Further thoughts on the Gilhooley Response

This posting needs a bit of a preface.This is essentially my response to brother Tom's postulation of the Gilhooley Response. I raised the issue to another key, by bringing in Buddhist Philosophy. At the time , Tom felt I had overeached a bit much. After all we are talking about Thomas Aloysius 'Boats' Gilhooley here! (BTW this was an excellent role for Lee Marvin). Applying elevated philosophy to pop cinenma is not an unknown trend however----
As a further digression see also:Cinema Nirvana; Enlightenment Lessons from the Movies By: Dean Sluyter
and another recent book: The Dharma of Star Wars by Matthew Bortolin.

So therefore without much more pontificating, I add this e-mail response to this blog.May it illuminate, even if it does take us along certain byzantine corridors of thought: (from Sept 1999 actually)

Dear Tom,
Yes, I believe you have struck upon something. From a Buddhist perspective Gilhooleys response is that of yes, everyone caught up in cyclic existence.Though I would argue that Gihooley himself, is hardly the best representative of mankind as a whole. But yes he is very representaive of someone caught up in the throes of samasara, diagrammed in the Buddhist wheel of life. I have included a link to the teaching on dependent arising and then also stuck some of it in this e-mail.

Thus: With respect to the Buddhist view, dependent-arising is the general philosophy of all Buddhist systems even though there are many different interpretations of it. In Sanskrit the word for dependent- arising is pratityasamutpada The word pratitya has three different meanings--meeting, relying, and depending--but all three, in terms of their basic import, mean dependence. Samutpada means arising. Hence, the meaning of pratityasamutpada is that which arises in dependence upon conditions, in reliance upon conditions, through the force of conditions. On a subtle level, it is explained as the main reason why phenomena are empty of inherent existence.

When Buddha set forth the twelve links of dependent- arising, he spoke from a vast perspective and with great import. He taught the twelve links in detail in the Rice Seedling Sutra. As in other discourses, the context is one of questions with the Buddha's answers. In this Sutra, Buddha speaks of dependent-arising in three ways:

Due to the existence of this, that arises.
Due to the production of this, that is produced.
It is thus: due to ignorance there is compositional action; due to compositional action there is consciousness; due to consciousness there are name and form;due to name and form there are the six sense spheres; due to the six sense spheres there is contact; due to contact there is feeling; due to feeling there is attachment; due to attachment there is grasping; due to grasping there is the potentialized level of karma called "existence"; due to "existence" there is birth;and due to birth there are aging and death.

When in the first rendition Buddha says, "Due to the existence of this, that arises," he indicates that the phenomena of cyclic existence arise not through the force of supervision by a permanent deity but due to specific conditions. Merely due to the presence of certain causes and conditions, specific effects arise.{The Karma of Gilhooley}
To repeat: the twelve links of dependent- arising are laid out in terms of a process of affliction and in terms of a process of purification, and each of these is presented in forward and reverse orders. Thus, in the forward process, it is explained that:
Due to the condition of ignorance, action arises; due to the condition of action, consciousness arises; due to the condition of consciousness, name and form arise; due to the condition of name and form, the six sense spheres arise; due to the condition of the six sense spheres, contact arises; due to the condition of contact, feeling arises; due to the condition of feeling, attachment arises; due to the condition of attachment, grasping arises; due to the condition of grasping, the potentialized level of karma called "existence" arises; due to the condition of "existence", birth arises; due to the condition of birth, aging and death arise.

Jean Cocteau in 1934 wrote a play called La Machine Infernal, and one could say that Gihooley is caught up with the machine, has even embraced it, and doesn't seem to learn much from his involvement with it. From the Buddhist point of view samsara is beginningless; cyclic existence just goes on and on, though there is the possibility of liberation from this. Ones free will can always make a choice just at the point after attachment, that is one can choose not to grasp. Kind of amazed that AMC would show this so much. They have kind of lowered their standards; they'll throw anything on. I wonder if Turner Movie Classics has dibs on a lot of Classics that you don't see on AMC anymore. Saw an A& E Biography on John Ford. Within Hollywood he was known for his strong right wing views. So you see certain characters always get their comeupance in many Ford films. Ms. Denham, or Mrs. Mclintock in Mclintock.
However, on a interesting note during the McCarthy era around 1951, John Wayne and Ronald Reagan put some pressure on John Ford to pile on a certain Hollywood figure who was under scrutiny, essentially besmirch him further. Well Ford wouldn't do it. The person was a friend, and Ford had some intergrity. He wouldn't go along with what Reagan and Wayne were doing at that time. On a side note ; in a way Reagan is more sinister than Nixon. Reagan did evil things but always came off smiling and aw shucks, . With Nixon there were times, Caracas, 1962 Calif. Election aftermath, pushing Ron Zieglar, press conference in Aug. and Nov. of 1973, in which you could see the evil come thru. Nixon was a disturbed individual. That the populace would buy his swill is a sad commentary on our times. But back to Gilhouly. I would also point out there is also the measured response of the stock character actor who plays the French Gendarme, you know with the Foreign legion kepi and flap. During that scene, I believe he calmly walks thru the fight, goes behind the bar and fixes himself a beer. He radiates a certain coolness throughout the movie. Then there is the response of the pastor , who has his own encounter with God while nailing on the roof of the church. So I think you could say Ford does have very good insights into the human condition. Gihooley is a sort of Everyman. But not every mans response would be the same as Gihooley. Even with the human realm you have to admit he does represent a low order of the species. Here is the link for further edification: http://www.infinite.org/bodhiline/deparis2.html. You have my thoughts.

