Saturday, June 9, 2012
And So I Go ~
Just a short note to let everyone know, that I have moved (along with all my posts) to maturenotdeadblog.com where I now have set up shop. Same thoughts, same snark, same ideas ... just a totally new location ... drop by and say hello ....
Friday, September 30, 2011
And the beat goes on and on and on ~
As if living in a house that is still unfinished isn't enough ... I'm beginning to resemble someone on the show "Hoarders: Buried Alive". The kitchen cabinets STILL haven't arrived which means there is nothing in the kitchen except a temporary sink/counter, microwave and "hallelujah" a coffee maker!!!
I'm grateful for electronic connections and the ability to store a lot of different information so that I don't have to remember it ... however (comma)...there is a down side.
I dropped my android phone cracking the screen - rendering it useless in about 2 hours.
I got a new phone - thanks to insurance - and then the problem hit. Sprint was unable to transfer my contacts - which are backed up on gmail. No problem you say? Unfortunately, I listened to gmail and put the 2 step authentication on the account.
This process involves a program ON THE PHONE...which, of course, I don't have access to. I am now up to email 5 with gmail trying to prove that I own the #$& #@&* %&$$& account. Grrrrrrr. Hopefully, this last round will solve the problem.
But based one something their CEO said 3 years ago I don't hold out much hope:
"Mr. Badros argued that Google asks so little personal information of a new Gmail customer that it's hard to determine identity when the genuine user and the impostor both present themselves to claim the account, and neither can produce the verification. He said more information could be asked of users when they sign up, but the inconvenience would dissuade them from trying the service.
Mr. Gilbert added that proving identity with only minimal information is a problem, whatever form of communication is used to reach customer support. He said, "Even if they were standing right in front of us, it wouldn't help."" Stay tuned for information about the house ... and the email....
I'm grateful for electronic connections and the ability to store a lot of different information so that I don't have to remember it ... however (comma)...there is a down side.
I dropped my android phone cracking the screen - rendering it useless in about 2 hours.
I got a new phone - thanks to insurance - and then the problem hit. Sprint was unable to transfer my contacts - which are backed up on gmail. No problem you say? Unfortunately, I listened to gmail and put the 2 step authentication on the account.
This process involves a program ON THE PHONE...which, of course, I don't have access to. I am now up to email 5 with gmail trying to prove that I own the #$& #@&* %&$$& account. Grrrrrrr. Hopefully, this last round will solve the problem.
But based one something their CEO said 3 years ago I don't hold out much hope:
"Mr. Badros argued that Google asks so little personal information of a new Gmail customer that it's hard to determine identity when the genuine user and the impostor both present themselves to claim the account, and neither can produce the verification. He said more information could be asked of users when they sign up, but the inconvenience would dissuade them from trying the service.
Mr. Gilbert added that proving identity with only minimal information is a problem, whatever form of communication is used to reach customer support. He said, "Even if they were standing right in front of us, it wouldn't help."" Stay tuned for information about the house ... and the email....
Saturday, August 27, 2011
The House
I'm still awaiting the photos from my daughter concerning the renovations going on to the house ... sigh! Hopefully, soon....
Friday, my picky and demanding contractor (AKA "the-son-in-law" had us meet at the house to make some final decisions about electrical placement, etc. I think I've mentioned that there were various 1" level differences throughout the house. That's simply a result of the house being sliced/diced over the years. While we were there the workers were trying to remove what we THOUGHT were stick-on tiles in the sun-rooms....they were not. whoever put the sun-rooms in had placed the tiles one the WET cement and pushed them in - making it literally impossible to take up. I'm not sure what they thinking about that was, or even if they were thinking.
Regarding tile - On Tuesday my daughter/son-in-law and I went and picked out tile for the house. One of the major changes involves putting the same color tile throughout the entire house. we had a plan A and a plan B as far as color was concerned ... no problem. On Wednesday, the tile man started calling the various stores to place the order. In the size of tiles needed (18" x 18" - 45.732 x 45.72 centimeters)it was discovered that in spite of being a highlighted for sale tile, not one single store here had enough tile. Some had 10 pieces (NOT boxes) another had 100 pieces, etc. My beloved son-in-law was ready to pull the hair out of his shaved head. Then one of the stores told him it could be ordered in delivered in - oh - three to four weeks. At this point my beloved son-in-law was starting to show signs of complete melt-down.
His tile guy looked at the back of the sample piece and literally called the plant where the tile was manufactured. He discovered that 1) the tile was manufactured in a plant about 7 hours from here and 2) if they were there the next morning they would load up ALL the tiles that had been chosen (tiles,boarders, edging, etc.) as well as all the grout and other things necessary to install them.
Two of my son-in-law's workers put his trailer on the back of their truck and drove - basically all night - and picked up the tiles and drove back to get them there to have the house tile finished this weekend.
However, I was informed Friday that I have been been place on "house restriction" - meaning that I am not allowed to see the house until Monday....
I threatened today to get into "drag" and visit the house incognito. My son-in-law texts back that when he finally stopped laughing hysterically - it wouldn't work. So, I promised that I would behave and NOT go to the house this weekend. And frankly with the temperatures and heat index being in the triple digits all weekend and much of next week ... I don't plan on going too many places at all...
More to follow - hopefully with more pictures!!!!!!
Friday, my picky and demanding contractor (AKA "the-son-in-law" had us meet at the house to make some final decisions about electrical placement, etc. I think I've mentioned that there were various 1" level differences throughout the house. That's simply a result of the house being sliced/diced over the years. While we were there the workers were trying to remove what we THOUGHT were stick-on tiles in the sun-rooms....they were not. whoever put the sun-rooms in had placed the tiles one the WET cement and pushed them in - making it literally impossible to take up. I'm not sure what they thinking about that was, or even if they were thinking.
Regarding tile - On Tuesday my daughter/son-in-law and I went and picked out tile for the house. One of the major changes involves putting the same color tile throughout the entire house. we had a plan A and a plan B as far as color was concerned ... no problem. On Wednesday, the tile man started calling the various stores to place the order. In the size of tiles needed (18" x 18" - 45.732 x 45.72 centimeters)it was discovered that in spite of being a highlighted for sale tile, not one single store here had enough tile. Some had 10 pieces (NOT boxes) another had 100 pieces, etc. My beloved son-in-law was ready to pull the hair out of his shaved head. Then one of the stores told him it could be ordered in delivered in - oh - three to four weeks. At this point my beloved son-in-law was starting to show signs of complete melt-down.
His tile guy looked at the back of the sample piece and literally called the plant where the tile was manufactured. He discovered that 1) the tile was manufactured in a plant about 7 hours from here and 2) if they were there the next morning they would load up ALL the tiles that had been chosen (tiles,boarders, edging, etc.) as well as all the grout and other things necessary to install them.
Two of my son-in-law's workers put his trailer on the back of their truck and drove - basically all night - and picked up the tiles and drove back to get them there to have the house tile finished this weekend.
However, I was informed Friday that I have been been place on "house restriction" - meaning that I am not allowed to see the house until Monday....
I threatened today to get into "drag" and visit the house incognito. My son-in-law texts back that when he finally stopped laughing hysterically - it wouldn't work. So, I promised that I would behave and NOT go to the house this weekend. And frankly with the temperatures and heat index being in the triple digits all weekend and much of next week ... I don't plan on going too many places at all...
More to follow - hopefully with more pictures!!!!!!
Monday, August 22, 2011
The House ~ continued
After reading today of Mitt Romney's decision to bulldoze his "small" house and build an 11,000 square foot addition, I'm almost afraid to write about mine. It certainly isn't anything like his ~ but after all the years I've been paying money to apartment owners, it probably will feel like it!!!
As I've mentioned my Son-in-Law is doing all the destruction/reconstuction on the house. On Monday, I thought I would surprise him and his workers by showing up - unannounced. My good friend BW drove me to the house. I don't drive, but that's for another set of posts, dear friends. I was sure I saw his truck in the driveway along with all the other vehicles. We entered the front door and as I was pushing back the plastic keeping dust and such contained - I yelled out: "My moving van is outside, where do I put all my stuff?"
As we rounded the corner, I realized that 1) he was NOT there and 2) these folks had absolutely NO idea who in the heck I was. SIGH! Fortunately, I introduced myself quickly, and the ice thawed even more quickly. I was taken on a tour and shown what was happening, and what was planned. If it is possible, I became even more excited!!! S was the fellow in charge and he explained as much as possible. He had a couple of questions for me and we made our way over piles and piles of lumber, etc. It was obvious, the dumpster had not arrived yet....very obvious.
I felt as if I'd caused enough chaos for the day, and we left more quietly than we arrived...
