THIS DAY IN HISTORY – FEBRUARY 6

HISTORICAL EVENTS

1778 – The Franco-American alliances were signed during the American Revolutionary War.


1820 – Freed U.S. slaves depart on journey back to Africa.


1891 – The Dalton Gang commits its first train robbery.

From GoogleImages

1952 – Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor) becomes queen upon the death of her father, King George VI.



From Wikipedia

1967 - Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.) defeats Ernie Terrell for the world heaveyweight boxing championship.



FAMOUS BIRTHS

From Wikipedia

1895 - One-time MLB home run king George Herman "Babe" Ruth is born in Baltimore, MD.

From Wikipedia

1911 – Ronald Wilson Reagan, the  40th President of the United States, is born in Tampico, IL.



FAMOUS DEATHS

From Wikipedia

1993 - American tennis great Arthur Ashe dies of AIDS. Ashe was the first black man selected for the United States Davis Cup team and is still the only black man to win singles titles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open tournaments.

SCIENCE(?) ON THE INTERNET

From GoogleImages

I love artists, God bless their little pointed heads. And, I wonder what "scientist", probably not any, oversaw this artist's rendition of that thing in space. Boys and girls, since most of ya don't know shit about science, let me 'splain somethin' to ya in terms you'll understand...

Things don't BURN in space. Their ain't no AIR in space. Ya needs AIR to burn stuff (actually, OXYGEN, but now I'm a-gettin' too complicated fer ya). Those there things that fall outten the sky don't "burn" until they enter the Earth's atmosphere, er, AIR.  Actually, they don't really "burn" then either, it's just the result of friction (I'm not 'splainin' that to ya). Comets don't burn neither. That stuff that ya see a-comin' offen them is gas and small bits of the comet, not fire.

Now don't jump ahead on me, Jimmy Joe. STARS DON'T BURN EITHER. They make heat and light by nucular fusion. Yeah, nucular. I know that sounds like magic, but that's the way God made it.

Now go on back to watchin' yer reality shows.

CNN HEADLINES

HEADLINES RIPPED FROM CNN



Back from the grave, King Richard III gets rehab. Translation: Their old, dead white guys are more important than ours.




An asteroid is coming, and scientists are excited. Fear not, Earth is safe. Translation: Now that the first part of that headline panicked you, don't panic.





Five things to know about North Korea's planned nuclear test. Translation: Don't worry about that man behind the curtain... He's only weapons of mass destruction, and not trying to hide it.





How to keep the Arab Spring blossoming. Translation: You stupid Western infidels fell for another ruse but we're (CNN) going to keep it going just 'cause we're even dumber.




How to protect your digital data from a vengeful ex.  Translation: There are now 500 electronic ways to screw your lover.

Assignment: The war through your eyes: Iraq 10 years on. Translation: CNN is on a fishing expedition for future stories.


All images from CNN.com

100 DAYS OF THE BEATLES – TOP 100 SONGS – 63

From GoogleImages

NUMBER 63: "Dear Prudence" (Lennon – November 25, 1968)
The BEATLES (a.k.a.,The White Album) – Side 1, Track 2 (3:56)

YouTube Video

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (sans footnotes/references) –

"Dear Prudence" is a song written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released by the Beatles as the second track on their 1968 double-disc album entitled The Beatles, commonly known as The White Album.

Composition

The subject of the song is Prudence Farrow, actress Mia Farrow's sister, who was present when the Beatles went to India to study with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Farrow became so serious about her meditation that she "turned into a near recluse" and "rarely came out" of the cottage she was living in. John Lennon was asked to "contact her and make sure she came out more often to socialize". As a result, Lennon wrote the song "Dear Prudence". In the song Lennon asks Farrow to "open up your eyes" and "see the sunny skies" reminding her that she is "part of everything". The song was said to be "a simple plea to a friend to 'snap out of it'". Lennon said later that "She'd been locked in for three weeks and was trying to reach God quicker than anyone else". According to Farrow: "I would always rush straight back to my room after lectures and meals so I could meditate. John, George and Paul would all want to sit around jamming and having a good time and I'd be flying into my room. They were all serious about what they were doing, but they just weren't as fanatical as me".

