Work, work, work

This morning I'm on my eighth straight 12-hour shift, with at least four more to go. I come home, and I'm just too tired to mess with the blog. I just go to bed, get up, and go to work again. Right now, I just want to get Bill Drake's mug off the top of it.

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I wanted to write a bit on Odetta, the seminal folk singer and voice of the civil rights movement who passed away Wednesday. I'm not all that familiar with her work, though, as I'm not all that much of a folk music listener in general, and her moment of greatest popularity came a bit before my time. Suffice it to say that anybody who was a major influence on Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin has to rate highly. Odetta Sings Ballads And Blues is almost universally considered to be a landmark recording that inspired the folk explosion of the late 50's and early 60's. Of that album, Dylan said: "The first thing that turned me on to folk singing was Odetta. I heard a record of hers (Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues) in a record store, back when you could listen to records right there in the store. Right then and there, I went out and traded my electric guitar and amplifier for an acoustical guitar, a flat-top Gibson. ... (That album was) just something vital and personal. I learned all the songs on that record."

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How 'bout a quiz to keep you occupied this weekend?

You Are a Maine Coon Cat

You tend to be loving and playful around your family and friends. But when you're around strangers you tend to be a bit reserved. You are intuitive. You understand human emotions well. You do best when you are around people. You don't like being left alone.

What Breed of Cat Are You?

I'll be in and out the next few days.