#Josh Freilich

[dclblog]

Dune: Part Two (O-Ton)...

...steht, um das Beste an diesem Film gleich zu Beginn gebührend zu würdigen, seinem Vorgänger in Sachen visueller Brillanz in nichts nach, fast im Gegenteil: war schon Denis Villeneuves erster Teil ein Fest für die Augen, aber eher eines, welches mehr bewundert als emotional aufgesogen werden konnte, wird hier nicht nur die Haptik der verschiedenen Welten spürbarer, sondern auch ihre Atmosphäre, ihre Bedrohlichkeit, ihre subtextuelle Bedeutung für die Geschichte. Das Meisterstück bleibt dabei die Welt der Harkonnen, eine ebenso roh wie steril, technologisch überlegen wie barbarisch anmutende Hölle, die beklemmend und faszinierend, abstoßend und auf morbide Art anziehend wirkt. Es hilft freilich auch, dass in Part Two das Erzähltempo vom Fleck weg deutlich mehr Saft hat, was dazu führt, dass hier unterm Strich der deutlich süffigere, unterhaltsamere Film bei rumkommt. Es gibt so gut wie keine Längen in diesem überlangen Werk, dafür viel zu Sehen, Erleben und Staunen. Ereignisse überschlagen sich, der Plot schreitet so unaufhaltsam voran, wie sich die riesigen Sandwürmer durch die Wüste wühlen. Und das hat Folgen, die nicht nur erfreulich sind.

"Dune: Part Two" erzählt eine Geschichte von religiösem Fanatismus, der sich mühelos in das politische Pendant verwandeln kann, von imperialistischen Allmachtsphantasien, die alle überkommen, die nicht begreifen, dass es kein richtiges Leben im Falschen gibt, von dem Missbrauchen von Kultur für Kriegs-, Unterdrückungs- und Vernichtungsagendas. Das sind immens schwere Themen, mit denen man erst einmal erfolgreich jonglieren muss. So versiert, nicht selten virtuos Villeneuve im Inszenieren seiner diversen Actionsequenzen ist, so groß sein Gespür für Bilder gewachsen zu sein scheint, die eben nicht nur episch, sondern auch dräuend aufgeladen wirken, so selten kommt das, was er hier auf der rein inhaltlichen Ebene serviert, arg weit über holzhämmerische und grobschlächtige Schilderungen stark an der Grenze zur Zweidimensionalität hinaus. Mit Ausnahme von Timothée Chalamets Paul Atreidis, der zumindest noch so etwas wie einen halbwegs vielschichtigen, nachvollziehbaren Bogen vom Zweifler zum Despoten vollziehen darf, verkommen alle anderen Figuren zu reinen Sinnbildstatements ohne nennenswertes Innenleben. Javier Bardem ist nicht mehr Stilgar, sondern ein Gesicht mit der konstant darüber prangenden Überschrift "man kann Religion auch übertreiben", Josh Brolin fehlt ein Namensschild, auf dem "Gurney Radikalmilitarismus Halleck" geschrieben steht, Zendaya bekommt die spielerisch undankbarste Aufgabe, das besorgte Gewissen des Filmes darzustellen, welches fassungslos das Abgleiten ihrer Kultur in den faschistoiden Wahn betrachtet und sonst absolut gar nichts mehr zu tun hat und Rebecca Ferguson bleibt bis auf ein paar wenige Ausnahmen, in denen so etwas wie Charakterfleisch durchscheint, durchgehend die kulturelle Aneignung im Dienste der durchtriebenen Sache. Austin Butler zieht sich mit Abstand am Besten aus der Affäre, holt aus all seinen Szenen mit großer Lust am Drüber so viele absurde Vignetten aus seinem Schema F-Schurken heraus, dass es tatsächlich eine reine Freude ist.

