Dispatches from the silver key

Arcane Arts

Arcane: From the Latin arcānus. Known or knowable only to a few people: Secret.

Mysterious, obscure.

Welcome to another issue of Arcane Arts. Its mystery stems from its unpredictable contents, even to me, its master alchemist.

This week I discuss James Bond, the secrets of the Holy Grail, and lessons from a life of blogging. How do they all relate to each other? They probably don't, but you must read the signs.

Enjoy the strange brew that is issue #9.

--Brian Murphy

For Your Eyes Only

James Bond films are an escape hatch for me. I love them.

This past week I watched a couple of entries in the long-running franchise: Goldeneye (1995) and Moonraker (1979). Believe it or not I hadn’t seen Goldeneye before. I have a gap of pop culture knowledge that coincides with a whirlwind period in my life (roughly 1992-98) in which I graduated college, got married, went from employed to unemployed and back to employed again, failed as a teacher, moved from Massachusetts to Vermont and then back to MA, and spent six months in my parents basement as we saved for a down payment on our first home.

Needless to say Pierce Brosnan’s first turn as Bond was not high on my priorities in 1995.

I finally got around to Goldeneye and thought it was great, especially its gorgeous assassin. Almost as great as the cozy blanket that is Moonraker, a rewatch. I have a huge soft spot for Roger Moore, who is a bit polarizing in Bond fandom, sometimes unfairly labeled as a weak actor in the series. He is an outlier if you think about it: Sean Connery and later Timothy Dalton and Daniel Craig channeled the roguish, intense, hard-edged Bond of the novels, whereas Moore played the part with a lighthearted British charm I find endearing. I admit I’m not at all objective here; I grew up with Moore and the nostalgia for his films runs deep in my veins. If pressed I know he’s not better than Connery. But, he’s my favorite. His turn as Bond channels the escapist element more than any other in the franchise, IMO.

Moore did add a bit of grit to the role in For Your Eyes Only. After Moonraker I put on a playlist of Bond themes, and stumbled across a jaw-droppingly fantastic rendition of "For Your Eyes Only" by Sheena Easton on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (1981). Watch it; she really leans into this and knocks it out of the park. ​

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This is the best Bond theme song IMO, nudging out even "Goldfinger."

10 things I learned after 1000 posts

I’ve got a new essay up on The Silver Key, 10 things I learned after writing 1,000 blog posts. Inculcating a regular writing habit does wonders for the soul and your writing, and here I explain why. Here’s to 1,000 more.

RIP Lee Breakiron

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Lee Breakiron, age 77. Lee did a lot of work in Robert E. Howard circles, mainly in chronicling the history of Howard fandom and scholarship. I knew of him during my days writing for The Cimmerian website. Later as I began researching and writing Flame and Crimson I came across his “Nemedian Chronicles” electronic newsletter and discovered that he had an entire run of the legendary fanzine Amra in his possession.

I wrote to Lee to obtain copies of a couple key issues I desperately needed for research, and he proceeded to send me the entire run on CD-ROM. I thanked him profusely and credited him in the acknowledgements.

You can read more about Lee in this nice remembrance by Deuce Richardson on the blog of DMR Books. Lee was a gentleman and a scholar, both of which are in short supply these days. RIP.

Currently reading: Romance of the Grail

I’ve had my eye on this book for some time. I’m a fan of the great mythographer Joseph Campbell and all things King Arthur, so when I discovered that the Joseph Campbell Foundation issued a volume of Campbell’s collected writings on the Grail I knew I had to have it. A minor Holy Grail for me, of sorts.

This has been very good, particularly the chapter on Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival and Campbell’s thoughts on the Fisher King and The Waste Land. I don’t love his writing style, and find Campbell a more compelling speaker than author, but his insights on the deep Celtic origins of the myth and its enduring relevance as a series of symbols through which we can probe our own psychological states are more than worth it.

These quests often consist of knights confronted with stark opposites they must somehow reconcile—just like all adults must. Obligation vs. passion. Love vs. honor. Authenticity vs. conformity. “Experiencing the ordeal of recovering the relationship to your true being, and then bringing this to the court; it is the problem of integrating an authentic life with duty,” says Campbell. But we must undertake the quest. “Every human being is unique, and must find his or her adventure by entering the forest where there is no way or path.”

There is a Middle Way through which we seek the Gateless Gate, accessible only though perilous quest in the Forest Sauvage. I haven’t found it yet but hope to, one day.

What should I watch next? Octopussy or The Living Daylights? Send a Bond film suggestion