A spring song

In honor of the imminent second-invasion-in-eight-years of Ukraine by Russia, today’s earworm is the Ukrainian Eurovision entry video for last year.

If you’re unfamiliar with Eurovision, I’m not going to explain it to you, because I can’t. But SoMe gets as drunk as a World Cup final match, but possibly with fewer bar fights.

The electro-folk group Go_A represented Ukraine at Eurovision. "Shum" translates as "noise", but is the personification of the forest in Ukrainian folklore, and this video—combining a Mad Max with a frozen steppes vibe—seems appropriate at this moment. Go_A finished fifth, if you're asking.

 

 

 

 

Geolocation

I dunno whether there’s a wine supply chain issue and Wegman’s was just scrambling to fill gaps on their shelves, or maybe they got Baptists or the geography-challenged stocking the bottles, but I was struck by this product positioning last week:

(If you cannot read the label, Kendall Jackson are a California winery.)

Evidently there is a shortage of Sancerre—about which, desolée—but that’s not Italian, either, so I just dunno.

 

 

Not immediately clear

I was on my morning walk one day last week when I noticed this sign somewhere.

Even when I zoomed in on it, I had no clue.

Only now, after picking out a few individual letters and looping in my knowledge of signage, have I parsed it to be saying, “No parking or standing Fire lane”

I have a feeling that anyone getting a ticket off this has a legit case in court.

 

 

Personal transport

It’s been a while since we’ve had a drop of vanity plates, so why not?

I liked this one on a red Mini:

Got a kick out of this…on a white car:

Given the winter Olympics, this one is rather timely:

I do not know how this made it past the Old Dominion’s Baptist Taliban:

And I’ll close with the bee:

 

 

Gratitude Monday: tiny things

Friday the temperature here in the District They Call Columbia hit 65F. Saturday was in the 50s and 60s. Then yesterday we got a dusting of snow. Here’s what it looked like on my morning walk.

And yet, last week I noticed that the teeny-tiny winter aconite was popping up all over my back yard.

And even its coating of snow doesn’t bother it.

That’s what I’m grateful for today: Nature doing her thing, despite the weather.

 

 

And so say all of us

Today’s arts moment is for both the eyes and the ears. It’s not precisely music—perhaps more rhythmic. But music is definitely there.

And so is movement—beautifully tied together by the editing of the video, as each dancer’s closing gesture morphs into the opening move of the next.

It’s an homage by 52 international choreographers to the work of Joseph V. Melillo.

Go full-screen and crank up the volume. And stay through the credits.

You’re welcome.

 

 

Harsh environment

I’ve given you a couple of posts on yardscaping in Sedona—this and that. But I missed showing you the combined Christmas gnome plus rusted metal insects:

Takes all kinds.

 

 

Art in the wind

Here’s something I noticed while in Sedona last month: right many of people’s front yard landscaping involved wind-driven features. Not sure why that would be, unless the movement provided takes the place of what water features would supply in less hostile environments.

Anyway, I didn’t get a video of this first one, but enjoy the rest.