Spring at last?

I'm really tired of being cold and, well, cold. The sun and warmth of spring and summer aren't coming quickly enough.

Of course, in August, when it's hot and humid, I'll likely have forgotten that I was in such a hurry for it to be warmer ...

Daylight Savings Time

Well, it's great for light at the end of the day ... but horrible for getting up. I have such a hard time getting up in the morning when it's dark out - right before we had to change the clocks, it was light when I had to get up for work, and I was feeling more energetic as I got ready and on my trip in to the college. That all ended as soon as we turned the clocks ahead for daylight savings time ... it's now dark again in the mornings when my alarm clock goes off - and I am having a really hard time getting out of bed.

Who thought this was a good idea, anyway? Why don't we just allow our minds and bodies to adjust naturally to the longer days of spring and summer and the shorter days of fall and winter without artificially trying to change things? I don't know who it really helps - I know it doesn't help me.

I know whose idea it was, originally, a couple of hundred years or so ago... do you?

OK, So ... Now that I know you're out there ...

So ... I was thinking today about Keely Smith. I accidentally discovered her music when I met my friend Harry from Texas. As we got to know each other, he told me his favorite style of music was an offshoot of Big Band Era music that call "The Rat Pack" style (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and their contemporaries who performed similar types of music). At the time I subscribed to Yahoo music and I found a few "stations" that played that style of music. I found that I really enjoyed it myself!

One of the female vocalists that I frequently heard, sometimes solo and sometimes with Louis Prima, was Keely Smith. She has a very clear voice, an easy style and just a great sound. She came into the limelight when she worked with Louis Prima, and eventually married him. According to what I've read online (I'll find it and cite it soon), he was abusive and the marriage didn't last - but she remained in the music industry, although she did take some time out to raise a family. While she never achieved the fame of Ella Fitzgerald or other contemporaries, she performed for years - and, last I read online, still does. Keely will be 78 on March 9, 2010, according to this Wikipedia article, and still sounds as good as ever.

You can find a few Keely Smith songs in my playlist above - take a little listen!