Cathedral in Kolin, Czech Republic as seen from the former monastic park, Feb. 2005 

Scarlet and Gold

Lately the lyrics to Scarlet and Gold have been appealing to me.
Therefore simply for that reason, and because the lyrics to this other, central song off the Bull of the Woods album appears hardly anywhere on the web{believe me, I have done some google searchs} , so henceforth for the further advancement of knowledge, and so that anyone searching for the lyrics might stumble across this site, I will post these lyrics here also:
Again I did the best I could. Some words are sung with such a drawl, that they are indeed a challenge. If some Vatorhead wants to correct me I will be glad to correct them at a future time Thus:

Scarlet and Gold

He’s a king, he’s a poor boy,
a tower in a stream,
see him standing there so all alone
well I guess he'll keep standing there,
until he's called for
and tomorrows hurricanes have blown

its his fate through old
another story told
He found no trust to call his own

His way was lost
his spirit was the cost,
he couldn't make up for the loan

But many brave men are returning,
back to the place where it began
and all our tires are still burning,
when the devils faults lay parching in the sands
and the nightman is waiting at the station,
gathered on the steps one by one
I suggest, that you make a reservation,
before all these things are done

upon high the blues
his life was filled with pain
when he heard the news
he lost a line in vain
someone went for word
his house went up in flames
they didn't need the smoke
to show the cops the blame

all your secrets
they've all been told
playing in your Scarlet and your Gold

He’s a king, he’s a poor boy,
a tower in a stream,
see him standing out there so all alone
well I guess he’ll keep standing there,
until he's called for
and tomorrows hurricanes have blown

But many brave men are returning
back to the place where it began
and our tires are still burning
when the devils faults lay parching in the sands
and the nightman is waiting at the station,
gathered on the steps one by one
I suggest, that you make a reservation
before all these things are done

Adams family street in Kolin, the Czech Republic. 

Haunting image of Kolin along the Elbe river- taken Feb. 2005 

The Gilhooley Response

Okay today I am posting with the kind permission of my brother Tom, aka Tater Tot, aka Tato-matic, an older e-mail( on a lighter note) in which, well descerning central truths from the arcana of pop culture he has made his own discovery. So without further adieu here goes:


- - - I think I may have figured out a central point or inflection point of ALL EXISTENCE AND THE MEANING OF LIFE. It of course has to do with the movie"Donovan's Reef."
I won't bother to debate the core value of this John Ford classic. Its importance is so obvious and deep that simple debate is at best redundant,I'm sure you'll agree with this.
Over the last two months AMC has showed this cultural center point about 20-30 times. I've watched it at all hours of the day and night. I have made note of all the intricate dialog and visual banter. This thing is replete with significance and fundamental truth. But of the many truths the one that is of most importance is the scene when in the middle of the bar room brawl Gilhouly finds a couple of silver dollars on the floor of the bar after having bumped into the slot machine, then without thought or hesitation puts it in the slot machine. Now there are several things going on at once here:
1. The act of gambling in the middle of a fight.
2. Putting money in a slot machine that one knows is "busted."
3. Pulling the handle very hard and listening to the machine protest.(Dwoot...dwoot)
4. Putting a second dollar in the thing, again with the predictable result.
5. Accosting the poor machine violently evoking still more mechanical protest.
6. Returning to the fight in disgust.

