The End of The Beatles 4-10-70

On April 10, 1970 Paul McCartney announced that he was leaving The Beatles. After atleast a year of Paul, John, George, and Ringo trying to keep things going, this was it. Although they had not been together in the studio in several months, with this announcement it was suddenly and painfully official: the Beatles were done.

Of course, the Beatles will never really end. Just like classic films that are "discovered" by new generations of fans, the Beatles will always be with us. They had another huge increase in sales when their catalog was made available on itunes, for example. Their music is, although definitely of a specific time, in the greatest
sense of the word, timeless. 

The songs that would be turned into the Beatles "last" album, "Let It Be," were recorded first; the album that was their last chronological recording was "Abbey Road," which was released first. Phil Spector took all of the acetates from the "Let It Be" sessions in January 1969 and tried to salvage them. For example, he added the chorus and strings to "The Long and Winding Road," the Beatles' 20th and last Number One hit in the United States (June 1970). Ironically, Paul hated this version of the song; when he requested that Spector's version be revised John, George, and Ringo disagreed with him. Probably this was another straw on Paul's back; he made the announcement that he was leaving the band after "Let It Be" was released. Oddly enough, "The Long and Winding Road" is one of the few Beatles hit songs that I can't stand. And it the last bit of irony, "Let It Be" was the Number One song in the US the week Paul McCartney made his announcement. 

So here is the last recorded Number One hit by the Beatles, "Come Together." How is THAT for irony?

It looks to me like this is video of the actual "Abbey Road" sessions....if it's not, I apologize for my mistake. 

Revising & Updating Seigi-No-Nakama!

If you have been to my blog before today than you have probably noticed that in the last few days I have added more icons to the right column. And today, I finally updated/revised my header, the graphic on the top of this page.

I started this blog on July 8, 2011. Mostly I started it to post all of my bilingual JUSTICE LEAGUE comics. I had gotten requests to post these stories and because I didn't have any better place to upload them, I decided to start a blog for them.

Since then, I gradually began to write additional posts that had nothing to do with my comic-books. Now that I am almost finished posting my JLA adventures I had to decide if I was going to retire this blog or not. I wanted to be a writer when I was a kid, and as everybody knows, a writer WRITES. So I decided to keep at this blog stuff.

As part of my review I went through the 600-plus posts from the past two years. I found my recurring themes, and the things I would like to keep doing (and the things I decided to stop).

I've added the icons HAPPY BIRTHDAY and PASSAGES to celebrate those people who are or have marked my life in a profound way. Similarly, I made HISTORY more clearly linked to posts that won't or can't fit anywhere else. I've made my comic-book related pages more easy to find, breaking them up by the two main publishers, DC and MARVEL. And I've added an icon for my favorite super-hero, who I will be commenting on when I have nothing else to talk about, haha! Actually, I want to showcase all sorts of AQUAMAN merchandise and odds'n'ends that I think will be interesting. I hope you will agree.

Popular Culture has been broken up into TV TUESDAY as well as FILM FRIDAY. From TV TUESDAY I also have created specific TV show icons for those shows that I have enjoyed especially. I still need to add a few more icons. I feel like right now TV is heavily in the past; I need to make a concerted effort to add posts (and icons) for more of my more recent favorites. So look for this section to be expanded even more in the near future.

As for Music, because I only have a few die-hard favorites, mostly I will be upkeeping MUSIC MONDAY. The groups I really love will be represented here. Besides THE BEATLES and THE MONKEES, I am going to add either MOTOWN or various/specific Motown acts. I am still thinking about this decision, which is why The Supremes still represent "MY FAVORITE THINGS." This may be changing; keep an eye out. Also, I have begun a new sub-topic, MUSIC MEMORIES, about how certain songs have come to represent more than just what they initially meant. I will try to write a new column on this topic atleast once a month.

