Light/Breezes

Light/Breezes
SUNRISE AT DEATH VALLEY-Photo by Tom Cochrun
Showing posts with label John Lennon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Lennon. Show all posts

Sunday, December 5, 2021

DIVERSION BY BEATLES


            The gears of our psyche have been adjusted.

        Some seven hours and 45 minutes of intimacy with the Beatles and entourage produced a retooling of attitude. 
        Over a couple nights we took a deep dive, to January 1969, and the 22 days that became the supernova of the singular creative force that changed music, lifestyle, lives and the world. 
         
        The previously unseen and impeccably shot film, edited and curated by director Peter Jackson, (The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies) is riveting and immersive in the documentary Get Back. Lana dreamed about it, and I continue to marvel. 

        We laughed that just 4 months after the filming, we walked into Apple Records in London, thinking we might just "bump into" one of them. 
        Get Back, the documentary series, has the capacity to time scrub your brain and fill you with the zest and verve of that era in our life. It is a trip that rocks you with the passion and playfulness of our own youth.


        For a generation reaching the autumn of life, Get Back is a full on reminder of how good it felt, and how hopeful and limitless was our future.  

        We see our minstrels of revolution at their peak, in their 20's, writing and playing music, talking about their future, and it has the ability to vacuum the uncertainty and unpleasantness of that "future" we now occupy. 


        Watching John Lennon and Paul McCartney write songs, and seeing the duo work them through is astonishing. It is lightening in a bottle. There are moments when the two are  riffing, playing around, having fun while amping up their creative force. 
        There is something pure, innocent and even loving in watching McCartney's fascination as Lennon vamps, and then as Lennon, wryly acknowledges McCartney's new melody or set of lyrics. And on it goes. 
        Watching almost 8 hours of unscripted and pure Beatle creativity not only reminded us our own earlier dreams and life without limits, it is a balm.  


        Time and exposure can dull our senses. Remembering greatness, and seeing it so intimately is a thrill.



central coast autumn colors



        A lot of pundits have used the old bromide about the dog catching the car when talking about the right wing getting a court that now may overturn Roe v. Wade. Given overwhelming public support for abortion rights, it could become a big negative for many Republican candidates.  
        The larger question that occupies me is how will the Supremes handle the inner issue of being so out of step with where most of the nation is on choice. It is particularly delicate in this political culture because the court's very credibility is on the line. It will be interesting to see how they handle it and how the decision is written.

        Be careful, stay well.  See you down the trail.



 
    

Friday, September 30, 2011

FRIENDS & CREATIVITY

MUSINGS ON TREASURES
MY FRIENDS ARE MY ESTATE
Emily Dickinson


A group of fraternity brothers have gathered
again for our twice a year encampment.
These are our oldest friendships and over
the years they have grown to be more
important and enjoyable. Wives have become
friends, we have shared troubles and tribulations
and watched changes and the constant remains
our love for each other. These people
and these times together are treasures indeed.


I GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS
John Lennon


A WORTHY HUMAN ENDEAVOR-
CREATIVITY
No doubt, it is because of the way I am hard wired that 
I think creative endeavors are the highest and holiest
of human activities.  In a sense it is an emulation
life itself-giving birth to something new. It is
an "aping" of the Creator.
Thanks to friends at the WCI for finding
a great thought from our beloved Indiana writer
Kurt Vonnegut


"Nobody will stop you from creating. 
Do it tonight. Do it tomorrow. 
That is the way to make your soul grow - 
whether there is a market for it or not! 
The kick of creation is the act of creating, 
not anything that happens afterward. 
I would tell all of you watching this screen: 
Before you go to bed, write a four line poem. 
 Make it as good as you can. 
Don't show it to anybody. 
Put it where nobody will find it. 
And you will discover that you have your reward." 
                          ~Kurt Vonnegut



Think about a friend today and then
think something new.
See you down the trail.