Thursday, December 8, 2005
Once again, welcome to the website.
I don't know where in the country or where in the world you're reading this. But, here in the Big Apple... by New York City standards... Damn! It's cold!
A long way from hangin' out in Central Park for our weekly outdoor concerts, hah?

Y'know... today and tonight, even in this cold, there are gonna be people gathering in Central Park, not far from "The Hill" where I've been playing for years. They will be gathering in Strawberry Fields to remember the work and the gifts of a fellow singer/songwriter on the day his time here was cut short. Man! 25 years ago!
When Giuliani was mayor, he imposed a 1AM curfew on the park and they've never lifted it for the people who gather in Strawberry Fields on this night. I don't know... I'm certainly not the type of guy to be hangin' out there for that kinda thing. But, I don't think it would hurt anybody to allow these people to hang until 2 or 3 like they use to do. It's all very quiet and peaceful.
Despite requests from some of the gatherers, city officials still plan to close the park at 1, as they have for the past several years.
Activist attorney Norman Siegel, (who actually introduced one of my shows at Merkin one year) has argued the city should let the park remain open all night. He called John a "quintessential New Yorker. He was talented, opinionated, outspoken and a peace lover."
Siegel said before the 1:00 curfew was enacted during Giuliani's administration, Lennon supporters rarely stayed in the park past 2:30 a.m. "Let's face it, it's usually bitterly cold... people want to leave," he said.
Y'know, the other day at the premier of the remake of the movie "King Kong", Mayor Bloomberg stood in Times Square and declared that the city was observing "King Kong Day". So, I don't see the harm in letting this particular group of people hang out in Central Park tonight for the memory of someone they felt was a great artist and New Yorker. No big deal either way. I just think it'd be cool to let 'em if they wanna hang.

Well, I hope they have a peaceful, good night out there.
Anyway... listen! The box office is open today if you wanna get your tickets to our annual "Year-End Concert" at Merkin Concert Hall. It's 10 days away... a week from this Saturday Night!
Today, I'm writing a new song specifically for this gig. (It might suck! Y'never know!) It's a song about FESTIVUS... that holiday for the rest'v us! (You gotta catch up on your Seinfeld!)
But, every year we all have a blast at Merkin Hall. Seriously, if you've never been to one of these, you oughta come this year. Get a few friends together or come by yourself. A lotta people do.
"It's Just Us"

Um... listen, here. Call the box office today, okay?
212-501-3330
This year there are gonna be a whole bunch of really great people in the audience. So, I'm gonna call a few up to share the stage with me. It's gonna be great. I'm makin' this up as I go along... listening to my own heart... like I always do.
Okay I gotta run. Got alot to do again today. Picking up the new brochures for the...

If you get a chance, stop by that website later on, too. (Click on the logo)
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Because in January we'll be getting together again for a very, very special evening. The VOICES TOGETHER CONCERT.
I'll tell you all about it at Merkin Hall. But let me just say that my friends and I... a bunch of ordinary people, refuse to ignore the carnage that is ravaging the Iraqi people... today... now... as you are reading this. The violence is devastaing the ordinary people.. the civilians, especially the children.
We found a remarkable group of people with an organization called LIFE, who have people on the ground in Iraq... really getting desperately needed help those who need it most. And, there is a woman we've found named Elissa Montanti, an otherwise ordinary New York woman, who has made 4 trips into Iraq to get people and bring them here to the States for the medical help they cannot get in that war-torn part of the world. She is an angel... a true hero. We want to help her do the work she has chosen to do in any way we can. Therefore, VOICES TOGETHER Concert.
She has done amazing things already for so many... but, everyday there is much, much more to do.
And... she just went to Iraq again to get a few more kids to get them in the hospital here!
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Dalal lost her leg in the fighting . . . . . . . . . . . Dalal sowing off her new leg with Elissa
But, there is soooo much more to do. Please help us... help Elissa... help them.
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Anyway... just go visit that website and see what you can do to make the world a better place. It actually does take effort. It actually takes sacrifice. It actually does take more than words, or spouting opinion, or writing a song. It takes action.
Okay... I'll let you now more about that as it gets closer.
For now... see you in a couple of weeks at Merkin Concert Hall.
Thanks again.