Cory Doctorow on not being allowed to photograph public works

Prohibition of photography in public spaces is a big pet peeve of mine. As far as I'm concerned, if something is in a public space where I can view it with my eyes... then I can also take pictures of it. This is a rather specific example but still applies somewhat to the problem I have with not being allowed to use the Hollywood sign without permission from L.A.

Back in February, [Cory] blogged about the Bean, a mirrored statue in Chicago's Millennium Park. The $270 million park was built with public funds, and then the Bean was donated by SBC, which got an enormous tax break (while the Chicago taxpayer inherited the upkeep bill).

The park's management then set out to turn this prominent public sculpture into a moneymaker. They set out ruinous rates for professional photographers, wedding photos, and videographers, and then used the publicly funded security staff to enforce this ban. The security guards went around, kicking out anyone who looked like they may be a 'professional' photographer, which meant anyone with a nice camera and/or a tripod.

The park tried to excuse its abominable betrayal of the public trust (imagine -- a public place that the public can't document!) by claiming that the copyright in the sculpture vested in the sculptor and they were required to police the unauthorized photographing of this copyrighted work on his behalf. Now, there is an exemption in copyright law for public sculpture, but even if there wasn't, the city should never have acquired a sculpture without acquiring the right for its residents to photograph themselves with it, and even if they failed to do so, it certainly isn't the park's responsibility to police the copyrights of the sculptures in it. I mean, there are lots of copyrighted works in the park, from the logos on the security guard's uniforms to the fast-food menus in the garbage cans -- should the park be in charge of providing free enforcement duties for all the rightsholders whose works are placed within its bounds?

Weekly World News' best Bat Boy story ever!

ARE JAMES CARVILLE & BAT BOY KIN? -A BLOOD TEST WILL PROVE IT!

BAT BOY has hundreds of living relatives in America -- and famed Democratic strategist James Carville is probably one of them!

That's the astonishing assertion of a Chicago scientist who has just completed the most extensive DNA tests ever conducted on the bat-like mutant.
...
HERE, from the expert, are 10 traits Bat Boy appears to share with his human kinfolk:

1. Bald, misshapen head.
   
2. Frightening, sharp toothed grin.
   
3. Comes from the South. "Like Bat Boy, who first surfaced in West Virginia, most of his relatives are found in the South," notes Dr. Hensky. "Mr. Carville was born in Louisiana."
   
4. Flails arms wildly when excited.
   
5. Combative. Like Bat Boy, who's bitten dozens of people, Carville relishes a good fight.
   
6. Weird, cackling laugh.
   
7. Super-acute hearing. CNN staffers have learned not to bad-mouth Carville behind his back.
   
8. Physical agility.
   
9. Dog-like loyalty. "While other Clinton cronies ducked for cover during Monica-gate, Carville stood by his man," Dr. Hensky observes.
   
10. Navigates in dark. Carville often wears sunglasses at night.
    

I'm not the only one who has discovered the benefits of audiobooks!

Loud, Proud, Unabridged: It Is Too Reading!

Fewer Americans are reading books than a decade ago, according to the National Endowment for the Arts, but almost a third more are listening to them on tapes, CD's and iPods.

For a growing group of devoted listeners, the popularity of audio books is redefining the notion of reading, which for centuries has been centered on the written word. Traditionally, it is also an activity that has required one's full attention.

But audio books, once seen as a kind of oral CliffsNotes for reading lightweights, have seduced members of a literate but busy crowd by allowing them to read while doing something else.
...
Listening to authors read their own memoirs introduces an intimacy that cannot be achieved without the audio, Mr. Hamburg said. He found Bill Clinton's thick autobiography a bit daunting, for instance, but said listening to it "was kind of like being with an old friend."

Andy Carvin's Waste of Bandwidth: Introducing the RoombaCam

Introducing the RoombaCam

People, it's OK to love your Roomba... just don't LOVE your Roomba. (Though this is very amusing to me.)

I decided to put my digital camera on top of the Roomba to see if I could make a little Web video from the Roomba's point of view. The first two attempts didn't work too well, as the bumper-car manouvers of the Roomba shook it loose very quickly. But a few strips of masking tape later, I managed to turn my little robovac into an cinematographer.

The video file is large - about 20 megs - but it's worth a look if you're curious about the Roomba, particularly in terms of how well it plays with cats, furniture, feet, and other things that get in its way....

RoboMaid Sweeps Your Floors So You Won't Have To

This poor Rooma rip-off is a riot. It doesn't even vacuum - it just sweeps. The video from the fictional "Invention Channel" is not to be missed!

New Sweeping Sensation From from Europe!
RoboMaid was first introduced in Europe and became an instant hit, selling at USD $60 . It was awarded a patent for its innovative solution to dusting floors. The patented technology of the robotic ball combined with electro-static dusting pads enables this amazing machine to perform its tasks very effectively.
...
RoboMaid normally sells for $60, but during this special promotion you can try RoboMaid at home for just $10

Life in the Future: Scooba!!!

Roomba gets a sidekick: Scooba makes mopping obsolete

Another one for my wishlist. They need a Roomba/Scooba 2-pack!

iRobot, deities of all things floor-cleaning and robotic, have introed a new sibling to the Roomba robotic vacuum/child herder. The Scooba is designed for some industrial strength cleaning action on your tile and linoleum floors, which it achieves by first vacuuming up the flotsam and jetsam, then applying a liquid cleaner, and following up by drying the floor — making it also safe when used on wood floors. Price isn’t set, though iRobot CEO Colin Angle promised consumers “won’t get sticker shock.” As to availability, limited supplies will supposedly be available “this holiday season,” which we can only assume means that whole December 25th time frame — apparently in America, it is the only holiday.

next up, the temple of doom!

Kabbalist Blesses Jones: Now´s the Time to Find Holy Lost Ark

An unnamed Kabbalist has granted blessing to famed archeologist Dr. Vendyl Jones to uncover the Holy Ark of the Covenant. Jones plans to excavate the Lost Ark by the Tisha B’Av Fast this summer.
...
Throughout the many years of his quest, Jones has been in close contact and under the tutelage of numerous Rabbis and Kabbalists. Extremely knowledgeable in Torah, Talmud and Kabbalah sources dealing with Holy Temple issues, Jones has now received permission from both known and secret Kabbalists to finally uncover the lost ark.
...
As recently as last month, the rabbi, who only communicates via messenger, told Jones that the time was not yet right to discover the Temple vessels.

Last Thursday, however, Dr. Jones received a communication from the rabbi reading, “The time is right.”
...
With the help of an ancient document found in Qumran together with the Dead Sea Scrolls, known as the “Copper Scroll”, Dr. Jones is convinced he has pinpointed the location of the Ark of the Covenant.

“In the copper scroll, the first five lines say, 'In the desolations of the Valley of Achur, in the opening under the ascent, which is a mountain facing eastward, covered by forty placed boulders – here is a tabernacle and all the golden fixtures,'” Jones says.

"This is what we have been looking for all these years, and I’ve walked over those boulders thousands of times without really stepping back and looking – realizing ‘hey, those boulders have been brought in here, they’ve been placed in here, they didn’t come off a mountain. And they’re huge.’”

treating diseases apparently not very high on W's priorities

Stem cells tailored to patients

South Korean scientists say they have made stem cells tailored to match the individual for the first time.

Each of the 11 new stem cell lines that they made were created by taking genetic material from the patient and putting it into a donated egg.

The resultant cells were a perfect match for the individual and could mean treatments for diseases like diabetes without problems of rejection.

The study, published in Science, has been hailed as a major advance.

Ministry uses dinosaurs to dispute evolution

Our "values voters" hard at work...

