A New Year

A new year: a new president about to be sworn in, a dismal economy, the end of the Holidaze, winter and, of course, more stories about recognizable forms and faces appearing in unexpected places. I think it is safe to say that every year is the year of Madonna of the Toast!

This story from the Las Vegas Sun does provide a twist on the standard story, however. Antonia Baker of West Valley claims that every tile in her kitchen carries on it an image of Jesus. The 13 x 13 inch ceramic tiles were put down in the kitchen eight years ago, but Baker only noticed them three years ago “during the Christmas season while she was recovering from surgery for an eye injury. Doctors said she had to keep her head down to allow her retina to heal. She wasn't allowed to read or use the computer, so she had to stare at the floor for three weeks.” Sounds like that would make for a sore neck.

I know the image above is less than ideal, but if you really want to take a look at the tile, click here for a slideshow. Thing is, the Jesus part of the pattern is pretty tough to see. What’s most interesting about this story is that the form Baker claims to be that of Jesus is replicated on all of the tiles. Most of these instances are one-off examples of pareidolia. As the article points out, there could be many kitchen floors in the greater Las Vegas area with the same Jesus tiles.

Baker has tried to sell a few of her tiles on eBay, but to no avail, so she is happy to keep walking all over Jesus.



With a new year also comes the obligatory year-end retrospective of the previous year. California’s Porterville Recorder did one such nostalgic romp of 2008’s most popular stories and at the top of the list, above murders, fatal car accidents and the presidential election, a story about this angel image. Seen on the window of a local business, the image drew thousands of visitors and even got a shout-out from Keith Olbermann. And then, a couple of weeks later an image of Jesus on the cross appeared on a palm tree next to the window that initially got all of the attention.

The past two years have been pretty good for this ongoing project. Maybe this year the book will get Olbermann's attention -- remember, every year is the Year of Madonna of the Toast!