Happy Birthday, Bobby D!

Today is Bob Dylan's 70th birthday. Second only to the Beatles on the list of my all-time greatest influences, I can't go too long without listening to his music. When I was a teen I studied his lyrics, so much so that I copied Tangled Up in Blue onto my history folder, with the seriousness and accuracy of a surgeon. When the teacher's droning got to be too much, I'd run my fingers over the words, again and again, hoping their perfection would seep into me somehow. I learned a lot about diction from Dylan, and the power of the image. Those lessons have stuck with me.

In honor of Bob's big day, here are my favorites of his many songs. Feel free to add your own to the list in the comments.

1. Tangled Up in Blue: A friend once said I require narratives of my music. I'd say that assessment is spot-on. Tangled Up in Blue is a freaking 7 minute novel. LOVE this song.

2. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right: So simple on the surface but so emotionally complex, really.

3. Just Like a Woman: I, uh, assumed he was talking about me. He was, right?

4. Subterranean Homesick Blues: Maybe I just like the performance arty-ness of Bob standing there with the words on placards. Maybe it reminds me of the Beats. Maybe it's because the words feel like little punches.

5. Baby Let Me Follow You Down: Okay, he didn't write this one, but it's the perfect blend of Dylan's signature guitar, harmonica, voice. It just always makes me feel good.

Happy birthday, Bob!

I'm a Winner!

So...

Writer/Fellow Blogger Diane Lebow (Check out her blog, About Writing) gave me this award:

In accepting it, I've agreed to write seven intriguing things about myself (um...no problem there--I know very few writers who would pass up an opportunity to talk about themselves) and to pass it along. As far as the latter goes, I'll pass it along to any interested blogger--go for it! Here are my seven:

1. My husband and I met when we were nine years old. Seriously. At fifteen, we went on one date. It didn't go well. Eight years later we decided to try again and had a better time. We've been married for thirteen years!

2. My favorite flower is the ranunculus.

3. I like to eat my ginger and garlic raw. I brush my teeth a lot.

4. On the Myers-Briggs scale, I'm an INFJ, which, at one percent of the population, is the rarest of all types. I don't mention this to be braggy, as the descriptions always start with, "It won't be an easy life for the INFJ, but it will be interesting." Um...yeah. Totally.

5. I make crazy good lemon bars.

6. I like people, but I need to be alone a lot and I reaaaally like silence (see INFJ).

7. I don't have any tattoos, but I do have a birthmark on my upper right arm that looks like Mr. Peanut.

Okay, feel free to give yourself this award and get cracking on those big reveals...