Today, February 2nd
THE SUPER BOWL INTRODUCES TWO GAME-CHANGING GAMES. What’s going on inside the massive dome structure that occasionally pops up on your TV screen during the game? Gaming, actually! Built by Verizon, it houses massive IMAX screens and stadium seating outfitted with individual 5G devices—offering fans inside the first glimpse at the two winners of Verizon 5G’s “NFL Gaming Challenge.”
Colorfiction’s winning entry, ENDZONE, challenges players to navigate a series of shape-shifting mazes to score a touchdown (earning it the nickname, “Football Tron”); while Juncture Media’s NFL ULTRA TOSS (shown here) creates a massive-multiplayer experience in which players positioned in an NFL stadium attempt to throw footballs into a truck parked on the 50-yard line.
Games were judged on overall concept, degree of NFL integration, and functionality that made the most of 5G Ultra Wideband’s core features (including higher bandwidth, lightning-fast speeds and ultra-low latency). “Being able to throw that Hail Mary is super-fun,” says Verizon 5G Lab’s Julian Gompertz, “and we envision a time when every fan in the stadium with a 5G device will be able to play.”
IT’S EVA CASSIDY’S BIRTHDAY. Regarded by many (including my brother) as one of the greatest singers of all time, Cassidy was little known outside her native Washington, DC.; dying from melanoma in 1996 at age 33. But it only takes a moment listening to her powerful soprano on songs like “Wonderful World” or “Time After Time“ to be smitten for a lifetime.
Another D.C. local, musician Chuck Brown, was her collaborator on "The Other Side,” an album of jazz, blues and soul standards. And his recounting of the first time he heard her voice (in a Washington Post article titled, “When Chuck Met Eva”) is extremely moving. It’s a voice, “that could invest all kinds of American popular music with a true portion of herself,” says the article, which goes on to say that singer Roberta Flack called her "a master of her craft,” while jazz singer Shirley Horn simply said, "What a voice.” What a voice, indeed.
Enjoy a wonderful story about Cassidy’s recording of “Over the Rainbow” at evacassidy.org
IT’S WORLD WETLANDS DAY. Wetlands (such as lakes, floodplains and saltwater marshes) are some of the most biodiverse areas on the planet—yet they’re disappearing three times faster than forests. In fact, 87% of the world’s wetlands have been lost to pollution, drainage and land conversion.
More than just a home to millions of plants and animals (many facing extinction), wetlands are essential to our climate (storing 30% of land-based carbon), our clean water (removing pollutants), and the livelihoods of 1 billion people worldwide.
Right in our own backyard, tidal wetlands around Long Island, New York City and up the Hudson River are in need of protection. You can visit the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation’s site or worldwetlandsday.org to learn more.