Light Show – Politics Plus

Poppy Light Shows to Mark Remembrance on Memorial Day …

Posted by SoINeedAName at 5:12 pm Politics

May 262025

After Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae saw poppies growing in a battle-scorched field in Waregem, Belgium, he was inspired to pen the poem “In Flanders Fields”. Since then, poppies have become the traditional symbol of remembrance for our fallen soldiers. So, on this Memorial Day I thought it fitting to revisit two light shows featuring the poppy.

The nation’s only memorial and museum dedicated “in honor of those who served in World War One in defense of liberty and our country” is Kansas City’s Liberty Memorial. And in recent years its 217-foot-tall tower has served as a canvas for two light shows featuring the poppy.

The first was in 2018 marking the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month marking the “War to End All Wars”. The light show ran for nine days and was viewed by tens of thousands.

Over 5,000 poppies illuminating both the Liberty Tower and Liberty Memorial base (part of the National World War I Museum) were created by nearly 55 million pixels and 800,000 lumens. Every 15-minutes a special presentation is shown on the base displaying images and history about World War I.

To honor our nation’s veterans, the second light show installation was commissioned by the Liberty Museum and Memorial in conjunction with the NFL Draft that was held in Kansas City at Union Station in 2023. It was titled “Horizons” and was designed by Kathy Pittala, a lifelong Kansas City area resident and the Graphic Designer at the Liberty National WWI Museum and Memorial.

“The Dog Ate My Holidays …”

Posted by SoINeedAName at 9:28 am Politics

Dec 272024

Time just got away from me. But I had worked on a post earlier, so rather than waiting until 2025 I’m just going to go ahead and share it.

I was hoping to post it yesterday so I could slip it in as a Boxing Day article – so I’m just going to pretend it’s STILL December 26th.

Boxing Day, a UK holiday tradition celebrated the day after Christmas, was once a day to donate gifts to those in need. But it has now evolved to become a part of Christmas festivities, and an extension for those of us wanting to participate in the PoliticsPlus Holiday Festivities – but got tied up with other things.

To start I created some GIFs of the drone light show employing 4,981 drones to create the Guinness record-breaking holiday display over Mansfield, Texas on November 26, 2023

The spectacular show was created by Sky Elements Drone Shows and UVify, a North Texas-based drone company.

To be honest, I’ll post the YouTube source video – but they make so many cuts and change of speed it was a bit difficult.

(And you might want to kick up the speed in YouTube because the drones tend to move pretty slow in performing their precision aerial display.)

In the same order as the video:

And here’s the source YouTube video:

And I borrowed a Jacquie Lawson Christmas message to add the one word we’re all hoping for:

And it just wouldn’t be Christmas without a reprise of those Caroling Penguins. (That song STILLS makes me chuckle just thinking about it.)

♩ ♪ ♫ ♬

Hark! The Herald Penguins sing:

Please don’t eat our little wings!

Eat a goose down to the bone,

But leave Penguins all alone.

♩ ♪ ♫ ♬

Baby ducks are very sweet,

Tastier than Penguin meat.

If we’re carried in your store,

Please, don’t shop there anymore!

…

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