July 10th, 2013 → 5:45 am
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more,
Or close the wall up with our [Egyptian] dead,
In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility;
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, conjure up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage.” – Henry V
I can’t help feeling as though we’re living through a pretty pivotal moment of history. 150+ years from now, when the Middle East looks totally different, children in school are going to learn about women who couldn’t drive in Saudi Arabia, militants that destroyed their own history in Afghanistan, and governments that were toppled in Egypt, and think: wow, things were so different back then. I just wish I could live long enough to see how this all pans out in the long-long-run.
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians
July 3rd, 2013 → 6:33 am
“Why, she is a pearl
Whose price hath launched above a thousand ships.” – Troilus and Cressida
God bless her, for defending a woman’s right to choose (and hopefully launching more Democratic support for it in Texas). On this 4th of July holiday, she’s my American hero.
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians
July 1st, 2013 → 6:38 am
“When that this body did contain a spirit,
kingdom for it was too small a bound.” – Henry IV, Part I
I blogged a few weeks back about the work of Dr. Laura Bates teaching Shakespeare to prison inmates in Indiana. In her book about the experience she talks a lot about a particular student, Larry Newton. He sounds absolutely remarkable, learning (thoroughly) the complete works of Shakespeare, leading discussion groups about the plays, even writing workbooks to help teach Shakespeare to other classes of inmates. His “favorite freakin’ quote” is apparently the one above. And it is a good one. When your spirit is content, well-nourished, and unafraid, life seems to have no bound.
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art