More Loving Words from Fidel Castro: Castro's Obsessive Love for Barry

I am beginning to think Fidel Castro may be a little jealous of Larry Sinclair. He continues to blush with admiration for Dear Leader sending his love across 90 miles or so of ocean to the United States he once hated. When Castro loves on an American leader, you have to ask why.

Castro is eating up pages of Cuban newspapers with praise and admiration for Dear Leader Obama. Each week, there is more and more love from Fidel. Some are calling it an obsession.

"It really is an obsession," said Ann Louis Bardach, a longtime Cuba observer and author of the recent book, Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana and Washington. Apparently, from what Bardach said, Castro was swept away by the non-stop media coverage during Obama's inauguration. It looks like Fidel has kept the television on for hours infatuated over our little Barry Obama. Isn't that cute?

Castro obviously watches him like no other. He writes, "perhaps no other U.S. president would be capable of committing to such an intense schedule." It's apparent commies love to play, which is what Castro is really saying.

Castro likes to dress up like he's Babe Ruth and swing a baseball bat, and Obama pretends he's a Tiger on the golf course. It's no wonder Castro is in awe. Barry is a playboy after Fidel's own heart.

Fidel worries about little Barry the commie too. Check this out, "soon, the ultra-right of the United States will try to limit (Obama's) rule to four years," Castro warned, looking to 2012. "A Nixon, a Bush or somebody like Cheney will be the new president, and then the purpose of these unjustifiable military bases that threaten the peoples of South America will be very clear."

It's love. That's the only way you can explain this one.

The Beatles: Within You Without You Recited by George Harrison's Sister

As I listened to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, I never realized what a beautiful song George Harrison's Within You Without You was until I heard his big sister recite the lyrics live. Louise Harrison has an amazing vocal delivery that brings out such amazing beauty in all of her little brother's lyrics that I have heard her read. Nothing was as touching as her reciting George's Indian influenced sitar driven masterpiece from Sgt. Peppers.

I have to be honest. I was never really a fan of Within You Without You until I heard Louise present the words at an intermission of a Liverpool Legends show in Branson, Missouri. It really spoke to me on that summer night in 2006, and fortunately there is a recording of it which you can order at http://www.breznikar.com/livepages/remembered.html along with other George Harrison penned songs arranged for classical guitar by Joseph Breznikar. The CD is called George Harrison Remembered: A Touch of Class.

You can sample this great music and Louise Harrison reciting Within You Without You by clicking the play button. I am sure you will want to order the CD once you hear it. It's really a great interpretation of Harrison's Beatles songs and some solo works.

The Beatles Abbey Road: The Joy of Vinyl Part II

I have a bad Amazon addiction. I love finding rare music on Amazon that once was bid upward out of reach on e-Bay. E-Bay is the last place I look for things these days. Last week, on Amazon, I discovered the Beatles still print Abbey Road on vinyl. I had to order it.

It was delivered last night while I was in Branson to watch the Liverpool Legends, an amazing Beatles tribute show produced by George Harrison's sister, Louise. How appropriate my new copy of Abbey Road on vinyl would be waiting for me. By the way the Beatles are supposed to be releasing a 40th anniversary remastered edition on vinyl that will be limited to 5,000 copies. This is not that edition; although, I will be interested possibly purchasing it and keeping it sealed. Then again, I am not that disciplined.

It's been over twenty years since I opened the plastic from an album cover and pulled out fresh vinyl. I couldn't think of a better collection of songs that Abbey Road.

I am amazed at the bass response on a record. I don't know why, but the compact discs just don't seem to produce as good as bass as a record. It may be just my excitement of hearing this beautiful album, definitely one of my favorites, on vinyl.

It definitely doesn't disappoint. It's clean, unlike my other Beatles records that are nearing 50 years in age. (That's depressing isn't it?) I should see if there are tool to restore a record's clarity. That might be my project this weekend.

One of my all time Beatles' songs is George Harrison's Something. Have you ever loved someone so much that you don't know if the love can possibly grow. You feel that in when Harrison sings Something. I believe Frank Sinatra was correct when he called it one of the best love songs ever written. Unfortunately, he gave credit to John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

For some reason, the record began to jump at Maxwell's Silver Hammer. There weren't any obvious manufacturing flaws in the record, so I wonder if the sub woofer is placed too closely to the turntable. I will have to take that in consideration and possibly look for solution. I turned down the volume and it appears to have solved the problem.

