Rupert

You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat

Here's the thing about Dylan and Edie Sedgwick. There is tons of debate exactly how involved they were and how much he wrote about her-- some people claim that "Like a Rolling Stone" recorded in 1965 at the height of Edie's fame is about Edie specifically the lines You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat/Who carried on his shoulder a siamese cat
Aint it hard when you discover that
He really wasnt where its at
After he took from you everything he could steal

which is supposed to refer to Andy Warhol and Edie's dissatisfaction with him for not making the feature film about her that he promised her or something like that. And supposedly Bob Dylan (or rather Bob Grossman his manager who promised to cut a single with Edie) tried to pull Edie away from the Factory or at least lots of lore has it  that Edie went from Andy Warhol to Bob Dylan, but the Bob that she most longed for in "Ciao! Manhattan" was Bob Neuwirth and I've always thought that Like a Rolling Stone grants a little too much insight into one's condition to really be about Edie--I think more likely it is inspired by Edie's predecessor "Baby Jane Holzer" who was smart enough to realize that Warhol wasn't "really where's it at" and she left the factory and went on to do lots of socialite things like raise money for charities and produce films etc--Edie wasn't the only debutante that fluttered through the Factory. If you've ever seen her on film she is captivating. You can't stop watching her. She is nothing like Paris Hilton and the sad part about all the international jet set today is that they aren't like the 60's there is no Warhol to harness all this energy and turn the whole scene into an "experimental jet set"--so instead we settle for boring celebutantes who drive the wrong way down highways (in the 60's everyone would have been in a limo) but the point is that Bob Dylan is widely amongst Edie supporters in part blamed for her demise--for everything from getting married when he was involved with her to getting Edie pregnant. Like I said lots of speculation about Dylan and Edie. Besides "Like a Rolling Stone" supposedly  "Blonde on Blonde"refers to Edie Sedgwick and Brian Jones who in 1966 were part of Dylan's "entourage" and "leopard skin pill box hat" is also supposedly referring to Edie. Hard to say it wouldn't be Jackie Kennedy at that point in time...Dylan is such a cultural blender that he also took from everything around him "everything he could steal" and it takes a great thief to call out another one. 

you must know about my debutante

Well, I'm not the expert on Edie Sedgwick, but on Franny's behalf, I'll submit her as a patron saint. And in keeping with the posts about Heath and Michelle, I just saw the last movie that features the two of them even though they don't appear together. I'd never think of having Michelle Williams play Edie, and of course, she doesn't play Edie in I'm Not There, she plays "CoCo the debutante," but as I said, I'm not the expert but she gets the essence of Edie perfectly and the scenes in which she plays against Cate Blanchett's Jude... acting as his true conscience while being taken without any seriousness by anyone... are hilarious and poignant. What a good movie. I should post about it! (Actually now that I think of it, Me Without You was kind of a precursor but I couldn't get through that.)

And moving into our decade of celebrity debs: does anyone actually realize that a Paris Hilton romantic comedy was actually released theatrically this week? And that it's called The Hottie and the Nottie???!!!! And that there are some really crazy yes-men out there approving of these things? It's already been voted the number 3 worst movie of all time on IMDB. Which is fixed because noone's actually seen it: I just read that it made $76 per screen! That would mean roughly seven people total went to all the screenings at any one theater for the first two days. Why don't these things just go straight to video!???

More stuff from the pseudo-manager

Here's a patron saint post

AGNES VARDA although I still haven't gone through my 4 from Varda DVD set but that gets into being asleep and all sorts of other stuff.

I've never felt more irrelevant in my entire life.

Notice from the management

Since there has been such an upsurge in posts in the past few days, we (or rather I) decided we needed a couple new categories in which to order everyone's thoughts so the blog doesn't beccome overwhelmed (see notice I'm so delirious I actually think other people post to this blog) so I've added "I should be asleep right now" for those times when you find your fingers doing the nocturnal walking at oh say 3 am. And then I added "Patron Saints" who are our inspirations for whatever ridiculous or serious reason. My vision here is all you have to do if you wan is select the category and type a name. You can explain more if you want but don't feel obligted (also love the way I'm pretending that I didn't post most of the babble in the past few days--Anthony helped tho. I also meant to create a catch-all "Buffyverse" category but I forgot and it is too late to sign back in. Either Anthony will be sweetness and light and do it or I'll add it later. So you can see what makes an I should be asleep category--

Baby Matilda: Tree Whisperer

Michelle Williams issued this statement asking for privacy in a time of mourning. It is really kind of sad. But kind of odd too. Just hope Matilda doesn't grow up to be--The Ghost Whisperer now.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Michelle Williams broke her silence Friday, saying her "heart is broken" over Heath Ledger in her first statement since the "Brokeback Mountain" actor's death.

Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger had a daughter, Matilda, together.

more photos »

The 27-year-old actress and Ledger became a couple during filming of 2005's "Brokeback," in which they costarred as husband and wife.

They later settled in New York, and had a daughter, Matilda, born October 2005.

"Please respect our need to grieve privately," Williams said in a statement. "My heart is broken. I am the mother of the most tender-hearted, high-spirited, beautiful little girl who is the spitting image of her father. All that I can cling to is his presence inside her that reveals itself every day."

Ledger, 28, died in his Manhattan apartment January 22. Authorities suspect a possible drug overdose, but the cause of his death is still pending the outcome of toxicology tests.

Police said several prescription drugs were found in the Manhattan apartment where the actor's body was found.  Gallery: A look back at Ledger's life »

"His family and I watch Matilda as she whispers to trees, hugs animals, and takes steps two at a time, and we know that he is with us still," Williams said. "She will be brought up in the best memories of him." 

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Not Exactly Elvis but...

And for the more macbre among us the results of Heath Ledger's tox scan:

Deadly cocktail

Here are the drugs found in Heath Ledger's body:

• Oxycodone -- narcotic/pain killer; trade names: OxyContin, Percodan
• Hydrocodone -- narcotic/pain killer; trade name (combined with acetaminophen): Vicodin
• Diazepam -- anti-anxiety drug; trade name: Valium
• Alprazolam -- anti-anxiety drug; trade name: Xanax
• Doxylamine -- sleep medication; trade name: Unisom
• Temazepam -- sleep medication; trade name: Restoril

The combination of drugs could cause the brain and brain stem to "fall asleep," halting heart and lung function.

-- Sources: Dr. Gregory Davis, College of American Pathologists; Drugs.com

more is buffy immortal?

anthony, nice try but like when you said that buffy had ptsd when she came back to life and that was the same as cordelia's amnesia--you are comparing apples and oranges. Cordelia was utterly human when she fell down those stairs and she lost consciousness while Xander talked to her and was hospitalized for like 2 weeks after "not kabobing any major organs," during the first of which she was so injured she was not allowed visitors. When Buffy was stabbed through in her lower abodmen where a sword would at least go through intestines if not liver, buffy merely fell to the ground and then the First appeared to her and said "ouch mom,this mortal wound is itchy" then buffy responded back "get out of my face." at that point Faith took the scythe from her and buffy told her to hold the line--therefore you expect that she will expire in battle. However, not long after that she is seen running atop buildings as they fall into the collapsing hellmouth. So how do you explain that?

Also when she grabs Spike's hand as he is standing there wil his Liz Taylor necklace radiating light to "clean up" after the First by killing off its army of ubervamps she puts her hand to Spikes and then they and flames are born from Spike and Buffy touching. At this point depending on whether you are watching "The Chosen One" or Angel she says to Spike "I love you" and he says "No you don't but thanks for syaing it" (curiously they are mute when the same footage is run on Angel)--how is it that Buffy can withstand her hand being ignited? I think there is some transformation that Buffy undergoes besides the ones we witness, but on some deeper metaphysical level when she is brought back to life. We see that she is utterly unable to live as a "regular human" and the only part of her that seems unaffected by her death is her abilities as a Slayer and then we learn through Spike that some part of Buffy was left behind when Willow brought her back to life. There is no satisfactory answere ever given for why Spike is able to harm Buffy and demons other than we know Slayers were originally made from demons by the Shadow men. Yet the Shadow Men were watched by the underground group of women who forged the scythe and about whom much is not ever explained in that last season--there is only that one woman that Caleb kills. As I said there is the precedent of Whistler being the "immortal demon" who is on the side of good and I guess manifests in some way the desires of the "powers that be" when he recruits Angel (also an immortal demon). In order to prevent Jasmine from passing into this reality Darla appears to Connor and attempts to "undo" faux Cordelia's/Jasmine's manipulations. The one thing that I think you take away from this is that in the Buffyverse those most able to represent or actually "be a power" are demons (partial or whole)--Angel, Spike, Dru (in her ability to see the future and to "shapeshift" as she did when she became Jenny Calendar, Whistler, Doyle, Darla, all demons and all in some way linked to the Powers. Then there is Jasmine's final exit from the human world where she tells Angel that "No other power ever really cared about humans and in your heart of hearts you know that is true" so demons are powers able to define a reality and form a world (as Jasmine did) so not all demons are like m'fashnik or are like vengenance demons who serve the interests of "lower beings' by bringing about chaos. It is in the fashion of the demons who not only work for the Powers but also appear to humans as a "Power." (as we assume Skip worked for the PtB before he turned against the "Powers that Be"--an interesting aside here is when exactly did Jasmine begin manipulating things to bring about her birth? Was Doyle part of that manipulation? Or were the Scourge part of it?) These higher powers while not always the "ultimate power" are almost all universally immortal and that is where Buffy best fits, if you ask me. I think that portion of humanity that "died" and remained in "heaven" when Willow brought her back was her mortality and from the moment that she is brought back to life she is born to this world to serve it in some capacity FOREVER. The other thing that is interesting is why does the First want Buffy dead so badly? Faith is the link to the slayer line. We've seen that when Buffy dies no other slayer is chosen or brought forth,yet the First fixates on ending Buffy's life and it is this one fixation which is the Firsts undoing.

