sesquipedalianism
noun:
1. The practice of using big words.
2. A very long word.
From Latin sesqui- (one and a half) + ped- (foot).
He was a good writer, but otherwise I wouldn't a lot of credenace in what he says
Pray, verb. To ask the laws of the universe to
be annulled on behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy. -Ambrose
Bierce
Bear
in mind, in all likelihood, Bierce walked into the Grand Canyon and killed
himself.
I knew the guy who invented Naugahyde, nobody knows his name. This guy invents a comma and he's an scholstic hero.
The Oxford comma is a comma used before the final conjunction in a list of three or more items, like this…..
Without
Oxford comma: “Her favourite foods were chocolate, marshmallows, cake and
chicken.”
With Oxford
comma: “Her favourite foods were chocolate,
marshmallows, cake, and chicken.”
"if." A poem by Rudyard Kipling.
According
to Kipling in his autobiography, Something of Myself (1937), the origins of
‘If—’ lie in the failed Jameson raid of 1895-6, when the British colonial
statesman Leander Starr Jameson led a raid against the South African (Boer)
Republic over the New Year weekend. Jameson intended to rouse the British
expatriates living in the Transvaal to rise up against the Boer government, but
his fellow Brits showed no inclination to revolt. Instead, Jameson’s bungled
military action helped to create the climate that would lead to the Second Boer
War a few years later.
Kipling
knew Jameson, and recorded in Something of Myself: ‘Among the verses in Rewards
was one set called “If” … They were drawn from Jameson’s character, and
contained counsels of perfection most easy to give.’ However, it would be easy
to overstate the role that the Jameson raid had on ‘If—’, and it would appear
that Kipling’s (posthumously published) memoir is the first time that this link
is mentioned. The poem’s final words, ‘you’ll be a man, my son’, suggest that
the poem is addressed to Kipling’s actual son, and ‘If—’ should first and
foremost be interpreted as a poem addressed to a younger man, listing the
necessary characteristics a man should acquire or cultivate in order to be a
paragon of manly virtue.
And
what are those virtues? Stoicism looms large in Kipling’s poem – that is, the
acknowledgment that, whilst you cannot always prevent bad things from happening
to you, you can deal with them in a good way. This is summed up well in the
referencing to meeting with triumph and disaster and ‘treat[ing] those two
impostors just the same’ – in other words, be magnanimous in victory and
success (don’t gloat or crow about it) and be dignified and noble in defeat or
times of trouble (don’t moan or throw your toys out of the pram). A phrase that
is often used in discussion or analysis of ‘If—’ is ‘stiff upper lip’, that
shorthand for the typically English quality of reserve and stoicism in the face
of disaster.
‘If—’
is a classic example of anaphora in English poetry: that is, the repetition of
the same word or words at the beginning of successive clauses – in this case,
of course, ‘If’. But the syntactical balance in the poem is also noteworthy:
one idea is introduced in the ‘if’ clause, and then a further clause turns that
idea or trope on its head. For instance, consider these two lines from the
second stanza, where dreams and thoughts/thinking are discussed:
If
you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If
you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
This
structure is found throughout ‘If—’, and gives the poem an almost chant-like
quality. (The accusation may be made that there is something too regular about
such a form, and this may have been one reason why T. S. Eliot, otherwise a fan
of Kipling’s poetry, called ‘If—’ good verse but not good poetry.) In short,
the power of ‘If—’ lies not solely in its ‘ifs …’ but its ‘ifs … but withouts
…’. This rhythmical structure to Kipling’s poem reinforces the stoical attitude
to living which it advocates: it’s okay to dream, to think big, but don’t
expect your dreams always to come true, and be realistic in your goals. It’s
like a self-help book in verse, offering practical common-sense advice.
This
iconic poem is expressed plainly enough so that close textual analysis is by no
means necessary to understand it – but the syntactical and rhetorical rhythms
and patterns Kipling sets up are worthy of commentary. But the poem appeals
even to those not in the business of literary criticism or analysis. It’s
almost a code to live by, a mantra – or, as one poet suggested, a distillation
of the Bhagavad Gita into English.