Soon, visitors to Ham's still-unfinished Creation Museum will experience his view: that God created the world in six, 24-hour days on a planet just 6,000 years old. This literal interpretation of the Bible runs counter to accepted scientific theory, which says Earth and its life forms evolved over billions of years.
...
Ham's views of history and science are based on a literal reading of Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament. Among other things, he believes that:

Earth is about 6,000 years old, a figure arrived at by tracing the biblical genealogies, and not 4.5 billion years, as mainstream scientists say.

The Grand Canyon was formed not by erosion over millions of years, but by floodwaters in a matter of days or weeks.

Dinosaurs and man once co-existed, and dozens of the creatures - including T-rex - were passengers on the ark built by Noah, who was a real man, not a myth.

Lesser panda standing on two legs charms Japanese zoo

First it was a monkey, now a panda. Prepare to be out-evolved.

TOKYO (AFP) - A lesser panda is proving a hit at a zoo near Tokyo as it can stand on two legs like a human being for about 10 seconds, an unusual feat for the species, zoo officials said.

The two-year-old male panda named Futa stands up several times a day when "it sees something interesting", said Hiroyuki Asano, an official of Chiba Zoological Park, southeast of the capital.

"We have kept lesser pandas for nearly 20 years at this zoo, but I have not seen one like Futa, which can stand for such a long time," Asano said.

mo' monkeys!

New species of monkey found in Tanzania

Two separate teams of researchers working hundreds of miles (kilometres) apart have discovered a new species of monkey in Tanzania.

The highland mangabey is the first new species of monkey identified in 20 years and conservationists immediately said the find showed how important it was to preserve African forests.

The highland mangabey is a medium-sized monkey, about 3 feet (90 cm) tall with a long tail, long brown fur, a black face, hands and feet.

Adults make a distinctive, loud, low-pitched 'honk-bark' call. They live in mountainside trees at elevations of up to 8,000 feet (2,400 metres).

best news ever!!!

FOX DOES MORE TIME WITH 'ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT,' ORDERING A FULL THIRD SEASON

FOX gets ARRESTED again. The network has ordered a third full season of the Emmy Award-winning comedy series ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, it was announced today by Peter Liguori, President, Entertainment for Fox Broadcasting Company.

tabasco is for pussies

A NEW chilli sauce goes on sale today that is so hot it could KILL.

Ultra-concentrated “16 Million Reserve” is the hottest science can make.

The sauce is 30 times hotter than the spiciest pepper and 8,000 times more fiery than Tabasco.

Diners must sign a disclaimer recommending “protective gloves and eye wear” — but even sweating testers in safety gear were blinded by tears for 30 minutes.
...
Medical experts fear it could kill asthmatics or hospitalise a user who touches a sensitive part of the body afterwards.

It is made of pure capsaicin, the chemical that makes peppers “hot”. It takes tons of peppers to make 1lb of capsaicin.
...
The sauce is named after its score on the chilli heat measure, the Scoville Unit. Reserve scores 16 million units, while a Red Savina, the world’s spiciest pepper, measures just 570,000.

why i love dogs reason #976012

Dog cared for abandoned baby

A newborn baby abandoned in a Kenyan forest was saved by a stray dog who apparently carried her across a busy road and through a barbed wire fence to a shed where the infant was discovered nestled with a litter of puppies, witnesses said Monday.
...
"When the dog picked up the baby in a dirty bag, it came and dropped her behind the wooden building where the dog has its puppies," Mwalimu told The Associated Press Monday.

The 7-pound, 4-ounce infant was taken to a hospital and "is doing well, responding to treatment. She is stable ... she is on antibiotics," said Hannah Gakuo, spokeswoman of the Kenyatta National Hospital.

The baby was found after two children reported hearing an infant's cries near their
wood-and-corrugated-metal shack... They eventually found the tan mixed-breed dog lying protectively with a puppy beside the mud-splattered baby wrapped in a torn black shirt, Adhiambo said.

Monkeys Adapt Robot Arm as Their Own

Robo-Monkey is coming!

Monkeys that learn to use their brain signals to control a robotic arm are not just learning to manipulate an external device, Duke University Medical Center neurobiologists have found. Rather, their brain structures are adapting to treat the arm as if it were their own appendage.

The finding has profound implications both for understanding the extraordinary adaptability of the primate brain and for the potential clinical success of brain-operated devices to give the handicapped the ability to control their environment, said the researchers.
...
In the study, Lebedev performed detailed analysis of the mass of neural data that emerged from experiments reported in 2003, in which the researchers discovered for the first time that monkeys were able to control a robot arm with only their brain signals.

In those experiments, the researchers first implanted an array of microelectrodes -- each thinner than a human hair -- into the frontal and parietal lobes of the brains of two female rhesus macaque monkeys. The faint signals from the electrode arrays were detected and analyzed by the computer system the researchers developed to recognize patterns of signals that represented particular movements by an animal's arm.

In the initial behavioral experiments, the researchers recorded and analyzed the output signals from the monkeys' brains as the animals were taught to use a joystick to both position a cursor over a target on a video screen and to grasp the joystick with a specified force.

After the animals' initial training, however, the researchers made the cursor more than a simple display. They incorporated into its movement the dynamics, such as inertia and momentum, of a robot arm functioning in another room. While the animals' performance initially declined when the robot arm was included in the feedback loop, they quickly learned to allow for these dynamics and became proficient in manipulating the robot-reflecting cursor, found the scientists.

The scientists next removed the joystick, after which the monkeys continued to move their arms in mid-air to manipulate and "grab" the cursor, thus controlling the robot arm. However, after a few days, the monkeys realized that they did not need to move their own arms. Their arm muscles went completely quiet, they kept the arm at their side, and they controlled the robot using only their brain and visual feedback.

oh, how i love me the artimachokes!

Recipes and tips form the LA Times:

Artichokes vinaigrette
Total time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4
Note: Cooking time may vary widely according to how fresh the artichokes are. Farm-fresh artichokes are ideal.

4 (1-pound) artichokes, trimmed
Sea salt
Vinaigrette (see below)

1. Fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a rapid boil. Add enough sea salt so that the water is almost as salty as sea water. Add the artichokes and boil, uncovered, until it's easy to remove a leaf from one of the artichokes, about 15 minutes if they're very fresh, or up to 30 minutes if not.
2. Drain upside-down and serve each artichoke with some vinaigrette on the side for dipping.

Each serving (artichoke only): 60 calories; 4 grams protein; 13 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams fiber; 0 fat; 0 saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 397 mg. sodium.

*

Shallot vinaigrette
Total time: 5 minutes
Servings: Makes about one-half cup

2 tablespoons best-quality red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
6 tablespoons best-quality extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely diced shallots

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper.
2. Slowly pour in the olive oil as you continue to whisk. Whisk until completely emulsified. Add the shallots and whisk to combine.

Each tablespoon: 93 calories; 0 protein; 0 carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 10 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 80 mg. sodium.

*

Bouchon house vinaigrette
Total time: 5 minutes
Servings: Makes about 2 cups
Note: From "Bouchon," by Thomas Keller

1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups canola oil

1. Combine the mustard and vinegar in a blender and blend at medium speed for about 15 seconds. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in one-half cup of the oil. Don't be tempted to add all the oil to the blender or the vinaigrette will become too thick. It should be very creamy.
2. Transfer the vinaigrette to a small bowl and, whisking constantly, slowly stream in the remaining 1 cup oil. (The dressing can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Should the vinaigrette separate, use a blender or immersion blender to re-emulsify it.)

Each tablespoon: 76 calories; 0 protein; 0 carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 38 mg. sodium.

