(Entered November 30, 2000)

Thanks to Harry Bluebond

A petition is circulating against the auction of the bricks from John Lennon's Menlove Avenue home, where he was raised. The petition is addressed to NBC Internet Inc. and NBC Enterprises and was put together by Kandalyn Hahn.

The wording of the petition follows:

November 27, 2000
From: All Together Now
c/o Kandalyn Hahn
http://home.earthlink.net/~kandalyn/
alltogethernow@hotmail.com

To: NBC Internet Inc., NBC Enterprises, FairMarket Inc., and Outhwaite & Litherland

We resolutely and emphatically object to the sale of the bricks removed from John Lennon's former Menlove Avenue home in Liverpool and appeal to you to immediately cease this sale. Creating demand for pieces of historic landmarks inspires further destruction of these sites. One need only look at Frank Lloyd Wright homes to understand the impact of such actions--Wright homes are under constant threat of demolition because the market created for the individual components of the homes can mean the individual artifacts sell for more money than the intact homes.

It is ludicrous and saddening that the filming of your Lennon movie at "authentic landmarks" would involve the conscious destruction of them. The packaged bricks referred to as "piece[s] of John Lennon history" have been created out of disrespect for Lennon's life and one of the places he loved.

As Beatles fans, we would like to see the homes maintained and respected so that future generations can understand and have the opportunity to experience firsthand the story of these musicians who have given so much joy to so many people throughout the world. We would like to see the bricks put back in place in the home, or at least stored until such time as the owner might like to have the partition wall rebuilt.

Given the number of houses that are similar in construction to 251 Menlove Avenue, there was no need to shoot all of the domestic scenes at this site. Where shots would have invited angles which required camera equipment to be located at the site of the wall, another home could have been used for the same purpose.

That "a percentage of the auction proceeds [are] to be contributed to the Strawberry Fields Children's Home" in no way justifies the auction. Certainly your corporate coffers could locate the money you plan to donate (many, many times over) from the millions of advertising dollars you will generate from broadcasting the film on television.

The National Trust of England bravely took the lead to preserve Paul McCartney's home, demonstrating the kind of respect and care the most significant sites in the lives of the Beatles deserve. NBC Internet Inc., NBC Enterprises, FairMarket Inc., and Outhwaite & Litherland, by creating and facilitating this sale, are showing disrespect not only to John Lennon, but to the millions of fans worldwide who value Beatles heritage. We will hold you accountable and will consciously refrain from any monetary interactions with your firms in the future if you do not act now to respect our request.

Kandalyn also says you may want to write to the following:

Write to her at kandalyn@earthlink.net and include your name with city/state. She will type it onto a group letter to be sent later this week

Or, if inspired, you can write your own messages to the powers that be. Here's the email/contact info Kandalyn has obtained:

- NBC Internet Inc. (the Internet company which created the auction): auctions@nbci.com ; Address: 225 Bush St., San Francisco, CA 94104

- NBC Internet's VP of Entertainment, Andrew Shotland: andrew.shotland@nbci.com ;Address: (same as above)

- FairMarket Inc. (the online auctioneer): info@fairmarket.com ; Address: 500 Unicorn Park Dr., Woburn, MA 01801

- Outhwaite & Litherland (the auction house which authenticated the bricks): auction@lots.uk.com ; Address: Kingsway Galleries, Fontenoy Street, Liverpool L3 2BE, England

- NBC Enterprises (jointly conceived and managed auction with NBC Internet, Inc.): No email contact available; Address: 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112

- NBC Enterprises VP Andrew Darrow: No email contact listed (try andrew.darrow@nbci.com ); Address (same as above)