Monthly Archives: August 2007

A DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN SCHOLARS.

Posted on August 31, 2007 by Philip

A DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN SCHOLARS. Marjorie Garber and James Shapiro, two brilliant Shakespeare scholars, seem to disagree completely about what happens in the courtship between Rosalyn and Orlando in AS YOU LIKE IT. When does Orlando realize that the boy Ganymede … Continue reading →

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A VIRTUAL AS YOU LIKE IT?

Posted on August 30, 2007 by Philip

A VIRTUAL AS YOU LIKE IT? Marjorie Garber says that in AS YOU LIKE IT each character who enters Arden experiences it differently. Duke Senior finds it joyful; Orlando finds it threatening. The time may have come for a virtual … Continue reading →

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LOVE-STRUCK SHEPHERDS.

Posted on August 29, 2007 by Philip

LOVE-STRUCK SHEPHERDS. AS YOU LIKE IT has always seemed to me somewhat abstract, and Marjorie Garber gives the explanation. The play makes fun of the conventions of pastoral poetry with sighing shepherds and shepherdesses who write poetry. I don’t know … Continue reading →

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MARJORIE GARBER.

Posted on August 29, 2007 by Philip

MARJORIE GARBER. I want to thank Lee Bryant for adding the books section to the blog. Marjorie Garber’s SHAKESPEARE AFTER ALL consists of essays, full of insights and information, on each of the Shakespeare plays. I have been reading them … Continue reading →

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CAT BONDS.

Posted on August 28, 2007 by Philip

CAT BONDS. This article by Michael Lewis (author of MONEYBALL) will disappear soon. Kids, I suggest you read it while you have the chance. Lewis describes catastrophe bonds (“cat bonds” for short). If you were to buy a catastrophe bond … Continue reading →

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BRANAGH’S AS YOU LIKE IT.

Posted on August 28, 2007 by Philip

BRANAGH’S AS YOU LIKE IT. Branagh’s master stroke—I submit—is to set the play at a time and in a place where the action doesn’t fit. He sets it in the English colony in nineteenth century Japan. Nick got to see … Continue reading →

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THE SECOND FAVORITE SHORT STORY.

Posted on August 27, 2007 by Philip

THE SECOND FAVORITE SHORT STORY. I was struck by the posts linked below about Fitzgerald’s life because I read “Babylon Revisited” a couple weeks ago after Nick told me that it was his second favorite short story. When I asked, … Continue reading →

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SCOTT FITZGERALD’S LIFE.

Posted on August 27, 2007 by Philip

SCOTT FITZGERALD’S LIFE. The critic Terry Teachout changes his mind in this post and this post about Scott Fitzgerald’s life. In the first post, Teachout expresses what I have thought about the pain and degradation that Fitzgerald’s alcoholism brought him. … Continue reading →

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AS YOU LIKE IT—A RECOMMENDATION

Posted on August 27, 2007 by Philip

AS YOU LIKE IT—A RECOMMENDATION. Mary Jane and I each thought Branagh’s version of AS YOU LIKE IT is the best we’ve seen. It is being rerun on HBO at odd morning and afternoon times in the next three weeks. … Continue reading →

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THE “POWER GUYS” RULE RUSSIA.

Posted on August 26, 2007 by Philip

THE “POWER GUYS” RULE RUSSIA. This lead article in The Economist tells how the former KGB is now ruling Russia. They are referred to as “siloviki” or “power guys.” They constitute a new aristocracy which traces its lineage back beyond … Continue reading →

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