WELCOME TO DAYBREAK DIVERSIONS, UPPER VALLEY!
Somebody speaking confidently about something they don't know much about? On the internet? Never! That’s the tongue-in-cheek comment from Merriam Webster about the usefulness of the word ultracrepidarian (giving opinion on matters beyond one’s knowledge). It’s among the many obscure words they cite in their list of "Beautiful and Useless Words," which, despite the title, has some supremely useful ones. Take jackassery. Degree of usefulness? “C’mon,” they say. Or accismus (the pretended refusal of something one keenly desires), as in “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly eat the last maple creemee.”That is one giant leap for a bobcat! A quick heads up: As the US Fish & Wildlife Service says in a post accompanying photographer Jacob Hall's remarkable shot of a bobcat in Texas taking down a great blue heron in mid-flight, "it can be hard for some of us to witness wildlife interactions ... but it's a key part of the way that our ecosystems work." Hall had noticed the heron flying and was able to snap two pics of it—then wondered why it suddenly fell out of the sky. Only afterward did he see what he'd captured: in his first photo, the bobcat is barely visible in the reeds; in the second... well, you'll see.SPONSORED: Register now for fall classes and ensembles at Upper Valley Music Center! We welcome students of all experience levels and ages, ages 0-100, whether you’re a total beginner, resuming an old hobby, or looking for new musical friends. Tuition assistance is available for all programs including singing, fiddle, guitar, chorus, orchestra, Music Together for little ones, and much more. Looking for one-on-one lessons? Meet our new faculty and complete an inquiry form at uvmusic.org/lessons. Sponsored by Upper Valley Music Center."Embody the confidence." Ed People likes to travel. The Belgian videographer goes all over the world. And wherever he is, including at home, he likes to do something else: stop total strangers on the street and ask them to show him their favorite dance move. Then he learns it and dances it with them: Moroccan wedding dances, salsa, Bhangra, hip-hop, a waltz, you name it. All you can say after watching is that the world has some great moves. You can admire more of them here.The Monday Jigsaw. It's a WRJ street scene around 1909, writes Cam Cross for the Norwich Historical Society: "Date is based on early Model T in background. See the original photo, a modern street view, a Crown Theater playbill, the story of a local woman who made it big in 1917, and a theater tussle sparked by a hat at The Curioustorian.Today's Wordbreak. With a word from the regional news.
There's no way to slap a label on Hazmat Modine. For over two decades now, the NYC-based band has been mingling honky tonk, klezmer, jug-band blues, and jazz, playing with the likes of everyone from Kronos Quartet to Natalie Merchant, and forging its own sound out of, say, a sousaphone, guitar, banjo, and founder Wade Schuman's blowtorch of a harmonica (or maybe "blowtorch" should describe his singing voice?). Whatever, they're still going strong.
See you Wednesday.
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