Pippi IS Lisbeth -- Or, At Least, Tami Is.

Quotation of the day ~ William Blake: And throughout eternity, i forgive you and you forgive me.

I've written a lot over the past year about my obsession with the literary character Lisbeth Salander, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, the fact that she was partly based on Pippi Longstocking.

I've also written about my tangential interest in Tami Erin, the woman who played Pippi in the 1988 film, including, in my last post, a fact that reinforces my idea of Pippi-As-Lisbeth -- that Tami Erin is releasing a homemade sex tape.

Well, it's out, and parts of it have been leaked already, and i've watched them. Yes, i have, although celebrity homemade sex tapes normally bore me stiff. (Er, probably not the best choice of word there, but, as The Beatles once advised, let it be.)

Here's a censored pic from the film:

From what i've seen so far (and i saw the uncensored version), i'm not going to need a cold shower. I think my interest is about to end.

Here's the latest from my CD collection, btw (haven't added anything in a while):

And of course the playlist:

Paul Rodgers - Muddy Waters Blues
Blodwyn Pig - Ahead Rings Out
Steeleye Span - Time
Blue Oyster Cult - On Flame With Rock And Roll
Buffalo Tom - Big Red Letter Day
Be+Bop Deluxe - Modern Music
Siouxsie & The Banshees - The Scream
Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick - Walnut Creek

Pippi Longstocking IS Lisbeth Salander. Maybe.

Quotation of the day ~ Stieg Larsson: I started to write in 2001. I wrote the books for the fun of it. It was an old idea i had had since the nineties.


Some time ago, i posited the notion that Lisbeth Salander, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo -- a literary character with whom i find myself totally obsessed  -- one of the most compelling characters in all fiction, IMHO -- was inspired by Pippi Longstocking. What Pippi might have been like when she grew up, an idea suggested by the author himself (Stieg Larsson) as being a salient undercurrent to the books.

I didn't really see it, except in very general terms (i.e., they're both socially dysfunctional misfits and underestimating their strengths can be disastrous) and to be honest, thought little more about it.

But then, in September, came the news that the actress Tami Erin, who played Pippi in the 1988 film, is about to release a home-made sex tape, and i thought: whoa! Lisbeth did something similar (although for very different reasons), is this yet another instance of life imitating art? Did Pippi (i.e., Tami) become Lisbeth?

With my unquenchable curiosity about all things Lisbethan, i investigated. It seems that back in April Tami was arrested for beating up her boyfriend. I love this! Tami Erin, who really isn't known for any of her other film rôles and primarily works for philanthropic and charitable organisations nowadays, has a violent streak. But hey, that's cool, i know how stressful relationships can be, who knows what was going on.

Then came the news that her boyfriend (the same one? i don't know) was planning to release a sex tape of the two of them doing the deed (or possibly several deeds). But it gets better. Originally, Tami fought the release tooth and claw, and i can see her point: what kind of a sleazeball (to use the technical term) would do such a thing? She must have felt hopeless and betrayed. (Lisbeth again.) But then (Lisbeth again) she decided to fight back: she is planning (as of this writing) to pre-empt the abovementioned sleazeball and release it herself.

Here's some pics of Tami (who's now 39):

Well, i think she looks abfab and if that tape ever really does see the light of day, i will try to find a copy -- purely in the interests of literary research, of course, because at 39 she's far too young for me <wink>

Here's the recent playlist:

Free - Live
Sparks - Kimono My House
Jefferson Airplane - Volunteers
Jan Akkerman -- Live At Alexander's
Siouxsie And The Banshees - The Rapture
Tyrannosaurus Rex - Beard Of Stars
The Lovin' Spoonful - Greatest Hits
Fish - A Feast Of Consequences (twice!)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland
Colin James - Take It From The Top
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
Mama's Pride - Mama's Pride
Keith Emerson Band - The Three Fates Project
Chickenfoot - Chickenfoot III
Rory Gallagher - Tattoo
The Allman Brothers Band - Eat A Peach
The Oyster Band - Step Outside
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
Bruce Cockburn - Dancing In The Dragon's Jaw

I Do Not Have O.C.D.

