From Dreams to Possibilities

Happy International Women’s Day (March 8)

this is ok.

it has happened before. it will happen again. it has been lost before. it will be lost again. and again. and again. and again. art and architecture are transient, and temporary, and 850 years may seem like a lot to the individual, who will live maybe 100 if they are very lucky and very healthy, but even the pyramids at saqqara have only existed for about 6000 years and that’s still not all that much, if you consider the grand scheme of things.

yes, this is terrible. as someone who is deeply religious and literally a professional historian with a focus on art and architecture, this is terrible. im mourning. im gutted. im horrified and upset and miserable. but.

it’s not over.

victor hugo wrote hunchback because notre dame du paris was in the process of collapsing and falling apart, and revitalized the entire world’s focus and love for this church, and that was not even 200 years ago. it led to it being renovated.

the roof has fallen in. the scars of fires are on its buttresses. the rose window has fallen out. the beams and piers have collapsed. the spire has toppled. the stones have suffered, and will suffer again, but it is not gone.

renovation work is essential. sometimes things collapse and burn and break and have to come back. it’s not a terrorist attack, it’s renovation, an accident, but we have so much evidence, history, carefully documented everything on one of the most studied places in the world.

Obviously everyone is shocked but here’s a few important key facts:

The roof is completely gone. Part of it dated back from the 13th century but the rest was from the 19th. The stone arch roof under the top roof is fine.

One of the three main stained glass rose windows has fallen out. Most of the other stained glass windows are okay.

The spire has fallen down and that’s the saddest part. BUT! It was in the process of being restored and the 16 statues that were there were removed just four days ago! So they’re fine.

The main structure is still here and nothing has “burned down” unlike what some people have been saying.

The “treasure” (sacred objects) is safe.

Can we talk about this guy for a second? I feel like he doesn’t get enough credit even though he played, arguably, one of the most important roles in Mulan. For those of you who don’t know, this is the Chinese soldier stationed on top of the Great Wall at the beginning of the film.

After his helmet is knocked off and he sees the Huns throw grappling hooks up onto the ramparts, he calls out to the person who is supposed to be on top of the tower to light the signal. We don’t know where that person is supposed to be, but given the fact that several Huns come out from the door in this shot, we can assume they likely killed him.

But does that stop this guy? No. He judges the situation and reacts accordingly. Despite being swung at by a Hun with a large sword and being forced to pull himself up onto the tower, he doesn’t even stop to take a breather. He just grabs the torch and is about to light the signal himself when something stops him.

This guy. Shan Yu is already on top of the tower as this soldier is about to light the signal. Now, Shan Yu is already a scary mf, but I think it’s important to see how our soldier reacts to seeing him because it tells us an important detail that many people may overlook.

Look at his face. This soldier isn’t just stunned because there a massive Hun waiting for him on top of the tower, but because he recognizes said Hun. Or at least he knows enough about what Shan Yu looks like to put two and two together and assume that this is him. He knows this man and his reputation. He knows exactly the kinds of things Shan Yu is willing to do to people who stand in his way. And what does this soldier do? Does he beg for his life? Does he try to escape?

No. This bamf just looks Shan Yu right in the eye and does his duty. He lights the signal, knowing full well that doing so will likely get him killed. But, he does it anyway. And immediately after lighting the signal, he looks up the the Hun leader with this expression.

This is a man who would look Death in the face and say “Fuck you!” He knows he has maybe a few more seconds of life left and yet he stands tall. And why is this important? Because this one act of valor led to this.

The Prince: Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts -

Enchantress:

you were my new dream.

He comes from a very poor family. His father was an alcoholic who beat him and his mother (he once poured hot tea over her and put her in hospital several times), his brother is a drug addict, he literally built an empire out of nothing.

He credits his mother as his biggest inspiration and often has her cooking in his shows.

When he left his first restaurant he pulled a successful Jerry Maguire - the entire kitchen staff went with him. That tells you what he’s like to work with.

He was one of the first to give a restaurant to a female chef.

He went to prison (Gordon Behind Bars) and taught inmates to bake and they opened a bakery (Bad Boys Bakery) that is still running. He hired one of them when he got out.

He did documentaries about the cruelty of shark hunting and cocaine. (when he discovered cocaine was used by his staff he didn’t fire anyone but made sure they are offered treatment)

His kids are a treasure.

He is always ALWAYS kind to servers.

When one of his partners (Marcus Wareing) wanted to leave they got into a fight and settled it in court, they no longer speak to each other but this is what Marcus said about him after the fight: 

I feel bad that the first association to him for a lot of people is this shouty TV chef when he’s truly a wonderful person. 

Oh and then there’s this: