Quick update from the talent trenches; AGT's in Seattle and so far, we've seen and sent to Vegas a) a 6'8" yodelling dominatrix, b) a band of break-dancing Cylon Warriors and c) a 60-year-old magician who did his apparations and disapperations to Sir Mixalot's "Baby Got Back."

Summer TV, you rock.

Ridiculously large summer reading assignment?  Check.  InfiniteSummer.org

Adult education class to learn to shoot less-bad pictures?  Check.  Flickr.com

In short, I got cultural embiggening coming out my ears.

But what's REALLY important about summer is summer is when America's Got Talent is on and tonight is when Season 4 makes its debut (2 Hour Season Premiere, 9p, 8 Central, check your local listings).  This is what makes summer summerier.

What's in store for us this year?  We can expect Piers, Sharon and the Hoff back as judges.  But this year, the show will be helmed by Nick Cannon (host of MTV's Wild'N'Out, star of band geek wet dream Drumline and '70s roller skating geek fantasy Roll Bounce).  How will his street-smart patter mesh with the "explosive combination of celebrity judges David Hasselhoff, Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan"? (from NBC's press release).

I've commented in this space previously on the wonderfulness of America's Got Talent.  This summer should be no different.  To date we've seen a ventriloquist, an opera-singing insurance salesman and an 11-year-old singer take home the million-dollar prize.  What will AGT 2009 deliver?

Tune in.  That's where I'm headed right now.

- Posted using MobyPicture.com

This was an unexpected treat ... a Griffin Technology product got picked up in a Time magazine package on green products.

AirCurve may be green in the fact that it uses no electricity to amplify an iPhone's speakers, but the coolness (at least for me) comes more from having witnessed the project as it developed from a paper model (furreal ... 80# white bond straight out of the copier) to a 3D model to an actual product.  AirCurve boosts the iPhone speakers' volume by 10 decibels, enough to make it a perfectly serviceable bedside radio.  IMO, it works best with spoken word stuff, where the frequency range is narrower than music.  It's perfect for listening to the Saturday and Sunday AM NPR broadcasts while I read the paper.

Available lots of different places including Griffin's website, Amazon and bricks-n-mortar (Wal Mart, Best Buy, elsewhere).

Cheers.

Last official parenting act of the day (hopefully), grilling burger for offspring.

Lawn can wait. Right now, lightning bugs and the hum of AC units hold sway over the front yard. That'll do pig. That'll do.