The Tragedy of Amleth, Princess of Denmark

It opens with a wedding cake. It opens with a king and queen with white icing on their fingers. Enter Amleth, princess of Denmark, hauling heavy baggage, perplexed that her father's funeral has turned into her mother's wedding.

You might almost think, at this point, that this is just an adaptation, that the story will be the same, that this is just a female Hamlet in modern English.

But the differences keep piling up. Amleth is engaged in a heated lesbian relationship with Ophelia. The characters are different, like Mrs. Polonius. You begin to get the idea that, despite the various allusions to the original, the resolution to this play might be... rather distinct. By the time the second act rolls around, you definitely feel that you are on the high seas as far as knowing where the plot is going.

But the plot does come back to the castle - for the big final scene with a sword fight and tragic ending - rest assured.

The play doesn't really rely upon the viewer knowing Shakespeare's version of the story. But as one who has spent a lot of time with Hamlet, it had that intense "alternate universe" experience.

The language does somehow carry a Shakespearean feel, a leaning toward metaphor I think, but in a way that is simple and direct.

Anna Menekseoglu dominates the play in the title role, struggling with alienation, isolation, and threats against her life. As Hamlets go, despite her emotional ups and downs, she delivers a strong-minded and grounded performance. You feel that this is indeed a princess to be reckoned with, a woman of substance, a real danger to the powers that be. You understand why a political enemy might find it wise to remove her from the playing board.

Megan Merrill's Ophelia is the most sympathetic character on stage, to my mind, and in many ways the most sensible. Seeing the rottenness in Denmark, she wants no part of it. My heart went out to her as fate, and attachment, reeled her in.

Rachel Martindale plays a majestic Gertrude, a woman of dangerously sweet cunning. Jeremy Menekseoglu plays a fascinating Claudius, a man who cannot get comfortable in his newfound position of power. Leana Savoie was a real surprise as Lady Polonius, since she made this disagreeable character rather likable, and thereby made you feel the character's plight. Hasket Morris seemed totally immersed in his role as the hunchbacked dog master; you will believe that his hump, and his sullen but righteous attitude, are real. John-Paul Kostecki was outstanding in his role of the Artificer; his puppet work with just the head of a mannequin was profoundly creepy. Finally, Laura Gouin pulled off the role of Mother Superior with power and an air of insane certainty.

Mrs. Polonius and Queen Gertrude

The staging deserves some special comment. The script calls for a lot of things that are hard to stage - such as an amusement park ride. Theater audiences are willing to imagine the details of such things, if you can just give them the proper amount of suggestion. This show, on a small budget I imagine, does a bang-up job with the sort of evocative staging suggestions that let the audience imagination run free.

If you love Hamlet, I recommend this play.

On the other hand, if you hate Hamlet, try this version! You may well like it better!

It's Hamlet re-dreamed,
but lesbian-themed,
with a new direction
in murder detection.

All exquisitely acted,
with emotions impacted
as blind love and rage
charge the stage.

Oh, Dennis!

I see where North Korea is threatening pre-emptive nuclear attack against the U.S. because they think we're about to attack them.

I blame Dennis Rodman, who just got done hobnobbing with the Leader. Dennis is not a diplomatic kind of guy. I figure he got tired of hearing Kim yap.

Probably Dennis said something like "Keep talking like that and we'll blow you to bits."

This guy comes out waving a nuke
right after Rodman's visit.

You may think that's just a fluke,
but is it?

Non Stop

How many words could you muster,
for a personal filibuster?

When arguing with friends,
try giving a speech that never ends!

Constitution

I was amused by this tweet from Daniel Hannan, a British member of the European parliament:

Americans! The US Constitution may be flawed, but it's a great deal better than what you have now!

I'd say it has been stretched
in ways that are far-fetched.
But despite interpretive twists
it persists.

Brocklehurst

I auditioned tonight for the role of Mr. Brocklehurst in Jane Eyre.