Also Slayers are in a sense immortal irregardless of the fact that they die.In Tales of the Slayer the first story is about the first slayer or primitive who is told "They say that when you die, there will be another girl chosen. And then another, for always. And you will be in them and they in each other and you will never die." In the comic (Season 8) there is the episode that features the Buffy clone who is part of the chain that links all the Slayers that were created by Willow's spell so that they all supposedly know when others are in pain and feel what others feel...Yet interestingly Faith never has the dreams that Buffy has in terms of prophecy dreams and it is never made clear whose head they are in when they meld after Buffy puts Faith in a comma and Angel drinks from Buffy and both of them are in adjacent hospital rooms. Like "The Fray," Faith is a slayer who doesn't feel the weight of history and isn't burdened by the past. Clearly, despite Faith's durability, she is mortal and human in way that Buffy is not.

Even if those comics never get around to it, I'm convinced of Buffy's immortality. What is interesting to me is that she can't see it, I think the only one that can is Rupert yet he doesn't say anything. I think Buffy could be with Angel yet her own instance on her humanity that doesn't exist falsely separates her from him.

The Question about Buffy

For me, the question about Buffy and season 5 is this--when she dies it is divulged in season 6 that in Spike's words she "comes back wrong" because Spike can do violence to her (he is restrained against doing violence against others by a chip inserted by the US Government). It is only demons and Buffy that Spike can fight. We know a slayer was made from demons and turns their power against them. Yet there is a chain of existence linking the first slayer to all who come after her. Then in the last season, Season 7 the First is so focused on eradicating the world of all slayers but Buffy in particular. What is it about Buffy? The first can assume her form because she was dead and was brought back to life. I think that it is never explained and maybe Buffy herself doesn't know it, but what Buffy lost in terms of humanity when she came back she gained as immortality. In the final episode she is stabbed through with a swords. This wound is meant to be fatal, yet it isn't. Does Buffy heal that fast? If so, to heal that quickly from a mortal wound--she's outlived so many slayers and with each year comes more power. I think that she doesn't understand her full power. She cannot be killed--she can be wounded but unlike Faith who spends months in a coma, non of her wounds prove to be anywhere near lifethreatening. I think Buffy metamorphosizes into an immortal "demon" not unlike Whistler when she is "reborn" to life on earth. Maybe this is something the comic books will develop. Maybe it is my own theory based on writer's mistakes but that is what I think happens in the end.

Madonna from 5 to 7

One of the features on the new Cleo from 5 to 7 disc in the Agnes Varda boxed set is a French talk show in which Agnes Varda and Madonna are on the same panel. Agnes says some nice things about Madonna but she tells the story of how Madonna approached her to direct an American film... an English-language adaptation of Cleo from 5 to 7 set in New York with Madonna in the Corrine Marchand role. Which may have been the best movie ever. It never happened. Madonna apologetically explains that "people were financing the movie" and that they wanted the movie made their way if it was going to be made.

In the interview, she says that her perspective has changed and if she had to do it all over again, she would have went with Agnes's vision. I'm not sure if that interview took place before she took part in this movie.* Because that might have been what changed her mind.

*Full disclaimer: I never saw either version of the movie linked so I have no right to be snarky about it.

La Western Loca--Allison Anders moves to TV

Generally, AMC has become "the channel that isn't TCM" to me for many years. While TCM manages to be a little Film Forum I can watch in the living room, AMC shows the same movies they show on Lifetime complete with commercials... but since everything's about vague initials, AMC is branching into original programming... Mad Men and Breaking Bad are supposed to be well-written, well-acted, intruiging shows that I haven't seen.

Anyway, a couple of months ago Variety posted a story about upcoming series coming to AMC including two westerns. One of which sounds like something I'll have to watch:

"from Allison Anders and Terry Graham, [the show] centers on Comanche leader Quanah Parker, who fights the U.S. Army for the rights to his tribe's land."

Which forces a couple of questions: is this potentially in limbo due to the writer's strike? And also: is it possible to work a Duran Duran reference into historical western fiction?

If it is still planned, it'll probably bring me back to AMC and now that AMC is on iTunes, it's a perfect setting for Franny since lush mountain landscapes look great on an iPod screen. Anyway, Alison is another patron saint of Rupert if I can be offered a nomination, along with Agnes Varda who I need to post about again soon now that my brother bought me the 4 by Varda Criterion set which I've been watching during my brief time away from work this week...