Happy Friday everyone! Hopefully your first two weeks of 2023 have started off on a good note! I want to try and make this the best year yet and I think that starts with focusing on the positives! Last week I went over some possible new years resolutions, many of which I have decided to try out this year. All of them I believe are easy to start and more importantly easy to keep going. I also believe each of them will lead to a happier, more fulfilling year. Now this week were going to add in some of the things we can look forward to this year and in my opinion that's a great way to start thinking positively about this new year! Now these are just my things that I personally am looking forward to but I expect you each have a list of your own. If you don't I challenge you to make one! Having things to look forward to makes the days in between just a little bit better. So feel free to comment, message or share the things you're looking forward to!
FIFA's Women's World Cup in New Zealand and Australia- After the final to the men's world cup how can you not be itching for more nail biting action?! It also doesn't hurt that the American's women's team always comes out aggressive and looking to win it all. The world cuz is an amazing display of some of the best athletes in the world and even non soccer (futbol) fans can get into it! Plus nothing like rooting on the good old US of A in any competition.
TV and Movies- There is way too many to list them all but trust me this is going to a great year for you entertainment enthusiasts, couch potatoes and everyone in between. Some of the highlights are the return of Harrison Ford in the new Indiana Jones movie, a new Spiderman movie and Creed 3. For shows we have the third installment of Outerbanks, a live action Avatar The Last Airbender and another season of Succession! And like I said these are just a few of a ton of amazing shows and movies releasing this year!
Polaris Dawn- This March, Polaris Dawn, a private space company, is set to conduct the first commercial spacewalk. Yes, you read that right. I had to re-read it a few times to wrap my head around it. Expected to be a gigantic milestone in the emerging space tourism field this space walk is something I'm highly anticipating. Now I'm not saying this is something I'll be doing anytime soon but I am fascinated to see how it goes and where the field goes from here!
Grand opening of Super Nintendo World in Hollywood- I mean come on. How could you not be excited about this?! I mean Nintendo has probably been a part of nearly every generations lives now in some way. Whether it was giving your kid the first Nintendo or if you're playing the Switch on the way to school. Now we get an amusement park and the entrance is, wait for it, a green tube. I mean the only thing keeping me grounded is it's in LA and will probably be insanely packed and hard for me to get tickets to go for a while. But planning is half the fun right? I can't wait to see how awesome this place is!
Hit-Tech Retail- I love online shopping as much as the next guy but as I get older and care more about how I dress I find clothes shopping as one thing I really still prefer to do in person. And that's saying a lot because I love shopping from the comfort of my couch. Sizes vary from style to brand and you can never know for sure how something will fit and returning it is just an extra step that can be avoided by going to stores and trying clothes on. Well that is going to get even better this year for some stores around the US. "Smart" mirrors outfitted with augmented reality (AR) will allow for virtual try-ons and personalized recommendations, and long checkout lines will be replaced with mobile payment systems. H&M has already launched it's first "smart" outpost in Brooklyn and Nike is adding AR components to physical stores,. BMW, Burberry, JD Sports, PacSun and Starbucks have also added an AR component at some locations.
Warner Bro's and Disney Turn 100-Two companies that really played a big part of my childhood and I'm sure many can say the same. Going to Disneyworld is one of my best memories as a kid and together Disney and Warner Bro's was probably responsible for half of the tv I watched. I just recently found out that both will be celebrating their 100th anniversaries this year. They have already announced some plans like Disney unveiling their Exhibit in Philadelphia a 15,000-square feet immersive collection showcasing characters and stories from the last century. but I expect many more. I can't wait to see what these two entertainment moguls do to commend their 100 years!
Space- I am no space expert. I took one astronomy class in college. But I have always been amazed by space and celestial activities. This year is a good year for them. I've found a list of the dates and events we can look forward to this year.
Eclipse
Hybrid Solar Eclipse - April 20
Penumbral Lunar Eclipse - May 5
Annular Solar Eclipse - October 14
Partial Lunar Eclipse - October 28
Meteor Showers
Quadrantids Meteor Shower - January 3, 4
Lyrids Meteor Shower - April 22-23
Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower - May 6-7
Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower - July 28-29
Perseids Meteor Shower - August 12-13
Draconids Meteor Shower - October 7
Orionid Meteor Shower - October 21-22
Taurids Meteor Shower - November 4-5
Leonids Meteor Shower - November 17-18
Geminids Meteor Shower - December 13-14
Ursid Meteor Shower - December 21-22