FILM FRIDAYS has been here for awhile, but I haven't done much to keep up with it. I promise to do better from now on. Similar to BOOKENDS, I will try to write more about the recent movies and books that I have seen or that I have read. I have two posts done for these topics already, and I hope to keep up with them. I read and watch a lot of movies, so this should be relatively easy.

MAGNIFICENT SEVEN was supposed to be my "Best" lists, so I hope to write one of these every month. If possible, it would be posted on the 7th of every month. Help keep me honest by reminding me about this, and eventually it will become second nature to me.

Because POGO was difficult to do, it has dropped to "co-star" billing here on the blog. When I find something to write about, I will be posting. I just found it difficult to come up with regular post ideas.

As KENBUNKI is also ending soon, the energy I expanded on this column should transfer easily to some of the others. Atleast, that is the plan.

As always, if there are things you would like to see here, let me know. I want to keep my audience happy, you know. :-)

Happy Birthday, Gregory Peck!

Last night I dreamt I had an interview with Gregory Peck. He was born on April 5, 1916.

I have been thinking about him recently because I knew I wanted to write this article to celebrate him on what would have been his 97th birthday. I collected the various photos you see below yesterday, and as I searched for them I thought about what I wanted to write. I thought about how I would mention how Gregory Peck was in two of the better known and most powerful "liberal Hollywood" films, Gentleman's Agreement (1947) and To Kill A Mockingbird (1962). In both he plays a widowed father fighting against prejudice, in part to show his children what it means to take a stand.

Gentleman's Agreement won the Academy Award for Best Picture for it's then-ground-breaking portrayal of prejudice; in this case, anti-Semitism. Peck portrays a magazine reporter who, having moved to a new city, decides to "pass" as Jewish to uncover the hidden prejudice in the world. To watch it today it seems dated; however, it is all too easy to imagine that there are still similar scenes occurring here, today. In fact, I could imagine a similar movie being made today with a reporter passing as gay to face the same type of situations. Celeste Holm won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Peck's co-worker. Holm is much more interesting than his love interest, Dorothy Maguire, who is saddled with having to represent "Society" and "what it will think." And John Garfield steals every scene he is in as Peck's friend, an actual Jew who helps him to "pass." Gentleman's Agreement is available at your local library. If you do watch it, keep an eye open for a young Dean Stockwell as Peck's son.

Dean Stockwell (left) as Peck's son 

What else can has to be said about To Kill A Mockingbird? It may just be one of the greatest films of all time. It doesn't hurt that it was based on one of the greatest books of all time, of course. Does the message of standing up for what is right against a mob ever become dated? Sure, the actual situation presented here of a black man accused of raping a white woman is not quite as powerful a "scandal" as it was in 1961 (when this film was made). However, to think that this was not life-and-death at the time....that's just ignoring the history of Emmett Till, the Freedom Riders, Medgar Evers, and so many other martyred heroes. And as Atticus Fitch, Gregory Peck won his only Academy Award for Best Actor. If you have never seen this film, you owe it to yourself to do so. It is a classic.

Of course, Gregory Peck didn't just do social dramas. Another one of my all-time favorite films is Roman Holiday, the romantic comedy starring Peck, Eddie Albert, and Audrey Hepburn in her Academy Award-winning debut. If you have never seen this film, you are in for a real treat. Hepburn portrays a princess from a Western European nation who longs for adventure, excitement, and romance. She manages to find all of these in Rome with the help of her two co-stars. I would be surprised if the ending doesn't make you tear up.

In close to 50 years of making movies, Gregory Peck appeared in all genres. Some of my other favorites: the amnesiac murder suspect in Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound; the father in The Yearling; one of the heroes of the war classic, The Guns of Navarone; another father, this time of a different sort, in The Omen; as Josef Mengele in The Boys From Brazil. And he appeared as the lead in the original Cape Fear (1962) with Robert Mitchum and as the lawyer in Martin Scorsese's remake (1991). He also appeared as Captain Ahab in Moby Dick (1956) and then as Father Mapple in the 1998 remake. This was his last film.

