Saturday, 9 July 2022

My Brother



“Are You Familiar with 
The Thought Experiment,
The Ship of Theseus’ in 
The Field of Identity-
MetaPhysics..?”





Put. That Coffee. DOWN.
Coffee's for Closers, only.

Alec Baldwin Glengarry Glen Ross Speech

Daniel Plainview :
Get out of there! 
 Can I help you? 

Henry :
 Daniel?

Daniel Plainview :
Who's that? 

Henry :
My Name is Henry. 

Daniel Plainview :
Yeah? 

Henry :
 I'm Henry. 

Daniel Plainview :
 What can I do for you? 

Henry :
I'm Henry Plainview. 
I'm from Fond du Lac. 
 I'm Your Brother, 
from Another Mother. 
 Ernest is My Father. 

Daniel Plainview :
 Who are you? 

Henry :
 Henry.

Daniel Plainview :
Mary Branch
Is that Your Mother?

Henry :
Yes, sir, that's right. 
 I read about Your Gusher 
in The Paper, about Your Success. 

Daniel Plainview :
 You heard about my strike? 
You just show up

Henry :
 Our Father's Dead
 Ernest Died, I heard. 
I wanted to find you. 

Daniel Plainview :
 When? 

Henry :
 Three months ago. 
I got a letter from Annabelle

Daniel Plainview :
 My Sister, Annabelle? 
Where is she?

Henry :
Still at Home. 
Fond du Lac. 

Daniel Plainview :
 You came all the way 
from Wisconsin 
to tell me this? 

Henry :
I'm coming from New Mexico. 
I've been there. I came to find you. 
 Did you know about me? 

Daniel Plainview :
 Do you have Identification
 Do you have this letter?
Where are you coming from? 

Henry :
From New Mexico. 

Daniel Plainview :
 Yes, I know, but 
from where? 

Henry :
 Silver City. I've been there for two years. 
I was trying drilling of my own for years.
Getting leases in Texas. Louisiana. 

Daniel Plainview :
Anything that produced? 

Henry :
 No. Not like Your Success, no. 

Daniel Plainview :
Are you married? 

Henry :
No. I spent time in jail. 
I had a stretch of very bad time. 
I had nothing. I was 
picked up in Louisiana. 
I worked on a chain gang 
for six months building roads. 
 That was a very hard time. 
 Are you married? 

Daniel Plainview :
 What were you in jail for

Henry :
Believe it or not, for all 
the terrible things 
I've gotten myself into, 
 when they picked me up, 
I hadn't done anything

 But I've done my share of things 
 that shouldn't be talked about. 


Daniel takes a milkbottle, fills it 7/8ths up with whiskey, tops it off with milk, and then forces his deaf son 
to drink it in one --

Daniel Plainview :
 Drink it. Drink it! Come on. 

Now Daniel and Henry 
can talk in Private --

Daniel Plainview :
 So... What do you want, Henry? 

Henry :
 Nothing. If you can spare something, 
I can work for you in any way. 
I know I'll keep moving, before long, 
to get back to Fond du Lac. 

Daniel Plainview :
Do you have any money? 

Henry :
Some. Not much. 

Daniel Plainview :
Just answer me directly. 
 You say "nothing," then you say 
you'd like to stay and work. 
And it's better, I'd just like 
to hear you say you'd like to be here

Henry :
I'd like to be here
I'm a good worker. 
I worked cable tool 
rigs, built railroads. 
I won't need any favours

Daniel Plainview :
 Good. What did My Mother know? 

Henry :
I don't know. I don't know if she knew 
and looked the other way
if she never knew. 
 Why did you leave? 
 I know you didn't get on 
with Our Father. 
 
Daniel Plainview :
I worked for The Geological Survey 
and went to Kansas. 
I couldn't stay there. 
I just couldn't

 I don't like to explain myself. 
Are you an angry man, Henry?

Henry :
About what? 

Daniel Plainview :
 Are you envious
Do you get envious

Henry :
I don't think so, no. 