Wednesday, my daughter and I met J at the house for further discussions about plans and such. Unfortunately, my son-in-law IS a contractor and just as in other professions, they speak their own language. Fortunately, S was there to translate - both directions I might add.
Friday, we had to meet there again and this time, the dumpster had arrived and the place looked less as if something or someone had exploded in there and more like a construction site. There were some issues that needed to have decisions - for instance, my idea for the master bathroom had hit the reality of the space. Not a big problem, but that took some time to talk out.
This is a picture of the bathroom I'm talking about. I decided it was the winner of the "world's worst bathroom" ... to give a point of reference, it will be almost three times the size it is in the picture.
The toilet was taped closed for the estate sale - for very good reasons, and I'll leave it at that!!
More later - and hopefully, I'll have some pictures of the destruction by then!!!
As I've mentioned my Son-in-Law is doing all the destruction/reconstuction on the house. On Monday, I thought I would surprise him and his workers by showing up - unannounced. My good friend BW drove me to the house. I don't drive, but that's for another set of posts, dear friends. I was sure I saw his truck in the driveway along with all the other vehicles. We entered the front door and as I was pushing back the plastic keeping dust and such contained - I yelled out: "My moving van is outside, where do I put all my stuff?"
As we rounded the corner, I realized that 1) he was NOT there and 2) these folks had absolutely NO idea who in the heck I was. SIGH! Fortunately, I introduced myself quickly, and the ice thawed even more quickly. I was taken on a tour and shown what was happening, and what was planned. If it is possible, I became even more excited!!! S was the fellow in charge and he explained as much as possible. He had a couple of questions for me and we made our way over piles and piles of lumber, etc. It was obvious, the dumpster had not arrived yet....very obvious.
I felt as if I'd caused enough chaos for the day, and we left more quietly than we arrived...
Wednesday, my daughter and I met J at the house for further discussions about plans and such. Unfortunately, my son-in-law IS a contractor and just as in other professions, they speak their own language. Fortunately, S was there to translate - both directions I might add.
Friday, we had to meet there again and this time, the dumpster had arrived and the place looked less as if something or someone had exploded in there and more like a construction site. There were some issues that needed to have decisions - for instance, my idea for the master bathroom had hit the reality of the space. Not a big problem, but that took some time to talk out.
This is a picture of the bathroom I'm talking about. I decided it was the winner of the "world's worst bathroom" ... to give a point of reference, it will be almost three times the size it is in the picture.
The toilet was taped closed for the estate sale - for very good reasons, and I'll leave it at that!!
More later - and hopefully, I'll have some pictures of the destruction by then!!!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Dear Me ~ Part 3
And so the re-construction began this week for real. I've gone a quite a roller-coaster of emotions about this purchase. Everything from "this is wonderful" to the to be expected "OMG ~ "What am I doing, have I completely lost my mind!!!!". Let it not be said that I do something like this quietly and with no outward show of emotion.
I also made it a point to talk to my children about this ~ and they were amazingly supportive, vocal in their love of the idea and more than willing to suggest way to spend the money!!! I've been living in apartments for so long, I'd almost forgotten about what owning a home is like ~ almost.
The house had been owned by one family since 1960. The Father has passed away a number of months ago, and the Mother wasn't doing all that well. The Son came a lived with her for awhile, and decided that she needed to move back to where he lived and worked. That's how the estate sale came to be. the son helped gather the stuff up for the sale, and then the next day, he and his Mother boarded a plane. They literally locked up the house and walked away....leaving in the process an incredible amount of things ~ including the contents of the refrigerator.
The head of the estate sale outfit has his phone number and we connected by phone. It was a very positive chat and then he had his realtor call me. Several phone calls later it was decided that it would NOT be a good idea for his agent to represent both of us - so another agent from the same office called me and we were off to the races!!!
The closing was two days before our beloved congress tried to drive the economy over the cliff - really good timing on my part!!
My dearly loved son-in-law is a contractor and is doing all the work on the house. He also has a lot of work to do for various franchise owners of a certain fast food outlet. Again, with them rolling out a new menu item requiring re-doing most of the kitchens in a rather short space of time, my timing couldn't have been better.
More tomorrow or Saturday. Until then here's a teaser pic of the start of the re-construction!
There will be a LOT more pictures of the mess of re-doing it all that I will post later. My daughter took them, and her camera does pictures that are HUGE HUGE HUGE! She'll get them to me, and I'll get them into a size that will fit....
I also made it a point to talk to my children about this ~ and they were amazingly supportive, vocal in their love of the idea and more than willing to suggest way to spend the money!!! I've been living in apartments for so long, I'd almost forgotten about what owning a home is like ~ almost.
The house had been owned by one family since 1960. The Father has passed away a number of months ago, and the Mother wasn't doing all that well. The Son came a lived with her for awhile, and decided that she needed to move back to where he lived and worked. That's how the estate sale came to be. the son helped gather the stuff up for the sale, and then the next day, he and his Mother boarded a plane. They literally locked up the house and walked away....leaving in the process an incredible amount of things ~ including the contents of the refrigerator.
The head of the estate sale outfit has his phone number and we connected by phone. It was a very positive chat and then he had his realtor call me. Several phone calls later it was decided that it would NOT be a good idea for his agent to represent both of us - so another agent from the same office called me and we were off to the races!!!
The closing was two days before our beloved congress tried to drive the economy over the cliff - really good timing on my part!!
My dearly loved son-in-law is a contractor and is doing all the work on the house. He also has a lot of work to do for various franchise owners of a certain fast food outlet. Again, with them rolling out a new menu item requiring re-doing most of the kitchens in a rather short space of time, my timing couldn't have been better.
More tomorrow or Saturday. Until then here's a teaser pic of the start of the re-construction!
There will be a LOT more pictures of the mess of re-doing it all that I will post later. My daughter took them, and her camera does pictures that are HUGE HUGE HUGE! She'll get them to me, and I'll get them into a size that will fit....
Monday, August 15, 2011
Dear Me ~ Part 2
The clean-up of the blog-house took a bit longer than I anticipated. You see, just as I was about to start blogging again ~ I bought a house. Yes, I finally have become part of the "landed gentry". Alas, it's not a fiefdom with hot and cold running peasants, but a charming "mid-century" (that's estate sale-ese for 1960's) house.
One of my dearest friends, I'll refer to him as BW works these sales. He called me one day and basically said: "You've GOT to see the cra...stuff for sale at this place". I've been to these with him before and a lot of times, it really is ... um ... uh ... stuff that should have been done in a yard sale/garage sale. But, getting to see it is getting out of the apartment. He arrived, and off we went.
I've been in literally dozens or more houses over the last few years ~ all types, styles, sizes and shapes. (Hmmm, that somewhat reminds me of my dating pattern!) I was NOT prepared for what happened when I walking into THIS place. My poor friend was trying to get me to look at things for sale and I'm saying things such as: "Wow, that's an impressive sun-room", "This must be the hall to the bedroom", "Good Lord ~ THAT toilet is nasty!", "How long did they live here?", How much are they asking for it?"
The price his boss had told him was amazingly low AND amazingly inaccurate! However, the real price was not out of line with the neighborhood and what the place was worth.
I'll be back probably tomorrow, and start the saga of this house - the purchase - in inspection and, since demolition on the interior started today - the story of the changes to the interior.
Until then ~ here's just a couple of teaser shots for you ....
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Dear Me ~
Good Heaven's, it's a little musty-dusty in here. Well, give me a day or so to get things cleaned up - straightened up - back in order. It's time for me to pick this up again ....
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
ACK ~ Sometime In The Evening Thoughts
I'm sorry ~ I know I said that I'd be back with more of the Shakespeare Experiment on Sunday . . . let's just say it will be tomorrow before I have a chance to sit and write ...
In the meantime .... how about some humor (humour) to pass the time???
Do you think this might catch on??
And this should keep people busy for a bit ....(I am not responsible for broken keyboards .... I'm just saying ... )
Without comment ....
In the meantime .... how about some humor (humour) to pass the time???
Do you think this might catch on??
And this should keep people busy for a bit ....(I am not responsible for broken keyboards .... I'm just saying ... )
Without comment ....
Friday, July 17, 2009
The Course Of - Whatever - Never Did Run Smooth (5) ~ Early Evening Thoughts
--continuing from night before last and posts prior
So,leaving the awe-struck Julius Caesar cast behind as they work on the Parker Hall stage, let us pick-up a bit on the star-crossed cast of Midsummer Night's Dream.
The problem with Shakespeare at any time and any of this plays is quite simple. In the comedies (and portions of the tragedies) he is quite alewd..uh..crude..um..socially unacceptable..OK...earthy writer. 
One of the joys of teaching Shakespeare in High School is that the students absolutely "get it." Many parents, School Boards and even some English teachers fall into the trap of placing an aura around The Bard.
