Get RIPT For Shakespeare's Birthday

~ duane ~ Leave a comment
RIPT Apparel does a specially designed, one-of-a-kind t-shirt each day.  Yesterday’s shirt?  Earth Day.  Today’s shirt?  Why, who do you think?
Designed by Ressa McCrae, this shirt is called “What Fools These Mortals Be.” She’s been featured on their site before.   I think it looks pretty cool.  Anybody can slap a public domain image on a t-shirt.  This is not that.  This is a unique item, designed specifically for old Will’s birthday. He’s going something of an eye-roll going, wonder what he’s thinking?(*) Note that this is not an affiliate thing and I’m not making money off the deal, I’m posting entirely because it’s a “Shakespeare’s-Birthday-only” thing and I highly support merchants and other folks recognizing our holiday 😉

Happy Shakespeare Day!

~ duane ~ 1 Comment
I like to think of today as “Shakespeare Day” in general rather than Shakespeare’s Birthday.  Makes it seem bigger and more important, and gives me an excuse to pretty much do Shakespeare stuff all day.  Talk like him.  Read him, read about him.  Go see him performed.  Tell people about him.  That latter tends to be how I spend my day, talking Shakespeare to anybody that I can corner.

Alas, I have a day job schedule that doesn’t lend itself well to taking my own personal holiday off (not when the kids’ spring vacation was this week and my own birthday is next week), so I’ll be at work today.  But! I’ve queued up a bunch of posts, hoping to break my own record of 10 in a day, and I’ll try my best to keep tabs on what else is going on and update here.

What about you?  Got links to your own celebration? Consider this your invitation to post them!

To the memory of our beloved, Mr. William Shakespeare, and what he hath left us.

~ duane ~ Leave a comment
This article on Shakespeare’s Eulogies is obviously intended as a defense in the Authorship debates, opening with the argument that the Oxfordians claim no eulogies were forthcoming with William Shakespeare died in Stratford.  However, I like it as well as a good collection of what people had to say about Shakespeare when he died.  Let’s remember, after all, that today’s not only Shakespeare’s birth day, but it’s the day he died, too.

Ivdicio Pylivm, genio Socratem, arte Maronem,

Terra tegit, popvlvs maeret, Olympvs habet

(In judgement a Nestor, in wit a Socrates, in art a Virgil;

the earth buries [him], the people mourn [him], Olympus possesses
[him])

Free Stuff, Last Chance!

~ duane ~ Leave a comment
Reminder that today, April 22 2010, is the last day to enter our Shakespeare in Bits Contest for a chance to win 1 of 10 copies of their multimedia Romeo and Juliet application!  More details, including an independent review by Mad Shakespeare, available here.

To enter, here’s what you need to do:

* “Like” ShakespeareGeek on Facebook.
* Do the same for Shakespeare in Bits.
* Now go post something on one or both of our walls.

The original rules say that the comments with the most “likes” wins, but we’ve got 10 copies to give away so just posting something gives you a good shot at winning.  What are you waiting for?

Adonis? Helen? Uggos!

~ duane ~ 1 Comment
Another sonnet I bookmarked as potential wedding fodder is #53:

What is your substance, whereof are you made,
That millions of strange shadows on you tend?
Since every one hath, every one, one shade,
And you, but one, can every shadow lend:
Describe Adonis, and the counterfeit
Is poorly imitated after you;
On Helen’s cheek all art of beauty set,
And you in Grecian tires are painted new;
Speak of the spring and foison of the year,
The one doth shadow of your beauty show,
The other as your bounty doth appear,
And you in every blessed shape we know.
In all external grace you have some part,
But you like none, none you, for constant heart.

The bit in the beginning about shades and shadows might be a little over the head of many casual listeners (in really quick summary it seems to be saying “Everybody only gets one image, and yet somehow everybody else’s image seems to be just a reflection of you, so how come you get so many?”)

The middle part is a bit more clear and direct — describe Adonis (you know, a handsome dude) and you’ll find that you’re really describing the subject of the sonnet.  Likewise with Helen (also famous for being hot, you see) – paint a picture of her, and you’ll end up with a picture of Shakespeare’s beloved. If you want to get more symbolic let’s talk about springtime and bountiful harvests…but yet somehow we see an image of you there, too.  What’s up with that?  Everywhere we look, there you are.

It’s not until the last line that we get that little flip — everything *else* is just a shadow of *you*, but when it comes to your “constant heart”, you are unique.  Nobody ..ahem…holds a candle to you.    (Get it?  Candle? Shadow? :))

I can’t really see anything negative about this one, unless that last line is straight up sarcasm.