Cathedral Talk

Tom reveals to David and Zack for the first time his latest Minecraft build: The Acropolis of Athens. SEE: Tom’s Acropolis of Athens (scroll down for photo gallery) SEE: The Acropolis of Athens SEE: The Parthenon SEE: The Propylaea SEE: The Erechtheion SEE: Caryatids SEE: The Stoa of Eumenes SEE: The Theater of Dionysus SEE: The Odeon of Pericles SEE: The Odeon of Herodes Atticus SEE: The Acropoli...

Tom shares accounts of the ceremonies and celebrations for the reopening of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. SEE: Notre-Dame interior before the 2019 Fire SEE: Notre-Dame interior fully restored SEE: Gustavo Dudamel conducts Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 inside Notre-Dame SEE: Notre-Dame de Paris Reopens – The Complete Dec. 7 Reopening Ceremony SEE: Notre-Dame de Paris Reopens – The Complete Dec....

The gents do a deep dive into the world of Change Ringing with church bells, comparing and contrasting with other types of ringing. SEE: Change Ringing SEE: Campanology SEE: Peal SEE: BellBoard SEE: North American Change Ringing Towers SEE: Love’s Guide to the Bells of the City of London SEE: Love’s Guide to the Church Bells of Kent SEE: The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (CCCBR) SEE: Nort...

Zack investigates the origin of Salisbury steak. SEE: Salisbury steak SEE: Broil Tom compares and contrasts English gothic with French gothic, using Salisbury cathedral to demonstrate the design aesthetics and choices of the medieval English builders. SEE: English gothic architecture SEE: Salisbury Cathedral SEE: Documentary—Britain’s Great Cathedrals w/ Tony Robinson, Ep3 Salisbury SEE: Patriarch...

Zack demonstrates how to use the Create Mod to build customized factories that can generate a variety of blocks using the power of water, wind, and steam. SEE: Create, Minecraft Mod (curseforge.com) SEE: BdoubleO100 Create Mod Playlist SEE: Tango Tek Create Mod Playlist, Season 2

David and Zack run the show, discussing the latest restoration updates at Notre-Dame. SEE: Restoration Progress at Notre-Dame SEE: 60 Minutes Video on Notre-Dame’s Restoration Zack briefly discusses visiting David and Tom on the East Coast. SEE: National Cherry Blossom Festival SEE: Cherry Blossom Biome in Minecraft 1.20

David and Zack get a chance to weigh in on Tom’s interview with Joe Alonso from Episode 25, regarding masonry and the Washington National Cathedral. SEE: Washington National Cathedral (WNC) SEE: WNC Slides—Tour & Earthquake SEE: Tallest Buildings in Washington, D.C. SEE: Architect SEE: Structural engineer SEE: Stonemasonry SEE: Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rock SEE: Stone carving SEE:...

DONATE: Washington National Cathedral Preservation (click podcast box at bottom) Joe Alonso, Head Stonemason at Washington National Cathedral, discusses repairing the cathedral after the 2011 earthquake in DC, along with a variety of construction topics including structure settlement, mortar application, limestone qualities, and a special visit from the architects of Notre-Dame de Paris. SEE: Wash...

The gents further investigate the eccentricities of Trombone Champ. SEE: Trombone Champ Tom, David, and Zack examine the architecture of Amiens Cathedral, the one of the largest gothic cathedrals in the world. SEE: Amiens Cathedral SEE: Amiens Cathedral Slides SEE: Life of a Cathedral: Notre-Dame of Amiens (Columbia University interactive) SEE: Notre-Dame de Amiens: Life of the Gothic Cathedral, b...

Tom, David, and Zack discuss the architecture in Disney’s animated 1996 adaptation of the Hunchback of Notre-Dame. SEE: Disney’s Notre-Dame vs Real Notre-Dame SEE: Up-wrong bell (clapper strikes counter to bell’s motion)  SEE: Up-right bell (clapper strikes in-sync with bell’s motion) SEE: Hunchback Intro up-wrong bell (behind title, 9 seconds) SEE: Palais de la Cité, a.k.a.: Palais de Justic...

Originally recorded as a trial episode back in mid-2020 during the early days of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Tom discusses whether building mega-skyscrapers next to the Empire State Building would disfigure the the New York City skyline. SEE: 15 Penn Plaza SEE: The Guardian (2010)—New York skyscraper to rival Empire State Building SEE: List of the Tallest Buildings in the World SEE: Burj Khalifa SEE: S...

Tom completes the "Phase 1" (1163–1170 A.D.) of his 2:1 scale Minecraft model of Notre-Dame, consisting of the vaulted double-ambulatory and above it, the second-level gallery, complete with various low flying-buttresses. SEE: THSchutt’s Notre-Dame(2:1) build, Phase 1 (1163–1170 A.D.) David and Tom recount their experience at the National Building Museum to see the Notre-Dame de Paris: The Augment...

