adrenochrome

Having been doing the family thing this week, I have had to bite my tongue and save up my comments till now. Here goes, let’s let rip;

Politics; New Labour announced another Tory policy of guaranteeing loans, though why they are doing this is not clear, especially as the recession is supposedly over and the green roots of recovery have been seen by a New Labour peer?! What a fool (and that was not the first word that sprang to my mind), who should have her peerage removed, she clearly isn’t up to the job of making decisions for the future of the country, for which she was elevated to the House of Lords.

Middle East; there has been a victim of the war who has not yet been mentioned. For the first two and a half weeks of the invasion, a female Israeli Major was on our telly teeling us the Israeli spin. After she named two Hamas militants who she claimed were in the UN school shelled by the Israelis, the army then said that they had NOT intended to shell the school, that NO Hamas militants were firing from within the school, and that they had been attacking near the school, and had accidentally misfired the shell that entered the UN compound. The major had also claimed that Hamas were targetting women and children in Israel, whilst thr PMs spokesman and the army have both stated that Hamas are not targetting anyone, but indiscriminately firing out of date missiles towards Israeli towns. The major has now disappeared, and is clearly facing the blame for Israel losing the war of words with the public and media.

Today, an almost identical shelling of a UN compound has taken place, and again Israel is telling two stories; 1/ We did shell the compound accidentally (though the UN had kept notifying them that their shelling was getting closer and closer to the compound) & 2/ We attacked it on purpose because Hamas were firing rockets from within the compound. Again the same two stories, and again Isreal has shelled a known UN compound, injuring UN staff and, because they used incendaries, destroying UN Aid Relief. Hopefully this repeated anti-UN activity and lies from the military will result in War Crimes being brought against Israeli Generals and Politicians (just as happened to Slobodan Milosevic and his Generals).

Israel sank an American ship during the Arab/Israeli War and yet America did nothing, even though according to the CIA radio observer, the pilots questioned the command to attack because the ship was a ‘friendly’ and, according to American Military survivors, the Israeli navy fired upon their liferafts. American Presidents love reassuring the people that they will always protect their people and troops, yet allowed Israel to get away with this prearranged attack. Israel has ignored International Law with regard to the building of its wall around the West Bank. Israel has now launched several attacks upon the United Nations. Terrorism is acting outside of International Law, and Israel is committing acts of terrorism in Gaza. No peace can possibly be achieved whilst the Palestinian people are shown that they must act within International Law, whilst Israel does not have to. They must be shown that the law applies to all.

BBC Radio7; a digital channel that was established for the spoken word, as opposed to being a music channel, has access to the whole archives of radio programmes from BBC4, the Light Programme and regional BBC radio stations. It focuses on comedy, crime & thrillers, sci-fi and classics. Strangely, like the rest of the BBC, when it comes to classics, they are incredibly ignorant and not at all well read. Guess what they are; yes, Dickens, Bronte & Austen! In fact, their knowledge of the subject is so poor that this week they are having to tell us two Dickens stories each day!!!

What is even more of a condemnation is that they need to repeat every programme that they have at least twice a year. They appear to have only about 5 months of programming. As most of the Crime & Thrillers section comprises only Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple/Hercule Poirot, and that by turning to ITV3 on your tv set you can watch the same stories with Jeremy Brett etc and get the whole story in one sitting, this is quite pointless.

Comedy wise, each episode of classic comedy is played three times a day, and is so dated that at times it can be border racist and sexist. ‘The Goons’ often contains the type of stereotyping and Peter Sellars ‘faux Indian’ accent (among others) that if repeated by a modern broadcaster would result in firings, resignations and apologies that would make the Brand/Ross affair seem small fry. ‘Dad’s Army’ and ‘Hancocks Half Hour’ may contain humour but do not to further opinion of British foreign behaviour. After all, is it any surprise that Germans believe English people can not NOT mention the war, when wartime though post war comedy is seen as standard fayre by the BBC, and not a day goes by without one of the 5 terrestial tv channels showing a second world war movie? It also semmes that only 1 radio comedy was made by the BBC between 1959 and 1980, the amusing Kenneth Horne shows (’Around the Horne’ & ‘Beyond Our Ken’) which include risky and risque ‘gay’ performances despite homosexuality being illegal still at the time they were made - and they have Kenneth Williams in the show!

