring their characters to life in this short time.  The agents seem to know each other’s shortcomings well, which might indicate that they have worked together for quite a while – although I am not entirely convinced that their success rates will have them on the office leaderboard.  You might feel sorry for the alien, who isn’t given much of a chance to explain itself, but perhaps the human witnesses get the rawest deal – watch the film to see why!

(This short is not affiliated with Sony or the official Men in Black franchise. It is a not-for-profit fan film.)  Get yourself a cuppa, press play below and have a fun seven minutes.

Looks like it was taken yesterday...

Have you ever seen a photograph from decades ago and almost refused to believe that it is so old.  So it was with this one.  While researching an upcoming article for Kuriositas on Flickr’s The Commons (where various organisations upload their archive pictures) I came across the picture above.  Of course, it is in black and white, but I was immediately struck by how modern the subject of the picture looked. The picture has not been upscaled or put through AI. He looks like a model for Abercrombie & Fitch, Nike or Calvin Klein, with his tanned body, gently tousled hair and (slightly moody) good looks.

In fact, this photograph was taken in 1922.  That’s 103 years ago…

It really is one of those double-take moments.  This is someone from 2025 who has access to the Tardis, surely?

So, who is this athletic time-traveller? Thomas Edward 'Tom' Blake (March 8, 1902 – May 5, 1994) was an American athlete, inventor, and writer, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of surfing. He played a crucial role in evolving the sport from a local Hawaiian tradition into a nationally recognised pastime.  It is thought that this was taken at  Brighton Beach (situated along the southern coast of Brooklyn, right next to Coney Island) where he competed with a certain Johnny Weissmuller in an open water swimming race.

Looks like it was taken yesterday.

Time to Change the Collective Noun for Pandas!

 At some point in the 1990s or early 2000s, someone, somewhere on the internet gave the giant panda the collective noun “an embarrassment of pandas” and it stuck.  No one knows, and don't ask the pandas.  They're too busy rolling downhill. This collective noun, frankly, denigrates the panda population – put simply, it’s a slur! Our sibling site the Ark inSpace has decided to do something about this, making an appeal for a populist change. As you might expect from Ark, there is a wonderful collection of panda pictures to accompany the article. You can even vote for your alternative collective noun, or suggest one yourself.  Why not pop over and vote?

Image Credit

200 Nuns Walk into a Movie Theater...

It sounds like the beginning of a joke but that is exactly what happened in Sydney, Australis on the 24 April 1938. The picture here shows a huge nun ensemble, gathered together to watch Tarzan’s Revenge.  OK, so that is a complete lie.  The movie that the nuns were so keen to watch was “Cloistered” which, as you have probably guessed, was all about nuns. French nuns.  French nuns going about their daily lives.

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To get access to a convent in this way was very unusual at this time, so for director Robert Alexandre it was something of a coup.  Likewise, in Sydney, hundreds of nuns descending on a cinema at the same time was considered newsworthy (even though the young man on the left of the picture above seems distracted - girl trouble of another kind, no doubt). It all gets a little meta.  The media was curious about nuns who were curious to see a film about nuns, about whose lives little was known.  Regardless, the nuns do seem to be looking forward to the event.