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Sunday, June 04, 2006

La France 2

What do the Maquis in World War II France, Sting, Jean Cocteau, and Tucker Carlson have in common? Not much, thank heavens, other than they are bedeviling me at the moment. Somewhere within the confines of this rambling old blogstead, I have recently mentioned Jean Cocteau and Sting, or Sting + Police. Now there is something I can not remember. What was the name of song by Sting or Police for which the video was an exact copy of scenes from Jean Cocteau's Orphee? I can not recall. If you ever wish to see Orphee, you should probably get a little familiarity with France during WW II, particularly the French Resistance (Maquis). Yes. The French Resistance. Frenchmen actually gave up their lives to fight Mr. Hitler and his Vichy pals. And now we are at Mr. Tucker Carlson who recently referred to the French as "surrender monkeys". I am not too upset, since he was obviously quoting Groundskeeper Willie. He also forgot who surrendered to whom at Yorktown, and who benefited from it. However, what caught my attention was that Mr. Carlson's bowtie was gone. Not only was it gone, but the top 3 buttons of his shirt were open, giving him a vague - very vague - Stanley Kowalski of the evening news and commentary look. Or perhaps he has always been dependent on the kindness of strangeness. When he began his show, he sported a bowtie. This set him apart as an independent thinker. I mean, who else wore bow ties? I think Dave Garroway did, although I'm not sure. Robert Q. Lewis definitely did. I can not recall whether H.V. Kaltenborn sported one. I do not recall whether Bill Buckley wore one. When Mr. Buckley spoke, I do not think I was musing on his cravat. And, of course, Mr.Farrakhan wears a bow tie. However, the intelligence of Mr. Farrakhan is not subsumed in the category of his neck apparel. Nor the other gentlemen, mentioned and unmentioned. Now Mr. Carlson ( I'm sure now he'd say, "Call me Tuck!") has lost the bowtie. This puts him back in with the rest of us non-independent shlubs. Visualize for a moment the whole process: Losing the tie is a given. Now, what about the shirt? Shall we open it or leave it buttoned? If we leave it buttoned, Tucker'll look like the President of Iran. Blazer and buttoned shirt is definitely a Shiite fashion statement. O.K. Open the top button. Now he looks like he should be on ESPN. Open the next...and one more for luck (we'll need it!). I have seen the show. I think he could streak during the bloody commentary and I would not miss a meme.

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