Targeted Individuals Canada: John Lennon

writing stories and poems and drawing - "...John's love of reading, writing stories and poems and drawing emerged early. But he was naughty and often up to mischief, so much so that he was expelled from kindegarten before going to Dovedale Road Primary School. He entered Quarry Bank High School in September 1952. But John, although bright and clever took no interest in conventional education and consequently left Quarry Bank with no formal qualifications, however with the help of his headmaster and a portfolio of his work he was accepted at art college. Liverpool College of Art allowed him to indulge in the teddy boy dress and behaviour of the time, much to Mimi's disapproval. Although Julia, his mother, was far more easy going about how he looked and behaved. She also encouraged his interest in music. John's visits to see Julia and his half sisters, Julia and Jackie, were frequent and were often musical sessions where Julia would sing and play the banjo, which she taught John to play. This led him to want a guitar. He pestered his Aunt Mimi for one and it wasn't long before she gave in. From then on John would sit on his bed making up tunes and singing along. The noise often got on Mimi's nerves and she'd banish him to the front porch with the words that have since become immortal, "The guitar's all very well, John, but you'll never make a living out of it..." (John Winston Lennon)

the castle always falls from within - "...Oh, whenever we've done anything we've done it out of London, 'cuz they don't take it seriously in England. That's all. They treat us like their children, you know. It's that mad, insane guy, you know. and he should be tapdancing on the Palladium rather than talking about war and peace. Like Quintin Hoggs said, the philosopher. I don't know what word he used, you know. Some word, you know, as if politicians had... Well, the communist fear is that and the American paranoia mainly, it's not too bad in Europe, it's a joke, you know. I mean, we laugh at America's fear of communists. It's like, the Americans aren't going to be overrun by communists. They're gonna fall from within, you know. and that's a point. People say, why have you got long hair or why did, when you gave the MBE back, you know, we...I had...I worded it against, I'm returning this MBE because of Britain's part, in protest against Britain's participation in the Biafra Nigeria thing, you know, that's the way I speak. I just wrote it as I speak. and Britain's policy supporting US in Vietnam and Cold Turkey slipping down the charts. A lot of people say, now, if you had only done it straight, it would have been much more effective and it's the same as if you'd only get your hair cut and wear a straight suit, you'd be more effective. One, I'd be... I wouldn't be myself. Two, I don't believe people believe politicians, especially the youth. They've had enough of short hair and suits saying this is, as if, you know...It's like all, is every priest a holy man just 'cuz he's got a dog collar on, you know. Nobody believes that anymore. and we do this intuitively. But after we've done it for a few times, we always had some irrelevancy or something in the campaign, you know and Yoko's telling me about this ancient Chinese book that tells you how to conduct a battle. and it says the castle always falls from within. Never from without, you know, hardly ever, like America and it also says, don't have all the doors closed when you're fighting, you know. Don't have every door shut. 'Cuz the enemy will put all the pressure on and you might crumple. Always leave one door open and the enemy will concentrate their fire there and then you'll know where it's coming. So our door open is long hair, nudism, nudity whatever the word is, mentioning Cold Turkey in such a serious thing as Biafra and Vietnam, you know, and let the people point their finger, you know. 'Oh he's...they're naked,' you know. 'They look like freaks.' But it doesn't interfere with the campaign, you know. Nobody attacks peace..." (John Lennon and Yoko Ono Interview, Ontario, Canada (1969, December 19))

the same gun? - "...Let’s review the stated scenario again because it’s complicated. During Chapman’s first trip to NYC from Honolulu—from October 29, 1980 through November 10, 1980—he brought with him a gun similar to the murder weapon found at the crime scene on December 8, 1980, but he forgot to bring bullets. Because of NYC’s strict gun control laws, Chapman flew to Atlanta—from November 7 through November 9, 1980—where he obtained bullets from his cop friend, Dana Reeves. Keep in mind, this all occurred during Chapman’s first trip to NYC which ended on November 10, 1980 when Chapman returned to Honolulu. But Lennon wasn’t killed until a month later, two days after Chapman arrived in NYC a second time on December 6, 1980. The question is this: Did Chapman bring with him to NYC on December 6, 1980 the same gun he brought with him on October 29, 1980, the same gun he purchased from J&S Enterprises in Honolulu on October 27, 1980? (serial # 577570) In addition, did Chapman bring with him to NYC on December 6, 1980 the same hollow-point bullets he obtained from Dana Reeves (aka, Gene Scott) in Atlanta during his trip there from November 7 through November 9, 1980? Bresler does not make this clear at all. Instead he confuses things by introducing several side issues which are interesting but divert attention from the murder weapon found at the crime scene. Bresler jumps back and forth between Chapman’s first and second trips, getting into all sorts of minutia, and completely loses track of the alleged murder weapon. Again, did Chapman carry the same gun on both trips? Did he carry the same bullets on the second trip that he acquired from Dana Reeves on the first trip?..." (Rethinking John Lennon's Assassination: The FBI's War on Rock Stars)

Imagine
Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
(John Lennon - Imagine lyrics)

John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Along with fellow Beatle Paul McCartney, he formed one of the most successful songwriting partnerships of the 20th century. Born and raised in Liverpool, Lennon became involved as a teenager in the skiffle craze; his first band, The Quarrymen, evolved into The Beatles in 1960. As the group disintegrated towards the end of the decade, Lennon embarked on a solo career that produced the critically acclaimed albums John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, and iconic songs such as "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine". Lennon disengaged himself from the music business in 1975 to devote time to his family, but re-emerged in 1980 with a new album, Double Fantasy. He was murdered three weeks after its release. Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, his writing, his drawings, on film, and in interviews, and he became controversial through his political and peace activism. He moved to New York City in 1971, where his criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a lengthy attempt by Richard Nixon's administration to deport him, while his songs were adopted as anthems by the anti-war movement. As of 2010, Lennon's solo album sales in the United States exceed 14 million units, and as writer, co-writer or performer, he is responsible for 25 number-one singles on the US Hot 100 chart. In 2002, a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Britons voted him eighth, and in 2008, Rolling Stone ranked him the fifth-greatest singer of all-time. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 (Wikepedia).

RELATED READING:

Pages

Sunday, January 1, 2012

John Lennon