love and luck
Oct. 10th, 2006 01:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theladyroseI'm not quite sure why, but I've always been drawn to this particular passage of Ian Fleming's. The man's not John le Carré by any means, but Fleming does have his profound moments amidst the "kiss kiss bang bang" of the Bond novels.
He was amused by by the impartiality of the roulette ball and of the playing-cards — and their eternal bias. He liked being an actor and a spectator and from his chair to take part in other men's dramas and decisions, until it came to his own turn to say that vital "yes" or "no," generally on a 50-50 chance.
Above all, he liked it that everything was one's own fault. There was only onself to praise or blame. Luck was a servant and not a master. Luck had to be accepted with a shrug or taken advantage of up to the hilt. But it had to be understood and recognized for what it was and not be confused with a faulty appreciation of the odds, for, at gambling, the deadly sin is to mistake bad play for bad luck.
One day, and he accepted the fact he would be brought to his knees by love or by luck. When that happened he knew that he oo would be branded with the deadly question mark he recognized so often in others, the promise to pay before you have lost: the acceptance of fallibiity.
[/end tonight's studying]
He was amused by by the impartiality of the roulette ball and of the playing-cards — and their eternal bias. He liked being an actor and a spectator and from his chair to take part in other men's dramas and decisions, until it came to his own turn to say that vital "yes" or "no," generally on a 50-50 chance.
Above all, he liked it that everything was one's own fault. There was only onself to praise or blame. Luck was a servant and not a master. Luck had to be accepted with a shrug or taken advantage of up to the hilt. But it had to be understood and recognized for what it was and not be confused with a faulty appreciation of the odds, for, at gambling, the deadly sin is to mistake bad play for bad luck.
One day, and he accepted the fact he would be brought to his knees by love or by luck. When that happened he knew that he oo would be branded with the deadly question mark he recognized so often in others, the promise to pay before you have lost: the acceptance of fallibiity.
[/end tonight's studying]
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-15 08:59 am (UTC)That passage is hilarious! Try as he might, Fleming's not exactly the best man to delve into female psychology or sexuality. I remember hearing of one particularly controversial line of his that sounded something like "All women love the sweet tang of semi-rape." Apparently his description of Las Vegas in Diamonds Are Forever is a little kooky, too.
I really hope that the other woman will have as much screen time and relevance to the plot as the woman on the boat in the pre-titles sequence from the Living Daylights. It seems to me that Daniel Craig's probably closer to a Timothy Dalton than a George Lazenby (although it feels rather insulting comparing an established, talented actor like Craig to Lazenby). I'm really hoping that he'll keep Casino Royale grounded enough and stay truer to Fleming's characterization even if the rest of the movie is going "bang bang" most of the time.
I've uploaded the Prisoner music here (http://theladyrose.livejournal.com/194888.html?mode=reply). I'm not acquainted with Grainer's Man in a Suitcase theme, but I would appreciate hearing it.
Yay for interlibrary loans! I do think that you'll enjoy Danger Man; it has a lot of the moral ambivalence and glamor that Fleming touches on in his work but with a more idealistic flair. It makes for an interesting comparison to the trippy cynicism of the Prisoner.
There's this great book called Saints & Avengers: British Adventure Series of the 1960's by James Chapman that offers some interesting perspective on how shows like Danger Man and Man in a Suitcase portrayed political and social trends. You might be interested in the historical aspect.
I've been to DC twice, but the last time was at least five years ago. After all that you've said about the Spy Museum, you've convinced me that I need to go back and visit :)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-20 05:52 pm (UTC)I really hope that the other woman will have as much screen time and relevance to the plot as the woman on the boat in the pre-titles sequence from the Living Daylights.
Haha, that's a perfect way of putting it. And amusing, actually, since I keep meaning to do a post on that sequence, and I think I might actually get around to it this weekend. It's one of the best ones, I think. (Oh--did you see the fake Entertainment Weekly covers from the summer, by the way?)
Thanks for the music to The Prisoner! Here is the Man in a Suitcase theme. It's a crap quality mp3, but at least it's longer than the 30-second title sequence (which is actually around on YouTube).
Do you have a favorite TV theme song?
Hmm, I might have to check out that book you mentioned. I requested Danger Man from the library, but I guess I should finish The Prisoner first, haha.
What did you think of DC when you visited? I spent a long time hating it but now that I'm at school, of course, I miss it. I sort of rediscovered the city over the summer, and now I think it's great :) There's so much there!