So, those of you that follow us on Twitter probably saw at least some of the Steve Jobs tributes pouring in over the last few days. As a lifelong techie, I was certainly part of that.  I wrote a bunch of stuff.  What’s interesting is that one of them got me quoted in the Christian Science Monitor, which I guess is a good thing. But…which quote?

Let’s play a game.  Here’s a bunch of stuff I wrote on the subject of Jobs’ passing.  You tell me which one got the most “retweets”, and which one got quoted in the CS Monitor.
No fair peeking at the link!

1. “If you’ve got a second, take a moment to report every single spammer camping on a Steve Jobs keyword. Bastards.”
2. “It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough. That it’s technology married with liberal arts …that makes our hearts sing.” #iSad
3. Steve Jobs’ Dream and “Gonzo Shakespeare”  (link to previous story)
4. Cry God for Harry, Apple and Steve Jobs!  (link to an old comic)
5. Steve Jobs was better than Santa Claus, because he’d show up once a year and offer us toys that we’d never even imagined could exist. #iSad
6. Rip, mix, Bard.  #iSad
7. We know Jobs didn’t invent or build anything alone. The point is that without him out there to preach it, the world wouldn’t have changed.
8. The transition was made, the company is in capable hands, but does anybody really think Apple will ever be the same again? #RIPSteveJobs
9. On an uplifting note, Jobs was a practicing Buddhist, so rest easy in the belief that his energy is still out there to be absorbed again.
10. I’d really hoped, when he stepped down, that he was going to be able to live in peace, quiet and happiness for a little while. #iSad
11. Ok…just saw someone refer to Jobs as our generation’s JFK. Let’s not go crazy. An assassinated president, he was not.
12. The NeXT computer, also a Jobs invention, used to ship with Shakespeare’s Complete Works built in. RIP Steve Jobs
13. I don’t have anything special to say, I just like this hashtag: #iSad
14. Even if you don’t have a Mac, an iPod or an iPhone…you’ve seen a Pixar movie. That was Jobs at work, too. #ripstevejobs
15. Extra special bonus points to Bill Gates for referring to his friendship with Jobs as an “insanely great” honor. #ripstevejobs
16. He was a man, take him for all in all, We shall not look upon his like again. #ripstevejobs
17. 1984: Got to play with an original Mac. Tried to type, was told to move the mouse instead. I declared it stupid. Guess I was wrong. 🙂
18. Flights of angels sing thee sweetly to thy rest, Mr. Jobs. #SteveJobs #RIP

Got your guesses?

The most RT’d line, if Twitter’s reporting is to be believed, was #5 (the Santa Claus) line.  Twitter stops reporting at “100+” RTs so I have no idea how much it circulated, but it was substantially more than any of the others.

As to which one got me quoted in the CS Monitor, well, go check that link now to see if you guessed right :).

(* On a related note, I was surprised to see that such a link did not get me a big bump in Twitter followers, but then I noticed that the author does not link back to the people he quoted.  That’s bad form, sir! No cookie for you!)

I went to this event last year, and they’re doing it again – November 5, just in time for you-know-who’s day.

What is it?  Shakespeare, Open Mic.  If you’ve got something to perform, put your name on the list and get up and do it! 

I didn’t love it last year, but that was mostly due to the circumstances.  I’d brought the kids, but it’s not really a kid-friendly place (practically standing room only, and getting food in the bar’s backroom where it was held proved pretty tricky).  Plus I had no idea what to expect, and what I saw looked to me like a bunch of people who already knew each other, getting up and doing set pieces.  I wasn’t sure where the open part was coming from.

But I spoke with the organizer after the event (that’s what that second link is, up there), and he told me that while yes, they did deliberately schedule some “anchor acts” to make sure that the night had some structure, most of the acts were indeed just individuals who’d signed up and gotten up. 

If you’re in the neighborhood (Somerville, MA), go check it out!  Don’t bring the kids. 