*
How to trim an artichoke

CUT STEM: Make it flush with the bottom, so the artichoke sits upright.
REMOVE LEAVES: Pull off the outer leaves around the base.
TRIM BASE: With a knife, pare the bottom to remove the fibrous parts.
SNIP LEAVES: Using kitchen shears, cut the barb off each leaf.
SLICE TOP: Cut the tips off the top of the head, using a large knife.

www.FucktheSouth.com

This is a brilliant rant about the stupidity and hypocrisy of the so-called value voters and their support of Bush and the other Repulicunts. Originally published November 3rd, 2005. Full text (including links) filed here in case the site goes away.

Fuck the South. Fuck 'em. We should have let them go when they wanted to leave. But no, we had to kill half a million people so they'd stay part of our special Union. Fighting for the right to keep slaves - yeah, those are states we want to keep.

And now what do we get? We're the fucking Arrogant Northeast Liberal Elite? How about this for arrogant: the South is the Real America? The Authentic America. Really?

Cause we fucking founded this country, assholes. Those Founding Fathers you keep going on and on about? All that bullshit about what you think they meant by the Second Amendment giving you the right to keep your assault weapons in the glove compartment because you didn't bother to read the first half of the fucking sentence? Who do you think those wig-wearing lacy-shirt sporting revolutionaries were? They were fucking blue-staters, dickhead. Boston? Philadelphia? New York? Hello? Think there might be a reason all the fucking monuments are up here in our backyard?

No, No. Get the fuck out. We're not letting you visit the Liberty Bell and fucking Plymouth Rock anymore until you get over your real American selves and start respecting those other nine amendments. Who do you think those fucking stripes on the flag are for? Nine are for fucking blue states. And it would be 10 if those Vermonters had gotten their fucking Subarus together and broken off from New York a little earlier. Get it? We started this shit, so don't get all uppity about how real you are you Johnny-come-lately "Oooooh I've been a state for almost a hundred years" dickheads. Fuck off.

Arrogant? You wanna talk about us Northeasterners being fucking arrogant? What's more American than arrogance? Hmmm? Maybe horsies? I don't think so. Arrogance is the fucking cornerstone of what it means to be American. And I wouldn't be so fucking arrogant if I wasn't paying for your fucking bridges, bitch.

All those Federal taxes you love to hate? It all comes from us and goes to you, so shut up and enjoy your fucking Tennessee Valley Authority electricity and your fancy highways that we paid for. And the next time Florida gets hit by a hurricane you can come crying to us if you want to, but you're the ones who built on a fucking swamp. "Let the Spanish keep it, it’s a shithole," we said, but you had to have your fucking orange juice.

The next dickwad who says, "It’s your money, not the government's money" is gonna get their ass kicked. Nine of the ten states that get the most federal fucking dollars and pay the least... can you guess? Go on, guess. That’s right, motherfucker, they're red states. And eight of the ten states that receive the least and pay the most? It’s too easy, asshole, they’re blue states. It’s not your money, assholes, it’s fucking our money. What was that Real American Value you were spouting a minute ago? Self reliance? Try this for self reliance: buy your own fucking stop signs, assholes.

Let’s talk about those values for a fucking minute. You and your Southern values can bite my ass because the blue states got the values over you fucking Real Americans every day of the goddamn week. Which state do you think has the lowest divorce rate you marriage-hyping dickwads? Well? Can you guess? It’s fucking Massachusetts, the fucking center of the gay marriage universe. Yes, that’s right, the state you love to tie around the neck of anyone to the left of Strom Thurmond has the lowest divorce rate in the fucking nation. Think that’s just some aberration? How about this: 9 of the 10 lowest divorce rates are fucking blue states, asshole, and most are in the Northeast, where our values suck so bad. And where are the highest divorce rates? Care to fucking guess? 10 of the top 10 are fucking red-ass we're-so-fucking-moral states. And while Nevada is the worst, the Bible Belt is doing its fucking part.

But two guys making out is going to fucking ruin marriage for you? Yeah? Seems like you're ruining it pretty well on your own, you little bastards. Oh, but that's ok because you go to church, right? I mean you do, right? Cause we fucking get to hear about it every goddamn year at election time. Yes, we're fascinated by how you get up every Sunday morning and sing, and then you're fucking towers of moral superiority. Yeah, that's a workable formula. Maybe us fucking Northerners don't talk about religion as much as you because we're not so busy sinning, hmmm? Ever think of that, you self-righteous assholes? No, you're too busy erecting giant stone tablets of the Ten Commandments in buildings paid for by the fucking Northeast Liberal Elite. And who has the highest murder rates in the nation? It ain't us up here in the North, assholes.

Well this gravy train is fucking over. Take your liberal-bashing, federal-tax-leaching, confederate-flag-waving, holier-than-thou, hypocritical bullshit and shove it up your ass.

glow in the dark rabbits

Yet another old item moved here for storage.

GFP BUNNY
Eduardo Kac

My transgenic artwork 'GFP Bunny' comprises the creation of a green fluorescent rabbit, the public dialogue generated by the project, and the social integration of the rabbit. GFP stands for green fluorescent protein. 'GFP Bunny' was realized in 2000 and first presented publicly in Avignon, France. Transgenic art, I proposed elsewhere [1], is a new art form based on the use of genetic engineering to transfer natural or synthetic genes to an organism, to create unique living beings. This must be done with great care, with acknowledgment of the complex issues thus raised and, above all, with a commitment to respect, nurture, and love the life thus created.
...
"Alba", the green fluorescent bunny, is an albino rabbit. This means that, since she has no skin pigment, under ordinary environmental conditions she is completely white with pink eyes. Alba is not green all the time. She only glows when illuminated with the correct light. When (and only when) illuminated with blue light (maximum excitation at 488 nm), she glows with a bright green light (maximum emission at 509 nm). She was created with EGFP, an enhanced version (i.e., a synthetic mutation) of the original wild-type green fluorescent gene found in the jellyfish Aequorea Victoria. EGFP gives about two orders of magnitude greater fluorescence in mammalian cells (including human cells) than the original jellyfish gene.

Saudi Oil Infrastructure Rigged for Catastrophic Self-Destruction

I guess they never saw Dr. Strangelove...

According to a new book exclusively obtained by the Huffington Post, Saudi Arabia has crafted a plan to protect itself from a possible invasion or internal attack. It includes the use of a series of explosives, including radioactive “dirty bombs,” that would cripple Saudi Arabian oil production and distribution systems for decades.

Bestselling author Gerald Posner lays out this “doomsday scenario” in his forthcoming “Secrets of the Kingdom: The Inside Story of the Saudi-US Connection” (Random House).

According to the book, which will be released to the public on May 17, based on National Security Agency electronic intercepts, the Saudi Arabian government has in place a nationwide, self-destruction explosive system composed of conventional explosives and dirty bombs strategically placed at the Kingdom’s key oil ports, pipelines, pumping stations, storage tanks, offshore platforms, and backup facilities. If activated, the bombs would destroy the infrastructure of the world’s largest oil supplier, and leave the country a contaminated nuclear wasteland ensuring that the Kingdom’s oil would be unusable to anyone. The NSA file is dubbed internally Petro SE, for petroleum scorched earth.

To make certain that the damaged facilities cannot be rebuilt, the Saudis have deployed crude Radioactive Dispersal Devices (RDDs) throughout the Kingdom. Built covertly over several years, these dirty bombs are in place at -- among other locations -- all eight of the Kingdom’s refineries, sections of the world’s largest oil field at Ghawar, and at three of the ten indispensable processing towers at the largest-ever processing complex at Abqaiq.

