Elizabeth Taylor

July 31st, 2011 → 6:56 am

“Beauty is a witch.” – Much Ado About Nothing

I watched the 1967 movie The Taming of the Shrew with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton last night.  It was quite good.  Elizabeth Taylor was an exceptional beauty, and quite a funny witch in it.  No wonder my mother loved her so much.  I don’t normally watch (because I don’t normally enjoy) old movies, but this one really was good; even my non-Shakespeare-loving husband enjoyed it to the end.

Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art

Interconnectedness of Life

July 30th, 2011 → 7:01 am

“A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.” – Hamlet

I just like this quote.  It reminds me that we are all connected.  It reminds me that even kings end up as fishbait.  It reminds me that nature is cyclical and our earth a wonder.  Happy start of the weekend, by the way!

Filed under: Blog & Other

Speaker Boehner

July 29th, 2011 → 7:03 am

“O, that a man might know, The end of this day’s business ere it come!” – Julius Caesar

For the first time, I find myself feeling sorry for Speaker Boehner.  He apparently really doesn’t have the Tea Party members in line on this debt ceiling legislation.  I heard he tried to bribe them with pizza, and has done everything from threatening to cajoling to begging.  I imagine he hasn’t slept much in the past few days and, like the rest of us, just wishes he knew how this whole business would turn out already!

Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians

Humility

July 28th, 2011 → 7:02 am

“The blessedness of being little.” – King Henry VIII

Anyone who knows me knows that I am small (less than 5′!), but this quote rang true for me for its applicability to mental ego as well as physical stature.  If only there was more humility in the world, then maybe the budget negotiations in Congress wouldn’t be so crazy, maybe the petty fights at work wouldn’t happen as often, and maybe the personal grudges amongst kin would disappear.  If only more people were little the world would be, if not a better place, I imagine maybe a smoother place?

Filed under: Blog & Other

Catharsis

July 26th, 2011 → 7:25 am

“Sorrow concealed, like an oven stopp’d, doth burn the heart to cinders where it is.” – Titus Andronicus

My husband and I watched the film Antwone Fisher last night (we both ended up in tears).  One of the things it reminded me of was the power of catharsis, often helped along through the aid of a good psychologist (my mother was a psychologist, and the movie also reminded me very much of her).  I had a sound disagreement with my Aunt once, who told me that a person should never voice their hurts and their feelings because it’ll just make other people feel bad.  I have never disagreed with anything more.  As the quote above eloquently states, sorrow concealed only does damage in the end.

Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art & Other

Rupert Murdoch

July 25th, 2011 → 7:36 am

“Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself.” – Macbeth

I keep reading news reports comparing the Rupert Murdoch phone hacking scandal to a Shakespearean tragedy.  Actually, some say it IS like a Shakespearean tragedy because it involves both familial and political interconnections, while others say it is NOT like a Shakespearean tragedy because Murdoch isn’t sympathetic at all, and some even say the scandal is like Shakespeare, Harry Potter, Charles Dickens, and J.R. Tolkien all at once!  Phew!  I’ve included some of the links so you can decide for yourself.

Filed under: Blog & Stupid/Evil People

Inequality

July 24th, 2011 → 7:33 am

“Distribution should undo excess, and each man have enough.”  – King Lear

I’m not a socialist.  For god’s sake, I’m a professor of economics at the University of Missouri, but I am starting to worry about inequality in the U.S.  We haven’t had such skewed levels of wealth distribution since the 1920s.  And skewed levels of wealth don’t just seem unfair, they are actually harmful by exhibiting downward pressure on consumer demand, which hurts the economy for everyone.  Those who are worried about the tax aspects of the current budget negotiations shouldn’t be; redistribution to maintain a basic quality of life for the majority of the population is not just decent, it’s good economics.

Filed under: Blog & Economics/Money

Heat

July 23rd, 2011 → 7:08 am

“Why, this is very midsummer madness.” – Twelfth Night

I couldn’t decide this morning whether I wanted to write about the Midwest’s record-breaking heat wave, or the incomprehensible budget talks in Washington.  And then, I came across this quote that applied equally well to both!  I can’t believe this unyielding 100+ degree heat, and as well, I can’t believe the infantile behavior of our politicians in Washington.  Sigh.  I pray both trends break soon…

Filed under: Blog & Other & Politics/Politicians

Megan Fox

July 22nd, 2011 → 7:38 am

“We’ll live,
And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh
At gilded butterflies.”  – King Lear

I just found out that Transformers movie star Megan Fox has this Shakespeare quote on her right shoulder.  Actually, she has “We will all laugh at gilded butterflies” tattoed on her shoulder, which is a bit different, but still.  Apparently it is to remind her not to become caught up in the Hollywood scene, not to become a “gilded butterfly,” pretty, but weighed down and unable to fly.  Not a bad tattoo!

Filed under: Blog & Other

Borders

July 20th, 2011 → 7:23 am

“The true beginning of our end.” – Midsummer Night’s Dream

Borders has announced that it is going out of business and liquidating all its stores.  I feel as though this is the beginning of the end of the hard-copy book.  I know there are e-books and kindles and nooks and what-not, but I’m a bit old fashioned when it comes to sitting down and reading a fresh novel.  I just like having the feel of it in my hands.  I know e-books are the wave of the future, and I’m sure I’ll adjust, but I am just a little sad that the traditional hard-copy book seems to be losing its place at the pinnacle of a well-stocked library.

Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art