October 23rd, 2014 → 6:08 am
“Is it not strange that sheep’s guts should hale souls out of men’s bodies?” – Much Ado About Nothing
I agree. It is weird to contemplate…
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art & Other
October 7th, 2014 → 5:49 am
“What hempen home-spuns have we swaggering here,
So near the cradle of the fairy queen?” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
I’ve seen a bunch of articles lately about the origin of certain slang words including “swag,” and how, actually, many slang words we use today really aren’t that new or unique at all. Swag and swagger, for example, have been around for hundreds of years, including, notably, in Shakespeare. So does that make modern entertainers like Jay Z and Justin Bieber not all that cool, or does it just make Shakespeare even hipper than I thought it was possible for him to already be??
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art
September 14th, 2014 → 5:53 am
“You are as a candle, the better part burnt out.” – Henry IV, Part II
Apparently the age-old Shakespeare denier conspiracy theorists are at it again. This time a bunch of scholarly professors, battling out whether the theory is worth an academic publication or not. I can tell you that I did do a bit of research on this myself a number of years ago, and I found it all bunk. No one wrote Shakespeare but Shakespeare.
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art & Stupid/Evil People
August 14th, 2014 → 5:29 am
“I have of late, but
wherefore I know not, lost all my mirth,
forgone all custom of exercises; and indeed,
it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame,
the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory.” – Hamlet
I’ve found the outpouring of grief over Robin Williams‘ suicide to be surprisingly high among my friends. He was a great comedian, no doubt, but I think it must also have something to do with my age group. Anyone in their late thirties/early forties grew up with Robin Williams; I remember watching Mork and Mindy when I came home from school in the afternoons, and of course I saw most of his major movies. It’s hard to imagine comedy without him. Rest in peace, Robin Williams, you have our sympathy, and our love.
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art
June 28th, 2014 → 7:05 am
“More are men’s ends marked than their lives before.
The setting sun, and music at the close,
As the last taste of sweets, is sweetest last,
Writ in remembrance more than things long past.” – Richard II
100 years ago today Archduke Francis Ferdinand was assassinated, and the world slid into its first World War. It is humbling to look back on it now; the horror, the uninevitability of it, the profound waste. There is a world that existed before June 28, 1914, and a rather different world that was borne after it.
Filed under: Blog & Economics/Money & Literature/Theatre/Art & Other & Politics/Politicians & Stupid/Evil People
June 5th, 2014 → 6:03 am
“He would drown the stage with tears,
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,
Make mad the guilty and appal the free,
Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed
The very faculties of eyes and ears.” – Hamlet
Egypt’s brave satirical comedian has finally succumbed to the death threats and agreed to go off the air. It is a sad day.
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art & Politics/Politicians
May 31st, 2014 → 6:50 am
“The glass of fashion and the mould of form.” – Hamlet
I went to my annual summer opera with my girlfriend Karen last night. We saw The Magic Flute and it was wonderful, but I couldn’t wait to get home and out of my dress. You know, all through my twenties and even my thirties I wore nice dresses and tight clothes without the aid of any so-called “equipment,” but when I hit forty I decided to buy some Spanx. Oh my god. Is that what corsets felt like??
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art & Self/My Life
May 29th, 2014 → 6:17 am
“As imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Rest in peace, Maya Angelou. A fine poet that turned airy imaginings into striking realities and memorable personalities.
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art
April 24th, 2014 → 7:48 am
“This is my birthday, as this very day.” – Julius Caesar
Actually, we don’t know exactly when Shakespeare was born. It could have been yesterday, it could have been today. But it was certainly sometime around now, so, happy birthday Mr. Bard!
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art
April 6th, 2014 → 9:56 am
“We will meet, and there we may rehearse most obscenely and courageously.” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Went to a production of Noises Off last night (after a nine course meal that included fiddlehead ferns – my new favorite vegetable). It’s a play about a play; a comedy about the mishaps and mistakes that can take place behind the stage and in rehearsal. Hilarious!! I recommend it to anyone wanting a laugh and needing a night off.
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art