Some Monday Morning Inspiration

If they can make beautiful music out of garbage, imagine what we can do with our resources.

Close your eyes and listen to Juan Manuel Chavez launch into the Prelude of Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1, and you would never guess that, instead of spruce and maple, his instrument is crafted from an old oil can, a beef tenderizing tool, and a discarded pasta making device—all of it scavenged from the landfill that surrounds his home in Paraguay.

Chavez is a cellist in the Landfill Harmonic Orchestra in Cateura, an Asunción slum where bottle caps, door keys, and paint cans have been given new purpose. Under the supervision of local musician Favio Chávez, these utterly impoverished kids make beautiful music on instruments constructed almost entirely out of materials reclaimed from the dump.

Full Article

Feel free to just skip to the 30-second mark to be inspired, and just give it 30-seconds of your time.

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Bag of Randomness

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  • Best line from the series finale of ‘The Office’ – “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good ‘ol days before you actually left them”
  • I really enjoyed that episode, it was beautifully done, it just should have been done about two years ago.
  • It was really cool how they kept Steve Carrell’s lines to a minimum.  The focus didn’t need to be on him, but the end of the series and the cast as a whole.
  • That Schrute wedding was fantastic.  Whoever came up with the idea of having the bride and groom stand in their own graves for a wedding ceremony is a comedic genius.
  • I think last night’s episode reminded us that where we work is more than just a job, it’s more than just duties and assignments, but it’s a bit of who we are.  I say it in every job interview and it’s true, but we spend more time at work interacting with each other than we do our families at home, so getting along is vitally important and it takes work.
  • ‘The Office’ was the first modern sitcom mockumentry, something original, and I like how they acknowledge the documentary at the end.  I have a feeling that ‘Modern Family’ won’t do the same.
  • On Letterman last night Barbara Walters stated that the proudest part of her legacy was that in her ‘Today’ show contract, she made it where women were no longer called the “Today Girls” but “co-hosts”.
  • Walters also talked about Monica Lewinsky and expressed sorrow and sympathy for how she hasn’t really been able to move on and escape the past.  It’s sad that a mistake made as an early adult can chain you for life, but I have a feeling many folks on Facebook and camera phones will find out something similar, though not to the same degree.
  • I was suppose to have my sleep study last night but it got moved to next Friday.
  • I often have trouble understanding English speaking people non-American accents.  I wonder if the American accent is hard to understand for English speaking people from other countries.
  • While shopping at our local grocery store I noticed a woman that reminded of an older Julia Sugerbaker insisting that she be able to try a sample of cake before she bought it.  When the baker kindly denied her request she pointed to another cake and demanded the same thing.  The woman left furious.
  • That local grocery store has kid sized carts and GirlGeeding always loves to push one around and carry our groceries.  Even though the baggers usually return the carts for us after purchase, I still make GirlGeeding put her own cart back.  When she was returning her cart yesterday, a boy, probably a year older than her, politely stopped her and took the cart.  I thought the boy was just trying to take an available cart to push for himself, but then he looked at GirlGeeding and said “Let me help you with that, ma’am” and returned the cart for her.  Me and the boy’s father just looked at each other and had a good laugh.
  • Anyone know the reason why Jack White took Meg White’s last name when the got married?  I spent like a total of three minutes researching this on Google and found nothing.
  • I can’t believe my across the street neighbor took a pay cut to stay with the Cowboys. He’s already cutting corners mowing his own lawn, and from the looks of things, he can’t even afford a shirt.
  • Phil Jackson compares Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant
  • You can now get a camo-colored Texas license plate
  • I didn’t know those K&G Superstores were part of the Men’s Wearhouse brand.
  • But I wonder how often the sand covers it up and the maintenance in keeping it visible – The memorial to UTA Flight 772 the most beautiful and least accessible memorial on the planet. – The broken mirrors are a great touch and I love the symbolism.
  • Most of this year’s high school graduating seniors were born in 1995.
  • Still? – The House of Representatives on Thursday voted on a repeal of the Affordable Care Act for the 37th time
  • There’s no excuse for what the IRS did, but I do find it strange how conservative and liberal groups can be classified as a 501(c)(4), an organization that is a “charity” or “social welfare organization” when they really are nothing but a political group.
  • If you are going to own guns, be smart and safe about it – Police said the Tullahoma man accused of shooting his 1-year-old daughter in the chest while field stripping two handguns was acting recklessly
  • Since I posted about free haircuts the other day – Jersey City candidate Jerry Walker’s free haircuts campaigning cut short
  • Detroit Students’ Pregnant Bellies Banned From Yearbook Pics
  • You can soon get a toothbrush that will have caffeine, appetite suppressants  and prescription drugs in them.
  • Google Glass vs DSLR in Low Light
  • Preview the new Google Maps
  • Great name for a restaurant
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