Lennon Or McCartney?

Over 500 celebs answer the eternal question.

Lennon's Killer Denied Parole

John Lennon's killer was denied parole yesterday for the eighth time.

According to the decision, “the panel has determined that if released at this time, there is a reasonable probability that you would not live and remain at liberty without again violating the law.” The panel added that “your release would be incompatible with the welfare of society and would so deprecate the serious nature of the crime as to undermine respect for the law.” Ono sent word to the Parole Board that she again opposed Chapman’s release out of fear for herself and Lennon’s two sons. She also expressed concerns that Chapman himself would be at risk from still irate Lennon fans looking to get even. Her lawyer had no immediate comment Friday. The panel noted that Chapman received letters of support and expressed remorse. It also reviewed his prison disciplinary record, which has been clean since 1994. But the Parole Board commissioners noted community opposition to his release.

Chapman, who is permitted conjugal visits with his wife, says that he has found Jesus in prison. His next parole hearing is in 2016.

Tweet Of The Day - Yoko Ono

Herman Cain: Imagine There's No Pizza

How We Got The News

Originally posted on December 8th, 2005.

"Oh, good grief! Why do you insist on having a Slurpee after going out drinking? It's gross."

"I'll be right back," my roommate said and slammed the door of my car.

I kept the engine running and fiddled with the radio, trying to find the new Donna Summer single we'd heard just heard at the Parliament House. I looked through the windows of the 7-Eleven to see my roommate looking around the store in puzzlement. He looked out at me and waved at me to come inside. I turned off the car and walked in.

"What's the problem?"

My roommate indicated the unmanned counter. "Look, there's no clerk! Nobody is here. Do you think they've been robbed?"

My pulse quickened. A few weeks earlier, there'd been a slaying of an Orlando convenience store clerk. The clerk's body had been found by the next customers to arrive in the store. That thought in mind, I peered into the back room of the store.

"Hello? Anybody here?"

We heard a small sound, like a kitten mewing. But the sound wasn't coming from the back room, it was coming from behind the front register. Fearfully, we leaned across the wide laminated counter, pushing aside the hot dog condiments and Slim Jim display. The clerk, a young woman, was lying there on the floor, sobbing, her mouth open but only an occasional faint cry escaping.

"Are you OK? Do you need help? Do you want us to call the police?"

The woman pulled herself to a sitting position, shaking her head. I noticed that she was holding a small transistor radio. She ran her hand down her face, as if trying to wake herself up from a bad dream, and said, "He's dead! He's dead! I can't fucking believe it!"

"Who's dead? Not the president!" my roommate gasped.

"No. It's Lennon. John Lennon. They shot him and he's dead," she wailed, falling back over on her side.

We left her there on the floor and drove home in silence. Before I fell asleep that night, I heard my roommate playing Double Fantasy in his room and I think I heard him crying too.

That was 25 years ago, today.

PS22 Chorus - Imagine

Staten Island's now world-famous PS22 fifth grade chorus covers John Lennon. Some of their earlier YouTube clips have had millions of views.

Imagine

I just hate that GLEE can turn me into a 13 year-old girl sometimes, but last night's bit with the deaf chorus got me completely toh up. Starts at the 5:00 mark. Don't imagine this clip wiill have a long life on YouTube, but maybe the copyright Nazis have today off.

Yoko Ono Scores Third #1 Dance Hit

A month shy of her 75th birthday, a remix of Yoko Ono's 1981 single No, No, No has hit #1 on the Billboard dance chart. It's Yoko's third #1 dance hit and her 11th appearance on the dance chart, beginning with her 1981 #13 hit, Walking On Thin Ice, a remix of which hit #1 in 2003. Several months ago, Yoko hit #2 on the dance chart with You're The One, featuring a remix by my pal (and Blowoff DJ), Rich Morel. (Morel has had four of his remixes hit #1.)

Yoko Ono is by far the oldest person ever to achieve a #1 dance hit. And since this week's #1 is credited merely to "Ono" (on the charts, but not, curiously, on the artwork shown), the artist and song title combo (Ono - No, No, No) may be the first palindrome to #1 hit on any chart. I can't think of any others, at least.

RELATED: In 1980, John Lennon died clutching the final mix of Walking On Thin Ice in his hands, having just returned from completing his guitar solo on the song. The eerily prescient lyrics about the unpredictability of death were a real shocker for everybody when the single was released the next year. Walking On Thin Ice remains in my lifetime all-time Top Ten. "I may cry someday. But the tears will dry whichever way. And when our hearts return to ashes, it'll just be a story... " Her loneliness in the video is heartwrenching.