Yes, he did manage to write much that was tremendously powerful and amazing lyrical poetry within the structure of his plays and theater, as well as his sharp, unerring and amazing understanding of power, people and life ... however ... and it's a big however ... the "groundlings" and even those in the boxes had so much competing for their attention outside of the theater that he had to make sure they were completely entertained in a manner they were accustomed ... raunchy, ribald humor at that!!
Once a student discovers that aspect of the plays ~ the hunt is on!
And I absolutely pity any teacher who has no idea just how raunchy and ribald Shakespeare can get trying to handle a class full of "hormones in tennis shoes" reading the comedies...or discovering the meaning of "the two backed beast" in Othello.
On of the advantages I had in my High School Shakespeare Tragedy classes was that I knew what was ahead. And I basically headed it off at the pass. My classes were so busy with themes, character work and dramatic archs - or lack thereof - that while I was unafraid to acknowledge their "amazing" dirty joke discoveries, I'd pull the discussion back to the matters at hand.
To me, his ability to write low and high-brow in the same play was nothing more than another example of his intellect and writer's gift.
OK, it also was a tribute to the ability of the acting company at the time to adapt some of what he wrote - but as far as I am concerned, most of the work was his. And also, his ability to write wonderful humor that people in his day would understand, but not let it get in the way of what else he had to say, is nothing short of awe inspiring to me. And remember, he did have to be careful of what he said, lest he get into political trouble ~ which did occur upon occasion.
So now, as I faced adapting one of his wildest romps to an age appropriate level, the teacher and I did decide to play on the "aura" that surrounds his plays.
I made the more obvious deletions and took some of the "in" out of the wilder "innuendos." And as far as the more subtle things? We took the course of ignorance just might be bliss, and quite forgivable.
I'd mentioned that one of the biggest problems was Bottom's line about "a man would be an ass." The was just one word that, for whatever reasons, had to either go or be changed. We tried all sorts of things. We tried leaving it out ~ big hole to anyone who knows the play. We tried using the word donkey ~ that just didn't even elicit a giggle from anyone.
As I mentioned before, when I was left in the hospital with my arm hanging straight up, the answer came to me and quite frankly it had been staring me from the page the entire time.
When I told the teacher my solution, we both laughed. When I shared the solution with the person playing Bottom, I was rewarded the one of the deepest guffaws I've been blessed with in all the plays I've directed.
The passage in question ~
BOTTOM ~
[Awaking] When my cue comes, call me, and I will
answer: my next is, 'Most fair Pyramus.' Heigh-ho!
Peter Quince! Flute, the bellows-mender! Snout,
the tinker! Starveling! God's my life, stolen
hence, and left me asleep! I have had a most rare
vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to
say what dream it was: man is but an ass, if he go
about to expound this dream. Methought I was--there
is no man can tell what. Methought I was,--and
methought I had,--but man is but a patched fool, if
he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye
of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not
seen, man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue
to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream
was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of
this dream: it shall be called Bottom's Dream,
because it hath no bottom; and I will sing it in the
latter end of a play, before the duke:
peradventure, to make it the more gracious, I shall
sing it at her death.
The way we adapted it ~
BOTTOM[Awaking] When my cue comes, call me, and I will
answer: my next is, 'Most fair Pyramus.' Heigh-ho!
Peter Quince! Flute, the bellows-mender! Snout,
the tinker! Starveling! The have gone away and left me asleep!
I have had a most rare vision.
I have had a dream, past the ability of man to
say what dream it was: I thought I was-- I thought I was,--and
I thought I had--but man is but a complete fool, if
he will say what I thought I had...If any man tries to tell this dream, he is but an (he reaches up and feels for his missing ears - then shrugs at the audience.)
The eye of man has not heard, the ear of man has not
seen, man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue
to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream
was.
I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of
this dream: it shall be called Bottom's Dream,
because it hath no bottom; and I will sing it in the
latter end of a play, before the duke:
peradventure, to make it the more gracious, I shall
sing it at her death.
There were other people who were involved in getting this play ready for performance.
The 4th grade class decided (on their own I might add) to take on the project of doing the scenery for Midsummer Night's Dream. This consisted of burlap type fabric tubes that could be used for columns at the various interior places in the play ... they would be able to be raised and lowered ... and a delightful enormous burlap tree (cut-out ~ based on the school symbol "The Lyre Tree) that was painted and decorated, which would suffice for all the forest scenes. This could also be raised and lowered. The raising and lowering was not as smooth as a Broadway or East End production, but they were incredibly pleased anyway.
--more Sunday.
I will be attending Gamer Musicon 90 at the Symphony tomorrow which consists of two different concerts using music from on-line and Xbox/Playstation games and various vendor demonstrations of new games. There are also two panel discussions with people from Blizzard and such. It will be fun and quite long. The first concert starts at 3:00pm and the second at 7:30pm ~ this concert will end at 10:00pm. I will end most likely shortly after that!!
So,leaving the awe-struck Julius Caesar cast behind as they work on the Parker Hall stage, let us pick-up a bit on the star-crossed cast of Midsummer Night's Dream.
The problem with Shakespeare at any time and any of this plays is quite simple. In the comedies (and portions of the tragedies) he is quite a
One of the joys of teaching Shakespeare in High School is that the students absolutely "get it." Many parents, School Boards and even some English teachers fall into the trap of placing an aura around The Bard.Yes, he did manage to write much that was tremendously powerful and amazing lyrical poetry within the structure of his plays and theater, as well as his sharp, unerring and amazing understanding of power, people and life ... however ... and it's a big however ... the "groundlings" and even those in the boxes had so much competing for their attention outside of the theater that he had to make sure they were completely entertained in a manner they were accustomed ... raunchy, ribald humor at that!!
Once a student discovers that aspect of the plays ~ the hunt is on!
And I absolutely pity any teacher who has no idea just how raunchy and ribald Shakespeare can get trying to handle a class full of "hormones in tennis shoes" reading the comedies...or discovering the meaning of "the two backed beast" in Othello.On of the advantages I had in my High School Shakespeare Tragedy classes was that I knew what was ahead. And I basically headed it off at the pass. My classes were so busy with themes, character work and dramatic archs - or lack thereof - that while I was unafraid to acknowledge their "amazing" dirty joke discoveries, I'd pull the discussion back to the matters at hand.
To me, his ability to write low and high-brow in the same play was nothing more than another example of his intellect and writer's gift.
OK, it also was a tribute to the ability of the acting company at the time to adapt some of what he wrote - but as far as I am concerned, most of the work was his. And also, his ability to write wonderful humor that people in his day would understand, but not let it get in the way of what else he had to say, is nothing short of awe inspiring to me. And remember, he did have to be careful of what he said, lest he get into political trouble ~ which did occur upon occasion.So now, as I faced adapting one of his wildest romps to an age appropriate level, the teacher and I did decide to play on the "aura" that surrounds his plays.
I made the more obvious deletions and took some of the "in" out of the wilder "innuendos." And as far as the more subtle things? We took the course of ignorance just might be bliss, and quite forgivable.I'd mentioned that one of the biggest problems was Bottom's line about "a man would be an ass." The was just one word that, for whatever reasons, had to either go or be changed. We tried all sorts of things. We tried leaving it out ~ big hole to anyone who knows the play. We tried using the word donkey ~ that just didn't even elicit a giggle from anyone.
As I mentioned before, when I was left in the hospital with my arm hanging straight up, the answer came to me and quite frankly it had been staring me from the page the entire time.
When I told the teacher my solution, we both laughed. When I shared the solution with the person playing Bottom, I was rewarded the one of the deepest guffaws I've been blessed with in all the plays I've directed.The passage in question ~
BOTTOM ~
[Awaking] When my cue comes, call me, and I will
answer: my next is, 'Most fair Pyramus.' Heigh-ho!
Peter Quince! Flute, the bellows-mender! Snout,
the tinker! Starveling! God's my life, stolen
hence, and left me asleep! I have had a most rare
vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to
say what dream it was: man is but an ass, if he go
about to expound this dream. Methought I was--there
is no man can tell what. Methought I was,--and
methought I had,--but man is but a patched fool, if
he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye
of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not
seen, man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue
to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream
was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of
this dream: it shall be called Bottom's Dream,
because it hath no bottom; and I will sing it in the
latter end of a play, before the duke:
peradventure, to make it the more gracious, I shall
sing it at her death.
The way we adapted it ~
BOTTOM[Awaking] When my cue comes, call me, and I will
answer: my next is, 'Most fair Pyramus.' Heigh-ho!
Peter Quince! Flute, the bellows-mender! Snout,
the tinker! Starveling! The have gone away and left me asleep!
I have had a most rare vision.
