Subject
Fwd: Vladimir Nabokov's bird in Pale Fire ...
From
Date
Body
EDNOTE. An oddity from the pen of Seattle journalist and NABOKV-L list member
Charles Muede that calls attention to the fact that PALE Fire is, after all, a
murder mystery.
----- Forwarded message from spklein52@hotmail.com -----
Date: Thu, 07 Jul 2005 15:40:01 -0400
From: "Sandy P. Klein" <spklein52@hotmail.com>
)
------------------ [1] Police Beat
TheStranger.com - Seattle,WA,USA
... Indeed, the victim of a head shot is much like VLADIMIR
NABOKOV\'S bird in Pale Fire, which is "slain/by the false azure in
the windowpane" but continues to "[live] on, [fly] on, in the
reflected sky." ... [2] Seattle's Only News Section Jul 7 - Jul 13,
2005 http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=22090[3]
POLICE BEAT
THE VALLEY OF DEATH
BY CHARLES MUDEDE[4]
The Chest Wound/Rainier Valley/Wed June 29/10:37 pm: Officer S. A.
Marks reports: "At about 22:37 hours, South Radio broadcast a call of
an assault on South Adams Street where the suspect [two inch afro
style hair, unknown clothing description] was reportedly last seen
walking southbound on Rainier Avenue South. Prior to the officers'
arrival the call was updated with information that there was a man
dying at the scene and that SFD was also responding.
"Upon our arrival, both victims were located and SFD was given the
okay to come into the scene and treat the victims. It was discovered
then that victim one was actually shot in the chest. He was treated
on the scene and then transported to HMC via Medical One. Victim two
had head trauma that was not life threatening. He was treated by SFD
at the scene and then transported to HMC via AMR.
"The scene of the crime was taped off and K97 responded to the scene
to attempt to track the outstanding suspect. There was no success
locating the suspect. At about 23:09 hours, Homicide was requested to
the scene and at about 23:18, officers at the scene of the crime were
notified that victim one was declared dead at 23:15 hours.
"The Homicide unit arrived at the scene and I turned the
investigation and the scene over to them."
When it comes to guns, there are two types of killers: the type that
shoots his victim in the head and the type that shoots his victim in
the chest. The first type of murderer is considered to be the worse
(or at least the meaner) of the two.
To shoot someone in the chest is to show some amount of sensitivity
(not toward victim, of course, but toward oneself). The chest wound
is much easier on the murderer's senses than the sight of a head
wound. A gun-inflicted head wound is one of the most disturbing
images. It makes this statement: "I, the killer, hate you so much
that I'm going to put a bullet in your brain." The brain is the seat
of consciousness, the place that contains our memories, dreams, and
streams of secret thoughts. Shooting the brain is killing everything
that the victim is.
In the movies, when a man is shot "dead between the eyes," he falls,
eyes wide open, stiffly backward, like a logged tree. The victim goes
from life to death so suddenly that we imagine he has no idea that he
is dead. He continues doing in the negative world (walking down the
street, tying a shoelace, eating a spaghetti supper) exactly what he
was doing in the positive world at the very instant the bullet tore
through his brain. Indeed, the victim of a head shot is much like
Vladimir Nabokov's bird in _Pale Fire_, which is "slain/by the false
azure in the windowpane" but continues to "[live] on, [fly] on, in
the reflected sky."
A person who is shot in the chest knows he is dying, he can see the
bloody hole from which life is escaping like air from a balloon. A
victim with a chest wound eventually expires. ■
Links:
------
[1] http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Home
[2] http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Home
[3] http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=22090
[4] http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Author?oid=237
----- End forwarded message -----
Charles Muede that calls attention to the fact that PALE Fire is, after all, a
murder mystery.
----- Forwarded message from spklein52@hotmail.com -----
Date: Thu, 07 Jul 2005 15:40:01 -0400
From: "Sandy P. Klein" <spklein52@hotmail.com>
)
------------------ [1] Police Beat
TheStranger.com - Seattle,WA,USA
... Indeed, the victim of a head shot is much like VLADIMIR
NABOKOV\'S bird in Pale Fire, which is "slain/by the false azure in
the windowpane" but continues to "[live] on, [fly] on, in the
reflected sky." ... [2] Seattle's Only News Section Jul 7 - Jul 13,
2005 http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=22090[3]
POLICE BEAT
THE VALLEY OF DEATH
BY CHARLES MUDEDE[4]
The Chest Wound/Rainier Valley/Wed June 29/10:37 pm: Officer S. A.
Marks reports: "At about 22:37 hours, South Radio broadcast a call of
an assault on South Adams Street where the suspect [two inch afro
style hair, unknown clothing description] was reportedly last seen
walking southbound on Rainier Avenue South. Prior to the officers'
arrival the call was updated with information that there was a man
dying at the scene and that SFD was also responding.
"Upon our arrival, both victims were located and SFD was given the
okay to come into the scene and treat the victims. It was discovered
then that victim one was actually shot in the chest. He was treated
on the scene and then transported to HMC via Medical One. Victim two
had head trauma that was not life threatening. He was treated by SFD
at the scene and then transported to HMC via AMR.
"The scene of the crime was taped off and K97 responded to the scene
to attempt to track the outstanding suspect. There was no success
locating the suspect. At about 23:09 hours, Homicide was requested to
the scene and at about 23:18, officers at the scene of the crime were
notified that victim one was declared dead at 23:15 hours.
"The Homicide unit arrived at the scene and I turned the
investigation and the scene over to them."
When it comes to guns, there are two types of killers: the type that
shoots his victim in the head and the type that shoots his victim in
the chest. The first type of murderer is considered to be the worse
(or at least the meaner) of the two.
To shoot someone in the chest is to show some amount of sensitivity
(not toward victim, of course, but toward oneself). The chest wound
is much easier on the murderer's senses than the sight of a head
wound. A gun-inflicted head wound is one of the most disturbing
images. It makes this statement: "I, the killer, hate you so much
that I'm going to put a bullet in your brain." The brain is the seat
of consciousness, the place that contains our memories, dreams, and
streams of secret thoughts. Shooting the brain is killing everything
that the victim is.
In the movies, when a man is shot "dead between the eyes," he falls,
eyes wide open, stiffly backward, like a logged tree. The victim goes
from life to death so suddenly that we imagine he has no idea that he
is dead. He continues doing in the negative world (walking down the
street, tying a shoelace, eating a spaghetti supper) exactly what he
was doing in the positive world at the very instant the bullet tore
through his brain. Indeed, the victim of a head shot is much like
Vladimir Nabokov's bird in _Pale Fire_, which is "slain/by the false
azure in the windowpane" but continues to "[live] on, [fly] on, in
the reflected sky."
A person who is shot in the chest knows he is dying, he can see the
bloody hole from which life is escaping like air from a balloon. A
victim with a chest wound eventually expires. ■
Links:
------
[1] http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Home
[2] http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Home
[3] http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=22090
[4] http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Author?oid=237
----- End forwarded message -----