Daniel Plainview :
I have a competition in me....  
I want no one else to succeed. 
I hate most people. 

Henry :
That part of me is gone
 Working and not succeeding, 
 all my failures have left me... 
I just don't care.
 
Daniel Plainview :
 Well, if it's in me, it's in you. 
 There are times when I look at people 
and I see nothing worth liking
I want to earn enough money, 
I can get away from everyone. 

Henry : 
What Will You Do 
about Your Boy? 

Daniel Plainview : 
I don't know. 
Maybe it'll change
 
Does Your Sound 
come back to you?
I don't know. 
 
Maybe no-one knows that.
Doctor might not know that. 
 
Henry :
Where's His Mother? 

Daniel Plainview : 
I don't want to talk 
about Those Things. 
 
I see The Worst in People, Henry. 
I don't need to look past seeing them 
to get all that I need. 
 
I've built-up my hatreds 
over the years, 
little by little. 
 
Having you Here gives me 
a second Breath of Life
 
I can't keep Doing This 
on my own with 
these people





Henry : 
Daniel! 
Daniel, wake up! 
Daniel! 

Daniel Plainview : 
Just have to Go and Have a Word 
with The Conductor

I'll be right back. 
You stay here. You understand? 
You stay here. I'll be right back. 
 
 
No! No! No! 
Tilford!
 
Plainview. 
 
 Daniel Plainview :
This is My Brother, 
Henry Plainview 
from Fond du Lac. 
 
H.M. Tilford. 
 
Pleasure. Henry Plainview. 
J.J. Carter. So... 
Shall we?

Tilford, of Standard Oil : 
Yes. How's your boy? 

Daniel Plainview :
Thank you for asking. 

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
Is there anything we can do? 

Daniel Plainview :
 Thanks for asking is enough. 

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
 So what are your plans? 

Daniel Plainview :
Is this about buying up my tracts here? 

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
 Yes. 

Daniel Plainview :
The Cable was about my Coyote Hills lease.

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
We'd like that, too. 

Daniel Plainview :
What's your offer on Coyote Hills?

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
We'll offer $150,000 for full title. 

Daniel Plainview :
That's A Deal. What's next? 

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
 You have 11,000 acres in Little Boston. 
You have one proven well that was damaged... 
 
Daniel Plainview :
I have three wells proven
You haven't been
Paying Attention
That's three proven wells.

Tilford, of Standard Oil : 
 We'll make you a millionaire while you're sitting here 
from one minute to the next. 
 
Daniel Plainview :
And what else would I do with myself? 
 
Tilford, of Standard Oil :
Are you asking me?
 
Daniel Plainview :
What else would I do with myself? 
 
Tilford, of Standard Oil :
Take Care of Your Son...?
I don't know what you would do. 
 
Daniel Plainview :
If you were me and Standard offered to buy 
what you had for a million dollars, why? 
So, Why? 

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
You know why. 

Daniel Plainview : 
Yeah, you fellas should just 
scratch around in The Dirt 
and find it like the rest of us
instead of buying-up 
Someone Else's Hard Work. 
 
 Tilford, of Standard Oil :
I've scratched around The Dirt, Son. 
 
 
 Daniel Plainview :
You going to change your shipping costs? 
 
Tilford, of Standard Oil :
We don't dictate shipping costs. 
That's railroad business. 
 
Daniel Plainview :
You don't own the railroads? 
 'Course you do. Of course you do. 

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
 Where you going to put it all?  
Where? Build a pipeline? 

Make a Deal with Union Oil? 
Be My Guest. 
 
But if you can't pull it off
you've got an ocean of oil 
under your feet with 
nowhere to go. 
Why not turn it over to us? 

We'll make you rich. 
You spend time with Your Boy. 
 
It's a Great Discovery. 
 Now, let us help you

Daniel Plainview :
Did you just tell me how to run My Family? 

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
It might be more important
now that you've proven the field 
and we're offering to buy you out.
  
Daniel Plainview :
One night I'm going to come to you, 
inside of Your House, 
or wherever you're sleeping, 
and I'm going to cut your throat

Tilford, of Standard Oil : 
What? What are you talking about? 
Have you gone crazy?

