Ok, did Nicholas Sparks, author of the last dozen generic novel-turned-movies where when you think the happy couple get to be together, one of them dies, really compare himself to Shakespeare in USA Today? I’ve not seen that article, but April 1 is not that far behind us, so I’m left wondering. If he did, he’s a bigger moron than Jon Mayer.  I give Sparks credit for inventing a genre of his own, as I described above: take a standard romance (blah blah blah, the nice girl has some obstacle between her and true love that she must overcome) and give it a twist – one of them dies, so they don’t really get to be happy.  If you’ve seen a movie like that in the last few years – The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, Message in a Bottle, Dear John – then you’ve seen a Sparks story.  If you haven’t seen those yet, I can’t call it a spoiler, can I? Here’s the thing, Sparky – you’re not better than Shakespeare. You’re not even different than Shakespeare.  That whole Romeo and Juliet thing?  As we’ve discussed here in the past, Shakes beat you to it.  Romeo and Juliet is a *comedy* right up until the bodies start hitting the floor. Heck, I personally brought you to this exact comparison several months ago when I said:

Know what just crossed my mind, while thinking about the whole comedy thing? The career of Nicholas Sparks. I’ve only seen the movies not read the books, but it seems he’s cornered the market on “Can’t be together, can’t be together….oh look, they get to be together!… Oh, sh*t, he fricking *DIED*? That sucks.”

As linked above, you should check out where Cracked.com does a much better job of sending up Mr. Sparks than I ever could.  I like pointing out that our “Shakespeare said it first” track record still holds. 🙂

http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/1374.html I didn’t laugh out loud at this Joy of Tech comic celebrating the recent launch of Apple’s iPad, but it’d be seriously out of character for me not to post it :).

This came up in the comments on the “Isn’t Will Ironic?” thread, and I thought it might make for interesting conversation. Polonius’ famous advice to his son.  Neither a borrower nor a lender be, to thine own self be true, we all know the speech.  Right? How ironic is that speech? I’ve heard people argue, “Anybody who quotes Polonius like it’s words of wisdom to live by are completely missing the irony.”  But I don’t understand what it means. Either it’s good advice that is simply being given by a character who himself is not following any of it – in which case, they are still good words to live by.  Or else it’s advice that Polonius doesn’t really mean, and what he’s saying to his son is that if you put a good and proper face on, then you can get away with murder?  Sort of do the whole think with a wink and a nudge? Or is there something totally deeper at work, that I’m missing completely?

A fool, a fool! I met a fool i’ the forest,
A motley fool; a miserable world!
As I do live by food, I met a fool
Who laid him down and bask’d him in the sun,
And rail’d on Lady Fortune in good terms,
In good set terms and yet a motley fool.
‘Good morrow, fool,’ quoth I. ‘No, sir,’ quoth he,
‘Call me not fool till heaven hath sent me fortune:’
And then he drew a dial from his poke,
And, looking on it with lack-lustre eye,
Says very wisely, ‘It is ten o’clock:
Thus we may see,’ quoth he, ‘how the world wags:
‘Tis but an hour ago since it was nine,
And after one hour more ’twill be eleven;
And so, from hour to hour, we ripe and ripe,
And then, from hour to hour, we rot and rot;
And thereby hangs a tale.’ When I did hear
The motley fool thus moral on the time,
My lungs began to crow like chanticleer,
That fools should be so deep-contemplative,
And I did laugh sans intermission
An hour by his dial. O noble fool!
A worthy fool! Motley’s the only wear.

I’m just sayin.  Be careful out there, the Net’s a silly place some days.

Ummm….holy cow?! Could this note to the Earl of Southampton be the first thing we have from Shakespeare in his own actual handwriting?

Doe notte esteeme me a sluggarde nor tardye for thus havyinge delayed to answerre or rather toe thank you for youre greate Bountye. Gratitude is alle I have toe utter and that is tooe greate ande tooe sublyme a feeling for poore mortalls toe expresse O my Lord itte is a Budde which Bllossommes Bllooms butte never dyes.

What’s up with all the double consonants? That’s weird.  The details are still coming in, but apparently a whole trunk of the stuff has turned up, including references to “Anna Hatherrewaye” and even apparently pieces of King Lear!!? I’m bouncing off the walls over here.  I hate when this stuff happens while I’m at the day job :(! Nobody seems to have any pictures yet, but I’m looking!!! Has Stratford Dig Uncovered Unknown Shakespeare Papers?