I have had a dream, past the ability of man to
say what dream it was: I thought I was-- I thought I was,--and
I thought I had--but man is but a complete fool, if
he will say what I thought I had...If any man tries to tell this dream, he is but an (he reaches up and feels for his missing ears - then shrugs at the audience.)
The eye of man has not heard, the ear of man has not
seen, man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue
to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream
was.
I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of
this dream: it shall be called Bottom's Dream,
because it hath no bottom; and I will sing it in the
latter end of a play, before the duke:
peradventure, to make it the more gracious, I shall
sing it at her death.
There were other people who were involved in getting this play ready for performance.
The 4th grade class decided (on their own I might add) to take on the project of doing the scenery for Midsummer Night's Dream. This consisted of burlap type fabric tubes that could be used for columns at the various interior places in the play ... they would be able to be raised and lowered ... and a delightful enormous burlap tree (cut-out ~ based on the school symbol "The Lyre Tree) that was painted and decorated, which would suffice for all the forest scenes. This could also be raised and lowered. The raising and lowering was not as smooth as a Broadway or East End production, but they were incredibly pleased anyway.
--more Sunday.
I will be attending Gamer Musicon 90 at the Symphony tomorrow which consists of two different concerts using music from on-line and Xbox/Playstation games and various vendor demonstrations of new games. There are also two panel discussions with people from Blizzard and such. It will be fun and quite long. The first concert starts at 3:00pm and the second at 7:30pm ~ this concert will end at 10:00pm. I will end most likely shortly after that!!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The Course Of - Whatever - Never Did Run Smooth (4) ~ Late Evening Thoughts
--continuing from night before last and posts prior
As I said, there seemed to be a battalion that came and got me out of the bushes and up the side of the path (a nice, basically straight down drop) and without too much yelling in pain on my part, took me and my broken arm to the hospital.
There was the usual checking-in process, and then the Doctor arrived. At that point, he discovered that I had eaten dinner, so ~ knocking me out with anesthetic and setting the arm was not going to be possible until the morning. My arm was placed in a cloth type tube and I was attached to an IV stand ... the arm is now straight up (well, as straight as a completely broken arm can be) and I've been left in the bed. He ordered some pills to take away the pain - and allow me to get some rest.
The pills didn't work. Well, they did numb the pain, but wired me. There was no sleep that night. In a sense, this was a good thing because it gave me a lot of time to think ... about the plays, about what caused the break and to finally come up with two wonderful solutions.
The first solution was the problem between the teacher and I and the second - even more important - solution was how to handle Bottom's infamous line about a "man may still be an ass." The first solution came from my addled, wired brain ~ the second from my arm hanging straight up in the air.
After what seemed as if The Longest Day have become The Longest Night, the nurses came and got me and off I went to surgery. The arm was set, put in what seemed like an ENORMOUS cast - and I woke up absolutely starving!! I was finally released and sent off to head back to my apartment for the rest of the day. Well, I should have gone directly back to my apartment for the rest of the day ~ but I stopped at the Quad at school to see the two teachers and let the students know that I was doing fine. A bit woozy, but fine.
The 6th grade teacher and I sat down and done what I should have done in the first place - we talked. My solution was actually quite simple (aren't most of them?) I would have her sit in at all the rehearsals and she would not put in/take out anything unless I was either there or we talked about it. Big smiles all around. Then I dropped my solution for Bottom's line ~ and we both laughed out loud over it.
The next day (as I remember) there was a rehearsal for Julius Caesar,
and the actors were quite anxious to show me what they had accomplished and ready to begin the battle scene. Our elementary rehearsal space was simply not going to be good enough, and Parker Hall was available ~ so ~ up we went to the High School and to rehearse on the "big" stage.
Usually, the only time the elementary students performed on the stage was for music or dance recitals and once a year for the elementary talent show. So, getting "on the stage" was a big deal, and regarded with appropriate awe.
--more tomorrow
As I said, there seemed to be a battalion that came and got me out of the bushes and up the side of the path (a nice, basically straight down drop) and without too much yelling in pain on my part, took me and my broken arm to the hospital.
There was the usual checking-in process, and then the Doctor arrived. At that point, he discovered that I had eaten dinner, so ~ knocking me out with anesthetic and setting the arm was not going to be possible until the morning. My arm was placed in a cloth type tube and I was attached to an IV stand ... the arm is now straight up (well, as straight as a completely broken arm can be) and I've been left in the bed. He ordered some pills to take away the pain - and allow me to get some rest.The pills didn't work. Well, they did numb the pain, but wired me. There was no sleep that night. In a sense, this was a good thing because it gave me a lot of time to think ... about the plays, about what caused the break and to finally come up with two wonderful solutions.
The first solution was the problem between the teacher and I and the second - even more important - solution was how to handle Bottom's infamous line about a "man may still be an ass." The first solution came from my addled, wired brain ~ the second from my arm hanging straight up in the air.After what seemed as if The Longest Day have become The Longest Night, the nurses came and got me and off I went to surgery. The arm was set, put in what seemed like an ENORMOUS cast - and I woke up absolutely starving!! I was finally released and sent off to head back to my apartment for the rest of the day. Well, I should have gone directly back to my apartment for the rest of the day ~ but I stopped at the Quad at school to see the two teachers and let the students know that I was doing fine. A bit woozy, but fine.
The 6th grade teacher and I sat down and done what I should have done in the first place - we talked. My solution was actually quite simple (aren't most of them?) I would have her sit in at all the rehearsals and she would not put in/take out anything unless I was either there or we talked about it. Big smiles all around. Then I dropped my solution for Bottom's line ~ and we both laughed out loud over it.
The next day (as I remember) there was a rehearsal for Julius Caesar,
and the actors were quite anxious to show me what they had accomplished and ready to begin the battle scene. Our elementary rehearsal space was simply not going to be good enough, and Parker Hall was available ~ so ~ up we went to the High School and to rehearse on the "big" stage.Usually, the only time the elementary students performed on the stage was for music or dance recitals and once a year for the elementary talent show. So, getting "on the stage" was a big deal, and regarded with appropriate awe.
--more tomorrow
Monday, July 13, 2009
Intermezzo ~ Late Evening Thoughts
For tonight, I'm going to leave myself at the hospital with a broken arm, and various problems with Julius Caesar and Midsummer Night's Dream unresolved. I wanted to head in a different direction for tonight ...
Today I found out that D&D,
who have been close (if dramatic) friends for over 10 years, are ending their unending relationship of over 9 years. I would like to say that this came as a complete shock to me, but it did not. For a number of years, they have sounded more like a couple that's been married for a long time - but didn't want to be. And their idea of communication seemed more to talk AT each other, rather than TO each other.
I haven't done this for sometime, but I went back and looked at various quotes that I thought were relevant and realized again - any relationship/friendship takes work. Sometimes a lot of work. The advantage of friendship, as I see it, is that there is a separation inherent in the dynamics.
However, as I learned in my marriage that ended after 15+ years, marriage is not a minimizer but an enlarger. Those charming idiosyncrasies that are so charming when dating - can become major mountains that need to be overcome!!
(but it's all worth it!!)
“Love is not written on paper, for paper can be erased. Nor is it etched on stone, for stone can be broken. But it is inscribed on a heart and there it shall remain forever.”
--unknown
“It is strange how often a heart must be broken before the years can make it wise”
--Sara Teasdale
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements;
lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”
--C.S. Lewis
“When love is lost, do not bow your head in sadness; instead keep your head up high and gaze at the stars for that is where your broken heart has been sent to heal!”
--unknown
“A broken heart is what makes life so wonderful five years later, when you see that special guy in an elevator and he is fat and smoking and saying 'Long time no see'”
--Phyllis Batelle
"The day you finally decide to love me will be the day after the day I have given up on chasing you."
--unknown
"I don't miss him, I miss who I thought he was."
--unknown
" Maybe nature is fundamentally ugly, chaotic and complicated. But if it's like that, then I want out."
--Steven Weinberg
"Man is harder than iron, stronger than stone and more fragile than a rose."
--Turkish Proverb
---and as Paul Harvey might have said: Tomorrow, more of the Shakespeare story
Today I found out that D&D,
who have been close (if dramatic) friends for over 10 years, are ending their unending relationship of over 9 years. I would like to say that this came as a complete shock to me, but it did not. For a number of years, they have sounded more like a couple that's been married for a long time - but didn't want to be. And their idea of communication seemed more to talk AT each other, rather than TO each other.I haven't done this for sometime, but I went back and looked at various quotes that I thought were relevant and realized again - any relationship/friendship takes work. Sometimes a lot of work. The advantage of friendship, as I see it, is that there is a separation inherent in the dynamics.
