i love G.B. Shaw!!!!!!

check this out. it's a video clip of George Bernard Shaw in 1930. he is such a cutie! :)

http://www.britannica.com/nobel/video/oshawge003v1.mov

Shaw is a genius!

I just think this is so clever. Quote from George Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman:

Violet: Don't be unreasonable, Hector. It was quite natural of Mr Malone to open my letter: his name was on the envelope.
Malone: There! You've no common sense, Hector. I thank you, Miss Robinson.
Hector: I thank you, too. It's very kind of you. My father knows no better.
Malone: [furiously clenching his fists] Hector-
Hector: Oh, it's no use hectoring me...

Get it? hectoring/ Hectoring...? hahaha? :)

The 'New Woman'

I think I've finally found an appropriate label to my idea of feminism...

the "New Woman" was a concept highly written about at the end of the 19th century. I suppose this conception of women is no longer 'new', but I like it...

According to E. Gainor's book Shaw's Daughters, the new woman,

"was noted for independence of spirit and action; she refused to conform to the conventional, male-determined code of feminine behavior or to accept an inferior
status legally, intellectually, or socially. This personal adventurousness manifested itself externally in such 'unwomanly' activities as cigarette smoking and in the rejection of traditional, purely decorative and cumbersome feminine attire in favor of a more practical wardrobe that suited an active lifestyle."

Maybe today's status quo already qualifies as New Women. We certainly don't wear lung-restricting corsets anymore. Although, today's highly fashionable stillettos and tight jeans are certainly not the best to fit my 'active lifestyle.' Neverthess, now we women have a choice between sweatpants, jeans or a tight-ass skirt. We also have to count our blessings in that we're no longer forced to learn home economics, if higher education appeals to us. We have 'come a long way, baby' and maybe these New Women had something to do with it. While over a century old, I still appreciate the New Woman's independence of spirit and action and refusal to conform. We should all aim to be 'New' and maybe one day things like corporate glass ceilings and male-only presidencies will be a thing of the past, too.

peppermint patty

i think i too will be glad to have my health tomorrow... check out the second-to-last strip:

http://www.comics.com/comics/peanuts/meet_the_gang/meet_peppermint_patty.html

tongue twister

here's a fun little ditty to practice. i highly recommend reciting it in front of people who you'd like to shock; those people who are still under the impression that you're little miss/mister innocent. we used it as a warm-up before play rehearsal to practice our british accents. i thought of it just now when i realized while studying for an exam I have tomorrow at 9am, that i had skipped over 70 pages that i thought I'd read.

so, here goes:

shit motherfucker damn, fucker damn damn
some motherfucker just fucked my man
but i'll fuck another fucker better than the other fucker
shit motherfucker damn, fucker damn damn

yay! it appears so vulgar when you have to type it out. but just say it out loud, as fast as you can, and it just sounds lovely (especially with a british accent!).

penis envy anyone?

oh freud...

"Accepting that she does not have a penis is so difficult that, according to Freud, some girls persist for years in the belief that they can get one ("or something like it"). The desire can remain unconscious throughout life. For example, a grown woman who desires to "carry on an intellectual profession" is really expressing a disguised unconscious wish for a penis."

and all this time I've been so curious as to why I like to study.... ahh! yes! i don't have a penis! that's why! thanks Freud, i've been so lost without your wisdom!

to read more on Freudian theories of women and motherhood, check out:
http://www.bham.ac.uk/english/bibliography/CurrentCourses/Freud/Freud/girls.html

I am, like, soo over Shakespeare

I love modern theater. The more I read, the more I am intrigued by it. While thinking whom I should take as a date to a certain formal event I had, the thought of taking my English professor popped into my head. He is in his 30s, skinny and appears shorter than he is because of his visibly negelcted posture. The strictly ordered decor of his office and his faint accent make it clear that he is German. His gold tooth shines with every smile and his parted, slicked back hair only serves to accentuate his unibrow. So why the attraction? Well, he's just so garn smart. And I'm a sucker for accents. Plus, he's the one who has introduced me to a new perspective on the world of modern theater, and I'll be forever grateful.

Yet, my new-found fondness towards modern theater has unexpectedly altered my opinion of traditional theater. While watching our school's prodution of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, I was oddly disappointed. This production was performed in a rather modern way. The costumes were modern, and there was extensive use of videos and visual technology. In between each scene, the audience saw artsy montages of images projected on a massive screen hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the stage and on small TVs to either side of the stage. It was rather well done, and the cast was truly talented. However I realized that the constraints of traditional theater are hard to overcome, and that suits and laptops on stage just aren't enough.

It's true that I never liked this play's script or plot or lack of resolution to the societal queries posed. However, what bothered me most was the unavoidable rigidity that all shakesperian plays pose. Firstly, we're forced to listen to endless speeches and warying monologues. Secondly, the cast consisted of at least 20 actors, and yet most of them said and did nothing throughout the entire play. It just doesn't seem efficient to use people with busy lives as the background of a scene. For instance, in the court scene where Shylock attempts to enforce his bond, there were 15 really talented actors sitting on the stage, all doing a wonderful job of doing nothing. The "best" actors were those that were sitting the stillest, completely committed to their position of silent but engaged spectator. They reminded me of the cliched role of 'Tree' in elementary school plays.

The use of three women attendants also bothered me. These three ladies stood still for the majority of the time they were on stage. Except for one scene where they sang a beautiful song in harmony, they did great jobs of doing nothing. What's worse is that I'm sure artistic liberties were taken by the director to put the song in the play in the first place. As far as I know, Shakespeare didn't included songs in his texts.

What's the point of all this complaining? I'm not sure. Maybe my perspective was skewed after a long day of drinking and Snoop Dogg on the slope. Maybe I'll never be able to look at Shakespeare the same way again, after working so closely with modern theater. Maybe I should stop looking for meaning in this blog, and get back to my paper...

In any case, I sure am glad that theater has moved on since Shakespeare's days, and it's pretty cool that we have such a variety of styles out there today.

yay for bikes!

In the middle of my final project for Personal Finance Management class, I came across a great website that compares prices of riding a bike to driving a car. It's cute because the author is really passionate about bike riding!
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/advocacy/autocost.htm

p.s. A few weeks ago, I was enjoying a lovely walk around campus, when I saw none other than Bill Nye (the Science Guy!) riding his bike down the street! He looked just like on tv, wearing a striped shirt and tie, except he was wearing a white styrofoam helmet and his khakis were tucked into his socks. How cute! (He is an alum of this beautiful institution.......oh my goodness... in less than one month I'll be an alum, too. anxiety! fear! sadness! nostalgia! excitement! AAAH! too many emotions to comprehend! *tear, smile, frown, laugh, wrinkled face of confusion... )