Careful What You Wish For

If only Ariel Sharon were conscious, he would probably be lapping up the news that a region-wide war has erupted between Israel and its foes Hamas and Hizbollah. Isn't this the war that hard-liners in both Israel and Arab nations wanted? Missile exchanges with Israel and Lebanon; when will the Syrian military activate something? Of course, the Bush Administration must just be beside itself in trying to figure out just what exactly it must do as both sides have been looking at the U.S.-proposed road map that, until now, has lead to nowhere. Neither side is exactly innocent nor fully responsible for this terrible unleashing of events and I'm no Middle East expert to begin espousing theories as to why this war was forseen years ago. I can only imagine the voices in the churches in a couple of days, all saying that this was prophecied, Megiddo fields, end times, U.S. to keep funding Israel blah blah blah. I don't buy any of that, as the end times never came after Cortez unleashed fury on the Aztecs though it was supposed to occur back in 1542 as well. This will probably bring about a resurgence among the hard right in this country to aid Israel like no tomorrow, prompting me again to quote Noam Chomsky's perfect description of Israel being the largest off-shore U.S. military base. For peace's sake, I hope this all ends soon but since all of God's people believe that He hates the other side, they'll be killing each other to prove just how great God is for us.

Today marks the third anniversary of my moving to my home town. I look around the tons of stuff I own and the overwhelming responsibilities of keeping up my house and wonder if I took on too big of a task buying this wonderful home. I absolutely love my home and can't think of another place in Brentwood I'd want to live in. I just hope I do my wife and child(ren) proud by making it all stay nice. Wow, what a crazy three years. Lots of ups and downs but overall the best thing I could have done.

This month marks the beginning of the third annual Beatle-fest. Since having been given a wonderful going-away present by a dear friend in Fresno of the Anthology series on dvd, once a year, I through on all ten-plus hours of this amazing band's story, to refresh myself of the Old and New Testaments of Rock. Like Dylan, I find the Beatles so big, so mystical, that I have not fully delved into their history. I don't know the exactitudes of singles, throwaway recordings, unreleased goodies, lurid tales and the other minutiae that hard-core fans all know. I much prefer the version that maintains the distant and holy story of the Fab Four and their time here on earth. I've been a Beatle fan practically my whole life. I don't know how old I was exactly when my mom played for me her copy of the American release of Meet the Beatles. I always remember being haunted by the closing chorus harmony of I Want to Hold Your Hand. I watched the dumb cartoons religiously, never really liking Ringo because he was so dorky but never trusting John because, if I remember correctly, he was always so moody. My namesake was always the playful and smart one and our nominal affinity was probably what drew me to him. I remember John's death in 1980 and learning the band's impact on rock music and U.S. and British history. Other than Elvis, the Beatles were the one pop music group that literally changed the world and its people's love and devotion to music. Over the years, I've found it interesting how critical and popular taste to their catalogue has evolved. Sgt. Pepper's was always the Holy Grail and it often served as the first book of the New Testament. Was the break over pop versus psychedelia? The 'drug' years? Just how influential was Pet Sounds? However, the last few years have seen people back up a touch and reassess Rubber soul and Revolver. It seems that Revolver has overtaken Pepper's as the pinnacle of the band's career; maybe reflecting current musical taste (as our understanding and assessment of all things is as much of a reflection of us as the subjects we discuss). Concise and yet edgy. Perfectly-hewn pop craft with edgy rock and subtle psychedelic twists. I think the hardest debate among these two albums isn't even the discussion of the Beatles' rock and roll sense. I don't even see the Beatles at their best as rock artists. They're truly pop artists and their musings in rock were seen in several albums. With that, listen again to Sgt. Pepper's and what you'll hear isn't even rock music. Much of it isn't even pop (mid-60s era) music; it's a tribute to the pop music of British and American live performance (something continued, terribly successfully with the white album a year later). Vaudeville, 1800's -era circus music, opera and operetta, martial bands and timeless Indian raga, Pepper's isn't so much the pinnacle of pop music but of British music in the modern era. Of course the album has its shortcomings as all albums do but A Day in the Life's orchestrel crescendo and crash, left to ebb away into the listener's (and then their pets') ears leaves one with the understanding that a masterstatement has just ended. With all of that, I must end by saying that as great as Pepper's really is, The Beatles' best album is and will always be Abbey Road. The New Testament has to close with not only a sign of apocalypse but redemption and immortality. The boys from Liverpool give us just that - 'and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make'.