"History is a nightmare
from which I am trying to awake"
-- James Joyce in Ulysses
"Be of good cheer, Master Ridley, and play the man, for we shall this day light such a candle in England as I trust by God's grace shall never be put out."
-- Hugh Latimer, former Bishop of Worcester, to his friend Nicholas Ridley, former private chaplain to Henry VIII, on the occasion of their being burned at the stake by the Roman Catholic queen Bloody Mary Tudor on October 16, 1555
Hitler's Still Point
For the views of the noted philosopher Adolf Hitler on the Roman Catholic Church, click here.
From the Archives:
On this date in 1971, "Rick Nelson was booed off the stage when he didn’t stick to all oldies at the seventh Annual Rock ’n’ Roll Revival show at Madison Square Garden, New York. He tried to slip in some of his new material and the crowd did not approve. The negative reaction to his performance inspired Nelson to write his last top-40 hit, 'Garden Party,' which hit the top-ten about a year after the Madison Square Garden debacle. 'Garden Party,' ironically, was Nelson’s biggest hit in years."
"With a little effort, anything can be shown to connect with anything else: existence is infinitely cross-referenced."
-- Opening sentence of Martha Cooley's The Archivist
Woe unto Isaiah 5:20 |
As she spoke | The world Cole Porter |
Actor Pat O'Brien died on this date in 1983.
"A man in Ireland, who came in contact with a Bible colporteur, at first repulsed him. Finally he was persuaded to take a Bible and later he said: 'I read a wee bit out of the New Testament every day, and I pray to God every night and morning.' When asked if it helped him to read God's Word and to pray, he answered: 'Indade it does. When I go to do anything wrong, I just say to myself, "Pat, you'll be talking to God tonight." That keeps me from doing it!'"
-- worldmissions.org
colporteur
... noun...
Etymology: French, alteration of Middle French comporteur, from comporter to bear, peddle....
a peddler of religious books
Going His Way
October 14 in history:
1888 Katherine Mansfield, author, is born.
1977 Bing Crosby, singer/actor (Going My Way), dies.
"He was given up to his dream. What did garden-parties and baskets and lace frocks matter to him? He was far from all those things. He was wonderful, beautiful.... Happy ... happy ... All is well, said that sleeping face. This is just as it should be. I am content."
-- Katherine Mansfield, "The Garden Party"
In honor of Mansfield, Crosby, and other authors and singers, this site's music is now a midi rendition of Rick Nelson's classic.
Two Literary Classics
(and a visit from a saint)
On this date in 1962, Edward Albee's classic play, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" opened on Broadway.
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As I was preparing this entry, based on the October 13 date of the Albee play's opening, after I looked for a picture of Marshall's book I thought I'd better check dates related to Marshall, too. This is what I was surprised to find: Marshall (b. Oct. 10, 1942) died in 1992 on today's date, October 13. This may be verified at
The James Edward Marshall memorial page,
A James Edward Marshall biography, and
Author Anniversaries for October 13.
The titles of the three acts of Albee's play suffice to indicate its dark spiritual undercurrents:
"Fun and Games" (Act One),
"Walpurgisnacht" (Act Two) and
"The Exorcism" (Act Three).
A theological writer pondered Albee in 1963:
"If, as Tillich has said of Picasso's Guernica, a 'Protestant' picture means not covering up anything but looking at 'the human situation in its depths of estrangement and despair,' then we could call Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? a 'Protestant' play. On any other definition it might be difficult to justify its religious significance except as sheer nihilism."
-- Hugh T. Kerr, Theological Table-Talk, July 1963
It is a great relief to have another George and Martha (who first appeared in 1972) to turn to on this dark anniversary, and a doubly great relief to know that Albee's darkness is balanced by the light of Saint James Edward Marshall, whose feast day is today.
For more on the carousel theme of the Marshall book's cover, click the link for "Spinning Wheel" in the entry below.
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.
Added ca. 10 to 11:40 p.m. October 11, 2002:
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.
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.
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 |
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