Obamania in Israel

Much to the surprise of the exploding sandbox ilk both McCartney and Obama survived their trips to Israel. The rest of us never even considered otherwise until we were told by outsiders that we are supposed to always assume that everybody who comes here is in danger.

A more important difference between the two is that I saw Paul McCartney perform. It was a very good show and the only time I did not have to make any special plans to see him. I paid very little attention to the Obama visit.

How to Be Famous

The Beatles are unquestionably the most successful musical act in the entire history of the universe. It took years of playing questionable establishments and a lot of record company rejection before they made it big. That is how you did it back then. You played as much as you could wherever you could and your local following developed into a larger following.

Now all you have to do is go on one of the Pop Idol programmes and you are an instant superstar. Never mind the fact that none of the winners of any of those shows has ever become a pop idol. Britney Spears may be more well known for her public behaviour than her music but at least she went through years of auditions and rejections before she got the chance to make her first album. How did Justin Bieber earn his fame? As far as I know he put a video on Youtube and some record producers pushed him through marketing before he ever recorded anything. When did he pay his dues?

George and Ringo said it don’t come easy. They meant that it did not come easy back then.


Really?

How to Build a Mediocre News Outlet

[Picture © Yoko Ono]

A woman who once interviewed John inflated her own importance. She also said that the interview took place just minutes before he died, which goes against everything we know about his last day. And they played a snippet of the interview where John said that he will be turning 40 soon and Sean will be 5, future tense. John and Sean were both born on 9 October. If the interview took place on 8 December then they would already be 40 and 5, present tense. John may not have been the most educated person in the world but he knew English well enough to properly use verb tenses. Either the interviewer is full of kak or CNN played the wrong interview.

My role in society, or any artist’s or poet’s role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all.
John Lennon

I Went to California But I Forgot to Blog About It

Another great thing about school reunions is how reality just klaps you in the face. When we were young we were all going to be the great movers and shakers of our generation. Every single one of us was going to do what we loved and excel at it. Ten years on most of us were nowhere we thought we would be. There were no household name directors, movie stars or celebrities at this reunion. None of us are president of any country or major corporation. Nobody won any medals for curing diseases or invented the next big thing. Most of us are just regular people living regular lives. Some have died and some are probably homeless or junkies living in seedy motel rooms but they did not come to the reunion. Most of the people who showed up seemed to be relatively satisfied with their lives.


Downtown Los Angeles from Griffith Observatory
That is not a problem with the lens. That is the smog.


The Hollywood sign from Griffith Observatory
Most large cities have a large tower with great views. Los Angeles has Griffith Observatory.


Capitol Records
This is where old men in suits butchered Beatles albums. I don’t think the Beatles ever set foot in the building but their Walk of Fame stars are here.


Sunset Blvd
The street changes dramatically from Los Angeles to Beverly Hills.


Powell Library
With comfortable chairs and 8 million books you could easily spend a lot of time here.


Royce Hall
The steps may not look like much but on a hot summer day they can give you a good workout.


Queen Mary
Now a hotel and museum. I’ve no idea why there is a Russian submarine next to it.

Why Jesus Was Not the Messiah

I think that if a group of people decide to write down their own code of conduct and then another group comes along a thousand years later and rewrites it to fit their own agenda they don’t get to tell the first group what the original books said. You are more than welcome to worship Jesus or any other Jew as much as you want but when you tell us that he is our Messiah and we’ve our books and your books telling us otherwise, you can expect us to change our beliefs as much as you change yours whenever Muslims tell you the new versions of your books.

And if you could stop killing people in the name of Jesus that would be great. I’ve listed what Jesus was not. I think he also was not the kind of person who wanted his followers to kill everybody. His message was about love as far as I can tell. If you think enough of him to edit our books to make him look better then you should think enough of him to follow his main principle and be nice to each other.