A (not-so) brief journey through time with the Fab Four

From Amazon.co.uk:

–Pre-History–
7/7/40 Richard Starkey is born at 9 Madryn Street, Dingle, Liverpool.
10/9/40 John Lennon is born in Oxford Street Maternity Hospital, Liverpool.
6/18/42 Paul McCartney is born in Walton Hospital, Rice Lane, Liverpool.
2/24/43 George Harrison is born at 12 Arnold Grove, Wavertree, Liverpool.
7/6/57 Paul McCartney meets John Lennon when Lennon's group the Quarrymen play at the Garden Fete, St. Peter's Church, in Woolton, Liverpool.
10/18/57 Paul McCartney makes his debut with the Quarrymen at New Clubmoor Hall, Norris Green, Liverpool.
2/6/58 George Harrison meets the Quarrymen during their gig at Wilson Hall, Garson, Liverpool.

-1960–62–
8/17/60 Now renamed the Beatles, the band begins a three-month engagement at the Indra Club, Hamburg, Germany.
2/9/61 The Beatles play their debut gig at the Cavern, Liverpool.
12/6/61 At a meeting with the Beatles, Liverpudlian businessman Brian Epstein offers to become their manager. Lennon accepts on behalf of the group.
1/1/62 The Beatles are auditioned by Decca A&R man Dick Rowe in West Hampstead, London. Rowe enters the history books with his famous utterance: "Go back to Liverpool, Mr. Epstein. Groups with guitars are out."
6/6/62 The Beatles audition for producer George Martin at EMI, Abbey Road, London.

George Harrison: I nearly got killed by the rest of the band on that first trip to Abbey Road, when George Martin recorded us. Afterwards, he played it back, and he said, "Is there anything that you don't like?" I just looked at him and said, "Well, I don't like your tie for a kickoff." And the others were like, "Ohhhh no! We're trying to get a record deal here." But he also had a sense of humor.

8/18/62 Ringo Starr joins the Beatles, playing with them at the Horticultural Society Dance in Birkenhead, Lancashire.
9/11/62 The Beatles record "Love Me Do," with session drummer Andy White standing in for Ringo.

Norman Smith (engineer): Ringo had only just joined the group when we attempted "Love Me Do," so we brought in a session drummer. After that, it was always Ringo.

10/5/62 "Love Me Do" is released as the first Beatles single.
12/27/62 "Love Me Do" peaks at No. 17 on the U.K. chart.

–1963–
A second single, "Please Please Me," is released.
1/17/63 "Please Please Me" stalls at No. 2 on the U.K. chart.
2/11/63 The Beatles record their debut album, Please Please Me, at Abbey Road.
2/25/63 The Beatles' first U.S. release is "Please Please Me" on Vee-Jay Records. On the record label the group's name is spelled "Beattles."
3/22/63 The debut album, Please Please Me, is released in the U.K.
4/12/63 A new single, "From Me to You," is released.

George Martin: "Please Please Me" was the first time they showed they could write a great song. I wasn't convinced they could do it again. "From Me to You" changed my mind. It was a super song.

5/2/63 The Beatles finally score a No. 1 single in the U.K., with "From Me to You."
5/11/63 The debut album, Please Please Me, hits the U.K. No. 1 spot.
6/29/63 The first Lennon and McCartney song to hit the U.S. chart is Del Shannon's cover version of "From Me to You."
7/18/63 The Beatles begin recording tracks for their second album, With the Beatles.
7/22/63 Introducing the Beatles is released as their first album in the U.S.
8/23/63 The fourth single, "She Loves You," is released in the U.K.
9/12/63 "She Loves You" becomes the Beatles' second U.K. No. 1 single.
9/16/63 "She Loves You" is released in the U.S.
11/4/63 During the Royal Variety Command Performance, at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London, Lennon delivers his celebrated intro: "On the next number would those in the cheap seats clap their hands? The rest of you, rattle your jewelry."

John Lennon: That show's a bad gig.... Everybody's very nervous and uptight, and nobody performs well. The time we did it, I cracked a joke on stage. I was fantastically nervous, but I wanted to say something, just to rebel a bit, and that was the best I could do.

11/22/63 The second album, With the Beatles, is released in the U.K.
11/29/63 A new single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand," is released in the U.K.

George Martin: This was the first single that had advance orders of over a million. It entered the charts when "She Loves You" was No. 1 and deposed it. This led to the American release, which was where the big stuff began.

12/2/63 It is announced that "I Want to Hold Your Hand" has already sold 3 million copies.
12/14/63 The Beatles become the first act ever to knock themselves off the top of the U.K. singles chart when "I Want to Hold Your Hand" replaces "She Loves You."
12/26/63 In America, having refused to release the Beatles' previous singles, Capitol Records issues "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

–1964–
2/1/64 In their suite at the Hotel George V in Paris, Brian Epstein informs the Beatles that they have secured their first U.S. No. 1 with "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

Dezo Hoffman (photographer): The Beatles couldn't even speak. Not even John Lennon. They just sat on the floor like kittens at Brian's feet.

2/9/64 Seventy-three million Americans tune in for the Beatles' first U.S. TV performance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Ed Sullivan: I have never seen any scenes to compare with the bedlam that was occasioned by their debut. Broadway was jammed with people for almost eight blocks. They screamed, yelled, and stopped traffic. It was indescribable. There has never been anything like it in show business, and the New York City police were very happy it didn't and wouldn't happen again.

2/15/64 On the day Meet the Beatles begins an 11-week run at the top of the U.S. album chart, Billboard magazine reveals that the Beatles have five songs climbing the U.S. Hot Hundred and three LPs on the albums charts.
2/29/64 Introducing the Beatles peaks at No. 2 on the U.S. album chart, held off the top only by Meet the Beatles.
3/2/64 The Beatles set off from Paddington Station, London, to begin filming their first, as yet untitled, movie.
4/4/64 Billboard magazine reports the Beatles now hold the top five positions on the American singles chart, with "Can't Buy Me Love" at No. 1.
7/10/64 The album A Hard Day's Night is released in the U.K. Selling 1.5 million copies in nine days, it becomes the fastest-selling album in U.K. history.
7/23/64 "A Hard Day's Night" hits the No. 1 single slot in the U.K.

George Martin: The song opened the Beatles' first film, and you only have to hear one guitar chord to recognize it. The title came from Ringo. After a particularly strenuous session, he said, "Oh, it's been a hard day." Then he looked at the clock and saw it was midnight. He said, "It's been a hard day's night."

7/30/64 The album A Hard Day's Night is simultaneously the U.S. and U.K.'s No. 1 album.
8/1/64 The Beatles reach No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "A Hard Day's Night."
9/4/64 The Indonesian government bans Beatle haircuts.
12/4/64 New album Beatles for Sale is released.
12/19/64 Beatles for Sale reaches No. 1 in the U.K., displacing A Hard Day's Night.

–1965–
1/9/65 U.S.-only album Beatles '65 begins a nine-week run atop the American chart.
2/22/65 In the Bahamas, the Beatles begin filming a second movie, Help!
4/13/65 At the seventh annual Grammy Awards, the Beatles win Best New Artist of 1964, while "A Hard Day's Night" wins Best Performance by a Vocal Group.
6/14/65 "Yesterday" is recorded at Abbey Road.

Paul McCartney: I had a piano at my bedside, and I must have dreamed it, because I tumbled out of bed and put my hands on the piano keys, and I had a tune in my head. It was just all there, a complete thing. It came too easy....

7/10/65 U.S.-only album Beatles VI tops the U.S. chart.
8/7/65 The Beatles' new single, "Help!," hits No. 1 in the U.K.

John Lennon: I meant it--it's real. The lyric is as good now as it was then. It is no different, and it makes me feel secure to know that I was that aware of myself then. It was just me singing "Help!," and I meant it.

8/14/65 The album Help! tops the U.K. chart.

8/15/65 The largest crowd so far for a rock show, 56,000 fans, sees the Beatles play live at Shea Stadium, New York, starting their third U.S. tour.