Lennon did play the song for Farrow while they were in India together. According to Farrow, "I was flattered. It was a beautiful thing to have done". The lyrics of the song are simple and innocent and praise the beauty of nature in the lines: "The sun is up, the sky is blue, it's beautiful, and so are you".

Recording

They recorded the song at Trident Studios in London on 28, 29 and 30 August 1968. Utilizing state of the art eight-track recording equipment, the basic track included finger picking guitar performed by John Lennon as well as George Harrison on the lead guitar, plus Paul McCartney playing the drums in place of Ringo Starr, who had temporarily left the Beatles. The next day, McCartney performed and recorded the bass track and Lennon recorded additional layers to his vocals. Handclapping, tambourine and cowbell were then added by McCartney and Harrison. On the last day of the recording session, piano and flügelhorn tracks were recorded by McCartney.

The complete list of recording session personnel included:

John Lennon – double-tracked vocal, backing vocal, acoustic guitar
Paul McCartney – backing vocal, drums, bass, piano, flügelhorn, tambourine,cowbell, handclaps
George Harrison – backing vocal, lead guitar
Mal Evans – backing vocal, handclaps
Jackie Lomax – backing vocal, handclaps
John McCartney (Paul's cousin) – backing vocal, handclaps

On The Beatles album, the song was sequenced as the second track on side one, its introduction cross-faded with the sounds of a jet aircraft landing which conclude the opening track, "Back in the U.S.S.R."

The song was first played on the radio in November and December of that year.

MY PROPOSAL FOR HALL OF FAME INDUCTION

From GoogleImages

As you probably all know ex-Pittsburgh Steeler Jerome "The Bus" Bettis failed to receive enough votes for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the second straight year. Last year he was beaten out by Curtis Martin and was not helped by ex-Steeler Dermontti Dawson being on the ballot, who WAS voted  in. Martin is the NFL's 5th all-time career rusher while Bettis is 6th with only 22 yards separating them.

Personally, I think players who are in the top ten of any significant career category such as passing, rushing, receiving yards, etc. at the time of their retirement should AUTOMATICALLY be inducted into the HOF. That is, no vote should be necessary unless they've, subsequent to their retirement, committed murder or something. If a situation occurs like last year when Martin ranked above Bettis in rushing then, at worst, the lower-ranked player should be AUTOMATICALLY inducted into the HOF the NEXT season. The fact that Cris Carter had not been elected prior to this year would not have been an issue as he should have been AUTOMATICALLY inducted years ago as he is the 9th all-time leader in pass receiving yards. 

Bettis has been done an incredible disservice but, unfortunately, may not make it next year either as Andre Reed, who is the 12th all-time receiving yardage leader has yet to be elected and should also be in the hall. Bettis has been caught in a log-jam of both Steeler and past-due players being sent to the Hall that appears to be continuing.

Plus, I just had to post the photo of him running over Brian Urlacher for a TD in his last (and may I add, Super Bowl-winning) season just one more time.


From GoogleImages

THIS DAY IN HISTORY – FEBRUARY 5

HISTORICAL EVENTS

1631 – Theologian and Rhode Island founder Roger Williams arrives in Boston from England.


1817 – First United States gas company is incorporate in Baltimore for coal gas for street lights.


1917 – The Immigration Act is passed over the veto of President Woodrow Wilson.



From GoogleImages

1919 – United Artists is created by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Faribanks and D.W. Griffith.



From GoogleImages

1937 – President Franklin Roosevelt announces "court-packing" plan.




FAMOUS BIRTHS


From Wikipedia

1723 - Clergyman and signer of the Declaration of Independence, John Witherspoon, is born in Scotland.



From GoogleImages

1840 – John Boyd Dunlop, inventor of the pneumatic rubber tire, is born in Scotland.




From GoogleImages


1934 – Hank Aaron, MLB career home run leader, is born in Mobile AL.