Se7en

I like to watch porn. Not for the same reasons you do. I’m fascinated by women who make a living by having sex. I know men do it too but it is more socially problematic for women. If a woman told her friends that she is a porn star they would probably be horrified. If a man told his friends that he is a porn star they would probably grunt and pound their chests together.

Men are gods for getting so much tail. More so if they are paid for it. Women are just whores. I’m interested in women holding positions of power. Few things are more powerful than sex.

Another Year Over and a New One Just Begun

2009 started with a bang. Literally. I was sent to Gaza in January to film things I’m not really supposed to talk about but probably can since it is no state secret, but I don’t really know who will read this so it is probably better if I don’t, even though I will not go to prison for it or even lose my job technically, but I can face more trouble than it is worth really since it is not that exciting. I didn’t want to go but I wanted to go. I constantly assured my family that I was nowhere near danger. I joked that the equipment was too valuable. It is funnier now than it was then.

I Always Give Them My Money

© Somebody

The Beatles released 13 albums in their lifetime if you include Magical Mystery Tour. Which I do. First I had to buy the LPs then the CDs. That is a lot of money before I had a steady job. Add to that all of the Anthology CDs, Past Masters, Live at the BBC, Let it Be Naked, Love. Fortunately they were all released in the days of CDs so I only had to buy them once. I’m glad I never lived in an age when 8 track tapes and cassettes were all the rage. I never bothered with any of the compilations because there was nothing new there and the American versions do not interest me since I did not grow up with that.

How To Annoy Me

At some point the “journalist” remarked on an Elvis pin John once owned that is now part of the exhibit.

“Apparently he was a huge Elvis fan. Who knew?”

Who knew? Everybody.

2008: It’s the End of the World As We Know It and I Feel Fine

My nephew Yoel had his bar mitzvah simcha. Mazel tov. I went to China for a little over a month. I visited friends in 安徽 , 江蘇 , 雲林 , and one of my favourite cities in the world 上海 . Paul McCartney came to Israel for the first and last time and I saw him in concert. Rock on. I dumped 2 boyfriends, 1 because of a stupid argument that highlighted a major flaw in our relationship and 1 because we simply weren’t compatible. I lost another boyfriend after he proposed marriage. I didn’t want to marry him and there wasn’t any going back at that point. More fish in the pond for me. I passed 1000 hours PIC in the 206. That brings me closer to my highest average in the 212. I like them both but the 206 is my favourite.

Why Don’t We Do It in the Road

I asked him who sang “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. He said Paul. Then John. Then George. I asked him who played lead guitar. He was sure it was a trick question so he said John. When I told him it was Eric Clapton he said, “I didn't know he was in the Beatles?”

Is it any wonder I dumped the guy?

John Lennon

I’ve always liked all kinds of music. I’d be just as comfortable at a free-style rap competition as in a smoke-filled jazz club. That’s to say I’d be equally uncomfortable in both. I like the music but I don’t like cigarette smoke or spontaneous stabbings.

Paul McCartney in Israel

Paul and I arrived in Israel close to each other. More so by time than space. He came on a private jet. I came packed into a 747 with 200 other people. You can fly from London to Tel Aviv directly in about five hours. Shanghai to Tel Aviv is about 18 hours with a connection in Bangkok. He checked into several floors of an overpriced seafront hotel. I went home to my apartment facing the mountains. He made a few tourist stops. I went to sleep.

Then came the sound checks. I was walking through Ganei Yehoshua and I heard Paul tell me to get back. I was confused. This is my park. I live here. And why is he singing his warning? Stop calling me Jo Jo.

There is something surreal about walking through your local park and hearing Paul McCartney sing a few songs with his band. It is not that common to hear from a CD player but far less so to hear it from Paul himself. I would have gone closer to have a look but large men with automatic weapons suggested I not. Still it was a nice little show and I heard it for free. I did not get to see anything but neither did the people who paid for the overpriced seats at the later show itself.