The Best Summer

The best summer was 1963. His dad took just him on a road trip in England.  They stopped in Liverpool, you might have a hint of what happened. 

The photographer Ethan Russell Tweeted a link to this story by the writer Bobby Stevenson.  It's a very touching account of the bond between he and his dad, that summer when he was 10 years old.  It would make a great movie. 

John, Yoko and the Hongs

On the wake of what would be John Lennon's 70th birthday, The New York Times has an untold glimpse into the life of John and Yoko.  While in San Francisco they were treated by Yuan Bain Hong, a Shanghai-born practitioner of Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture for spiritual and physical cleansing and healing.  He was also the father of two girls who are now 49 and 48.  Yuan and his wife were Chinese immigrants and did not have much money.  John and Yoko sometimes stayed with them, brought them to New York to see him perform at Madison Square Garden and eventually the family allowed them to offer some financial support.  The Hongs were some of the first people to hear the song Imagine as he performed it for them in their home before it was release on record.

Google is using Imagine to honor Lennon's birthday with an animated Google Doodle. 

Vactican Forgives Lennon

From the BBC:
A Vatican newspaper has forgiven the late English singer John Lennon for saying four decades ago that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus.
In an article praising The Beatles, L'Osservatore Romano said Lennon had just been showing off.
Lennon told a British newspaper in 1966 - at the height of Beatlemania - that he did not know which would die out first, Christianity or rock and roll. At the time, the comparison sparked controversy in the US. The semi-official Vatican newspaper marked the 40th anniversary of The Beatles' "White Album" with an article praising Lennon and the Fab Four from Liverpool.

This could only bring to mind the brilliant Rutles: Nasty, talking to a slightly deaf journalist, had claimed only that the Rutles were bigger than Rod. Rod Stewart who would not be popular for another eight years.