Impermanence

Happy New Year!

Odetta 1930-2008

"Rosa Parks was her No. 1 fan, and Martin Luther King Jr. called her the queen of American folk music. Odetta's stage presence was regal enough: planted onstage like an oak tree no one would dare cut down, wearing a guitar high on her chest, she could envelop Carnegie Hall with her powerful contralto as other vocalists might fill a phone booth. This was not some pruny European monarch but a stout, imperious queen of African-American music. She used that amazing instrument to bear witness to the pain and perseverance of her ancestors. Some folks sing songs. Odetta testified." (full Time article)

"Odetta sang at coffeehouses and at Carnegie Hall, and she became one of the most widely known and influential folk music artists of the 1950s and '60s. She was a formative influence on dozens of artists, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Janis Joplin. Her voice was an accompaniment to the black-and-white images of the freedom marchers who walked the roads of Alabama and Mississippi and the boulevards of Washington in quest of an end to racial discrimination."(IHT obit)

Here is her searing live rendition of House of the Rising Sun
on A Prairie Home Companion (12/8/07):
Special thanks to Doc Bogz for this priceless rare gem.

Moroccan Treats

more food!

Straight from Al Bled, courtesy of Ahmed:
chebbakia, cornes de gazelles, palmiers,
and some fantastic foliated pancakes "mssm'n"

Fresh Fun With Grains

The Rise of the Breads

30 minutes later... Fresh, Warm and Delicious

We made a spectacular bread last night. Using the spent grains from brewing and some whole wheat flour and local honey. YUM!

The beer we brewed this weekend is happily fermenting. It's a "Home for the Holidays Ale" with a little ginger and allspice, masterfully formulated by our zymurgy sensei Wendell.

The Skies Are Smiling

Click on the image for the full effect

"At sunset, [the] western sky showed off stunning colors and dramatic clouds reflected in Brisbane Water on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It also featured the remarkable conjunction of the crescent Moon, Venus, and Jupiter forming a twilight smiley face."



From the Great NASA Astronomy Pix of the Day Site.

Rockville December Sky