Things of Note: February 16–22
Happy Monday, friends!
February is feeling extra short today (how is it already March on Sunday?), so here are some more links to some cool things from this past week:
- The Mandalorian and Grogu trailer
- Ben Rector new live album
- On That Day by CityAlight
- Cinderella Castle's paint job
The Mandalorian and Grogu trailer
The Mandalorian and Grogu (aka Baby Yoda) had a lot of fans fooled with their Super Bowl ad (who else thought it was the Budweiser Clydesdales?), and now they stole the spotlight again with a full-length trailer. Probably the movie that I am the most excited for this year. The Mandalorian was the show that reminded me of how much fun and pulpy-in-a-good-way sci-fi space opera Star Wars can be. Definitely seeing this in IMAX opening weekend!
Ben Rector's new live album
It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Ben Rector. So I was very excited to hear that he dropped a new album last week, Live at the Delta Center, where he and his band played their largest concert to date. The whole album from front to back is worth a listen, even if you are only somewhat familiar with his work. Ben's influences shine bright (Huey Lewis, Steve Winwood, Bruce Hornsby, and others), and his band is spectacular. To further convince you, here's a minty-fresh live video of "Old Friends", a favorite of mine:
On That Day by CityAlight
This weekend I attended the celebration of life for a founding member of Northside Presbyterian Church, a church I had the pleasure of working at for about four years. During the service, the worship team sang “ On That Day,” a song by the worship group CityAlight. I always appreciate CityAlight's ability to meld biblically and theologically deep lyrics with approachable and singable melodies, all while writing songs with versatile arrangements from solo acoustic to a full band, as you can see here:
Cinderella Castle's Paint Job
If you have ever been to Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, you know the familiar sight of Cinderella Castle at the "hub" of the park. Towering 189 feet in the air, but the magic of forced perspective makes it appear even taller. Since mid-2020, the castle has had a rose pink paint job with blue and gold accents as part of the 70th anniversary of Cinderella, the 100th anniversary of The Walt Disney Company, and the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World. Lots of celebrating for a new paint job!
But in August 2025, Disney announced that the classic colors of greys, creams, and blues would be returning to Cinderella Castle this spring! Apparently, Disney's paint crew has been working at a steady clip, so much so that some Disney blogs have captured the transformation in a pretty cool way. It reminds me of Flora and Merryweather from Cinderella fighting over the color of Cinderella's dress: "Make it pink!" "Make it blue!"
Also, who remembers ever seeing the (im)famous "cake castle" for Disney World's 25th anniversary? I was able to dig up a photo from a family trip in October 1996:
Happy Monday. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead.
P.S. — If you’d like to see this in your email inbox, please subscribe below. If you have trouble subscribing, shoot me an email, and I’ll get you on the list. Thanks for the consideration!