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"FUN FACT: Zamperini's roommate at the 1936 Berlin Olympics was the great Jesse Owens who won 4 gold medals." Louis Zamperini on bringbackthemile.com --- "Unbroken" - 2010, Book (DonRocks) "Unbroken" - 2014, Film (DonRocks) -
If you're offended by any discussion about religion - even when it's being discussed as a tangential issue - then please click out of this post now because this may offend you, and that is not my intent. Minor **SPOILERS** will follow: --- Last week, I finished reading the biography of the amazing Louis Zamperini, "Unbroken," written by Laura Hillenbrand - one of the best and most thoroughly researched biographies I've ever read. No, it's not perfect, and if you click on the title, you'll see we have the beginnings of a meaningful discussion about the book. This thread, and this post, is about the movie. In the "Unbroken" book thread, I mention a recent discussion I had with a member about "In Cold Blood" (just click and read the first paragraph in Post #11). In essence, she was unable to enjoy the movie because she had read the book first. I'm afraid that with "Unbroken," that may be the case with me: I was recently told that there was no mention of Billy Graham in the film. To my eyes, the book is structured as follows: 1) A medium-sized beginning (childhood, upbringing, college, Olympics) 2) A huge middle (the war) 3) A short ending (PTSD, recovery) For there to be no mention of Zamperini's post-war biography is to essentially clip short his life in his mid-20s. Think about this for a moment: If Billy Graham did not exist, there would be no "Unbroken" because there would have been no Louis Zamperini to write about. Zamperini's recovery (I'm purposefully not calling it a redemption) is such a major factor in his biography that its omission is a literary and journalistic sin. What I can say here is very limited because I haven't seen the film, but based on what I heard, I would urge anyone who has seen the film, and who doesn't want to invest the substantial time involved in reading the entire 406-page book, to borrow a copy, and read only the 18-page Epilogue. At this point, the only reason I want to watch the film is so I can voice this opinion more forcefully, and with some credibility and authority; right now, I cannot. --- For those interested in the enormous power that Billy Graham was able to convey, I encourage them to go to his website, and watch one or more of his "televised classics" (the old, black-and-white ones are directly relevant to the full biography of Zamperini, but even for those completely uninterested in Graham, there is still historical importance in the beautiful alto gospel of Ethel Waters at the 8:30 point in this video). I should also disclose that Graham was a major influence on, and source of enormous comfort to, my beloved mother - his occasional televised crusades were part of my childhood, as I watched my mother watch him, completely mesmerized by the unselfish sovereignty of his oration. I am hardly an evangelist, but have no problem in voicing my opinion that Billy Graham is one of the greatest and most important people ever to live, wielding immense power on a global scale, but never once abusing it for his own personal gain - his rightful place in history is side-by-side with Martin Luther King, Jr., the Dalai Lama, Pope Francis, Mahatma Gandhi, and David Ben-Gurion. --- Louis Zamperini, Sports (DonRocks) "Unbroken" , Book (DonRocks)
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Trevante Rhodes won a Gold Medal for the USA in the 2009 Pan-American Junior Athletics Championships in the 4 x 100 Relay. A multi-sport athlete at Little Elm HS, he earned a scholarship to the University of Texas, and has since become, arguably, Little Elm's most famous alumnus, along with NFL player Cole Beasley.
