The Story Behind “Sultans Of Swing”

by Kevin Burton     It turns out there really was a band called Sultans Of Swing that inspired the great 1978 Dire Straits hit.    “Sultans Of Swing” is one of those tunes that stops you in your tracks. It just exudes cool.    We tell its story, evoking a musical proverb from “Take It …

Raised On Radio: Rush Makes A Statement

by Kevin Burton    The Band Rush made a musical comment on the state of radio in 1980’s “The Spirit of Radio.”  It took me more than 40 years to get wind of it.    Though they made reference to the lyrics of two of my heroes, Simon and Garfunkel, in the song, they didn’t …

Drone Helps Save Life Of Swedish Man

by Kevin Burton     Health care systems worldwide use drone technology to overcome physical and other barriers in an effort to save lives.    The technology was crucial for a Swedish man late last year, as reported by the BBC.    “An autonomous drone has helped to save the life of a 71-year-old man who …

Tooling Around, Feeling Virtuous

by Kevin Burton    Looks as if I’ve had the definition of “tooling around” wrong all these years.    Tool around is a verb, says vocabulary.com, meaning to “ride in a car with no particular goal and just for the pleasure of it.”    On yourdictionary.com the definition is “to drive or jaunt about, going from place …

American Emigration Over The Years

by Kevin Burton    It is conventional wisdom in the United States that a US passport is the prized possession.    It would be foolish to downplay the benefits of American citizenship to many who live here. But for some it may be wise to at least look into what some other places may have …

Why People Are Leaving The USA

by Kevin Burton    Leaving your home country is a foreign concept that pushes against everything you have known from earliest childhood.    At least for Americans it is.    What set of circumstances would cause you to think about relocating permanently?    Wednesday we told one woman’s story. Amber Blackmon moved from the United …

Could You Leave The United States?

by Kevin Burton    Amber Blackmon told her story Monday on insider.com, I wish she had told more of it.    Or maybe it’s better this way. Maybe we are meant to insert our own details into what she has given.    The story hit home because she did something I sort of did years …

USA Women Get Silver At Paralympics

by Kevin Burton    The USA women’s goalball team will come home with silver medals after a 9-2 loss to Turkey in the Paralympic final in Tokyo this morning.     The now two-time defending champion Turkey avenged its only loss of the tournament, a 4-3 loss to the US in the group stage.    Asya …

USA Men’s Goalball Third In Group A

by Kevin Burton    After stunning world champion Brasil yesterday, USA men’s goalball was brought crashing back to earth after an 11-1 loss to host Japan in Paralympic goalball this morning.        The United States Association of Blind Athletes on its website called the win over Brasil a “statement game,” saying the USA is …