The more modern comedy offerings are more promising, though some still beg the question ‘who commissioned this b*llocks’. Too little Armando Iannucci and his stable of stars, too much Angus Deayton & Marcus Brigstocke.

What a shame that according to BBC7, the BBC has only produced circa 1,500 hours of worthwhile spoken material during its whole existence!

Modern Comedy Radio Shows; this is a different section, though BBC7 has plenty of this rubbish, and a real bugbear of mine. Don’t get me wrong, I love the modern comedy, I think that we have produced more quality comedy in the last 30 years than any other country in the world. It is just one aspect of the modern comedy radio shows that I hate - the musical interlude. Do not get me wrong, Bill Bailey is magnificent with his music based shows, Victorai Wood wrote some amazingly funny piano tunes to end her shows, and I even used to enjoy Richard Stilgoe at the end of Nationwide, summing up the days news amusingly to tune. I own numerous ‘Bonzo Dog DooDah Band’ LPs, and likewise ‘Half Man, Half Biscuit’, ‘Macc Lads’ and ‘John Shuttleworth’ ones.

The great stand up comedians of each era do not need to take 5 minutes out, having got the crowd laughing, to introduce some fool with a keyboard, who dismays the audience, only for the star to return and try to pick the crowd up again. Peter Kaye does not do this, Steve Coogan never did this, Dave Allen would have baulked at the idea, and Tony Hancock felt he could thirty minutes withhout such rubbish. Unfortunately, almost every Radio Comedy show of the past 30 years seems to have decided that the tried and tested, well proven approach is not for them, and force some musician onto the cast list. Shows such as ‘Punt & Dennis’s ‘It’s been a bad week” suddenly stop, and up steps a music graduate who is not good enough to play with an orchestra, who is such a non-entity personality wise, that no band would want to be on a tour bus with them, and who wouldn’t know satire if it spanked them. Usually, this role is taken by Mitch Benn, whoever he is, though I suspect his father/mother may work for the BBC.

Stop it - comedy is comedy, musical comedy is a great art which must be mastered, but these nobodys who destroy the work of the main artists must go. We are in 2009, not Vauderville.

That’s enough ranting for today. Instead, I shall sit back and think about my Spanish holiday next week. Sun, sand and sangria. Nice. 

