WELCOME TO DAYBREAK DIVERSIONS, UPPER VALLEY!
Lost Woods: Wally Takes a Trip. And talks navigating the woods at night with Henry.Prepare to cringe. But also to savor. "Best-of” lists are fine; “worst-of” lists are much more fun. Like Andy Greene's "50 Worst Decisions in TV History" in Rolling Stone: a sitcom featuring the Geico cavemen; Steven Bochco’s singing, dancing cops (“especially the part in the pilot when the jury sings ‘He’s Guilty’ with a gospel choir”); Geraldo Rivera opening Al Capone’s vault on live TV; even Seinfeld makes an appearance, for the episode where Susan is killed off and nobody cares (“There was such a fierce backlash that the writers placed George on a charitable-foundation board in Susan’s honor the next season.”)Moths and beetles flaunt their stuff in super slo-mo. When they’re sitting still, they like to blend into their surroundings. When they fly, they’re a chaotic blur. When they’re magnified under a camera lens and recorded at 6,000 frames per second—well, then they become magnificent. Dr. Adrian Smith and the Ant Lab crew put up a new video of a dozen more truly marvelous insects taking flight. Up-close, the Polyphemus moth flaunts a crushed-velvet exterior and fiery, hypnotic plumage. The giant diving beetle, unpacking its metallic wingsuit before leaping through the air, is from another planet.SPONSORED: Moos & Brews & Cocktails Too! July 25, 5:30-8:00 pm. Cheers to a cow as you kick back for an adults-only evening of craft drinks, live music, and farm fun at Billings Farm! Meet the moos, wander the gardens, hop on a horse-drawn wagon ride, and sip brews, cocktails, and mocktails from local producers. With tasty food trucks, sweet treats, spectacular views, and of course, the cows, this summer night on the farm is not to be missed. For ages 21+, tickets are $25/person, $20/member. Sponsored by Billings Farm & Museum.I'll see your "rock the baby" and raise you... whatever the heck this is. There are people who think Hajime Miura is the greatest yoyo-er ever, though it wouldn't be hard to get an argument going in elite yoyo circles. Whatever. He's been world champion multiple times, and at the World Yo-Yo Championship finals in 2023 in Osaka, he threw down this routine in the discipline known as 3A, which is two-handed string tricks done with two yoyos.Today's Wordbreak. With a word from the regional news.
"Guitar virtuosity seems like it's so rarely used to create something that's peaceful and tangibly hopeful," Afropop Worldwide producer Ben Richmond said a few years ago in his intro to a conversation with guitarist Yasmin Williams. Williams burst into the music world's consciousness with her second album, Urban Driftwood, for which she taught herself to play the kora, and with her adventurous approach to guitar-playing, which includes drumming, using a bow, even tap "dancing" while she plays to add rhythmic complexity. There's also her backstory: She started out by playing the video game Guitar Hero, eventually beat it, and asked her parents if they could get her a real one. She says that the mechanics of playing the game informed her style now. "Video games get a bad rap," she says, "but I recommend it." Here's "Through the Woods."See you Friday.Daybreak is written and published by Rob Gurwitt About Rob
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