Daniel Plainview : 
Did you hear What I Said?
 
Tilford, of Standard Oil :
I heard What You Said -- 
Why did you say it?
 

Daniel Plainview :
You don't tell me about My Son. 

Tilford, of Standard Oil : 
Why are you acting insane and 
threatening to cut my throat? 

Daniel Plainview : 
You don't tell me about my son.
 
Tilford, of Standard Oil :
I'm not telling you anything
I'm asking you to be reasonable
If I've offended you, I apologize
 
 Daniel Plainview :
You'll see What I Can Do. 
 


This parcel here is the 3,000-acre ranch owned by B.L. Harper. This is San Luis Obispo County land. 
 And from here to the coast, it's all Union Oil. 

Daniel Plainview :
 What's this? Why don't I own this? 
Why don't I own this!? 
 
That's the Bandy tract. 
He was The Holdout, when we were doing The Buying.  
He had hoped to Speak with You. 
Can't you just build the pipeline around this tract? 
 
 Daniel Plainview :
Can I build around 50 miles 
of Tehachapi mountains
Don't be thick in front of me, Al.
 
I can go to him again. 

Daniel Plainview : 
No, I'll Go and Talk to The Man. 
I'll Talk to Him. Show you How It's Done. 
All right. Pack it up, Henry. 
 
Daniel Plainview :
How big is His Room? 
 
 
He's sharing with another boy. 
 
Daniel Plainview :
Who?
 
An older boy. About 12. 
He's been there for a year. 
Named Ballard.

Daniel Plainview : 
How big is The Room? 
 
It's a fair size. 
Got enough space. 
.....are you taking Henry 
with you to meet Union Oil..?



*****

Daniel Plainview :
Are you the son of William Bandy? 

Bandy : 
Grandson. 

Daniel Plainview :
Is he here? 

Bandy :
No, he's out. 
 
Daniel Plainview :
Where is He? 
 
Bandy :
Told you, He's out. 
Now, what do you want
 
 Daniel Plainview :
I'm Daniel Plainview. 
I want to Talk with Him about 
His Property

 
About what? 

Daniel Plainview :
I believe I'll talk with him about that.

You're that oilman, aren't you? 

Daniel Plainview :
That's right. 

 We don't want you drilling out here. 

Daniel Plainview :
I don't want it either. 
Now, when will he be back? 


 Few days. 

Daniel Plainview :
 Tell him I'd like to speak with him. 
Not about drilling. 
 And I'll be back in a week. 

*****

Daniel Plainview :
 Put that in a glass case. 
 Here's to Union Oil. Hundred miles of pipeline, 
 and all the independent producers 
of this great state. 
Cheers. 
 
Daniel Plainview : 
There's that house in Fond du Lac 
 that John Hollister built. 
Do you remember it?  
I thought as a boy that was 
The Most Beautiful House 
I'd ever seen, 
and I wanted it. 
 
I wanted to live in it. 
And eat in it. And clean it. 
 
And even as A Boy, 
I wanted to have children 
to run around in it

Henry
You can have anything 
you'd like now, Daniel. 
And you should 
Where are you going to build it?

Daniel Plainview : 
Here, maybe. 
Near The Ocean. 
 
Henry :
Would you make it look like That House? 
 
Daniel Plainview :
I think if I saw That House now, 
it'd make me sick
 



Henry :
We can eat and get some women. 
Take them to the Peachtree dance. 
I say get liquored up 
and take them to the 
Peachtree dance. Yeah. 
  
Can I have some money -- please? 


*****
 
Daniel Plainview :
I want you to tell me something. 
 
Henry :
What? 
 
 Daniel Plainview :
What's the name of the farm 
next to The Hill House? 
 
What was the name of the farm, 
next to the Hill House? 
 
Henry :
I can't remember... 
 
 Daniel Plainview :
Who are you? 
 
 
 Henry :
I'll leave, Daniel. 
 
 Daniel Plainview :
Who are you? 
 