For those of you, who have read my first instalment in this series of literature postings, you shall be familiar with the association between the Templars and Gothic architecture; so it seemed only right that I should now give time to the English Gothic novel. Whilst I use the term English, it should be remembered that Bram Stoker was born in Dublin. He did, however, move to London and work at the Lyceum Theatre long before beginning his serious fiction writing career. It should also be remarked upon that the Victorians were very interested (even intrigued) by death, and the lengthening of ones lifespan. Books such as ‘The Mummy’ and ‘Frankenstein’ had already cashed in on this interest in the afterlife, and had particularly Egyptian and scientific influences. Both Egyptology and Science were traditionally regarded as going against God, and as evil. Certain Christian sects still do not allow doctors to treat them nowadays.
By 1897, English society was perfectly ready to embrace another tale of immortality, and the battle between traditional (Catholic) good and (Templar/Protestant) evil. Chuck in a good dose of life-beyond-death, a taste of sensuous eroticism, a historical, nostalgic sense of drama and blood-letting, and every Victorian lady would be gripped! Bram Stoker gave them all this and much more, and we can continue to enjoy the same today. Of course, Bram did not invent the Vampire; instead, he took all that the Occult, Paganism and the Catholic Church had ascribed to Vampirism, and bundled it into a single European gentleman: the suave, wealthy, well-bred, and charming Count Dracula - everything a Victorian lady of standing would desire in a prospective husband.
We should examine some of the known details and documentation on Vampires, before examining Dracula himself (as the embodiment of many of these traits), and where Bram may have encountered them. The reader may well be surprised by the amount of writing on the subject in the 250 years PRIOR to the famous novel. The earliest known writings on Vampires is found in the Torah of Judaism, in ancient China, and in writings of the Greeks. I shall commence with the Torah, as this particular text is still the basis of an incredibly large modern day religion. Many people today will be unaware that Adam had a wife before Eve, but that this particular lady refused to be subservient to her husband, so God excommunicated her, and cast her out. Lilith, as she was called, was clearly the first ever feminist. She felt that being beneath Adam during the act of sex was unbecoming as she was his equal. She was cursed by God, and is portrayed as the killer of young children, and drinker of their blood. There has been a lot recently written, and shown in films like ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ & ‘Da Vinci Code’, about sex within religion, so it would seem insulting to the reader to mention this aspect of gnosticism and Templar life regarding feminine equality and the sexual act (needless to say that the act prefered by Adam is still known to this day as ‘Missionary Position’!).
The Incubus/Succubus is also known as a creature that sucks ones lifeforce from a person during the sexual act, and I’m sure many ladies may feel that their partner is hardly alive after fulfilling the act, if not actually dead! The removal of the male seed, and the metaphor of the seed as a form of life, or lifegiving, ia also very clear. It is opportune to mention that Bram is really an abbreviation of the authors first name, Abraham. The ancient Greek writers had told stories about a variety of living-dead types, who kept themselves alive by imbibing the lifeforce of the living through different techniques, including the drinking of blood. These beasts lived within the realms of the Underworld, but could on occassion, pass to Earth. These creatures were known as Vrykolakas. I mention these creatures, as, in 1645, a famous study of these creatures and the writings about them was published by Leo Allatius, and Bram may well have been familiar with this text. Now, briefly, to the East, and the love of Oriental writers for the ‘Kiang Shi’, who took on the life force through blood consumption from the living, to continue their existence. In Japan, this Chinese fascination has continued today, with many Vampires appearing in Manga magazines, and anime movies. Whilst it is unlikely that Mr Stoker would have encountered the ‘Kiang Shi’ in his research, I have included this example to show that this kind of story has been about us forever, and across all societies. As a final footnote on these ancient texts, it should be noted that a Vampire named Algul appears in the ‘Tales of the Arabian Nights’.
As this hub is regarding the Templars and their fellow gnostics, it is I feel, time to allow the Roman Catholic Church to enter the affray. The first RC reference to Vampires can safely be ascribed to Pope Innocent III, who referred to such evil characters in 1215, although the church’s official stance on Vampires was not properly communicated until 1489, when these beasts appear among the list of devils and demons which only the church has the ability and authority to combat, in the Malleus Maleficarum. These creatures seem to harken back to the Apocryphal tales of Lilith, who sought refuge from Adam among the devils around the Red Sea. Their inclusion has roots within Catholic doctrine from before this time. One of the church’s attributes of the Vampire, is that its body does not decay after death. Ironically, this is also a step in the proof of Sainthood! For fans of the film Nosferatu, where Fritz Lang has deftly intertwined the association of the Black Death with Vampirism, and an old tale from Bremen (to reset the story in post-World War I Germany); the change from Whitby to Bremen is not a chance one. Apparently, in 10th Century Bremen, the Archbishop, St Libentius, excommunicated several sailors. Many years later, the grave of one of these sailors was disturbed, and the body found not to have decayed. This so disturbed the locals, that the latest Archbishop had to pardon the sailors, so their souls could leave their bodies, and the corpses decay naturally. This concept of excommunication meaning that the soul could not leave the body, but instead to be trapped, again reinforces the idea that only the church held the power to combat Vampires.
The Roman Catholic church stayed steadfast in its teachings on Vampires until the middle of the 18th century. That it had changed its stance at this time, still required many further years before being absorbed by the average Catholic person living after that period. It was Dom Augustine Calmet, in 1746, who first started the ball rolling against the church on the existence of Vampires, and the long-term effect was so slow in coming, that Voltaire was astonished to attend a discussion on the existence, or not, of Vampires at the Sorbonne!I suggest that I have now spent sufficient time painting a historical context for the novel, though have left one particular person out of the picture; for it is with he that many people falsely relate the eponymous character. I take you on a journey, across Europe and time, back to 1431, and the birth of a young boy in Romania: Vlad the Impaler, governor of Transylvannia under Emperor Sigismund, and member of the Teutonic ‘Order of the Dragon’, regarded by the Wallachians as ‘the Evil One’. The term Dracul has been given 2 strong meanings, though which you choose to believe, I shall leave to the reader. It could refer to his being within the aforementioned order, as Dracul is the Romanian word for Dragon, or, it could be the Wallachian word for Evil. Both apply to Vlad, though alas, he is not the inspiration for the novel’s Count. The pertinence of Romanians has more to do with the term Romany, and the fact that Romanian could also be used to describe the gypsies whose persecution by the church, and protection by the Templars, has already been addressed in the first hub. Within the novel, it is of interest to note that these gypsies (known as the Szgany) are the keepers and protectors of Dracula. A hint that Bram Stoker regards these people as noble, contrary to the church’s stance, is contained in the final chapter where Van Helsing remarks that the leader of the gypsies was ‘a splendid looking fellow, who sat his horse like a centaur’, bestowing respect, and a mythical accent upon the man. It is, in fact, from the very mouth of the church’s hero, Van Helsing, that we glean the Templar tendencies of Bram Stoker. Having now entered the realms of the novel itself, I should examine that most Christian of the characters, and so, ladies and gentlemen, I introduce Abraham Van Helsing.
I have already mentioned that Bram’s first name was actually Abraham, and all the history and aplomb that the Jewish and Christian faiths have bestowed upon that name, Bram donated to his hero (if you, in fact regard the vampire slayer as the hero, not the adversory). There could hardly be a name that holds so much within it, as Abraham. A name as old as time, a devoted man, and father of a nation. As for the surname “Van Helsing,” a number of possibilities have been suggested. It may derive from Dr Hesselius, the fictional narrator of Sheridan Le Fanu’s famous Vampire tale “Carmilla” (1872). Given Stoker’s familiarity with Shakespearean plays as manager of the Lyceum Theatre, the origin is possibly “Elsinore” - the Danish town in which Hamlets’ castle is located. This is a bit of a stretch, but possibly reflects the similarities between Van Helsing and Hamlet. A third consideration is Van Helmont, an ancient alchemist mentioned briefly in T J Pettigrew’s On Superstitions Connected with the History and Nature of Medicine and Surgery (1844), one of Stokers known source-texts for Dracula. The last of these texts may raise a few eye-brows, although Bram Stoker’s name appears several times within lists of members of the ‘Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn’,

