Butch Cassidy and the the Sundance Kid

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

``Most of what follows is true''

( Major spoilers)
The movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, is , a classic of the Western . It has been recognized as a work of Cultural significance in the USA. It gave its name to a film festival.

 I have seen it, on and off, a few times. . When I was younger, I suppose I identified, with Robert Redford's Sundance. Now, its with' Newman's, Cassidy. T

hose of you, who have known me for a while. Will know what I mean-When I am amused, by the thought of a protagonist. Trying to get to South America.
Seeing the film, I noticed its influence on Michaels Jordan's work. Michael Collins. The relationship between Boland, and Collins, in that film, draws on this work.
It was thinking of Mick, that made me think The Western, like the pirate movie, deals with mythic time. Before History, before bureaucracy, before industry. We were clock. I can gauge the hour, from 7 different sources in my room. TV, VCR, PC, Cable, watch, Alarm clock, mobile phone. Why because what I do is regulated. I have to be at a certain place, at a certain time, or I will not eat. (Its the basis of holding down a job)
The film, the subverts the form of a Western. The Cavalry do arrive at the end. They come to dam, rather then save the heroes.
The Statue of Liberty is seen, with our heroes departing, for another land. They are looking for somewhere else to go. Some of the last words spoken in the film. Is Butch describing Australia, as a land of easy, rich sweet pickings. Sundance asks, Banks or Women?
The question is moot. In another time, it would have been fat cattle, and buxom Women. One gets you the other Well perhaps. But the Schoolteacher needs are not just physical.

The warriors, are beaten by the soldiers. The culture of honour dies, and is replaced by a culture of law. The film starts with Butch casing a bank. We see the bank being closed for the evening. The money is hoarded away, in a safe. Locked up secured, and probably insured. A uniform security guard stands watch. Then we see Sundance, playing cards. He is accused of cheating, of dishonor. The other card player, stands up, and offers to settle the matter. The question of honor, with his gun. 

Sundance's, name. His Kudos, his Geis is revealed, and his challenger backs down.

Later at a return to there hideout. Butch is challenged by, one of his gang members. He makes an appeal to Kudos. He had got there names in the paper. Yet this achievement, will be his undoing. As we learn later. The Challenger, is quickly dispatched. But the world turns, the changes are coming. 

The robbing of a train, brings us an encounter with a railroad employee. Who will not budge, because its his job. Because he has been entrusted, by the railroad company. He carries a trust too. His honor is to shareholders and citizens, not to his name
The term railroaded applies to this film 

Remember the term, comes from the use of eminent domain. To allow railroad companies to build over people land. The state compels you, The king compels you. You have no choice. The robbing of the train brings, forward the first set of antagonists. There arrival is heralded by black smoke on the horizon. A train, has been sent, to take care of the Hole in the Gang. Filled with experienced and skilled lawmen. Who we don't see. There they are the forces of the centre. Faceless, but determined. Well paid, well armed, and well prepared. They have rifles. Butch and Sundance don't. They have the use of Trains. The Union pacific railroad has upgraded the safe. They ride at night carrying lanterns. They change the rules. Playing nice with the local sheriff, doesn't matter anymore. Sheriff talks, He spills his beans.
They can hire, the one guy, in the West. Who can track over rock. Reducing Butch and Sundance to one horse.
``There's something out there that scares you''
Observes, a Sherrif our two Heros know. Sundance should be scared. The world is no longer a safe place for outlaws- ``Who did not get killed, when they had the chance'' -Who did not pass into mythic time  Their coming for you.

 Butch tries, to make a deal, with the Government, to enlist in the Spanish American war. To retain some position, and keep his status. 

The answer is no, it doesn't matter. They don't have to deal. They are coming. You cannot, win

The Great O'Neill's pleading of alliance against Spain. Was not enough. The money the Railroad Baron spends, is more then Butch takes. But he won't come to an agreement. There is no détente. Butch and Sundance, are of the past. There not even settled, they come into town. To meet their women. The actress, playing the female lead. Shares the affections of Butch and Sundance. There not even monogamous. Butch and Sundance, aren't even there real names. They were given them. They won, them. 

As Cuchulain, as Robin Hood, did before. They are part of a past. That the world, no longer has any patience with. They are chased to an edge of a cliff. They run of land. Like the Gaels, did, like the Highlanders did. No where else to go, they jump!

(The survive the jump, and presumed dead, they head for South America. For Bolivia. They must however flee, via nyc. Taking the railroad. To do so they must dress as bank clerks, as lawyers, To survive, the journey, they must take the adapt, they must disguise themselves. In the uniform of the workaday world. Of Street signs, and Surnames. Of Society, as we know it. I

n South America, They try to return to their own ways, but just as North Carolina, would not be the Highlands, nor Perth -West Meath. They are faced with the same problem. 