 Henry :
I'm No-One. 
Just let me get up and go. 
 
 Daniel Plainview :
Do I have A Brother? 
 
Henry :
I met A Man in King City 
who said He was Your Brother.  
We Were Friends for months. 
Working in King City. 
And he wanted to make 
his way to you, Daniel. 
 
We didn't have any money. 
He died of tuberculosis. 
 
He wasn't harmed. 
Wasn't killed, nothing bad. 
 
But he told me about you, 
and I just took His Story
used His Diary. 
 
Daniel. Daniel, I'm Your Friend. 
I'm not trying to hurt you. Never
Just Survive
 
 
No!

Tell




PICARD :
You have A Tell. 

DATA :
That is impossible, sir. 

PICARD :
Every now and then, 
you dilate your left pupil-
- ostentatiously, I might add-
- in an effort to cheat me 
into thinking that you have a Tell. 

But your true Tell is 
you don't have one. 
When your eyes are neutral, 
that's when I know 
you're bluffing. 

DATA :
Mm. Now that you've 
told me that, Captain, 
I am confused about 
which deception 
to employ. 

Batman’s Greatest Fear


“Just think about 
how far you’ve come;
Remember what it took 
to get you here;
Remember What 
He DID to You.

- Apollo Creed,
Rocky III











LEGO ALFRED :
Sir, if you don't mind my saying,
I'm a little concerned —

I've seen you go through similar phases in 2016 and 2012 
and 2008 and 2005 
and 1997 and 1995 
and 1992 and 1989 — 
and that weird one in 1966.

Do you want to talk about
how you're feeling right now?

LEGO BATMAN
I Don't Talk about 
‘Feelings’, Alfred.
I don't have any, 
I've never seen one —
I'm a night-stalking,
crime-fighting vigilante,
and a heavy-metal 
rapping machine.

I Don't Feel anything emotionally,
except for RAGE,
24/7, 365, at 1,000,000%

And if you think that there's something behind that, 
then You're crazy
Good night, Alfred.

LEGO ALFRED :
Sir, it's Morning.

Alfred yanks open 
The Mansion Great Hall’s drapes, as The Batman hisses and recoils against the shaft of bright sunlight which bursts forth from the skylight

(HISSING AND GROANING)

LEGO ALFRED
Master Bruce, You Live on An Island
figuratively and literally.

LEGO BATMAN
Yeah. I love it.

LEGO ALFRED
You can't spend the rest 
of your life alone
dressed in black, 
listening to angry music,
and staying up all night.

LEGO BATMAN
Yes, I can, 'cause 
I'm Batman.

LEGO ALFRED
But don't you think 
it's time you finally faced 
Your Greatest Fear?

LEGO BATMAN
Snakes….?

LEGO ALFRED
No.

LEGO BATMAN
Clowns?

LEGO ALFRED :
No.

LEGO BATMAN
Snake-Clowns..?!

LEGO ALFRED :
Bruce, Listen :
Your Greatest Fear, is —
Being a part of 
A Family again.

LEGO BATMAN
Nope. Now it's snake-clowns,
because you put that idea 
in my head.

LEGO ALFRED :
Sir?

LEGO BATMAN
Time for push-ups!
One, two... We're going 
to a thousand….

LEGO ALFRED
I'm afraid that's not possible, sir.

LEGO BATMAN
It is possible. I'm already at 20.

Friday, 8 July 2022

Dads












Not long
before we were born,
they were told
they were gonna write a song
that was gonna
unite The entire World.

Which they thought
they had done
with their hit single...
‘Those Who Rock’.

Not only did it not
unite The World,
but The Band itself fell apart.

And Our Dads, alone now,
were trying harder and harder.

“…But The Problem was,
the harder Dads tried,
the less interested
people seemed to be
in Their Music.

Not only was it wearing
on them and on The Family...

But The Universe
they were told
they were gonna
bring together...
was actually
starting to unravel.

Yeah,
Time was folding in on itself.

It was bad.

Totally, Dude.

