[MD] To Anybody NOT Sitting on a hoity-toity cushion

[118]

Why John, I think I know who you think it is, but actually it is Thomas
Pynchon off to write another novel.  There aren't many pictures of him
around, so I can see why you ask.  Stay free brother, don't get stuck in
Gravity's Rainbow.

Cheers,
Mark

On Tue, Nov 9, 2010 at 3:34 PM, John Carl <ridgecoyote at gmail.com> wrote:

> The curse and delight of being the father of mostly girls, is I see a lot
> of
> the "romantic comedy genre".  The latest being a Heath Ledger vehicle
> called
> "Knight's Tale" to which I was subjected last night.  And strangely has
> stuck in my mind today, along with the song Golden Years by David M. Bowie.
>
>
> Actually, I don't know what his middle initial is.  And David Bowie is a
> made-up name anyway, like Cary Grant.  But hell with it.  It suits my mood
> to make him a DmB.
>
> What persisted most from the silly  movie was a comic character that the
> young squire's party meet on the road - a naked poet, Chaucer, by name.
> Naked because he seriously screwed up in a game of cards, and he persuades
> them to let him tag along, and feed and clothe him, because he's a writer.
>
> And writers can come in handy, ya know.
>
> It's not exactly historically accurate.  They start out with a Joust and
> the
> stands rockin' out to Queen's, We Will Rock You, and you know it's not
> historical accuracy that matters in a movie like this.   But overall, I
> have
> to say I found the juxtaposition of old and new quite wonderful.  And that
> which stayed with me upon further reflection was that the poet's words had
> more impact upon the elevation of a lowly squire to a noble knight than
> mere
> cunning of arms could ever accomplish.
>
> What kept going through my mind most was this
> speech<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpJIVfGcL6Y&feature=related>by
> Paul Bettany, which I think steals the show, and I thought Garrison
> Keillor's P.O.E.M - the Professional Organization of English Majors would
> really appreciate this guy.  Who used the power of words to transform a
> frog
> into a prince.  And really an illustration of how rhetoric creates reality,
> because it's really Chaucer's speech that enable the pretend knight to earn
> his way into society's contests where he can compete and become an equal.
> And its also, to an extent, the over-blown, poetic aspect of living up to a
> story, that drives Ledger's character onward and accepts no compromises
> when
> things get tough.  A sort of Messiah complex, writ on the silver screen and
> before our very eyes.
>
> The whole thing turns then, in my view,  when Bettany's Chaucer turns away
> from the Lords and ladies and declares his audience to be "those NOT
> sitting
> on a cushion" and reveals himself as the low-down sophist he undoubtedly
> is,
> and thus influences all that follows, leading up to the inevitable ending,
> two combatants facing each other, mean squint, this town ain't big enough
> for the both of us...
>
>  The best cowboys have chinese eyes...
>
> And more fitting my mood than any operatic score, there's this scene, that
> also sticks in the head; our brave knight's first foray into gentile
> society, and immediately he gets
> challenged<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1_WbhGmpTw&feature=related>by
> his nemesis.  I thought Heath's acting in this grade B flick was
> beautiful.   Bowie's Lyric matching the mood perfectly and fittingly.
>
> Last night they loved you, opening doors and pulling some strings,
>
> angel.
>
> In walked luck and you looked in time
>
> Never look back, walk tall, act fine
>
> Come get up my baby
>
> I'll stick with you baby for a thousand years
>
> Nothing's gonna touch you in these golden years
>
> Go-oh-old'en years.
>
>
> And who is that dark man? Looking on?  Exiting stage left?  Who is he
> really?
>
> Asks the guy who is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.
> Moq_Discuss mailing list
> Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc.
> http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org
> Archives:
> http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/
> http://moq.org/md/archives.html
>