Vanessa Yardley

How Australia leads the world in moguls skiing To the surprise of many, the "beach nation" that is Australia is the best moguls skiing nation on earth. How they got there is no accident.

How Australia leads the world in moguls skiing: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-17/australia-winter-olympics-moguls-dominance/106346256

A safety sign saying “Cat Vomit - Caution” next to a splash of cat vomit on carpet

Got this as a joke but it’s coming in quite handy this week

My advice, designers, is always think about your character IN MOTION as you design them. That means doing everything they need to do in the game/show/film. Put on a helmet, squat, twist their wrists, draw a sword or munch down on some rug.

The surprisingly modern look of cyclist Gabrielle Etéogella, 1896. "Organizers were sent to Paris to recruit riders, who were provided with free travel to England, discounts on first class rail travel and free hotel accommodation.[5] Adverts may have also been placed for the racers –

15 years ago today I arrived on Downing Street in a cage.
I've seen off Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak and I'm still going strong.
Only two Prime Ministers have ever done longer stints here: William Pitt the Younger and Sir Robert Walpole.
Bill and Bob - I'm coming for you...
(Photos AP)

Explaining the plot of Scooby-Doo to my daughter and realizing the central irony of the show is that the gang cruises around looking for magic and mysteries that never pan out, while the only truly supernatural element is the talking dog they all ignore.

I think “floaty boats murder monster” is how I’m going to refer to all bears from now on

Ah, my favorite part of Jurassic Park

"I say! Are you Georgina?" The child in the opposite bed sat up and looked across at Anne. She had very short curly hair, almost as short as a boy's. Her face was burnt a dark-brown with the sun, and “Famous Five 01 - Five On A Treasure Island” By Enid Blyton 7 her very blue eyes looked as bright as forget-me-nots in her face. But her mouth was rather sulky, and she had a frown like her father's. "No," she said. "I'm not Georgina." "Oh!" said Anne, in surprise. "Then who are you?" "I'm George," said the girl. "I shall only answer if you call me George. I hate being a girl. I won't be. I don't like doing the things that girls do. I like doing the things that boys do. I can climb better than any boy, and swim faster too. I can sail a boat as well as any fisher-boy on this coast. You're to call me George. Then I'll speak to you. But I shan't if you don't." "Oh!" said Anne, thinking that her new cousin was most extraordinary. "All right! I don't care what I call you. George is a nice name, I think. I don't much like Georgina. Anyway, you look like a boy."

To give you an idea of how deranged the UK has become about gender stuff, here's Enid Blyton - the absolute avatar of classic English conservatism and a huge fan of racist "gollywogs" - casually describing a gender non-conforming kid in the 1940s and having their friends be totally cool with it.

I'm always baffled by parents who complain about having to explain stuff to their children. What did you think that role was going to entail exactly.

a tiny brown & tan chihuahua in a pink sweater is sitting, looking up at the camera. two white strands of hair stick out the top of her head. they’re curled into a perfect heart.

This is Lexa. She really hopes you’ll be her valentine. Wouldn’t want to waste this look on just anybody. 14/10 (IG: bambiandlexa)

Seeing as it's Valentine's Day, I'm a hopeless romantic (90% of me just hopeless, I grant you) and I love you all, here's a black squirrel mummy folding up her baby like a fluffy carrier bag for ease of travel.

Sound up for very cute squirrel noises 🖤❤️

...and it’s the 222nd anniversary of the Battle of Pulo Aura, but I’m not going to attempt a better telling of that than this one:

hold on i gotta take this

oh captain our captain

He’s right though the children yearn for the flue

Western quoll joey born in the wild after conservation program success Once thought to be extinct in NSW, the small, spotted, and highly photogenic western quoll is making a hard-fought comeback to the wild.

Western quoll joey born in the wild after conservation program success: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-11/western-quoll-thrive-outback-nsw-after-taronga-program/106304882

one daughter lost a tooth when we were in Switzerland & we totally forgot. A letter duly arrived once home from the International Council of Magical Dental Creatures, noting that their Swiss counterpart had apprised them of a tooth event, and with appropriate recompense, having adjusted for FX

always so funny to me when people are like “how am I supposed to explain Gay to my kids?” my kid asks me way harder shit all the time. “why did they build the road this way? why are some people bad?” I don’t know. please ask me about Gay

This why so many of us fell in love with the X-Men in the first place

Book extract showing excerpt from a letter: “I am still just as frightened of bombs, & guns going off, as I was at the beginning. I turn bright red and my heart hammers, in fact I’m a beastly coward but I do believe that a lot of people are, so I don’t mind! Well darling I must stop, and I do feel sure that all your present work is useful, and if you can put in a little refresher in nursing – well all the better. Tinkety tonk old fruit, & down with the Nazis always your loving Peter

That splendid sign-off of the Queen Mother’s – “Tinkety tonk old fruit, & down with the Nazis” – celebrates its 85th anniversary today

#teamgoldensnakewithsuperduperlongdailthatcrashescars

From @acyn.bsky.social (posted on X)

"Reporter: Do any of you have a favorite animal?

Child: My favorite one is a gold snake that can move. It has gold eyes, and it has a super-duper tail…

Reporter: Mr. Mamdani, the second question for you.

Mamdani: Yes. It’s also the golden snake."

OMFG Green's is now available online for free

Please sign my petition to start an Autumn Olympics where all events empty into a pile of delightful leaves and whatnot.

ARTE

im so glad i was a yuri on ice fangirl when i was 16 bc all my normie friends are getting oneshotted by heated rivalry but i was thankfully inoculated against ice yaoi

Bit of timeline cleansing wholesomeness, whether you’re a cricket fan or not.

Hideous licensing agreement from Red Ogre Review, but what really jumps out at me is the moral rights waiver