Ella Fitzgerald's Inaugural Live Album For Verve, 'Ella At The Shrine', Recorded In 1956 But Unreleased For More Than 60 Years, Available Now On Vinyl

Unreleased for more than 60 years, Ella Fitzgerald's live concert from 1956, 'Ella At The Shrine,' is now widely available on vinyl via Verve/UMe

Recorded live at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 1956, Ella At The Shrine captures Ella Fitzgerald at the beginning of her career renaissance, just weeks after becoming the first signing to Norman Granz's newly-created Verve Records. 

The brief but thrilling set, which was part of Granz's historic Jazz At The Philharmonic concert series, was only recently discovered after more than 60 years of languishing in Verve's vaults. 

Thought to be Verve's first live recording, Ella At The Shrine is available today via Verve/UMe as a single LP on standard weight black vinyl. It will be available for digital download and streaming for the first time next Friday, March 1. 

⏩ This wide release follows a limited edition yellow vinyl version released in November 2018 as part of Record Store Day's Black Friday. 

Ella At the Shrine contains the sweet taste of a new and shining era for Ella as she becomes the crown jewel of Verve Records. Fitzgerald delivers a rousing seven-song set, which most notably includes an early version of George and Ira Gershwin's "'S Wonderful," three years before she would perfect the song on her monumental 1959 album Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George and Ira Gershwin Song Book and cause Ira Gershwin to famously remark: "I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them." 

Ella At the Shrine showcases The First Lady of Song just weeks before she'd go on to record her breakthrough album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book. 

Other tunes performed this evening include the bluesy "Cry Me A River," the rhythmic "Lullaby of Birdland," the swinging "Joe Williams's Blues" and "Air Mail Special," a bouncy number featuring Fitzgerald's famed scatting skills. 

The album includes liner notes by jazz broadcaster and educator, Phil Schaap, who discovered this recording in an undocumented area in Verve's vault where it sat untouched for more than six decades.

In celebration of Fitzgerald's centennial in 2017, Verve debuted the previously unreleased Ella at Zardi's: an acclaimed live album that was recorded during her two-week stint at the nightclub in Hollywood. This recording, which earned Fitzgerald her first No. 1 on the Jazz Album Chart and her second No. 1 on the Traditional Jazz Albums Chart, was initially thought to be both the label's and Fitzgerald's first live album for Verve. 

Remarkably, Granz recorded and emceed Ella at the Shrine 10 days prior, announcing on the LP, as Fitzgerald is leaving the stage and the crowd roars for more, that "Ella has to get back to Zardi's." Due to the closeness in timeframe, it is easy to assume she is backed by the same musicians who played on Ella at Zardi's: Don Abney, piano; Vernon Alley or Joe Mondragon, bass; Frank Capp Drums.

Ella Fitzgerald with Marylin Monroe (Image via The Vintage News)

Fitzgerald's unwaning influence and remarkable legacy remains as strong as ever and her music continues to be honored and celebrated long after her passing. 

Most recently, the Recording Academy inducted her landmark 1959 album Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George and Ira Gershwin Song Books into the 2019's GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, just ahead of its 60th anniversary. 

With a goal of "preserving and celebrating timeless recordings," the inductions are for recordings at least 25 years old that exhibit qualitative or historical significance. Fitzgerald's album was one of 25 new titles inducted this year alongside recordings from: Aerosmith, Dolly Parton, Fats Domino, Frank Sinatra, Leonard Cohen, Miles Davis, Nina Simone and Tom Petty. "We're honored to add these masterpieces to our growing catalog and are delighted to celebrate the impact they've had on our musical, social, and cultural history," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. 

Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George and Ira Gershwin Song Books is her third song book to join the illustrious GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, joining Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Song Book and Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Rodgers & Hart Song Book as well as several other albums and songs. In its recent appreciation of Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Gershwin Song Book, the Wall Street Journal asserted: "Fitzgerald's most ambitious album and one of her crowning achievements, this songbook is a matchless treasure."

