So I got this telescope for Christmas. I haven't used it yet because normally during the Winter we don't see the Sun, let alone a star. I had to feed Levee's cousins this weekend because m'lady was out of town. So I went out the doorwall to drop down the goods, and Mr. Hawk was sitting in the tree about 30 feet away waiting to pick out a fat one. So I took the telescope down the hall and popped in the smallest lens and stared right into her frickin' lime green eyeballs. You should have seen the talons on this guy.....Amazing !

"The Bucket List"......Some nice banter between two veteran actors. Jack gets his fair share of typical quips in. Too predictable though.....wait to rent in my opinion. "Charlie Wilson's War" - Can't believe this movie received so many bad reviews. I thought it was very good. Phillip Seymour Hoffman deserved his nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Julia Roberts efforts were a waste of time though....can you say miscast ? Jail Bait !! "Dr. Zhivago" - Forgot how good this movie was. Julie Christie.....YUM !!

The bigger than Jesus comment occurred in the Summer of 1966. Most of the furor over that event didn't come from the media, but from Southern Baptists in the Bible belt. The media rode it because it was Beatles news. Magical Mystery Tour wasn't aired until the Christmas Holidays of '67....and the media wouldn't have given the time of day to any other artist that tried to pull that off, except Elvis. Not at all. In fact, I think the Rooftop Sessions is more evidence for my point than yours. If they would have gone on tour with a setlist consisting of Get Back, I've Got a Feeling, Dig a Pony, and other stuff in the same vein, I'm betting the average Beatle fan boy would have been extremely disappointed. Those songs were written with the intent of playing them live. They were trying to return and recapture something that was already gone. Seminal ? Maybe for you, but not me. I think the whole concept of "The Summer of Love" was established before The Beatles joined the party. I'm not asserting that The Beatles had no influence, but rather in retrospect, are given far too much credit.....especially for that. Yes, the "All You Need is Love" session is a beautiful thing....but they would have never been able to pull that off if they didn't have the media in their back pocket. What other group was offered/given that kind of air time ? The Beatles had frickin cartoons !! The Monterey Pop Festival probably didn't even make the evening news. I think "the win" falls under personal taste. I agree that Zep was like The Beatles....a fifth element as a whole that was larger than the individual. By the way, I think McCartney's first solo album sucks.....yet it sold millions anyway. "Imagine" is great, but the album itself is still a waste of time for me. Again, personal taste. Exactly what makes Sgt. Pepper a concept album ? Besides the title track which is featured at the beginning and the end.....which tunes on the album support the concept ? Most bands didn't have the cash support The Beatles did to even attempt anything close recording quality wise. As an example, "I Can See For Miles" cost more to produce than the whole rest of the tracks on "Sell-Out". I'm not claiming The Beatles weren't great songwriters, that they weren't a great band, that they weren't influential. I'm claiming that the media showered them with a lot of credit they just didn't deserve. This was especially true from '67 onward, because the media basically missed the boat on what everyone else was doing. The Beatles had become totally embraced by the mainstream entertainment media. The money machine was set up and churning, and it was just as much in the their interest to keep The myth alive. Isn't that what Lennon was eventually revolting against ? At least we agree on Yoko Romo and the "mother" issues.

I must be nuts, because I actually enjoy cold weather like this. Visibility yesterday was about 10 miles....cool and crisp, with a big full moon. Even Venus looks huge in the morning sky. Such a change from the humid air of Summer and Fall. Now if only we can get the Northern Lights churning up there a bit.

He gave you Tuesday's answer on Thursday. Wait until Saturday, and he'll offer another opinion.....right after his hair appointment.

I love watching that poor man's facial expressions. At one point, Yoko lets out a shriek and he's looking to lock eyes with anybody on stage for verification of what the hell he just heard. My favorite moment during the whole circus. That show is a great timepiece. Imagine people watching that 100 years from now. C'mon Jahfin....they don't have to play live ? When they did play live, their shows were closer to their 50's roots than anything groundbreaking for the 60's. Besides the songwriting, I think their greatest contribution was bringing back the whole stage concept of Buddy Holly & The Crickets....the basic 4 piece rock band. I always figured Harrison brought in Clapton and Preston because he knew The Beatles sound needed a bit of a boost at that time just to compete. There wasn't anybody in The Beatles that was a guitar hero by any stretch of the imagination. George was certainly capable, but I believe he would have struggled playing leads on stage with any consistency. Could you see John Lennon wanting to play a 70's rock show like Paul McCartney & Wings ?

I can cut The Beatles all kind of slack as far as influence up to about 1966. Once the Summer of '67 came around, I think you can make a good argument that they were overrated media darlings to a certain extent. How a band that never played live after 1966 could be called the best rock and roll band ever is beyond me. Best pop songwriters ? Ok....I can buy that. Best rock and roll band ? Sorry....not when your influence as far as live performance was virtually zero. They wrote candy-ass pop songs until Dylan challenged them. IMO, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Hendrix, Cream, and others shot past them as far as relevance by '67. The Moody Blues beat Sgt. Peppers with "Days of Future Passed". The Stones, after chasing The Beatles with Satanic Majesties Request" went their own way and showed us the dirty side of rock, including defining the modern live rock show. New recording techniques brought everyone up to speed to anything that George Martin provided. The Beatles knew better than to try an O2 type concert in the 70's. They would have fallen flat on their faces in a live setting. It sure the heck wouldn't be a 4 piece band. Anyone here that was old enough to buy "Double Fantasy" when it was released in the Fall of '80 ......How often did you listen to Yoko's side of the lp ? Critics poked fun of Linda McCartney's off key background vocals. Lennon gave Yoko Romo a whole frickin album side on his first solo album in 6 years so she could waste 20 minutes howling like an injured Mandarin dog !! McCartney 70's solo candy like "Let 'Em In" & "My Love",....it's crap. If you can compare that to anything by Zep, we better start talking about how much you enjoy Billy Joel, Elton John, etc.....because they wrote better stuff in the same vein in the same era.. Look at Harrison's 70's solo stuff. Sure I enjoy "All Things Must Pass"....but how about "Extra Texture" or "33 1/3"" ? Just fanning the Friday flames of a good thread.

Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

Your Welcomed.

I've been listening to "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone" since I was about 6. It was the flipside to "I'm a Believer". Still a great song....and I still have 45.

Wrong thread...Wrong Forum.....

I saw "Lions For Lambs" last weekend. Excellent movie, but very short. Couldn't even finish my popcorn.

The Detroit Area is quickly becoming a Canadian suburb again. With the exchange rate inverting, everyone is coming over the border to either buy presents or go to one of the casinos. That's good news for us for a change. Four years ago I was getting 1.60 Canadian for every dollar. This used to make for interesting nights at the Windsor Ballet. The casino in Windsor is losing a lot of business because of the exchange rate and the smoking ban. You won't see so many of us Americanos coming over to buy your hi-flow toilets anymore either. Sure did enjoy watching the Grey Cup. It's strange watching teams take safeties like it's no big deal. The receivers that take a running start up to the line of scrimmage....looks to me like they are off-sides most of the time ? Just wondering.