The John Lennon Collection by John Lennon

Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the death of John Lennon. I guess the correct term is the murder of John Lennon.

I was 15 when he died and has he had been silent in my formative rock and roll years he was at that time the Beatle I knew the least about. That would soon change of course. I remember that I was getting back with a girlfriend that I had been on and off with that winter. Starting Over was our song the second or third time around. Seems kind of silly now.

I remember the Today show that next morning being all about Lennon. I did not know his importance then but soon learned and each year in my life it becomes more and more apparent the legacy he left us.

I have had this collection for quite some time. This year John's solo catalog has been remastered and repackaged and it has added more spotlight to the man and his music.

In this 30th anniversary we see films, we see the Monday night football announcement, we remember and for those of us who barely remember we wish we did.

In the end however it is not about the bed in, the peace marches, bigger than Jesus Christ or anything else.

It is about the music. The wonderful music. The Beatles music transcends time. Young children love it, right away at the age of three or four or five. Teenagers love it. The Beatles sold more records in the first decade of the twentieth century than any other musical act. Think about that.

After the Beatles John made some wonderful music. This album is a collection of some of those. As I write this post I listen to the music. # 9 Dream, Instant Karma, Mind Games, Jealous Guy, Imagine, of course the Double Fantasy tracks and even in this holiday season Happy Xmas.

He was only a person. Only a man. A flawed man surely. As we all are. But if one is judged by the depth of feelings of those who miss him surely John was a person who if not changed the world he changed people. My son is a better person for knowing his music. I believe this.

Can you miss people you never met. I think you can.

We miss John. I miss John.

I tell my wife, my second wife who I met at age 42 that I feel cheated that I did not know her sooner. The music lovers feel the same about John. We feel cheated from what he might have given us had he not died.

Still perhaps it is a little greedy on our part. Could we really ask for anything more than he gave us.

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald

This book is considered one of the greatest works of fiction of the twentieth century. Some lists have it first, virtually all have it in the top ten. My son was recently assigned this book for his class so I chose to read it myself.

I like to consider myself a lover of literature. I believe I am. This book was not a great book by my estimation. While it does perhaps show a picture of society in New York in the nineteen twenties it is a small picture and not a diverse one.

Everyone who has read the book knows about the symbolism of the green light, and we are told that it is a novel that talks about upward mobility and the dreams we aspire to.

I just think the novel is a short story about a group of unlikable characters. A couple lines are clear to remember, for me the greatest is " and we drove on through the night to our deaths"

After reading I did some research about theoretical meanings of the symbolism in the book.

I am sure it is a weakness in me. I am a pretty black and white guy. Hemingway appeals to me in ways Gatsby does not but perhaps i miss the symbolism in Hemingway as well and taking the story at face value is not the best course.

Either way for me this novel did not live up to expectations.

Billy Elliott

My wife got this movie from Netflix. She said she had seen it long ago and enjoyed it. Certainly on the surface does not appear a movie that would be in my zone as it tells the tale of a boy in a Welsh mining town whose father and brother are on strike from a coal mine, his mother has died and he has a love of ...dance.

As one can imagine any boy loving ballet is a stretch, in a small town certainly.

In the beginning his Dad gives him money for boxing lessons which he ends up spending on ballet lessons. It is easy to imagine his Dads reaction to this when it is discovered by his Dad.

The other story in the movie is the story of the strke and the hatred in the small town between those who stick with the strike and those who do not. Being a union man myself the idea of scabbing is an extreme one.

On a Christmas night after breaking into the the local boxing ring to practice his dance, he had furtively been taking lessons from a teacher who feeling sorry for his situation gave him lessons for free, and is Dad discovers him. Caught he starts dancing and his Dad sees that he does have talent.

How his Dad does find the money to get him to an audition for the Ballet school in London and his audition process make up the rest of the movie.

An unusual subject but a good movie with very good character development

Casablanca

On a cold Saturday morning with the kids still sleeping, the dogs quiet and the wife out at craft fairs I took the time to watch this movie that is perpetually rated as one of the best ever.

Humphrey Bogart and Ingemar Bergmann as a couple who meet for a second time in Casablanca.

The story is rather complex but suffice to say wartime intrigue, spies, Nazi, French vichy leaders and non Vichy leaders.

The famous lines from the movie are all there of course but perhaps the most stirring moment for me was when the band at Cafe American is instructed to play the Marseilles in conflict with the German gestapo singing the German anthem.

Visually not as stunning as favorites of mine to come later. But a wonderful movie. Truly as good as expected.

Date Night

Another movie of my wife's choice last night from Netflix. We watched a movie on a Thursday night, this be a daring event on a schoolnight after the kids were in bed. Well all the kids save my oldest who continued to blast the television from the living room.

Steve Carell is very funny and Tina Fey has become the sexy librarian it is ok to think is funny and cute. This movie started out funny and certain pieces were funny.

For example the scenes prior to the plot takeoff were cute and identifiable. The scenes when they are dining out and play a couples game of trying to come up with a " story" about the other couples in the restaurant was funny both times.

However the movie, a case of mistaken identity gone crazy becomes implausible in the extreme. I can suspend disbelief in an action movie but do not go to many for that reason, and I can suspend it in a comedy when a putz actor ends up with a supermodel but to suspend belief in an action comedy movie proved a bit much.

The movie was fine but the only part I would remember and talk to my brethren about would be Ray Liotta's scene as a mob boss. Predictable yes, but any nod to Good Fellas is good with me.

Tom Petty/ Refugee

Driving somewhere the other day this song came on the Classic Rock radio station i often frequent. The truth become self evident...this is a great song. It was a great song 30 years ago and still is.

Tom Petty who in later years described his song writing approach as " Lets get to the chorus" crafted a song here that has some of the most perfect licks you will ever hear in rock and roll.

Tom Petty with this song took many of fans, one could say, " they were tied up, taken away and held for ransom."

Great song.

The Old Man and the Sea

I watched the movie version of this movie yesterday on Turner Classic Movies yesterday. One of Hemingway's great books the book did not offer much for a movie to be made of on first look.

However it did become a good movie. Spencer Tracy played the old man and the movie is just as the book was. A simple tale of a man, a fisherman in Cuba, who has not been succeeding in the last months who finally on day like all the others hooks a big marlin. The fish pulls him out to sea way out into the current, far away from land. Truthfully too far away from the shore for such a small skiff.

The lure of the big fish is too great. On the third day the fish starts to surface and as the fish loses the capacity to keep below surface he starts to pull it in.

My son asked me if there was a metaphor in the story. There may be several. Of course one can compare the story with Moby Dick and the hunt for the great white whale. One can also remember the story of Icarus and remember the repeated speech of the fisherman " that he just went out too far. Much as Icarus went to close to the sun.

In the end after catching the fish he loses it too the sharks as he brings his catch in. The villagers in measuring the carcass still tell him about what a fish it was and there must be some acknowledgment of his skill.

The man says that are never defeated only destroyed and thus one can infer that as long as he is not destroyed he is not defeated.

One we should all remember in times of trouble.