Ella Fitzgerald (image via Jazziz.com)

Ella At The Shrine Track Listing:

SIDE ONE
1. 'S Wonderful
2. Cry Me a River
3. Lullaby of Birdland
4.Glad to be Unhappy

SIDE TWO
1. And the Angels Sing
2. Joe Williams's Blues
3. Air Mail Special
4. Norman Granz Announcement

⏩ "Ella At The Shrine" can now be ordered here ⏪

About The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation:

The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation was created and funded in 1993 by Ella Fitzgerald in order to fulfill her desire to use the fruits of her success to help people of all races, cultures and beliefs. 

Fitzgerald hoped to make their lives more rewarding, and she wanted to foster a love of reading, as well as a love of music. In addition, she hoped to provide assistance to the at-risk and disadvantaged members of our communities—assistance that would enable them to achieve a better quality of life. 

⏩ The Board of Directors of the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation seeks to continue Ella Fitzgerald's goals by making charitable grants serving four major areas of interest:

• creating educational and other opportunities for children
• fostering a love and knowledge of music, including assistance to students of music
• the provision of health care, food, shelter and counseling to those in need
• specific areas of medical care and research with an emphasis on Diabetes, vision problems and heart disease

SOURCE: Verve/UMe

Atlanta History Center Unveils Restored 1886 Cyclorama Depicting 1864 Battle of Atlanta

Atlanta History Center Unveils Restored 1886 Cyclorama Depicting 1864 Battle of Atlanta

Today, the Atlanta History Center opens Cyclorama: The Big Picture, featuring the fully restored The Battle of Atlanta cyclorama painting. Depicting the 1864 Battle of Atlanta—a major turning point in the Civil War—the 360-degree cyclorama is one of the world's largest oil paintings, standing 49 feet tall, stretching longer than a football field and weighing 10,000 pounds. 

Enhanced by multimedia storytelling technologies—including a 12-minute, larger-than-life presentation projected onto the painting—the exhibit is housed in the Lloyd and Mary Ann Whitaker Cyclorama Building at the Atlanta History Center, a newly erected, custom-built 25,000-square-foot space. 

The Battle of Atlanta cyclorama is one of only two cycloramas in the United States, the other being The Battle of Gettysburg cyclorama, making the Atlanta History Center home to one of America's largest historic treasures.

In the 1880s, cycloramas—massive 360-degree paintings—provided immersive experiences analogous to today's virtual reality. They were created as money-making attractions and a form of entertainment—the IMAX of their time. The Battle of Atlanta cyclorama is a full-color, 3D illusion designed to transport the viewer onto the battlefield. The painting visually tells the story of the 1864 Battle of Atlanta, but over time it has evolved into a significant artifact that has its own fascinating story, as its historical journey is indeed part of the "big picture." 

The new exhibit was created to give visitors an experience true to the one offered when the cyclorama was created in 1886—an experience no one has witnessed in more than 100 years. Restoration highlights include:

• Re-creation of three missing sections, adding 2,908 square feet to the painting to return it to its original size of 14,952 square feet
• Erection of a 15-foot stationary platform upon which visitors can view the composition at eye-level
• Re-creation of a 120-foot, custom-made diorama landscape, including 128 original restored diorama figures from 1936
• Corrected hyperbolic shape through re-tensioning, conveying the originally intended 3D effect

Painting Close Up of Solider Scene from Hillary Hardwick (AHC Marketing Dept.)

Created at the American Panorama Company in Milwaukee by 17 German artists in 1866, 22 years after the Battle of Atlanta, the painting originally depicted the battle from a Northern perspective—as a heroic Union victory—to appeal to Northern audiences. 

When the painting relocated to Atlanta in 1892, it was slightly modified and advertised as "the only Confederate victory ever painted" to appeal to Southern audiences with Confederate sympathies. 

The Battle of Atlanta was not a Confederate victory, and those 1892 changes—like repainting fleeing Confederates in gray uniforms to depict fleeing Union soldiers in blue uniforms—were repainted yet again in the 1930s to accurately portray the original design.

Throughout the 127 years that the cyclorama has been on display in Atlanta, it has been the subject of periodic interpretation. At times, it was seen as a proud symbol of the New South's capital, rising from the ashes left by General William T. Sherman. It has also been criticized as an anachronism meant to glorify the Lost Cause of the Confederacy. 

Perceptions of history, and the painting itself, have depended on the eye of the beholder, as audiences have viewed it in different times and places throughout the years. 

With this new exhibit, the Atlanta History Center intends to channel these varying viewpoints into a deeper conversation.

"History is messy, but it has a lot to teach us—if we let it," said Sheffield Hale, president and chief executive officer of the Atlanta History Center. "What makes Cyclorama: The Big Picture so cool is the surprise factor of the painting's history—the 'how and why' it was created, and its various interpretations over time. We are challenging visitors to explore their own perceptions and misperceptions of history. Facts are facts, but the way we view the past varies widely."

The Atlanta History Center will use this restored work of art and entertainment, and the history of the painting itself, as a tool to talk about the "big picture."

Through exhibitions, rare artifacts, historic images, immersive technology, digital resources, videos and museum theater, visitors are encouraged to look critically at a range of Civil War imagery and consider how images and entertainment can influence how we perceive history. Photography, art, movies, marketing and media all provoke emotions and can generate incorrect, or incomplete, ideas about historical events. They do not always provide the full perspective of events and people.

"These shifting viewpoints are precisely what make The Battle of Atlanta cyclorama such a distinctive and important artifact," said Atlanta History Center Senior Military Historian Gordon Jones. "No other object can so vividly tell the story of how attitudes toward the Civil War have been shaped and reshaped over the past 150 years. In fact, it is the largest single artifact in existence to demonstrate the power of the use and misuse of historical memory." 

⏩ Seeded by a $10 million gift from Atlantans Lloyd and Mary Ann Whitaker, the Atlanta History Center raised $35.78 million for the project, including $10 million for an endowment that will ensure the ongoing care of The Battle of Atlanta painting and related objects, including the locomotive Texas, during the 75-year license agreement with the City of Atlanta. Additionally, $2.6 million was dedicated to painting conservation and restoration and $2.9 million to safely relocate the painting. 

Visitor Experience

Visitors are greeted by an introductory video as they enter Cyclorama: The Big Picture. Two levels of exhibitions detail truths and myths of the Civil War, explore the untold stories of the painting, examine the role movies and visual entertainment have on shaping perspectives of the Civil War and provide a look at the fleeting entertainment sensation of cycloramas.

Guests enter the painting rotunda through a tunnel, passing underneath the diorama before ascending an escalator to the 15-foot stationary viewing platform. Here, visitors immediately experience a full 360-degree view of the painting, enhanced by a 12-minute, larger-than-life theatrical presentation projected onto the painting. In addition, visitors can use handheld tablets to point at various scenes on the painting which offer more detailed information.

Visitor Details

Cyclorama: The Big Picture is included in Atlanta History Center's all-inclusive general admission ticket, which includes full access to all exhibitions, three historic houses and 33 acres of Goizueta Gardens. Parking is free. Souper Jenny Café, BRASH Coffee and the Atlanta History Center's Gift Shop and Bookstore are accessible to all visitors and do not require tickets.

⏩Timed tickets are required to access the platform and view the painting. Advance tickets available online at AtlantaHistoryCenter.com. 

Pre-Move Close Up of Painting on Scroll One. from Hillary Hardwick (AHC Marketing Dept.)

About Atlanta History Center

Founded in 1926, the Atlanta History Center is an all-inclusive, 33-acre destination featuring the Atlanta History Museum, one of the nation's largest history museums; including the new Cyclorama: The Big Picture experience; three historic houses—the 1920s Swan House, the 1860s Smith Family Farm and the 1830s Wood Family Cabin; Goizueta Gardens; the Kenan Research Center; the Grand Overlook event space; a museum shop; Souper Jenny café; and BRASH coffee shop. In addition, the Atlanta History Center welcomes visitors to the Margaret Mitchell House at Atlanta History Center Midtown.

• The Atlanta History Center is open 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays and noon-5:30 p.m. Sundays (with ticket sales until 4:30 p.m. daily). Parking is free. 

SOURCE: Atlanta History Center

"Saving Washington" Film Rights Optioned by Producer of HBO's Big Little Lies

Saving Washington: The Forgotten Story of the Maryland 400 and The Battle of Brooklyn

Saving Washington, Chris Formant's riveting novel about the forgotten heroes who saved General George Washington and the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, has been optioned by Fearless Films/Gregg Fienberg, the Emmy Award-winning producer of Big Little Lies, as well as the Emmy Award-nominated Deadwood and True Blood, and Golden Globe-winning Twin Peaks.

