MediaMix

Pro Tennis LIVE

April 25, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

In 1979, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Pro Circuit was formed to provide players an opportunity to earn professional ranking points needed to compete in major pro tours, and it’s become the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, with as many as 90 tournaments offering nearly $3 million in prize money. Fun 2 Watch and cheer on these champions!

It's free to watch live action USTA pro tennis tournaments via On2In2™️ — Photo courtesy of Zoe Reeve/Unsplash CC0

WATCH LIVE & FREE On2In2™

The 2019 Boar’s Head Resort Women’s Open in Charlottesville, Virginia is a USTA Pro Circuit event, and the second of four consecutive women’s clay-court tournaments (Dothan, AL, Charlottesville, VA, Charleston, SC and Bonita Springs, FL) that are part of the Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge, which awards a men’s and women’s wild card into the 2019 French Open. The American man and American woman who earn the most ATP and WTA ranking points at the Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge events will receive USTA wild cards to compete in the main draws of the 2019 French Open (May 26 – June 9).

Watch LIVE! 2019 Boar’s Head Women’s Open starting Tuesday, April 23 at 10am EDT and continuing each day until tournament finals on Sunday, April 28. See full tournament schedule → here

Programming Notes: Sometimes it happens — scheduling changes, breaks in competition, or technical interruptions in the live broadcast. Please check back for live action updates, and take a look at the Live Stream Program Guide for more On2In2™ streaming info.

If you miss a live stream broadcast, you can watch video recordings of previous matches by selecting from video posts located on the media player below ↓

If you missed the 2019 Hardee’s Pro Classic, there’s still time to watch video recordings of the event. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select from the video posts located on the media player below ↓

We’d love to hear from you! If you’d like to comment on this article, join the conversation, or share your inspiration, and you have not yet registered as an On2In2™ playmaker, please sign up via the ‘Engage page’. Don’t worry, it’s pretty quick and easy (unless you’re a robot).

Feature photo is courtesy of Pixabay/Pexels CC0

Mysteries of a Galaxy

April 24, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

A galaxy is composed of gas and dust and stars – billions upon billions of stars. Every star may be a sun to someone.Carl Sagan

The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy that contains our Solar System. — Milky Way, artist’s concept, NASA PD

Our Solar System is located within the “Milky Way Galaxy” about 2/3 out from the center, the name deriving from its appearance as a band of hazy light when seen from Earth. It looks as it does because the Earth view of the Milky Way is from inside the galaxy structure. The Milky Way is a ‘barred spiral’ shaped galaxy with a diameter between 100,000 to 180,000 light years, and contains an estimated 100 to 400 billion stars and 100 billion planets or more. Getting a good shot of the Milky Way is tough even with all the space telescopes floating around because of location and dust cloud coverage; therefore, the 2015 artist’s concept drawn using data sourced from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (“WISE”) was the best image available until the European Space Agency (‘ESA’) released the amazing Gaia’s Sky in Colour on April 25, 2018 showing an all-sky view of our Milky Way based on measurements, brightness and color of nearly 1.7 billion stars observed by the ESA satellite Gaia between July 2014 and May 2016. Now, we can see just how beautiful our home galaxy is!

Our first really good look at the Milky Way came from the satellite Gaia on April 25, 2018 — Gaia’s Sky in Colour, Copyright: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, 4-25-2018

Brighter regions seen on the image indicate denser concentrations of exceptionally bright stars, while the darker regions correspond to patches of sky where there are fewer bright stars. The bright horizontal structure is the Galactic plane (the flattened disc that contains the majority of the stars). In the middle of the image, the Galactic centre appears vivid and teeming with stars. In the lower right side of the image, the two bright objects are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, two dwarf galaxies that orbit the Milky Way.

But, as incredible as it is, our Milky Way is just one of many billions.

It’s estimated there are 200 billion or more galaxies within the Universe, ranging in size from dwarf (containing a few billion stars) to giants with 100 trillion stars. In addition to stars, galaxies contain stellar remnants (endpoints of star evolution), gas, dust and dark matter, all held together by a gravitational pull while orbiting a center mass, and they are classified by their form and structure: elliptical (almost featureless, bright profile and stars orbit randomly), spiral (flat rotating disk shaped with spiral-like arms), barred spiral (a spiral galaxy with a bar-shaped formation in its center, e.g. Milky Way), and irregular (no shape, chaotic in appearance). About 25% of all galaxies are irregular, and while they may seem ordinary when compared to the other galaxies with symmetry and shape, irregulars are invaluable to the study of galaxy evolution and interaction.

