There’s a documentary DVD called “Stuart Sutcliffe: The Lost Beatle” that doesn’t sit right with me, because of assertions made by Stuart’s sister, regarding Stu and John. But one part that rings true is about Astrid. In an interview with Terry Gross on NPR, Astrid gives Stuart all credit, claiming that he was an original, and a visionary. But I think what’s said about Astrid in this video clip gives a more complete and accurate characterization.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2008/DEC/Astrid.flv 640 360]
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Christmas, forty years later…
This is the 40th anniversary of my parents moving us to Massachusetts. Christmas of ’68 is indelibly associated in my mind with $1 Peanuts books and the Beatles record called “The Beatles”.
I don’t listen to the White Album every Christmas, but I’m glad that Fantagraphics made it possible to revive the Charlie Brown tradition by publishing The Complete Peanuts. I posted a picture of last year’s books, and I’ll start a new tradition by showing you this year’s books. One of them has a serious printing defect, but all of the pages are there so I don’t mind.
We enjoy getting a few new ornaments every year, and Carol bought this one with Snoopy and Woodstock.
Pattie and Prue
After a couple of days off, it’s time to shake myself out of my Christmas stupor. I’ll start with another photo of ravishing Prudence Bury by Astrid Kirchherr. Here she is with Pattie Boyd on the “Hard Day’s Night” train.
© Astrid Kirchherr
‘Engines of Survival’ by Larissa Kelly
Jeopardy! fan-favorite Larissa Kelly will return for the Tournament of Champions, airing March 11-24. Meanwhile, here’s a surprise from Larissa. A piece of speculative fiction she has written, called “Engines of Survival,” that you will find at Strange Horizons Fiction:
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2008/20081222/engines-f.shtml
Now that Sarah Palin’s star has faded (although I doubt permanently), Larissa is once again the #1 reason — ahead of Alizée! — why people find this blog, so take note that she has included an e-mail address. There’s no reason to assume this isn’t really Larissa, and you have to promise me that if you write to Larissa you will be civil, respectful and well-behaved! And remember, boys, she’s married. “For all of you youngsters,” as Ed Sullivan used to say, I should explain that “Sorry Boys, She’s Married” is a play on a famous moment in Beatles history.
Art Smart
Starting my sophomore year of college, I took one art history course per semester. They were taught by a brilliant and talented woman named Barbara Harris, who worked with the previously mentioned Arno Maris. I was fortunate to have had Ms. Harris as an instructor, because she left Westfield State College the semester that I graduated.
I never considered a career in art history, but I loved art and I enjoyed the contrast it offered to regular history classes, which are mostly about politics and war. Everybody automatically thinks of Italy when they hear the word “Renaissance,” but my favorite course was about Flemish Renaissance art. (Flemish as in Flanders, as in Belgium.) Today’s Boston Globe has a story about an Italian Renaissance painting undergoing restoration at the Museum of Fine Arts.
Playing DJ with theRADIO.com
Thanks to my dad’s cousin Lawrie for tipping me off to (yet another) new online music service. This one is theRADIO.com. Type in a song or artist and it takes you to whichever category it belongs to. theRADIO.com is from some outfit called American Media Services Interactive, and at this point I feel almost overwhelmed by the choices available today for music, whether online on cable TV, and I don’t even have XM/Sirius or HD Radio.
What I’d really like is a free-form option — except no rap or hip-hop, thank you very much. I love playing DJ, so I played with theRadio.com for a while and skipped around genres while recording. The selection includes the Turtles, a Johnny Ramone instrumental (I checked the volume in the middle of it), Lucinda Williams (a fave of Carol’s), followed by my all-time #1 favorite Bob Dylan tune, and finishing with “Reason to Believe”, recorded while I was called away, so I’m not sure who it is. Some of the inflections almost sound like Petula, but it isn’t her. Marianne Faithfull, maybe?
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/DEC/RadioDotCom.mp3]Speaking of lovely Petula, Dave Moncur sent a link with some photos of our favourite glamour girl, who was performing in Utreht, Netherlands (K3 country!) recently. Thanks, Dave. She looks even better than when I saw her in May!
