Brief Hiatus

November 21st, 2013 → 6:20 am

“Would I were in an alehouse in London!” – Henry V

Well I’m not in London right now (would I were!), but I am leaving tomorrow for a conference, then there’s Thanksgiving, then relatives come to visit (not to mention Hanukkah to celebrate), December has Christmas and New Year’s…  I think for the sake of my sanity I’m going to have to take a brief hiatus from blogging, just until December is over.  I’ll return with lots of new quotes (I’m reading a Shakespeare book right now that’s giving me some great ideas) in January, 2014…  See everyone again then!  And Happy Holidays of course.  🙂

Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life

Midwest Storms

November 19th, 2013 → 11:51 am

“Blow winds and crack your cheeks!  Rage, blow!
You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout
Till you have drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks!
You sulphurous and thought-executing fires,
Vaunt-couriers of oak-cleaving thunderbolts,
Singe my white head!  And thou, all-shaking thunder,
Strike flat the thick rotundity o’the world!
Crack nature’s moulds, all germens spill at once
That make ingrateful man!”  – King Lear

We lost our power as a result of the storms, and its only just now come back on.  Hallelujah!  In fact, on Sunday when the storms hit, I was entertaining guests and my son had a friend over.  We had all these people in our house and a ton of food ready to cook on the stove.  Then a number of us watched as a rather large tree branch fell on our power line, crashing it to the ground.  Next our big metal gazebo was dashed by the wind onto the tree branch that was on the power line.  It was so shocking it was funny at first, till I realized I had all this food going to waste and people still to entertain.  Our power is actually only half on right now (“half restored” they call it??), but thank god for that.  And welcome back my beloved internet connection!!

Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life

Makeup

November 17th, 2013 → 6:30 am

“God hath given you one face and you make yourselves another.” – Hamlet

I went to an open house for an expensive private school yesterday.  The place was amazing, but I kept getting distracted from the presentations by a mother that had gobs of makeup on.  Why do some women do that?  I honestly think it looks awful to wear so much makeup the color lines become visible between foundation and neck.  To paraphrase Shakespeare, why paint a clown face on yourself when God has given you a perfectly good natural one?

Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life

Philippines Typhoon

November 14th, 2013 → 5:57 am

“This all lies within the will of God.” – Henry V

Estimates are that the typhoon that hit the Philippines killed around 10,000 people.  The survivors are now desperate for food, water, and aid.  If events such as this are the will of God, as I’ve heard some say, one really has to wonder why.

Filed under: Blog & Other

Today’s Date

November 12th, 2013 → 6:10 am

“Skimble-skamble stuff.” – Henry IV, Part I

The date today is 11-12-13.  Ha!  I love silly number stuff like that.  Silly skimble-skamble symbolic sets and stuff.

Filed under: Blog & Other

Freedom

November 9th, 2013 → 7:10 am

“I must have liberty
Withal, as large a charter as the wind,
To blow on whom I please.”  – As You Like It

I think that pretty accurately describes the conservative position.

Filed under: Blog & Other & Politics/Politicians

Social Responsibility

November 7th, 2013 → 5:40 am

“‘Tis not enough to help the feeble up,
But to support him after.”  – Timon of Athens

I was reading through some Shakespeare this morning, looking for an interesting quote to discuss, and I came across this.  It sounds like an argument for social responsibility, for taking care of one’s fellow citizens, for welfare, liberalism, democratic values, whatever you want to call it.  At the same time, I know that in Shakespeare’s plays there are a number of quotes of a more “conservative” nature.  Hold tight and I’ll post one of those next time…

Filed under: Blog & Other & Politics/Politicians

Nazi Art Trove

November 5th, 2013 → 5:23 am

“I could a tale unfold whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,
Make thy two eyes like stars start from their spheres,
Thy knotted and combined locks to part,
And each particular hair to stand an end
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine.”  – Hamlet

It makes my blood boil when I hear about thieves like Cornelius Gurlitt – whose father left him over a billion dollars worth of Nazi-era stolen art – who live a comfortable life until they are 80 years old and never pay a thing for their crimes.  The Nazis were terrible.  And it continues to be terrible that their crimes still are not ended.

Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art & Stupid/Evil People

Bassem Youssef (a.k.a. Egypt’s Jon Stewart)

November 3rd, 2013 → 6:38 am

“Brevity is the soul of wit.” – Hamlet

Egypt’s current government seems to be taking the above quote to extremes; banishing Bassem Youssef from the air waves.  Such actions only draw attention to the comedian and increases his audience (now on YouTube).  Sigh.  Why can’t these dictatorial governments take a joke already?

Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians