This blog post deserves a link for making the connection between the handkerchief in Othello, and the One True Ring from Lord of the Rings. After all, don’t people start to act really strangely (and darkly) when they come into possession of the hankie? Emilia even claims that Desdemona “reserves it evermore about her to kiss and talk to.” I can’t recall her calling it “my precious”, though, but still!

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I’m just as much a techie geek as a Shakespeare geek so I expect that I’d be going to see X-Men 3 anyway. But it’s news to me that Kelsey Grammer, best known as Dr. Frasier Crane, will be playing “Beast”. Even more surprising is that he’ll be using his Shakespeare roots for inspiration. “He’s very wise, so he’s a bit like JACQUES in AS YOU LIKE IT. And he’s a bit like PANDARUS in TROILUS AND CRESSIDA, because he understands the role of society. And he’s also a bit like HENRY V, because he likes to rally round a cause.”

What an unusual cast of characters to list as your inspiration. I mean, Pandarus? Who cites Pandarus?

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The Advertiser: Shakespeare death mask ‘genuine’ [23feb06]: Oooooo, this is cool. I’d never seen this “death mask” before, but apparently new evidence suggests that it may be authentic. I understand that most portraits do not adequately present what Shakespeare really looked like. This gives a whole new angle. Did Shakespeare die of cancer? That’s the theory, based on a lump above his eye. In the past it’s been accepted that he likely “drank himself to death” although some theories suggest that he had syphilis.

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Neve Campbell, probably best known as the star of horror hit Scream, has had her share of stalkers. What I find funny is the one who thought he was William Shakespeare. If he were still alive, at least now we know the sort of woman he’d go after. Perhaps he’d recently
rented Wild Things.

(Actually, Ms. Campbell recently got engaged to British actor John Light, who apparently got down on one knee and recited Shakespeare to her. Coincidence? Hmmmm…..)

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All Headline News – Young People Play Cupid With The Internet – February 8, 2006: Score one for our favorite playwright this Valentine’s Day. A poll sponsored by AT&T lists the following movies as apparently the most romantic: Love Actually, Shakespeare in Love, Much Ado About Nothing, Ten Things I Hate About You, and Unfaithful.

Much Ado About Nothing is obviously Shakespeare, as of course is Shakespeare in Love (though not in the “He wrote it” sense of the word). But I wonder if everybody on the poll realizes that Ten Things I Hate About You is actually supposed to be a version of Taming of the Shrew? It’s obvious when you look at it — the characters are named Bianca and Kat (Kate?) and the male lead is Patrick (Petruchio). The last names are Stratford and Verona, and they go to Padua high school.

3 out of 5’s not bad. I’m keeping an eye out for Shakespeare references in Love, Actually (which takes place in London, and one of the characters is named Juliet). No clue what “Unfaithful” is doing on a Valentine’s Day movie list, though.

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