March 11th, 2014 → 6:14 am
“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is
To have a thankless child.” – King Lear
I heard this story, about a teenage girl suing her parents to pay for college, and immediately recalled the famous Shakespeare quote above. OMG, what a spoiled brat!
Filed under: Blog & Stupid/Evil People
February 28th, 2014 → 9:44 am
“The laws are mine, not thine.
Who can arraign me for’t?” – King Lear
Almost three years ago I posted the above quote in relation to Vladimir Putin. Sadly, it continues to apply.
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians & Stupid/Evil People
September 27th, 2013 → 6:10 am
“He is given
To sports, to wildness, and much company.” – Julius Caesar
On the news feed on my phone this morning was the headline: “Dennis Rodman Reveals Kim Jong Un’s Baby.” I’m sorry, but that is one of the oddest sentences I’ve ever seen in the news feed. I still can’t get over Dennis Rodman’s and Kim Jong Un’s “friendship,” let alone Rodman handling the dictator’s baby. Something about it all just seems so darn weird…
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians & Stupid/Evil People
February 21st, 2013 → 6:14 am
“I do desire we may be better strangers.” – As You Like It
Wouldn’t this just be the best insult to give to someone you didn’t like? Not that I’d ever remember it in the moment, or have the courage to actually say it if I did. But here’s to one of my favorite subtle, yet withering, Shakespearean insults.
Filed under: Blog & Stupid/Evil People
February 5th, 2013 → 7:51 am
“Sin, death, and hell have set their marks on him.” – Richard III
And apparently, that’s how his remains were identified. It’s been utterly fascinating to read about the 500 year old bones of Richard III found in a parking lot. It’ll be interesting to see the new theories and thoughts that come out of the discovery… if only we could find the two princes that he murdered, now that would be awesome!
Filed under: Blog & Stupid/Evil People
December 2nd, 2012 → 9:09 am
“If you can look into the seeds of time,
And say which grain will grow, and which will not,
Speak then to me.” – Macbeth
Twice in the past week random people (both at checkout lines) talked to me about the 2012 Mayan Prophecy. The first time was funny, the second time was weird. Why do people believe this stuff? If there was a way to see into the future then, please, as the quote above suggests, speak it to me.
Filed under: Blog & Stupid/Evil People
November 28th, 2012 → 8:50 am
“O jest unseen, inscrutable, invisible,
As a nose on a man’s face, or a weathercock on a steeple!” – Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Onion did a satire on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, calling him the Sexiest Man Alive for 2012. But apparently, not everyone realized it was a joke! China’s People’s Daily newspaper picked up the piece and went with it. How funny!!
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians & Stupid/Evil People
August 24th, 2012 → 6:00 am
“We have seen the best of our time.” – King Lear
A friend emailed me the other day asking if I thought the world was on the decline; if morals had been abandoned by politicians, if the current generation was excessively lazy, if entrepreneurs and businesspeople were unconscionably conniving. I don’t know, but the fear that we are on the decline appears to be a repeated one throughout history. Every generation seems to think the next one is lazier, the politicians even worse, etc. I know they are from his plays, but Shakespeare repeatedly has characters saying that this is it, but was it? We have a lot of problems in this world, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not so narcissistic to think MY time is the pinnacle.
Filed under: Blog & Economics/Money & Politics/Politicians & Stupid/Evil People
August 6th, 2012 → 8:10 am
“Now see that noble and most sovereign reason
Like sweet bells jangled out of tune and harsh,
That unmatched form and feature of blown youth
Blasted with ecstasy.” – Hamlet
What is up with all the shootings lately? Is there that much madness in the world? Is the opportunity to do mass harm just too easy? Things looked sunny and warm and happy yesterday, but clearly not for everyone…
Filed under: Blog & Stupid/Evil People
July 14th, 2012 → 8:16 am
“This is the time that the unjust man doth thrive.” – Winter’s Tale
The scandals concerning bankers and Wall Street just keep coming. From Enron to Madoff and now to Barclay’s and the LIBOR manipulations. To be honest, Wall Street messing up and doing stupid things now and again doesn’t bother me as much as the rewards that these people continue to get. Inequality is a real problem in the U.S., in a way it hasn’t been since the 1920s. Extreme inequality isn’t just unjust, as I’ve stated in earlier posts, it is actually harmful to overall economic health. Bankers, who do not produce much of fundamental value and who keep making mistakes to boot, in particular simply get paid too much (i.e. “inefficient amounts” of) money. It does appear that this is the time that the unjust man (for let’s face it, they are also mostly men) doth thrive.
Filed under: Blog & Economics/Money & Stupid/Evil People