In lieu of a kegger to celebrate John Lennon’s 67th birthday, his widow has erected a…something in Reykjavik in which to trap the dreams of his fans like General Zod:

According to a statement: “In 1967 Lennon predicted that he conceptual light tower would one day become a reality.”

The tower is surrounded by a Wising Well Wall on which the words: ‘Imagine Peace’ are engraved in 24 languages.

Ono said: “I hope Imagine Peace Tower will give light to the strong wishes of world peace from all corners of the plant and give encouragement, inspiration and a sense of solidarity in a world filled with fear and confusion.”

And I’m sure it will. But what the hell is it? Well, according to a Yoko Ono fan website it is:

“Imagine Peace Tower, as planned by the 73-year-old artist, will be 20 to 30 meters high with a radius of about a meter, and will have the lyrics of Lennon’s song “Imagine” engraved on it once completed by his 67th birthday next year. The illuminated column, constructed over a base with a radius of about 10 meters, will be filled with messages of wishes and hopes from more than 900,000 people that have been collected so far.
A special mailbox for the monument will be set up in the city to continue accepting more letters to go into the monument.”

So it’s kind of like a an imposing hippie Post Secret for the real world? If our sagging, used-up culture could have ever used a giant light-up obelisk filled with mash notes to peace and love, clearly now is the time.

Tower Built For John Lennon In Iceland [NME]
Imagine Peace Tower [AIU]