WELCOME BACK TO DAYBREAK DIVERSIONS, UPPER VALLEY!
Lost Woods: Floating Henry's Boat. Why rowing a boat is like writing.“A blur of adventure across the planet.” That’s how filmmaker Adam Chitayat describes the mesmerizing result of a video he constructed entirely out of Google Maps Streetview images. As did so many projects of its kind, Chitayat’s began during Covid lockdown. Unable to go anywhere, he says, “I viewed and downloaded the world from my desk.” Though probably not for the photosensitive, his breakneck timelapse zips through dozens of iconic locations around the globe—on a bullet train through Japan, along mountain ridges in Nepal, through museums and stadiums—all set to a heart-thumping beat."The ney is both poison and antidote." Quoting the poet Rumi, Rollo Romig burrows into the enigma and artistry of this ancient Turkish flute. In Sufi Islam, the ney holds as much symbolic power as the whirling dervish. Romig’s immersive and informative piece in Craftsmanship Quarterly journeys to the origins of the instrument (made from a simple cane reed) and to the elusive man, Niyazi Sayin, regarded throughout Istanbul as the ney’s most important musician in centuries. To interview Sayin and to understand his mastery, says one ney maker, “would be an accomplishment like walking on the moon.”SPONSORED: Help someone who needs a hand right now! Hearts You Hold is an Upper Valley nonprofit that supports immigrants, migrants, and refugees across the US by asking them what they need. It can range from baby clothes to work gear to laptops for people trying to establish themselves and their families in their lives here. At the link you'll find people in both New Hampshire and Vermont, but there are newcomers all over the country—from all over the world—who need something as simple as a car seat or baby shampoo. You can make a difference! Sponsored by Hearts You Hold.Oops. Danny McGee, a Hawaii-based filmmaker and drone videographer, was in Iceland in 2023 when he decided to see if he could get some close-up drone shots of a volcano. He was down to his last SD card and battery, but decided to give it a go, sending the drone down toward a crater—when suddenly, it was engulfed by shots of lava. Unbelievably, the drone escaped and made it back, melted propellers and all. Which means, we get to see the unreal footage that came out of it.The weekly jigsaw. Apologies to those looking for it on Monday—but better late than never! It's of a photo titled "Rustic Bridge in College Park" and the Norwich Historical Society's Cam Cross writes, "This photo from Rauner Library is from an album of J.F. Moore (Dartmouth Class of 1883). The label on the rock led me to this informative History of College Park article, with many photos. I found that the 1938 Hurricane caused so much damage that Dartmouth built a sawmill in College Park and cut more than 500,000 feet of lumber." Here's the original. Today's Wordbreak. With a word from the regional news.
Christone "Kingfish" Ingram was just 11 when he played his first paying blues gig in his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, at a juke joint called Red's. He didn't have a lot to draw from in the way of a hard-lived life: As he told NPR a few years ago, "I would say at that point in my life, I didn't lose my woman. [Though] me and my mom did go through a little, you know, 'situation,' as they put it. That may have put the blues in my life." It also launched a career that put his first album atop the charts, won him a Grammy at 23, has taken him all over the world, and has won him broad acclaim for his melding of delta blues, rock, gospel, and hip-hop. His newest album,
Live in London
, was recorded there last year.
, live at The Garage. He'll be at Higher Ground in Burlington in October.
See you Friday.
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