Bolivia, though  a poor country. Still, has uniforms, and police, and printing presses, and trains. The two try to go straight, this leads to two scenes. In which the change to our heroes world can be observed. Firstly, Sundance is asked. To shoot. to demonstrate his suitability as a payroll guard. He misses on his first try. Why, because he doesn't know he can move. He doesn't know, how to work. He doesn't know how to take orders. He cannot follow. ``He goes his own way''
The second, is when Butch and Sundance, having dumped the payroll, to have it picked up by Bolivian bandits. Challenge them to return it. A stand off ensues. We learn that Butch, has never killed anyone. Now he has too. Its his Job.
Butches code, a self enforced system. Is not good enough. The culture of honour again, 

``I rob, but don't kill''. So what! if they locals will not form, a Posse. There are uniforms, and guns, and trains, and safes aplenty. Let them buy bikes. In the end, our heroes. Go down. Surrounded, by Police, and Soldiers. Nameless, aside from rank. Warriors have names. Soldiers have ranks. Bolivia, California. Australia. Tir Connal, Kintyre, It doesn't matter. The Kings final argument, makes his point. The two banditos Yanquis, may need a regiment. To put them down. But there is always another regiment. 1 southerner can whup 10 yankees, but there is a 11th, a 23rd, and 83,rd a 345,th a 1665th Yankee. How many Bush rangers, faced down the Kelly Gang? The bicycle replaces the horse. The Knight, by the soldier. Roland, is court-martialed, and` les paysans, est Francais''

The Minstrel boy. Is Dead.
Sundance Kid: Did you say they were hired permanent?
Etta Place: No, just until they kill you.

Most of what follows is true.
______________

Back to the movie. Wonderful dialogue. http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Butch_Cassidy_and_the_Sundance_Kid#Dialoguehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_RossIs beautiful, in a natural very un hollywood way. I have later learnt she was in Dynasty
Now this will really surprise y'all. A music recommendation from me
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064115/soundtrack
The music is great, sound track by Burt Bacharach, and BJ Thomas. (That's grand, I end on innuendo,)

Mitchel and Weber

If theres one thing we've learnt in the last thousand miles of retreat, its that Russian argiculture is in dire need of mechanisation

Introduce you to the manager, you haven't even shaved

Look at that you could put, a goldfish in that, and it would'nt even die.

Where else do you here lines like that

Punch

One of my friends, was in town. We were horsing about.

Two Thousand one, Nine eleven

9/11/2006

( From a forwarded email message I may have gotten just after the events of 911. I do not know the poet, I had forgotten the poem,was on my blog. My thanks to the writer)



TWO THOUSAND ONE, NINE ELEVEN (2001-911)Two thousand one, nine eleven
Three thousand plus arrive in heaven As they pass through the gate,Thousands more appear in wait
A bearded man with stovepipe hat Steps forward saying, "Lets sit, lets chat"
They settle down in seats of clouds A man named Martin shouts out proud"I have a dream!" and once he did The Newcomer said, "Your dream still lives."Groups of soldiers in blue and gray Others in khaki, and green then say" We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine"The Newcomer said, "You died not in vain."From a man on sticks one could hear"The only thing we have to fear. The Newcomer said, "We know the rest,trust us sir, we've passed that test.""Courage doesn't hide in cavesYou can't bury freedom, in a grave,"The Newcomers had heard this voice before A distinct Yankees twang from Hyannisport shores A silence fell within the mist Somehow the Newcomer knew that thisMeant time had come for her to say What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus that day "Back on Earth, we wrote reports,Watched our children play in sports Worked our gardens, sang our songs Went to church and clipped coupons We smiled, we laughed, we cried, we fought Unlike you, great we're not" The tall man in the stovepipe hat Stood and said, "Don't talk like that! Look at your country, look and see You died for freedom, just like me"Then, before them all appeared a scene Of rubbled streets and twisted beams Death, destruction, smoke and dust And people working just 'cause they must Hauling ash, lifting stones, Knee deep in hell, but not alone
"Look! Blackman, Whiteman, Brownman, YellowmanSide by side helping their fellow man!"So said Martin, as he watched the scene"Even from nightmares, can be born a dream."Down below three firemen raised The colors high into ashen haze The soldiers above had seen it before On Iwo Jima back in '45 The man on sticks studied everything closely Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly"I see pain, I see tears,I see sorrow -- but I don't see fear.""You left behind husbands and wives Daughters and sons and so many livesare suffering now because of this wrong But look very closely. You're not really gone. All of those people, even those who've never met you All of their lives, they'll never forget you Don't you see what has happened? Don't you see what you've done?You've brought them together, together as one.With that the man in the stovepipe hat said" Take my hand," and from there he led three thousand plus heroes, Newcomers to heaven On this day, two thousand one, nine eleven

This is the great seal.