Hidden in the pages of history, Formant's book reminds us of the sacrifices made for our country. "Saving Washington is the extraordinary story of America's Spartans, the Maryland 400, a group of young men from Maryland who stood up to an overwhelming British Army at the Battle of Brooklyn, buying time for Washington and the Continental Army to escape," Fienberg said. "If not for their sacrifice, the American Revolution would have been over that day."

According to author Chris Formant, the Battle of Brooklyn—the Revolutionary War's first and fiercest conflict—was once called, "An hour more precious to American Liberty than any other in history," and yet has been forgotten. 

"My fascination with this lost piece of history all started a few years ago. I accidentally came across a one-paragraph announcement in the Baltimore Sun describing a wreath laying ceremony near Prospect Park in Brooklyn to honor the heroism of a small Maryland regiment on August 27, 1776, and I wondered—as a student of history, why don't I know anything about this?" 

The desire to understand what would motivate an untested band of young soldiers to lay down their lives for a new nation fueled the passion that became Saving Washington.

"I'm excited that Gregg Fienberg has chosen this story of America's most forgotten heroes to bring to light on film and finally give the Maryland 400 the spotlight they deserve," Formant said. 

Formant's research led him to the Army War College where he brought decorated military leaders to tears describing that somewhere beneath the bustling streets of Brooklyn lie the remains of America's forgotten citizen-soldiers whose heroic sacrifice galvanized the nation on the eve of its birth.

With Saving Washington, Formant crafted a work of historical fiction that transports the reader back to that moment in 1776 and the escalating tension with the British. 

Seen through the eyes of two teenagers, one white and one black, Formant presents the colliding forces of personal freedom, taxation, American exceptionalism and Old Testament religion. It is a story that reminds us of the extraordinary devotion that founded our new country.

Chris Formant (lmage via BookTrib)

About Chris Formant:

(via chrisformant.com)

"Novelist Chris Formant is a student of history. He’s a former top executive of a multi-billion-dollar global business and now technology company CEO. Formant is an unlikely author of historical fiction, but the heroic story of Maryland’s Forgotten 400 drove him to assemble an expert team to help him conduct painstaking research and then write his second book, Saving Washington,.

His debut novel, Bright Midnight, received lavish praise and has been dubbed the “Da Vinci Code for rock and roll fans.” In the thriller, Formant created a unique mystery in which he re-imagined the deaths of rock icons as murders. 

Chris splits his time between Baltimore, Maryland and Sedona, Arizona."

SOURCE: Chris Formant

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How an X-Men writer inspired binge-worthy, character-driven TV from Buffy to Game of Thrones

An early comics book writer inspired today’s TV writing. The Umbrella Academy (Netflix), based on the comic book by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, tops binge-worthy TV lists this month. Mary J. Blige plays Cha-Cha, an assassin that can travel through time. (Christos Kalohoridis / Netflix)

A quiet revolution has occurred within all of our homes, one that has fundamentally altered the way we watch television.

Given the North American love of television, it is not hyperbole to say this revolution has had a notable effect on our lives, our culture and our identities. It is strange to consider that we might owe a great deal of these cultural changes to the work of a single X-Men comics writer.

This writer played a significant role in developing the long-form storytelling techniques that have since found their way into everything from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Game of Thrones to Stranger Things.

In the 1960s, X-Men comics were a failure for Marvel, despite boasting the creative pairing of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. After 63 issues, the series was effectively cancelled and left in limbo for five years. Then in 1975, a 24 year old editorial assistant named Chris Claremont took over as the new writer of X-men.

The First Issue of X-Men.

Claremont expected the job to last six issues, but he instead wound up writing the series for 16 consecutive years.

In that time, X-Men went from a B-list title to the best-selling comic book in the world, and Claremont holds the Guinness World Record to this day for the bestselling single issue comic of all-time: X-Men (vol 2) #1.

All of this is established comics history. What does it have to do with television?