(From the archives – August, 2005)

I think that many (most?) of you probably weren’t hanging around back in 2005, just a few short months after I started this blog.  So I think that very few people saw this.  Today I was helping out over on Yahoo! Answers, talking about sonnets, and was reminded of my own venture into this world. Thought I’d share a bit of a walk down memory lane…

———————————————-

[ From the archives. Originally posted Oct 26, 2010 – way too late last year to actually use any of the ideas, so I’m recycling the post for this year! ]

Twelfth Night

You’re a girl? Dress up like a boy. You’re a boy? Dress up like a girl dressing up like a boy. Twelfth Night’s
main character spends the whole play in costume. We discovered, a few
months back, that she’s not even called by her real name until the very
end of the play!

Julius Caesar

Why just be
any ghost, when you can be Great Caesar’s Ghost(*)? Don’t skimp on the
knife wounds, or the blood. Lots and lots of blood. Or if you really
want to wear a toga and don’t want to get blood all over it, dip your
arms in the red stuff up to your elbows, then go as Brutus.

(*)
Bonus points if you can actually convince somebody to dress up like J
Jonah Jameson from the Spiderman movies, and then spend the night
pointing at you and shouting that.

Hamlet

I knew Hamlet
would make a good costume when my 4yr old spotted the idea on one of
his cartoon shows. After random channel flipping he comes running into
my office to tell me “Daddy, somebody on tv is dressed like
Shakespeare!” Along comes the 6 and 8yr olds to tell me “Well, not
Shakespeare – he’s dressed like Hamlet. He’s holding a skull and talking
to it.” Of course you could also go with Ophelia, although taking a
quick jump in the pool before going out trick or treating might cause
you to catch your death (ha!). Then again why not go as Hamlet’s
father’s ghost? I’ll leave it up to reader imagination to depict how
exactly you’d walk around wearing your beaver up.

The Tempest

A
witch (although, granted, she doesn’t really make much of an
appearance), a wizard, a sea monster, an airy spirit. Plenty of
opportunity here to take a traditional Halloween costume and really run
with it. If you want to get really creative, grab a partner and dress up
as Stefano and Trinculo. I always described them as pirates to my kids,
although “court jester” is probably more accurate.

Titus Andronicus

How
can you not have fun dressing up like Titus? Put on a chef’s hat and
bloody apron, carry a cleaver and a big stew pot. Throw a prop head in
it, maybe a prop hand while you’re at it. Shakespeare’s goriest tragedy
is often compared to a modern slasher movie, so why not just go
completely over the top with it? Bring along your daughter. Don’t let
her talk.

Macbeth

Ghosts make plenty of appearances in Shakespeare’s work, The Tempest and Midsummer
are both loaded with magical goings on … but really, is there any
play scarier than Macbeth? Dress up like a weird sister, dress up like
Banquo’s ghost. Or maybe a sleepwalking Lady Macbeth, covered in blood?
For the really inside reference, go as Macduff – carry around Macbeth’s
head.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Fairies
are timeless, in more ways than one. If you need a couple’s idea, why
not Titania and Oberon? I love the idea of an entire family dressing up
as Midsummer, with the kids playing the roles of Cobweb, Mustardseed and
the others. Or go in a completely different direction and make an ass
of yourself, literally.

Have I forgotten any? You can always
throw on your monk’s outfit and go as Friar Laurence (carry around a
pickaxe, crowbar or some other tomb-opening implement for extra credit),
or really grab any random “Elizabethan” or “Renaissance” costume from
the local store and say that you’re the lead in As You Like It, Much
Ado, or any of the other romantic comedies. What else? Who’s got the
creative ideas?

BONUS!  Halloween 2011, I went as Yorick! Complete with Hamlet borne upon my back.

It’s not everybody’s cup of tea, I’m sure, but that’s not stopping these folks from trying to produce a legit, bound, complete set of Shakespeare’s works, in LOLspeak.

I don’t know if it’ll succeed, and it seems to really push the boundaries of what Kickstarter is for.  More than half the budget is for editing ($100 each for 38 works) and the rest is admittedly for “Kickstarter’s percentage, as well as the rewards.”  So if you contribute, a significant portion of the proceeds will go to nothing more than supporting the project being on KS in the first place.  I don’t think that’s really what it’s meant for.