Vielleicht erscheint meine Kritik an dieser Stelle unfair. "Star Wars" zum Beispiel ist auch voll von politischem Kommentar - und nein, gebührend respektierte YouTube und Twitter-Dödel, nicht erst, seit Disney alles ach so woke machte - und ich würde nie auf die Idee kommen, seinen latent plumpen Umgang mit großen Themen zu bemängeln. George Lucas hat nie einen Hehl daraus gemacht, dass er einen SciFi-Film als Verarbeitung des Vietnamkriegs machen wollte, und wer das weiß, kann es in der Originaltrilogie nicht übersehen - von der Riefenstahlschen Faschoästhetik des Imperiums ganz zu Schweigen. In der Umsetzung bleibt dann nicht viel, was über ein klassisches "Gut gegen Böse" hinausgeht. Der entscheidend große Unterschied dabei: Die Episoden IV-VI sind randvoll bevölkert mit Figuren, die Herzen gewinnen, die mich von ihrem ersten bis zu ihrem letzten Auftritt berührten und um sie bangen ließen. So sehr ich Villeneuves ersten "Dune" mochte, so unnahbar und fern blieben mir seine Charaktere. Das hat natürlich auch Methode, immerhin geht es um eine Upper Class, die einer anderen Upper Class den Krieg erklärt. Es erschwert nur in diesem zweiten Teil deutlich die Bereitschaft, irgendwas an dieser Tragödie wirklich tragisch zu finden. So wenig ich mich langweilte, so begeistert ich über viele inszenatorische Einfälle und die bomfazionöse Optik und den grenzgenialen Sound war, so insgesamt Wurscht war mir, was mit den Personen, die diese Welt und Geschichte bevölkern, geschehen würde.

Das ist aber am Ende alles Jammern auf wüstensturmhohem Niveau. "Dune: Part Two" ist ein aufregendes, von der ersten bis zur letzten Minute packendes Erlebnis, ein wuchtiges, wummerndes Stück Kino, welches natürlich auf der größtmöglichen Leinwand gesehen werden sollte. Dass es für mich aufgrund von mangelnder Figurentiefe nicht zum Meisterwerk reicht, tut meiner grundsätzlichen Begeisterung für diesen Trip keinen wirklichen Abbruch.

D.C.L.

[spacenutspod]

Sea level rise is affecting coastal communities around the world, especially those like Honolulu, pictured, that are located on islands.NOAA Teacher at Sea Program, NOAA Ship HI’IALAKAI A long-term sea level dataset shows ocean surface heights continuing to rise at faster and faster rates over decades of observations. Global average sea level rose by about 0.3 inches (0.76 centimeters) from 2022 to 2023, a relatively large jump due mostly to a warming climate and the development of a strong El Niño. The total rise is equivalent to draining a quarter of Lake Superior into the ocean over the course of a year. This NASA-led analysis is based on a sea level dataset featuring more than 30 years of satellite observations, starting with the U.S.-French TOPEX/Poseidon mission, which launched in 1992. The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich mission, which launched in November 2020, is the latest in the series of satellites that have contributed to this sea level record. The data shows that global average sea level has risen a total of about 4 inches (9.4 centimeters) since 1993. The rate of this increase has also accelerated, more than doubling from 0.07 inches (0.18 centimeters) per year in 1993 to the current rate of 0.17 inches (0.42 centimeters) per year. This graph shows global mean sea level (in blue) since 1993 as measured by a series of five satellites. The solid red line indicates the trajectory of this increase, which more than doubled over the past three decades. The dotted red line projects future sea level rise.NASA/JPL-Caltech “Current rates of acceleration mean that we are on track to add another 20 centimeters of global mean sea level by 2050, doubling the amount of change in the next three decades compared to the previous 100 years and increasing the frequency and impacts of floods across the world,” said Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, director for the NASA sea level change team and the ocean physics program in Washington. Seasonal Effects Global sea level saw a significant jump from 2022 to 2023 due mainly to a switch between La Niña and El Niño conditions. A mild La Niña from 2021 to 2022 resulted in a lower-than-expected rise in sea level that year. A strong El Niño developed in 2023, helping to boost the average amount of rise in sea surface height. La Niña is characterized by cooler-than-normal ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. El Niño involves warmer-than-average ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. Both periodic climate phenomena affect patterns of rainfall and snowfall as well as sea levels around the world. “During La Niña, rain that normally falls in the ocean falls on the land instead, temporarily taking water out of the ocean and lowering sea levels,” said Josh Willis, a sea level researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “In El Niño years, a lot of the rain that normally falls on land ends up in the ocean, which raises sea levels temporarily.” To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This animation shows the rise in global mean sea level from 1993 to 2023 based on data from a series of five international satellites. The spike in sea level from 2022 to 2023 is mostly a consequence of climate change and the development of El Niño conditions in the Pacific Ocean. Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio A Human Footprint Seasonal or periodic climate phenomena can affect global average sea level from year to year. But the underlying trend for more than three decades has been increasing ocean heights as a direct response to global warming due to the excessive heat trapped by greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere. “Long-term datasets like this 30-year satellite record allow us to differentiate between short-term effects on sea level, like El Niño, and trends that let us know where sea level is heading,” said Ben Hamlington, lead for NASA’s sea level change team at JPL. These multidecadal observations wouldn’t be possible without ongoing international cooperation, as well as scientific and technical innovations by NASA and other space agencies. Specifically, radar altimeters have helped produce ever-more precise measurements of sea level around the world. To calculate ocean height, these instruments bounce microwave signals off the sea surface, recording the time the signal takes to travel from a satellite to Earth and back, as well as the strength of the return signal. The researchers also periodically cross-check those sea level measurements against data from other sources. These include tide gauges, as well as satellite measurements of factors like atmospheric water vapor and Earth’s gravity field that can affect the accuracy of sea level measurements. Using that information, the researchers recalibrated the 30-year dataset, resulting in updates to sea levels in some previous years. That includes a sea level rise increase of 0.08 inches (0.21 centimeters) from 2021 to 2022. When researchers combine space-based altimetry data of the oceans with more than a century of observations from surface-based sources, such as tide gauges, the information dramatically improves our understanding of how sea surface height is changing on a global scale. When these sea level measurements are combined with other information, including ocean temperature, ice loss, and land motion, scientists can decipher why and how seas are rising. Learn more about sea level and climate change: https://sealevel.nasa.gov/ News Media Contacts Jane J. Lee / Andrew WangJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.818-354-0307 / 626-379-6874jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov 2024-031 Share Details Last Updated Mar 21, 2024 Related TermsOceansClimate ChangeEarthJet Propulsion LaboratorySentinel-6 Michael Freilich SatelliteTOPEX / Poseidon (ocean TOPography EXperiment) Explore More 5 min read US, Germany Partnering on Mission to Track Earth’s Water Movement Article 2 days ago 5 min read NASA Study: Asteroid’s Orbit, Shape Changed After DART Impact Article 2 days ago 3 min read Student-Built Robots Clash at Competition Supported by NASA-JPL Article 3 days ago

