From: Jurriaan Bendien (adsl675281@TISCALI.NL)
Date: Sun Feb 03 2008 - 18:16:43 EST
So what's new? Nothing.The Beatles are about to become iconic radio stars in a whole new way, going into The Great Wide Open. It will be Radio Gaga for the aliens. So Far Away From Me. But can Major Tom hear it? Will the aliens be able to follow it? When I was a 10-year old kid, I had a single "Mr Astronaut, have you seen my baby on the moon". But now NASA will broadcast the Beatles' song "Across the Universe" across the galaxy to Polaris, the North Star. This first-ever beaming of a radio song by the space agency directly into deep space is, according to the IHT, "nostalgia-driven". "It celebrates the 40th anniversary of the song, the 45th anniversary of NASA's Deep Space Network, which communicates with its distant probes, and the 50th anniversary of NASA. (...) The idea came from Martin Lewis, a Los Angeles-based Beatles historian, who then got permission from McCartney, Yoko Ono and the two companies that own the rights to Beatles' music. One of those companies, Apple, was happy to approve the idea because is "always looking for new markets," Lewis said. (...)". It's a far cry from the days when church ministers threatened to excommunicate any member of the congregation who listened to the Beatles, and longhaired Lennon was shadowed by the FBI and the CIA. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/01/america/Beatles-Space.php Meanwhile, near the Cavern Club in Liverpool (the original Cavern club was demolished 20 years ago), a luxurious Beatles Hotel just has been opened, featuring 110 rooms, two penthouses and a wedding chapel. The Lennon & McCartney suites cost 800 euros (US$1,185 or 600 GBP) per night. Baby you're a rich man too. You love gimme such a thrill, but your love don't pay me bills. The Lennon suite has a piano in it. The hotel restaurant is called "Blakes" after the designer of the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (which has Karl Marx on it). It has nothing to do with the Blakes-7 TV series or William Blake. According to tourism agency the Mersey Partnership, about 600,000 people visit Liverpool every year because of its unique association with the Beatles, and spend more than 20m pounds while they are there. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7114603.stm Well, what to say to an alien? Space may be widen open, but the immigration service is another story. On earth, things are different than in heaven. Jurriaan Words are flying out like endless rain into a paper cup They slither while they pass They slip away across the universe
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