Ok, I lied. But not on purpose.

Friday started out pretty badly. I stopped at Stop N Go after taking the girls to school. When I came out of the store, the ignition on the van would not turn at all. Nope. Key went in, key came out, key no turn.

"Did you try turning the steering wheel?"

If one more person asks me that, I think I'll...well, never mind.

It seems that the ignition switch needs replacing. Never had that happen before. Anyway, I was stuck at Stop N Go until Christi could come get me. (I suppose I COULD have walked home.) Anyway, the van's in the shop and will be fixed Monday. In the meantime, we've rented a Nixxan Altima.

In other news, I held greatness in my grasp for a few minutes Friday night. We went to the Half Price Books store that opened Thursday. I never got to books, because they have, you know, records.

Now for all you kiddies, "records" are discs, usually black, and usually around 10 inches in diameter. They are made of vinyl and have a thing called a "groove" in them (contrary to popular belief, there is only one groove on a record--well, two if you count the other side). You place a "needle" in the "groove" and spin the record on a "turntable" (you rap fans know what a turntable is--however, they used to be used to produce actual MUSIC!), and, voila! Music comes out. I love records.

Well, anyway..I'm looking through the records. They have a rather large Beatles section.

For all you kiddies, the "Beatles" were a group in the sixties and seventies. Oftentimes called the "Fab Four" (Queer Eye stole that, mind you), they were a quartet of young mopheads from England who took the nation by storm, forever changing the face of popular music. Paul McCartney was a Beatle. Some of you older kiddies might remember him. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison. Harrison and Lennon are no longer with us, Harrison succumbing to cancer, and Lennon being murdered by some lunatic back in the eighties.

Ok, back to the records. I'm thumbing through them, and I find this record called "Introducing the Beatles," on VeeJay records. It's $5.98.

My heart raced. I mean RACED!

That's the Beatles first American release.

I grabbed it, along with a copy of Abby Road and Hey Jude.

I hurried home and picked up my 9 year old record price guide.

This record (along with the proper identifications from the cover) listed for $150 to $200 in 1995.

I called my Dad. His book, several years newer, listed it anywhere up to $5000! Ok, now I'm really getting excited.

Except...you know, I bought this record at Half Price Books. They aren't known for letting collectibles slip through for $5.98. So, I'm suspicious.

We did some research. Actually, Rachel did the research, because she can find anything on the internet in about 5 seconds.

Alas. My record is a counterfeit. The main identifier? The words "Introducing the Beatles" and "The Beatles" are separated by the hole in the middle of the record. My Dad brought a different record book over yesterday, and it shows a picture of the real one, and both lines are above the hole. Also, the gap between the end of the songs and the label, is about two inches wide on the counterfeit, whereas, it should be less than an inch.

Sigh. At least I only paid $5.98 for it. And I didn't have that record, so, now I have one.

One more thing. I just saw a video on Launch by Pink, called "God is a DJ." In spite herself, I kind of like Pink. She pretty much says what she means. I don't always agree with what she says, but you know where she stands.

Anyway, the chorus of this song says, "If God is a DJ, life is a dance floor, love is the rhythm, you are the music. If God is a DJ, life is a dance floor, you get what you're given, it's all how you use it." Later in the song, she advises, "Get your ass on the dance floor."

You know...she might not be too far off. The theology might be a little lacking, but the philosophy is pretty sound. We all get what we are given. That's pretty good, theologically speaking. And we have a responsibility to use it wisely. And we also should get our asses on the dance floor. You have to live life. You can't just sit back and let it go by.

Thanks for that, Pink.

Missed anything?
The Beatles--Abbey Road/Alice Cooper--Killer - July 04, 2012
The Beatles Eponymous Album - June 26, 2012
Autism's False Prophets - February 12, 2011
Santana--Guitar God? - November 11, 2010
Tribute To the Red Sox - September 29, 2010