[hellofromuranus]

"We’ll be watching this El Niño like a hawk," Josh Willis, a project scientist on Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), said in a statement. "If it's a big one, the globe will see record warming." 

[macaroni-0verlord]

IT’S NOT ABOUT THE COOKIE

[spaceexp]

Keeping a Steady Eye on Sea Level Change From Space

ESA & NASA - Sentinel-6 / Jason-CS Mission patch / ESA - Sentinel-6 Mission logo. July 8, 2020 The Sentinel-6/Jason-CS satellite mission will add to a long-term sea level dataset that's become the gold standard for climate studies from orbit. 

ESA & NASA - Sentinel-6/Jason CS. Image Credits: ESA/ATG medialab

Over the course of nearly three decades, an uninterrupted series of satellites has circled our planet, diligently measuring sea levels. The continuous record of ocean height that they've built has helped researchers reveal the inner workings of weather phenomena like El Niño and to forecast how much the ocean could encroach on coastlines around the world. Now, engineers and scientists are preparing two identical satellites to add to this legacy, extending the dataset another decade. Both spacecraft are a part of the Sentinel-6/Jason-CS (Continuity of Service) mission, a U.S.-European collaboration that aims to make some of the most accurate measurements of sea levels around the world. The first satellite to launch, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, will lift off in November. Its twin, Sentinel-6B, will launch in 2025. Both will assess sea levels by sending electromagnetic signals down to the ocean and measuring how long it takes for them to return to the spacecraft.

