THE LOST INNOCENCE OF THE BEATLES' LOCH'N'ROLL YAEARS

The deepest pleasure afforded by the beatles in scotland-a handsome hardback custom-built for the christmas stocking of every rock dad north of berwick-is its depiction of a time when the four were not yet so stratospherically and unreachably fab. we know all too well the sorts of people by whom the beatles were later surrounded-gurus,managers with grievances,flakes and acolytes, cocaine set serpents and, in the cases of john lennon and george harrison, fans with murder on their minds.

In the transit van and gusthouse stage of their career, though, there was an altogether more seemly class of beatle disciple. it is these people who are tha stars of the many wonderful photographs and I-was-there accounts in ken mcNab's book: the baffled lord provosts pushed in the band's direction, the haressed policemen mentally calculating what beatlemania is earning them in overtime, the adolescent offspring of scottish theatre managers crammed into kilts to meet the singers off the telly, the beehived ravers who firted their way by what passed for security in those far-off days.

Who knew what they were dealing with back then? virtually nobody, least of all the beatles themselves. performing one-night stands in elgin and kirkcaldy, aberdeen and bridge of allan they were merely one band among a multitude of touring beat groups, slightly superior to billy J kramer and the dakotas but little more; unlìkely candidates for cultural deification, certainly.

It's this deminsion that gives a heartbreaking, beatifully sad cast to much of this admirable book. its characters had the briefest walk-on parts in the greatest secular nativity story known to humanity but couldn't have appreciated the fact until much later. their anecdotes, therefore, have the burnished, well-rehearsed sheen that comes from nearly 50 years of telling. how many howffs and saloons have been been warmed down the years by a ritualised recollection of the time, say, brian meechan of dundee phoned ringo starr at his hotel in the city and gop put straight through?

This book bursts with similiar tales, all of them happy, hopeful and redolent of a barely recognisable era. they are underscored, however, by the same blue notes that made hey jude possibly the greatest record of all time, the haunting sense that none of this can ever happen again. it's a book about the beatles, youth at a time when society was relinquishing the keys to everything.

MICROSOFT Vs GOOGLE

I know, a predictable (almost tabloid-y) blog headline. but in this case, there really is some intesesting bac and forth going on between microsoft and google curruently- especially with regards to office sowftware.

Firstly googe CEO eric schmidt wrote an article for the economist, in which he takes aìm at microsoft with this:
"in 2007 we'll witness the increasing dominance of open internet standards. as web access via mobile phones grows, these standards will swee aside the proprietary protocols promoted by individual companie striving for technical monopoly. today's desktop software will be overtaken by internet-based services that enable users to choose the document formats,search tools and editing capability that best suti their needs".

Ok he doesn't specifically name microsoft, but it's obvious who is at the top of the list of "individual companies" schmidt is referring to. also not specially mentioned is offibe software, but in this case google's actions speak louder than their words. in recet months we've seen a frurry of product releases and acquisitions in the office space by google-google apps for your domain (a kind of lightweight office suite which includes a start page), the transformation of writely and their online spreadsheet product into google docs & spreadsheet, the acquisition of jotspot... it all points to an increasing emphasis on office sowftware from google.

Nick carr wonders though if schmidt has his timing right-will 2007 be the 'tipping point'? I suspect it will be, because as we noted in our previus post about gooleOS gains significant adoption (which is a gìven, even if it won't be like the old days of people lining up outside stores for the latest windows release), that will put pressure on google's product line. after all, vista will have IE7 as its default browser, live search as default search and live.com as the default homepage (probably). all of this puts the squeeze on google, which is we're predicting 2007 will be the year that google attacks on a lot of fronts. and whether or not believe a googleOS is on the way, it's almost certain that google will put the pressure on with office software delivere over the web.

As dare obasanjo of microsoft notes, "it's represhing to see google stop playing coy and be straightforward about their ambitions." I heartily agree, but I suspect google's actions in 2007 will be much lauder than their words. microsoft needs to step up too, as dare says, so this is going to be a fascinating battle to watch!.

SEX FOR THE HEALTH

When discussing sexual connecting, Dr ogden's interviewees spoke of a FLOWING CONTINUUM OF PLEASURE, ORGASM, AND ECSTSASY, rather than a one-time experience, the also described peak sexual experiences as coming from stimulation all ove their bodies--not just from their genitals--including fingers, toes, hips, lips, neck, and earlobes.

Obviously, arousal and satisfaction evoive not only from receiving sexual enerjy, but also from the joy of stimulating one's partner. sex,then, is a commitment of give and take.

Finally, the women Dr. ogden studied have their own concepts of safe sex, essential to experiencing sexual pleasure and ecstasy. this kind of safe sex does NOT relate to preventing STDs or pregnancy；it relates, instead, to emotional and spiritual safety. such safeti is CRUCIAL for sexual closeness. most of the women insisted that warm, loving connections with themselves and with their partners were essential to and inseparable from the experience of sexual ecstasy.

When people feel deeply close while merely holding hands, they are having sex. when people display caring for each other through hugs, caresses, and kissing, they are also having sex. when connecting people in a crowded room wink at each other in their own secret way, they are communicating sex to each other；such non-contact sex can be excitedly arousing and emotionally fulfiling. and, of course, during sexual union whe the sky seems to open so a lightning bolt can strike the couple--while fireworks ignite and the earth stops spinning--this is sex, too.

But wait. do men also need this almost spiritual connection to enjoy rex and achieve good health? well yes and no. men need sex and men need emotional connection, but many men don't necessarily need to put the two together!

Presently, younger boys are bein socialized in a more enlightened mannar；consequently, male attitudes toward sexual union are changing. but, unfortunately,the socialization of many men born in of before the 60's provided very little information of value to the formation and maintaenance of intimate relationships. these men were taught, as youths, that males showe love by doing, not by talking or "connecting" with girls.