Anyways, this is 
how We got to 
Where We Are Now.

The transformation of water into wine at the wedding at Cana (also called the marriage at Cana, wedding feast at Cana or marriage feast at Cana) is the FIRST miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John.

In the Gospel account, Jesus Christ, his mother and his disciples are invited to a wedding. When his mother notices that the wine has run out, Jesus delivers a sign of his divinity by turning water into wine at her request. The location of Cana has been subject to debate among biblical scholars and archaeologists; several villages in Galilee are possible candidates.
The account is taken as evidence of Christ’s approval of marriage and earthly celebrations, and has also been used as an argument against teetotalism.
Biblical account
John 2:1–113 states that Jesus was at a wedding (seudat nissuin) in Cana with his disciples. Jesus’ mother (unnamed in the Gospel of John) told Jesus, “They have no wine,” and Jesus replied, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother then said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:3–5).4 Jesus ordered the servants to fill containers with water and to draw out some and take it to the chief steward (waiter). After tasting it, without knowing where it came from, the steward remarked to the bridegroom that he had departed from the custom of serving the best wine first by serving it last (John 2:6–10).5 John adds that: “Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and it revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him” (John 2:11).6
Interpretation
The Wedding Feast takes place in Cana shortly after the call of Philip and Nathanael. According to John 21:2, Cana was Nathanael’s hometown.7
Although none of the synoptic Gospels mentions the wedding at Cana, Christian tradition based on John 2:118 holds that this is the first public miracle of Jesus.9 It is considered to have symbolic importance as the first of the seven signs in the Gospel of John by which Jesus’ divine status is attested, and around which the gospel is structured. Jesus will later return to Cana, where John 4:46–54 describes him healing a Capernaum official’s young son; the second sign in the Gospel of John.7
The story has had considerable importance in the development of Roman Catholic theology. Bishop Fulton J. Sheen thought that it is very likely that it was one of Mary’s relatives who was being married. This would mean Mary and her relatives would be embarrassed if they appeared inhospitable by running out of wine, giving Mary a reason to ask Jesus to intervene. Sheen further suggests that as Jesus arrived with additional guests, they may have contributed to the wines running short.10 When his mother advises Jesus that their hosts are running out of wine, he says “Woman, what has this to do with me?” Sheen sees an echo of the Protevangelium of Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers”, marking the commencement of Jesus’ redemptive ministry.10 Jesus will again address her as “Woman” in John 19:26, when he entrusts his mother to his disciple John, “Woman, behold, your son.”7
The gospel account of Jesus being invited to a wedding, attending, and using his divine power to save the celebrations from disaster are taken as evidence of his approval for marriage and earthly celebrations. It has also been used as an argument against the teetotalism practiced among certain Protestant Christian sects.11
Interpreted allegorically, the good news and hope implied by the story are in the words of the steward of the Feast when he tasted the good wine, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now” (John 2:10, RSV). This could be interpreted by saying simply that it is always darkest before the dawn, but good things are on the way. The more usual interpretation, however, is that this is a reference to the appearance of Jesus, whom the author of the Fourth Gospel regards as being himself “the good wine”.12 According to Bill Day, the miracle may also be interpreted as the antitype of Moses’ first public miracle of changing water (the Nile river) into blood. This would establish a symbolic link between Moses as the first saviour of the Jews through their escape from Egypt and Jesus as the spiritual saviour of all people.13
Some commentators have speculated about the identity of the unnamed bridegroom. One tradition, represented by Thomas Aquinas among others, holds that the bridegroom was St John the Evangelist himself. Bishop John Spong suggests in his book Born of a Woman that the event was the wedding of Jesus himself to Mary Magdalene.14 In 1854, at a time when polygamy was an element of mainstream practice of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Latter-day Saint elder Orson Hyde made a similar suggestion, arguing that Jesus was a polygamist and that the event at Cana was his wedding to Mary Magdalene, Martha and Mary of Bethany.151617 However, the idea that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene is usually dismissed by scholars as pseudohistorical.18
Studying Jesus in comparative mythology, the story of the transformation of water into wine bears some resemblance to a number of stories that were told about the ancient Greek god Dionysus, who among others was said to fill empty barrels that had been left locked inside a temple overnight with wine.19 However, scholars generally agree that the Gospel of John was written by a community of Jewish Christians who had recently been excommunicated by the local synagogue for recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, leading some to conclude that it would be making it unlikely the possibility that the Gospel was influenced by ancient Greek mythology.20 Bart Ehrman argues that the idea that the image of Jesus was influenced by ancient pagan mythology is usually dismissed by scholars as a fringe theory.21
The view of the valley view looking out towards Nazareth, from Khirbet Qana, would have predominantly been of grape vines, as archeologists have found evidence of first century wine production.22 The early 6th century writer Antoninus Placentinus observed about Nazareth in his day: “it excels in wine and oil, fruits and honey.”23 So, if a miracle of turning water into wine had actually occurred at the site it would have likely have had allegorical significance for observers familiar with Greek mythology.
The German theologian Friedrich Justus Knecht (d. 1921) points out three lessons that are to be drawn from this account at Cana: 1) The power of Mary’s intercession. “This first miracle, which confirmed the faith of our Lord’s disciples, was wrought at Mary’s intercession, for it was by her persuasion that He first manifested His glory by a striking miracle at Cana instead of at Jerusalem. Let us contemplate Mary’s compassion on the distress of the poor bride and bridegroom, her living faith in the omnipotence of Jesus, and her confidence in His goodness.” 2) Matrimony. “By His presence at the marriage-feast of Cana Jesus honoured and sanctified marriage, which had already been instituted in Paradise.” 3) Lawful pleasures. “The fact of our Lord taking part in the marriage-feast teaches us that it is lawful and pleasing to God that we should take part in innocent recreations and harmless pleasures, rejoicing with those who rejoice.”