Gregory Peck passed away on  June 12, 2003.

So in my dream he was a charming, talkative guy who told me some of his Hollywood adventures. I woke up and immediately thought, "I just dreamt I interviewed Gregory Peck....and he was a helluva nice guy!"

Happy Birthday,  Gregory Peck! 

 with Ingrid Bergman in SPELLBOUND

with Mary Badham in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

 winning the 1962 Academy Award

 as Mengele in THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL

Ken-Bun-Ki "Employee Transfers"

 Note: "Russell's Ken-Bun-Ki" is a series of articles I wrote for my Japanese City Hall newsletter back in 1996-97. They were articles about life in America or life in Japan as experienced by an American. This one is from April 10, 1997. 

As of April 1 we have started a new fiscal year. This brings various job transfers, right? School teachers have transferred in and out, and company employees have moved to different departments or branches. Everyone in Japan thinks this type of job transfers are normal, but in the United States they are virtually unheard of.

First of all, regarding school teachers moving, because there is no national Ministry of Education that controls these things, there no set job transfer policy between schools in the US. Every school in America is run independently. In each town or city the school superintendent, the school principal, and the teacher him/herself decides on transfers. Therefore if the teacher does not ask for a transfer, one almost never occurs.

It is not that company employees do not have any transfers, but not to the extent that occurs in Japan. For example, an associate good with numbers and strong in accounting doesn't get moved out of that section. And a person who has a way with words and phrases is kept in a field to take advantage of that talent. Each associate's ability and history are taken into account when considering transfers. Also, bosses tend to listen to their associates' requests. They do not move people to new jobs who have no interest in new challenges. Each transfer order is given after sounding out the intention of the associate in question. There are almost no individual postings away from your family. Working for the company away from your family is practically unheard of in America.

And if there is a transfer along with a promotion, the associate will often go home and talk it over with his/her spouse before answering. Maybe half of these types of promotions are turned down?

Post-Script

This is another one of the columns that I think I need to explain to my American audience. In Japan, the Ministry of Education (Mon-Bu-Sho) runs the entire nation of public schools, elementary to secondary (middle) to high. They control who works where and who gets promoted to be principals (and who doesn't). So every March teachers who are on "the fast track" get moved from school to school. In places like Miyazaki, where I lived for 14 years, all teachers get shuffled around from so-called "town" schools and "city" schools so that they can experience "both sides of the track." 

Likewise, in companies people who have worked in the accounting department get transferred to the agricultural section. People in the tax section get moved to the education section. In my office, which was the town hall,  it was more dramatic because everyone was hired in as non-specialists. However, the man who ended up being the Superintendent of Education was originally a farmer and spent most of his career in the agricultural department. And he had the nerve to tell ME how to better teach kids English! (sigh)

In Japan there is a term for workers (men) who are sent to a different branch office to live alone while his family stays in their hometown. Can you imagine? Even now, as I work for a Honda supplier, I find men who live here in the US as their wives and children stay in Japan. Un-be-lievable. 

RIP Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr

Rest in Peace

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr 

Jan 15 1929 ~ April 4, 1968

He was only 39 years old. 

Happy Birthday Phil Morris!

Phil Morris is the son of legendary Mission: Impossible actor Greg Morris. His birthday is April 4, 1959. He made his professional debut as an actor on the Star Trek episode "Miri" in 1966. His father was working on the same Desilu lot, starring in M:I as electronics genius Barney Collier. In 1984 Phil had a minor role in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; he says he likes to think that he is playing the same character, now all grown up and in Starfleet.

Five years later Phil was cast as the son of Barney in The New Mission: Impossible. This is the only time a child of a former member of the M:I cast appeared in the series. Phil played Grant Collier, a technological wizard just like his father. When I heard he had been cast I figured it was a form of "stunt casting" in order to create some PR buzz for the new show. I'm sure there was some of that, but it became clear pretty quickly that Phil Morris could hold his own as an actor. Alongside Peter Graves, who returned as leader Jim Phelps, Morris co-starred with Thaao Penglis (an Australian actor of some talent), Tony Hamilton, and Jane Badler (who I eventually recognized as the villain from the original V series). In the second season of the series he co-starred with his father in a two-part episode that featured their emotional reunion.

