It has been a beautiful weekend here in the Valley of the Sun – temps in the mid-90s, the air still fragrant with fruit tree flowers. We have a sparrow nest in the lemon tree and the babies are hungry all day. Not doing much today – just relaxing ahead of what promises to be a busy (and expensive) week. I’m still only operating at ~ 80% and I’ve got a physical in two weeks to see what might be going on. Still, it’s a perfect time to toss out a few observations and links.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational finishes up today, so here’s a nice story about “The King” and his legacy.

R.I.P, Chuck Berry. He had a huge influence on a lot of bands – the Stones, The Beatles, and the Beach Boys to name just a few. From what I’ve read he could be a total a$$hole as a person, but there’s no doubt of his impact and lasting influence in rock n’ roll.

R.I.P. Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies. When you watched him introduce movies you felt like he was a guest in your home. He just oozed those qualities of grace, taste, class, and appreciation that are almost non-existent these days. His kind and his generation is rapidly disappearing before our very eyes, leaving those of us who can truly appreciate what those qualities are and the impact they had on this country and to our value system feeling like a bunch of dinosaurs. I’m just glad I’m of an age where I could appreciate and experience it all, because I don’t much like the world I live in.

This is both fascinating and frightening at the same time. While dropping the bombs on Japan was the right thing to do at the time, here’s hoping no one ever has to use these things again. Next time I go to Vegas I gotta go see the atomic testing museum there. It’s right off of Flamingo above Paradise.

Just finished reading biographies of both Bob Marley and George Harrison. While they were both very different people and from very different cultures, I now know why I find them both such captivating musical icons. They were both very spiritual people trying to find the fine line between their earthy success and spiritual sides. In George’s case, he was always trying to break free of the long shadow his Beatles past cast; in Bob’s case, he was endlessly touring to support his music as a way to express his creative muse and deliver his Rastafari religious message of peace and love to the masses. But both had a huge impact on what we now call “world music” to this day: Harrison introducing the western world to Ravi Shankar and Indian music, and Marley through popularizing reggae music and his message of black empowerment and liberation.

Golf is hard. Maybe one of these days I’ll pick the game back up again, but boy, am I still feeling haunted by those shanks I had in Vegas.