Bob Whitaker (photgrapher): The journey to Shea had to be organized like a military operation. We flew by helicopter from the top of the Pan-Am building in Manhattan and transferred to an armored Wells Fargo truck near the stadium. It had no windows, and the kids were hammering on the outside and rocking it. The noise was deafening, the screaming and screeching was really terrifying. At one stage we thought the truck was going to tip over and we were all going to get dragged out and torn to pieces.

8/27/65 The Beatles meet Elvis Presley at his house on Perugia Way, Hollywood.

Paul McCartney: Elvis wasn't a disappointment, because when we met him it was a great period--we didn't meet him in the later period, when he'd lost it a bit. He met us at the door. The thing that always sticks out in my mind is that he had the first remote switcher for a telly I'd ever seen. And he was switching channels! We were like, "How are you doing that?"

9/11/65 The soundtrack album Help! starts a nine-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart.
9/12/65 "Yesterday" is released in the U.S. as the new Beatles single.
9/25/65 The Beatles' Saturday morning cartoon show begins in the U.S.
12/11/65 The new album, Rubber Soul, enters the U.K. album chart.
12/18/65 The double A-side "Day Tripper"/"We Can Work It Out" is the latest Beatles U.K. No. 1.

John Lennon: It is just a rock & roll song. Day trippers are people who go on a day trip, right? Usually on a ferryboat or something. But the song was kind of ... you're just a weekend hippie. Get it?

Paul did the first half [of "We Can Work It Out"]. I did the middle eight. But you've got Paul writing, "We can work it out"--real optimistic, y'know--and me, impatient: "Life is very short, and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend."

–1966–
1/3/66 Rubber Soul becomes the No. 1 album in the U.S.
1/21/66 George Harrison marries model Patti Boyd in Epsom.
3/4/66 The London Evening Standard publishes an interview in which John Lennon declares: "Christianity will go. It will vanish and sink. I needn't argue about that. I'm right and will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus Christ right now."
3/25/66 The controversial "Butcher" album cover is shot by photographer Robert Whitaker, showing the band dressed as butchers holding meat cleavers, surrounded by headless dolls and strips of meat.
6/24/66 The Beatles' final world tour begins at Circus-Krone-Bau, Munich, Germany.
6/25/66 The Beatles reach No. 1 in the U.S. and U.K. simultaneously with "Paperback Writer."
7/30/66 U.S.-only album Yesterday...and Today hits No. 1 in the U.S., but is immediately withdrawn because of its gruesome "Butcher" cover artwork.
7/31/66 News of John Lennon's "bigger than Jesus" statement (back in March) reaches America, and DJs begin organizing public bonfires to burn Beatles records.
8/3/66 Following anti-Beatles demonstrations in America, South Africa bans sales of their records.
8/5/66 The Beatles release their new album, Revolver, in the U.K.
8/10/66 A side effect of the banning of Beatles records is seen on the stock market, when the price of shares in their U.S. label, Capitol Records, drops sharply.
8/11/66 As the band arrives in the U.S., a Beatles press conference is hastily convened in Chicago. John Lennon attempts to explain that his observation about the Beatles now being more popular than Jesus was taken out of context.
8/12/66 The Beatles' fourth and final U.S. tour begins at the International Amphitheater, Chicago.

Paul McCartney: I remember being frightened many times. As we waited for an armored car to take us to our guarded hotel rooms, I would say to myself, "I really don't want to go through this any longer."

8/13/66 Revolver tops the U.K. album chart.
8/29/66 The Beatles play their last live gig ever at Candlestick Park, San Francisco.

George Harrison: There was a certain amount of relief after that Candlestick Park concert. Before one of the last numbers, we actually set up this camera--I think it had a fisheye, a very wide-angle lens. We set it up on the amplifier and Ringo came off the drums, and we stood with our backs to the audience and posed for a photograph, because we knew that was the last show.

11/9/66 John Lennon meets avant-garde artist Yoko Ono at the Indica Art Gallery in London, where her exhibits include a fresh apple and a plank of wood.
11/24/66 Recording of the Sgt. Pepper album begins at Abbey Road.

–1967–
2/6/67 The Beatles sign a new nine-year contract with EMI Records, who reveal that the group has sold 180 million records in fewer than five years.
3/11/67 It is revealed that Lennon and McCartney's "Yesterday" has become the most covered song ever, with 446 recordings by different artists.
3/30/67 Artist Peter Blake's living collage of Beatles heroes, assembled for the cover of the Sgt. Pepper album, is photographed by Michael Cooper in Chelsea, London.

Wendy Hanson (personal assistant to Brian Epstein): I spent many hours and pounds on calls to the States. Fred Astaire was very sweet; Shirley Temple wanted to hear the record first; I got on famously with Marlon Brando, but Mae West wanted to know what she would be doing in a Lonely Hearts Club.

5/15/67 In a London nightclub, Paul McCartney meets U.S. photographer Linda Eastman for the first time. "I saw this blonde across the room, and I fancied her," recalled Paul later. They leave together.
6/1/67 The new album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, is released.
6/3/67 Sgt. Pepper starts a 22-week run at No. 1 on the U.K. album chart.
7/22/67 "All You Need Is Love" hits No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart.
7/24/67 The Times runs a full-page ad advocating the legalization of marijuana, signed by all four Beatles and many other celebrities.
8/27/67 Brian Epstein dies of a drug overdose at home in Chapel Street, Belgravia, London.
11/27/67 The Magical Mystery Tour EP is released in the U.K. It later appears as an album in the U.S. with the addition of "Hello Goodbye," "Penny Lane," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Baby You're a Rich Man," and "All You Need Is Love."
12/30/67 "Hello Goodbye" reaches No. 1 in the U.S. singles chart.

–1968–
2/10/68 The Beatles move all their business affairs from Brian Epstein's company, NEMS, to their own newly formed company, Apple.

Alistair Taylor (Apple executive): Apple was set up purely and simply as a tax-saving project. Instead of paying 19 shillings and 6 pence in the pound, we only paid 16 shillings.

Derek Taylor (Beatles PR): We never made a note. Rolled joints all day, for our guests and urselves ... and we had hundreds of people through our room.... Ken Kesey wanted to recite. Or a Joe Smith or Mo Ostin from Warner Bros. wanted to say hi. "Put them in the back room, Ringo. Roll them a joint." Lauren Bacall's downstairs, wants to meet them. It was crowd-pleasing on a grand scale.

2/29/68 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band wins four Grammys.
5/30/68 Recording begins for what will become the double album, The Beatles, better known as the "White Album."
7/1/68 John Lennon publicly declares his love for Yoko Ono at the opening of his first art exhibition in London.
7/30/68 When the Beatles close their unsuccessful Apple Boutique, giving everything away to passers-by, the last item to go is a naked female dummy labeled, "For the attention of John Lennon."
8/22/68 John Lennon is sued for divorce by Cynthia on the grounds of adultery. She had returned home from a holiday to find Yoko Ono living in their London home.
8/30/68 Apple Records releases its first batch of four singles, including "Hey Jude" by the Beatles.
9/11/68 At seven minutes and ten seconds, "Hey Jude" becomes the longest-ever U.K. No. 1 single.
11/1/68 George Harrison releases Wonderwall, the first Beatles solo album and future inspiration for an Oasis song title.
11/8/68 Cynthia Lennon is granted a divorce from John.
11/11/68 John Lennon and Yoko Ono release the album Two Virgins, the cover of which shows them naked.
11/21/68 The Beatles release their eponymous numbered-edition double LP, popularly known as the " White Album."
11/25/68 The "White Album" is released in the U.S.
12/9/68 Newsweek reports that after only five days on sale, the Beatles' "White Album" has sold 1.1 million copies in America.