FAMOUS DEATHS

None

10 THINGS TO KNOW FOR TODAY – FEBRUARY 5

From PEOPLEPC.COM

10 Things to Know for Today [With my comments]
Tue, 05 Feb 2013 06:31:53 -0500

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today (times in EST):

1. 'HE ALWAYS SAID HE'D NEVER BE TAKEN ALIVE'

Jimmy Lee Dykes was shot to death after Alabama police stormed the underground bunker where Dykes held a 5-year-old boy hostage for six days. [We're all glad the child was unharmed.]


2. SUPERDOME WORRIED ABOUT BLACKOUT FOR MONTHS

Officials said tests on the dome's electrical feeders had shown "some decay and a chance of failure." [The place is a dump. It's the oldest stadium in the NFL by far (1975).  St. Louis is talking abut upgrading their stadium and it was built in 1995! Why Mercedes Benz PAID to attach their name to it I have no idea.]


3. WHO THE GOVERNMENT BLAMES FOR FINANCIAL CRISIS

An expected lawsuit will accuse Standard & Poor's of giving high ratings to mortgage debt that plunged in value before the 2008 recession. [Certainly not themselves even though most of the loans were Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac. See my separate blog on this farce.]


4. AUSTRALIAN SUSPECTED IN BULGARIA BUS ATTACK

U.S. officials are also expecting Bulgarian investigators to link the July attack that killed five Israelis to Hezbollah. [Great, now they're infiltrated Australia?]


5. AHMADINEJAD MAKES HISTORIC VISIT TO CAIRO

An Iranian leader hasn't been to Egypt in more than three decades. [He's only there to help rouse the rabble.]


6. CALIFORNIA TOUR BUS HAD SAFETY PROBLEMS BEFORE CRASH

The bus had 22 federal violations last year, including brake, tire and windshield problems. [It was a "California tour bus" only in the fact that it was IN California when it crashed. Another surprise? We, in Texas, have watched these trashy buses (and trucks) come and go from Mexico ever since NAFTA went into effect.]


7. PTSD A FACTOR IN DEATH OF FORMER SEAL

The Iraq veteran charged with killing a sniper and his friend on a Texas shooting range had received psychiatric care. [Not sure why this didn't affect WWII vets in this way. They had even GREATER access to weapons back then — before liberals made us "safe" with all their gun laws.]


8. U.S. CALLS IRAN SPACE PROGRAM MONKEY BUSINESS

The Iranians claim to have safely sent a monkey into space and back, but the State Department is skeptical the animal survived. [That's funny. Did you see the way they "sent" him?]


9. MOB SUSPECTED IN RIGGED SOCCER MATCHES

Europol says organized crime gangs have fixed or tried to fix 680 matches around the world, including the World Cup. [This surprises who? I always thought that was one of their raisons d' etre.]

10. GOVERNOR TRADES FAT JOKES WITH LETTERMAN

New Jersey's Chris Christie started eating a doughnut when Letterman asked if he was bothered by digs about his weight. [Might as well, since he's a Republican he's not going to get any sympathy from the Left.]


Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

100 DAYS OF THE BEATLES – TOP 100 SONGS – 64

From GoogleImages

NUMBER 64: "I've Got a Feeling" (Lennon/McCartney – May 18, 1970)
Let It Be – Side 1, Track 6 (3:41)

YouTube Video


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (sans footnotes/references) –

"I've Got a Feeling" is a song by the Beatles, from the 1970 album Let It Be. It is one of the songs on the album from the Rooftop Concert. It is a combination of three unfinished songs: Paul McCartney's "I've Got a Feeling", John Lennon's "Everybody Had a Hard Year" from the White Album sessions (where it was demoed as "Everyone Had a Hard Year") and "Watching Rainbows."

Composition

McCartney's song was written for his girlfriend Linda Eastman, whom he soon married, telling her that she was the girl he had always been looking for. Lennon's song was a litany where every line started with the word "everybody".

While McCartney's song was very optimistic, Lennon actually had a hard year—he divorced his wife, Cynthia Powell, his girlfriend Yoko Ono had a miscarriage, he was arrested for drug possession, and had grown deeply unhappy in the Beatles.

In the film Let It Be, Lennon jokingly claimed he had written "Everybody Had a Hard Year" the night before.

