Picturesque life

The Illustrated Biography: John Lennon
200 classic, rare & unseen photographs by Daily Mail

Even 40 years after the break up of The Beatles and 30 after his assassination, John Lennon still manages to draw a crowd every single time something is written or said about him. There is nothing new in this book that we did not already know about this sometimes eccentric music maestro. That he started of with a gig in Hamburg, about how Dacca records rejected them saying that guitar music was on the way out, about his famous line "...those in the cheap seats clap your hands, the rest of you can just rattle your jewelry" in Prince of Wales Theatre in London, about the Beatles being more famous than Jesus and the subsequent decadence into drugs, spiritualism, Yoko (Oh, no!) and the dissolution of Beatles to retirement from music to starting over and death at the hands of a deranged fan (or mastermind power play of the CIA, if you believe the conspiracy theorists). It is a sort a pictorial biography of the 4 boys from Liverpool, in particular Lennon.

This book is divided into two parts, the first with the Beatles (In my life) and the second (Starting Over) which tells about his time with Ono.

A few new things about Lennon - being shy of being seen outside with glasses, he started wearing his trademark round NHS spectacles after shooting his a film anti war satire film 'How I won the War' acting as a private in the army.

Lennon also published books on his collection of jokes. He tried his hand in acting but did not shine, though.
He was also a caricaturist.
A good coffee table ornament if you are in the habit of keeping your guest wait long for you to come down or they find your company quite boring!

Comments

Gory historic details or gore fest?

Razakar: The Silent Genocide Of Hyderabad (Telegu, 2024) Director: Yata Satyanarayana In her last major speech before her disposition, Sheikh Hasina accused those who opposed her rule in Bangladesh of being Razakars. The opposition took offence to this term and soon widespread mob throughout the land. Of course, it is not that that single incident brought down an elected government but a culmination of joblessness and unjust reservations for a select population group. In the Bengali psyche, Razakar is a pejorative term meaning traitor or Judas. It was first used during the 1971 Pakistan Civil War. The paramilitary group who were against the then-East Pakistani leader, Majibur Rehman, were pro-West Pakistan. After establishing independence in Bangladesh, Razakars were disbanded, and many ran off to Pakistan. Around the time of Indian independence, turmoil brewed in the princely state of Hyderabad, which had been a province deputed by the Mughals from 1794. The rule of N...

The products of a romantic star of the yesteryear!

Now you see all the children of Gemini Ganesan (of four wives, at least) posing gleefully for the camera after coming from different corners of the world to see the ailing father on his deathbed. They seem to found peace with the contributor of their half of their 46 chromosomes. Sure, growing up must have been hell seeing their respective mothers shedding tears, indulgence in unhealthy activities with one of them falling prey to the curse of the black dog, hating the sight of each step sibling, their respective heartaches all because of the evil done by one man who could not put his raging testesterones under check! Perhaps,the flashing lights and his dizzying heights that his career took clouded his judgement. After all, he was only human... Gems of Gemini Ganesan L-R: Dr Revathi Swaminathan, Narayani Ganesan, Dr Kamala Selvaraj, Rekha, Vijaya Chamundeswari and Dr Jaya Shreedhar. ( Abs: Radha Usman Syed, Sathish Kumaar Ganesan) Seeing six of Ge...

Chicken's Invite? (Ajak-ajak ayam)

In the Malay lingo, the phrase 'ajak-ajak ayam' refers to an insincere invitation. Of course, many of us invite for courtesy's sake, but then the invitee may think that the invitation is for real! How does anyone know? Inviters and invitees must be smart enough to take the cue that one party may have gatecrashed with ulterior motives, or the other may not want him to join in the first place! Easily twenty years ago, my family was invited to a toddler's birthday party. As my children were toddlers, too, we were requested to come early so that my kids could run around and play in their big compound. And that the host said she would arrange a series of games for them to enjoy. So there we were in the early evening at a house that resembled very little of one immersed in joy and celebration. Instead, we were greeted by a house devoid of activities and no guests. The host was still out shopping her last-minute list, and her helper was knee-deep in her preparations to ...

RIFLE RANGE BOY

Search This Blog