–1969–
1/2/69 While police in Newark, New Jersey, are confiscating a shipment of the "pornographic" Lennon/Ono album Two Virgins, filming for Let It Be begins at Twickenham Film Studios.
1/10/69 During a lunch break at Twickenham Film Studios, George Harrison quits the Beatles. The same night he relents.
1/17/69 The Yellow Submarine soundtrack album is released.
1/30/69 The Beatles make their final public appearance--a free lunchtime concert on the roof of Apple Records in London.

Alan Parsons (sound engineer): To see the Beatles playing together and getting an instant feedback from the people around them, five cameras on the roof, cameras across the road, in the road, it was just unbelievable ... a magic, magic day.

Paul McCartney: Our roadie, Mal, came creeping, trying to keep out the camera and say, "The police are complaining. You've got to stop." We said, "We're not stopping! Keep going." And he came up and said, "The police are going to arrest you." "Good end to the film, let 'em do it!" Great, you know?

Jean Nisbet: It was all very friendly, and despite the groans from the screaming girls, it all came to a halt--and the West End went back to work. None of us realized we'd just seen the last of the Beatles.

2/3/69 American entrepreneur Allen Klein, against the wishes of Paul McCartney, assumes control of the Beatles' finances.
2/4/69 In response to the hiring of Klein, McCartney appoints Eastman and Eastman as general counsel to Apple Records. The firm is owned by the father of McCartney's girlfriend, Linda Eastman.
3/12/69 Paul McCartney marries Linda Eastman at Marylebone Registry Office.
3/20/69 John Lennon marries Yoko Ono in Gibraltar.
5/26/69 John and Yoko start a 10-day bed-in for world peace at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montreal.
5/30/69 The Beatles release Lennon's autobiographical single, "The Ballad of John and Yoko."
5/31/69 On the last day of the Montreal bed-in, John and Yoko record "Give Peace a Chance."
7/12/69 "The Ballad of John and Yoko" is banned by half the top 40 AM radio stations in America, because the line "Christ, you know it ain't easy," is deemed blasphemous.
9/13/69 On the plane to Toronto, where the Plastic Ono Band is to play in the Rock 'n' Roll Revival Concert, John Lennon makes a startling announcement.

John Lennon: I told Eric Clapton and Klaus [Voorman] that I was leaving [the Beatles] then, but that I would probably like to use them as a group. I hadn't decided how to do it--to have a permanent new group or what....

9/22/69 The Illinois University newspaper Northern Star publishes a rumor that Paul McCartney is dead, listing clues on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper album and the words "I buried Paul" in the fade-out of "Strawberry Fields Forever."
9/26/69 When Abbey Road is released, the cover shot of Paul, barefoot and in black, sparks further rumors of his demise.
10/4/69 Abbey Road begins an 11-week run at No. 1 in the U.K.
10/6/69 The Beatles release a double-A-sided single, "Something"/"Come Together." This is the first time a George Harrison song has been the A-side of a Beatles single.
10/20/69 John and Yoko release The Wedding Album.
10/22/69 Paul McCartney publicly denies rumors that he is dead.
11/1/69 The Beatles' Abbey Road album hits No. 1 in the U.S. and stays there for 11 weeks.
11/29/69 "Something"/"Come Together" ascends to the U.S. No. 1 single slot.

–1970–
1/26/70 John Lennon writes and records "Instant Karma" with producer Phil Spector in one day.
2/6/70 John Lennon releases his new single, "Instant Karma," in the U.K.
3/14/70 The final Beatles single, "Let It Be," enters the U.K. chart.
3/21/70 "Let It Be" becomes the highest first-week entry of all time when it hits the U.S. singles chart at No. 6. 4/10/70 Paul McCartney's press release about his solo debut album is interpreted by the press to mean that he is quitting the Beatles.

Paul McCartney: I never intended the statement to mean I'd quit. It was all a misunderstanding. When I saw the headlines, I just thought, Christ, what have I done? Now we're in for it. I didn't leave the Beatles--the Beatles had left the Beatles, but no one wants to be the one to say the party's over.

4/17/70 Paul McCartney releases his solo debut album, McCartney.
5/8/70 The Beatles release the album Let It Be in the U.K.
5/23/70 Let It Be tops the U.K. album chart.
11/27/70 George Harrison releases his triple-album box set, All Things Must Pass.
12/26/70 George Harrison becomes the first Beatle to have a solo No. 1 hit when "My Sweet Lord" reaches No. 1 in the U.S.
12/31/70 Paul McCartney instigates proceedings to bring the Beatles to an end.

Paul McCartney: I had to take the other Beatles to court. And I got a lot of guilt off that. But you tell me what you would have done if the entire earnings that you'd made--and it was something like the Beatles' entire earnings, a big figure, everything we'd ever done up to somewhere round about "Hey Jude"--was about to disappear into someone's pocket. The guy I'm talking about, Allen Klein, had £5 million the first year he managed the Beatles. So I smelled a rat and thought, £5 million in one year? How long is it going to take him to get rid of it all?

And I said, "Well, I want out of this. I want to sue this guy Klein." They said, "You can't, because he's not party to any of the agreements." So it became clear that I had to sue the Beatles.

Ringo Starr: Yes, I was in the Beatles. Yes, we made some great records together. Yes, I love those boys. But that's the end of the story.

which Beatle wrote which song?

I've been looking for this info for as long as I've been listening to the Beatles:

Please Please Me

I Saw Her Standing There McCartney (8) Lennon (2)

Please Please Me was Lennon's attempt to write a Roy Orbison song

Love Me Do McCartney (7) Lennon (3)

Harrison had a black eye at the sessions. The Beatles and Brian Epstein had been attacked at the Cavern by ex-Beatles drummer Pete Best's fans, angry over his firing the month before

From Me To You Lennon (5) McCartney (5)

Thank You Girl Lennon (5) McCartney (5)

She Loves You Lennon (5) McCartney (5)

I'll Get You Lennon (5) McCartney (5)

With The Beatles

I Wanna Be Your Man McCartney (7) Lennon (3)

I Want To Hold Your Hand Lennon (5) McCartney (5)

Bob Dylan thought there was a reference to marijuana in I Want To Hold Your Hand. Dylan misinterpreted the line "I can't hide" for "I get high"

I Want To Hold Your Hand brought the Beatles into the black community

This Boy Lennon (10)

A Hard Day's Night

Lennon: "The only reason Paul sang on 'Hard Day's Night' was because I couldn't reach the notes."

I Should Have Known Better Lennon (10)

If I Fell Lennon (10)

I'm Happy Just To Dance With You Lennon (10)

Lennon: "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You was written for George to give him a piece of the action...I couldn'ta sung it."

And I Love Her McCartney (6.5) Lennon (3.5)

Tell Me Why Lennon (10)

Can't Buy Me Love McCartney (9) Lennon (1)

Lennon called I'll Be Back and "early favourite"

Beatles For Sale

Baby's In Black McCartney (5) Lennon (5)

Eight Days A Week McCartney (7) Lennon (3)

Every Little Thing McCartney (9) Lennon (1)

I'm Down McCartney (9) Lennon (1)

Help!

The Beatles hated the U.S. repackaging of their albums

Help! Lennon (9) McCartney (1)

The Beatles quickened the tempo of Help! to make the song more commercial, which Lennon later regretted

Lennon on You've Got To Hide Your Love Away: "That's me in my Dylan period..."

Lennon on Yesterday: "Wow, that was a good 'un." "Well done. Beautiful - and I never wished I'd written it."