A seismic shift: Casual to dedicated audiences

By the late 1990s, television had begun a transition. According to culuralist Jimmie Reeves and his colleagues, TV started “programming forms that inspire devoted rather than casual engagement.” Prior to this, TV was dependant on broadcast scheduling and had to be designed to be accessible to casual viewers. This was simply because there was no way to guarantee audiences would be in front of their television the next week at the exact same time to see the next episode.

With the rise of VHS or DVD boxed sets, personal video recorders and later, streaming services, television was set free to use long-form continuity-based storytelling. Those stories featured more complex character dynamics within more continuous, open-ended plots and structures.

As a result of this transition, the way most of the globe consumed television changed within a very short period of time. This shift led us from self-contained, non-continuous stories to the very concept of being “binge-worthy.”

This same type of transition is exactly what Claremont contributed to comics, decades prior.
When Claremont started on X-Men in 1975, comics were also written for a casual audience. Stan Lee is famously quoted as saying: “Every comic book is someone’s first.” Casual engagement needed to be woven into the books. That was the status quo and creators were not allowed to drift too far from it.

But Claremont was not interested in telling the same stories over and over, and because he wrote X-Men for 16 years, he covered a lot of stories. This necessitated a new approach to writing, one that allowed for change: new characters and new directions. In light of this, Claremont’s X-Men were constantly changing and growing in a way that did not conform to Stan Lee’s mandate.

X-Men #136

Claremont’s growth of writing style was rooted in an interest in character over plot. Comics historian Sean Howe noted: “All Claremont cared about were the emotional relationships of his characters.” As a result, X-Men became, as Howe put it, “the soapiest soap saga ever put forth by the House of Ideas, filled with agonized romances, self-confidence crises, lectures on morality, psychic scars, and worrying.”

If these elements sound familiar, they should. Most of our current television programs use the same components to build their devoted followings.

From Kitty to Buffy

The most direct successor of Claremont’s work is Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer. According to cultural critic Geoff Klock, Claremont’s influence “looms too large for many to see. A lot of folks don’t know that Joss Whedon would not have created Buffy or Angel were it not for Claremont’s X-men.”

Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Similarly, comics historian Jason Powell believes Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer is “an avowed Kitty Pryde [a character Claremont created for X-men] analogue, and an entire season of Buffy riffed on Claremont’s ‘Dark Phoenix Saga’.”

The same can be said for an entire season of Whedon’s Angel, which used Claremont’s Illyana Rasputin character as the basis for a long arc about Angel’s son, Connor. Whedon is quite open about how Claremont inspired him, and Buffy is frequently cited as a touchstone moment in the development of long-form storytelling in television.

A broader absorption

Beyond this direct influence, Claremont’s techniques are widely visible among the best-loved television series within this current golden age: nested story structures, drawn-out mysteries, character melodrama and dysfunctional collectives that have to put aside their differences to defeat a common foe.

The only thing missing is the yellow tights. Perceived as a whole, Claremont’s work constructed a sort of long-form storytelling toolbox, one that our TV creators have been dipping into ever since.

Claremont’s X-Women.

Additionally, Claremont’s use of women in his stories was, according to Powell, “ahead of its time 30 years ago, and modern comics are still catching up.” His cultivation of strong female characters like Storm, Carol Danvers, Rogue, Colleen Wing, Misty Knight, Phoenix and Psylocke set a new standard for action heroines in popular culture as a whole, one that manifests readily in some of the great, badass heroines populating our screens today.

In the end

When Claremont was finally pushed out of X-Men comics, he was the No. 1 comics writer in the world.

He wasn’t pushed out because he was failing at his job, but because he refused to comply with an editorial mandate that requested a return to status quo, to casual engagement all over again.

His greatest accomplishment — developing ways by which a character-based story could unfold slowly over time — was, ironically, what cost him his job. But if our current television landscape is any indication, our culture has profited greatly from the choices Claremont made, and from the ingenuity that followed those choices.

About Today's Contributor:

J. Andrew Deman,, Professor, University of Waterloo

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

PUBG Mobile and Resident Evil 2 Launch "Zombie: Survive Till Dawn" Gameplay Mode

PUBG Mobile and Resident Evil 2 Launch "Zombie: Survive Till Dawn" Gameplay Mode - First Resident Evil Crossover With Mobile Game Launching Around The World

Tencent Games and PUBG Corporation (PUBG Corp.) announced today the launch of a new gameplay mode called "Zombie: Survive till Dawn", a crossover collaboration between PUBG Mobile and Resident Evil 2. 

