EyeSpark Weekly – May 1, 2026

Happy Friday! This week has been a bit of a return to form for me. I've been able to actually work on some personal projects again, and I have a good amount of stuff to share today!

First off, I do want to mention something that I'd usually leave for the end, but I feel like it's warranted having it here for this update. A few days ago I wrote possibly my most personal post yet, celebrating the 10th birthday of Maya, my cat. Today specifically is the 16th birthday (or "gotcha day" as my sister calls it) of my first cat, Tita, so I am commemorating it here today! She has been a bit unwell for the last week or so, as it happens with most cats of her age, but she's still staying strong and we're taking care of her, and I am so glad to still have her around. Please enjoy the picture of her above.

Anyways, onto the actual updatey update.

On Monday I found a video by World Maps Online about how (not) often world maps change. I found it very interesting as it went into some detail about mapmaking and the few things that actually cause maps to change, and why in recent years they rarely happen.

On Sunday I watched Zomboman's video about whether the original Half-Life 1 or Black Mesa is more realistic. It was a very open video that didn't end on a particular conclusion, and I really like that as it allows us viewers to come up with our own. It also made me appreciate some of the finer details in both games; I am somehow still finding out new stuff about them.

LoadingReadyRun had an amazing episode of LoadingReadyLive last Saturday, which was probably my favourite in a while. I especially loved the Cursed Tetris, it's definitely something I'd love to play myself (perhaps with some different curses). I also finally caught up with some episodes of the Panalysts I've missed, as well as the most recent one, and they were all very fun! (Also I'm pretty sure this was James's first appearance in one ever[?])

On Wednesday I saw a video by The Flying Moose about how Copenhagen built its metro. Copenhagen is a city I've had the pleasure of actually visiting, and I loved being there for the short time that I did. I had no idea about any of this, and I found it super fascinating!

Lastly, here's some rapidfire recommendations from series I've mentioned before: On Tuesday I watched Darren Mooney's video on the Michael Jackson biopic, and how it's more of a buy-opic than anything, and it went into quite a bit of depth about it and similar films. Also on Tuesday, No Rolls Barred continued Series 4 of the Board Game League with Sheriff of Nottingham, which was very fun. Lastly, I finally reached Series 19 of Taskmaster UK and I finished it this week. I absolutely loved it, though I am still unsure on if it's my favourite series (it's currently S18) but it is definitely very close.

For some other media I've enjoyed, I've still been playing some Geometry Dash and Office Chair Curling. I'll probably actually write the proper Office Chair Curling review this week, but it's still just as fun, and just today while playing I got the highest ever score on the Slalom level, 300(!). I should definitely also play some multiplayer matches too once I can.

I've gotten a bit better at finding more artists to follow, but for today I only have this sketchy drawing by Froglet Comics to share, it's very cozy! LRR's Graham Stark also shared this silly storyboard sketch from their new episode of commodoreHustle, which I found just as hilarious as he did. And also, for good measure, here's a colmado (bodega) cat.

Lastly, Hank Green made this amazing timeline tool for all photographs and videos of/from the Artemis II mission. I adore this, and if there's one thing that I shared today and want others to do so as well, it's definitely this. These images and videos, along with the fact that they are publicly available, make me very happy, and — like I've said repeatedly — I feel like we all need some of that.

That's it for the media I've enjoyed! I did publish some things this week that I am super proud of too. There's the aforementioned Maya post of course, but I also made a map of how each currency divides their coins, which is my first new map project since January 2025 and I am extremely proud of it. I am in a bit of a currency mood now, so don't be surprised if I release some more infographics about them soon, but that's for later.

It's not been the easiest week for me exactly, but I have been able to find and do quite a bit of fun stuff again, and I've even gotten inspiration for data-visualization projects again! Hopefully I'll have more to show of all that for next week.