Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Rise of Notre Dame Will Be Cathedral’s Next Episode
When the unthinkable happens, the equal and opposite reaction should also be unthinkable.
(CNN)
Yesterday’s devastating fire to the more than 800-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was heart-wrenching to watch as a fire–reportedly related to the most recent $6 million+ renovation efforts–took down the famous spire and roof, causing additional damage inside. Having visited Notre Dame, like so many people around the world, it was difficult to witness the destruction on live TV.
Just a day later and the latest developments are encouraging given the circumstance.
French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed his heartbroken citizens (and global community mourning in solidarity) earlier today.
“We will rebuild Notre Dame within five years.”
–French President Emmanuel Macron
Rebuilding Notre Dame Cathedral inside of five years seems unthinkable. But the good, inspiring kind of unthinkable. And it’s a grand challenge Parisians and the world will be watching, supporting and praying for in the years to come.
After a massive fire engulfed Notre Dame, the popular cathedral deserves a lasting vision in the future that honors and celebrates its decorated past.
Thankfully, that process appears to be underway.
‘The Rise of Skywalker’ Is Here
The highly-anticipated first teaser trailer for ‘Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker’ has arrived after just being shown to fans at the Star Wars Celebration in Chicago.
Watch. Now!
To say ‘Episode IX’ looks amazing with J.J. Abrams returning to the director’s chair is an understatement. The tone is certainly reminiscent of ‘The Force Awakens,’ which of course was directed by Mr. Abrams. That will please many ‘Star Wars’ fans. And opening in the desert with heavy breathing by one of its stars for both initial teasers for ‘The Force Awakens’ and ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ was a nice touch of continuity by the director.
At this point, it’s time to just rewatch a few (dozen) times in excitement as December inches ever closer.
However, just one quick analytical note:
I really thought this new trilogy was spelling out the overarching theme and meaning through its titles. Such as ‘The Force Awakens the Last Jedi…’ Grammatically, ‘The Force Awakens the Last Jedi the Rise of Skywalker’ doesn’t make sense. Bummer.
Awakens-Last-Rise? The overarching themes of the three films in the sequence are remarkably similar to Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy but less dark.
Interesting.
For now, Luke Skywalker is back as a narrator/guiding voice (we’ll see if that’s his final form) as well as Lando Calrissian.
The past meets the future in ‘Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker.’
The Space Between Truth and Fiction Is Not so Strange Anymore
A black hole is photographed for the first time, thanks in part to Katie Bouman.
“Three years ago, Bouman led the creation of an algorithm that eventually helped capture this first-of-its-kind image: a supermassive black hole and its shadow at the center of a galaxy known as M87. She was then a graduate student in computer science and artificial intelligence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”
–Michelle Lou and Saeed Ahmed, CNN, ‘That image of a black hole you sae everywhere today? Thank this grad student for making it possible’
Amazing. And this amazement applies to the first image of a black hole in space as well as Ms. Bouman’s ground–well, space–breaking algorithm.
Life is about pushing boundaries, which is a particular topic of interest with the release of ‘First Man’ starring Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy and the recent theatrical release of the CNN documentary ‘Apollo 11’ chronicling America’s groundbreaking moon landing. While in awe of the image shown above, American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate Kip Thorne and the science fiction epic ‘Interstellar’ by Christopher Nolan immediately came to mind. ‘Interstellar,’ while fiction, is painstakingly rooted in real science. Creating a realistic depiction of a black hole was pivotal to the story for the filmmakers, writers, and audience.
Was the ‘Interstellar’ crew right with their image of a black hole back in 2014?
Kip Thorne, Christopher Nolan, and the entire ‘Interstellar’ team were pretty damn close with their depiction of a black hole in 2014 to the first image of a black hole in 2019!
Who else is going to watch ‘Interstellar’ again?
This scientific revelation as compared to a cinematic epic validates and builds upon the lore of Mr. Nolan’s brilliance as a filmmaker and storyteller of spaces beyond our earthly realities. More importantly, the first image of a black hole is a game-changer in ways we are only just beginning to comprehend.
Yesterday was another giant leap for mankind.
Discovering the Bones of a Football Stadium
The Discovery Channel + Sports?
Yes. It’s true.
In the spirit of recent news regarding new innovative soccer stadiums in Europe, as covered here on Jimmy’s Daily Planet involving Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur, let’s dive deep into an enlightening perspective of the building process for a football stadium (applies to American and European football equally) that’s not normally fit for front page news.
Discovery UK, staying true to its M.O., dove into the groundwork of how American football stadiums are built for its latest (ad)venture. Specifically, the University of Phoenix Stadium was examined.
Tackling this fascinating subject matter–which again still qualifies for stadiums dedicated to the world’s game–should certainly earn some views at the pub whilst sipping on a frosty pint during halftime of Champions League.
Today’s UEFA Champions League schedule at 3 p.m. ET:
- Ajax vs. Juventus
- Manchester United vs. Barcelona
Interestingly, like the version of football favored in Europe, constructing a stadium requires acute attention to detail, innovation in design and patience for achieving the ultimate goal.
The following blueprint isn’t for your average LEGO set.
Interior and outer design, size, sound control and distribution, the impact of weather, pitch condition, and many other essential variables and constants must be addressed–and can be addressed–in a variety of ways when building a new major sports stadium. Thankfully, Discovery UK has provided at least a few answers that will hopefully satisfy our understandable curiosities concerning our particular tastes in sports stadiums.
Given that sports stadiums are a community’s calling card and identity, knowing the bones (so to speak) of our favorite stadiums around the world is valuable knowledge. An awesome power, really. Because, like sports, once we understand the fundamentals, we can then begin to innovate in ways that redefine perception locally and beyond for generations to come.
What’s your favorite sports stadium(s)? Why? What experience(s) impacted your opinion(s)?
Isn’t it amazing how our cherished memories of watching sports live are only partly about the game? That’s what’s really beautiful about “the game” in the abstract.
Oh, substitute hot dogs for well-done mini bratwursts and we’re all good, Discovery UK.
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