Thursday, 7 July 2022

Who's Tony?





"....so, it's never gonna be Me,
You'll never Get It
You'll never Know --

and Whatever You Think I am, 
that's What I'm NOT..."


Stanley Kubrick's House 
looks as if 
The Inland Revenue 
took it over long ago.

Tony takes me into a large room 
painted blue and filled with books. 
"This used to be The Cinema," he says.

"Is it The Library now?" I ask.

"Look closer at The Books," 
says Tony.

I do. "Bloody hell," I say. 
"Every book in this room 
is about Napoleon!"

"Look in The Drawers," 
says Tony.

I do.

"It's all about Napoleon, too!" I say. 
"Everything in here is about Napoleon!"

I feel a little like 
Shelley Duvall in The Shining, 
chancing upon her husband's novel 
and finding it is comprised 
entirely of the line 
"All Work And No Play 
Makes Jack A Dull Boy" 
typed over and over again. 

John Baxter wrote, in his unauthorised biography of Kubrick, 
"Most people attributed the purchase of Childwick 
to Kubrick's passion for Privacy, 
and drew parallels with 
Jack Torrance in The Shining."

This room full of Napoleon stuff seems 
to bear out that comparison. 
"Somewhere else in This House," 
Tony says, "is A Cabinet full of 
25,000 Library Cards
three inches by five inches. 

If you want to know 
what Napoleon, 
or Josephine, or anyone 
within Napoleon's inner circle 
was doing on the afternoon 
of July 23 17-whatever, 
you go to that card 
and it'll Tell You."

"Who made up The Cards?" I ask.

"Stanley," says Tony. 
"With some assistants."

"How long did it take?" I ask.

"Years," says Tony. 
"The late 1960s."

Kubrick never made his film about Napoleon. 
During the years it took him to compile this research, 
a Rod Steiger movie called Waterloo 
was written, produced and released. 
It was a box-office failure, so MGM abandoned Napoleon 
and Kubrick made A Clockwork Orange instead.

"Did you do this kind of massive research 
for all the movies?" I ask Tony.

"More or less," he says.

"OK," I say. "I understand how 
you might do this for Napoleon, 
but what about, say, The Shining?"

