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Jul. 27th, 2014
The 2013-2014 Mideast Peace Talks (5)
Jul. 27th, 2014 09:06 amKerry gets serious on trying to satisfy Israel's security concerns regarding any final deal with the Palestinians.
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Hamlet (4,5) Ophelia's Madness
Jul. 27th, 2014 01:51 pmto define true madness
what is’t but to be nothing else but mad?
~
We will also get the insights of one of our more contemporary actresses on Ophelia and her fall to madness.
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She really is such a victim. She’s not allowed to think what she wants. She’s told she can’t carry on seeing Hamlet and she’s made to take part in that terrible plot. Her father is very strict; she and Laertes have been brought up to be exemplary children. Polonius dotes on Laertes but he’s got no time for Ophelia. Can’t even bring himself to touch her, and stifles any expression of feeling or weakness in her. I think that’s why she had to go mad at the end, because she’s a passionate girl, but she’s been controlled so much. I think she’s thrown into a dreadful state of confusion. I don’t know whether she feels responsible for Hamlet’s madness, but she’s certainly very guilty about it, because she loves him. My God, she loves him.
-- Stella Gonet, actress
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Ophelia had it all. If her blood was not noble, she was the next best thing: The head is not more native to the heart, The hand more instrumental to the mouth, Than is the throne of Denmark to thy father. More than that, her marriage to the prince and future king of Denmark was practically just a formality. And then all was gone - her father, her love, and her future.
[Source: Marvin Rosenberg, “The Masks of Hamlet”]
what is’t but to be nothing else but mad?
~
We will also get the insights of one of our more contemporary actresses on Ophelia and her fall to madness.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
She really is such a victim. She’s not allowed to think what she wants. She’s told she can’t carry on seeing Hamlet and she’s made to take part in that terrible plot. Her father is very strict; she and Laertes have been brought up to be exemplary children. Polonius dotes on Laertes but he’s got no time for Ophelia. Can’t even bring himself to touch her, and stifles any expression of feeling or weakness in her. I think that’s why she had to go mad at the end, because she’s a passionate girl, but she’s been controlled so much. I think she’s thrown into a dreadful state of confusion. I don’t know whether she feels responsible for Hamlet’s madness, but she’s certainly very guilty about it, because she loves him. My God, she loves him.
-- Stella Gonet, actress
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Ophelia had it all. If her blood was not noble, she was the next best thing: The head is not more native to the heart, The hand more instrumental to the mouth, Than is the throne of Denmark to thy father. More than that, her marriage to the prince and future king of Denmark was practically just a formality. And then all was gone - her father, her love, and her future.
[Source: Marvin Rosenberg, “The Masks of Hamlet”]
Weird Al Yankovic: Mandatory Fun
Jul. 27th, 2014 07:32 pmThanks to a discussion at PolitiCartoons, I got in on the big revival of Weird Al Yankovic. I thought his career in music parody died with M-TV and did not make it into the 90s. But, no, he has just made it big, all the way to number one. He is an interesting cat.
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The massive "Weird Al" Yankovic cult knew it was only a matter of time until the rest of the world joined their ranks, but few people could have foreseen what happened this past week when his new album Mandatory Fun became the first Number One comedy album on the Billboard charts since 1963's My Son, the Nut by Allan Sherman. That was back when JFK was president and few people in America had heard of a new Liverpool band called the Beatles. There were still new episodes of The Twilight Zone on television. It was a long, long, long time ago.
We happened to be visiting Yankovic at his house in the Hollywood hills for an upcoming story for Rolling Stone when his longtime manager Jay Levey told him the album was likely to debut on top of the charts. Tears welled up in Yankovic's eyes and his wife Suzanne comforted him. "Sweetie," she said. "It's just people loving you like they always have."
-- Andy Greene at Rolling Stone
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
The massive "Weird Al" Yankovic cult knew it was only a matter of time until the rest of the world joined their ranks, but few people could have foreseen what happened this past week when his new album Mandatory Fun became the first Number One comedy album on the Billboard charts since 1963's My Son, the Nut by Allan Sherman. That was back when JFK was president and few people in America had heard of a new Liverpool band called the Beatles. There were still new episodes of The Twilight Zone on television. It was a long, long, long time ago.
We happened to be visiting Yankovic at his house in the Hollywood hills for an upcoming story for Rolling Stone when his longtime manager Jay Levey told him the album was likely to debut on top of the charts. Tears welled up in Yankovic's eyes and his wife Suzanne comforted him. "Sweetie," she said. "It's just people loving you like they always have."
-- Andy Greene at Rolling Stone
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>