Audience Becomes Choir

This performance from AGT snagged my attention, in which the contestant turns the audience into a choir.

1) Some people with Bardic gift can share theirs with other people; it's rare but I've known people who could do it.  That's likely part of this.

2) Some people have a gift for conveying abstract ideas visually, which is rare enough, but doing it intuitively like that is really rare and impressive.  Musical scores are precise but take a lot of training to read, especially sight-read without practice.  Creating a visual representation of a song in three voices (high, middle, low) with indications of pitch and duration -- which works well as demonstrated -- is epic.

Business world: "Dammit, I wish we had someone that good with visuals to do whiteboard notes for our meetings."

Music world: "We saw her first."

Birdfeeding

Today is partly sunny and sweltering.

I fed the birds, including a refill of the thistle feeder.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 6/23/25 -- I watered the telephone pole garden.

I've seen a gray catbird.

EDIT 6/23/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

Fireflies are coming out.  I've heard the first cicada singing.

EDIT 6/23/25 -- I watered the new picnic table plants and the septic garden.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

Monday Update 6-23-25

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Photos: Barnyard Picture
Birdfeeding
Book Bans
Philosophical Questions: Harm
Today's Adventures
Books
Birdfeeding
Photos: Charleston Food Forest
Photos: Coles County Community Garden
Recipe: "Pretzel Bread Savory Bread Pudding with Ham"
Birdfeeding
Heat
Photos: Charleston Library Butterfly Gardens
Follow Friday 6-20-25: Highlander
Today's Adventures
Recipe: "Chicken Stir-Fry with Mushrooms and Swiss Chard"
Birdfeeding
Wildlife
Birdfeeding
Cuddle Party

"Philosophical Questions: Looks" has 36 comments. "Not a Destination, But a Process" has 141 comments. "The Democratic Armada of the Caribbean" has 91 comments.


summerofthe69 is now open! You can see the calendar here and the current theme is "Theme for June 16th throuth 30th: Forced 69."


"In the Heart of the Hidden Garden" belongs to the Antimatter and Stalwart Stan thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It needs $66 to be fully funded. Lawrence shows Stan the Iron Courtyard garden.


The weather has been sweltering here and is predicted to remain so for the rest of the week. The weekend currently predicts rain, though. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, several mourning doves, a male cardinal, a catbird, a skunk, a fox squirrel, and at least 1 probably 2 bats. Zucchini has flower buds. Currently blooming: dandelions, pansies, violas, marigolds, petunias, red salvia, wild strawberries, verbena, lantana, sweet alyssum, zinnias, snapdragons, blue lobelia, perennial pinks, impatiens, oxalis, moss rose, yarrow, red coreopsis, anise hyssop, firecracker plant, tomatoes, tomatillos, Asiatic lilies, cucumber, astilbe, daylilies, snowball bush, yellow squash, zucchini, morning glory. The first 'Chocolate Sprinkles' tomato ripened. Blackberries and tomatoes have fruit showing color. Wild strawberries, mulberries, and black raspberries are ripe.

Solutions

New cheese packaging decomposes in 300 days, not 1,000 years: 'The solution was in the cheese itself'

As an alternative to single-use plastic wrapping, Ogilvy Colombia and Nestlé Central America have created “Self-Packing Cheese.”

The new biodegradable film is designed to decompose within 300 days of disposal — in stark contrast to the estimated 1,000 years it takes for standard plastic to break down.

And it’s entirely made from cheese waste and whey.


Now that's brilliant!  Admittedly, we tend to buy block cheese or shredded cheese rather than slices, but lots of people prefer slices.

Communication

Americans share their hopes for the country on 'wish walls' nationwide. The responses are surprisingly unifying

On July 4, 2026, the United States of America will celebrate its 250th birthday. To prepare for the big celebration, museums across the country are inviting the public to answer the question: “What’s your wish for America’s future?”

In a project designed by 26-year-old artist Katie Costa and developed by Made By Us, a nonprofit that promotes civic engagement among Gen-Z, thousands are responding.

( Read more... )