Day Tripper Lennon (8) McCartney (2)

We Can Work It Out McCartney (7) Lennon (3)

Rubber Soul

Brian Wilson, of the Beach Boys: "I was sitting around a table with friends, smoking a joint, when we heard Rubber Soul for the first time; and i'm smoking and i'm getting high and the album blew my mind because it was a whole album with all good stuff! It flipped me out so much, I said, 'I'm gonna try that, where a whole album becomes gas.'"

He then wrote the songs for the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, which in turn impressed McCartney and spurred him to help create Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Paul was always criticising Geroge's guitar playing during the sessions and Paul would end up playing the solo himself.

Drive My Car McCartney (7) Lennon (3)

Norwegian Wood Lennon (8) McCartney (2)

The Word Lennon (6) McCartney (4)

Michelle McCartney (7) Lennon (3)

What Goes On Lennon (6) McCartney (2) Starr (2)

In My Life Lennon (6.5) McCartney (3.5)

In My Life is one of two songs which Lennon and McCartney significantly disputed authorship. ("Eleanor Rigby" is the other.) Lennon claimed he wrote the song with some help from McCartney. Paul said he wrote the music for the song

In My Life was one of Harrison's favourite Lennon-McCartney compositions

Wait Lennon (5) McCartney (5)

Paperback Writer McCartney (8) Lennon (2)

Revolver

Taxman Harrison (9) Lennon (1)

Lennon on Here, There And Everywhere: "This was a great one of his." "One of my favourite songs of the Beatles."

Yellow Submarine McCartney (8) Lennon (2)

Doctor Robert Lennon (7.5) McCartney (2.5)

Penny Lane McCartney (8) Lennon (2)

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

With A Little Help From My Friend McCartney (7.5) Lennon (2.5)

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds Lennon (8) McCartney (3)

Getting Better McCartney (6.5) Lennon (3.5)

She's Leaving Home McCartney (6.5) Lennon (3.5)

When I'm Sixty-Four McCartney (8.5) Lennon (1.5)

A Day In The Life Lennon (6) McCartney (4)

A Day In The Life is one of Julian Lennon's favourites

Baby You're A Rich Man Lennon (5) McCartney (5)

Magical Mystery tour

Magical Mystery Tour McCartney (9) Lennon (1)

Flying Lennon (2.5) McCartney (2.5) Harrison (2.5) Starr (2.5)

Lennon on Hey Jude: "That's his best song."

The White Album

Dear Prudence is one of Julian Lennon's favourites

The other Beatles became upset over doing so much work on McCartney's song, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

Lennon hated Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

Lennon on Happiness Is A Warm Gun: "I consider it one of my best..."

McCartney on Happiness Is A Warm Gun: "I think this is my favourite on The Beatles album."

Harrison named Happiness Is A Warm Gun as one of his favourites on the album

Lennon on Why Don't We Do It In The Road?: "Paul [wrote it] - one of his best."

Birthday McCartney (7) Lennon (3)

Sexy Sadie is one of Julian Lennon's favourites

In Sexy Sadie, Lennon's original lyric was more directly pointed at the Maharishi and actually named him but Lennon decided to be more subtle when he recorded the song

Good Night Lennon (10)

Let It Be

Two Of Us McCartney (10)

Lennon on Across The Universe: "This was one of my favorite songs..." "One of my best songs..."

Dig It Lennon (2.5) McCartney (2.5) Harrison (2.5) Starr (2.5)

I've Got A Feeling Lennon (5) McCartney (5)

Lennon on Get Back: "That's a better version of 'Lady Madonna'. You know, a potboiler rewrite....I think there's some underlying thing about Yoko in there....You know, 'Get back to where you once belong': Every time he sang the line in the studio, he'd look at Yoko."

Abbey Road

George Martin considers Abbey Road his favorite Beatles album

McCartney on the medley on the album, "We did it this way because both John and I had a number of songs which were great as they were but which we'd never finished."

Starr on Abbey Road: "...I love the second side of Abbey Road, where it's all connected and disconnected. No one wanted to finish those songs, so we put them all together and it worked. I think that piece of that album is some of our finest work."

Lennon on Abbey Road: "I liked the A side, but I never liked that sort of pop opera on the other side. I think it's just junk because it was just bits of songs thrown together."

Lennon on Come Together: "It was a funky record - it's one of my favorite Beatle tracks."

Lennon on Maxwell's Silver Hammer: "I hate it. 'Cuz all I remember is the track - he made us do it a hundred million times. He did everything to make it into a single and it never was and it never could've been."

Lennon on The End: "...He had a line in it - 'The love you take is equal to the love you make' - which again proves that if he wants to, he can think."

Her Majesty was originally meant to be placed in the middle of the album's medley, between "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam."

History Of The Beatles

Documented because Geocities sites aren't known for their longevity:

1957

Ian Vaughan, a member from The Quarry Men, introduces John (Oct 9 1940) to Paul (June 18 1942). Paul impresses John with his ability to tune a guitar and his knowledge of rock 'n' roll lyrics

1958

John's mother, Julia, dies in a road accident

George, a schoolmate of Paul, joins the Quarry Men

They paid 17s6d to record Buddy Holly's That'll Be The Day and a Harrison/McCartney composition In Spite Of All The Danger

1959

The group's name is changed to Johnny & The Moondogs

1960

John's art school friend Stuart Sutcliffe joins on bass

Pete Best joins the group as drummer

Group's name changed to The Silver Beetles

1961

Finally changed name to The Beatles

1962

Beatles sign contract with EMI

A decision is made to replace Pete with Ringo (July 7 1940)

The Beatles debut single, Love Me Do is released and reaches UK#17

1963

Please Please Me and With The Beatles are released

From Me To You, Please Please Me, She Loves You and I Want To Hold Your Hand and tops UK chart

Please Please Me and With The Beatles tops UK chart

1964

I Want To Hold Your Hand, She Love You and Love Me Do tops US chart

Meet The Beatles! tops US chart

The Australian chart published: #1 I Saw Her Standing There #2 Love Me Do #3 Roll Over Beethoven #4 All My Loving #5 She Loves You #6 I Want To Hold Your Hand

The Billboard chart reads: #1 Can't Buy Me Love #2 Twist and Shout #3 She Loves You #4 I Want To Hold Your Hand #5 Please Please Me

Can't Buy Me Love tops UK chart

Beatles For Sale tops UK chart

A Hard Day's Night tops UK and US chart

A Hard Day's Night and I Feel Fine tops UK and US chart

She's A Woman hits US #4

1965

Eight Days A Week, Ticket To Ride, Help!, Yesterday, Day Tripper and We Can Work It Out tops UK and US chart

Help! tops UK and US chart

Rubber Soul tops UK chart

1966

Rubber Soul tops US chart

Nowhere Man hits US #3

Paperback Writer tops UK and US chart

Yesterday...and Today tops US chart

Revolver tops UK and US chart

Yellow Submarine and Eleanor Rigby tops UK chart

Yellow Submarine hits US #2 and Got To Get You Into My Life hits UK #6

1967

Michelle wins Song Of The Year, Eleanor Rigby wins Best Solo Vocal Performance and Revolver wins Best Album Cover at the 9th Grammy Awards

Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever hits UK #2

Penny Lane, All You Need Is Love and Hello Goodbye tops UK and US charts

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band tops UK and US charts

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is critically revered as perhaps the "best" album in rock history, and is seen by others at the climax of the group's career

The Beatles form Apple Publishing Limited

1968

Magical Mystery Tour tops UK and US charts

Sgt. Pepper wins Album Of The Year, Best Contempory Album, Best Engineered Recording and Best Album Cover at the 10th Grammy Awards

Lady Madonna tops UK chart and hits US #4

Hey Jude tops UK and US charts

The White Album tops UK and US charts


1969

Yellow Submarine hits UK #3 and US #2

Lennon marries Yoko Ono

Lennon changes his middle name from Winston to Ono

Get Back tops UK and US charts

Hey Jude wins Ivor Novello Award

The Ballad Of John And Yoko tops UK chart, and it's the group last UK #1

Abbey Road tops UK and US charts

Come Together and Something tops US charts and both songs hits UK #4

1970

Abbey Road wins Best Engineered Recording at the 12th Grammy Award

Let It Be hits UK #2

Paul quits the Beatles, and the Beatles broke up

Let It Be tops US charts

Let It Be tops UK and US charts

Let It Be wins an Oscar for Best Film Music

1973

Beatles released The Beatles 1962-1966 and The Beatles 1967-1970

The Lester Dent Pulp Paper Master Fiction Plot

This is a formula, a master plot, for any 6000 word pulp story. It has worked on adventure, detective, western and war-air. It tells exactly where to put everything. It shows definitely just what must happen in each successive thousand words.

