Discovering the One and Only Taj Majal

by Forrest Walker  When I was about 10 years old I promised myself I would see India's Taj Mahal someday. Often I have heard it called the world’s most beautiful building. It is also called the world’s greatest monument to love. I will certainly admit that when you consider it was built in the early 1600′s, while Boston was still wooden shacks, it is an astonishing feat of architecture, engineering, construction capability and artistry. It has a certain weightless feeling. It almost floats when you look at it. The details are almost as remarkable as the symmetry. The verses of the Koran are inscribed above the arched... keep reading

Kansas City Jazz Still a Hot Ticket

by Diana Lambdin Meyer   Jazz in Kansas City is not like jazz in New Orleans or in any other great American music city. It’s a little more bluesy, a little heavier on the keyboards and bass, not so bold with the brass. They call it “cool jazz” here, jazz that’s a little gentler on the spirit. In case you didn’t know, Kansas City is where jazz grew up. After its birth in the Big Easy, the music migrated to KC and became a smart-aleck teenager, with attitude and a vision for the future. That’s what they say in the clubs, anyway. They also tell a good story about how it got here... keep reading

images: Tobias Leeger | Bruce N. Meyer