The formation of a galaxy involves gravity, gases, star formation, and stellar explosions as well as a lot of time, but exactly how it happens has not yet been determined. There are different theories as to how spiral galaxies such as our Milky Way are formed that can be generally categorized into two basic types: 1) “top-down” which describes a large scale collapse of a large gas cloud during a period of 100 million years, and 2) “bottom-up” referring to small ‘clumps’ of stars (or globular clusters) merging to create a large galaxy.

ESA/Hubble & NASA image of elliptical galaxy IC 2006 — Elliptical Galaxy IC 2006, NASA/ESA Hubble, PD

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image showcases the remarkable galaxy UGC 12591. It is located just under 400million light-years away from Earth . — Spiral Galaxy UGC 12591, NASA/ESA Hubble, PD

ESA/Hubble & NASA image of Barred Spiral galaxy UGC 12158 — Barred Spiral Galaxy UGC 12158, NASA/ESA Hubble, PD

Galaxy NGC 2337 is an irregular galaxy located 25 million light-years from Earth. It was discovered in 1877 by the French astronomer, Édouard Stephan — Irregular Galaxy NGC 2337, NASA/ESA Hubble, PD

WATCH the video Galaxies Across Space and Time for a quick exploratory VR trip through the Universe to see galaxies via the Hubble Space Telescope. It’s a bit like taking a ride with Captain Kirk and a NASA tour guide on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.

See more wonders of the Universe on “The Cosmos Channel”,
a collection of On2In2™ favorite videos free to watch on demand,
and its cosmic mysteries at Explore the Universe.

Feature image is the Messier 74 galaxy (aka NGC 62) taken using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Located about 32 million light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Pisces, M74 is a stunning example of a spiral galaxy with about 100 billion stars (making it slightly smaller than the Milky Way). M74 can be viewed from Earth nearly face-on, allowing observers to see its perfectly symmetrical spiral arms emanating from the central nucleus along with dotted clusters of young blue stars and glowing pink regions of ionized hydrogen. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, Public Domain

Image of Milky Way (2015 artist’s concept) NASA/JPL-Caltech, Public Domain

Images of galaxies in gallery are courtesy of NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, Public Domain

Information/Resources:
Galaxies, nasa.org
Wikipedia: Galaxies, Milky Way, Galaxy formation and evolution

The Overview Effect

April 21, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

The iconic Earthrise photo was taken in 1968 by NASA astronaut William A. Anders during the Apollo 8 mission, the first manned spaceflight to orbit the Moon. Never before had a human observed the Earth rising, and Anders’ amazing, first-ever color photo of our stunningly beautiful planet emerging from a lunar horizon still takes your breath away.

“We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.” — William A. Anders

To See The Earth As It Truly Is*

It was very, very sobering to see this little blue marble in the middle of all that darkness. Frank Borman

The awe-inspiring effect of seeing the whole Earth from the vantage of space (known as “Earth gazing”) is most often described as an overwhelming sense that Earth is an “interconnected whole with one destiny”. An understanding that’s key to our survival. Of course, we can’t see it and feel it firsthand (only 24 humans out of 7.3 billion world population have had the experience) until space travel becomes practical for the general public, but innovative technology continues to provide us with more and better information and visuals.

The short documentary Overview (from Planetary Collective) explores a cosmic worldview with reflections from “Earth gazing” astronauts and philosophers as well as beautiful space imagery. Watch and be inspired by the “unity and oneness of all life on Earth”.

Earthrise: Remembering Apollo 8. Launched on December 21, 1968, Apollo 8 became the first manned spacecraft to reach the Moon, orbit it and return, and its crew became the first humans to see and photograph the Earth emerging from behind the lunar horizon. Watch as the Griffith Lab All Space Considered team recalls the lead up, events and discoveries of this historic mission in celebration of its 50th anniversary.

