Interlude: Atlantis

It's been so long since I've done much of anything in here. It seems that inspirations for writing only come anymore when I'm far away from the computer, and when I sit down with time to write there's nothing there.

So, at the risk of becoming one of those mindless video re-posters, I stumbled across this clip from a '69 Smothers Brothers episode (courtesy of BoingBoing) of Scottish folk legend Donovan performing his ballad, Atlantis, backed up by the Brothers Smothers and Peter, Paul and Mary.



This was one of my favorite songs growing up, still being played in 1971 when at age 9 I got my first radio. In some strange way, I think Donovan may have helped kickstart my curiosity for history, archeology, and folklore. It was Plato's 4th century musings on this mythical kingdom that spurred, in part, Iberian explorations of the furthest reaches of the Atlantic and the Americas. And it was a fascination with the Spanish colonial period that fueled the eventual pursuit of my history degree 16 centuries later.

My teenage daughter has discovered the joys of this ballad recently and added it to her iPod too. That Donovan shares an almost scary resemblance to a kid from her 8th grade class helps.

Enjoy the holidays, y'all. Hail Atlantis!