The 1988 cast of The New Mission: Impossible

The New Mission: Impossible only lasted two years. After that Morris landed the role of Jackie Chiles, the shyster lawyer on Seinfeld. This was a recurring supporting character in the Seinfeld Universe. His last appearance was in the series' last episode, where the four main characters are famously sued for "doing nothing."

Phil Morris has also done extensive voice acting. Most famously he was the voice of Dr. Sweet in Atlantis: The Lost Empire. He has also done Legion and Green Lantern work.

Morris' next big pop culture role was as The Martian Manhunter on Smallville. He appeared in several episodes as Clark Kent's mentor and protector. Morris brought a certain amount of gravity to the role, and was always enjoyable to watch.

Happy Birthday, Phil Morris! 

Many Happy Returns!

Jane Badler replaced Terry Markwell in 1989. 

as "Jackie Chiles" in Seinfeld

"Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On The Bedpost Over Night)"

When I was a kid I listened to all sorts of radio shows. Radio used to be awesome, with all the local management and variety that seems to be harder and harder to find. Anyway back in the Eighties there was a weekly "Flashback" show on Saturday nights on KSLQ-98 (if I'm remembering correctly) and there were a few "Oldies" AM stations. Somewhere along the line I heard this song and fell in love with it. Because today is April Fools' Day, I figured I'd talk about one of my all-time favorite "novelty songs."

It turns out that "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On The Bedpost Overnight)" is by a bonafide star in the UK, Mr. Lonnie Donegan. He had more than a dozen Top Ten hits and atleast four Number One songs in the UK. When artists that we now consider "super-stars" were asked who THEIR musical heroes were, Lonnie Donegan was often mentioned. John Lennon and Paul McCartney idolized him. Roger Daltry from The Who has said Donegan is the reason that he (Daltry) wanted to become a musician.

Lonnie Donegan was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1931. He banged around as a musician for several years until he started to make a name for himself in the early Fifties. He played with the Chris Barber Jazz Band, then eventually become the leader of the Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Band. "Rock Island Line" and "Gamblin' Man" were huge hits for him in the United Kingdom. Go to youtube and search for Lonnie Donegan and you'll be amazed at what you can find. Or search "Rock Island Line" and you'll find a duet by George Harrison and Paul Simon singing it. Then you'll begin to understand just how influential Lonnie Donegan really must have been. Do you know ANY of the songs listed on this "Greatest Hits" album jacket? I didn't!

So it's a little sad that the only thing he is known for in the US is a little ditty called "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour?" The song was originally written by Billy Jones and Ernest Hare, known as The Happiness Boys, in 1924. You can listen to their version here. The title originally used the trade-marked name "Spearmint," but in the UK songs are not allowed to use trade-marks in song titles because the BBC considers these advertisements;  pronounced ad-VER-tiz-ments :-). So somewhere along the line "Spearmint" was changed to "chewing gum." (Note: this is the same reason why Paul Simon's US hit "Kodachrome" was not released in the UK.)

According to Wikipedia (which is never wrong, right?) this song was recorded on December 13, 1958. It was released to the UK in the summer of 1959. It eventually made its way to the US, where it was a #5 song in August 1961. It kept company on the charts with Pat Boone, Ricky Nelson, and Bobby Lewis "Tossing and Turning."

As far as I can tell, Lonnie Donegan never charted in the US again. He passed away in 2002 at 71 years old.

I'm not sure where this video comes from. It's obviously not the original 1958 recording. However, it's LIVE, so I figured it was more fun than just a video somebody made to go along with the song. It looks like some dinner theatre show from the late Seventies. This begins with "Putting On The Style," then segues into "Does Your Chewing Gum...."