*”To see the earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold — brothers who know now they are truly brothers.” Archibald MacLeish (1892 – 1982) American poet

Take a virtual ride on a satellite for awesome views of Earth

Apollo 17 photo taken December 13, 1972 on the lunar surface — Moonwalk (December 13, 1972) NASA

Want to see more of what’s out there in space? The short video documentary, “The Last Steps” will take you to a ‘back to the future’ moment in time with original film footage, photographs and audio recordings from Apollo 17, NASA’s final Apollo program mission, and the last time a human walked on the moon. Watch more “out of this world” videos via the “Cosmos Channel“, free to watch, on-demand.

A retrospective look at discoveries and images of Saturn
captured during the 20 year Cassini Mission, plus some
info on when and how you can see Saturn in 2017

“The Overview Effect” is an edited version of an article originally published on the “Zblog” by Zeester Media LLC.

Earthrise photo credit: NASA

Windsurfing Comp LIVE

April 15, 2019 By Zola Zeester 1 Comment

Windsurfing (also known as ‘sailboarding’) is a dynamic, challenging water sport, sometimes described as a cross between surfing and sailing, but the experience of riding a board powered by wind feels more like flying.

It’s fun to watch, too. Experienced windsurfers can perform jumps, inverted loops, spins, and other “freestyle” moves as well as ride the world’s ‘Big Waves’ in lightening fast speeds.

There are 5 main disciplines of competitive windsurfing events held by the Professional Windsurfers Association (PWA): Wave, Freestyle, Racing, Super X and Indoor. Freestyle and Wave are judged competitions. Olympic Boardsailing, Formula windsurfing, Slalom and SuperX are group races on a course, and Speed Racing is an individual timed race on a straight 500 meter course.

WATCH LIVE & FREE On2In2™

Located just off the French coastline of the Mediterranean, Le Jaï, Marignane is a renowned location for slalom windsurfing, and the perfect venue for the 2019 PWA World Cup. If you missed the 2019 Marignane PWA Windsurfing World Cup live stream broadcast, there’s still time to watch video recordings of the competition. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select from the video posts located in the upper right corner of the media player below ↓

If you missed the live stream broadcast of the 2019 PWA World Cup freestyle competition hosted on the Dutch Caribbean island, Bonaire, April 9-13, there’s still time to watch video recordings of the event. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select from video posts in the top right corner located on the media player below ↓

Watch more great surfing and personal stories on the “Cranking Surf” video channel, a collection of On2In2™ favorite short videos FREE To WATCH, On-Demand

FREE To WATCH big wave surfing videos, including the amazing world record Big Wave towed-in ride on an 80′ (24m) wave by Rodrigo Koxa (Guaruja, São Paulo, Brazil) at Nazaré, Portugal on November 8, 2017.

Photo is courtesy of George Desipris/Unsplash CC0

Marathon Runners

April 15, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

I run because long after my footprints fade away, maybe I will have inspired a few to reject the easy path, hit the trails, put one foot in front of the other, and come to the same conclusion I did: I run because it always takes me where I want to go. — Dean Karnazes, Ultramarathon Runner

Since the ancient Egyptians, there has been long distance racing, and today, countless marathons take place around the world each year. In 2017, more than 18 million people ran in organized competitive road races in the USA, and millions more participate in social, non-competitive organized running events.

Why run a marathon? Some people run a marathon for the physical exercise or the challenge. Others for the competition. Then, there are those that run for very personal reasons.

Johnnie Jameson, a Vietnam War veteran and US Postal Service employee, runs to heal, and he’s been running the LA Marathon since 1986, earning him the title of ‘Legacy Runner’. Mr. Jameson shares his story and explains his unusual backwards running style in Mile 19, a short documentary video by Big Pup Film.

English long distance runner and marathon world champion, Paula Radcliffe, finds beauty in running, and believes it’s a gift as well as an art– a way of expressing yourself. Take a run with Paula, and listen as she shares her thoughts about running.

And, there are those that just love the feeling of that runner’s high and get hooked on testing the limits of their bodies.