Charles Dickens, the noted British author, penned many books designed to enlighten the wealthy city dwellers of the social failings of the country with respect to the working classes. Due to this educational stance, he has attained a great standing in the literature elite, despite his stories being dry, tedious and boring. Even Phil Collins singing jaunty little tunes in the musical version does little to improve the viewers enjoyment. However, few pieces of literature, if any, have been improved by being put to music, by that eras version of Ben Elton. Bah humbug, musicals should simply be banned (especially Gilbert & Sullivan, which makes lawyers, accountants and magistrates believe they are witty, life and soul of the party types, but purely reflect why the professional classes are so despised today).

This, however, is not the subject of my ranting for today. Please, Britain, let’s lay four ghosts to rest, and announce a television moritorium for the rest of time on Dickens short story, ‘A Christmas Carol’. Marley was dead, let it go. Not even  a full novel, not enlightening with regard to workhouses, hardly well written, this short, originally contained in a book of short stories, has become the blight of Christmas. In the three festive days (Eve to Boxing Day), British television has selected no less than eight versions of this hogwash. Whilst there is some individuality to The Muppet version, and the modern reworking, set inside a tv company, ‘Scrooged’ with Bill Murray has far more comic affect than the original, the other six are attempts at genuine recreation of the original text. By God, there was even a version starring Kelsey Grammar! Has the man no shame, nor soul. I recall vaguely an episode of ‘Cheers’ where the cast bemoaned the repetitive nature of American Christmas tv, showing Jimmy Stewarts ‘It’s a wonderful life’, and then this talentless ego films the British equivalent.

Of course, the Dickensian blight is not just restricted to the full length films, the musical and the Muppets; almost every tv show has recreated the story in its Christmas episodes. ‘The Simpsons’, ‘Steptoe & Son’, ‘2.4 Children’, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, have thought to themselves, “wouldn;t it be witty, novel and a surprise, if we were to do Dickens for our Christmas Special?” - NO, it would be trite, unimaginative and tedious for the audience.

How horrific to think that at the BBC, ITV, C4 etc, programme makers, commisioners and producers all get paid thousands of pounds each year, and can only come up with Dickens for Christmas. I appreciate that this year there is an irony to this, as Gordon Brown will no doubt be considering re-opening workhouses for those on benefits, Bedlam for the mentally ill, and borstal for the ASBO generation, but please, some imagination, some variety and some new programming.

This lack of quality by television companies probably explains why C4 is going bankruptcy and internet advertising expenditure surpassed that of television for the first time this year. That does not help the public, who are tuning out, watching DVDs, and, binge drinking to oblivion.

