happy birthday, keef

Keef is sixty-five. If he can do it, so can we!

ain't no sunshine

I've always suspected that the iPod shuffle function did not operate randomly, but how it worked I had no idea.  Today, as I drove back from lunch at Les Halles in Coral Gables, my iPod played three versions of "Ain't No Sunshine" in a row! First by Bill Withers, then by Eva Cassidy, and then by Bobby "Blue" Bland. And then, since I had no other version of the song, the iPod went looking for the colloquial contraction and found another "ain't" with Aaron Neville's version of "Ain't No Way" written by Aretha and Carolyn Franklin. By then I was home. When I turn the iPod back on I expect I'll hear Tom Waits "Ain't Goin' Down to the Well" or Daniel Johnson's "Ain't No Woman Gonna Make a George Jones Outta Me." I'll let you know. Meanwhile here's Bill Withers:

stand by me

John Lennon October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980

one great city

Let's start the day with a song! The Weakerthans:

i'm changing my name to fannie mae

Tom Paxton composition, but I like Arlo's version better. (thanks to Pam in St. Louis)

carbon/silicon

"The News": my favorite pop song since Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy." Mick Jones from the best rock group ever, The Clash, and Tony James from Generation X.  (thanks to Mollie in Austin for turning me on to these guys)

imagine

John Lennon would have been sixty-eight today.