An ultramarathon (aka ultra running & ultra distance) is any foot race longer than a traditional marathon distance (26.2 miles/42.2 kilometers). There are two types of ultramarathon events: distance (the winner runs a specific distance in the shortest amount of time) and time (the winner runs the most distance in a specific amount of time). Ultra distances are typically 50 kilometres (31.1 mi), 100 kilometres (62.1 mi), 50 miles (80.5 km), and 100 miles (160.9 km), but distances as well as race courses and terrain vary. Timed ultramarathon events range from hours (6, 12 & 24 hours) to days (known as multi-day or stage race events). Self-supported ultramarathon stage races where each ultrarunner must carry all supplies needed to survive the race, including food, are considered the most demanding.

If you’re serious about this extreme sport, the training requires intense dedication. In the short video Ultra Man, Robbie Britton talks about his mindset and why he does it.

“If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon.” — Kathrine Switzer, Marathon Runner

Information/Resources:
Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS)
Find a Running Club in USA, Road Runners Club of America
How to Start Running by Tara Parker-Pope, The New York Times Well (why run, how to train, and tips on picking your gear, fueling your body, hydrating, and preventing injury)
Why Stretching Might Not Make You a Better Runner by Richard Gray, BBC Future (March 28, 2019) – Research provides some surprising findings and tips on how runners can improve performance
Training Programs for Marathons and Half-Marathons (beginners-intermediate-experienced), Chattanooga Track Club
International Association of Ultrarunners – promotes and develops long distance running worldwide by encouraging events and activities and sanctioning competitions
10 Things No One Tells You Before You Run an Ultramarathon by Damian Hall, The Telegraph (May 4, 2017) – Take it slow, eat a lot, and enjoy the sport of ultra running.

Follow Sarah Brown as she trains for US Olympic trials in the short video documentary series, Run Mama Run. You’ll be inspired by her story of determination and family.

Feature photo is courtesy of Martins Zimlickis, Unsplash CC0

BOLDNESS

April 14, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Lose this day loitering—’twill be the same story
To-morrow–and the next more dilatory;
Then indecision brings its own delays,
And days are lost lamenting o’er lost days.
Are you in earnest? seize this very minute–
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it,
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it,
Only engage, and then the mind grows heated—
Begin it, and the work will be completed!

—– John Anster*

After eight months of preparation and training, the USA Men’s Rafting Team launched an attempt to beat Orkin’s record on January 13, 2017. The Time Travelers short documentary video chronicles the journey with “a dose of inspiration” for all of us.

However you go, it’s a wild and dangerous ride through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River. The first to do it was geologist/explorer, John Wesley Powell, and his team during a three month expedition in 1869. A hundred and fourteen years later, the river had changed, but remained a formidable challenge when three river guides in a small wooden boat rowed the 277 miles from Lee’s Ferry to the Grand Wash Cliffs in 36 hours and 38 minutes. No one much cared about their accomplishment until the story was told by Kevin Fedarko in his book, The Emerald Mile (2013)**, inspiring more paddlers to make an attempt to break the record. The current record (34 hours, 2 minutes) was set in 2016 by Ben Orkin in a sea kayak.

Information/Resources:
Grand Canyon Private River Trip Planning and River Trips and Permits, US National Park Service
10 Peaceful Places To Paddle by By Bill O’Brian, US Fish and Wildlife Service (for paddlers looking for an easy, scenic ride in a canoe, a kayak, a rowboat, or on a paddleboard through natural beauty of America’s wildlife refuges)

*Boldness has genius quote is taken from 1835 publication by Irish poet, John Anster, whose words were inspired by translation of “Faust”, Part One, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Feature photo is a screen shot taken from video, “The Time Travelers”, Gnarly Bay Productions, Inc.

**Editor’s Note: Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a book purchase you make via the Amazon link within this page. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

More stories of great adventure are available on-demand at Watch: Tours de Force, an On2In2™ collection of favorite videos

Surfing the Greats

April 13, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

It’s certainly not easy to surf Toronto. Some would say impossible. When you’ve got the passion and the right attitude, you really can do just about anything, and at the same time, have fun, make friends and inspire.

See what it takes to catch a wave in the icy cold waters of the Great Lakes in this short documentary On Days Like These We Must Surf by Jake Kovnat.