Zambezi River Delta

Image above: Coastal areas around the world - such as the Zambezi River Delta shown in a Landsat 8 satellite image - are contending with the consequences of a warming planet including droughts and floods, in addition to changing sea levels. Image Credit: NASA. "This mission will continue the invaluable work of accurately measuring sea surface height," said Karen St. Germain, director of NASA's Earth Science Division. "These measurements enable us to understand and predict sea level changes that will affect people living in coastal regions around the world." The satellite will build on efforts that began in 1992 with the launch of the TOPEX/Poseidon mission and that continued with three more missions over the years: Jason-1, OSTM/Jason-2, and Jason-3. Sentinel-6/Jason-CS aims to extend the nearly 30-year sea level dataset that these previous missions built by another 10 years. Measuring the height of the ocean gives scientists a real-time indication of how Earth's climate is changing, said Josh Willis, the mission's project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The oceans absorb about 90% of the excess heat from the planet's warming climate. Seawater expands as it heats up, resulting in about a third of the modern-day global average sea level rise. Melting ice from land-based sources like glaciers and ice sheets accounts for the rest. To understand how rising seas will affect humanity, researchers need to know how fast this is happening, said Willis. "Satellites are the most important tool to tell us this rate," he explained. "They're kind of a bellwether for this creeping global warming impact that's going to inundate coastlines around the world and affect hundreds of millions of people." Currently, sea levels rise an average of 0.13 inches (3.3 millimeters) per year, more than twice the rate at the start of the 20th century. "By 2050, we'll have a different coastline than we do today," said Willis. "As more and more people move to coastal regions, and coastal megacities continue to develop, the impact of sea level change will be more profound on those societies," said Craig Donlon, mission project scientist at the European Space Agency. Setting the Standard The information that Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich gathers will join a dataset that's become the gold standard for climate studies from space. This is because the chain of overlapping satellites that started with TOPEX/Poseidon has continuously measured ocean heights since the early 1990s. That continuity is key to this dataset's success.

Image above: This chart shows the rise in global average sea level from January 1993 to January 2020. The measurement is made using data collected by the Sentinel-6/Jason-CS mission's predecessors, the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, OSTM/Jason-2, and Jason-3 satellite missions. Image Credits: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Some of the long-term datasets climate scientists rely on, like ocean temperature or the height of tides, have gaps or major changes in how data was collected (like before and after satellite records began) that make understanding the long-term climate signal challenging. Researchers must account for these variations to ensure that their results are truly representative of the phenomena they're looking at. The satellites that followed TOPEX/Poseidon - Jason-1, OSTM/Jason-2, and Jason-3 - flew in the same orbit as one another, each launching before the older one was decommissioned. When Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich lifts off later this year, it will orbit Earth 30 seconds behind the Jason-3 satellite, which launched in 2016. Scientists will then spend a year cross-calibrating the data collected by the two satellites to ensure the continuity of measurements from one mission to the next. Engineers and scientists will do the same cross-calibration with Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich's twin in five years as its predecessor's mission winds down. Without these satellites and the data they've collected, researchers would have a much rougher understanding of the rate of sea level rise, as well as of phenomena like El Niño. This is a weather pattern triggered by a huge shift in the winds that normally blow from east to west across the equatorial Pacific Ocean. An El Niño can shift ocean currents and global weather patterns, bringing torrential rain to the Southwestern U.S. and triggering droughts in Asia and Australia. Its counterpart, La Niña, can have the opposite effect. One of the discoveries to come out of this sea level dataset is the far-reaching effects that El Niño and La Niña can have on the world. "In 2010, there was a massive La Niña and it essentially flooded huge parts of Australia and Southeast Asia. It rained so much on land, it dropped global sea levels by one centimeter [0.4 inches]," said Willis. "We had no idea it could have such a massive impact on global sea level." The global view that the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite will provide, together with sea level data from models and observing stations, will provide invaluable information for governments and local authorities tasked with planning for things like sea level rise and storms, said Donlon. More About the Mission Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS is being jointly developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), NASA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with funding support from the European Commission and support from France's National Centre for Space Studies (CNES). The first Sentinel-6/Jason-CS satellite that will launch was named after the former director of NASA's Earth Science Division, Michael Freilich. It will follow the most recent U.S.-European sea level observation satellite, Jason-3, which launched in 2016 and is currently providing data. NASA's contributions to the Sentinel-6/Jason-CS mission are three science instruments for each of the two Sentinel-6 satellites: the Advanced Microwave Radiometer, the Global Navigation Satellite System - Radio Occultation, and the Laser Reflector Array. NASA is also contributing launch services for those satellites, ground systems supporting operation of the JPL-developed science instruments, the science data processors for two of these instruments, and support for the international Ocean Surface Topography Science Team. To learn more about NASA's study of sea level rise, visit: https://sealevel.nasa.gov Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/JPL/Jane J. Lee/Ian J. O'Neill. Greetings, Orbiter.ch Full article

[larryland]