Personnel

Paul McCartney – lead vocal, bass
John Lennon – lead vocal, rhythm guitar
George Harrison – lead guitar
Ringo Starr – drums
Billy Preston – electric piano

FEDS SUE S&P OVER LOAN RATINGS

DISCLAIMER: This is another Obama smoke screen to deflect investigation of the culpability of Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac and other government agencies who FORCED lenders to give loans to those who they knew either would not or could not pay them back. THAT'S what really happened, Barney Frank! It's also just another move in the socialist plan to demonize capitalism and private concerns since they cannot compete in the arena of ideas.

The reason it's a civil suit is because the Feds know that if it were a criminal suit S&P and others would start singing like birds with the real story. Liberals are such cowards that when their plans and schemes don't work they have to come up with a scapegoat in the private sector which is always backed by their wiling accomplices in the media. So everything that follows this is bullshit.

Take it and go.

From PEOPLEPC.COM

S&P expects US lawsuit over its mortgage ratings
Mon, 04 Feb 2013 19:44:07 -0500

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government is expected to file civil charges against Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, alleging that it improperly gave high ratings to mortgage debt that later plunged in value and helped fuel the 2008 financial crisis.

The charges would mark the first enforcement action the government has taken against a major rating agency involving the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

S&P said Monday that the Justice Department had informed the rating agency that it intends to file a civil lawsuit focusing on S&P's ratings of mortgage debt in 2007.

The action does not involve any criminal allegations. Critics have long complained about the government's failure to bring criminal charges against any major Wall Street players involved in the financial crisis. Criminal charges would require a higher burden of proof and carry the threat of jail time.

If S&P is eventually found to have committed civil violations, it could face fines and limits on how it does business.

S&P denies any wrongdoing and says any lawsuit would be without merit.

A federal lawsuit would "disregard" the fact that S&P reviewed the same data on risky mortgages as U.S. government officials, who said publicly in 2007 that the problems in the subprime mortgage market appeared to be limited, the company said in a statement.

In the statement, S&P said it "deeply regrets" that its ratings on some securities "failed to fully anticipate the rapidly deteriorating conditions in the U.S. mortgage market during that tumultuous time."

Justice Department spokeswoman Nanda Chitre declined to comment on the matter.

According to a report in the New York Times, the lawsuit will likely be brought this week after settlement talks between the Justice Department and S&P broke down last week. The talks collapsed over federal authorities' insistence that a settlement involve at least $1 billion, the Times reported.

Judges have previously thrown out claims brought by investors against the rating agencies, on the grounds that their ratings amount to free speech protected by the First Amendment.

But that argument hasn't always succeeded in cases involving investments like those in the expected S&P suit, according to research by the Brattle Group, a consulting firm. That's because those ratings weren't published widely, as most bond ratings are. As a result, several courts have ruled that those ratings do not enjoy free-speech protection.

S&P is a unit of New York-based McGraw-Hill Cos. McGraw-Hill's stock plunged nearly 14 percent Monday after reports surfaced about the government's expected lawsuit.

Moody's Corp., the parent of Moody's Investors Service, another rating agency, closed down nearly 11 percent. The two companies' stocks suffered the biggest percentage drops in the S&P 500 index, which finished down slightly more than 1 percent.

S&P, Moody's, and Fitch Ratings, the third major rating agency, have been blamed for helping fuel the financial crisis by assigning AAA ratings to trillions of dollars in risky securities backed by subprime mortgages. The securities collapsed once the housing bubble burst and home-loan delinquencies soared. Major U.S. banks absorbed tens of billions in losses.

The rating agencies are important arbiters of the creditworthiness of securities traded around the world. The grades they assign can affect a company's ability to raise or borrow money and how much investors will pay for securities it issues.

The securities in the anticipated federal lawsuit are collateralized debt offerings. CDOs are investment vehicles that contain many underlying mortgage loans.

A CDO generally gains in value if borrowers repay. But a wave of defaults can cause them to tumble in value. Soured CDOs contributed to, and intensified, the financial crisis.

Critics have long argued that rating agencies have an inherent conflict of interest: They're paid by the same companies whose products and credit they rate. The agencies have been accused of issuing unduly high ratings before the crisis, in part because of pressure from banks they desired as clients.

