Salute Folks on Memorial Day!

Today is Memorial Day and I am thinking about what this special day means to me. Once upon a time I was in the U.S. Air Force working in information, in other words I was a desk man what they used to call Category 3, non-flying. Anyway I met some fine individuals when I was in the service. Most all of these people were so "real" and not heavy laden with thin coatings of what one might call the artificial. Today I had to go to the airport here in Atlanta and I saw a lot of young men and women in uniform and it brought back a lot of memories. One great thing I saw was the fact of when some of the soldiers came up the escalator there were numerous volunteers who suddenly started clapping and welcomed these people back to their country. This had deep meaning for me. I appreciate the sacrifices these people have made. Let us think in a good kind way right now on this thing they call Memorial Day. To paraphrase James Agee, "Let us all praise great men."

Diana Krall, Don DeLillo: Super Souls!

Diana Krall is the kind of modern vocalist who really knows how to frame a song. It is difficult to produce a sensitive, compelling and yes perhaps remarkable interpretation of a tune. However, Diana Krall makes the exciting process sound so smooth and virtually effortless. It is a superb thing also that she has a skillful sense of keyboard style but again her ways with grand vocal standards are so unique and sensual and sensitive. This cheery Tuesday with all its glorious joys and up times was indeed fabulous. But believe me the fact that I listened to Diana Krall today really helped the crafty codger known as me out in a huge way. Krall sings, 'Fly me to the Moon' and I am right there. NASA would love the Krall moon interpretation. The music of Diana Krall reminds me of the delightful sensory sensations of reading the highly skilled fiction artist, the incomparable Don DeLillo who really knows how to engage us with decisive, vigorous word magic. The first time I read the superior book, 'Underworld' by the amazing Don DeLillo it did indeed send me into tremendous intellectual delight. The man, DeLillo knows well how to work very hard and come up with what is a very great story. Well, in another cultural universe, Diana Krall also knows how to conjure up some fascinating musical art. What a grand and glorious day this Tuesday has been!

Atlanta Okinawa Kenjin-Kai Big Anniversary

This is a Sunday culture blog, people. Yesterday was a great experience. We had the celebratory 25th anniversary of Atlanta Okinawa Kenjin-Kai event at a church location in Gwinnett County, Ga, A huge crowd of folks from all over came and the cultural event celebrating the interesting cultural dynamics of the Okinawan people proved to be a fun time for all the celebrants who came to the event. There was a tremendous number of traditional dances, taiko drum groups and just all kinds of super performers. The people of Okinawa have marvelous personalities and they are so friendly and a lot of fun to be with. It is great for the Metro Atlanta community to have unique cultural activities that interpret the vigorous joys of numerous multi-cultural experiences and modes of expression. All folks had a great time at this very happy May 22 event. The Lord bless the wonderful times that we all have in the so happening Metro Atlanta area.

Perkins and Kamuca: 2 swingin' Tenorists

The speed and cleverness of good West Coast tenor saxophone guys is engaging. It is remarkable how their kind of jazz lifts us people who respond to fine music. The lilting and compelling sounds of two great tenor sax guys, Bill Perkins and Richie Kamuca were what I listened to this afternoon. And it was a fun experience. The big boss sounds of the crafty Bill Perkins and the sleek Richie Kamuca made me feel truly great. Two standards in this set were just right for me today. Yeah, I liked, 'All of Me and 'Sweet and Lovely.' The bass work of Red Mitchell and the vigorous and interesting drumming of Mel Lewis was a lot of fun, too. Enjoy your great Friday night and have a blast of a weekend all of you out there.

World cultures in need of some soothing

Many of the world's cultures are becoming more and more fragmented and so confusing. The recent election situation in Great Britain, the weird economic oddity that is happening in Greece and the rambunctious situation in Thailand are all examples of worlds much like ours that are running off the sides of the road as some pundits might put it. In many ways this is a shame. We all need good vigorous countries that have a good handle on how to run things. Also, we need governmental bodies that have a good comprehension of how to really connect with the people. So much beautiful art, music, dance and other great modes of the modern cultural ethos have come out of Great Britain, Greece and Thailand. Yours truly is in hopes that there can be a soothing of the world's brows so to speak and peaceful getting along can come into fashion again.

Pianist Hank Jones passes at 91

A great man passed away today. The wonderful man of jazz piano, Hank Jones, left us at the age of 91. He was a powerful force in music for about seven decades. Also, he worked with some superstars like John Coltrane and Ella Fitzgerald. We all will truly miss this legendary performer.

'Iron Man 2' rocks out and swings hard!

Had a "cool" day yesterday. Saw the marvelous new fun film, 'Iron Man 2' and it made me so tickled. The thing had plenty of old-style rock-em, sock-em wild stuff. I especially enjoyed the truly superb performances of the wily Robert Downey Jr. and the strong fellow, Mickey Rourke. When you get a tough, intense stand-off in a cinematic story the experience can prove remarkable. I liked the way Robert Downey Jr and Mickey Rourke square off in this one. Also, there is the matter of the women....Yes, the good performances of the delightful Scarlet Johansson and the lovely G. Paltrow are lots of fun for the moviegoer. They are stunning. Fascinating. The crafty and slick workouts our buddy, director Jon Favreau, did on this project are intensely remarkable. I really recommend this film because the story really cracks right along and makes an individual smile. Yeah, enjoy the IRONMAN everybody.