In late 2018 PUBG Mobile announced the cross-branding partnership with Capcom's game Resident Evil 2 at the PUBG MOBILE STAR CHALLENGE 2018 Global Finals. The announcement generated significant interest and culminated in the launch of this new gameplay mode.

The gameplay will feature three days and two nights in one 30-minute round that features 60 players within the usual PUBG Mobile game structure. Players will encounter multiple types of zombies from the Resident Evil series such as Police, Licker and G1 as well as other zombies created by the PUBG Mobile team.

As Survive till Dawn turns from day through dusk and into night time, the zombies become considerably more aggressive and will pose a significant challenge for PUBG Mobile players. 

• During the day players can defeat zombies from long range and conduct farming. 
• Dusk preps the players for fighting as zombies become more dangerous and visibility drops.
• Night time sees the zombies become enraged and players will have limited PvP engagements due to very low visibility. 
• The legendary Resident Evil 2 characters G (Stage 1) and Tyrant will also appear through random spawning during night time. 
• Also, players can win Leon and Claire skin sets, and Ada and Marvin costumes in-game, which are all popular characters in Resident Evil 2.

"Our Resident Evil 2 partnership announcement generated a lot of buzz in the media and among both games' rabid fan bases," said Vincent Wang, General Manager of Global Publishing Center, Tencent. "We're thrilled to launch Survive till Dawn, a new gameplay mode that offers the very best of our two game platforms. The Resident Evil series is iconic among gamers and we anticipate incredible support for this gameplay that pushes players to survive a night of terror."

PUBG Mobile has enjoyed unprecedented success since its launch, exceeding 30 million daily active users and 200 million downloads in just eight months. In 2018, PUBG Mobile took home multiple awards and nominations, just eight months after the game's release. 

The game earned three awards at the Google Play Awards last month, including "Best Game." It also won the "Mobile Game of the Year" award at the 2018 Golden Joysticks and received nominations from The Game Awards and the App Store.

About Resident Evil:

The Resident Evil franchise features survival horror games in which players utilize a variety of weapons and other items to escape terrifying situations. 

Cumulative sales of the games in the series now total 88 million units* since the first title debuted in 1996. More than 20 years later, support from the passionate fan base across the globe even today makes it Capcom's flagship game series. 

Originally released in 1998, Resident Evil 2 went on to achieve cumulative sales of 4.96 million units, making it the fourth best-selling game in the Resident Evil franchise. 

The new Resident Evil 2 has shipped 3 million units* globally since it was released in January. 

*As of January 28, 2019

• Title: Resident Evil 2
• Genre: Survival horror
• Platforms: PlayStation4 system, Xbox One, PC
• Release Date: January 25, 2019
• Official Site: www.residentevil2.com

SOURCE: PUBG Mobile

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America's First Jewish Escape Room - OneBefore, Launches in Brooklyn

The OneBefore Escape Room - Trying to Escape

Gamliel Beyderman, the Russian-born, Orthodox Jewish data scientist on a wild journey to launch America's first Jewish Escape Room finally opened the doors of his venue to the customers right before Chanukah even though their site OneBeforeEscape.com has been discussing the concept for months!

The Brooklyn location is in Midwood, a predominantly Orthodox neighborhood, even though the venue caters to anyone (Jewish or not) interested in all things Jewish. 

• No background in Jewish studies is necessary to complete the room. 
• The facility welcomes school trips and features a 35-person event space that doubles as a fine art gallery focused on the themes explored in the escape room.

After witnessing his teenage son's fascination with escape rooms to the point of building one on the basement of their home, Beyderman realized this medium can be a powerful educational tool to explain complex ideas - through play.

The escape room dramatizes the genealogical discoveries made by Dr. Jeffrey Mark Paull in his quest to illuminate his family's lost connection to noble past. Paull captured his experiences in a volume called "A Noble Heritage." The stranger-than-fiction, but true plot weaves genealogy, Jewish history, loving kindness, sacrifices and miracles.