REAL LIFE QUOTE OF THE DAY – FEBRUARY 4

___________________________________________________

Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.

— Oscar Wilde

___________________________________________________

MOVIE QUOTE OF THE DAY – FEBRUARY 4

HOWARD'S END (1992)***

From GoogleImages

MARGARET SCHLEGEL: I deny it's madness.
HENRY WILCOX: But you said yourself...  

MARGARET SCHLEGEL: It's madness when I say it, but not when you say it.

Emma Thompson as "Margaret Schlegel" and Anthony Hopkins as "Henry Wilcox"

TBBT QUOTE OF THE DAY – FEBRUARY 4

THE TERMINATOR DECOUPLING — Season 2, Episode 17 (March 9, 2009)



(Penny walks in on Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj carrying a pink roller case)
P: Here you go Leonard. Is this going to be big enough?
L: Oh, that's perfect.



H: For taking daffodils to your unicorn.
L: It's just for my notebooks. Thanks, Penny.



P: Oh I love San Francisco, I wish I was going with you.



S: I understand your envy. This is a can't miss symposium. There are going to be discussions on bio-organic cellular computer devices, the advancements in multi-threaded task completion, plus a round table on the non-equilibrium Green's Function approach to the photo ionization process in atoms.
P: When I go I usually just get hammered and ride the cable cars.



L: This conference IS kind of a big thing. The keynote address is being delivered by George Smoot.
P: Oh my god, THE George Smoot?
L: Oh, you've heard of him.



P: Of course I haven't.
S: George Smoot is a Nobel Prize winning physicist, one of the great minds of our time. His work in black body form and anisotropy of the cosmic background radiation cemented out understanding of the origin of the universe.
P: It's kind of a funny name though, SMOOT.



S: It's like talking to a chimp.


All images from The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Second Season DVD

THIS DAY IN HISTORY – FEBRUARY 4

HISTORICAL EVENTS

1789 – George Washington is unanimously elected by the Electoral College to his first and second terms as the first President of the United States.


1861 – Southern states meet to form the Confederacy.



From GoogleImages

1945 – The Yalta Conference between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin near the end of WWII foreshadows the Cold War.



From GoogleImages

1969 - The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is founded with Yasir Arafat as its leader.



From GoogleImages

1974 – Newspaper heiress Patricia "Patty" Hearst is kidnapped by members of the SLA (Simbionese Liberation Army). She later takes part in a bank robbery and is convicted when captured.



FAMOUS BIRTHS


From Wikipedia

1913 – Civil rights activist Rosa Lee Parks is born in Tuskegee, AL.



FAMOUS DEATHS


From Wikipedia

869 – Saint Cyril, Greek missionary to the Slavs dies. He was famous for development of the Glagolitic and Cyrillic (Russian) alphabet based on the Greek unical alphabet of the 9th Century.

SB XLVII – AFTERMATH (Jo DEFEATS Ji)

CONGRATS RAVENS — FROM THE STEELERS NATION

NB: In college football when two players share the same last name and their first names begin with the same letter, the usual practice for names on their jerseys is to use the second letter of their first name to distinguish them. Such as Ji(m) Harbarugh and Jo(hn) Harbarugh. In the late 70s, at the University of Texas, three players on the squad had the same first and last names (Johnny Jones). The solution was to use Lam (for Lampasas, TX, his home town), Ham (for Hamilton, TX, his home town) and Jam (his middle name began with a "J").


From USAToday

1. There was some REAL football played in this Super Bowl which doesn't happen often, usually because there's a least one team like New England or Dallas in the game. I mean they SMACKED each other. For not having any history between them the game got ugly early on with pushing and shoving and then a real confrontation taking place. I loved it.



From GoogleImages

2. Joe Flacco finally convinced me he deserves the $20 million a year he was already going to get from the Ravens starting next season.



From GoogleImages

3. Jo Harbaugh did a great coaching job, particulary in taking the field goal in the Ravens' last drive instead of going for the 4th down TD attempt. Plus it really makes a coach look like a genius when you defer the kickoff, go ahead 21-6 in the first half and them your guy returns the second half kickoff 109 yards. The FG at that time would have been nice to have but not having it really would not have changed the endgame strategy. He also showed a lot more maturity than his "baby" brother (15 months).