No yarn of mine written to the formula has yet failed to sell.

The business of building stories seems not much different from the business of building anything else.

Here's how it starts:

1. A DIFFERENT MURDER METHOD FOR VILLAIN TO USE


2. A DIFFERENT THING FOR VILLAIN TO BE SEEKING


3. A DIFFERENT LOCALE


4. A MENACE WHICH IS TO HANG LIKE A CLOUD OVER HERO

One of these DIFFERENT things would be nice, two better, three swell. It may help if they are fully in mind before tackling the rest.

A different murder method could be--different. Thinking of shooting, knifing, hydrocyanic, garroting, poison needles, scorpions, a few others, and writing them on paper gets them where they may suggest something. Scorpions and their poison bite? Maybe mosquitos or flies treated with deadly germs?

If the victims are killed by ordinary methods, but found under strange and identical circumstances each time, it might serve, the reader of course not knowing until the end, that the method of murder is ordinary. Scribes who have their villain's victims found with butterflies, spiders or bats stamped on them could conceivably be flirting with this gag.

Probably it won't do a lot of good to be too odd, fanciful or grotesque with murder methods.

The different thing for the villain to be after might be something other than jewels, the stolen bank loot, the pearls, or some other old ones.

Here, again one might get too bizarre.

Unique locale? Easy. Selecting one that fits in with the murder method and the treasure--thing that villain wants--makes it simpler, and it's also nice to use a familiar one, a place where you've lived or worked. So many pulpateers don't. It sometimes saves embarrassment to know nearly as much about the locale as the editor, or enough to fool him.

Here's a nifty much used in faking local color. For a story laid in Egypt, say, author finds a book titled "Conversational Egyptian Easily Learned," or something like that. He wants a character to ask in Egyptian, "What's the matter?" He looks in the book and finds, "El khabar, eyh?" To keep the reader from getting dizzy, it's perhaps wise to make it clear in some fashion, just what that means. Occasionally the text will tell this, or someone can repeat it in English. But it's a doubtful move to stop and tell the reader in so many words the English translation.

The writer learns they have palm trees in Egypt. He looks in the book, finds the Egyptian for palm trees, and uses that. This kids editors and readers into thinking he knows something about Egypt.

Here's the second installment of the master plot.

Divide the 6000 word yarn into four 1500 word parts. In each 1500 word part, put the following:

FIRST 1500 WORDS

1. First line, or as near thereto as possible, introduce the hero and swat him with a fistful of trouble. Hint at a mystery, a menace or a problem to be solved--something the hero has to cope with.
2. The hero pitches in to cope with his fistful of trouble. (He tries to fathom the mystery, defeat the menace, or solve the problem.)
3. Introduce ALL the other characters as soon as possible. Bring them on in action.
4. Hero's endevours land him in an actual physical conflict near the end of the first 1500 words.
5. Near the end of first 1500 words, there is a complete surprise twist in the plot development.

SO FAR: Does it have SUSPENSE? Is there a MENACE to the hero? Does everything happen logically?

At this point, it might help to recall that action should do something besides advance the hero over the scenery. Suppose the hero has learned the dastards of villains have seized somebody named Eloise, who can explain the secret of what is behind all these sinister events. The hero corners villains, they fight, and villains get away. Not so hot.

Hero should accomplish something with his tearing around, if only to rescue Eloise, and surprise! Eloise is a ring-tailed monkey. The hero counts the rings on Eloise's tail, if nothing better comes to mind. They're not real. The rings are painted there. Why?

SECOND 1500 WORDS

1. Shovel more grief onto the hero.
2. Hero, being heroic, struggles, and his struggles lead up to:
3. Another physical conflict.
4. A surprising plot twist to end the 1500 words.

NOW: Does second part have SUSPENSE? Does the MENACE grow like a black cloud? Is the hero getting it in the neck? Is the second part logical?

DON'T TELL ABOUT IT! Show how the thing looked. This is one of the secrets of writing; never tell the reader--show him. (He trembles, roving eyes, slackened jaw, and such.) MAKE THE READER SEE HIM.

When writing, it helps to get at least one minor surprise to the printed page. It is reasonable to to expect these minor surprises to sort of inveigle the reader into keeping on. They need not be such profound efforts. One method of accomplishing one now and then is to be gently misleading. Hero is examining the murder room. The door behind him begins slowly to open. He does not see it. He conducts his examination blissfully. Door eases open, wider and wider, until--surprise! The glass pane falls out of the big window across the room. It must have fallen slowly, and air blowing into the room caused the door to open. Then what the heck made the pane fall so slowly? More mystery.

Characterizing a story actor consists of giving him some things which make him stick in the reader's mind. TAG HIM.

BUILD YOUR PLOTS SO THAT ACTION CAN BE CONTINUOUS.

THIRD 1500 WORDS

1. Shovel the grief onto the hero.
2. Hero makes some headway, and corners the villain or somebody in:
3. A physical conflict.
4. A surprising plot twist, in which the hero preferably gets it in
   the neck bad, to end the 1500 words.

DOES: It still have SUSPENSE? The MENACE getting blacker? The hero finds himself in a hell of a fix? It all happen logically?

These outlines or master formulas are only something to make you certain of inserting some physical conflict, and some genuine plot twists, with a little suspense and menace thrown in. Without them, there is no pulp story.

These physical conflicts in each part might be DIFFERENT, too. If one fight is with fists, that can take care of the pugilism until next the next yarn. Same for poison gas and swords. There may, naturally, be exceptions. A hero with a peculiar punch, or a quick draw, might use it more than once.

The idea is to avoid monotony.

ACTION: Vivid, swift, no words wasted. Create suspense, make the reader see and feel the action.

ATMOSPHERE: Hear, smell, see, feel and taste.

DESCRIPTION: Trees, wind, scenery and water.

THE SECRET OF ALL WRITING IS TO MAKE EVERY WORD COUNT.

FOURTH 1500 WORDS

1. Shovel the difficulties more thickly upon the hero.
2. Get the hero almost buried in his troubles. (Figuratively, the villain has him prisoner and has him framed for a murder rap; the girl is presumably dead, everything is lost, and the DIFFERENT murder
   method is about to dispose of the suffering protagonist.)
3. The hero extricates himself using HIS OWN SKILL, training or brawn.
4. The mysteries remaining--one big one held over to this point will help grip interest--are cleared up in course of final conflict as hero takes the situation in hand.
5. Final twist, a big surprise, (This can be the villain turning out to be the unexpected person, having the "Treasure" be a dud, etc.)
6. The snapper, the punch line to end it.

HAS: The SUSPENSE held out to the last line? The MENACE held out to the last? Everything been explained? It all happen logically? Is the Punch Line enough to leave the reader with that WARM FEELING? Did God kill the villain? Or the hero?