Thursday, May 31, 2007

The Nearly Empty Parking Lot

School is over!!!

Enough said. . .

My blogging has been pitiful as of late, but deservedly so. As today was my last day of school, I turned in my 25 page research paper on the Philippines, gave a five page presentation in Shakespeare, and also turned in an eight page journal for Shakespeare. This after having done my big group project on Tuesday in Human Sexuality and turning in my final portfolio for Journalism.

Needless to say, I've been busy.

I am planning on blogging at least twice a week from now until August or so once school starts up again. That's the goal, at least.

Since I am about to head out to hang out with Cy (a celebration of being done with school, if you will), I will just present you my final project that I turned in and read aloud in Shakespeare today. There are some insider notes (e.g. Shakespeare related jokes) but it is pretty good, I think. That was the response I got at least, which surprised me, seeing that I pretty much slam Shakespeare - - but it's honesty. And I think that's what people are attracted to. . .

So enjoy this, and I hope that you have a good weekend - - - type at you then :D

A Rambler’s Rambling: The Shakespeare Version

- Honors English 236

- Shakespeare’s romances, comedies, and sonnets

- Three hours a week

- And don’t forget your jacket

- The room can be rather cold

- Yet don’t always blame the air conditioner

- But I digress

- Taming of the Shrew

- Our first play studied

- A tale of marriage and submission

- Sounds redundant, no?

- Look, there’s love

- Look, there’s hate

- Look, there’s life

- Katherine and Petruchio

- Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton

- Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger

- Yet I recall the dancers from San Francisco

- Go figure

- Deception

- Duplicity

- Dishonesty

- Isn’t alliteration fun?

- Violent Katherine and Arrogant Petruchio

- Virginal Bianca and Romantic Lucentio

- Sounds a lot like a soap opera

- Or a Saturday morning sitcom

- Saved by the Bell: The Paduan Years

- Not too far off

- The Merchant of Venice

- Shylock steals the show

- So does Al Pacino

- “Hoo-ah”

- It sure rains a lot in Venice

- When it rains it pours

- Just ask Shylock

- A Jewish moneylender

- The punishment for not paying him back?

- He seems to like sixteen ounces of flesh

- Say hello to his little friend

- Don’t ask

- This one seems more dramatic to me

- But wait!

- They are choosing casket designs!

- How romantic. . .

- Sure, there are some hearts aflutter

- But I would argue there’s more love in Hamlet

- Deception

- Duplicity

- Dishonesty

- Isn’t alliteration fun?

- Shakespearean sonnets

- Do they rhyme?

- Most of the time

- And they always conclude after fourteen lines

- They are at times confusing

- Always brain-bruising

- Their meanings discovered through deep perusing

- Written to both women and men

- But sometimes to more than just a friend

- There is one thing I must admit:

- The idea of comparing a garden and a sonnet

- Well it bothered my brain just a little bit

- 154 personal sonnets of William Shakespeare

- Into his private collection did we peer

- In my book, that nosiness is quite queer

- It does not matter if he was writing to his mistress

- (Or mister, depending on how you see all this)

- My opinion on the matter (well, at least the gist):

- His intimate works should have been kept private

- His worshippers at least owe him that teensy bit

- A Midsummer Night’s Dream

- More fun than a barrel of monkeys

- Or fairies, for that matter

- Home of the sneaky Puck and the tricky Oberon

- O, the fun these fairies have

- Look, it’s a love square

- Triangles would be too simple

- Everyone loves someone

- And hates someone

- Sounds like high school

- And then there is Nick Bottom

- What an ass. . .

- He is the best over-actor of his generation

- That would make him Shakespeare’s Nicolas Cage, I guess

- Again, I digress

- There are so many characters involved

- It is sort of like the Shakespearean version of ER

- Or maybe Lost

- Deception

- Duplicity

- Dishonesty

- Déjà vu

- Isn’t alliteration fun?

- Did I mention that Bottom turns into a donkey?

- And then apparently makes love to a fairy named Titania?

- Hmm… It must have slipped my mind.

- So what of that magical bestiality?

- I would just as soon say “Don’t ask” again

- Don’t ask

- Twelfth Night

- More deception

- More dishonesty

- And a special form of duplicity

- O, the alliteration abounds!

- Twins think the other is dead after a shipwreck

- So what do they do?

- Viola dresses up like a man

- Gains the confidence of a Duke

- Falls in love with him in the process

- Gains the love of a lady named Olivia

- Sebastian also dresses like a man (rightfully so)

- Maintains the love of a sea captain named Antonio

- Gets into fights with drunk men

- Gains the love of a lady named Olivia

- Olivia is confused, for the record

- And then there’s Malvolio

- O, that cross-gartered fool

- My favorite play by William Shakespeare

- I once acted as Sebastian

- So I guess I’m biased

- I still think it is the most entertaining of his comedies

- I also picture Sir Toby as a high school girl in a fat suit though

- So my vision is a little tweaked

- “He has been most notoriously abused”

- You can say that again, Olivia

- The Tempest

- Another shipwreck

- More oddball characters

- Shakespeare’s final play

- It’s a doozy, too. . .

- Dark, dreary, and depressing

- Yeah, you knew it was coming

- There’s magic

- There’s a virginal daughter

- And a deformed, savage slave

- Just call him Caliban the Fishman

- Beware the slithering plot

- A plot to kill, that is

- Did I mention that it is dark and depressing?

- It is certainly not your 21st century chick flick

- A proper send off for the revered Shakespeare?

- Probably

- A chance to say goodbye through a central character?

- Most likely

- One of the greatest plays he wrote?

- Some would say so

- I am not some

- And so we complete this class

- And I must reveal one more thing about myself

- I am a surveyor; an examiner

- (Pun only partially intended)

- My class time was spent doing such

- While my fellow students basked in the glory and radiance of the Bard

- I watched

- While evaluations and discussions went on about ol’ Bill’s works

- I confess I merely listened

- While sonnets and plays were scrupulously bandied about

- I scoffed cynically

- And internally

- But it has been a pleasure to listen to fans discuss their love

- It’s like me with basketball

- Or Quentin Tarantino movies

- Or anything besides Shakespeare

- But I respect your fandom greatly

- And so I digress once more

- Honors English 236

- A class made by Shakespeare fans for Shakespeare fans

- I felt it was similar to an inside joke

- A select group of hardcore fans

- And me

- And where, you ask, have I been?

- While you studied these works complete with glossy eyes

- Well as the Shakespeare party raged on inside

- That was me on the outside

- Just looking in

- Just waiting to ramble on. . .


SO. . .

Goodnight - - -

1 comment:

Jacob said...

'Gratz on the second trick. :) You're good.

Jacob