Donna McKechnie Stars in Free Reading of New Musical at Barrington Stage

Donna McKechnie Stars in Free Reading of New Musical at Barrington Stage

Donna McKechnie (Pittsfield, MA–July 2017) Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, announced today that Tony Award-winner Donna McKechnie (A Chorus Line) will star as “Miss Yvonne” in a reading of the new musical Butterflies on July 28 on the St. Germain Stage at 2pm.   The reading is free and…

[bisokubira1995]

SpaceX launches advanced ocean-mapping satellite for NASA and Europe, nails rocket landing

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched an advanced ocean-mapping satellite into orbit for NASA and the European Space Agency Saturday (Nov. 21) in a stunning morning launch from California.The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 leapt off the pad from Space Launch Complex 4E at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base at 9:17 a.m. PST (12:17 p.m. EST/1717 GMT). It's payload: the oceanography satellite Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich developed by U.S. and European space and weather agencies.The launch marked SpaceX's SpaceX 22nd Falcon 9 this year. About nine minutes after liftoff, the rocket's first stage returned to terra firma, capping off the flight with a successful landing. The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is named for Michael Freilich, the former head of NASA's Earth science division who died of cancer in August. NASA and ESA named the satellite after Freilich in January before his death, a rare honor for a living scientist. Freilich's family watched the launch in person, with son Daniel and daughter Sarah (with Freilich's baby granddaughter Rosie) remembering their father after liftoff.Related: Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich will help us all understand climate change impactsBuilt by Airbus in Germany, the satellite is roughly the size of a small pickup truck and carries multiple instruments to track changes in sea level down to just a few centimeters. To measure sea levels, they'll beam electromagnetic signals down to the world's oceans and then measure how long it takes for them to bounce back.Mission scientists explained that rising sea levels are just one consequence of climate change, launch crp129x obd2. and data from previous Earth-observing satellites show that the rate of sea level rise is accelerating, so scientists want to be able to monitor it over an extended period of time.This $97 million satellite is the first in what will be a pair of identical ocean-focused satellites; the next, Sentinel-6B, will launch in 2025. Together they will continue NASA's three decade-long effort to document rising sea levels and will give scientists a more precise view of the coastlines than ever before.The 2,628-lb. (1,192 kilograms) satellite follows in the footsteps of several other Earth science missions, including the Jason-3 satellite and the U.S.-French Topex/Poseidon mission that launched in 1992. From it's orbital perch, the satellite will have a prime viewing location to measure the world's oceans in great detail. "The best front seat view on the oceans is from space," Thomas Zurbuchen, head of science at NASA, said in a prelaunch science briefing Friday.The Sentinel-6 satellite will deploy from the Falcon 9 around 53 minutes into the mission.With the data collected by Sentinel-6, scientists around the world will be able to make higher-resolution observations of the ocean much closer to shore. That means more precise weather forecasts can be made before storms make landfall. When a big storm develops over the ocean, the water buckles up. Satellites like Sentinel-6 are designed to detect that bubble of water rising and use that information for forecasts. The measurements could also be used to determine how changes in sea level near coastlines might affect ship navigation and commercial fishing.Water expands when it heats up and we can see that with the rapidly melting glaciers and ice sheets. That water has to go somewhere, and as a result tides are beginning to creep further inland. The encroaching water means flooding and storm surges increase dramatically and become even more dangerous, especially when combined with hurricanes and other natural disasters. In the 1990s, sea levels were rising at 2 millimeters per year, and that rise has increased to 3 millimeters per year in the 2000s and now it's up to a staggering 4-5 millimeters per year, NASA scientists have said."We're watching the sea levels rise right before our very eyes," said Josh Wills project scientist at JPL during the Friday briefing. "These satellites allow us to do that."The mission's suite of scientific instruments includes two high-precision altimeters. One of which can measure changes in the height ...

[sciencespies]

Falcon 9 launches Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich ocean science satellite

https://sciencespies.com/space/falcon-9-launches-sentinel-6-michael-freilich-ocean-science-satellite/

Falcon 9 launches Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich ocean science satellite

WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launched Nov. 21 the latest in a series of satellites developed by the United States and Europe to track rising sea levels.

The Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex (SLC) 4 East at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 12:17 p.m. Eastern. Its payload, the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite, separated from the rocket’s upper stage nearly an hour later, after a brief second burn of the upper stage. The rocket’s first stage landed on a pad back at SLC-4.

