Reminicing about the glory days of Grand Central Staion, one Facebook commentor posted:

It’s one of the most iconic images in American history: sunlight streaming through the towering arched windows of Grand Central Terminal, casting dramatic beams of light across the main concourse. Captured in 1929, this stunning visual has enchanted viewers for generations. But what many don’t realize is that this natural light display is nearly impossible to replicate today, and it’s all because of New York City’s ever-rising skyline.

He goes on to suggest that this phenomenon is not unique to Grand Central. The beauty of many such grand archetectural wonders are now obscured by the shadows of a growing metropolis. "Known as urban canyons," he writes, "these environments can significantly alter how sunlight reaches street level, affecting everything from mood to vegetation to historical preservation."

He concludes:

In the case of Grand Central, the change is especially poignant. Once bathed in sunlight, the station now depends primarily on artificial lighting to maintain its grandeur. While still breathtaking in its architecture and cultural significance, it no longer offers that same celestial light show captured so beautifully nearly a century ago. 

This shift is a powerful reminder of how cities evolve, and how even something as intangible as sunlight can be lost in the pursuit of progress.

In a video made for Our Daily Bread, Nicole Mullen shares the following devotional.*

You may have heard of the metaphor of looking at an issue from all angels. I think of it like this:

You know, if there were four of us and we were looking at an elephant, all from the front, our description of him would, or could, be similar.  You know, though one might describe, you know, his trunk, another his tusks, somebody else his legs, someone else his eyes, but for the most part we would be describing the front of him and we could all attest to the others' narrative, because we have witnessed the same sight. 

Now, if the four of us were to spread out and I stood behind him, you stayed in front, and the other two on the sides of him, then our descriptions would change according to what we've seen and experienced. We would be describing different parts of the same elephant.
 
Now, I have to be careful not to discredit my neighbor's description, because they had not seen the creature from my vantage point. But if i choose to lean in and learn from their experience, then my view of the elephant grows and so does my knowledge and my wisdom.

*Click here to link to the full video.

The OSCARS are a failing and fading symbol of Hollywood's death grip on American culture. Ratings have been steadily falling for years, in large part because of the way they love to lecture and berate the rest of us for our supposedly antiquated, unsophisticated morals and world view, all the while hypocritically value signalling and flaunting their own. Viewership has dropped over 80% over the last 20 yrs.

But the 94th Annual Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences hit a new low, catching the public's interest for an on-air physical assault, as presenter Chris Rock took the stage and made a joke about actress Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. "Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see it."

Ms. Smith suffers from hair loss due to a physical condition, Alopecia, and she took great offense. Her husband, famed actor Will Smith, initially laughed at the joke, but then quickly recoiled, ran to the stage, and unceremoniously cold-slapped Chris Rock across the face.  

"Will Smith just smacked the [profanity] out of me,” said a stunned Chris Rock.

“Keep my wife’s name out of your [profanity] mouth!” said an indignant Will Smith, twice.

Rock, in an effort to diffuse the situation, said the assault made for "the greatest night in the history of television." 

"Hollywood has never been comfortable with traditional morals and values, so it is rather amusing seeing the industry struggling to figure out how to respond," says Not The Bee's Daniel Payne. 

Payne continued:

Is Will Smith an heroic husband defending his wife's honor before a global audience? Is he a patriarchal caveman helping perpetuate toxic masculinity by using his fists to solve problems? You can see the tension there. Yet beyond the hopelessly convoluted politics of the moment is a deeper and more troubling dichotomy at play here: Will Smith's aggressive defense of his wife on the Oscars stage occurs alongside his complete and utter spousal neglect of her off the stage.

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith share a long history of marital dysfunction, engaging now, for years, in what they call an "open" marriage, i.e., they mutally agree to both date and have sexual relations with other people outside of their marriage.

"There are few more potent and enduring symbols of emasculated weakness and of bad husbandship," says Payne, "than a man standing by while other guys [take advantage of his wife] and make a mockery of their wedding vows."

We should note that Will Smith presumably [has affairs] with women in his own right, but of course that simply degrades his own personal integrity even further—if you can't defend your wife and your marriage from the impulses and the ego of your own sexual appetites, you're not much of a man or a husband, whatever else you may be.