http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/daniel_hannan/blog/2008/11/24/shakespeare_my_best_to_worst I seem to have missed this when it was posted back in November, but the man’s got me in his Blog Roll, so it seems only fair that I give it a little credit.  Despite claiming that his “hits fall by 80% whenever he blogs about [Shakespeare]”, the article is a laundry list of best/worst elements you might find at some sort of funky modern awards show, like “Handsomest Line” (The sun doth gild our armour; up, my lords!) versus “Ugliest Line” (leaky as an unstanched wench), or “Line most likely to provoke moronic laughter” (“Put out the light, and then put out the light”). Fascinated by his Best Hamlet, someone I’d never heard of.

http://community.livejournal.com/shaksper_random/44826.html The gang at Shakesper_Random is thinking of “any songs that they associate with Shakespearean characters and/or Shakespearean romantic pairings!” Example?  “Under My Thumb” for Kate / Petruchio. Got it?  Go play.

http://www.premiere.com/Feature/The-65-Most-Romantic-Movie-Couples Nothing direct from Mr. Shakespeare, but I’ll assume that would be cheating.  However, we do get Shakespeare In Love (#54), and 10 Things I Hate About You (#32, re-telling of Taming Of The Shrew). Any others in that mix with a Shakespeare hook? I know that Never Been Kissed (#31) has a prom these of “famous romantic couples” but honestly can’t remember if anybody does Romeo and Juliet (or Anthony and Cleo).

http://pics.livejournal.com/reasonabsurd/pic/0004hx49 Is “Yo Dawg” the new “I Can Haz”? Seems like a bunch of these just went flying through my newsreader.

We had a couple of friends (literally – one married couple) over for dinner Saturday night.  I’m hanging out in the kitchen talking to the husband, the wives are in the family room chatting about something on the couch. We wander into the family room to be social.  “Tell neighbor wife what you wrote on the card for my flowers,” my wife tells me. “The bath for my help lies where Cupid found new fire, my mistress’ eyes.” I get a blank stare from neighbor wife. “That’s the closing couplet from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 153.” “This is the kinds of stuff I get,” says my wife.  “Underneath that he wrote You’re my everything.  THAT, I understood.  But I’m always getting these Shakespeare things.  What did you get?” Neighbor wife turns to her husband and says, “Nothing.” Mind you, the husband is your classic working man, general contractor, spends his days framing out houses and his nights brewing his own beer.  When he’s not wearing a flannel shirt it’s only because his wife made him dress up to go out somewhere.  I love the guy, and not just because I appreciate a good beer.  He’s a great guy, a good friend.  And I’m suddenly getting him in trouble because I’m quoting Shakespeare on Valentine’s presents. 20+ years ago that would have gotten me stuffed into my locker in high school.