OOps

This is the picture, of diogenes. I meant to post yesterday

Steve Irwin

Midweek I got my haircut, today. I am still suffering from Biblos Fever. A minor illness. I get from time to time. 

 Anyway. I have decided to vist Corpus Christi. I am posting this picture -a Mosaic I saw in Germany. 

The piece has my favorite classical philosopher, in the centre.  Diogenes. 

Is of course responsible for refuting the Platonic description of a man. ( A hairless animal, with two legs) By presenting the scholars, with a plucked chicken. Any man, who asked Alexander the Great. To stand out of his sunshine. Deserves to be remembered. From the Sublime to the... 

***************************

 Steve Irwin, has died, at the hands of a Ray. Fair well Steve. An Aussie Battler, passionate about his subject. Gone to the great Outback in the Sky.

(Steve Irwin)

Father, Husband, Documentary Maker, Reptile lover

(1962-2006)

Battlestar Galatica season 2

Battlestar Galatica season 2.

It cost a little more then I wanted to pay for it. I could not resist it. It was worth it.

I watched the orginal series. Starring Lorne Greene and Dirk Bennedict. Also the lamentable Galatica 1980.
I even have 2 of the novels, based on the pilot, and one of the original tv episodes. (War of the Gods)

The new reimaging is great.

``So say we all''

The new series is the brainchild of Ronald D Moore. Formerly of Star Trek DS9. Treks red headed and brilliant stepchild.
The influence of Moore, and the similarities with DS9 are noticable. The theme of religion. A better understanding of Miltary dynamics. DS9, was the only member of Treks stable to feature a non com. As a recurring character. (Chief O'Brien) An enemy which can strike from within, and without. Even one of the leads. James Callis, resembles an actor, in Ds9. Alexander Siddiq. In form and voice.

A beautiful cast. Though, as I often do. I lean away from the main, Glamour girl. 6. Tricia Helfer. In favour of Grace park, and Katee Sackoff.

It even stars our old friends. Lucy Lawless and Dean Stockwell. (Xena did you really need to know that, and Al, from Quantum leap)

Its pure escapism. If escaping to a barren desolate dangerous world is escape

One the series is not afraid to kill off people. This is how it should be. The supporting cast dies. The episode Scar details a list of pilots, who never came back. One of the main characters buys a farm, in another episode.

This is not voyager. This is an a fleet of hungry desperate people. Human nature never goes away. The antagonists. The Cylons reimagined as cloned Humans (something we have to thank Galactica 1980 for) View humans as destructive. We are.
We see desperate people warts and all...No shining Space ships, no lemonade in Ten Forward.

Neither is the ship the finest in the fleet. The Galatica was due to be turned into a museum. Its XO is a drunk, with a loose wife. The golden boy captain, was visiting prostitutes. One of the pilots is a junkie. I always had a hard time believing the lemonade drinking jazz players of Trek

Moore made a conscious decision to avoid technobabble. This works better. This is explained away by a plot device. Networked computers, and com systems, are vulnerable to enemy cyber intelligence. This give the series a feel closer to  classic war films

No new Alien of the week. Its a lonely universe. There is man, and the Cylons and then Algae. (James Olmos threatened to walk if Aliens appeared)
No reset button. This dogged Voyager and Enterprise, where shuttles and torpedoes could be spent at will

Like Stargate, it based in part on a chariots of the Gods premise.  ``Life down here begun out there''I like this as fiction. I must tell you  as theory of history is bunkum. However it makes good entertainment.

(Okay sometimes, I wonder how this polytheistic society, developed so fast and so far) The names, and the occasional use of an Amen) Is wrong. I overlook this.

( I am posting about a Sci Fi series I have spent the weekend watching on DVD, what do you expect)

A wonderfully well constructed universe. SF is no less of a Genre. Then say historical fiction. Theodore sturgeons rule sadly still applies. That SF is always based on its worst examples. This should not be the case. If we may set Romeo and Juliet in the present day. Why not, exodus among the stars.

The case for the Defense rests.

So say we all!

Hawaii, or Texas, or Puerto Rico

Stetsons, or Lua's, or Vejigante

Ahh so many decisions