Smithtown on NPR.

A classmate of mine from high school (and junior high, and elementary school, dating back to 2nd grade) appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered today, in a segment about Dolly Parton’s song “Jolene.” Mindy Smith – who also shares my birthday – recorded a version of the song for a Dolly Parton tribute album in 2004, and Parton herself said it was her favorite of the 30-odd covers of the song. (You can buy the mp3 on amazon.com.)

And while I’m pimping NPR, the first segment of today’s Diane Rehm Show, “The International Response to the Financial Credit Freeze”, was an outstanding listen, with a ratio of reason to rhetoric that approached infinity. Nobody screaming about the Dow dropping to 5000 or an imminent depression – just serious analysis of what’s happened, what might happen, and what should happen.

Oh, and Casey Weathers left tonight’s game holding his elbow.

Comments

  1. The White Stripes do my favorite version of ‘Jolene’

  2. The Mindy Smith version is amazing. I worked at a camp with people from Knoxville and Nashville, and they had known her from various benefit concerts and brought the CD along to share.

  3. Diane Rehm consistently delivers excellent programming and I would put her interviewing skills up there with Charlie Rose and the late great Tim Russert. I’ll also throw in a recommendation for This American Life’s coverage of the Credit Default Swap Market and suggest checking out the NPR Planet Money Podcast which is also produced by This American Life.

  4. Hi Keith,

    I was just wondering what program you used to learn Spanish. I am looking for the best way to learn this or any other language. I am a teacher that wants to move overseas and I would really like to become fluent in something other than English. It just opens more options for me. Thanks,

    T.J.

  5. TJ – Pimsleur is the audio component. For some of my tips, go to the main page of this site.

  6. I’d listen to Mindy Smith sing the phonebook.

  7. For a moment last night I felt I was watching the first “good” 8-7 baseball game. For a moment. Four hours, two meals and several drinks later, I woke to see the Rays won and found that I passed out/fell asleep after the 9th.

    I have never complained about the length of baseball games. The pace and length of last night’s game destroyed the watchability and enjoyment of what should have been much better. For a series that is sure to be decided by one or two runs, hopefully we get a few “tight” games to watch.