However, as I learned in my marriage that ended after 15+ years, marriage is not a minimizer but an enlarger. Those charming idiosyncrasies that are so charming when dating - can become major mountains that need to be overcome!!
(but it's all worth it!!)
“Love is not written on paper, for paper can be erased. Nor is it etched on stone, for stone can be broken. But it is inscribed on a heart and there it shall remain forever.”--unknown
“It is strange how often a heart must be broken before the years can make it wise”
--Sara Teasdale
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements;
lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”--C.S. Lewis
“When love is lost, do not bow your head in sadness; instead keep your head up high and gaze at the stars for that is where your broken heart has been sent to heal!”
--unknown
“A broken heart is what makes life so wonderful five years later, when you see that special guy in an elevator and he is fat and smoking and saying 'Long time no see'”--Phyllis Batelle
"The day you finally decide to love me will be the day after the day I have given up on chasing you."
--unknown
"I don't miss him, I miss who I thought he was."
--unknown
" Maybe nature is fundamentally ugly, chaotic and complicated. But if it's like that, then I want out."
--Steven Weinberg
"Man is harder than iron, stronger than stone and more fragile than a rose."
--Turkish Proverb
---and as Paul Harvey might have said: Tomorrow, more of the Shakespeare story
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The Course Of - Whatever - Never Did Run Smooth (3) ~ Late Evening Thoughts
--- continued from July 10th ~
I had -- in a moment of mental aberration -- left the 5th grade students aware that there was going to be at least one battle scene in their production of Julius Caesar ... this was followed by a battle with the 5th grade teacher. At the time, I had not formulated in my mind exactly how it was going to happen, but assured her it would be safe for everyone -- including the audience and provide some excitement to those watching.
The major problem was going to be weapons -- cardboard was not going to work, and i certainly wasn't going to try and round up a bunch of swords to place in the hands of my joyous and raucous 5th graders. Little did I know ~
The High School Science teacher a couple of days later (as I remember) talked to me in the staff dining room (where an incredible number of things seemed to be forever being discussed and/or decided) about the play and his interest in it. We got around the the battle scene and he told me that he had discovered a cache of bayonets at the kabardiwalla (I'm not sure of the spelling - forgive me) -- which means the local 2nd hand shop and he was sure I would be able to borrow them for the show.
Off we went to the shop, and there they were ... in all their nasty and dangerous glory. Unfortunately, the danger part really didn't dawn on me ... didn't even enter my thoughts.
I immediately saw the scene in my mind and the realization of how much fun it would be to put together pushed all other concerns out of my mind.
They were triangular basically black - and - most exciting of all, they gave off sparks when struck together. (cue music from the beach assault in The Longest Day here.) At this point I lost all shred of sanity as far as the production was concerned, and the battle scene was about to become something that probably belonged in a movie about advancing on the beach at D-day!!
Now Midsummer Night's Dream was certainly not left out of the process. There was still the problem of Bottom's line about a man may still be an ass and then I found out that I would put something into rehearsal and the 6th grade teacher would take it out. This had been going on for sometime before I found out about it. I was getting frustrated with the students not remembering what I wanted them to do/say and them not wanting to tell me what was going on in the classroom.
So now we were down to two super-sized egos .. I was of the opinion that you don't mess with my show and she was of the opinion that you don't mess with her class. I found out late in the day and I got more and more angry as I went down the hill (literally) to the High School boys dorm where I was assistant supervisor and had my apartment. The longer I thought about it, the more angry I became. I decided, at that point, that I would go over to the High School girl's dormitory (where she had an apartment) and have it out with her - once and for all time!!
Now, if you look at the picture you will see a building on the hillside at the left edge. That was the starting point A -- the building on the hill on the right of the picture was finishing point B ... with a path and the middle school boys dorm hovering around the middle. Part f the path was lit, and parts were narrow and not.
It was a path that everyone did several times a day on some days - and once a week, the High School boys make a treck to the High School girl's dorm for a dance. It was a path I knew well. I also knew that at that time of night, I needed to take a flashlight along, but I did not.
I am now charging along the path, heading to the middle building readying in my mind exactly how this was going to work and what I was going to accomplish or else!! That's when the "or else" happened in a moment. To this day, I'm not completely sure what happened - all I knew was that I ended up down the "chud" (pronounced cud .. again, I apologize for the spelling -- it meant cliff literally) as it was called with a broken arm. Unfortunately, I was too far entangled and too far down and hurting FAR too much to get myself out ... I began to yell for help. Finally, one of the workers heard me and tossed down what looked like a piece of twine. I finally convinced him that I was going to need more help then that ... and in due course, some kind of battalion arrived and got me to the hospital which was about a half-mile away.
---more tomorrow
I had -- in a moment of mental aberration -- left the 5th grade students aware that there was going to be at least one battle scene in their production of Julius Caesar ... this was followed by a battle with the 5th grade teacher. At the time, I had not formulated in my mind exactly how it was going to happen, but assured her it would be safe for everyone -- including the audience and provide some excitement to those watching.The major problem was going to be weapons -- cardboard was not going to work, and i certainly wasn't going to try and round up a bunch of swords to place in the hands of my joyous and raucous 5th graders. Little did I know ~
The High School Science teacher a couple of days later (as I remember) talked to me in the staff dining room (where an incredible number of things seemed to be forever being discussed and/or decided) about the play and his interest in it. We got around the the battle scene and he told me that he had discovered a cache of bayonets at the kabardiwalla (I'm not sure of the spelling - forgive me) -- which means the local 2nd hand shop and he was sure I would be able to borrow them for the show.Off we went to the shop, and there they were ... in all their nasty and dangerous glory. Unfortunately, the danger part really didn't dawn on me ... didn't even enter my thoughts.
I immediately saw the scene in my mind and the realization of how much fun it would be to put together pushed all other concerns out of my mind.They were triangular basically black - and - most exciting of all, they gave off sparks when struck together. (cue music from the beach assault in The Longest Day here.) At this point I lost all shred of sanity as far as the production was concerned, and the battle scene was about to become something that probably belonged in a movie about advancing on the beach at D-day!!
Now Midsummer Night's Dream was certainly not left out of the process. There was still the problem of Bottom's line about a man may still be an ass and then I found out that I would put something into rehearsal and the 6th grade teacher would take it out. This had been going on for sometime before I found out about it. I was getting frustrated with the students not remembering what I wanted them to do/say and them not wanting to tell me what was going on in the classroom.
So now we were down to two super-sized egos .. I was of the opinion that you don't mess with my show and she was of the opinion that you don't mess with her class. I found out late in the day and I got more and more angry as I went down the hill (literally) to the High School boys dorm where I was assistant supervisor and had my apartment. The longer I thought about it, the more angry I became. I decided, at that point, that I would go over to the High School girl's dormitory (where she had an apartment) and have it out with her - once and for all time!!Now, if you look at the picture you will see a building on the hillside at the left edge. That was the starting point A -- the building on the hill on the right of the picture was finishing point B ... with a path and the middle school boys dorm hovering around the middle. Part f the path was lit, and parts were narrow and not.
It was a path that everyone did several times a day on some days - and once a week, the High School boys make a treck to the High School girl's dorm for a dance. It was a path I knew well. I also knew that at that time of night, I needed to take a flashlight along, but I did not.I am now charging along the path, heading to the middle building readying in my mind exactly how this was going to work and what I was going to accomplish or else!! That's when the "or else" happened in a moment. To this day, I'm not completely sure what happened - all I knew was that I ended up down the "chud" (pronounced cud .. again, I apologize for the spelling -- it meant cliff literally) as it was called with a broken arm. Unfortunately, I was too far entangled and too far down and hurting FAR too much to get myself out ... I began to yell for help. Finally, one of the workers heard me and tossed down what looked like a piece of twine. I finally convinced him that I was going to need more help then that ... and in due course, some kind of battalion arrived and got me to the hospital which was about a half-mile away.
---more tomorrow
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Sorry About This ~ Early Evening Thoughts
I will be away until quite late this evening -- I will continue the story of the Shakespeare Experiment tomorrow ... But let me leave you with a picture that STILL causes me to laugh (probably because I have a Blackberry, and can relate!!!)
You can click the picture to enlarge it somewhat ....
---back tomorrow
You can click the picture to enlarge it somewhat ....
---back tomorrow
Friday, July 10, 2009
The Course Of - Whatever - Never Did Run Smooth (2) ~ Late Evening Thoughts
---Continuing from last night
While Bottom's ass, or rather his line containing the word ass was becoming a major sticking point between the teacher and I concerning the Midsummer Night's Dream script adaptation ... the 5th graders were beginning to get VERY interested in just what and who Julius Caesar was going to be and what kind of play this might turn out to be.