NASA photo of Great Lakes covered in snow and ice shows how brutal surfing the lakes is during the winter months. — Great Lakes 1/27/2005, NASA Visible Earth, PD

The Great Lakes are a series of five interconnected freshwater lakes (Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron aka Michigan-Huron, Erie, and Ontario) located primarily in the upper mid-east region of North America on the Canada-US border. By total surface area, the Great Lakes are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth, and they are often referred to as ‘inland seas’ because they look much like oceans with rolling waves, winds, currents, great depths, and distant horizons.

Think you’d like to give lake surfing a try? Surfing the Great Lakes any time of year is difficult. Add the freezing cold winter elements, and it becomes brutal. The best surfing, however, is during the winter months because winter storms generate strong winds that produce the biggest waves that come in super fast. Other challenges involved with lake surfing include wind forecasting, getting the proper gear and board, and avoiding debris in the lake. Not for everybody, and getting images of a sunny beach out of your head is another big challenge.

Information/Resources:
Surf the Greats surf shop, sells gear and boards specifically designed for lake surfing, offers classes on lake surfing and wave forecasting, and organizes meetups and competitions.
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory – Scientists study, monitor, and predict ice coverage on the Great Lakes
The Alliance for the Great Lakes, a non-profit organization that works to protect the Great Lakes

Nordurland is about surfing in the harsh, cold waters of the North Atlantic. Watch as three friends from the subtropical northern rivers of NSW Australia travel to isolated, snow covered coastlines in search of remote waves, and discover the great challenges and rewards of a northern adventure. Filmmaker Ishka Folkwell beautifully captures the vast and stunning landscapes, and you’ll see glaciers, mountains and powerful icy surf come to life on screen.

Big wave surfing is an extremely dangerous sport. So, who does it and why? — Free 2 Watch video documentaries capture epic rides as well as personal stories of big waves surfers, including Rodrigo Koxa’s record breaking ride on an 80 foot (24 meter) wave at Nazaré on November 8, 2017.

FREE 2 WATCH – On Demand Great surfing action and stories on the Cranking Surf video channel, an On2In2™️ selection of favorite videos.

We’d love to hear from you! If you’d like to comment on this post, join the conversation, or share your inspiration, and you have not yet registered as an On2In2™ playmaker, please sign up via the ‘Engage page’. Don’t worry, it’s pretty quick and easy.

Featured image of surfer by George Nietsch/Unsplash CC0

FREEDIVING

April 5, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Underwater activities that challenge the ability to hold a breath until resurfacing is called freediving or ‘apnea’, and people have been freediving for thousands of years to hunt and gather food, harvest sponges and pearls, search for sunken treasure and assist navies in battles at sea.

Today, there are recreational freediving activities to enjoy — snorkeling, spearfishing, and underwater photography as well as competitions, including competitive apnea disciplines, underwater rugby, underwater hockey, underwater target shooting, competitive spearfishing, and synchronized swimming.

In “competitive apnea” disciplines of freediving, athletes attempt to attain great depths, times, or distances in a single breath. Competitions are governed by two international organizations: the International Association for Development of Apnea (AIDA International) and the CMAS (Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques – World Underwater Federation), each with separate rules governing the recognition of world records in the competitive apnea disciplines. There are also ‘record disciplines’ that are free dives not held in competition, but performed strictly for the purpose of setting world records, and the Guinness World Records along with AIDA and CMAS preside over the record attempts.

Breath-holding ability is really just a function of oxygen stores in blood & muscle, efficient oxygen utilization, metabolic rate reduction, and hypoxia (oxygen deficiency) tolerance. Most freedivers train to increase lung capacity in order to improve breath-holding efficiencies, and it takes practice and good technique to be able to control and relax the body for a freedive.

OK, now try a simple breath-holding test on dry land. You’ll need something to measure the time —Use the stop-watch on your smart phone or sit next to a clock with a second hand. Take a deep breath, hold, and watch the clock. How long could you hold your breath? Most of us struggle to hold a breath for more than a minute. By comparison, the AIDA International-recognized world record for Static Apnea (breath-hold endurance while floating on the surface or standing on the bottom) is an astonishing 11 minutes, 35 seconds by French free diver, Stéphane Mifsud.