Zack probes Tom and David regarding artificial chimes and carillons that use recorded bell sounds rather than actual bells. SEE: Electronic carillons Tom recalls his experience of hearing a full peal at Bath Abbey. SEE: Bath Abbey Bells, full peal on Oct. 17, 2021 SEE: Royal Crescent in Bath, England Tom recounts his first trip to Notre-Dame during Easter 2007, when the 19th c. Bells where still h...

Tom discusses building the Roman Colosseum in Minecraft, demonstrating how he modeled its curvature based on the theories of Ingegner Giuseppe Cozzo, while discussing its history and influence upon Gothic architecture later on. SEE: Tom’s Colosseum(1:1 scale) build SEE: Tom’s Colosseum curvature calculations & plans (Excel spreadsheet) SEE: Cozzo’s Polycentric-Curve Theory for the Colosseum SE...

The Cathedral Talk YouTube channel now has the first couple of podcast episodes uploaded with some nifty video footage as an optional accompaniment. More episodes are to be uploaded in the future (at unavoidably irregular intervals). SEE: Cathedral Talk YouTube Links More restoration news at Notre-Dame continues to be published now that we have passed the third anniversary of the fire. SEE: FRANCE...

David presents his very late Christmas gift to Zack, reminding Zack to share literature he received for Christmas about cathedrals. Meanwhile, Tom shares an article about a “soundscape archaeologist” who is working to recreate the sounds that would have existed in Notre-Dame during the medieval times. SEE: The sounds rebuilding Notre-Dame’s previous vaults (article) SEE: Guédelon Castle Tom, David...

Tom shares his latest progress on building the twin-aisled vaulting throughout the ambulatory of the chevet for his 2:1 scaled Minecraft model of Notre-Dame. SEE: THSchutt’s Notre-Dame(2:1) build, Phase 1 (1163–1170 A.D.) David discusses how the Steve Jobs movie, written by Aaron Sorkin, is very entertaining yet wildly erroneous. Tom compares this with other loose adaptations of history. Zack deba...

Tom discusses how different some Minecraft players can build not only epic castles, but also the very mountain ranges that said castles can be nestled into. SEE: NoxusBolgar’s Tephra Castle & the Town of Noxshire Zack shows how certain player-made structures can greatly enhance the already amazing caves of Minecraft patch 1.18. SEE: Jeracraft’s Epic Lush Cave Transformation David shares his fa...

Tom inquires about Zack’s fictitious Roomba. SEE: Roomba SEE: Lego Colosseum The gents discuss why donating to Notre-Dame is a worthwhile endeavor and how they decide what makes a cause worth donating to. SEE: Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris SEE: 2011 Virginia earthquake (DC, MD, VA)

Tom provides more cardinal errata regarding the different ranks of catholic cardinals. SEE: Cardinal (Catholic Church) David discusses his new favorite Netflix movie. SEE: Don’t Look Up (Netflix) Tom quizzes David and Zack on the nomenclature for different vertical elements of Gothic cathedrals, having already quizzed them in Episode 3 on groundplan lexicon. SEE: Gothic Cathedral Vertical Elements...

David learns of the author of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. SEE: Ian Fleming Tom showcases the architecture of the Pantheon of Ancient Rome, which was the progenitor of much cathedral architecture that followed afterwards. SEE: The Pantheon images, models, and diagrams SEE: The Pantheon (Ancient Rome) SEE: Dome (masonry) SEE: Rotunda SEE: Tholobate (Drum) SEE: Coffering SEE: Portico SEE: Pediment SEE:...

Tom provides errata regarding the origin of the term “Gothic” architecture. SEE: Gothic Art (Britannica) Tom, Zack, and David discuss how recent features added to Minecraft have expanded building opportunities, particularly regarding how wall blocks operate in 1.16 and beyond. SEE: Improved Walls in Minecraft (by Pixlriffs) The gents also discuss the additional features that they would like to see...

Tom discusses campanology, the study of bells. SEE: Campanology SEE: Change ringing SEE: Chime SEE: Tolling SEE: Peal SEE: Carillon SEE: Bourdon bells Tom presents his ranked list of The World’s Top 10 Best Bourdon Bells. SEE: The World’s Top 10 Best Bourdon Bells Tom briefly discusses using recordings of bells for the podcast’s theme. SEE: Doppler effect SEE: Concert pitch (Treaty of Versailles,...

David shares his challenges with handling expectations and when they are not met. SEE: Hofstadter’s Law Tom gives Zack and David homework, to watch his favorite documentary on cathedrals with renowned author and artist David Macaulay. SEE: “Cathedral” with David Macaulay, 1986 PBS special Tom has Zack and David partake in a short activity where they must sequence a sample of Romanesque and Gothic...

Zack offers a few corrections to information shared on stellar fusion which was discussed in podcast episode #7. Tom shares a few brief updates about finishing the exterior wall of the choir on the 2:1 scale Notre-Dame model. The gents briefly investigate the use of organs throughout Notre-Dame’s history. SEE: The Hunchback of Notre-Dame – “God Help The Outcasts” [Minecraft Noteblocks] ...