Roman Eagle Lodge
August 6th, 2023

Nulla Dies Sine Linea

Everybody loves a rags to riches story, & Clint Arthur loves his so much he has turned his own stratospheric rocket-soar into a slickly produced, heart-warming solo show that has just finish’d its short but impressive run at the Edinburgh Fringe. All in all, & in bright essence, Clint Arthur’s ‘Wisdom of the Men & Women’ captures the en-nobling of the soul.

The show, well, grand soliloquy really, begins with Joe Cocker’s ‘With a Little Help From My Friends’ setting the spirit at its euphoric ease. Then out steps Clint, who sets off on his tale against an impressive array of photographs power-pointed behind him, taking us from his Hollywood dreams supported by Taxi driving (yellow cab 6087), thro’ the 2008 epiphany that chang’d his life – which led to his burning 30 screeplays at the temple of his Hollywood failure -, & the subsequent rocket-soar into the upper realms of the unique cult of celebrity that is the American cultural sphere.

I mean, America is a young nation, & I have found it fascinating that the Human condition work’d itself out over there exactly how it did in the Old World. For Zeus, Hades, Venus & the Titans we have iconic figures such as Superman, Batman, Wonderwoman & the X-Men. Then, just like the ancient Egyptians, the American people worship living gods, which in this case are the celebrities of their land. Clint Arthur, by the way, has fashion’d the algebraic formula in which to deify oneself to full optimacy;

TV + BB + A + VIPS + CP/S + Cx

After studying business among future self-made billionaires, Clint was struck by the allure of Hollywood, where he had a first glint of national media fame when he created trash-art pieces in response to the 1988 LA trash crisis. Unfortunately he didn’t sell a thing, & still aiming for the stars lived out a journey of many years thro’ the marshes of major motion pictures, until finally giving up & changing the direction of his life thanks to some shaman declaring he was ‘already dead.’ This was the first of the ‘wisdoms’ which title the show, beam’d onto the screen; each one beginning with the exciting tale of how he met each wise guru, & of course winning the selfie-snap to accompany their gladly given maxims.

“You can start being a new person today”

Jimmy Carter

The accumulated gnosis of humanity is often refin’d & distill’d into brief epithets, such as George Bush Senior’s, “Keep doing the things you love in this life,” & Mike Tyson’s “Stay humble.” Tyson’s two words were appropriate, I thought, because Clint’s humility really did shine thro’, & I’d written the word ‘humble’ in my notes about twenty minutes before his photo with Tyson popp’d up. It’s good to see Clint taking on board himself the wisdom he’s been hearing.

As he progress’d royally ‘from chump to champ,’ I really enjoy’d my time with the best-selling author, butter-expert & selfie-king that is the very brave Clint Arthur. He really is a nice guy & his formidable skills as a motivational speaker shine thro’. Yeah, brother, I’m ready for this Fringe now, & in my capacity as a reviewer I’m gonna do the best I can & make it the best ever August for the Mumble. Cheers Clint & safe journey home.

Damo