November 3rd, 2017 → 5:07 am
Glendower: “I can call spirits from the vasty deep.”
Hotspur: “Why, so can I, or so can any man; But will they come when you do call for them?” – King Henry IV, Part I
I wake most mornings and try to write – some days, the words flow, other days, they do not. Imagination and creativity are mysterious spirits. I only wish I could see to the bottom of their vasty deep; I bet it is a riot down there.
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art & Self/My Life
October 29th, 2017 → 7:52 am
“There’s a special
providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now,
’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be
now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the
readiness is all.” – Hamlet
I attended a production of Hamlet last night. It’s always good to see an actual performance of Shakespeare, and not just read the plays, as I do so often. My poor husband, however, was likely annoyed with the amount of times I leaned over and said the famous phrases before the characters did – there’s so many good lines in that play! The quote above about just accepting your fate, however, I had forgotten until last night. And it feels particularly apt in my life right now. I had a terrible week this past week with so very many things going wrong; I’m still exhausted from the worry and lack of sleep due to it. I know that I need to laugh, give in, and accept things sometimes…let life just come as it may…it’s just hard for me. I must remember: the readiness is all.
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
October 20th, 2017 → 7:56 am
“Her voice was ever soft,
Gentle and low, an excellent thing in woman.” – King Lear
Let women continue to speak up, and let the world be sure to hear them.
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life
October 16th, 2017 → 6:10 am
“The poop was beaten gold.” – Antony and Cleopatra
‘Poop’ in no way means poop in this sentence; it refers to a short deck built over the main deck in an old sailing vessel. But if my seven year old son had been reading the text with me when I came across this sentence, he would have devolved into helpless laughter. So this morning’s post is for all of you seven year olds out there, with an appreciation of silly humor.
October 10th, 2017 → 6:39 am
“Th’ adulterous [Antony], most large
In his abominations.” – Antony and Cleopatra
I put Antony in brackets above, only because it can be interchanged with all manner of famous men’s names. Harvey Weinstein, Donald Trump, Bill Cosby, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Silvio Berlusconi, Tim Murphy, Dennis Hastert… this is getting too depressing to continue…
Filed under: Blog & Stupid/Evil People
October 7th, 2017 → 6:52 am
🎂 🎉 😊 🎈
No quote today, just happy birthday to me! I’m always amazed when I’ve made it another year in the Book of Life. Now, when do I get to dive into that chocolate birthday cake I know is in the refrigerator?
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
October 4th, 2017 → 6:34 am
“Noble friends,
That which combined us was most great, and let not
A leaner action rend us. What’s amiss,
May it be gently heard. When we debate
Our trivial difference loud, we do commit
Murder in healing wounds.” – Antony and Cleopatra
First, yes, I am reading Antony and Cleopatra right now, which is why all my quotes lately are coming from this one play. Second, this quote could apply to Democrats and the fight between moderates and more left-leaning liberals. Or, this quote could apply to Republicans and the internal divisions therein. Come to think of it, this quote could apply to Spain and the Catalonia referendum. Wherever one looks, there is division and in-fighting at the moment!
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians
September 30th, 2017 → 5:41 am
“Leave thy lascivious wassails.” – Antony and Cleopatra
wassail – to drink copious amounts of alcohol and enjoy oneself with others in a noisy, lively way; to carouse (n. a carousal)
Personally, I could go for a lascivious wassail right about now.
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art
September 23rd, 2017 → 5:20 am
“By the fire that quickens Nilus’ slime.” – Antony & Cleopatra
I have a recurring theme in some of these posts – ShakeDic – where I discuss novel words from Shakespeare’s texts. This is the opposite. Sometimes I’m amazed when reading Shakespeare to come across a word I would have thought was contemporary and not at all around in Shakespeare’s time. For example: slime. Doesn’t slime sound like something out of Ghostbusters? Or at the very least, the 20th century? Apparently not, as it is used in Antony and Cleopatra to describe the mud of the Nile. A quick look up of it in the dictionary claims it to be of “old English” and that it has been in consistent, frequent use since well before the 1800s. Huh.
Filed under: Blog
August 5th, 2017 → 6:32 am
“But this top-proud fellow,
Whom from the flow of gall I name not, but
From sincere motions, by intelligence
And proofs as clear as founts in July, when
We see each grain of gravel, I do know
To be corrupt and treasonous.” – Henry VIII
As clear as spring-water in July (before the recent defenestration of the EPA), corruption runs rampant through the Trump family and their cabal of crazies.
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians & Stupid/Evil People