4. Where was Jim Harbaugh when the lights went out? When Kaepernick was sacked I thought I saw him take off to look for a switch. Maybe Belichick was there.


5. Rhodes Scholar Award to Solomon Wilcotts on the sideline as the lights started to come back on: "It just seems to be getting brighter and brighter on the field right now." Just look up and find out why, dummy. You'd think he was awaiting sunrise or something.



From CBS

6. Ji Harbaugh goes balistic — When two 49ers jumped offside on the same play Ji went totally berserek, throwing his clipboard, headphones go flying, an all-out yard sale. I laughed for 2 minutes. I even think his Sharpie took flight.




From CBS

7. Jo Harbaurgh goes balistic — I REALLY want to know what the NFL rep was telling him on the sidelines as the lights were almost full-on again. He went from cordial to mildly-irritated to full-blown F-bomb mode in about 5 seconds. Maybe he was told that, for play to resume, Baltimore had to agree to giving the 49ers 17 quick points; but then they did it anyway. I've searched the internet today and can't find anything about it even though CBS broadcasters commented on it at the time.


8. Two big red-zone stops by the Ravens defense, forcing the 49ers to have to settle for field goals, won the game for the them.


9. "49ers can wipe away Super Bowl tears, see bright future" was the USAToday headline in an article by Lindsay H. Jones. Well, since the SB XLVIII will be played OUTDOORS IN NEW YORK next year, their "bright" future may be the blinding snow storm they may have to play in in February 2014.


10. San Francisco social commentator, Chris Culliver, did not avail himself well in the contest, giving up a long TD pass to Jacoby Jones. Personally, I think the league should have suspended him as it was not just a slip of the tongue he made but a full run-off about gays in the locker room and NFL of at least four sentences. 



From USAToday

11. Why did Ji Harbaugh wait so long to have kids. His oldest girl cant be more than three couple? Couldn't he figure it out? And, although he was more articluate than say, Bill Belichick, his post-game comments were not legendary.


12. Forget the non-call on the 49ers final play. I'm wondering, with the Ravens' Haloti Ngata out of the game, why didn't San Francisco RUN the ball inside the 10? It's called out-coaching yourself, Ji.



From GoogleImages

13. For the future: I want the Steelers to watch the film carefully to find out just how the 49ers negated Terrell Suggs. The only time you heard his name called was when they showed a replay of someone blocking him. Tangentally: It's a good thing he's an athlete 'cause, DAMN, he's ugly.

SB XLVII COMMERCIALS – MY RANKING

THE ONLY ONES WORTH CONSIDERING (IMHO)

The best of the rest were just average.

From NFL.com

1. Dodge — Paul Harvey Farmer

From NFL.com

2. Doritos — Goat

From NFL.com

3. Oreos — Library

From NFL.com

4. RAV4 — Kids Football

From NFL.com

5. Doritos — Tea Party

From NFL.com

6. RAV4 — Kaley Cuoco (Because it's Kaley)

From NFL.com

7. Hyundai Sonata — Road Hazards

WORST (By a wide margin)

GoDaddy - Kissing Nerd (OY!!) 

No redeeming qualitites, whatsoever!

Take it and go.

100 DAYS OF THE BEATLES – TOP 100 SONGS – 65

From YouTube

NUMBER 65: "And I Love Her" (McCartney – February 26, 1964)
A Hard Day's Night – Side 1, track 5 (2:30)

YouTube Video
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (sans footnotes/references) –

"And I Love Her" is a song recorded by the Beatles, written mainly by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney). The fifth track on their third album, A Hard Day's Night, it was released 20 July 1964 with "If I Fell" as a single by Capitol Records in the United States, reaching #12 in Billboard.

The Beatles performed "And I Love Her" just once outside Abbey Road Studios; on 14 July 1964 they played it for an edition of the BBC's Top Gear radio show, which was broadcast two days later.

