Watches, Stories, & Gear: A Mario Movie, A Titanium Yacht-Master, & The James Webb Space Telescope

“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear.

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This installment of “Watches, Stories, and Gear” is brought to you by the Windup Watch Shop, which now features an EDC section.

The James Webb Space Telescope Inches Closer To Launch (fingers crossed

Most people are familiar with the Hubble Space Telescope, which has been producing incredible renderings of the far reaches of space since 1990. Now, NASA is sending a new telescope to space, dubbed the James Webb Space Telescope, and it’s a staggering 100 times more powerful than the Hubble. If there’s such a thing as “hype” in the space telescope game, the James Webb has reached a “Green Nautilus” level of interest, having originally been scheduled to launch in 2010, and seeing its price tag steadily increase year after year. Now set for deployment in December, the end result is a telescope the size of a tennis court that should be able to see the first stars and galaxies that formed after the big bang, potentially shedding light on the origins of the universe itself. Check out this story in Vox for much more. (Header credit: NASA/Desiree Stover)

Brace Yourself, Another Super Mario Movie Is Coming

In what can only be described as the most surreal movie news of the week, we got word recently that a new animated Mario Bros. movie is in the works, and the cast is, quite simply, not to be believed. Chris Pratt will take on voice work as the titular Mario brother, while Luigi will be voiced by Charlie Day of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame. But that’s not all! Anya Taylor Joy is set to voice Princess Peach, and Donkey Kong will be played by Seth Rogen. Jack Black, Fred Armisen, and others are also making contributions. We have a lot of questions. First, will this be an improvement over the much maligned (but now cult favorite) adaptation of the game from 1993 starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo? What will the tone of this movie be, anyway? And most importantly, will this film, which has been given the simple and on-the-nose title of MARIO, take a firm stand on the full names of the title characters. Is he really named “Mario Mario”? Think about it, but not too hard. MARIO hits theaters in December 2022.

Help NASA Replace The Epic Astrovan

NASA hasn’t sent any of their own astronauts into space on NASA built vehicles since the end of the shuttle program in 2011, but there will come a time in the not too distant future when that will change. And when that time comes, those astronauts are going to need to be transported to the launch pad in something other than the modified Airstream motorhome that has been doing the job since 1984. Yes, the original “Astrovan” is being retired, and NASA has put out a call for a replacement (or, possibly, a complete overhaul). Ars Technica has all the details on what the new transport vehicle needs to include (it’s got to be carbon neutral, for one), as well as a look back at the original, which is honestly quite charming in how humble it is all these years later.

A Yacht-Master In …Titanium?

Rolex is notoriously tight-lipped about prototypes and roadmaps for future releases. Even when they do say something, it’s measured to a fault. But when images came out of world class sailor, and “Rolex Testimonee” , Sir Ben Ainslie sporting a dark grey, dateless Yacht-Master earlier this year, it had us scratching our heads. What was this watch? Surely, a one-off third party customization, right? Well, Ainslie was quoted as saying, “The team at Rolex has been incredibly thoughtful by giving me a titanium Yacht-Master 42” making the watch all the more interesting. A titanium Rolex? A dateless Yacht-Master? What’s going on here, and will we see a Rolex titanium watch make it to production? Your guess is as good as ours, but you can read more about the strange one-off from rolexmagazine.com right here.

Secrets Of The World’s Greatest Free Diver

How long can you hold your breath? One, maybe two minutes? To my amazement, Alexey Molchanov, the best freediver on the planet, has a personal Static Apnea record of 8:33 officially and has held his breath for upwards of nine minutes in training. Wild. Alexey Molchanov is also featured in this recent GQ article insightfully written by Daniel Riley where we are transported to Vertical Blue, an event that takes place in Bahamian waters where the best free divers around the world gather to compete amongst one another, and themselves. In the article, we are there at every moment to experience Alexey’s attempt to break his own world record for the Constant Weight dive, 131 meters (that’s 43 stories) beneath the surface. Alexey and Daniel cover everything from how the practice of breath-work and attention deconcentration can help in stressful situations in, and out of the water, to Alexey’s upbringing and how family is everything to his success. Check out the article on GQ, and while you’re reading, don’t forget to take a breath.

eBay Finds: Vintage Gruen

This week’s pick is a nice, simple Gruen Precision that should be easy on the wallet. Clean and classic chrome plated case looks to be in great condition, with a steel back. The silver/white dial has a sunburst finish and looks super clean, with attractive slim arrowhead style applied markers. This classic look is finished off with lume filled dauphine hands. Seller states the automatic movement works well. The bonus here is that it comes with the original box and warranty booklet! Hard to beat a complete set like this.

View auction here.