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is the first of two satellites jointly developed by a group of agencies in the United States and Europe, including NASA, NOAA, the European Space Agency, Eumetsat and the European Commission, to provide precise measurements of rising sea levels.

The spacecraft will ensure a continuity of measurements dating back nearly three decades, starting with the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite launched in 1992 and followed by the three Jason spacecraft launched in 2001, 2008 and 2016. Those earlier spacecraft were joint projects of NASA, NOAA, Eumetsat and the French space agency CNES, while Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is considered part of the Copernicus program of Earth observation satellites by ESA and the EU.

“It’s the first time that ESA and NASA have really collaborated in such an integrated way on an Earth observation satellite,” said Pierrik Vuilleumier, Sentinel-6 project manager at ESA, during a Nov. 20 pre-launch briefing. NASA and ESA are each spending about half a billion dollars on the total program, which includes a second Sentinel-6 satellite that will launch in the middle of the decade.

The spacecraft itself, weighing 1,192 kilograms at launch, was built by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany. It has a distinctive appearance with two body-mounted solar panels that look like the roof of a house. That design is intended to maximize the power they can provide without requiring the use of deployable arrays and motors than can induce vibrations in the spacecraft.

The spacecraft’s main instrument is a radar altimeter provided by ESA, which bounces radio pulses off the ocean to measure sea level as well as wave height and ocean speed. It is supported by a microwave radiometer developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which measures water vapor in the atmosphere to providing timing corrections for the radar altimeter.

Also on Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is a global navigation satellite system radio occultation (GNSS-RO) instrument to provide measurements of the atmospheric temperature and moisture by measuring signals from GPS and other navigation satellites. That instrument is similar to those on the six COSMIC-2 satellites launched in June 2019. In addition to measuring atmospheric conditions, data from the GNSS-RO instrument will be used with that from three other sensors to precisely measure the spacecraft’s orbit, at an altitude of 1,336 kilometers and an inclination of 66 degrees.

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich will operate in the same orbit as Jason-3, with the two satellites about 30 seconds apart. That will assist in the commissioning of the new spacecraft, a process that will take about a year, said Remko Scharroo, project scientist for the mission at Eumetsat. “They will basically see the same ocean conditions, and that, of course, makes comparing the measurements much better,” he said at a pre-launch briefing.

While the spacecraft features improved resolution and precision compared to its predecessors, scientists emphasized the importance of continuing a series of measurements of sea level height dating back nearly three decades. Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich “will continue our record of sea surface height observations well into the next decade,” said Karen St. Germain, director of NASA’s Earth science division.

“It’s a critical observation for a number of reasons, but its power is really unleashed when we combine our altimetry observations of the sea surface height measurements with the observations we get from the other satellites in the NASA fleet and the international fleet,” she continued. “We can see not only that the sea level is rising but we can also tell how much of that change is coming from melting ice sheets and glaciers, and how much of that change is coming from thermal expansion of the oceans themselves.”

That satellite data has shown that sea levels are not only rising, but also that the rate of increase is accelerating. Sea levels were rising at the rate of about two millimeters per year in the 1990s, said Josh Willis, project scientist for the mission at JPL, but are now increasing at four to five millimeters per year. “We’re watching the rate of sea-level rise increase right before our very eyes, and it’s satellites like this that allow us to do it,” he said.

“We cannot ignore that our planet is changing,” said Pierre Delsaux, deputy director general for space for the European Commission, at a briefing about the mission in October. “The climate is changing. Nobody can deny it. From that point of view, we need to understand why the climate is changing, what are the factors, and we need to monitor the situation.”

NASA and ESA named the spacecraft after Michael Freilich, a former director of NASA’s Earth science division, during a ceremony early this year. Freilich, who retired from NASA in 2019 after leading NASA’s Earth science programs for more than a decade, died of cancer in August.

“This partnership is very much aligned with what Mike Freilich’s passion has been,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for science, at the pre-launch briefing, noting Freilich’s research in ocean sciences before taking the NASA position. “I want to tell you how honored I feel, and how it still moves me today, that the name of Michael Freilich is, in fact, on this spacecraft.”

“It’s an extra special day when we will see this satellite launch, the satellite that he worked so hard to put in place,” said St. Germain.

#Space

[trinscabbage]

lov the cronch boy is good at singing about fucking COOKIES

[nolafleaux]

This benefit for Mexico City will feature over 20 local musicians who will sit in with Javier and Josh. Musicians include Fredy Omar, ALexey Marti, Ralph Gipson, Manuel Arteaga, Yulene Velazquez, Jorge Perez, Leonardo Hernandez, Jonathan Freilich, Blake Amos, The Salt Wives, The Co & Co Traveling Show, Michael Jacobson, Sam Price, Aaron Lopez-Barrante, Ron Johnson. There is no charge for the concert, but guests may make a donation to the Mexico City Topos, a non-profit organization that rescues and assists victims of natural disasters.

Friday September 29, 2017

[onewordshy]

Jose Lllana sings “The Gay Marching Band Of Blandsville, Illinois” by Sam Salmond and Josh Freilich.

[famousinny]

NEW VIDEO RELEASE: Jose Llana singing "Gay Marching Band" by Sam Salmond and Josh Freilich with Corey Mach, Claybourne Elder & Jason "Sweet Tooth" Williams http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNNtJJJSuNY

[larryland]

Barrington Stage Announces Additional Casting for 2017 Season

Barrington Stage Announces Additional Casting for 2017 Season

Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, is proud to announce additional casting for the 2017 season. Rounding out the cast of Ragtime will be David Harris (Next to Normal at TheaterWorks) as “Father” and Allison Blackwell (Broadway’s A Night With Janis Joplin) as “Sarah’s Friend.” They join the…

[larryland]

Barrington Stage Announces Additions to Their 2017 Season

Barrington Stage Announces Additions to Their 2017 Season

A READING OF THE WORLD PREMIERE NEW MUSICAL BUTTERFLIES Book & Lyrics by Kate Chadwick, Music by Josh Freilich Directed and Choreographed by Graciela Daniele July 28, 2017 at BSC   SPEECH & DEBATE By Tony Award Winner and Pulitzer Prize Finalist Stephen Karam Directed by Jessica Holt On the St. Germain Stage July 13 – July 29, 2017   2017 YOUTH THEATRE PROGRAM PRODUCTION BYE BYE BIRDIE Book by…

[larryland]

(Pittsfield, MA– March 22, 2017) Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Managing Director Michele Weathers, announced today a special production of Georgie: My Adventures with George Rose, as well as three special events, during their upcoming 2017 season. Tickets for Georgie, as well as all three special events, are on sale now at barringtonstageco.org.   

  From August 30-September 3, Broadway veteran Ed Dixon (Anything Goes, Mary Poppins) brings his one-man show, Georgie: My Adventures with George Rose, to the St. Germain Stage, directed by Eric Schaeffer (Follies). The performance schedule for Georgie is as follows: August 30-September 2, 7:30pm; September 2-3, 3:00pm.

  The late George Rose.

Ed Dixon

In Georgie, Ed Dixon (BSC’s Man of La Mancha, Sweeney Todd) chronicles his relationship with his friend and mentor, the Tony Award-winning character actor George Rose (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, My Fair Lady, Pirates of Penzance). “A stunner! He tells juicy stories with impish delight.” (The Washington Post)  

(Click HERE to read Larry Murray’s review of Georgie when it played the Sharon Playhouse in 2015.)

  William Finn hanging out in front of BSC’s Boyd-Quinson Main Stage in downtown Pittsfield.

Two-time Tony Award-winner William Finn returns by popular demand with the next generation of talented musical theatre writers in Songs by Ridiculously Talented Composers and Lyricists You Probably Don’t Know But Should… They share a concert of their newest songs with the help of four extraordinary singers, ridiculously talented in their own right. A funny, charming and insightful evening, narrated by Mr. Finn! Concerts will take place June 9 and 10 at 8pm. Tickets range from $30-40. Ridiculously Talented is sponsored by The Gregory E. Bulger Foundation/Gregory Bulger and Richard Dix.

  Michele Lee has been nominated for multiple Emmy and Tony awards.

On Monday, July 31, 2017 at 7pm, BSC will present Nobody Does It Like Me…The Music of Cy Coleman. Straight from Broadway’s Wicked, the multiple Emmy and Tony-nominated Michele Lee spotlights the music of Cy Coleman (Sweet Charity, Barnum and City of Angels). Including songs from their musical Seesaw, Ms. Lee infuses the evening with stories that tickle the funny bone to ballads that cut deep into the soul.  With music director extraordinaire Ron Abel, it’s easy to see how “Nobody Does It Like” Michele Lee. Tickets range from $40-50. VIP tickets, which include premium seating, a post-show reception, and a meet-and greet, are available for $75. Nobody Does It Like Me…is sponsored by Judy and Marty Isserlis.