This was going to be a first for both classes, before plays had been done in the main auditorium Parker Hall,
but these were going to be done with scenery, lights, costumes and above all else ~ programs. Big stuff...as this meant there would need to be rehearsals outside of class and a performance outside of the elementary school quad area and timetable. The dining room (students and staff) , four dormitory staffs (5th-6th grade girls and boys, high school boys, high school girls), staff and administration all wanted their piece of the action and planning.
Parker Hall was the school's main purpose "rumpus" room - as I like to call it. There were innumerable concerts, recitals, meetings, plays and such. One year in the last four weeks of school there were 18 different events ... all of which required several rehearsals, settings, lights, a dress rehearsal and ticketed performance. As most of the seats weren't numbered and were plastic stackable chairs at that - this entailed a lot of number/row painting on the floor. If you think that politicians have turf wars, just imagine trying to standardize performance seating charts for each of the departments of a school that had been going their merry way for over 150 years. As the saying goes: "It was so not going to happen ... in anyone's lifetime."
I assembled some props, and the 5th grade students were given their scripts to read. Now, here comes the part where real life intersected with the class room. These students worked not only on their regular school work, which was intense but also time in the day was found to read the script and after the casting was done to learn and rehearse the script. I saw these students once a week for a little over an hour, so much of the work was going to fall on the classroom teachers. Fortunately, this is something they were aware of and welcomed (at first anyway).
I meet with the 5th graders and showed them the cute little paper model of the Globe theater and did my story about what plays would have looked like and sounded like during that time.
We laughed over the fact that King Lear and Hamlet take four hours to do the complete script today, but at that time they managed to get through them in a little under 2 hours. (that was my story, and I'm sticking to it!!) I also talked about the children's troupes that used to perform Shakespeare to highly appreciative audiences and we talked about what that might have been like.
In all honesty, I was not looking forward to a discussion of the play. I was thinking that it was going to be somewhat difficult to explain the over reaching theme(s), the types of people these folks were, etc. I should not have worried ... I told them we would start at the first scene and talk about the play. I decided that I would ask a (what I was sure would a rhetorical ) question about the crowd in the first scene. Almost everyone's hand went up. I chose a smiling young lady who informed me that "The crowd represents just how fickle people can be. They are all excited and thrilled with someone and want them to be everything to them and then just a quickly can turn on them and want them dead ~ or kill them themselves."
All I could think of was the fact that I had high school students taking my Shakespearean Tragedy class that took a couple of days and a lot of coaxing to figure out that one concept. At that point I knew we were not going to have a single problem figuring out the play.
The next point that had to be dealt with was the fact the 1) there were a large number of girls in the class and 2) there were only two parts for women in the show neither of which was exactly lengthy. I assured them ~ in a moment of total brain failure ~ that they would not only be able to participate in the crowd scene(s) but the battle(s) as well. The look from the teacher will simply be recorded in this space as "the look."
--more tomorrow
which may include the story of the bayonets and the battle of the ages
While Bottom's ass, or rather his line containing the word ass was becoming a major sticking point between the teacher and I concerning the Midsummer Night's Dream script adaptation ... the 5th graders were beginning to get VERY interested in just what and who Julius Caesar was going to be and what kind of play this might turn out to be.
This was going to be a first for both classes, before plays had been done in the main auditorium Parker Hall,
but these were going to be done with scenery, lights, costumes and above all else ~ programs. Big stuff...as this meant there would need to be rehearsals outside of class and a performance outside of the elementary school quad area and timetable. The dining room (students and staff) , four dormitory staffs (5th-6th grade girls and boys, high school boys, high school girls), staff and administration all wanted their piece of the action and planning.Parker Hall was the school's main purpose "rumpus" room - as I like to call it. There were innumerable concerts, recitals, meetings, plays and such. One year in the last four weeks of school there were 18 different events ... all of which required several rehearsals, settings, lights, a dress rehearsal and ticketed performance. As most of the seats weren't numbered and were plastic stackable chairs at that - this entailed a lot of number/row painting on the floor. If you think that politicians have turf wars, just imagine trying to standardize performance seating charts for each of the departments of a school that had been going their merry way for over 150 years. As the saying goes: "It was so not going to happen ... in anyone's lifetime."
I assembled some props, and the 5th grade students were given their scripts to read. Now, here comes the part where real life intersected with the class room. These students worked not only on their regular school work, which was intense but also time in the day was found to read the script and after the casting was done to learn and rehearse the script. I saw these students once a week for a little over an hour, so much of the work was going to fall on the classroom teachers. Fortunately, this is something they were aware of and welcomed (at first anyway).I meet with the 5th graders and showed them the cute little paper model of the Globe theater and did my story about what plays would have looked like and sounded like during that time.
We laughed over the fact that King Lear and Hamlet take four hours to do the complete script today, but at that time they managed to get through them in a little under 2 hours. (that was my story, and I'm sticking to it!!) I also talked about the children's troupes that used to perform Shakespeare to highly appreciative audiences and we talked about what that might have been like.In all honesty, I was not looking forward to a discussion of the play. I was thinking that it was going to be somewhat difficult to explain the over reaching theme(s), the types of people these folks were, etc. I should not have worried ... I told them we would start at the first scene and talk about the play. I decided that I would ask a (what I was sure would a rhetorical ) question about the crowd in the first scene. Almost everyone's hand went up. I chose a smiling young lady who informed me that "The crowd represents just how fickle people can be. They are all excited and thrilled with someone and want them to be everything to them and then just a quickly can turn on them and want them dead ~ or kill them themselves."
All I could think of was the fact that I had high school students taking my Shakespearean Tragedy class that took a couple of days and a lot of coaxing to figure out that one concept. At that point I knew we were not going to have a single problem figuring out the play.
The next point that had to be dealt with was the fact the 1) there were a large number of girls in the class and 2) there were only two parts for women in the show neither of which was exactly lengthy. I assured them ~ in a moment of total brain failure ~ that they would not only be able to participate in the crowd scene(s) but the battle(s) as well. The look from the teacher will simply be recorded in this space as "the look."--more tomorrow
which may include the story of the bayonets and the battle of the ages
Thursday, July 9, 2009
The Course Of - Whatever - Never Does Run Smooth ~ Late Afternoon Thoughts
Marja at her delightful blog "Dutch Corner" did a 4th of July post about being introduced to one of Shakespeare's zanier comedies
"Midsummer Night's Dream." And I had left a comment about "Years ago (in a galaxy far away) my 6th grade drama students did an adaptation of this wonderful play." --> her post is here <--
This week as I was moving things around, under the guise of "getting rid of somethings" .. I found the "gift" they had given me after the performance. And for a second time a flood of memories charged back demanding to be written down.
This occurred while I was teaching in India.
At that time, I was a teacher of English, Speech and Drama. The English, Speech portion involved grades 10-12 and Drama was divided up into Creative Drama grades 1-6 and Drama grades 10-12. Yes, there was a three year gap, but neither my schedule or the syllabus allowed for much more than doing a week long intensive theater performance with the 7th graders once a year.
The Shakespeare "experiment" started, as things so often do, on the way to somewhere else.
The 5th and 6th graders had done short plays before, and I was really not thrilled with what we had done, and they were a little dissatisfied with the level of plays available to be done. I was a little gun-shy about writing a couple of plays for them. I had done that twice for my High School students and while they loved them and "got" them, the administration was not terribly enthusiastic about them. 'Twas a quandary...and a puzzlement!!
I don't know how many of you are acquainted with "My Weekly Reader **"
but when I was growing up, it's arrival in the classroom (we each got our OWN copy) was 2nd only to the Weekly Reader book sale ~ as I remember, once or twice a year. For years in school, this little newspaper brought fun, learning and insight to all who received it. When I was teaching at Woodstock School, I knew that it was available, but didn't realize that the students enjoyed it just as much as I had.
As I remember, it was in the staff dining room where the 5th grade teacher showed me a issue that contained a very short (10 or 12 lines) of one of the speeches from Julius Caesar and the article accompanying the adaptation (if that's the right word for it) about Rome and current affairs. As we were talking, (cue the theme from ANY Judy Garland, Micky Rooney "Let's put on a show" movie here.") One thing led to another, And I had agreed to adapt the play to their level, and do a Shakespeare segment as their drama classes. The 6th grade teacher, not to be outdone, wanted a play for her class as well. Well, why not (cue violins from Psycho shower scene here) ... why not a comedy - Midsummer Night's Dream wasn't being done anywhere around ... so, why not.
The major "why not" was the script(s) ... my agreement meant that I not only had to come up with two adaptations of major theatrical works, but would now need to stage them as well. Any student of Theater or Theatrical Literature knows the Julius Caesar text to use - and I don't think the cover has changed much in over (a certain number of years) ... And Midsummer Night's was available almost anywhere, so I set to work. Interesting enough, it was the adaptation of Midsummer Night's Dream that proved to be the most difficult.
