Joss Whedon’s Much Ado

June 10th, 2013 → 6:33 am

    “Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,
    Men were deceivers ever,
    One foot in sea and one on shore,
    To one thing constant never.” – Much Ado About Nothing

A Hollywood screenwriter, producer, director, etc. decided on his two week vacation two years ago to make an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing on the fly, and in his kitchen.  It came out in select theatres this past Friday.  As St. Louis isn’t very select we didn’t get it, and I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard so much about the darn thing on the news and from friends that I thought I’d just blog today with one of my favorite quotes from the play.  This quote got me through years of college dating.

Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art

Opera

May 31st, 2013 → 6:03 am

    “What fine chisel
    Could ever yet cut breath?” – Winter’s Tale

I went to a performance of The Pirates of Penzance with an opera-buff friend of mine this past Wednesday night.  And afterwards we discussed how good the voices were.  My favorite was Mabel, played by Deanna Breiwick (all those trills!), but my more knowledgeable friend couldn’t take her eyes off the conductor (he mouthed the whole performance as he conducted, and, admittedly, he was quite handsome).  One thing we did agree on is that The Pirates of Penzance has one of the silliest plot lines in all of opera, and for opera, that’s saying something!

Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art

Happy Birthday Shakespeare!

April 23rd, 2013 → 6:09 am

It’s Shakespeare’s birthday today, or at least, we think it’s his birthday today.  The earliest record we have of a William Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon is of a baptism on April 26, and assuming he was born just a few days before the ceremony (as was custom), the logical deduction is that today is most likely his birthday.  Anyhow, in honor of William Shakespeare’s (likely) birthday, I thought I’d quote Sonnet 105 in full, where the bard talks about idolatry, and how a lover should not idolize his love, although by the end of the Sonnet, that is exactly what he is doing!

    “Let not my love be called idolatry,
    Nor my beloved as an idol show,
    Since all alike my songs and praises be
    To one, of one, still such, and ever so.
    Kind is my love today, tomorrow kind,
    Still constant in a wondrous excellence;
    Therefore my verse, to constancy confined,
    One thing expressing, leaves out difference.
    ‘Fair, kind, and true’ is all my argument,
    ‘Fair, kind, and true,’ varying to other words;
    And in this change is my invention spent,
    Three themes in one, which wondrous scope affords.
       ‘Fair,’ ‘kind,’ and ‘true’ have often live alone,
       Which three till now never kept seat in one.” – Sonnet 105

Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art

Happiness Research

April 15th, 2013 → 6:24 am

“O, how bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man’s eyes!” – As You Like It

Continuing with the theme of linguistic differences and changes in meaning of things over time, I came across an interesting piece of research the other day, where a bunch of anthropologists tracked emotion words in literature over time (i.e. literally tracked the frequency usage of “happy” words in google books from 1900-2000).  And one of their conclusions was that people were happier 100 years ago than they are today, because they used more “happy” words in their published writings.  Personally, I find this bogus.  Not just because economics research does not seem to be finding significant happy distinctions like this over time, but also because I am an author.  Have you read any books from 1900?  I have.  The writing style was very different back then.  Effusive, sacchrine, adverb-laden in a way modern writing most definitely is not.  It doesn’t mean our happiness levels have changed, it means our writing styles have.  Subtlety and “show-not-tell” are the mantras of fine literature today; they weren’t back then.

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

The Feminine Mystique

February 19th, 2013 → 8:29 am

“Do you not know I am a woman?  When I think I must speak.” – As You Like It

Today is the 50th anniversary of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique.  I have to admit, I haven’t read it (and I’m trying to decide if I should), but it did make a significant impact in its day.  Whatever the merits of the book itself, two thumbs up for women speaking up, even when it creates waves.

Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art

Revenge

February 3rd, 2013 → 9:19 am

    “He’s revengeful, and I know his sword
    Hath a sharp edge.” – Henry VIII

I read this morning about the death of Chris Kyle, a former Navy SEAL and author of a book (“American Sniper”) that detailed his killing of more than 150 insurgents.  All I have to say is, while he clearly was a very smart shooter, he was not a very smart author.  Who writes a book about it??  Of course someone was going to then seek him out for revenge.  Was two minutes of fame (and I imagine a decent book advance) worth it?

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

Happiness

December 19th, 2012 → 8:46 am

It’s taken me over a year of writing these posts, of regularly reading Shakespeare and scanning his works for good images and descriptions, to realize that I think maybe Shakespeare had depressive tendencies.  I’m not a psychologist so I don’t know exactly how to describe it, whether Shakespeare was indeed depressed, bipolar, or simply an introvert, but he was definitely not a naturally happy man.  Every time I want to find a quote about happiness, joy, or goodness I find it rather difficult to find one!  Meanwhile, there are entire websites devoted to Shakespeare’s insults and negative descriptions.  I have a few books of quotes of Shakespeare and when I look under headings like “Love” and “Happiness” there are a few entries, but they are generally about how illusive love is, or how fleeting is the feeling of happiness.  Not exactly an optimistic perspective.  In truth, I’m amazed it’s taken me this long to notice how inherently pessimistic Shakespeare is, but that is probably because my nature runs along the same lines… 

There is an alternative interpretation, of course:  that Shakespeare may have been a happy man but his literature was negative because, well, it was entertainment and what’s more gripping than a good tragedy?!  Let’s hope that’s it.  And on the happiest note I could find this morning, here’s a quote about trying to stop and enjoy life for a bit:

    “Sit by my side
    And let the world slip.  We shall ne’er be younger.” – The Taming of the Shrew

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

William Shakespeare

November 19th, 2012 → 4:20 pm

“[This] island of England breeds very valiant creatures.” – Henry V

Today was my trip to Stratford-upon-Avon to see Shakespeare’s birthplace, burial place, and the house he lived in in-between.  Long exhausting day, but totally worth it.  Shakespeare is one-of-a-kind.  Whether he is valiant or not, I don’t know, but he is certainly worth celebrating.  Below is a picture, not of his house (because that’s plastered everywhere), but of the guildhall where he went to school as a young boy:

 

Thought for the day:

  • Why can’t you watch online episodes of The DailyShow or The Colbert Report from Europe?  It appears to be prohibited.  How annoying.

Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art & Self/My Life

Birthday Present

November 16th, 2012 → 6:15 am

“This is a way to kill a wife with kindness.” – Taming of the Shrew

So my birthday was in October, but my present from my husband was working things out so I could go to London for a long weekend in November and see the once-in-a-lifetime Shakespeare exhibit at the British Museum.  Can you believe it?  How spectacular.  I never imagined I’d be able to go!  Stay tuned because, if possible, my next post will be from Shakespeare’s own town…

Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art & Self/My Life

Art Heist

October 17th, 2012 → 5:33 am

“Flat burglary as ever was committed.” – Much Ado About Nothing

7 valuable paintings were stolen from a museum in Rotterdam yesterday, including a Gauguin, a Matisse, and a Picasso.  The way it was executed sounds like an Ocean’s 11 high-professional job.  I thought those sorts of perfectly executed heists only happened in the movies?!?

Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art