What makes me really sad, though, has been the news that Britain has lost one of its finest playwrights of the modern age; Harold Pinter. As a young man at school, I was lucky enough to direct the school, and its sister girls school, Drama Society cast in several plays, including two by that esteemed writer of dialogue. ‘The Caretaker’ and ‘The Dumb Waiter’ were great successes, a pleasure for the cast to perform, easy for props, and wonderful stories. Quite probably, the finest writer of dialogue since  Oscar Wilde, this man will truly be missed by all who have been touched by his works. Perhaps, we shall now be fortunate enough to be reminded of his magnificence by the tv companies swamping us unimaginatively with versions of his works, in honour of his passing.

I should also add a quick sad comment at todays news of Eartha Kitts death. She has charmed and entertained for decades, and shall be missed. 

In a short series of discussions I shall be discussing how non-Catholic subplots, reflecting the Cathars’, Templars’ etc. beliefs, exist in European Literature, and should appreciate any input from fans of great books.
Many authors have reflected the gnostic side of religion, and the Roman Catholic church’s attempts to eradicate the knowledge of these ‘gnostic gospels’ from the public psyche. This has led, historically, to the Albigensian Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, and the continued persecution of the Romany Gypsies. In propaganda, the church would describe members of these non-Catholic-alligned forms of Christianity as evil, devilish, and ugly or deformed humans.
Whilst Dan Brown’s novel, a historically flawed piece of writing, elaborates on hidden messages in Renaissance art, no books seem to reflect a similar pattern of ‘occult’ (or, hidden) messages within the great European literary community. Today, I shall briefly give some clues for the reader to bear in mind, whilst re-examining some of the great novels of the last 400 years. I shall attempt one book per week, and this one shall be regarding Victor Hugo’s classic (and much filmed) work ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’.
A precis of the story is this: a murder of a prominent Parisian occurs, at the hand of a member of Parisian nobility, yet the establishment find a travelling gypsy dancer, Esmeralda, guilty of the murder, and of many unChristian devilworshipping acts. She is saved from the gallows by the eponymous bellringer of ‘Notre Dame’, who takes her into the church, and claims sanctuary for her. The real murderer is finally unmasked.
Just as the Normans are famous across the UK for having introduced a new form of architecture in their castle building, the Knights Templar are heavily associated with the creation of the Gothic style of architecture, and were behind the building of many of Europe’s greatest buildings. Probably the finest example of Gothicism in Paris is the magnificent church of ‘Notre Dame’ on the Ile de Notre Dame, on the river Seine. The association with ‘Our Lady’ also clearly shows the Templar influence. It is therefore no surprise that Victor Hugo should set his book, and its central character, within the safety of this building.
Historically, the Templars would give refuge to members of any of the gnostic sects, refusing to take up arms against the Cathars, and shielding Gypsies from persecution. As such, Quasimodo, the hunchbacked bellringer of the book’s title, is acting in a truly Templar fashion, by bringing the gypsy Esmeralda to the sanctity of a Gothic church.
The true face of Catholic persecution of the Gypsies is reflected in the account of Esmeralda’s trial. It is not enough to charge this young woman with murder, but to emphasise and justify her arrest, the establishment also tries her for witchcraft; communing with animals, and casting a spell upon the poor victim of the murder. The trial itself is highly amusing, with a goat as a witness for the prosecution. Such charges were regularly voiced by the church against the gnostic faiths.
One of the principal tenets of the Gnostics is the belief that every individual contains a little piece of the Divine within them, and it is in that context that Jesus’s phrase that ‘We are all God’s children’ is read. The titular character, actually named Quasimodo, reflects both the church’s decrying of the Gnostic beliefs as twisted and evil, and the association of evil and ugly, are perfectly epitomised by this poor beast, as is the Gnostic belief mentioned above. In fact, Hugo writes of him:’For though he was gentle and kind, it was Quasimodo’s crime to have been born hideously deformed. But one day his heart would prove to be a thing of rare beauty.’
The same could also be said of the great book, and I hope that you might take the time to re-read and discover this literary classic, examining it again, but now from the perspective which reflects the author’s true message.
I shall be back, with further postings regarding other European classics, notably, Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’, which will be my next contribution on this subject. I hope this information adds to your enjoyment of the novel.