Showing posts with label Shakespeare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shakespeare. Show all posts

Monday, March 15, 2021

Beware! - 15 March 2021 - Plague Journal Day 368

Micah 6:8
Romans 14:5-6
Yes, your life matters.


We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Beware the Ides of March! After all, 2,064 years ago it was a bad day for Julius Caesar, so we should all be very afraid. That puts me in mind of something I just "learned" (= heard on a TV show but I haven't actually confirmed it yet) - that Friday the 13th is considered unlucky because that was the date (October 13) when the Knights Templar were rounded up to be executed. I thought it went back farther than the 14th century, but again, I haven't done any real research to find out. [again, small sample size, use with caution.]
Also dying on the Ides of March (but in 1937) was H. P. Lovecraft. What an amazing writer he was. His stories, without being gory nor overly descriptive manage to engage the imagination with horrors almost unimaginable. (Note - almost unimaginable. I don't think the imagination can imagine the unimaginable, do you?) Like all people, he was influenced and shaped by the culture in which he lived, but surely we enlightened moderns can read writings from the past with their original context in mind, can we not? (If not, how can we assert that we're better than they were?)
I highly recommend his writings. If nothing else, you'll never look at Antarctica the same way.


By the way, yesterday was not only pie day (pi day - 3/14) but also Albert Einstein's birthday. Happy Birthday, Al!


Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Friday, January 15, 2021

A Bard for Our Times - 15 January 2021 - Plague Journal Day 309

Micah 6:8
Jeremiah 8:18-22
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

I guess I'm still on my French literature jag today. Yesterday was the master of tragedy, Racine. Today we move to comedies - farce, in fact! - and Molière.

Today, 15 January 2021, is Molière's 399th birthday. One supposes there will be widespread celebrations next year for his 400th - who knows? maybe even live performances of his plays? stranger things have happened!

Still, looking at a list of his major works, I was struck by how shockingly appropriate so many of them are to today's society, situation, and political environment. I have picked a few (in chronological order) to give you a sense of what I mean:
Le Médecin volant (1645) "The flying doctor"
Tartuffe ou L'Imposteur (1664) "Tartuffe, or the imposter"
L'Amour médecin (1665) "Love is the doctor"
Le Médecin malgré lui (1666) "Doctor in spite of himself"
Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (1670) "The bourgeois gentleman"
Le Malade imaginaire (1673) "The imaginary invalid" or "The hypochondriac"

Even if you don't read French, go find a translation and enjoy. These really are splendid plays. They're basically on the same level as Shakespeare's comedies (much as Racine's tragedies are in the same range as the Bard's).
Enjoy! (and you're welcome)



Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.


Tuesday, December 22, 2020

The Winter of Our Discontent - 22 December 2020 - Plague Journal Day 285

Micah 6:8
Matthew 2:9-11
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Well, yesterday was the winter solstice, so that means today it is well and truly Winter. Winter in 2020 can be nothing but a winter of discontent, no? Still, we're just about to celebrate Christmas - commemorating the birth of Jesus, the Son of God. So with no apologies to Shakespeare for the deliberate misquote:
Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by the Son of God.

Let the Joy that Christ can bring into your life make you a beacon of light and warmth for the world around you!



Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.