Gettin' Nerdy with the Bard

When I was just a wee actor I thought it was cool of me to say "I like Shakespeare OK, but I'm not crazy about him." I thought this separated me from being one of "those" actors. Little did I know I'd grow up to be just one of those.

I'm working on a study guide for Rose of Athens' upcoming production of Macbeth and I can't help but get all nerdy. How cool to find out that Shakespeare changed this story to please King James I who claimed to be descendant of Banquo. The actual story of Macbeth shows him to have been a great ruler, under whom there was peace for 17 years! (the play taking place over the span of one year)

I think it is funny that we are drilled "Shakespeare wrote in iambic pentameter," but one of his most famous lines breaks that rhythm. "To be/ or not/ to be/ That is/ the quest/ion." <--It has a feminine ending, but they never teach you in high school the significance of that deviation. Of course open to interpretation, but I think it at least point towards Hamlet's still trying to work this thought out. He's not emphatic about this being the question or it would end on a stressed syllable which sounds more definitive to our ear. Oh fun! Each deviation from meter is like a little mystery waiting to be solved....errr interpreted? Either way, good times.

The history nerd in me loves learning about life in Elizabethan England and Theater. Learning how Shakespeare's life has been pieced together from very little info and analysis of his plays in Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt was delightful. Kind of a literary/historical detective story--I am my mother's daughter.

Better scoot before I Polonius on you. Anyone?

Horray for Seasons!

One of the many reasons I left The City (aka San Francisco), was its cold climate. Its average annual temperature being 57.1ºF* As a girl of the south, I longed for tank tops and flow-y skirts. I began to resent my brown pea coat. When April...and then May...and then June and July rolled around and I was still wearing the same clothes as what I wore there in December, I had the same feeling as when I first found out that Christopher Columbus did not discover America and that George Washington did not cut down the cherry tree. I'd been fed a bunch a bologna. All those beautiful shots of SF in the opening credits of Full House were false!



A typical view of the Golden Gate Bridge






Okay, okay...there were a few days in my time there that were breath taking. And it is totally a city you should spend some time in. I miss it often.





SF wearing some sunshine




My year there taught me I LOVE seasons. More than that though, I need seasons. They are the subtle markers of time that put things into order. Going through the seasons makes the year feel complete.

Seasonal changes are awesome because:
--the new excitements it provides the senses
--smells --visual (flowers blooming, leaves changing, leaves dropping)
--touch (temperatures, winds, rain)
--taste (is there anything better than in-season vegetables and fruit?)
--sounds (birdies, rain, wind, people outside)
--the memories it prompts
--the official changing of the wardrobe when you are reacquainted with old favorites and filled with the possibilities of adding new styles for that season into the mix! --getting excited about the holidays in each season
--getting excited about seasonal activities (swimming, sitting around fire pits, outdoor farmers markets)

After this week of a seasonal change fake out, I can't wait for the real thing!!!

A picture from a new favorite fall activity--Pumkin Carving (and subsequently pumpkin seed baking and eating!)

*http://www.cityrating.com/citytemperature.asp?City=San+Francisco

Cute and Effective

My Penguin Humidifier

Sammy(Crane Adorable 1 Gallon Cool Mist Humidifier)

I had a horrible sinus headache last week and self prescribed this humidifier. Besides lifting my spirits it has helped with my headaches in the mornings!