January 4, 2003
For the widow of John Gregory Dunne:
In Lieu of Rosebud
From the journal of Steven H. Cullinane, log24.net...
entries
for October 10-12, 2002
She's a...
Twentieth Century Fox
| Columbus Day Dinner Dance Date: Sat Oct 12, 2002 Time: 6:30pm-??? Italian American Club of Southern Nevada 2333 East Sahara Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89104 Live music by Boyd Culter's 5-Piece band, prime rib dinner, and dancing at the Italian-American Club of Southern Nevada. All are welcome to attend. Tickets are only $25 and must be purchased in advance. Cost: $25.00 For More information Call 457-3866 or visit Web Site |
In honor of this dance, of Columbus, and of Joan Didion, this site's music for the weekend is "Spinning Wheel." For the relevance of this music, see Chapter 65 (set in Las Vegas) of Didion's 1970 novel Play It As It Lays, which, taken by itself, is one of the greatest short stories of the twentieth century.
The photograph of Didion on the back cover of Play It (taken when she was about 36) is one of the most striking combinations of beauty and intelligence that I have ever seen.
She's the queen of cool
And she's the lady who waits.
-- The
Doors, "Twentieth Century Fox," Jan. 1967
Play It As It Lays is of philosophical as well as socio-literary interest; it tells of a young actress's struggles with Hollywood nihilism. For related material, see The Studio by Didion's husband, John Gregory Dunne. A review of Dunne's book:
"Not since F. Scott Fitzgerald and Nathanael West has anyone done Hollywood better."
High praise indeed.
The Fourth Man:
In Lieu of Rosebud, Part
III
|
From a site titled
|
The Active Side of Infinityby Carlos CastañedaCarlos’ last book before his untimely death. In his desperate search for meaning, Carlos recapitulates Don Juan’s teachings in perhaps his best effort. The nature of silence, and the statement that the egoic mind is a foreign implant, give deep resonance to these final teachings of Don Juan. |
Arthur Koestler's somewhat more respectable mystical thoughts about infinity may be found here. Related material: my September 5 entry, Arrow in the Blue.
|
Comments on this post: Posted 10/11/2002 at 6:05 pm by [name deleted]: The anthropologist author of the Don Juan books died in 1998, according to his biographers. The Carlos Castaneda who died recently was a journalist, according to that linked news article. Posted 10/11/2002 at 6:09 pm by m759: You thought I didn't know that? Posted 10/11/2002 at 6:40 pm by m759: Perhaps your background has not prepared you to encounter the concept
of depth in literature or in life. Good luck with your medication. |
Added 10/11/2002, ca. 10 to 11:40 p.m.:
A review of Castaneda seems in order... the bad Carlos, not the good Carlos. (The bad Carlos being, of course, the bullshit artist who apparently died in 1998, and the good Carlos the publisher who died yesterday.)
From the LiveJournal site of fermina --
Today's Public Service Message:
| Hi. You're going to die. |
My comment:
From a review of Carlos Castaneda's last book, The Active Side of Infinity:
"We wind up learning something more of Castaneda but not much at all about the active side of infinity, which is mystically translated as 'intent.' It appears that we ought to live with intent, never forgetting that we will die, regardless. Death (and the knowledge of it) should thus inform all of our actions and relationships, providing a perspective and enforcing our humility. This is hardly an original idea, and it can't justify wading through Castaneda's welter of self-indulgence, which might translate better to a bumper-sticker adage."
Hmm... What adage might that be?
As for the good Carlos, see "In Lieu of Rosebud, Part II," below... As was said of Saint Francis Borgia, whose feast is celebrated on the day good Carlos died, he
rendered glorious a name which, but for him, would have remained a source of humiliation.
Friday, October 11, 2002 5:35 AM
In Lieu of Rosebud, Part II*
Bernard Ridder dies at 85
Publisher built newspaper
empire
BY MARTIN MERZER
Bernard H. Ridder Jr., once one of the nation's most influential publishers and the inheritor and protector of a family tradition of newspapering, died Thursday night. He was 85....
''If there is one thing he instilled in me,'' [his son] Peter Ridder said, "it was to be honest. If you don't know the answer, say so.''
His father had been publisher of the St. Paul newspapers; his grandfather, Herman Ridder, launched the family business in 1875 as publisher of The Catholic News in New York.
Though six-foot-five and with a commanding presence, he also was known as an honest, compassionate man and boss.
A private memorial service will be held at a date to be determined, the family said. In lieu of flowers, relatives suggested a contribution to a charity of the donor's choice.
Karl J. Karlson of The St. Paul Pioneer Press contributed to this report.
* For "In Lieu of Rosebud, Part I," see my entry of October 10, 9:44 a.m., below.
My contributions:
Harry Lime --
"In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock ..."
It is with good reason that Spain and the Church venerate in St. Francis Borgia a great man and a great saint. The highest nobles of Spain are proud of their descent from, or their connexion with him. By his penitent and apostolic life he repaired the sins of his family and rendered glorious a name, which but for him, would have remained a source of humiliation for the Church.
His feast is celebrated 10 October.
The New York Times of October 11, 2002 --
This year's winner of the Nobel Prize for literature is Imre Kertész, a writer on Auschwitz.
http://auschwitz.dk/Orson.htm --
In honor of Orson Welles and Bernard Ridder (who both died on October 10), of Imre Kertész (who won a Nobel Prize on October 10), and of the parent site of the Third Man site,
this site's music is now the Third Man Theme.
Thursday, October 10, 2002 11:22 PM
Happy National Depression Day!
Welcome to Hilbert's Hotel...
Moray Eel
Desk Clerk by Ralph Steadman
(missing drawing from Fear and Loathing in Las
Vegas)
15"x 22". Edition of 50. $175
"Although it's always crowded,
you still can find some
room..."
"Some of our patrons have
very SPECIFIC tastes."
A Room at the
|
Thursday, October 10, 2002 9:44 AM
In Lieu of Rosebud...
On this date in 1985, Orson Welles died
...sitting at his typewriter, working on the next day's script changes for his movie,"The Other Side of the Wind."
-- Louis Bülow, The Third Man and Orson Welles
From a review of "Leaving Las Vegas" -- a film starring Nicolas Cage that includes a tribute to Welles:
At least Cage dies without saying "Rosebud."
To me, the musical equivalent of "Rosebud" in this film is a song that Sting sings on the soundtrack, "Angel Eyes," which of course was rendered to perfection in Vegas by Sinatra long before Cage and Sting.
One visual equivalent, in turn, of "Angel Eyes," is to me a sketch for a painting I did in 1976. This has been likened to the many eyes of an angelic creature named Proginoskes in a novel for children and adolescents by Madeleine L'Engle.
Perhaps the dark cynicism of Leaving Las Vegas (the book) might be somewhat counterbalanced by the looney religiosity of A Wind in the Door, L'Engle's novel.
At any rate, here are links to the "Angel Eyes"
© 1976 Steven H. Cullinane
Also, "Angel Eyes" is now the background music for this site; one night of the Bach midi was enough.
Page created Jan. 4, 2004
