June 20th, 2016 → 5:26 am
“This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands;
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.” – Richard II
One of Shakespeare’s most famous odes to his motherland. Good luck on the vote Thursday! I’m quite anxious to see what happens…
Filed under: Blog & Other & Politics/Politicians
June 16th, 2016 → 6:08 am
“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.” – Macbeth
As written in this morning’s op-ed by Charles Blow: “There is so much blood on our hands that no amount of Second Amendment rationalizing can make them clean.” Just ban assault rifles already, for god’s sake. Every action has benefits and costs, and I don’t deny that some (good) people would pay a price if we banned rapid-fire weapons (as my husband put it, it’s fun to go to a range and just shoot repeatedly), but I’m sorry, that price is worth the benefit of the thousands of lives that would be saved. Even if we only diminish gun violence (I agree, we are unlikely ever to eliminate it), it is worth it. People who are opposed to such a public policy initiative I don’t think honestly get how many lives are lost to gun violence every day. The nonchalance die-hard gun supporters have about such loss of life appalls me.
Filed under: Blog & Other & Politics/Politicians
June 8th, 2016 → 5:21 am
“Give me a gash, put me to present pain,
Let this great sea of joys rushing upon me
O’erbear the shores of my mortality,
And drown me with their sweetness.” – Pericles
Joy, pure joy right now.
[P.S. Sorry to anyone who attended the discussion forum yesterday on Goodreads at the “wrong” time. The PR person in charge advertised the time incorrectly here in the United States so everyone on this side of the Atlantic was “late”. I was very frustrated by that. Still, we had a great discussion; thanks everyone who participated!]
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians
April 20th, 2016 → 5:24 am
“Mine eyes are cloyed with view of tyranny.” – Titus Andronicus
What is happening to Turkey? I remember when Erdogan was first elected and there was (some) optimism in the air. In recent years, however, he has turned the arrogant tyrant. Oh Turkey, our best hope for a Muslim democracy in the Middle East, what is happening to you?!?!?!?
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians & Stupid/Evil People
April 8th, 2016 → 5:17 am
“He is deformed, crooked, old and sere,
Ill-faced, worse bodied, shapeless everywhere:
Vicious, ungentle, foolish, blunt, unkind,
Stigmatical in making, worse in mind.” – The Comedy of Errors
The insults this political season just keep coming. And it isn’t just the Republicans anymore, the Democrats seem to be getting into it too! Do politicians ever wonder why they have such low approval ratings?
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians
March 13th, 2016 → 6:34 am
“He is come to open
The purple testament of bleeding war.” – Richard II
Shakespeare often used “purple” where today we would use “red,” i.e. to mean bloody. I wonder sometimes if that is because Shakespeare actually meant not just a bloody cut, but an internal organ evisceration-type injury, which in truth is more gross, more deadly, and more colorful – and likely purple, not red. Either way, Trump does seem to have come to politics to open bloody warfare. God help us.
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians & Stupid/Evil People
February 16th, 2016 → 6:22 am
“Dead as a doornail.” – Henry VI, Part II
I think we’re all in a bit of shock over the announcement of Antonin Scalia’s death over the weekend. Shakespeare has many quotes about death (almost as many as he has about love), but I chose to use this one because it seemed so abrupt, succinct, and in your face. Much like Scalia himself.
Plus, I love putting up quotes of phrases we use today, but which so many people don’t even realize come from Shakespeare!
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians & Stupid/Evil People
February 13th, 2016 → 9:08 am
“Would the fountain of your mind were clear again,
that I might water an ass at it.” – Troilus and Cressida
Oh no you don’t! The news has been all over the insults traded among the U.S. presidential candidates of late. I just thought I’d note that no one does an insult like Shakespeare. I could post a million of these.
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians
February 10th, 2016 → 5:09 am
“The air bites shrewdly, it is very cold.” – Hamlet
I get much of my inspiration regarding what to blog about from reading the newspaper and keeping up with current events. But these days, all you can read about are the U.S. presidential primaries! It’s as if the entire rest of the world has disappeared! So I have no real inspiration for what to blog about this morning. I’ll instead focus on the cold winter weather. It snowed yesterday and my poor son woke up insisting that it meant he could stay home from school. I had to explain to him that just because there was new snow on the ground, that didn’t automatically mean there was no school. I’m not sure he ever really got over the disappointment of having to get up out of his warm bed and face the day…
Filed under: Blog & Other & Politics/Politicians & Self/My Life
January 31st, 2016 → 5:51 am
“The commons, like an angry hive of bees
That want their leader, scatter up and down,
And care not who they sting in his revenge.” – Henry VI, Part II
God I hope they pick somebody normal tomorrow, but based on historical experience (Rick Santorum?), I’m not holding my breath…
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians