News At My (And On My) Fingertips

by Kevin Burton    On the next-to-last night of our Upper Midwest vacation we found ourselves watching the clothes go round.    We were in Norfolk, Nebraska, boyhood hometown of Johnny Carson, when we gathered our quarters and the Tide Pods Jeannette had bought for the occasion, and took advantage of the Hampton Inn’s coin …

Lifelong Learning, Exercise For The Mind

by Kevin Burton    Had some fun last week speculating about new hobbies that could take the place of fantasy football, should that pastime drive me too crazy.    I was picking from a list of 50 hobbies for seniors on the website 55places.com. A few of the hobbies, such as axe throwing, were laughable …

Speaking Of English, Speaking In British

by Kevin Burton    Not smashing, not daft, something mid-table I’d say, to use a football analogy.    I thought I was ready, so I had a go, with middling results.    Every day Merriam-Webster sends me an e-mail to help me watch my language.  A few weeks ago they announced “The Great British Vocabulary …

Did Gilbert O’Sullivan Launch Disco Era?

by Kevin Burton    There have been many theories to explain the rise and fall of disco music. Here’s a new one for its rise:    Disco music exploded in the mid-70s as a direct result of “Alone Again Naturally” by Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O’Sullivan.    OK, so I can’t prove I’m right, but you …

“The Immigrant” Didn’t Fit John Lennon

by Kevin Burton    For about three minutes and fifty seconds a tidy story unfolds from the pen of lyricist Phil Cody and the voice of the great Neil Sedaka.    Attempt to read between the lines though and you have a mess on your hands, especially with Sedaka dedicating the song to ex-Beatle John …

The Sounds They Were A-Changin’

by Kevin Burton    Musical eras, like chocolate bars or ice cubes, are fluid before they are solid, shaped by the temperature of the times.    We can’t always distinguish them day to day. Historians declare them later, according to their differing standards.   But for me there is something momentous about looking at the …

Taking The Helm Of Expos Baseball

by Kevin Burton     Growing up, if you had a sibling, you had a sibling rivalry.     There are a lot of variables here, closeness of ages, gender, talents, interests.  But even if it was just competition for the attention/approval of mom and dad, chances are you had a little something simmering at all times, …