I am so happy vinyl is having a rediscovery and another chance in record stores everywhere. Yes, there are still a few left. Best Buy hasn't killed all of them, but they did kill my favorite here in Southwest Missouri, Spin Again Records. Which is really sad, because it was a great place to find records. Best Buy stocks records now. They have an old aisle, but it's not the same as an old dusty record store, you know the kind of store John Cusack worked at in Chicago in the move Hi Fidelity--great movie. Remember, Molly Ringwald also worked in a Chicago record store where the Duck (John Crier) frequently visited in infatuation. I had a think for Molly too Duckman.

When you think back to the decline in records, it was based on portability. People turned to cassettes and the quality just sucked--not to mention having the fast forward or rewind the song. Sure it got better when decks learned how to stop at the next song, but it didn't take long and your cassette was worn out. I have a cassette deck in my garage. Come and pick it up if you want it. It's like a VCR to me--dirty.

What's strange is Abbey Road is one of the top three Beatles albums in my opinion, and it took me nearly thirty years to hear it on vinyl. My parents stopped being fans in 1966 over something John Lennon told a reporter in private that was reported while the band was in the Philippines. Think of all the vinyl burnt in the days following.

Even new vinyl has a little bit of crackling when the needle hits the grooves. It adds character to songs like Here Comes the Sun. It sounds so full on record. I was really cheated all those years growing up when I had to discover the music on cassette.

I remember when I first started expanding my interest in the Beatles, a couple from our church had the red and blue greatest hits packages, 1962-1966 and 1967-1970. For many years, other than my mother's records which migrated up to my loft bedroom in the attic, they were all I had. Then I started collected the American editions on cassette, which were shortened versions of the EMI records released in Europe which you get on CD now. Back then the Beatles took songs of Help, Rubber Soul, and Revolver, and made Yesterday and Today, remember the 'Beatles butcher cover.' That's how the albums were sold in America on Capitol Records.

I never got the clarity that I am hearing today. It was available. The only exception was a release of the Vee Jay record called Introducing the Beatles, which was the American version of Please Please Me. I found a copy at Walmart of all places for four or five bucks and my mom bought it for me as I begged telling me she thought we had a copy at home. I had to have it. A guy I thought was my friend stole it from me many years ago--both copies. My parents had an original in excellent condition. It was sought after at the time by collectors, and he played a trick on me. Many years later I walked into his music store and he had staple gunned the original on the wall behind his cash register. I was furious, and it had been ruined by someone who didn't obviously appreciate it as a collectible.

The magic of Abbey Road begins on side two in my opinion. I discount not one song on the first side, although I think She's So Heavy drags on too long. I love how magically the songs work with each other. George Martin called it a very happy album, and I agree. It always lifts my spirits when I hear it.

When you listen to side two and reflect on watching the Beatles in the studio as they crafted Let It Be, it's really special. I think George Martin was surprised they had it in them after dealing with the conflicts of Let It Be. It got ugly during Let It Be, and even Martin dealt personally with the anger that had built in the studio. I always wondered what the Beatles legacy would have been without Abbey Road. After Let It Be, I believe many people thought it was over. In fact, they betted on it.

Every thing sounds magnificent on the back side heading into and including the medley. The vocals of Carry That Weight really stand out. Talk about standing out, Ringo Starr's little drum solo thumps in depth. I don't know of a record that ends more perfectly than Abbey Road. I realized this as a teenager listening to it. You have this amazing build up of music--pure musical pathos driving it to the end. And they record the final lyrics on the final track of the final Beatles album from pure driven pathos into a peaceful and fulfilling and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. Could you end an amazing recording career anymore perfect than that? I don't think so, at least I have never heard in my life time. I don't expect to hear it my lifetime.

The joy of vinyl is hearing the music the way it was released--not perfected into digits a laser reads. I heard it once again today. I am going to start the record over and enjoy it one more time while I look for the White Album on vinyl.

Obama Bows Again in Japan in Front of Akihito

Obama is in Japan (AKA Japanese vacation), to meet Emperor Akihito. Once again, the leader of the free world bows down to a lesser leader. Remember he did this earlier this year to the Saudi King, and now in a subservient way, he is bowing down again when a hand shake would have been appropriate.

Every time I see him bow, it's a symbol of weakness and his attitude towards America's leadership in the world. It's clear with the Copenhagen summit weeks away, he is ready to surrender the leadership which has made the world a safer place. Besides, doesn't he just look stupid, like he is trying to talk to the much shorter Akihito. "Excuse me for being taller than you. The world isn't fair, but I am trying my best to deliver justice."

