{
  "export": {
    "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/883",
    "note": "Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright in each message remains with the person who wrote it.  Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact.",
    "addresses": "obscured as 'user at host'"
  },
  "archive": "urth",
  "thread": {
    "id": 883,
    "subject": "Finger #4",
    "messages": 1,
    "voices": 1,
    "first": "1998-07-01T23:14:18+00:00",
    "last": "1998-07-01T23:14:18+00:00"
  },
  "messages": [
    {
      "message_id": "<urth-v0015-0058@digest.urth.net>",
      "from": {
        "name": "Robert Borski",
        "address": "rborski at coredcs.com"
      },
      "date": "1998-07-01T23:14:18+00:00",
      "subject": "(urth) Finger #4",
      "in_reply_to": null,
      "reply_link": null,
      "blocks": [
        {
          "kind": "text",
          "depth": 0,
          "text": "Some late thoughts on \"Three Fingers.\"\n\nThe Harley who picks up Michael on his motorcycle is almost certainly meant\nto be sf writer Harlan Ellison, who has a house filled with collectable\ntoys, including the 1943 Captain Midnight decoder ring mentioned.\nAmaryllis, who also rides the motorcycle, is another archetype of the big\nbad wolf and pirate variety--she's the shepherdess or country girl seen\nfirst in classical poetry (Virgil's Eclogues), then later in pastoral\npoetry, then still later as Little Bo Peep and the Farmer's Daughter. \n\nMichael's first customer has two sons that attend Antioch University.\nAntioch, in the Middle East, is where Christians were first called\nChristians. More significantly, it was also liberated by the Army of the\n1st Crusade (Michael being embarked on a crusade of his own).\n\nThe 'mafia' in 'mickey mafia' is probably meant not only to summon up the\nItalian crime families but also the synonymic 'syndicate' as in King\nFeatures Syndicate and its ilk, the media conglomerations that syndicate\nand trademark comic strips.\n\n'Suits' is standard Hollywoodese for studio execs and lawyers--Michael's\nenemies in Three Fingers because they're trying to appropriate for\nfinancial reasons all the archetypes (which belong to humanity at large)\nthey possibly can and clamp down on him for the unlicensed production of\ntheir registered properties.\n\nReserprine is botanically-derived from the plant Rauwolfia serpentina and\ndoes not cause Michael to hallucinate, but *prevents* him from\nhallucinating. (Symbolically, Michael the great Miltonian battler against\nevil has now been undone by the serpent). In the final scene the bon bons\nand jelly beans the \"suits\" (actually medics) are trying to force upon him\nare his medicine. Michael's always been a little crazy, you see. And\nclearly if he thinks he's going to win a battle of this type in the real\nworld he's obviously off his nut.\n\nAs for the three finger/four finger discrepancy in the final sentence, we\nall know which finger is involved and where it's been.\n\nThe suits have been giving it to us for years.\n\nRobert Borski/scolex"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}