The History And Science Behind High Heels

by Kevin Burton    Gather round kids, because it’s National High Heels day and boy do I have news for you.    According to multiple websites, high heels were invented for men.    It seems the heels helped warriors on horseback, providing leverage for them to stay in the saddle and stand up to fire …

“Free Man In Paris” Peaked At Number 22

by Kevin Burton    Oh my goodness how did I ever miss this one?    Earlier this year to mark the year 2022 I did a series of posts about songs that peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100.    It turns out one of my all-time favorite songs, “Free Man in Paris,” …

Fruit Of The Spirit: Biblical Gentleness

by Kevin Burton    One of the most unfortunate rhymes is meek rhyming with weak. Those two words are much closer to opposites than to synonyms.    This is the eighth in a series on the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23. We’re looking at those characteristics that will become more evident in a …

Saginaw USA, Why Not Exactly?

by Kevin Burton    I think I’ve found America kids! This after considerable searching. You’ll never guess where.    Listen to this:    “The Saginaw Valley Rail Trail is one of Saginaw County’s gems, stretching 11 miles from St. Charles to Saginaw. It incorporates a number of natural features including: seven bridges over various rivers …

My Bilingual Doubletalk In Mexico

by Kevin Burton    My career as an English as a Second Language teacher came to an abrupt early end one night under the streetlights outside a small taco shop in Puebla.    To tell you how and why that happened, I first turn to BBC writer Nicole Chang, who recently wrote about what speaking …

Can’t Stop Dancing? Read This Cautionary Tale

by Kevin Burton    You say the YMCA dance made you sick in the 70s? The Bump?  That Saturday Night Fever pointing dance?    But did anybody ever die from it?    From reporter Rosalind Jana on the BBC, comes the story of a dance craze that was truly crazy.    In Strasbourg, France, in …

More Songs That Peaked At Number 22

by Kevin Burton    Yes you do know the song “But It’s Alright” by J.J. Jackson, but maybe not by its title.    If I mention that Huey Lewis and the News did a just about carbon copy of the song in 1994, that might help your recognition.    (No I’m not talking about “It’s …

A Few Words For March Madness Fans

by Kevin Burton    You hear the word “hoops” what comes to mind?    Are you thinking earrings? Are you thinking bureaucracy, extra obstacles you have to jump through? Or are you thinking basketball?    No right answer to this, we try to appeal to all types of readers here. But for me, it’s basketball. …

70s Elvis And The Fiction Of “My Way”

by Kevin Burton    In a 50th year retrospective, The Guardian called the song “My Way” a monument. True enough in the musical sense, but I say it’s a sad one.     This look at My Way is part of our 2022 series on songs that peaked at number 22 on the American chart.  You …

This Scottish Song Brings In New Years

by Kevin Burton    As December fades and January rushes in, one song is ubiquitous.    Every year without fail, time zone by time zone, it’s difficult to avoid “Auld Lang Syne.”  It’s the song of New Year’s Eve, nostalgia and old friends.     “Auld Lang Syne is an international anthem and one of Scotland’s …