If I was to point to the one event in my childhood that started me on the path to my past & current phenomenal existence (being the we all exist within and without phenomena), I would point to one film, viewed in my childhood, and one film alone — the fact that I saw, at the tender age of eight years, the Beatles cartoon musical, Yellow Submarine. And not once, but in the theater four times.

Ok, the telling how this blog got its name “i also went…,” involves a number personal self-confessions. So it’s going to take a moment to gather my thoughts. Maybe have a cup of tea to settle myself. It’s so hard dredging up some of this stuff, you know. Perhaps a belt of single malt scotch. Ah. That’s better.

Now where was I?

Ah yes, the title. Of the blog.

Well, to tell you about the title is to tell a bit about how i came to be what I am today: that is, an over-fed, shaved head, leaping gnome (with apologies to Eric Burdon & The Animals). Or rather, an aging progressive leftist techno-hippie phreaque. For the event that picked me up and plunked me down on this rather delightfully meandering path, I would point to my obsession with this psychedelic, phantasmagorical, musical animated masterpiece.

It premiered in the U.S. around Thanksgiving of 1968, and I threw, I’m ashamed to admit, a veritable screaming tantrum to get my father to take me to this after Thanksgiving dinner. This was a duty he was loathe to fulfill and tried to talk me out of it, as dad was more a conservative Republican rat-packer in the Frank-Dean-Sammy school, and hated rock ‘n’ roll, especially the new psychedelic acid rock variety, like it was the harbinger of the end of civilization itself.

But more screaming and tears wore my hapless dad down (I must put flowers on his memorial in remembrance, poor guy), so he relented and took me to a showing in Beverly Hills some time that weekend. Continue reading “The Meaning Of “i also went…”” »