Quotation of the day ~ Jilly Cooper: Never drink black coffee at lunch; it will keep you awake in the afternoon.

I do not have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, contrary to rumour. Nor do i have A.D.D. or P.M.S., and i haven't touched L.S.D. in forty years. So much for acronyms....

I do get obsessed occasionally, though.  Once every couple of years or so.  The last time, it was with the music of Seether.  I heard their album "Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray," (which i still think is a stupid title, btw) and loved it so much that i simply had to have their entire output on CD.

Prior to that, it was the writing of Ian Rankin, and particularly his novels about the cantankerous Inspector Rebus of the Lothian & Borders Police.  I read "Exit Music" -- which was, at that time, the last book in the Rebus series -- and simply had to have every book he'd ever written. There are a lot! And i'm still, now, missing one title. I have it on order at my favourite local bookshop, but they seem to be having some trouble getting it (it's a very early one which Mr Rankin is not particularly proud of, but i don't care, i want it).

Now, today -- actually, since December -- it is this:

www.stieglarsson.com

Quite a few months ago, a friend, whose opinions i generally trust (in spite of his devotion to Dr Who) recommended to me -- in fact raved about -- a film called "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." I wasn't convinced, i'd heard of it but it didn't seem like my type of thing at all and besides, i don't like tattoos on women. But i downloaded it anyway.  (There were two versions, an American one and a Swedish one. I downloaded the American one.)

In December, i finally got around to watching it, and had the top of my head blown off.

Starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara. I was so impressed, i was compelled to download the Swedish version, from two years earlier:

What does it say there? Magnificent, dazzling, heart-stopping?

Well, yes, it is. All of these.







So -- and who says that illegal downloads hurt business? -- i simply had to have the DVDs. I bought the American one first, watched it again, and decided that it was marginally superior to the Swedish version. But then, went to my favourite local DVD shop and discovered that the Swedish version was available as part of a box set called "The Millennium Trilogy." And i bought the box. And when i watched the Swedish version for the second time, i decided that it was marginally superior to the American version.

Then i watched the second film in the series:

I was hooked. No question. "The Girl Who Played With Fire" is even better. (A number of people have said to me that they thought that "Dragon Tattoo" started too slowly. That certainly isn't a problem with "Played With Fire"!) An American version is in the works. Well, of course, i'll have to have that, too....











And then the third:

Yes, like it says there to the left. Breathtaking and incredible.














So, yes, of course, then i had to start reading the books, and am, as i write, about half-way into vol. 2 in the trilogy and it's compelling stuff, un-put-downable, and the books expand on many things that were, of necessity, omitted from the films.

Lisbeth Salander is such a magnificent creation -- a societally dysfunctional left-brained genius, an expert researcher and computer hacker. Apparently, Stieg Larsson's inspiration was Pippi Longstocking. No, really! Pippi was also dysfunctional ... and immensely strong. (I've never read any of Astrid Lindgren's books about Pippi, but i will.)

I'm also working on a theory.  The Millennium Trilogy may in fact be a love story. In "Dragon Tattoo," Lisbeth and the journalist Mikael Blomqvist -- whose nickname is Kalle Blomqvist, after the character in the Pippi Longstocking books -- work together very closely. I don't want to give anything away here....

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

She literally saves his life.

In part two, they haven't seen each other or had any contact at all in a couple of years, in fact she seems to have deliberately removed him from her life. But at the end of the film, Mikael finds her -- at a scene of much violence, she is half-dead, covered with dirt and blood, and he holds her and says words that rip my heart out. He embraces her and says, "I'm here. I'm here." Devastating in its simplicity.

So, where was i? Oh, yes, affirming that i don't have A.D.D.

Here's the most recent playlist, just a short one:

Curved Air - Second Album
The Kinks - Live At Kelvin Hall
Richard Thompson - Cabaret Of Souls
Black Country Communion - Afterglow