It’s the terror of knowing
What the world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming ‘Let me out’
Pray tomorrow gets me higher

  • A very sad week. We lost two absolute titans: David Bowie and Alan Rickman. Bowie died just two days after releasing ‘Lazarus’ from his final album ‘Blackstar’. The Telegraph called it a ‘parting gift in a cleverly planned finale’.
  • Alan Rickman, the award-winning actor famous for playing Professor Snape in Harry Potter and Hans Gruber in Die Hard, passed away at age 69. He too had been suffering from cancer. Whether on film or the stage, his distinct voice and presence were unmistakable. BBC News shared early responses from his friends and family.
  • President Obama delivered his final State of the Planet Nation address. His speech set out a vision for the future and looped back around to his core concept of the ‘politics of hope’. Vox Media has a great 4-minute edit of the hour-long speech.
  • Netflix has rolled out internationally, but NBCUniversal says they don’t feel threatened. Alan Wurtzel says he doesn’t “[…] believe there’s enough stuff on Netflix that is broad enough and consistent enough to affect us in a meaningful way on a consistent basis.”
  • I promise I’ll stop talking about Star Wars after this (no I won’t) but you have to read VFX Supervisor Roger Guyett’s interview with Studio Daily. It’s a fascinating discussion of how they balanced practical and digital effects in The Force Awakens.
  • Apple has unveiled bold new plans for iOS in Education. This is huge news for schools using iPad in the classroom. Catch this special episode of the ‘Out of School’ podcast for more information.
  • And finally, Stephen Fry welcomes us to the UK. Perfectly British.