In Beyderman's own words: "I was amazed that [Paull] restored every single ancestral link connecting himself to the Shpoler Zeide, Rabbi Pinchas Koritzer, Rashi, and ultimately King David. As Jews, we are surrounded and comforted by the stories of their mighty deeds, their Torah - every day. My idea was to take the visitors of our escape room right into those stories through the escape room puzzles." 

The visit continues in the Shpoler Zeide Gallery where each artwork is a story and a portal for meditation about the visitors' experience.

A second escape room at the same location is currently under construction. It promises to take the visitor on a journey to meet the legendary 18th century mystic, Rabbi Pinchas Koritzer. 

The room is an attempt to recreate a trip through the 20 generations of the Shapiro Rabbinic dynasty to find the greatest treasure of the Jewish people. The themes range from saving the manuscripts of Rabbi Pinchas from the flames of the Holocaust to the Jewish mystical numerology (gematria), to the heart-warming story of Rashi, the greatest Bible commentator of all time.

 The OneBefore Escape Room - "Happening Place"

OneBefore Escape is a part of the global escape room phenomenon, as well as an immersive museum of how technology allows us to trace our roots to the most illustrious leaders of the Jewish people. It is in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, near the numerous kosher restaurants, shops and steps from the subway.

SOURCE: OneBefore Escape

National Geographic and Sky Ocean Ventures Launch Global Search for Alternatives to Single-Use Plastics

Registration for the Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge is now open...

National Geographic and Sky Ocean Ventures have launched a global search for innovative solutions to help tackle the world's single-use plastic problem.

The Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge, a one-year competition, will focus on three strategic ways to address the growing issue of plastic pollution: designing alternatives to single-use plastics, identifying opportunities for industries to address plastic waste throughout supply chains, and communicating the breadth of the issue through data visualization. 

The Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge is a key component of National Geographic and Sky Ocean Ventures' partnership to reduce plastic waste.

• Teams or individuals interested in the Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge must submit their solutions by June 11, 2019, for review by an expert judging panel. 
• Selected teams will compete for a share of $1.5 million in awards and investment. Winners will be announced in December 2019.

Commenting on the launch of the challenge, Frederic Michel, group director of impact and Sky Ocean Ventures, said: "In the last 60 seconds, another rubbish truck of plastic litter will have been dumped into our oceans, destroying the environment and killing wildlife. Sky and National Geographic have the very unique opportunity and resources to help reverse the damage that is being done and help accelerate and scale up ideas. By seeking out and supporting the innovators creating alternative and impactful solutions, we can champion the people who can potentially make a difference, beyond an equity investment. We will bring them into our unique ecosystem and provide them with support across critical areas for their very early growth."

"The Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge is a tremendous opportunity to create a global community of problem solvers — innovators, scientists, researchers, storytellers and other creative minds — who are passionate about bringing their ideas to life in order to stem the tide of plastic pollution," said Dr. Jonathan Baillie, National Geographic Society executive vice president and chief scientist. "National Geographic and Sky Ocean Ventures are excited to work with competition winners to help create new technologies, business models and other solutions that will bring us one step closer to achieving a planet in balance."

The Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge is a key component of National Geographic's Planet or Plastic? initiative, a global effort to significantly reduce the amount of single-use plastic that reaches the ocean by raising awareness, elevating science and education, advancing innovation and inspiring action.

"Food wrappers and beverage containers are ubiquitous, lightweight, and disposable, and many are nonrecyclable. Beverage container lids and caps become detached, and due to their size, are likely to become litter or escape from waste management systems, eventually ending up in marine environments..." (via National Geographic Society)

Sky Ocean Ventures was launched in March 2018 with a £25 million cornerstone commitment from Sky and the objective of seeking out investment opportunities in start-up innovation businesses that can help solve the ocean plastic waste crisis.

⏩ To register, and for more information about the challenge, please visit oceanplastic-challenge.org.

SOURCE: National Geographic Society

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Miami Vice Original Filming Boat Goes Up for Sale

Miami Vice Original Filming Boat: "a Picasso of boats"

An eye for design runs in the family. The late fashion designer Larry Martino created and designed clothes for Hollywood stars but his son, cut from the same cloth, David Martino, 41, of Iconic Premier, has applied that artful eye to collectible vehicles. 