Composition

A majority of this song switches back and forth between the key of E and its relative minor C#m. It also changes keys altogether just before the solo, to F. It ends on the parallel major of the key of F's relative minor, D. This technique is known as Picardy third resolution.

The song was written mainly by McCartney, though John Lennon claimed in an interview with Playboy that his major contribution was the middle eight section ("A love like ours/Could never die/As long as I/Have you near me").

Beatles publisher Dick James lends support to this claim, saying that the middle eight was added during recording at the suggestion of producer George Martin (an early take of the song was released on Anthology 1 in 1995, and the middle eight had not yet been added). According to James, Lennon called for a break and "within half an hour [Lennon and McCartney] wrote...a very constructive middle to a very commercial song." McCartney, on the other hand, maintains that "the middle eight is mine.... I wrote this on my own. I would say that John probably helped with the middle eight, but he can't say 'It's mine'."

"The 'And' in the title was an important thing – 'And I Love Her,' it came right out of left field, you were right up to speed the minute you heard it," McCartney said. "The title comes in the second verse and it doesn't repeat. You would often go to town on the title, but this was almost an aside: 'Oh . . . and I love you.'"

McCartney called "And I Love Her" "the first ballad I impressed myself with." Lennon called it Mc­Cartney's "first 'Yesterday.'"

Recording

Recorded by the Beatles over three days, in Abbey Road Studio Two, the sessions were produced by George Martin and engineered by Norman Smith. The second engineer was Richard Langham.

Day 1

Work began at 2:30 PM on Tuesday 25 February 1964, the first day of the sessions for the "A Hard Day's Night" soundtrack and the accompanying album. Two takes were recorded. Take 1 was incomplete, but Take 2 was complete. However, the Beatles decided a lighter touch was required. Take 2 was eventually released on Anthology 1 in 1995.[7] This version was missing the middle-eight.

Instrumentation on this session was

Paul McCartney – lead vocal, 1963 Höfner 500/1 bass guitar through Vox AC-100 bass amp.
John Lennon – 1964 Rickenbacker 325 electric guitar through Vox AC-50 guitar amp
George Harrison – 1964 Rickenbacker 360-12 12 string electric guitar through Vox AC-50 guitar amp
Ringo Starr – Ludwig drum kit

Day 2

The following day, Wednesday 26 February, a further 17 takes (Takes 3-19) were made in a session lasting from 7:00-10:00 PM. Although Starr swapped his drums for bongos and claves halfway through the session, they were still not happy. It was during this session that they stopped for a tea break and to write the middle eight. A brief fragment of Take 11 can be heard in the closing credits of Episode 8 of Anthology, where Paul sings "And if you saw my love, I'd love her [too]..." before the take breaks down.

Instrumentation on both this session and Day 3 was

Paul McCartney – lead vocal, 1963 Höfner 500/1 bass guitar through Vox AC-100 bass amp.
John Lennon – Harrison's 1962 Gibson J-160E acoustic-electric guitar through Vox AC-50 guitar amp
George Harrison – 1964 José Ramírez Guitarra de Estudio classical guitar
Ringo Starr – Ludwig drum kit, switching to bongos and claves

Day 3

A further two takes (Takes 20-21) were recorded on the morning of Thursday 27 February, beginning at 10:00 AM. Take 20 saw the basic track laid down, while Take 21 was an overdub of McCartney's double-tracked lead vocal and Starr's claves.

Mixing and Release

All mixes were prepared from Take 21.

Mono Remix 1

This initial mono mix was made in the Abbey Road Studio One control room on Tuesday 3 March. As for the recording session, Martin and Smith were producer and engineer. The second engineer was A.B.Lincoln.

The mix features McCartney's single-tracked vocal, with only selected phrases (for example, the title) highlighted by double tracking.

This mix was sent to Capitol and United Artists on Tuesday 9 June, and released on the US mono version of the A Hard Day's Night soundtrack album on Friday 26 June 1964. The stereo version of the album used a fake stereo version of this mono mix.

This mix was also used on the mono version of the Capitol album Something New, released on Monday 20 July 1964.

This mix was also used on the film print of A Hard Day's Night except the speed was slower in a low pitch.

It can currently be found as part of the Capitol Albums Volume 1 box set.