  September 3 marks the return of composer/pianist Joe Iconic and his “family.”

After many summers of blowing the roof off of our cabaret, on Sunday, September 3, 2017 at 8pm, Joe Iconis and his tribe of musical theater misfits return to the Mainstage for a special one-night-only concert— Joe Iconis and Family TAKE OVER!  These musical mavericks will make it clear why The New York Times called them “The Future of Musical Theatre” with songs about anything and everything that makes you laugh, cry, scream, or drink. Come see what happens when The Family gets out of the basement and is set loose on the Mainstage for our final blowout of summer!  Tickets range from $35-45. Joe Iconis and Family TAKE OVER! is sponsored by Reba and Bruce Evenchik, and Sheila and Hal Richman.  

  The previously announced 2017 season at BSC will include Kunstler by Jefferson Award winner and Emmy Award nominee Jeffrey Sweet (Flyovers), directed by Meagen Fay (Second City in Chicago), and starring Jeff McCarthy (Broadway’s Chicago, BSC’s Broadway Bounty Hunter); a production of The Birds by Conor McPherson, directed by BSC Artistic Director Julianne Boyd (BSC’s Broadway Bounty Hunter, American Son); a new production of Ragtime, directed by Helen Hayes Award winner Joe Calarco (The Burnt Part Boys, Shakespeare’s R&J), with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty; and SPEECH & DEBATE by Tony Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Stephen Karam (Broadway’s The Humans) and directed by Jessica Holt (Alliance Theatre’s Ugly Lies The Bone).  

  The 2017 season will continue with the laugh-out-loud but rarely staged comedy, Taking Steps, by Olivier and Tony Award winner Alan Ayckbourn (The Norman Conquests) in a new production from Tony Award nominated director Sam Buntrock (Broadway’s Sunday in the Park with George); This by Obie Award winner Melissa James Gibson (“House of Cards”) and directed by Christopher Innvar (BSC’s The Other Place); Company, with a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, choreographed by Jeffrey Page (BSC’s Broadway Bounty Hunter) and directed by Julianne Boyd, and Gaslight (Angel Street) by Patrick Hamilton.

  BSC recently announced a World Premiere reading of the new musical, Butterflies, with a book and lyrics by Kate Chadwick and music by Josh Freilich, and directed by Tony Award nominee Graciela Daniele (The Visit). A reading will be presented on Friday, July 28 at 2pm at Barrington Stage Co., and a limited number of seats will be available to the public.

  The 2017 Youth Theatre Program production will be BYE BYE BIRDIE. The winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, BYE BYE BIRDIE features a book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strouse, BYE BYE BIRDIE will be directed and choreographed by Julianne Katz (Crazy For You at Lincoln Center, Assistant Choreographer).

  Single tickets for the 2017 season are now on sale at barringtonstageco.org.   

  ABOUT BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY

  Barrington Stage Company is a professional award-winning Equity regional theatre located in the heart of the Berkshires, in Pittsfield, MA.  It was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and has a three-fold mission: to present top-notch, compelling work; to develop new plays and musicals; and to find fresh, bold ways of bringing new audiences into the theatre—especially young people. Barrington Stage garnered national attention in 2004 when it premiered William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin’s musical hit The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee which later transferred to Broadway where it won two Tony Awards. In 2009, Mark St. Germain’s Freud’s Last Session ran more than ten weeks on Stage 2 and later moved Off Broadway and played for two years. St. Germain’s Becoming Dr. Ruth (which premiered at BSC as Dr. Ruth, All the Way in 2012) played Off Broadway at the Westside Theatre in fall 2013. BSC’s all-time record-breaking musical, On the Town, was originally produced at BSC in 2013.  In 2014, it opened on Broadway with BSC as a co-producer, where it was nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival.  In 2016, Barrington Stage swept the first Annual Berkshire Theatre Awards by winning 20 out of the 25 awards.  In 2016, BSC produced three World Premieres; Presto Change-O, Broadway Bounty Hunter, and American Son, which won the Laurents/Hatcher Award for Best New Play.

Barrington Stage Announces Special Events for 2017 Season (Pittsfield, MA– March 22, 2017) Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Managing Director Michele Weathers, announced today a special production of…