Celebrating May Day, time-lapse style

China's 60th Anniversary national day - timelapse and slow motion - 7D and 5DmkII from Dan Chung on Vimeo.

This time-lapse video of a Chinese May Day parade was shot two years ago but I just saw it for the first time  and am struck by how fresh and powerful it is today, an eternity in terms of video and photo effects.

I think the use of "diorama ilusion" -- aka minaturization -- diminishes the scope, beauty and show of military might but there's still much to savor in an always surprising documentary of a huge public event. 

Those surprises include the weird regiment of machine-gun toting female soldiers sporting pink uniforms and knee-high white boots. 

Review: 'Memphis Boys' book/CD

"Memphis Boys: The Story of American Studios" is a long-overdue history of an underrated studio that spawned some of the greatest pop, rock and soul music from 1964-72. 

The Memphis music factory operated in the shadow of Sun, Stax and Hi studios, but for a short period was the place to record. Stars parading through the studio during that period included Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, The Box Tops, Neil Diamond, James Carr, Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke and most famously, Elvis Presley. It was at American that Elvis covered "Suspicious Minds," written by Mark James, an American staff writer and sometime solo artist. 

 The story is a good one: Producer Chips Moman gets unceremoniously bounced from Stax and sets up shop in a non-descript building in a tough part of Memphis, surrounds himself with crack musicians and songwriters, and slowly builds a reputation for getting the best out of performers known and unknown. 

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Paul Weller performs 'That's Entertainment'

Paul Weller is one of the coolest rock stars ever, a man whose enjoyed three stages of stardom over a 30-plus year career as the leader of The Jam and Style Council, and currently as a solo act. 

Even in his 50s he remains fashionably cool and fresh, all the while mining the best mod, soul and R&B influences from the 1960s and '70s. 

As leader of The Jam, Weller was one of my childhood heroes. Sadly, I never saw them perform live and, unlike most rock stars, Weller rarely performs tunes from his band days. So it was nice to see him pull out one of my favorite Jam songs, "That's Entertainment," during this recent appearance on "The Jimmy Fallon Show."