He's not a good man. I'd say he's the biggest villain in the piece.

I was worried I went over the top in my reading. On the other hand, the story is high gothic-romanticism. It's meant to be very dramatic. And the director seemed pleased enough.

Well, I hope I get it.

Brocklehurst
is the worst
but I have a mighty thirst
to play him.

Born To Run

 I recently finished reading Born To Run by Christopher McDougall.

The subtitle is "A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen". It's often credited with kicking off the "barefoot running" craze.

The author is a sports journalist, and it's an odd mix of a book. It's partly a narrative about a foot race in a remote part of Mexico. Partly a story about colorful American ultra-runners. Partly an account of ultra-running itself. Partly a tale about this ultra-running tribe that lives in the remote part of Mexico. Partly a look at the scientific study of human distance running.

I enjoyed it a lot, but I would say you should take it with a grain of salt before you decide to venture into the desert for a fifty mile jaunt in your bare piggy toes.

Anyway, one little sort-of inconsistency I noticed dealt with the science side of things.

In general, McDougall pushes a low-meat diet. His wondrous Mexican tribe doesn't get much meat - they mostly chow down on corn and beans. And on page 209 a cancer-surviving doctor advises that "we need to build our diets around fruit and vegetable instead of red meat and processed carbs."

But by page 227 he is advancing the thesis that humans evolved into long distance runners so that they could run their prey to exhaustion. And by page 241 he writes: "Actually, it would be weird if the women weren't hunting alongside the men, since they're the ones who really need the meat."

I'm not sure what it all means.
I know I was born to eat.
But should it be corn and beans
or tasty meat?

Shoe Shrinkage

I ordered a new pair of running shoes. Same brand and model as usual. Well, it was the 2013 model. They are always fiddling with running shoe design.

When I put them on, they seemed to fit.
But then, after I had run in them a bit,
they seemed to have less room for my toes
than the ones from last year. So I supposed
they had been re-designed with a smaller toe box.

But today I realized, with a bit of a shock,
that I'd ordered a twelve instead of thirteen.

What a moron, if you know what I mean,
and I'm sure you do.

I ought to know the size of my own shoe!

Actually, I usually get a 12 in normal shoes, and a 13 in exercise shoes. Somehow, when I was ordering, my brain slipped a gear.

I have a reputation, life-long, of being absent-minded, so busy with my imagination that I sometimes lose track of reality. Well, reality doesn't like being ignored, and struck back again!

These wrong-size shoes, that I hardly wore
are now at the local charity store,
and shall grace my feet... nevermore.

Where Is The March Melt?

Black dog, white snow.

But the evening hue
is vaguely blue.

Another Flight

The seats push hard against our backs
as engines start to thrust.
We lift, as lift we must
if we're to clear
the fence.

Now, relax,
suspended in thin air,
at whatever height
the instruments declare
most suitable for flight.

And I am sipping water from a cup
at 30,000 feet.

It's all so routine
aboard this great machine
this wagon cart of fire.

Two-Seater to the Red Planet

This is wild. Someone's trying to organize a private trip, for two, to Mars.

You wouldn't get to land. It's just a fly-by.

To take advantage of an alignment of Earth and Mars that happens once every 15 years and would allow the shortest possible travel time possible between the planets, the mission seeks to launch on January 5, 2018. The crew would return to Earth on May 21, 2019.

They say they want a husband and wife.
It could be the coolest trip of your life.

Special Election, Part 2

The Dem nominee is considered a shoo-in, but the GOP nominee is still newsworthy:

Republican voters are suggesting the 2nd Congressional District replace one felon with another after picking ex-convict Paul McKinley as the candidate to run for the seat recently ceded by former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.

You might wonder what sort of felonies he committed? Well, garden variety: "burglaries, armed robberies and aggravated battery".

Welcome to Illinois,
where elections are a joy.

