Pop-Culture – Page 14 – The View From Sari's World

As we get closer to the end of our celebration of Shakespeare Week, I thought now would be a good time to give a shout out to those who celebrate him everyday. I am bound to miss some good folks who dedicate their days to all things Shakespeare, but I wanted to make a list of people and institutions that quickly spring to mind when I think Shakespeare. I applaud them all and want to show some appreciation to their work.

Shakespeare Magazine The online magazine launched on April 23, 2014 and has quickly become a leading source for all things related to Shakespeare; whether you want to just keep up with the latest theater news or read a variety of Bard related topics they have you covered!

One of my favorite articles is an interview with Paul Edmondson titled “Man and Myth” in which he talks about his journey into the world of Shakespeare. If scholarly interviews are not your thing, don’t worry, Shakespeare Magazine loves to devote pages to Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch. Do check it out. It’s a free online magazine, but if you find yourself eagerly anticipating the next issue, please support them with a donation.

Shakespeare Geek I follow a lot of blog and love them all, but I have to admit, this one is up there as one of my favorites.

Duane has been blogging about Shakespeare since 2005 and is the author of Hear My Soul Speak : Wedding Quotations from Shakespeare. I own and copy so I can attest to its originality and carefully chosen quotes. But this isn’t the reason to read Shakespeare Geek. Duane is always original and refreshing. You just never know what will spring forth from his mind. What I love most about this blog is how seamlessly Duane relates everyday occurrence to Shakespeare. You can also count on him to come up with silly posts and brilliant ideas on how to center every holiday on a Shakespeare theme. This past April Fool’s remains one of my favorites. We had a great time in Facebook coming up with ways to annoy our co-workers.

Hollow Crown Fans Ever Shakespeare fan with a Twitter handle should follow @HollowCrownFans. This is collaboration between friends that started as a mini fan club for Tom Hiddleston and the Hollow Crown series. They started the hash-tag game #ShakespeareSunday as part of their fan love, yet it quickly grew in popularity. It is now a regular Sunday ritual that most of us who follow HCF don’t dare miss. This above all other social media gatherings has introduced me to some wonderful people I now call friend.

Good Brain Tickle Damn, this is good! What started out as a fun outlet for Mya’s love of Shakespeare has turned her into a Shakespeare superstar! Though these be little comic strips they are fiercely funny and educational. Mya has proven herself to be a true Shakespeare scholar. Twice weekly Mya gives us a small slice of Shakespeare yet the lessons on his work are huge. I swear, this girl is a genius; how many people can use humor to show a deep understanding of Shakespeare? Not many; this is why Mya stands out and is becoming a real shinning star on the Shakespeare stage. One of my favorite strips was her Star Wars Midsummer’s Night Dream series. I dare you not to laugh. Hats of the Mya for being invited to participate in the Folger’s Library 400 Year Shakespeare Anniversary event.

Folger’s Podcast Speaking of Folger, one of my favorite podcast series is hosted by the library titled, Shakespeare Unlimited. The reason it’s titled unlimited is because there is no limit to what they will talk about. The podcast’s them is Shakespeare’s influence on the world as a whole. This podcast shows us that the all the world’s a stage, and Shakespeare a global phenomenon. Whether you are looking for a history lesson on Elizabethan street fighting or how Shakespeare influenced the punk rock scene, Shakespeare Unlimited is the place to be. And because it’s a downloadable podcast, you always get a good seat. And, let’s not forget everything the library does in celebration of Shakespeare.

And now, because it’s Friday, I give you one more list. This time a funny list of my favorite Shakespeare memes. Enjoy!

I once put this on the cover of a paper I did on Hamlet. My professor said he'd would have given my an A just or making him laugh — I once put this on the cover of a paper I did on Hamlet. My professor said he’d would have given my an A just or making him laugh

I was once in a class in which a student said, "oh I love Romeo and Juliet. It's such a great poem". I think of her every time I see this. — I was once in a class in which a student said, “oh I love Romeo and Juliet. It’s such a great poem”. I think of her every time I see this.

No money went into my purse in the making of this post.

As we celebrated last year’s 450^th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth, I presented you with a few fun lists. I wasn’t sure I wanted to repeat myself this year; I thought one would be enough, but after reading Shakespeare’s Globe’s 37 Reasons to Celebrate Shakespeare , I was inspired to come up with one more. While many of the Globe’s reason’s are serious, I decided to come up with a list of 37 silly reasons to celebrate Shakespeare; some not as obvious as others. I’d love to see more, so I challenge my fellow Shakespeare bloggers to come up with their own 37 reasons to Celebrate Shakespeare.

Sari’s 37 silly reasons to Celebrate Shakespeare

We wouldn’t have anything to compare our lovers to.

He makes us think about the hard questions in life. Does a rose by any other name actually smell as sweet?

The only western playwright to use the word honorificabilitudinitatibus correctly in a sentence.

To be or not to be is still the question.

He gave us countless blathering foolish wits and conversely, some loquacious witty fools.

He makes shipwrecks seem like a lot of fun.

He gave us daddy issues way before Freud invented mommy issues.

He left us with some great names. Let’s be honest; we are all a little disappointed that we left college without making friends with cool last names like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

He gave Kenneth Branagh a purpose in life.

He reminds us to always treat a stranger as if he were our brother.

400 years later we still don’t have a better sonnet writer.

400 years later the only people who know the difference between a poem and a sonnet are poets and Shakespeare fanatics.

Three words: Gnome & Juliet.

Best stage direction ever: exit, pursued by a bear.

He gave us teenage angst, extreme teenage angst.

We all now know that when presented with three boxes, always take the least desirable looking one.

He legitimized the breaking of the fourth wall.

Two words: Folger Library.

He gave us some of the world’s best female characters and one of the world’s worst male characters (I’m looking at you Iago).

He gave us the best lines in all of the theater. Oh, we argue over which ones they are, but not who wrote them.

He taught us that geography doesn’t really matter.

He taught us never to give our children their inheritance before we die.

A lot of us wouldn’t know what to do without our Sundays. #ShakespearSunday.

Without him, errors would not be so comical.

Quoting Shakespeare will impress your date, even if they don’t know the hell you are talking about.

Without him would anyone really care about the Ides of March?

Hamlet didn’t need eyeliner to be Goth.

Let’s face it, a lot of people went into acting just so they could speak the speech.

Let’s face it, only real Shakespeare fans will get #29.

Without him, Harold Bloom would still be wondering who invented the human.

Without him no amount of explaining would make the skull on your bookshelf any less creepy.

He gave us much ado about everything.

He taught us that it’s best to avoid talking to that small group of women we encounter on the road.

He taught us excessive hand washing might be a sign of more than just OCD.

College students would be agonizing over Chaucer right now.

One word; Dogberry.

He added over 1700 new words to our collective vocabulary and enriched our language. A better speech was never spoke before (Love’s Labour’s Lost).

He would drown the stage with tears
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech;
Make mad the guilty and appal the free,
Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed
The very faculties of eyes and ears. (Hamlet)

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Sari’s 37 silly reasons to Celebrate Shakespeare

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