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.

 

    

Down The Path and Reel Stuff

 life altering experience

the tree once had more lofty goals and heights to reach. it adapts

reel stuff

   As the negative commercials and political bombast continue, the big screen offers a couple of great diversions.

    Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger is an enduring American hero, someone to celebrate and who lifts our spirit with the knowledge of our ability to be great. Tom Hanks is a great and timeless actor and Clint Eastwood is in a rare supreme category in film directing. Obviously Sully is worth your time. Everyone should see how our NTSB system functions and how the US Air landing on the Hudson was handled, where blame spreading and butt covering was an intent. Hero judgment and response saves the day, again.

   

    Some of us were so caught up in the Beatles mania we were not thinking about the impact they had on touring and what touring did to them. 

     They were the first to do arena and stadium rock-long before the mega equipment and rock tour entourages.

      The Beatles-Eight Days a Week-the Touring Years is a Ron Howard handling of archival film and recent interviews with Paul and Ringo and others. 

       Those earlier boys were bright, entertaining and capable of conquering the world. We revisit those days with annotations from now. The music, footage and infectious joy and mania are like a sip from a time machined brew. It leaves you high with a dose of the expansive and youthful feelings of the sixties and seventies. It feels good to channel those years. Howard does a brilliant weave of moments so that one feels part of the tour. It is an intimate look at the real boys to men.

missed opportunity?

some see a bloom

others see an old choke

perhaps you see a missed side dish

 down the path

  don't you think pathways are one of our better ideas? they can be inviting, especially so at sunset

 an ice cream truck awaits

   The arrangement behind the wine barrel, the stack of "spears" is the business end of an old hay rake. A ranch tool.

the shadows lengthen and a party awaits 

   See you down the trail.