Just Say Nay

The mislabeled meat scandal gallops on:

Ikea is now removing wiener sausages from stores across Europe after tests confirmed “a few indications of horse meat.”

With all those regulations,
it really seems incredible
that they secretly turned Mr. Ed
into Mr. Edible.

Special Election

Here in the Windy City, guess who won a special Dem primary today?

The mayor's candidate of course!

But I don't mean the mayor of Chicago. I mean the mayor of New York:

Former state Rep. Robin Kelly won the Democratic primary Tuesday night in the race to replace the disgraced Jesse Jackson Jr. in Congress, helped by millions of dollars in pro-gun control ads from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s political fund.

It's a heavily Dem district, so Kelly now practically has a lock on the congressional seat itself.

It's been an ill-starred seat for the last 3 holders:

Jesse Jackson Jr. - left congress and then pleaded guilty to wire and mail fraud.
Mel Reynolds - left congress after being convicted of statutory rape.
Gus Savage - lost his re-election bid after the House Ethics Committee accepted his apology for trying to force himself on a female Peace Corps worker.

Well, these guys have set the bar pretty low. I think the stage is set for somebody, anybody, to do the job without having to depart in dire disgrace.

I'm assuming that Robin Kelly
will avoid ending up in something smelly.

It Rose From Ashes

Southwest crew member, upon landing here: Welcome to the town a cow burnt down.

Oscar Who?

I think awards for movies should be renamed The Groovies.

Sugarbush Season

I like to lap the maple sap, and right now they've got it on tap.

High Concept

I want to write a story about rescuing hostages from North Dakota. We'll pitch it as Argo meets Fargo.

EU-US FTA

I'm still worried about where the Euro is going, but dropping tariffs, via a free trade agreement, strikes me as a good idea:

...an FTA between the United States and the European Union (EU) would present an even bigger rival to Asia, accounting for more than 40 percent of global GDP and about 50 percent of inward and outward foreign direct investment stock. Both sides are already the other’s biggest trading partner.

That last sentence is a bit of a trick, since it requires treating the EU as if it were one partner, rather than a bunch of separate countries.

Going by countries, our biggest partners are Canada, then China, then Mexico, then Japan, And only in the number 5 spot do we encounter Germany.

By the way, what is up with the phrase "global GDP", i.e., "global gross domestic product"? Couldn't we just say "global gross product"? It's not like we're selling any of our products to other planets.

We've got no exports to Mars,
we've got no imports from Venus,
and when it comes to Mercury,
there's really no trade between us.

Death Defying Tweets

They have a rhymed slogan:

When your heart stops beating, you'll keep tweeting.

How, you wonder, will that happen?

LivesOn will analyse users' Twitter feeds to learn their 'likes, tastes, [and] syntax' to continue posting similar messages, updates and links after they've passed.

I predict this insane app
will produce loads of inane crap.

Pre-Raphaelite Exhibit

I was in DC yesterday, and got a chance to visit the Pre-Raphaelite exhibit at the Smithsonian.

The admission price is: free,
but you have to get to DC.

I've always thought of the Pre-Raphaelites as quirky, but I do like some of their work, including this one, which is hanging on the wall at the show:



I learned that it has rather a sad story behind it.

Rossetti modeled Beatrice after his deceased wife and frequent model, Elizabeth Siddal, who died in 1862. The painting was created from the numerous drawings that Rossetti had made of Siddal during their time together. The symbolism in the painting of a red dove, a messenger of love, relates back to Rossetti's love for Siddal with the white poppy representing laudanum and the means of her death.

She was sickly... and got hooked on laudanum, an opiate. There were rumors, at the time, that the death was a suicide.

In an 1873 letter to his friend William Morris, Rossetti said he intended the painting "not as a representation of the incident of the death of Beatrice, but as an ideal of the subject, symbolized by a trance or sudden spiritual transfiguration."

He rendered her in paint
as a beloved saint.