Assignment L.08.11: No Man’s Land

I just found this.  I cannot believe I never came across it before now.  Just yesterday I ordered a DVD-R copy from a “source,” thinking it was the only way to obtain it.

Harold Pinter-No Man’s Land-John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson

This 1978 television version of the original stage production has never been released commercially.  I do not know why.  Maybe the BBC wants to have exclusive control over when and how it gets viewed.  That is not surprising since it is a special sublime thing.  It is sublime beyond sublime.  The image, unfortunately, is poor on this transfer (I hope it will be better on the DVD I ordered–if I did in fact order it and not just cough into empty cyberspace), and I hope the sound allows for enjoying the language at least a little (I haven’t taken it in myself, yet).

I don’t yet want to turn into a school marm and lecture on why I think this is so special.  I’d rather folks watch it and…experience.

Taking a Moment: David Foster Wallace

David Foster Wallace hanged himself:

The article does not mention he also played competitive tennis in his teens.  My one impression of him from a Charlie Rose interview was of affable intensity and a desire to reveal a genuine thinking indecisiveness in his responses.  I don’t know if anything can be gleaned from that observation.

I think it’s important for our survival as Lichtenbergians that we not be so quick to slip this one under the rug.  America’s youngest monumentalist (I may have just coined that one) author is dead by his own hand.  One can only wonder at this point.  The peak looming in the background of our insignia is looking a bit more shadowy at present.  A darkness we may need to feel our way through for a while.