Owlets, islands, and a video that won't be the same on YouTube.

20th April 2026

Hello!

This week's new video on Nebula is not for the faint-hearted. A blurred and censored version will be coming to YouTube next week, but if you want to see the (thankfully not real) blood and guts for yourself, then a Nebula subscription may be for you: because these mannequins can bleed.

And if you're watching on YouTube, here's the new video for you, which is very definitely suitable for all! These people walk towards mining disasters.

Then, there's this week's Lateral! An all-Australian guest special, as Dani Siller, Bill Sunderland and Sarah Renae Clark face questions about funny flops, curious cubes and rolling races.

But that's just the stuff I've been part of this week. What else is going on in the world of video? As ever: if you see something that might fit here, do hit reply and let me know; it turns out releasing a video a week, even if they're already mostly-filmed, hasn't given me much time to actually watch anything!

PlasmatronX built a CT scanner to see sound. What a staggering project: I'm in awe of the amount of effort that's gone into every part of it, from the basic concept, through the trial-and-error, to the final result. (Thanks to Leah for sending this over!)
Owlet cam! Owlet cam! Owlet cam! There are two owlets hatched on the live owlet cam and they haven't fledged or left the nest at the time of writing this newsletter.
I had a vague memory of a comedy-horror sketch about a floating head that I'd seen many, many years ago. It took a while to track down, but I found it: from 2007, it's called, unsuprisingly, Floating Head. (Fake blood, minor jumpscare.) And as a short sketch, it holds up! That's not the only reason I'm linking it here, though: it turns out the person behind that video went on to direct the three most recent Spider-Man movies.

And away from YouTube: all the articles I've found this week are, in some way, related to geography or mapping or places. That's not a deliberate choice, but it is probably a sign that I need to widen my reading choices.

Campaigners are trying to get some British trig points on the list of historic, protected buildings: and I'm surprised those trig points aren't already on that list.
Tristan da Cunha is the busiest place you've never seen.
I didn't think there were any uncharted islands left -- as in, literally islands that are not on nautical charts. But turns out there's at least one, or at least there is until it gets added to the next edition of those charts.

And finally, on TikTok: probably shouldn't go that way. (Alternate link for desktop.)

All the best,

— Tom

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