My point is simple.....in this one small scene in the movie the entire history of mankind may be seen with some clarity. In about 20 seconds we get childish behavior, denial of fact, emotional stress and retaliation,repetition in the face of defeat, pure violence and destruction....and finally , bitter resignation and a return to pure pleasure/pain. This embraces much of the human condition all in one scene. Each time I watch the movie I see this truth with more understanding and certainty.
In truth, Gilhooley is everyman. Our core response is Gilhooley's response.
It is as central to our soul as sex or greed. This central truth is always wanting to win no matter what, perhaps it stems from some weird survival instinct but I think it is more fundamental than survival.
It is the Gilhooley Response.
see also: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057007/

Dear Doctor Doom.........

Okay, so I was surfing, trying to see if anyone had posted the lyrics to, Dear Dr. Doom, from the Bull of the Woods album, and I came across this site:
http://www.transformergallery.org/exhibition/rejoice.html, about an exhibition where each artist used 1 album to inspire their entire exhibit.
Thus you have:
Karie Reinertson received her BFA in Fine Art from the Corcoran College of Art & Design in 2002 with a focus on painting and photography. She has also studied Fashion Business at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY. Karie is an accomplished clothing designer with her own clothing line The Kite Flying Society, Washington, DC. Her clothing is sold at FIX, Portland, OR, Vagabond, Philadelphia, PA, and Meeps, Washington, DC. For Rejoice!,
Karie states: " Bull of the Woods by the 13th Floor Elevators is a poetic explanation of the past, present and future of human existence. It is an organic representation of beauty, infinity, and warmth. I chose this record because after years of listening to it, it continues to inform and inspire the art, clothing and music that I make. My work for this show is based on the overall dreamy, fuzzed out mood of the album and the lyrics of the song "Dr. Doom". I have created my own enchanted forests with ink, watercolor, and fabric."
I am really impressed that a woman artist finds so much in this album.
It shows that someone else in the universe has keyed in on this album also.
Awesome.
....by the way I have posted lyrics for 3 songs off Bull of the Woods
over at : http://leoslyrics.com/artists/3610/
Out there in webspace it is said that Dear Dr. Doom was a response from Tommy Hall to Bob Dylan in regards to songs in John Wesley Harding.

Lyrics to Street Song

I decided to post the lyrics to Street Song.
Over time I have done a lot of searching on the Internet just
to find the lyrics to this song. No luck.
Kind of amazing, because I believe it is one of the
undiscovered gems of the 60s. It rocks out.
I did find it on a web site of a Portland radio
station; they found it to be a tough rocker, and:"kick ass".
I am surprised that Lenny Kravitz or R.E.M., doesn't do a cover version of it. I used Wave Pad to listen to the song in slow speed, and to write down the lyrics as best I could. A few words are hard to decipher. I did my best. But since no one else has listed them on the Web, I am perhaps providing
something new, or a first. So at any rate here it is; from the 13th Floor Elevators Bull of The Woods album:

Street Song

I walked down to the sidewalk,
the night was crying rain
I heard thunder wandering,
like a crash in someones tin
I can tell from the lightnings flashing,
the storm would not refrain.
The wind blew through the treetops,
and I saw some windowpane
I heard someone down in the alley,
a little voice called out my name,
I saw the ghost of our wrecked romance,
it was lost in the pouring rain.

Well I'm going/
back to the country/
up on the mountains/
up on the rising side/
and if you/
should ever leave me/
send me a letter/
with some love inside/

where are you married?
and in a good place?
I need to know to be satisfied.

I walked on through the darkness,
the night still pouring rain
The wind blew through the treetops,
and I saw some windowpane
I saw the ghost of our wrecked romance,
it was lost in the pouring rain
one thing I have learned in my time,
in the skies and on the ground...
all the fires changed motivation,
yet I burned to love that sound.

Rest of the Stanza

The rest of the stanza concludes thus:"

It is beyond the extremes of existence or nonexistence.
Since no one has ever been confused at all in the past,
no one is confused in the present and no one will be confused
later on.
This is the enlightened intent of the original purity of the
three planes of conditioned existence. "

Further down on the page after this, there is also this stanza:"

In brief, within the ultimate womb of basic space, spacious and
spontaneously present,
whatever arises as the dynamic energy of its display----as samsara
or nirvana----
in the very moment of simply arising has never known existence as
as samsara or nirvana.
Whatever arises in a dream due to the dynamic energy of sleep
does not actually exist.
There is only self-knowing awareness, the blissful place of rest,
extending infinitely as the supremely spacious state of
spontaneous equalness.

As to Red Tara, she is also known as Rigjed Lhamo, among the 21 Taras.
I thought this particular statue was interesting and cool. Doing her practice has the potential to lead to that," self-knowing awareness, the blissful place of rest".