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"NFL Star Marquise Goodwin and Wife Open Up about Losing Their Baby Boy" on cbsnews.com
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"Watch: Gatlin Stuns World by Beating Bolt" on bbc.com Never saw this one coming.................. last 100m of his career!!!! -
The above quoted post is from the 1970 Academy Award Winner for Best Picture, "Patton." Who knew that 58 years before this film was made, and 27 years before the outbreak of World War II in Europe, George Patton was in Stockholm, on the same 1912 U.S. Olympic team as Jim Thorpe, and finished 5th in the Modern Pentathlon (the first 4 finishers were all from Sweden). I mean, are you kidding me?! It's not without irony that pistol shooting cost him a gold medal - he might have gotten completely shafted (read the story below). Aug 10, 2012 - "George S. Patton (Yes, That One) Was a Modern Pentathlete" by Jason Turbow on wired.com
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How does a high school Shot Put record stand untouched for nearly 50 years? Tom Brosius of Springbrook High School set the Maryland state record on May 25, 1968, and it still stands today - as of right now, it's the longest-standing Maryland high school track and field record by 15 years (Rodney Giles' 800 Meters record was set in 1983, which is also remarkable, since there's a greater interest in running events than in field events). Can someone who has actually put the shot (that's how you say it!) tell me how good 64' 6 1/2" is? I have no idea - I'm assuming this was a 12-pound shot; not 16-pound: Brosius's best put in college was 64' 3 1/2", which was the best put in the nation that year - undoubtedly, he had gone up from 12 to 16 pounds, since that was shorter than his high school record. This is a noteworthy 33.3% increase in weight, which shows how strong people can get in the four years of college. --- My goodness, in 1979, Michael Carter broke the *national* high school Shot Put record by over *nine feet*! That is Bob Beamon-like (look at the Long Jump progression chart (*)). Nobody has come within two feet of Carter's record since! --- (*) Note that Jesse Owens held the Long Jump record for 25 years - incredibly, 2 years longer than Beamon held it! There's your trivia question guaranteed to stump everyone: "Who held the world Long Jump record for the longest duration of time in the 20th century?" I had no idea Jesse Owens held the record for longer than Bob Beamon did - here's the progression chart. Note that Mike Powell has held it for longer still - going on 26 years, straddling the 20th and 21st centuries. Note also that Galina Christyakova has held the women's record for nearly 30 years. Jackie Joyner-Kersee is the only woman to have held the record since 1976, who isn't from the former Eastern bloc, --- As long as we're at it, we all know that Jesse Owens won the Gold Medal in the 100m dash at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Q: Who won the silver medal? A: Mack Robinson: Jackie's older brother!
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I had to get permission to post this, and you'll soon see why. Remember the name Tay-Leiha Clark - I have almost no doubt you'll be hearing about her in the future. I promise this isn't because She Liked My Tweet! (It was also pointed out to me that she's a year younger than Matt. Forgive me, Anna (hey, she was ranked #1 in the world in doubles.)) On other notes, I sat next to Reggie Hearn yesterday on the airplane.
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This sounds like the stuff of Sidd Finch, but it's true: There is a serious attack occurring at running a marathon in 2 hours, and it was almost reached under optimal conditions: Eliud Kipchoge just ran the distance in an unthinkable 2:00:24. "Inside Nike's Sub-Two Hour Marathon Attempt" by Chris Chavez on si.com To put this into terms I can relate to, twenty years ago (I must emphasize: twenty years ago), I was running 30 miles a week, and once every three days, my regimen would consist of sprinting six laps, with one minute rest in between each, as fast as I could. No matter how tired I was after that minute, I'd *have* to start the next lap. The fastest lap I've *ever* run is just over 70 seconds, which would work out to a 4:40 mile (the fastest mile I ever ran was 6:37). A sub-two hour marathon works out to a 4:35 mile pace, which is faster than I could *ever* sprint just *one* time around the track.
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I received "Unbroken," by Laura Hillenbrand as a gift from a friend, and I make it a point, whenever possible, to start *and finish* books that my friends give me. (That's why I limit my friends!) I've been warned away from the movie by the same person who bought me the book, and that's good enough for me - I doubt I'll waste my time seeing it. So far I've finished Part I (there are V Parts), and I enjoy it very much. The author, Laura Hillenbrand, has a good feel for biography, telling the story without a lot of embellishment, but putting key suspenseful items in the correct places to make it a real "page-turner" - it's not hard to see why this is a best-seller. Louis Zamperini was a fascinating man, and I'm looking forward to reading his biography - he deserves no less, nor does my friend who gifted the book. --- Louis Zamperini - Sports, (DonRocks) "Unbroken" - Film , (DonRocks)