Among them is the most recognizable, iconic pop culture boat in the world, a Wellcraft Scarab 38 KV driven by Don Johnson throughout the 1980s international hit TV series Miami Vice

Calling it artwork in motion, Wellcraft told Martino that Don Johnson himself helped design the boat's finishes and choose the color; there are more than 130 hues in the paint scheme. 

With its beautiful lines and a graceful arch mounted on the boat, the Scarab has a very distinguished look and style making it a perfect museum piece. 

This famous boat holds an illustrious place in television history.

"Owning the original Miami Vice boat has been a lifelong dream and it's an honor to own such a powerful international status symbol," Martino said. "But it is time for the original Miami Vice boat to go to a new home, maybe to a studio such as HGTV, Universal Studios, Vin Diesel, an art museum, casino, sports figure, even a fortune 500 company that will greatly benefit from the 30 years plus of branding or someone who just is a die-hard fan of Miami Vice."

But the worth of such a legendary, beautiful vessel is a mystery. Unlike collectible cars of which there are hundreds, the only boat that comes to mind is the original Miami Vice filming boat, by far the most recognizable boat in the world.

"It is hard to put a value on such an iconic collector's piece," Martino said. "I view this as priceless and irreplaceable. It's unique, and highly collectible, a true masterpiece. It's definitely a Picasso of boats, so we've priced it at $20 million on eBay." All offers will be welcomed.

International Superstar David Martino Cruising with his pal the "Legend"

Martino will give away the very last Miami Vice Daytona built by renown car builder Carl Roberts.

"That would be a fun two-for-one, wouldn't it?" Martino said. "I'd be willing to do that; if someone bought the boat, I'd throw the Daytona in free. They really need to stay together."

"We all remember Don Johnson playing Detective Sonny Crockett on the show," Martino said. "Some lucky person will carry the Miami Vice legacy with pride of ownership. There's 30 years of branding behind the original Miami Vice filming boat, which became a household name and a character in the movie."

Miami Vice: Don Johnson as Detective Sonny Crockett

The Miami Vice boat can be viewed at iconicpremier.world along with Martino's other Hollywood collectibles including the Original Bandit Trans Am, the car that stared The Smokey and the Bandit phenomena.

SOURCE: Iconic Premier

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History in Motion: Iconic Cars from Hollywood will Parade Around Los Angeles on President's Day led by a Presidential Limo with a Special Guest

President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Chrysler Imperial Parade Phaeton

Celebrating Los Angeles' love of both the automobile and Hollywood, the Petersen Automotive Museum will host a parade on President's Day, February 18, 2019. Featuring iconic Hollywood cars, the parade will be a fun "thank you" to the people of Los Angeles for their unwavering support over the past quarter century.

Beginning at 10 a.m. in Playa Vista, the parade route will pass several of the city's landmarks including The Santa Monica Pier, Rodeo Drive and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

During the route, there will be one planned 20-minute stop at Abbott Kinney Boulevard in Venice, where viewers can take pictures with the parade cars. 

After the parade, the cars will return to the Petersen at around 1 p.m. and be displayed on the third floor of the museum parking garage.

Viewers positioned around the designated parade route will see the 1951 Chrysler Camera Car once owned by billionaire movie mogul Howard Hughes; the Volkswagen Type 2 Microbus from the 2006 American comedy-drama "Little Miss Sunshine;" the 1998 Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible from the second installment of the Austin Powers franchise "The Spy Who Shagged Me;" the 2002 Jaguar XK-R Stunt Car that was the anti-hero car in the 2002 James Bond flick "Die Another Day;" the Chrysler Imperial Parade Phaeton, which belonged to President Dwight D. Eisenhower; the Honda S2000 from "2 Fast 2 Furious;" and other iconic Hollywood vehicles.

"The Petersen would not be what it is today without the steadfast support of the Los Angeles community," said Petersen Automotive Museum Executive Director Terry L. Karges. "For 25 years, we have strived as an organization to captivate the hearts of Angelenos, igniting within them a passion for the automobile. Because Hollywood is such an important aspect of our community, the parade will serve as a fun tribute to the industry on which Los Angeles was built upon."

SOURCE: Petersen Automotive Museum

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