Friday, October 7, 2011

REMEMBER

This Sunday, October 9th, is John Lennon's birthday:  his 71st, to be precise.  There always seems to be a new Lennon book out on this anniversary and this year it's Tim Riley's Lennon:  The Man, the Myth, the Music—The Definitive Life.  The buzz about the book is very good, but I doubt if it's definitive.  In fact, I doubt if any biography of any human being can ever be called definitive; and when you're dealing with a complex and mercurial character like Lennon, the definitive will always be elusive.  (I'll read it, of course:  how could I not?)

If there is a single definitive element about John Lennon's life, it's his music.  Here's one of his greatest—and most desperate—songs, performed live at Madison Square Garden in 1972.  (He did two shows that day, one in the afternoon, one at night:  I was in the audience for the evening show.)

Happy Birthday, John. 

24 comments:

  1. Just grabbed it from the library the other day- Haven't cracked it open yet, but I like the cover a lot!
    Did you watch the Scorcese George Harrison doc on HBO yet?? Excellent in many, many ways, especially the interviews with his wife. His son also mentions what I long suspected, that the late '99 attack on George strongly contributed to his death less than 2 years later. It will always be hard to fathom that half of the Beatles died due to insane violence which their fame attracted.
    Hope you're enjoying October so far and looking forward to the class in 4 weeks!

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  2. Haven't seen the Harrison documentary yet, Jeff, but I've heard only good things about it. Yes, how strange, and sad, that both Lennon and Harrison
    met with such violent fates. This was a band whose primary message was love and peace.

    Very much looking forward to the class. See you there!

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  3. This has nothing to do with John Lennon (apologies), but I thought you'd get a kick out of it.

    I was at a tennis practice with my son the other day and there was a four year old kid running around pretending to be Red Tornado.

    I'm a comic fan, and I didn't know who RT was until the 90s. Proof positive that BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD is raising up a whole new generation of fans.

    And raising them right, I'd say! :)

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  4. I finally saw your last 2 episodes of Brave & the Bold--Green Lantern and the JLI. Lots of fun. Really. I at least think the JLI would make a great new animated series of their own. And with Brave & the Bold ending, why not??

    On another note: to self-promote, I have a new e-book available at Kindle called "The Ruby Warrior." It's an illustrated novel I did myself. See www.amazon.com/Ruby-Warrior-Pawn-Tenson-ebook/dp/B005UNWVYA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1318446855&sr=8-2

    As well, my oldest sister, Francie, did a book trailer for it. If you're interested, see: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc5A__ZVNHw

    Please, tell everyone you know in the entire world ... uh, the universe ...uh, multi-verse... : )

    Thanks, JM. : ) Hope you don't mind my plugging here. Anything you can plug??

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  5. Well, everyone at Creation Point knows about it now, A. Jaye! Best of luck with the book!

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  6. Hey, JMD. I posted something on my blog about the way we look at comics, and how the DC Relaunch could take us back to the basics:

    http://asm149.blogspot.com/2011/10/comics-should-be-better-than-good-they.html#comment-form

    Love to hear your thoughts!

    Oh, and I downloaded STARDUST KID #1 on comixology. Haven't had a chance to read it yet, but looking forward to it.

    --David

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  7. And here's my review of STARDUST KID 1:

    http://asm149.blogspot.com/2011/10/review-stardust-kid-1-mild-spoilers.html

    At only two bucks on comixology, I feel like I broke into an art museum and stole it.

    And I'm okay with that!

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  8. That's great, David! Thanks for writing it...and for sharing it. VERY much appreciated!

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  9. You're very welcome, JMD. It's a great story, and you and Mike Ploog have real chemistry.

    If everything goes according to plan, I'm going to buy the first issues of SEEKERS INTO MYSTERY and THE LAST ONE soon, and then review each issue by issue over the coming months. Be kind of fun to have all that in the air at once, instead of reading each in their entirety alone.

    Since DC did its relaunch, I've learned to appreciate reading single issues again. So it's kind of fun to break it down that way, chapter by chapter. Builds anticipation and gives you time to let everything sink in.

    There was a lot to love about STARDUST KID, and I felt like I only scratched the surface. I laughed out loud several times. I'm sure I'll buy it in TPB, too, when I'm done with the singles.

    BTW, for anyone who's interested, you can actually preview the first ten pages of STARDUST KID and SEEKERS INTO MYSTERY for free at comixology.

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  10. I may have to hire you as my publicist, David: You know more about all this than I do!

    Hope you enjoy SEEKERS and THE LAST ONE. They're both near and dear to my heart. And thanks so much for supporting my work. It means a lot.

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  11. I'd take that job, JMD! You can pay me in comics. :)

    And you're very welcome. Your work means a lot to me--it's an ideal mixture of drama, poetry, philosophy, and fun.

    Looking forward to your MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN tale next week!

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  12. Hey JMD its great to see you again! I recently read about your Imagination 101 workshop and was wondering if its too late to register? And if when you go on the spring roadtrip you will be anywhere close to GA?

    I've recently decided to jump back into my art career and was planning a comic to create with a writer friend of mine. We are both noobs and it sounds like your workshop would be just the preparation and inspiration we need. I also have some fresh work for that superman script you gave me all those years ago if you remember. I would be honored to get your critique. joshuakitchen13@gmail.com

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  13. I'm looking forward to it, too!

    Payment in comics? You're too easy!

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  14. Hi, Joshua. Good to hear from you. Yes, there's still room in the workshop.
    Write me via imaginationworkshops@gmail.com and I'll send you all the info. Best -- JMD

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  15. Easy? Ha! I never said how MANY comics. It's a lot like agreeing to pay Popeye's Wimpy in hamburgers! :)

    --David

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  16. Hey, JMD, you been watching PERSON OF INTEREST? Great show! I think you'd enjoy it. -- David

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  17. I saw the first episode, David, and haven't returned since. Maybe I'll revisit it.

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  18. Check out last week's episode online if you're so inclined. Highly recommended. If you didn't feel inclined to come back after the first episode, that's the one that'll change your mind. Trust me. --David

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  19. Read your interview about the upcoming MA Spider-Man story and enjoyed it immensely--especially the line about writing UP to kids. So true! I actually made some similar points on my blog about a week ago:

    http://asm149.blogspot.com/2011/10/supergirl-2-symphony-of-cartoon.html

    And FIRST CLASS is now my favorite Marvel movie, so I'm always glad to see it get mentioned! Just fantastic on every level, and that last act blows me away every time.

    Look foward to reading Spider-Man tomorrow!! I feel like a kid again every Wednesday...

    --David

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  20. Nice post, David. I haven't seen the new Supergirl, but you make it sound very inviting.

    Speaking of posts, I've been traveling quite a bit this month, which is why the blog has been so stagnant. I should be back up and running this week.

    Hope you enjoy the Spider-Man story!

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