To thine own self be true

Buck Henry, 89.
Fine comedy screenwriter and droll bit part actor.
The Graduate owes a lot to him.

this blog remains a personal record of daily consciousness (thoughts and experiences) that would otherwise have evaporated in the process of the daily whirligig. I, personally, am glad I have ‘saved’ a lot of memories, feelings, ideas, and core beliefs in this long catalogue of present and past. There are, too, notes and observations on the times, basic human experiences as well as personal and family photos, and many examples of my creative work and editing. I thank you again for joining me on this journey and lucky platform that represents me and what I’m about accurately, I think.

This is one of the great bottom-lines of all the literature I’ve read and great movies I’ve seen as well as personal experiences I’ve had.

We all get a little “soiled” in the working as Hamlet pointed out. All of great literature features protagonists and other characters who are flawed.

Unfortunately, too, all of us are not morally unflawed either. But I still hold fast to the belief that many of us often still try to do our best for ourselves and others. It is in the uplifting, unselfish, kind, and generous actions and choices that we achieve our better selves and behaviors.

(a beautiful black and white version directed by and starring the great Laurence Olivier)

(a recommended resource I bought and used for my gr. 12 class in 1967; this is still the most engaging look of a student book version I have ever seen other than the student magazine I did which was not published)

You just never know what themes or subjects you will re-experience in nightly dreams.

Anyway, if I was to do it again for real, I would still issue paperbacks of the play and start the first day by letting kids listen to the first scenes of the play, stopping to discuss and answer questions. The chosen text would have to have footnotes for unfamiliar words and phrases at the bottom of the page.

I think I would still have kids act out the subsequent scenes, occasionally taking on one of the parts to liven up readings. I would show some movie scenes from the Branagh production like “To be or not to be” and the nunnery scenes as well as the conclusion after the Claudius-Laertes secret meeting.

Because the play is a masterpiece and very thoughtful, I would still ask kids to write an essay from a list of topics. If they wanted to suggest a topic, it would need approval first.

Hamlet changed my life forever in grade 12. I knew then that I would go on to read more Shakespeare (Othello was next). I own two productions on DVD: the Olivier which still has its own atmosphere and charm; it was the first one we saw back in grade 12 and found unintentionally funny, imaging our own better versions. The Branagh features the complete text and has many strong performances; it’s the ultimate movie version, in my opinion. Richard Burton’s performance recorded on vinyl in the mid-60s may still be the best production of all, though. That magnificent voice!

Was Hamlet 18 or 30? In grade 12, we imagined the former, though the text is very clear Hamlet is 30, albeit an occasionally immature, cynical 30. For this reason, Gertrude should always look 50 or older.

(Burton’s many-nuanced voice made this a successful Broadway show in the mid-’60s; worth seeking out in stereo if you have a turntable)

(the best Hamlet movie non-pareil)

(a personal treasure; ltd. ed. signed by Branagh)

Jan. 17, 1991. I’ve certainly not forgotten the U.S. bombing Baghdad as the world watched on CNN, wondering if the world would still be here the next day.

Wasn’t last evening much the same as CNN and MSNBC covered the Iranian bombings? Again, not knowing if stupid Trump would retaliate and, if he did, whether the world would still be here today. Uncannily reminiscent of 1991. 29 years later. More what goes around…

The world suddenly got small that cold evening in January 1991, but last night in January 2020, it seemed to get even smaller and dangerously close all over again.

Over 15,000 so far in his 3 years of presidency.

Jason Kenney is starting to add more lies to his own count. He lied, of course, about a ‘”software problem” on the Rutherfords for students anxiously waiting for them.

A surprisingly faithful adaption of Dickens’ classic. Veteran Michael Caine gives an unexpected emotional performance as Scrooge that audiences can identify with. Kermit the Frog plays Bob Cratchit, Miss Piggy his wife, and a host of Muppet regulars and new creations fill in the other parts.

This movie is eminently watchable for Muppet fans of all ages, kids (about 10 and up; harder to follow for younger thans) and adults both. The script by Jerry Juhl is witty, the sets are nice Victorian approximations, and the songs written by ’60s stalwart Paul Williams are appropriate, including one unexpected one by Michael Caine in the denouement.

Adults will enjoy the witty lines and jokes while kids will main respond to the Muppet antics and farce moments. There is, in short, something for everyone, broadly speaking in this safe, timeless family entertainment.

well-acquainted with an overall sadness about the human condition because of the numerous injustices in the world and the unnecessary ‘human errors’ and egoic choices that cause unnecessary pain, suffering, and deaths of others, especially of the innocent, unsuspecting, and guiltless.

The climate crisis, worse than ever, with huge wildfires in Australia. It was Rachel Carson in the 1960s who first brought the crisis to North American attention with her landmark book Silent Spring, which was about the careless widespread use of chemicals and their disastrous effects on the environment. Eventualy, in the late ’60s and early ’70s, there was much more obvious awareness and protests in North America and Europe about humans’ negative effects on the world ecology.

It’s been pretty quiet since then until Al Gore’s work in the 1990s-2000s (An Inconvenient Truth, 2006) and in the 1st 5 years the work of Greta Thunberg along with recent demonstrations and the beginnings, finally/maybe, of world political action. Is it too late? Why didn’t the awareness of the ’60s-’70s lead to action to save the Earth? Likewise, Al Gore’s worldwide efforts.

At any rate, we’re now into the 4th iteration, by my count, of global climate concerns and issues. Will this finally, finally be the go-round that leads to the Big World-wide Changes necessary to save our planet? At any rate, it was actually that brave little lady dying of cancer long ago who started climate and environment disaster awareness, taking on big American corporations to get the first successful political action on this major issue of our time. In my books, the most significant woman of the twentieth century; someone special who should, ideally, be a role-model especially for all the girls and women who aspire to be major female world-changers/savers.

The Juniors to win the Gold Medal. Didn’t look good when they lost 6-zip in the first game against the Russians. Nor in the last game as their captain screamed in pain when he was injured and as a flu bug affected the team dressing room. 4 penalties to start the first period today. Down 3-1 in the third period, they scored 3 in a row (including 1 by the captain who miraculously played today). Canadian hockey at its best and most heroic. Congratulations, Team Canada! You deserve to be champions of the world.