We Were Here Once – A Letter to the Ones Beyond the Stars

Voyager 1 and 2 each carried a Golden Record, a disc which carried sounds, images, music and greetings from our planet to anyone or anything that might come across the spacecraft as they travel through interstellar space.  Yet what would you write if you were to send your own missive to the ones beyond the stars?  This deeply thought-provoking short film by Véras Fawaz focuses on an elderly gentleman, approaching death with quiet dignity, who is about to send his final message. 

As well as being a beautiful piece of film-making, with the visual richness of a full-length movie, the message that the old man sends into space is something very special.  Shaped by the awareness of his own mortality, as well as that of those he loves and loved, the letter presents us as fragile, yet driven and very, very, well, human. It confronts issues that are very twenty-first century – how we fill our lives with stories and screens to cope with fear, even though that might make us feel more disconnected than ever.  The old man identifies love as the defining human force, on which is quiet, enduring and found in moments both ordinary and extraordinary.  It sends to the stars a simple message – that humans feel, fear and love.  And even as we edge towards death, we still hope to connect. 

Watch We Were Here Once below.

The Ruins of Bannerman's Island

Quite how unlucky can one building be? Abandoned, neglected and decaying, at first sight you may think that Bannerman’s Castle is located in Europe, perhaps a Scottish remnant from the days of the lairds or a site in Ireland forsaken by retreating British aristocrats. Yet the Castle, sitting blithely upon Pollepel Island is only 50 miles north of New York City, on the Hudson River. Its history is a long and strange catalogue of disaster. Image Credit Flickr User gsz

Image Credit Flickr User kilgub

Image Credit Flickr User dbfoto

Bizarrely, it isn’t even a castle. What you can see here are the remains of an abandoned military surplus warehouse.

The fact that it was built in the style of a castle says much for the eccentricities, not to mention wealth, of its builder, Francis Bannerman VI (seen left).

Yet from the moment it was built the castle was, so many maintained, doomed.

What was designed to be a testament to and record of the wealth and power of a single interview was to befall no less than four disasters. In little more than a century it would fall in to complete ruin.

Legacy

Sometimes the burden of family history – its legacy if you like – can weigh heavily upon someone.  So it is with the hero of this animated short written and directed by Adam Floeck.  Yet whether one makes one’s own way in this world or follows in the footsteps of who went before, perhaps the greatest resolution is to do it for yourself.  Maybe that is the greatest legacy anyone can bestow upon their children – the right to make decisions for themselves.

This is a thought-provoking and beautifully made animated short.  It is even more of an achievement when you take in to account that Floeck created it while a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design.  As an undergraduate piece this is outstanding.

Paralympics 2012: Disabled People Making History

As the UK closes the curtains on the Olympic world stage and marks the end of the 2012 Paralympics, guest writer Danny West (left), trainer, coach, mentor and leadership consultant, reflects on the last two weeks and how everyone can join in to sustain the game's legacy.

The world has just witnessed a unique demonstration of disabled people’s absolute ability to overcome adversity, achieve world records and participate as fully able and highly skilled equal members of society.

Image Credit Flickr User Mia Elliot

The UK is proud to be positioned in third place in the Olympic medal tables; the world’s Paralympians have demonstrated that they have a remarkable ability to achieve their goals and have impressed and inspired the world with their skills, dignity and determination. The human spirit which has been utilised to confront and overcome a multitude of physical, emotional, psychological and environmental barriers has achieved the seemingly impossible and has potentially changed the views of non-disabled people, institutions and governments throughout the world.