Web Whimsy on Nic Babarskis

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 21:06:23 -0400

Tea Anemone by Tatsuya Tanaka at Miniature Calendar:

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 18:34:44 -0400

The eldest shares her mom and grandmothers' interest.

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 11:01:36 -0400

To the extent I pay attention to Home and Garden trends I always got the impression the platonic ideal for lawn maintenance was a golf course fairway.

Meanwhile I’m out here weedmaxxing

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:35:07 -0400

Spring Progress 📸 2026.04.08 The maple awakens #SP26.3

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:34:38 -0400

Public Domain Review highlighting works that feature Notre Dame today:

Highlights from the many centuries of artworks to feature the Notre-Dame de Paris — which caught fire 5 years ago #onthisday — from its illuminated punctuation of medieval skylines to grainy detailed studies at the birth of photography: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/the-notre-dame-cathedral-in-art-1460-1921

The Public Domain Review https://mastodon.social/@publicdomainrev/116408559908239505

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 21:52:44 -0400

‘How to Eat French Fries’ by Tatsuya Tanaka at Miniature Calendar:

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 23:11:18 -0400

Per my last post, the Castlevania 2 ‘Bloody Tears’ theme goes harder than it has a right too.

Somehow was able to get classic video game soundtracks into the 5-year-olds music rotation (its a delicate inception, but worth the respite from the usual playlists) and every time Dire Dire Docks comes on I think of the Northernlion commentary.

Nic Babarskis https://nic.babarskis.blog/2026/04/12/somehow-was-able-to-get.html

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 23:07:12 -0400

Somehow was able to get classic video game soundtracks into the 5-year-olds music rotation (its a delicate inception, but worth the respite from the usual playlists) and every time Dire Dire Docks comes on I think of the Northernlion commentary.

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 06:45:13 -0400

The toddler is experiencing some sort of sleep regression.

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:03:23 -0400

Ongoing Artemis 2 mission updates on this blog.

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 21:39:11 -0400

The Artemis launch has me thinking about Mass Effect space exploration so here’s the links to each game’s galaxy map music:

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 20:30:10 -0400

Perhaps you’ve been warned to watch for “woke” Michigan companies but have you been informed about:

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 20:28:17 -0400

When you’ve been forced (for better or worse) to live through “interesting times:”

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 12:56:24 -0400

🎵 Feist’s Let It Die is an undefeated album.

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 20:01:51 -0400

Come here quick!! Falling Frontier just dropped another gameplay trailer!

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 08:54:00 -0400

When your franchise has to reach up to touch rock bottom you accept any crack of light that manifests.

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 01:10:00 -0400

‘Abbey Toast’ by Tatsuya Tanaka posted to Miniature-Calendar:

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 13:31:00 -0400

Onion Pond by Miniature-Calendar:

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 09:40:00 -0400

Dust-to-Digital now has a 24/7 streaming radio station.

Thu, 25 Dec 2025 12:30:00 -0400

Apropos for today, an excerpt from ‘The Darkling Thrush’ which I was introduced too through yesterday’s Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols:

So little cause for carolings

Of such ecstatic sound

Was written on terrestrial things

Afar or nigh around,

That I could think there trembled through

His happy good-night air

Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew

And I was unaware.

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 23:09:00 -0400

What a delight to discover that Robert Glasper made a Christmas album.

YouTube Playlist

Sat, 22 Nov 2025 19:38:00 -0400

Yo! You can watch pretty much the entire Reading Rainbow archive through the Internet Archive.

Sat, 22 Nov 2025 10:08:00 -0400

Treasure of Life from Miniature Calendar:

Chicago Transit Authority’s slow TV ‘Ride the Rails’ videos remind me why I love the Brown Line

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 22:33:00 -0400

My family has maintained a relationship to Chicago’s Brown Line.

For the years that we lived in central Illinois my parents would periodically take my sister and I to the city for a day or weekend excursion. Ostensibly we were there to visit my grandmother in Bridgeport (a Red Line stop) or my cousins in the suburbs, but we would also find an excuse to take the bikes down to the lakefront for a ride from the Adler Planetarium to the Lincoln Park zoo, or a jaunt up and down lake shore drive. We’d also ride the El. We’d take the Brown Line to Sedgwick and eat at the Old Jerusalem Restaurant.

When I lived in Wheaton I’d keep up the pattern and find excuses to take the Brown Line to Old Town or Lincoln Park. My future spouse lived not far from the Diversey stop for a time.

The CTA maintains a playlist of ‘Ride the Rails’ videos. The production values have improved incrementally over time. I find it comforting to pull one up and ride along for a couple stops. The familiar “doors closing” cadence and the click-clack of the tracks acts a bit like a breathe prayer. The Brown Line remains my favorite.

Could we make CosmodromePunk a thing?

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 12:38:00 -0400

The artistic director of this film would go on to lead artistic direction for the first Ghost in the Shell film. I wouldn’t call it’s aesthetic vision cyberpunk though. I’d propose something else, like cassettepunk, or maybe CosmodromePunk. I think a lot of the videos this YT channel makes could fall into that aesthetic.

YouTube Video

Sun, 26 Oct 2025 19:52:43 -0400

Parents leave all sorts of small indelible marks on their children that last a lifetime, and from my mom I’ve held onto an affection for Bruce Hornsby & The Range.

YouTube Video

Sat, 18 Oct 2025 12:47:10 -0400

This morning I saw a senior citizen with a cane, on the curb, in an inflatable animal costume, with signage promoting the No Kings rally happening downtown later today. Punching all the squares on my U.S.-in-2025 bingo card.

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 10:28:14 -0400

This site is so delightful. https://miniature-calendar.com/251014

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 11:25:38 -0400

Hanahaki Blank continuing to evoke the golden age of hand drawn anime:

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Wed, 28 May 2025 22:19:33 -0400

Taking a Python Intro course this summer and turns out if you need to code late into the evening Olde Pine is a great companion:

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Wed, 14 May 2025 11:30:00 -0400

I took Amazon immolating $700 million dollars to distill a pure moment that evokes Tolkein at his best–as I remember him when read to me in my childhood–so good job I guess?

It really is best viewed on a big screen with a good sound system:

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Sun, 30 Mar 2025 21:46:09 -0400

There’s very specific vibes video that features 80s and 90s anime that exudes what I’d call a #vhspunk aesthetic–before the iPhone with its black mirror imposed a glass sheen on tech products. The video style is typified by Hanahaki Blank’s youtube channel. Its the perfect delta of the beauty of hand drawn animation, late 20th century nostaligia, and technophilia.

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Wed, 19 Mar 2025 08:09:51 -0400

Pssst, you can buy BSKY CEO’s SXSW “A World Without Caesars” t-shirt here.

Hat tip to @manton for the link.