"Somewhere here," says Tony, 
"is just about every ghost book ever written, 
and there'll be A Box containing 
photographs of the exteriors 
of maybe every mountain 
hotel in The World."

There is a silence.

"Tony," I say, "can I look 
through The Boxes?"

WIN





Ann, you were talking 
to The WRONG People.

You have to identify everyone
for the canvas card, 
but you shouldn't try 
to persuade everyone.

It's not an efficient way
of using our resources.

“Well, who do I persuade then?”

In each election, we have target groups.
In the last general election,
there were four main groups of
people we had to get through to :

First, the lazy Labour party supporter.

Second, there's the floater.
He made a lot of difference in
the last three general elections.

Third, there's the new young voter.
He doesn't know about the
history of the Labour party
and the thirteen wasted years
and he doesn't care either.

He knows a lot's wrong with The World and he's disillusioned
with political parties.
We've got to impress on him the
difference between the tories and Labour
and what a return to tory market-place philosophy means.

And lastly, there's the young woman,
in the 17 to 24 age group.
She was and is especially important.
The Labour party is still not
getting through to her AT ALL.

Wednesday, 6 July 2022

The Napoleon Complex



I am The Instrument of Providence.
She will use me as long as 
I accomplish Her Designs, 
then She will break me like a glass.”



Napoleon : 
The Great Complex
The First Modern Complex

Napoleon The Great? -- A Debate

“One of the attractions of a War or Crime Story is that it provides an almost unique opportunity to contrast An Individual of our contemporary Society with a solid framework of accepted value, which The Audience becomes fully aware of, and which can be used as a counterpoint to a Human, Individual, Emotional Situation. 

Further, War acts as a kind of hothouse for forced, quick breeding of attitudes and feelings

Attitudes crystallise and come out into the open.

— Kubrick 




Stanley Kubrick's House 
looks as if 
The Inland Revenue 
took it over long ago.

Tony takes me into a large room 
painted blue and filled with books. 
"This used to be The Cinema," he says.

"Is it The Library now?" I ask.

"Look closer at The Books," 
says Tony.

I do. "Bloody hell," I say. 
"Every book in this room 
is about Napoleon!"


"Look in The Drawers," 
says Tony.

I do.

"It's all about Napoleon, too!" I say. 
"Everything in here is about Napoleon!"

I feel a little like Shelley Duvall in The Shining, 
chancing upon her husband's novel 
and finding it is comprised entirely of the line 
"All Work And No Play 
Makes Jack A Dull Boy" 
typed over and over again. 

John Baxter wrote, in his unauthorised biography of Kubrick, 
"Most people attributed the purchase of Childwick 
to Kubrick's passion for Privacy, 
and drew parallels with 
Jack Torrance in The Shining."

This room full of Napoleon stuff seems 
to bear out that comparison. 


"Somewhere else in This House," 
Tony says, "is A Cabinet full of 
25,000 Library Cards
three inches by five inches. 

If you want to know 
what Napoleon, 
or Josephine, or anyone 
within Napoleon's inner circle 
was doing on the afternoon 
of July 23 17-whatever, 
you go to that card 
and it'll Tell You."

"Who made up The Cards?" I ask.

"Stanley," says Tony. 
"With some assistants."

"How long did it take?" I ask.

"Years," says Tony. 
"The late 1960s."

Kubrick never made his film about Napoleon. 
During the years it took him to compile this research, 
a Rod Steiger movie called Waterloo 
was written, produced and released. 
It was a box-office failure, so MGM abandoned Napoleon 
and Kubrick made A Clockwork Orange instead.

"Did you do this kind of massive research 
for all the movies?" I ask Tony.

"More or less," he says.

"OK," I say. "I understand how 
you might do this for Napoleon, 
but what about, say, The Shining?"

"Somewhere here," says Tony, 
"is just about every ghost book ever written, 
and there'll be A Box containing 
photographs of the exteriors 
of maybe every mountain 
hotel in The World."


There is a silence.

"Tony," I say, "can I look 
through The Boxes?"