http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2008/05/not-really-about-anything.html Yeah, you heard me right. 

UPDATE: A little Googling showed me a rather odd thing – there’s a reference on Folger, of all places, to the line “When I shall die.”  I’m going to assume *that* is not a mistake, and that it is some variation in the text that, however odd, is still legitimate.  I still contend it makes no sense, though.  Perhaps a case for the “original spelling” folks, where it sounds like I, but is supposed to mean he, and it’s become subject to interpretation?  I see several additional references, including No Fear Shakespeare, that do the I thing, too. So last night I’m channel surfing with the Mrs., and Luhrman’s Romeo+Juliet shows up.  Even better, it’s the big Mercutio death scene.  So, we watch.  I’m not a fan of the directorial style, or the overly violent bits, but more on that in a second. Before you know it we’ve switch to Clare Danes, who starts in with a very adorable version of “When I shall die, cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven…..” Wait, I’m sorry, what did she just say?  Rewind.  Thanks Tivo. “When I shall die…”  Rewind. “When I shall die…” Pause. It’s when HE shall die!  How could that be missed???  The speech makes no sense otherwise! This is hardly a throwaway line.  It’s a big speech, and the camera is right in Juliet’s face.  She’s the only one on screen.  Why in the world wouldn’t some script checker say “Umm….it’s when *he* shall die, Clare.  Take it again.” That’s not the only place I saw a major goof.  During Capulet’s tirade against Juliet, I could swear (I did not rewind) that he said “Doth she not count her blest, unworthy as she is, that we have wrought so worthy a gentleman to be her bride?”  That’s just silly.  It’s “bridegroom.”   I do have to say, though – I love this stuff, I do, I do, I really do.  There’s no doubt that this is a pretty wild interpretation.  You have to come at it as its own story.  For instance the chase scene at the end – the cops, led by the Prince, have gotten word that Romeo is coming back to Verona.  He’s a wanted criminal.  So they go hunting for him, with helicopters and all.  It’s actually a pretty cool ending that really stresses the lengths to which Romeo will go, to be with his lost love.  There’s lots of screaming, but that’s the nature of the movie.  Everybody’s intense, all the time.  Small lines like “Tempt not a desperate man!” really come to life when Romeo’s got a hostage.

http://gardenertofarmer.blogspot.com/ Amusings from a gardener wondering aloud (can I say “ablog”?) about where her “Falstaff brussel sprouts” got their name.

http://artofmanliness.com/2008/05/14/100-must-read-books-the-essential-mans-library/ As I’ve mentioned, I love lists like this because I want to see where Shakespeare shows up :).  Although this one comes from the site Art of Manliness, it’s really more about the classics – Huckleberry Finn, To Kill A Mockingbird, Slaughterhouse Five, etc… along with heaping helpings of real classics like Plato, Nietzche, and even Herodotus! Yes, Hamlet is on the list. I’ve read 20 of the 100.  Not sure if that’s good or not.  Doesn’t seem good.  There’s gotta be another 40 or so for which I could say, “Yeah, dang, I’ve always wanted to read that.”  Some I’ve just never heard of, or have no interest in.  Lot of war and politics books.

A little trailer I just happened across for what many consider one of the greatest Shakespearean performances ever put on film.  I had the whole thing on my ipod once, but found it hard to watch such new material (it is Welles’ own script, not specifically Shakespeare but bits of many plays cobbled together) on such a small medium.  I’ll have to try it again someday soon. (Trailer found courtesy Where The Long Tail Ends)