What motivates a freediver to push the limits for world records, and how do they do it? Watch these videos, and you’ll learn about the demands and motivations of the sport as three very different freedivers tell their stories.

Information/Resources:
About Freediving – history, competition, physiology, recreational, education, CMAS website
What is Freediving? – introduction, education, sport, AIDA International website
8 Tips For Beginner Freedivers by Emily Bates, PADI (March 20, 2017)
The 4 Best Groups and Forums for Freedivers by Sarah Russell, PADI (April 5, 2019)

Feature photo ‘One Breath’, courtesy of Marco Assmann/Unsplash CC0

Racquetball Champs

April 1, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Here’s a brief run-down of the game of racquetball: Play begins with the serve, and the serving player is allowed two attempts (1st & 2nd serve) to put the ball in play (elite competition allows only one serve). A serve requires the player to bounce the ball once on the floor, hitting it directly to the front wall with a bounce back on the floor beyond the short line court floor marking. If the server fails to hit the ball directly on the front wall, serve is immediately lost to the opposing player. However, the ball can touch one side wall after the front wall, but not two, before hitting the floor. If the serve fails, it counts as a fault. Other fault serves include a ceiling serve (the ball touches the ceiling after the front wall), serving before the receiving player is ready, and stepping out of the service box before the ball passes the short line. After a successful serve, players alternate hitting the ball against the front wall. Players may allow the ball to bounce once on the floor or hit the ball on the fly. A ball in play can touch as many walls, including the ceiling, as necessary so long as it reaches the front wall before striking the floor. If the server wins the rally, the server scores one point and continues to serve. If the opposing player wins the rally, no point is scored and the player takes over serving. Under USA Racquetball rules, a match is the best of three games, with the first two 15-point games, and game 3, if necessary, played to 11 points. USA Racquetball rules do not require players to win by two points.

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The 2019 USA Racquetball National Intercollegiate Championships (April 3-6) featured the best college racquetball players representing 32 American colleges and universities, and winners of men’s and women’s singles #1 gold singles division are named to the US National Team that competes and represents Team USA at all international and world competition. If you missed the live stream broadcast of the championships, there’s still time to watch video recordings of the competition. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select matches from the video posts located on the media player below ↓

If you missed the live broadcast of the 2018 National Singles Racquetball Championships (May 24-27) held at the ClubSport Pleasanton in Pleasanton, California, there’s still time to watch video recordings of the competition. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select from the video posts located on the media player below ↓

If you missed the April 28 live stream broadcast of 2018 USA Racquetball New England Regional Championships, there’s still time to watch video recordings of competition matches. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select from the video posts on the media player below ↓

The 2018 USA Racquetball National Intercollegiate Championships tournament features the best college racquetball players from 32 colleges and universities across the US. Winners of the men’s and women’s singles will be named to the US Adult National Team that competes and represents Team USA at all international and world competitions.

If you missed the live broadcast of tournament competition or want to watch a match again, video recordings are available from the selection of video posts located on the media player below, or click/tap the “Watch Again button↓

If you missed the 2018 USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships, watch a video recording HERE.

Information/Resources:

USA Racquetball Rules

Want to learn how to play racquetball? Start with USA Team tips on the basics
And, take a look around for racquetball starter kits ⇒ SHOP Racquetball Equipment [Editor’s note: Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a purchase you make via this Amazon link. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.]

Feature photo courtesy of Flicker user, Edson Wong, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

If Stars Could Speak

March 31, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

“Awake” by Zach Rogers is a short video beautifully photographed and produced using a time-lapse process that results in mesmerizing views of star filled skies above stunning landscapes. It was a 3 year “passion project” involving the selection of 6,870 photos from a collection of 50,000.

A philosopher once asked, “Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we are human?” Pointless, really…”Do the stars gaze back?” Now, that’s a question.Neil Gaiman, Stardust (1999)

Experiencing a night sky teeming with glittering stars awakens curiosity, perspective and inspiration, and is a recreational activity enjoyed by amateur astronomers throughout the world. The opportunity to see such a sight, however, is getting more difficult as dark skies are vanishing from the glaring effects of light pollution. In fact, more than 99% of people living in North America and Europe see light polluted night skies rather than stars, and the Milky Way is hidden from more than 1/3 of the world’s population. The International Dark-Sky Association (“IDA”) works to protect night skies and ecosystems within parks and conservation areas around the world. Find dark skies for your best stargazing experience via the IDA locator map HERE, and look around for Telescopes and Stargazing Guide Book * to learn more and get started.