Mono Remix 2

This second mono mix was made in the Abbey Road Studio One control room on Monday 22 June. Martin and Smith were again producer and engineer. The second engineer was Geoff Emerick.

In this mix, McCartney's vocal is double-tracked throughout, except for the first two lines of the third verse.

This mix was released on the UK mono version of A Hard Day's Night on Friday 10 July 1964.

It can currently be found on The Beatles in Mono box set.

Stereo Mix

A stereo mix of "And I Love Her" was made on Monday 22 June immediately after Mono Remix 2. As with Mono Remix 2, McCartney's vocal is double-tracked throughout, except for the first two lines of the third verse.

This mix was released on the UK stereo version of A Hard Day's Night on Friday 10 July 1964.

This mix was also used on the stereo version of the Capitol album Something New, released on Monday 20 July 1964.

It can currently be found on the A Hard Day's Night CD, and as part of the Capitol Albums Volume 1 box set.

Extended Stereo Mix

The German version of Something New contained an edited version of the 22 June stereo mix, repeating the closing guitar riff five times instead of three. This version also appeared on the American "Rarities" album in 1980. It is not known when this edit was made. It has not yet been released on CD.

Personnel

Paul McCartney – vocal, bass
John Lennon – acoustic rhythm guitar
George Harrison – acoustic lead guitar, claves
Ringo Starr – bongos, claves
George Martin – producer

BETTIS

From GoogleImages

Of all the years for them to FINALLY vote Chris Carter into the HOF it had to be another year that keeps Jerome Bettis out. Next year it will probably be Andre Reed finally making it. HOF voters, check the record book, the Steelers do NOT have the most players in the HOF so just get that prejudice out of your minds. 

P.S. Urlacher, remember this?

ALL I'M GONNA SAY IS...

...49ers, you ain't playin' Atlanta this week!

100 DAYS OF THE BEATLES – TOP 100 SONGS – 66

From GoogleImages

NUMBER 66: "Nowhere Man" (Lennon – February 21, 1966)
Rubber Soul – Track 4 (2:40)

YouTube Video
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (sans footnotes/references) –

"Nowhere Man" is a song by the Beatles, from their album Rubber Soul. The song was written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney).

It was recorded on 21 and 22 October 1965. "Nowhere Man" is among the very first Beatles' songs to be entirely unrelated to romance or love, and marks a notable instance of Lennon's philosophically-oriented songwriting. It was released as a single (although not in the United Kingdom) on 21 February 1966, and reached #1 in Australia and Canada and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Lennon, McCartney and George Harrison sing the song in three-part harmony. The song appears in the film Yellow Submarine, where the Beatles sing it about the character Jeremy Hillary Boob after meeting him in the "nowhere land".

George and John play identical "sonic blue" Fender Strats—John plays in the verses and George on the solo.

Interpretation

Lennon claimed that he wrote the song about himself. He wrote it after racking his brain in desperation for five hours, trying to come up with another song for Rubber Soul. Lennon told Playboy magazine:"I'd spent five hours that morning trying to write a song that was meaningful and good, and I finally gave up and lay down. Then 'Nowhere Man' came, words and music, the whole damn thing as I lay down".

McCartney said of the song:"That was John after a night out, with dawn coming up. I think at that point, he was a bit...wondering where he was going, and to be truthful so was I. I was starting to worry about him".

Musical structure

The song begins with E (I dominant) chord ("He's a real") and then involves a 5-4-3-2-1 pitch descent between the B (V dominant) chord ("nowhere man") and A (IV subdominant) chord ("sitting in"); but the entrancing twist comes where Am (iv minor) replaces A in the final verse ("nowhere plans") and the simultaneous G# note melody creates a dissonant Am/major 7. The middle eight, which appears three times, seesaws on a G# minor/A major sequence before falling back on an F# minor and leading back to the verse on a B7.

Personnel

John Lennon – double-tracked vocal, acoustic rhythm guitar, lead guitar (in the verses)
Paul McCartney – bass guitar, harmony vocal
George Harrison – lead guitar (in the solo), harmony vocal
Ringo Starr – drums