Today we celebrate three important birthdays. Robert Heinlein was born one hundred years ago today. I’m not a fan–I find Heinlein’s work to be racist and misogynistic, nor has it aged particularly well–but his influence over science fiction cannot be denied. I think, in his honor, I’ll read Larry Niven’s short story, “The Return ofContinue reading “On Today’s Birthdays”
Category Archives: Beatles
On Fifty Years Ago Today
Something monumental happened on July 6th, 1957. John Lennon met Paul McCartney. It was at the Woolton Church fete. Wikipedia has the story: On Saturday 6 July 1957 [The Quarrymen] played at St. Peter’s Church garden fête. In the afternoon they played on a stage in a field behind the church. After the set, IvanContinue reading “On Fifty Years Ago Today”
On a Whole Lotta Beatles
This may be excessive. I have twenty-seven hours of the Beatles on my computer’s hard drive. Twenty-seven hours. That’s more than a day! A day of Beatles! And then some! The thirteen albums they released between Please Please Me and Let It Be, plus the assorted singles, only total twelve hours. The albums of theContinue reading “On a Whole Lotta Beatles”
On a Cool Judge
When I was in college I’d play a little game with the papers I’d write–I’d sneak in Beatles lyrics. Sometimes it was a little challenging to find the right lyric to fit a paper on, say, the SDI ballistic missile defense program. Sometimes it would work. Sometimes it wouldn’t. But it was a game, andContinue reading “On a Cool Judge”
On Green Day's "Working Class Hero"
I have a few John Lennon tribute albums. One came out about ten years ago, an album called Working Class Hero. Q did one in honor of John’s sixty-fifth birthday. Neither could I recommend. There’s something about John Lennon’s solo music that doesn’t lend itself to cover versions. Some have said that Lennon did theContinue reading “On Green Day's "Working Class Hero"”
On the Sgt Pepper Anniversary
Yesterday, in honor of the 40th-anniversary of the release of Sgt Pepper, I listened to the album, both the original and two cover versions, several times. I listened to it before I went to work. 🙂 I wore my Sgt Pepper tie to work. I listened to it again when I got home from work.Continue reading “On the Sgt Pepper Anniversary”
On Forty Years Ago Today
It was forty years ago today Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play They’ve been going in and out of style But they’re guaranteed to raise a smile So may me introduce to you The act you’ve known for all these years Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Forty years ago today the Beatles releasedContinue reading “On Forty Years Ago Today”
On Being a Beatles Song
Looking for something completely unrelated I stumbled across this quiz. Isn’t Google grand? 🙂 And the questions aren’t obvious. One thing with a lot of these ‘net quizzes is that the questions are rather… limited. You can tell, generally, how your result will turn out. These questions? Completely random. Honestly, they’ve nothing to do withContinue reading “On Being a Beatles Song”
On Across the Universe
Before Spider-Man 3 there was a trailer for a film I’d never heard of before–Across the Universe. The trailer started to unspool–a young man, shaggy hair, sitting on a beach, a wry smile on his face, singing a Beatles song. “Girl,” from Rubber Soul. I love that song. Five seconds. The trailer had me. “Girl.”Continue reading “On Across the Universe”
On The Beatles in Doctor Who
I was browsing the forums at Outpost Gallifrey the other day and came across a thread that asked, “Should Doctor Who do a Beatles episode?” That caught my attention. 🙂 A clip of the Beatles appears in “The Chase” — and had the scheduling worked out the Beatles might’ve appeared in the story. Ian’s familiarContinue reading “On The Beatles in Doctor Who”