The short video Lost in Light by night sky photographer, Sriram Murali, dramatically demonstrates the affects of different levels of light pollution on our view of the night sky.

If you can’t get outside—-Watch the Night Skies channel here to see more amazing stargazing views captured on video by talented photographers.

More about stars⇒ Sol Invictus Super Star Sorcery Mysteries of a Galaxy

Pros give advice on how to take great photographs of the night sky in this free-to-watch info-video series → Shooting Stars

Have you tried moon gazing? Humans have revered the Moon for thousands of years, and celebratory customs of moon viewing add a spiritual component to the experience of seeing a big, bright, beautiful moon in the night sky. Simple, but awesome.

The title of this article “If Stars Could Speak” comes from the title of original music by Alexandr Fullin. It was used by Zach Rogers as the soundtrack to the “Awake” video.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/229297445″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

References/Information:

“Light Pollution Hides Milky Way from 80 Percent of North Americans, Atlas Shows” by Nell GreenfieldBoyce, NPR All Things Considered (June 10, 2016)

Night Sky Network – Search tools to help you find astronomy clubs and special events throughout US

Earth Sky (List of astronomy events, festivals, star parties & workshops)

Ten of the Most Breathtaking Night Skies on Earth by Michelle Douglass, BBC Earth (August 27, 2015) Some the world’s best dark skies are over remote, hard to reach locations, while other sites are astrotourism hotspots encompassing national parks and observatories.

Lassen Volcanic National Park (located approximately 3 hours northeast of Sacramento, California) has meadows freckled with wildflowers, jagged peaks, clear mountain lakes, a rich diversity of plant and animal life as well as numerous volcanoes, steaming fumaroles (steam and volcanic-gas vents) thumping mud pots, and boiling pools. Stargazing & Astronomy→ park info Dark Sky Festival

Rakiura National Park, Stewart Island, New Zealand – This ‘Land of Glowing Skies’ was designated an International Dark Sky Sanctuary in January, 2019

Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve

Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona becomes International Dark Sky Park in June 2018

Dark Sky Festival – Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California USA

Acadia Night Sky Festival – Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine USA

Jasper Dark Sky Festival – Jasper National Park, Jasper, Canada

Night Sky Festival – Joshua Tree National Park, California USA

Mayo Dark Sky Park – Newport/Mulranny/Ballycroy, Ireland

Dark Skies Festival – North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales National Parks, UK

Winter Star Party – Florida Keys, USA, usually scheduled each year during the full moon in February

OzSky Star Safaris The “Classic” is held at the outskirts of Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia, and the “Spring Edition” takes place at NSW Southern Tablelands

Exmoor Dark Skies Festival – Family stargazing weekend at Exmoor National Park, a large beautiful and peaceful area of wild countryside in the South West of England and Europe’s very first International Dark Sky Reserve

Star Search: A Night Guide for Urban Texans by Wes Ferguson (Texas Monthly, March 2018) – Where to find dark, wide-open skies or a big telescope for star gazing in the state of Texas

Thebacha & Wood Buffalo Dark Sky Festival, Canada

Fountain Hills Dark Sky Festival, Arizona

The feature photo is a still shot taken from the video, “Awake” by Zach Rogers

*This page includes an affiliate link to a shop website. If you purchase a product or service directly through the link, Zeester Media LLC may earn a small commission. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

MediaMix

Pro Tennis LIVE

Mysteries of a Galaxy

The Overview Effect

Windsurfing Comp LIVE

Marathon Runners

BOLDNESS

Surfing the Greats

FREEDIVING

Racquetball Champs

If Stars Could Speak

MUCH 2 SEE

THINGS 2 DO

PLACES 2 GO

PEOPLE 2 MEET

FOOD & DRINKS

JUST LAUGHS

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MUCH 2 SEE

THINGS 2 DO

PLACES 2 GO

PEOPLE 2 MEET

FOOD & DRINKS

JUST LAUGHS