Dutch Artist Turns Dead Pet Into ‘Catcopter’

by Laurel Miller on

The Wright Brothers were true visionaries, able to turn mankind’s dream of flying like a bird into reality.

It’s only fitting then, that a deceased cat be allowed to soar like the pigeons he once yearned after. Dutch artist Bart Jansen has created a fitting tribute for his beloved pet, Orville (his brother’s name is, of course, Wilbur), who was hit by a car. Jansen created the “Orvillecopter,” a remote-controlled helicopter that’s “half-cat, half-machine.”

Before you denounce Jansen as a sadistic kook (like PETA has in a public statement; though, how one can be a sadist by having an already dead animal stuffed is beyond me), watch this CNN video interview of him talking about his art project/tribute.

Orville used to lie at the front door watching birds, and so, Jansen explains, he decided what better way to honor his cat than by allowing him to fly the skies? Notes Jansen, “After a period of mourning, he received his propellers posthumously.”

I recently wrote of my love of all things slightly macabre, including taxidermy, so naturally I think the Orvillecopter is about the most awesome thing ever. For those lucky enough to be in Amsterdam, the Orvillecopter is on display at the KunstRAI Art Festival. To see the flying object in question, check out the video below. Fly the friendly skies, Orville.


Dull And Boring: Two Weird Town Names That Go Great Together

by Sean McLachlan on


What’s life like in a boring town? What’s life like in a dull one? Now a proposed trans-Atlantic collaboration aims to answer this important question.

Boring, Oregon, and Dull, Scotland, want to become sister communities. Local promoters say their towns are neither dull nor boring, and they should play on their weird town names to get more tourism.

One Boring website says the Oregon town of 12,000 is “an exciting place to live” and gets its name from early resident W.H. Boring. It’s unclear how Dull, a small village in Perthshire, Scotland, got its name. Similar words in Gaelic mean either “snare” or “meadow.” Indeed, there are some wonderfully dull meadows nearby. Boring has natural attractions too, including the Boring Lava Field from a boring extinct volcano.

If all this isn’t dull and boring enough for you, check out this list of weird town names. Too bad they missed my favorite, Knob Lick, Missouri!

[Photo courtesy C. Jill Reed]

Living Naked And Free On The Beach In Greece

by Dave Seminara on

I spent seventeen years in Catholic schools and that’s probably why you’ll never see me lolling about naked on a beach. I have no moral opposition to naturists, but like many others, I’ve observed firsthand that nudists tend to be a bit older, with many old enough to qualify for senior citizens discounts, and some aren’t exactly easy on the eyes. There’s something about the aging process that makes some people want to revert to their natural state as they grow older.

Men hear the words “nude beach” or “clothing optional beach” and their heart rates accelerate a few notches. But are you going to bump into Gisele Bundchen or Brooklyn Decker sunning themselves in the buff on a beach? Probably not.

In the Greek Isles, you can’t help but bump into people who are naked or nearly naked, even without seeking out nude or clothing optional beaches. A couple weeks ago, I saw a few portly, hardy souls, certainly from Northern Europe, looking burned like lobsters and naked as jaybirds on Tigaki Beach in Kos.

Then you also see men who have suits on, but they’re so skimpy they’re almost more of an assault on the eyes than if they were actually naked. I saw a man at the Livadi Geranou beach in Patmos last week that was actually wearing a thong bathing suit reminiscent of the one Borat used in his movie, save the shoulder straps. He appeared to be about 85 years old.The next day, a portly, middle-aged man tried to board a public bus we were on in Patmos with a tiny speedo half pulled down, exposing both pubes and half his ass. A group of Greek schoolchildren on the bus began to point at him and laugh hysterically, and he turned around and got off. (Perhaps the driver told him to get dressed, I’m not sure.)

Then on Saturday, my wife and two young boys and I found ourselves in the company of a whole host of naked people at the Psili Ammos Beach in Patmos, much to our surprise. The beach can only be reached via a boat ride or rigorous 30-minute hike, so it’s apparently an ideal place for naturists to hide out on a very religious island that frowns upon public nudity.

We noticed that a few of the nudists were actually camping on the beach, which isn’t technically legal, and I was curious about the practicalities. But how does one go about interviewing naked people on a beach? Surely approaching them naked, on their terms, would have been best, but I wasn’t going to do that.

I asked my wife, Jen, to accompany me, thinking that I might seem less like a horny stalker if I had a woman with me.

“I don’t know,” she said, clearly dreading the chore. “I feel like you need to give naked people on a beach a really wide berth.”

But she eventually agreed to accompany me on my quest to speak to naked campers. We approached a variety of naked people, feeling very awkward since we had suits on, and none admitted to being campers, though this might be because they thought I was some sort of undercover police officer.

The naturists were all friendly, and obviously not Americans. One older gentleman who we approached, sort of half rolled over when we addressed him and I accidentally caught sight of his junk – clearly a low point in our trip. It’s odd but when you’re speaking to naked people on a beach, you focus so hard on making eye contact that it’s almost ridiculous.

After a few hours on the clothing-optional beach, I told my wife I’d had enough and wanted to leave. And then just as the words left my mouth, a large group of attractive young people came hiking down the hill and plopped down right next to us on the beach. Well, not so fast, I thought. But alas, they turned out to be a wholesome group of Norwegians on a Bible study tour, and they definitely weren’t there to get naked.

For those who are interested in getting naked and camping for free on Greek beaches, check out the Captain Barefoot site, which appears to be a comprehensive guide to Greece for naturists. In some way, I kind of envy people who feel free enough to live naked and free on a remote beach in Greece, but I’m still keeping my suit on.

Read Part 2 of this story, A Prude Bares it All On a Nude Beach in Crete here.

(Photos by Dave Seminara, the second one needed blurring)

Video Of The Day: Human Towers In Tarragona, Spain

by Libby Zay on

Spain has a multitude of novel traditions. While bullfighting and tomato throwing festivals are known worldwide, there’s another custom that isn’t as widely recognized. Throughout Catalonia, people who create human towers – also known as castellers – compete to see who can create the tallest human pyramids. Only these flesh-and-muscle structures aren’t really pyramids at all; they are single and multiple-tiered assemblages that are supposed to resemble castles. The Catalan tradition is said to have begun in the 18th century, and today it is still going strong. These castells have a bulky, sturdy bottom with several layers, usually culminating with a small child on top.

As you’ll see in the video above by Mike Randolph from a recent festival in Tarragona, Spain, being a casteller can end in tumbles and falls. In fact, in the sport’s history, two castellers have died – one in 1983 and another more recently in 2006. Although it can be risky, the practice is considered sacred; the knowledge required for raising castells is traditionally passed down from generation to generation, much like gondoliering in Venice, Italy. In fact, UNESCO considers castellers to be amongst the “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”

71-Year-Old Grandmother To Bike From Russia To France

by Melanie Renzulli on

After having traversed Russia no fewer than 16 times by bike, what’s next? For 71-year-old grandmother Yulia Mikhailyuk, the next step is a bicycle journey from the western Russian city of Tver to Paris, France.

According to Russia Today, Ms. Mikhailyuk, a former physical education teacher, took up biking only after her 50th birthday as something to do after retirement. Since then, she has cycled her way across the largest country in the world 16 times, riding from dusk until dawn, stopping only for half-hour meal breaks and to sleep in a tent along the roadside.

The trip to Paris is a new challenge for the senior cyclist, who is making the trek to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Russian victory over France in the Napoleonic War of 1812. Ms. Mikhailyuk expects the 2,867-kilometer (1,781-mile) Tver to Paris bike trip to take approximately two months to complete.