As a play that is basically one big "romp" ... it is full of sexual innuendos and some not-so innuendo. And taking away completely everything that might ring slightly off would turn the play into a big nothing. Then, there is the magic, fairies and sprites wandering around ... this being a school high in the Himalaya Mountains depending on mission boards for teachers, support and some income (to say nothing of a stream of students!!) was somewhat vexing.
The teacher and I worked closely and sometimes contentiously
about the wording. The most amusing part was what to do with Bottom's famous line (after being released from his donkey's head) that "sometimes a man might still be an ass." That line went in and out of the script more times than most people breathe in a day!! And was still a problem up to the final rehearsals ...
--- more to come ...
** FYI ~ (My) Weekly Reader has been in continuous publication since 1928 ~ to quote Wikipedia: The first edition was produced for the fourth grade, and appeared in September 1928. Its cover story was entitled "Two Poor Boys Who Made Good Are Now Running for the Highest Office in the World," and focused on the childhoods of Herbert Hoover and Al Smith.
-- and yes, that is a picture of Woodstock School ... I just wish it was mine!
"Midsummer Night's Dream." And I had left a comment about "Years ago (in a galaxy far away) my 6th grade drama students did an adaptation of this wonderful play." --> her post is here <--This week as I was moving things around, under the guise of "getting rid of somethings" .. I found the "gift" they had given me after the performance. And for a second time a flood of memories charged back demanding to be written down.
This occurred while I was teaching in India.
At that time, I was a teacher of English, Speech and Drama. The English, Speech portion involved grades 10-12 and Drama was divided up into Creative Drama grades 1-6 and Drama grades 10-12. Yes, there was a three year gap, but neither my schedule or the syllabus allowed for much more than doing a week long intensive theater performance with the 7th graders once a year.
The Shakespeare "experiment" started, as things so often do, on the way to somewhere else.
The 5th and 6th graders had done short plays before, and I was really not thrilled with what we had done, and they were a little dissatisfied with the level of plays available to be done. I was a little gun-shy about writing a couple of plays for them. I had done that twice for my High School students and while they loved them and "got" them, the administration was not terribly enthusiastic about them. 'Twas a quandary...and a puzzlement!!
I don't know how many of you are acquainted with "My Weekly Reader **"
but when I was growing up, it's arrival in the classroom (we each got our OWN copy) was 2nd only to the Weekly Reader book sale ~ as I remember, once or twice a year. For years in school, this little newspaper brought fun, learning and insight to all who received it. When I was teaching at Woodstock School, I knew that it was available, but didn't realize that the students enjoyed it just as much as I had.As I remember, it was in the staff dining room where the 5th grade teacher showed me a issue that contained a very short (10 or 12 lines) of one of the speeches from Julius Caesar and the article accompanying the adaptation (if that's the right word for it) about Rome and current affairs. As we were talking, (cue the theme from ANY Judy Garland, Micky Rooney "Let's put on a show" movie here.") One thing led to another, And I had agreed to adapt the play to their level, and do a Shakespeare segment as their drama classes. The 6th grade teacher, not to be outdone, wanted a play for her class as well. Well, why not (cue violins from Psycho shower scene here) ... why not a comedy - Midsummer Night's Dream wasn't being done anywhere around ... so, why not.
The major "why not" was the script(s) ... my agreement meant that I not only had to come up with two adaptations of major theatrical works, but would now need to stage them as well. Any student of Theater or Theatrical Literature knows the Julius Caesar text to use - and I don't think the cover has changed much in over (a certain number of years) ... And Midsummer Night's was available almost anywhere, so I set to work. Interesting enough, it was the adaptation of Midsummer Night's Dream that proved to be the most difficult.As a play that is basically one big "romp" ... it is full of sexual innuendos and some not-so innuendo. And taking away completely everything that might ring slightly off would turn the play into a big nothing. Then, there is the magic, fairies and sprites wandering around ... this being a school high in the Himalaya Mountains depending on mission boards for teachers, support and some income (to say nothing of a stream of students!!) was somewhat vexing.
The teacher and I worked closely and sometimes contentiously
about the wording. The most amusing part was what to do with Bottom's famous line (after being released from his donkey's head) that "sometimes a man might still be an ass." That line went in and out of the script more times than most people breathe in a day!! And was still a problem up to the final rehearsals ...--- more to come ...
** FYI ~ (My) Weekly Reader has been in continuous publication since 1928 ~ to quote Wikipedia: The first edition was produced for the fourth grade, and appeared in September 1928. Its cover story was entitled "Two Poor Boys Who Made Good Are Now Running for the Highest Office in the World," and focused on the childhoods of Herbert Hoover and Al Smith.
-- and yes, that is a picture of Woodstock School ... I just wish it was mine!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY # 233 !!!
It's the time for serious thought, heavy reflection and ... who am I kidding?
It's time for a few good laughs ...
Suppose Twitter had been available 233 years ago??? (click on picture to enlarge)
(that was from historicaltweets.com)
And let's not forget the e-cards just waiting to be sent (to everyone we know!)
And when all else fails .... Cue the Muppets!!!
Have a wonderful day everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's time for a few good laughs ...
Suppose Twitter had been available 233 years ago??? (click on picture to enlarge)
(that was from historicaltweets.com)And let's not forget the e-cards just waiting to be sent (to everyone we know!)
And when all else fails .... Cue the Muppets!!!
Have a wonderful day everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Blame It All On The Internet(s) ~ Early AFternoon Thoughts
Sorry, I've been away for a bit ~ that will change very soon. However, this little jewel from College Humor was too good to pass up . . .
Saturday, June 20, 2009
An Elegant Timewaster - Lovecraftian Lore ~ Early AFternoon Thoughts
It's VERY hot here today - just the kind of day to stay inside and get all those nagging things done that I have been putting off doing . . . and after discovering -->this delightful site<--, will put off even further ... The site is devoted to those dark and deadly seeming card games. Somewhat like playing Dungeons and Dragons, but it moves much more quickly and even somewhat darker. Alas, no gnome tossing or princess rescuing ...
The start of the game looks like this ....
And once you press start game (I would suggest reading how to play first!!!) you will see this --
Nice creepy music and sounds accompany the game play, and no I've lost each time I've played, but there's always the next time
To play the game .... --> CLICK HERE <-- and as always, I'm not responsible for lost time, jobs or - in this case - sleep!!
The start of the game looks like this ....
And once you press start game (I would suggest reading how to play first!!!) you will see this --
Nice creepy music and sounds accompany the game play, and no I've lost each time I've played, but there's always the next time
To play the game .... --> CLICK HERE <-- and as always, I'm not responsible for lost time, jobs or - in this case - sleep!!
Monday, June 15, 2009
And The Bleet Goes On ~ Early Afternoon Thoughts
This was posted on one of my absolutely favorite morning blogs --> Daily Kos<- -, which if you have not bookmarked, you should. It is updated during the day, and for American politics, culture with amazing commentary could not be any better (sorry, Huffington Post!)
At first I thought I might make a few "comments" about the mess in Albany, NY ~ but they're doing just fine holding THAT circus without any further comments from me!!
I had written about RIAA and MPAA --> once before <-- but now they seem to have outdone themselves in self-pity. It seems they feel they have lost the PR war over pirating and downloading/sharing music ... You can read the entire post from the original source --> here <-- an ezine called Zeropaid. This was the section that was posted at Kos and really caught my attention ... These might be the reasons they lost the PR battles and probably the "war" ~ (Republicans, are you listening???)
