I am slowly learning about roses and, whew, is there a lot to learn! Perhaps the first step is learning to identify the different varieties of roses. If this interests you, this website is a good place to start. (A screenshot of the website is below. Of course, there is much more if you scroll down on the original website.) It also has a lot of related articles about roses in the side menu.

• Rose Varieties: What Are Some Different Types of Roses: www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/roses/different-types-of-roses.htm

In a blog post on May 25th, I mentioned dropping by Kitahama Retro Tea Room for some ginger shortbread. While looking for information about the tearoom, I came across this delightful video. I love Kitahama Retro, although I don't visit often, and this video does a great job of recreating its atmosphere. (It's a tiny place, and you often have to wait – which is when I think he took much of the video.) Just have to say, though, that I would never order potato salad sandwiches...

Last week a colleague and I were talking about sleep patterns and how ours had changed over the years. We puzzled over a few things and left it at that. Well, today, by chance, I came across this podcast in which Russell Foster, an expert on circadian neuroscience, addressed some of our exact questions. The interview was interesting and informative – so much so that I plan to listen to it again.

• The New Science of the Body Clock, with Russell Foster: https://podcasts.apple.com/jp/podcast/intelligence-squared/id708371900?i=1000563350662
• Russell Foster (Wikipedia): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Foster

I'm not quite sure when I became aware of Jacob Collier and his music but I'm now obsessed! He has been called a "wizardly English singer-songwriter-arranger-producer". – basically, he is a musical genius. Not all of his music works for me, but when it does, wow! Here's the video that made him famous, a cover of Stevie Wonder's Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing. (Quincy Jones called him up immediately after viewing it!) Jacob recorded this at the age of 19 in his room at home. He arranged the music, played all the instruments, and sang all the parts. Just fantastic! If you click to watch this video on the YouTube website, the next song on the YouTube playlist is fun too. It's a cover of All Night Long with the support of Take 6. (Since this first video he has won 4 Grammys.)

Below the video of the Stevie Wonder cover is the video of his Tiny Desk Concert (done at his home). Fantastic as well.

And these are just 2 of many articles that try to explain his musical genius.

• The Genius of Jacob Collier (The Register article): registerforum.org/11651/arts-entertainment/the-genius-of-jacob-collier/
  
• You Might Not Guess That Jacob Collier is a Genius (NYT article): https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/03/10/magazine/jacob-collier.html