From the Record Collection (5 of 8) Bob Dylan "Slow Train Coming"

It is nice to see we are popular in Slovenia_ of all places, so we send out special greetings to those of you in Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital. We also wish to extend greetings to folks in Nassau, The Bahamas, and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. We gather the weather is slightly nicer in the Caribbean island nation.

Today, in our "From the Record Collection" series, we feature Bob Dylan's 19th studio record "Slow Train Coming" (1979). Last year, we found a used copy of the record at All Day Records in Carrboro (Chapel Hill), NC.

"Slow Train Coming" was Dylan's first record since becoming a born-again Christian. Dylan was raised as a Jew in Minnesota. Spirituality is exemplified through the record with songs like "Gotta Serve Somebody," "Precious Angel" and "The Animals," which alludes to Noah's Ark.

The axe used by a rail worker on the album cover is shaped like a crucifix as is the sailboat, which is used in the photograph of the back cover.

We could not establish how long the born-again period lasted for Dylan, or if he still views the world from that prism, though spirituality does seem to come up frequently in recordings made after 1979.

The many aspects of Dylan's life made for a great art film by Todd Haynes, "I'm Not There" (2007) which includes a remarkable performance from Australian actress Cate Blanchett who plays Dylan herself!

"Slow Train Coming" was a major commercial success, and "You Gotta Serve Somebody" was Dylan's first major hit in three years.

Of his conversion to Christianity, Dylan said that an image of Jesus Christ came to him while he was staying in a hotel room in Tucson, Arizona.

The record also features Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits on guitar on many of the album's key tracks.

Things We Learned on Google Today- Bishkek is the Capital of Kyrgyzstan

It has been a long time since we posted a Things We Learned on Google Today entry. May 5th was the last date to be exact. But, we continue with our look at the 13 former republics in the Soviet Union with a look at Kyrgyzstan. It was the only republic I forgot in a "Mental Floss" quiz on the magazine's web site, and it might very well be the hardest country to spell in the world: K-Y-R-G-Y-Z-STAN.

Bishkek is indeed the capital city of...here we go again...., and the city has a population of 762,308, which means that it is a lot larger than the hamlet of War, West Virginia.

The capital city is located in the Chuy Province and the city's name is also the name of the country's national drink, which is a milk beverage.

Bishkek is surrounded by rivers and mountains and the city is relatively close to the border with Kazakhstan, the country that Borat made famous/infamous in the film "Borat." Incidentally, the hilarious rodeo scene in "Borat" was filmed in my hometown of Salem, Va. (near Roanoke).

Amazingly enough, there is actually a Catholic church in Bishkek, though the country is predominantly Muslim.

Both liberals and conservatives in America has criticized this country with a long name for various reasons, including human rights abuses and religious intolerance, but we are not here to be political (did I just say that?!).

The country has also had considerable ethnic strife which makes international headlines quite frequently, though much of that unrest has lost media attention due to the uprisings in places like Libya and Syria. And, to be honest, we are not sure how well the former Soviet republic is managing right now, but we certainly wish them well. We also forgot to check is there was a McDonald's in Bishkek.

SIDEBAR: Maine is the apparently the place to be here on the east coast as it is a cool 76 degrees in the state's capital city of Augusta. In comparison, the weather in the mid-Atlantic region was periliously hot as my hometown of Roanoke, Va., was at 93 degrees. Greensboro, NC, was almost as hot at 91 degrees. And, to top it off, Bethesda, Maryland, our favorite suburb, was 96 degrees. Thsi reminds me, I really need to get my air-conditioner fixed!