Newt Gingrich? Contract for America 2?

I am sitting reading that Newt Gingrich is working with Michael Steele writing basically a Contract for America II. They call it First Principles. I am afraid after New York 23 of the principles Gingrich may be sending to Steele.

Let's face it, Gingrich turned his back on conservatism when he chose perhaps the most liberal Republican the party could run over Doug Hoffman, a true conservative. I am sitting here scratching my head wondering why Gingrich has any credibility on conservative ideas after the whole fiasco.

"I've been talking with Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, '' Gingrich said today, speaking with students at C-SPAN's Cable Center Class.

"He is developing a first principles model that I think is a very exciting , positive step in the right direction,'' said Gingrich, who has said that he will decide by February about waging his own campaign for president. "B September , it might be very, very good for the Republicans in the House and Senate to have a common ground on which to campaign, whether they call it a Contract for America or some other device.

"Having a positive set of things that say, 'if you elect us, these are the positive steps we will take,'' Gingrich said, on a program that C-SPAN3 is airing at 5 pm EST. This "may well be the key building block to really become the alternative party, not the opposition party.''...

"If the Democrats stay stuck over on a very left wing program and if they continue to have a job-killing record in Congress, I think by September and October you could suddenly have a very exciting election.''

First of all, I am not crazy about this idea that jobs should be the focus of the coming elections, although I know they will be. The focus should be on the Constitution and returning back to the limited government the founding fathers designed. If any Contract for America II is drafted, it needs to be drafted from the Federalist Papers and the Constitution--not because they are celebrating Democratic policies have run this country in the ground and more jobs are gone.

The Republican Party needs to become Constitutional libertarians focused on freedom, liberty, and limited government. The baby sitting state needs to end before the country is bankrupt--that is if it's not already. The tea party movement in American shows Americans are starting to read and understand the Constitution, and they want it enforced as the law of the land. We don't want the Republicans to be a lesser version of the Democrats which they became.

Frankly, I don't think Gingrich understands that at all. The proof is in his endorsement of Dede Scozzafava. Gingrich is out of touch, and he has a long road back until many conservatives trust him again. I don't think he is capable of leading the next Republican surge.

A Beatles Medley Sung by British Commoners

Do you know the Sunday morning radio shows that probably air in your city called Breakfast with the Beatles? Well yesterday, I had breakfast with a Beatles' sister--well sort of. I was sitting at my office having a bagel and cream cheese when George Harrison's sister returned my text message with a phone call. She doesn't know how to text.

She is an expert in voice, and studied vocal delivery in college. Occasionally she will read some of George's lyrics between sets. For many, Within You Without You can be a challenge for a new Beatles fan to listen to. I know it took me many years to appreciate the song. It was with George's big sister recited the lyrics at a Liverpool Legends show in 2006, I heard the beautiful poetry and the amazing power of the song. When I spoke with her in September, I asked her if there was anyway she could recite the lyrics the next time I went to the show. She gave me a post card with her cell phone number on it, and told me to give her a call. Last night it was just as beautiful as as the first time. (I will see if I can find a way to post a recording of it to my blog later today.)

She produces the Beatles tribute show I have ever seen, and I have seen quite a few, in Branson, Missouri. One of the great things about the show called Liverpool Legends is it looks that human side of the Beatles. In between sets, Louise Harrison comes out and tells stories and answers questions. It's quite cool as a Beatle People getting to talk to a sister--it may be the closest I ever get to meeting a Beatle.

Before the show starts, they show videos about the fans in 1964. There's videos of a young girl who has painted a picture of Paul McCartney sprouting out of the ground called "The Sprout of a New Generation." It shows a police force telling the officers to wear ear plugs so they don't get a headache, and if they run out of ear plugs they have cotton. Then of course there is a stuffy Ohio judge that accuses the Beatles of creating hysteria, and then describes the suggestive notes the girls through on stage. It's all very funny and charming.

Between the Sgt. Pepper's set and the Abbey Road set, they play a video called a Beatles Medley. No, it's not that Stars of 45 disco medley of the early 1980s. (I admit I bought the 45 when I was a kid.) It's of British commoners, and it's, to sound English, delightful. So turn the speakers up, put a smile on your face, and enjoy the love of the Beatles that will be passed on from generation to generation. By the way, how about those teeth! Isn't nationalized healthcare great!