"We figured a short list might be in order:
-destroying Napster and Audio Galaxy and not creating an alternative for the get-go,
raiding people’s homes because they uploaded Star Wars (not necessarily leaking it in the first place),
-hacking the URN hash and polluting FastTrack,
-hacking The Pirate Bay,
-having Viacom serve DMCA notices to people posting video’s of people eating in a restaurant on YouTube,
-suing tens of thousands of average American’s including fining one individual $222,000 for sharing a couple songs,
-saying that files in a shared directory is copyright infringement in court,
-saying that evidence is too hard to get and that the industry shouldn’t be burdened to prove their cases in court,
-suggesting that iPods are little more than little pirate ships,
-saying in court that even making one back-up copy of a DVD is illegal,
-lobbying to put in the DMCA, demanding that laws should be in place to prevent any tinkering with DRM including for research purposes,
-installing rootkits on people’s computers,
-installing spyware on people’s computers via the MediaMax technology,
-being outed for being hypocrites for pirating a documentary movie and claiming that it’ll only be in a safe place,
-tried to bring people a broadcast flag and telling people you can’t record TV shows if the broadcaster doesn’t like it,
-trying to bi-pass the backfiring of WIPO and the FCC to bring in the broadcast flag anyway, -tried to get ISPs to do all the copyright industry’s dirty work,
-pressured and bullied other countries to implement laws the industry saw fit and using shady lobbying tactics to accomplish this,
-tried to sell us music that cannot be copied through the internet and on discs,
-tried to bi-pass the will of the European Union and get countries to pass “three strikes” laws even if artists disagree with it,
-attempted to price fix music albums,
-secretly hold negotiations to pass draconian copyright laws that would see people’s physical property effectively stolen on the mere suspicion of copyright infringement through ACTA, -demanding that laws be passed that mandates the promotion of legal alternatives,
then not providing the kind of deals that would allow legitimate services to flourish with internet groups and businesses like ISPs,
-alienate an entire generation by labeling their own customers as pirates,
-likened downloading music on the internet to terrorism,
-likened internet users who download music online to “biker gangs”,
-spread blatantly false information about file-sharing,
-forcing people to watch anti-piracy ads on movies,
-suing people who had a recently deceased family member,
-argue that the industry is for artists, then going to court and demanding that royalty rates should be lower for artists - thus having to pay them less and keeping more money from album revenues,
-forcing radio broadcasters to pay royalties even if they don’t play music from the copyright industry,
-suing a lawyer for blogging about court cases related to copyright,
-and possibly the whole issue of listing countries that hold 70% of the world’s population and labeling some as rogue nations that need to update their copyright laws via the USTR Special 301 report - thus alienating many countries in the first place.
Again, a short list of probably simple misunderstandings in the world of PR that have been taken out of context by the “enemies of copyright”."
Just so it's clear, the copy is from the articles, the pictures I added ...
At first I thought I might make a few "comments" about the mess in Albany, NY ~ but they're doing just fine holding THAT circus without any further comments from me!!
I had written about RIAA and MPAA --> once before <-- but now they seem to have outdone themselves in self-pity. It seems they feel they have lost the PR war over pirating and downloading/sharing music ... You can read the entire post from the original source --> here <-- an ezine called Zeropaid. This was the section that was posted at Kos and really caught my attention ... These might be the reasons they lost the PR battles and probably the "war" ~ (Republicans, are you listening???)
"We figured a short list might be in order:
-destroying Napster and Audio Galaxy and not creating an alternative for the get-go,
raiding people’s homes because they uploaded Star Wars (not necessarily leaking it in the first place),
-hacking the URN hash and polluting FastTrack,
-hacking The Pirate Bay,
-having Viacom serve DMCA notices to people posting video’s of people eating in a restaurant on YouTube,-suing tens of thousands of average American’s including fining one individual $222,000 for sharing a couple songs,
-saying that files in a shared directory is copyright infringement in court,
-saying that evidence is too hard to get and that the industry shouldn’t be burdened to prove their cases in court,
-suggesting that iPods are little more than little pirate ships,
-saying in court that even making one back-up copy of a DVD is illegal,
-lobbying to put in the DMCA, demanding that laws should be in place to prevent any tinkering with DRM including for research purposes,
-installing rootkits on people’s computers,
-installing spyware on people’s computers via the MediaMax technology,
-being outed for being hypocrites for pirating a documentary movie and claiming that it’ll only be in a safe place,
-tried to bring people a broadcast flag and telling people you can’t record TV shows if the broadcaster doesn’t like it,
-trying to bi-pass the backfiring of WIPO and the FCC to bring in the broadcast flag anyway, -tried to get ISPs to do all the copyright industry’s dirty work,
-pressured and bullied other countries to implement laws the industry saw fit and using shady lobbying tactics to accomplish this,
-tried to sell us music that cannot be copied through the internet and on discs,
-tried to bi-pass the will of the European Union and get countries to pass “three strikes” laws even if artists disagree with it,
-attempted to price fix music albums,
-secretly hold negotiations to pass draconian copyright laws that would see people’s physical property effectively stolen on the mere suspicion of copyright infringement through ACTA, -demanding that laws be passed that mandates the promotion of legal alternatives,
then not providing the kind of deals that would allow legitimate services to flourish with internet groups and businesses like ISPs,
-alienate an entire generation by labeling their own customers as pirates,
-likened downloading music on the internet to terrorism,
-likened internet users who download music online to “biker gangs”,
-spread blatantly false information about file-sharing,
-forcing people to watch anti-piracy ads on movies,-suing people who had a recently deceased family member,
-argue that the industry is for artists, then going to court and demanding that royalty rates should be lower for artists - thus having to pay them less and keeping more money from album revenues,
-forcing radio broadcasters to pay royalties even if they don’t play music from the copyright industry,
-suing a lawyer for blogging about court cases related to copyright,
-and possibly the whole issue of listing countries that hold 70% of the world’s population and labeling some as rogue nations that need to update their copyright laws via the USTR Special 301 report - thus alienating many countries in the first place.
Again, a short list of probably simple misunderstandings in the world of PR that have been taken out of context by the “enemies of copyright”."
Just so it's clear, the copy is from the articles, the pictures I added ...
Saturday, June 13, 2009
It's All In The Drink ~ early afternoon thoughts
It all makes sense now,
Subject: Derivative markets, an understandable explanation
Heidi is the proprietor of a bar in Detroit .
In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers - most of whom are unemployed alcoholics - to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans).
Word gets around about Heidi's drink now pay later marketing strategy and as a result, increasing numbers of customers flood into Heidi's bar and soon she has the largest sale volume for any bar in Detroit .
By providing her customers' freedom from immediate payment demands, Heidi gets no resistance when she substantially increases her prices for wine and beer, the most consumed beverages. Her sales volume increases massively.
A young and dynamic vice-president at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Heidi's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral. At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert traders transform these customer loans into DRINKBONDS, ALKIBONDS and PUKEBONDS.
These securities are then traded on security markets worldwide. Naive investors don't really understand the securities being sold to them as AAA secured bonds are really the debts of unemployed alcoholics. Nevertheless, their prices continuously climb, and the securities
become the top-selling items for some of the nation's leading brokerage houses.
One day,
although the bond prices are still climbing, a risk manager at the bank (subsequently fired due his negativity), decides that the time has come to demand payment on the debts incurred by the drinkers at Heidi's. Heidi demands payment from her alcoholic patrons, but being unemployed they cannot pay back their drinking debts. Therefore, Heidi cannot fulfill her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy.
DRINKBOND and ALKIBOND drop in price by 90 %. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80 %. The decreased bond asset value destroys the banks liquidity and prevents it from issuing new loans.
The suppliers of Heidi's bar, having granted her generous payment extensions and having invested in the securities are faced with writing off her debt and losing over 80% on her bonds. Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor, who immediately closes the local plant and lays off 50 workers.
The bank and brokerage houses are saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock negotiations by leaders from both political parties. The funds required for this bailout are obtained by a tax levied on employed middle-class non-drinkers.
Finally an explanation I understand .....
Subject: Derivative markets, an understandable explanation
Heidi is the proprietor of a bar in Detroit .
In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers - most of whom are unemployed alcoholics - to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans).Word gets around about Heidi's drink now pay later marketing strategy and as a result, increasing numbers of customers flood into Heidi's bar and soon she has the largest sale volume for any bar in Detroit .
By providing her customers' freedom from immediate payment demands, Heidi gets no resistance when she substantially increases her prices for wine and beer, the most consumed beverages. Her sales volume increases massively.
A young and dynamic vice-president at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Heidi's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral. At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert traders transform these customer loans into DRINKBONDS, ALKIBONDS and PUKEBONDS.
These securities are then traded on security markets worldwide. Naive investors don't really understand the securities being sold to them as AAA secured bonds are really the debts of unemployed alcoholics. Nevertheless, their prices continuously climb, and the securities
become the top-selling items for some of the nation's leading brokerage houses.
One day,
although the bond prices are still climbing, a risk manager at the bank (subsequently fired due his negativity), decides that the time has come to demand payment on the debts incurred by the drinkers at Heidi's. Heidi demands payment from her alcoholic patrons, but being unemployed they cannot pay back their drinking debts. Therefore, Heidi cannot fulfill her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy.DRINKBOND and ALKIBOND drop in price by 90 %. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80 %. The decreased bond asset value destroys the banks liquidity and prevents it from issuing new loans.
The suppliers of Heidi's bar, having granted her generous payment extensions and having invested in the securities are faced with writing off her debt and losing over 80% on her bonds. Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor, who immediately closes the local plant and lays off 50 workers.
The bank and brokerage houses are saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock negotiations by leaders from both political parties. The funds required for this bailout are obtained by a tax levied on employed middle-class non-drinkers.
Finally an explanation I understand .....
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