King Oliver, jazzman
Joseph
Nathan "King" Oliver (December 19, 1881 – April 10, 1938) was a jazz
cornet player and bandleader. He was particularly recognized for his playing
style and his pioneering use of mutes in jazz. Also a notable composer, he
wrote many tunes still played today, including "Dippermouth Blues",
"Sweet Like This", "Canal Street Blues", and "Doctor
Jazz". He was the mentor and teacher of Louis Armstrong. His influence was
such that Armstrong claimed, "if it had not been for Joe Oliver, Jazz
would not be what it is today."
Ji-Young Kim
Ji-young
Kim is a South Korean prima ballerina. Kim
has been described a versatile ballerina, with brilliant academic technique and
as deeply expressionistic with beautiful sharp lines. Her elegance has made a
great impression in notable classics like Swan Lake, Giselle and La Bayadère, and
Kim is in perfect harmony with music: she fits with neoclassical and
contemporary ballets, like Tchaikovsky's Pas de Deux. It has been noted that
her performance as Kitri in Don Quixote is one of her best roles because of her
powerful technique and charismatic acting.
Dock Boggs
Moran Lee "Dock" Boggs (February 7, 1898 – February 7, 1971) was an old-time singer, (Old Timey) songwriter and banjo player. His style of banjo playing, as well as his singing, is considered a unique combination of Appalachian folk music and African-American blues. Contemporary folk musicians and performers consider him a seminal figure, at least in part because of the appearance of two of his recordings from the 1920s, "Sugar Baby" and "Country Blues", on Harry Smith's 1952 collection Anthology of American Folk Music. Boggs was first recorded in 1927 and again in 1929, although he worked primarily as a coal miner for most of his life.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
South Street Players is seeking original, short (10 mins preferred, 15 mins
maximum) plays for its 12th Annual Tri-State Theatre Festival. The event will
take place October 21-23, 2022 in Spring Lake, NJ.
The festival, which receives more than 300 scripts annually, is committed to
presenting the finest and most unique original, short plays written by local
playwrights from New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The event also serves
as an artistic fundraiser, with all proceeds going to SSP to help maintain its
commitment to producing high-quality, extremely engaging theatrical experiences
for our audiences.
***
One of the greatest sci-fi writers of all time, many of Dick's acclaimed short
stories are in the public domain. Beginning in January 2023, we will air a
radio play version of 9 of his stories, one per month, and we're looking for
playwrights to pen them!
You must choose from one of the approved plays...
***
TNP Readers Theatre “Evening of New Plays” contest is an annual event designed
to give playwrights an opportunity to have their one-act plays presented to an
audience in a staged reading.
Eligibility: Entries must be one act, non-musical, and no longer than 30
minutes.
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site
at https://www.nycplaywrights.org
***
*** IS THERE BISEXUAL THEATER? ***
One would think that with the theatre’s groundbreaking strides for gay,
lesbian, and transgender representation in the public eye (e.g.: The Normal
Heart, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Fun Home), that theatre would also be paving
the way for bisexual representation in society. However, there is really only
one well-known and popular play that prominently features bisexual characters:
Diana Son’s Stop Kiss. This play doesn’t even use the word “bisexual” once, and
the main characters, Callie and Sara, can easily fall into the “confused but
actually lesbian” trope in the eyes of many readers and audience members. One
can argue that these characters are actually bisexual, as these women have both
dated men, and are now in love with each other, but it is never clearly stated
how these women choose to identify themselves—which is one of the truly
poignant aspects of the play.
More...
https://howlround.com/where-are-all-bisexuals-understanding-gray-areas-lgbtq-representation
***
Recently in media and art, there has been a discussion of representation. These
discussions are often about how little representation there is outside of a
cis-white male’s point of view. In recent years, there has been a tremendous
increase in the representation of different points of view.
However, there have been various instances where these characters are harmful
even if it wasn’t the creator’s intent. One example of this comes from bisexual
representation. With media, both physical and visual media, many harmful tropes
come with a character being bisexual. Usually, if the character appears
bisexual, the central harmful trope is that the character is evil and wielding
their sexuality as a weapon. In recent years, there has been another dangerous
trend that has emerged: the cheating bisexual.
More...
https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2021/8/19/it-is-time-to-bisexual-representation-in-storytelling
***
It is 2018 and I am sitting in the Neptune Theatre, Halifax, Canada. I’m
watching the Canadian premiere of the musical theatre adaptation of The Color
Purple directed by Kimberley Rampersad—the first time the show has been
directed by a black woman. It is also the first-ever positive representation of
my own sexuality that I have been able to witness in the form that I have spent
almost two decades studying, researching, and writing about: musical theatre.
As I watch the character of Shrug Avery (Karen Burthwright) delight in the
fluidity of her own sexual desire, a desire above and beyond gender, it feels
like a space has been made. I’m crying but it’s complicated. Joy? Sadness?
Recognition?
I am writing from the perspective of a bisexual+ cis-gendered white British
woman, so it is important to note the many kinds of privilege that shape the
experiences I am talking about, especially when addressing this musical. The
Color Purple (2005) is especially important in the space it makes for PoC, and
women of color. This has been written about both in reference to the musical
(Edney; Lovelock) and the novel (Bealer), and by Alice Walker herself. For me,
it is the first time I have seen what it is to be bisexual on a stage, while I
recognize this musical does many more important things than that in connection to
race and sexuality. Its powerful story makes ripples.
More...
https://jhuptheatre.org/theatre-topics/online-content/issue/volume-30-issue-2-july-2020/space-has-been-made-bisexual
***
This week, we’re so excited to have writers/producers/performers Erin Pattison
and Samantha Andrew come to talk to us about their recently launched cabaret,
Baby Bi Bi Bi! The show focuses on the experiences of Bisexual identity and
women’s experiences put into performance.
Samantha Andrew is a Melbourne based composer, graduating from the VCA in 2017
with a Bachelor of Music. Samantha is currently in development with her new
musical “Seen ✓” for UMMTA, and has arranged
for artists including Kate Ceberano. From writing dirty comedy to composing
children’s music, Samantha feels excited to bring some female representation to
the normally male dominated field of composition.
More...
https://joy.org.au/triplebipass/2018/07/13/baby-bi-bi-bi-queer-cabaret-and-bisexual-theater/
***
Algorithms is a tragicomedy one-woman play about turning thirty, online dating
and laughing off bisexual tropes. As Sadie Clark’s debut play, we sat down to
chat about mainstream ‘bi-ness’, the importance of telling our own stories and
our shared love for Bridget Jones.
Q – Your depiction of a bi character felt as though you did it for a bi
audience as well as a non-queer audience. What made you why you chose to
incorporate Bi-ness into your show?
Sadie Clark: I knew I wanted to have a bi character because I realised I was
bisexual when I was 26. When I had the realisation I looked back and thought
god there’s been loads of times I really fancied women but didn’t think it was
real or significant because I didn’t realise that bisexuality was a thing. I
felt if I’d seen a character that was just bisexual and it wasn’t a big deal,
that might have helped? I wanted to write a mainstream show, where the
character happened to be bi and address those things that do come up.
More...
https://unicornzine.com/issue-001/bi-talent-at-the-edinburgh-fringe-festival/
***
By a quirk of timing I wound up seeing two days in a row the two stage plays
currently playing in New York (Off Broadway) that deal at any length with male
bisexuality. And as I wrack my brain about all the gay themed plays I’ve
seen in New York over the past 30 odd years (and I have seen very many) it is
possible I have just seen the only two Broadway or Off Broadway plays that deal
with male bisexuality at any length with any depth. And this has made me
feel conflicted and peevish; and so here I am writing yet one more blog piece
on bisexuality, specifically male bisexuality on stage and screen.
“Hot Mess”, currently in previews, is the “labor of love, and completely true
story” Dan Rothenberg co-wrote with his wife Colleen Crabtree. Now
performed by a cast of three, the comedy romance about a bisexual man not
telling the woman he is dating about his history of sleeping with men was
originally performed by Dan and Colleen as a two person show called
“Regretosexual” in LA. (That bit of info about the writers being husband
and wife now probably gives away the ending, doesn’t it? High time I
forewarn that particular spoilers will abound for all plays and movies I
discuss here today.)
More...
https://dannyashkenasi.com/2017/12/04/hot-mess-male-bisexuals-torched-off-broadway/
***
Scholars have long questioned and debated the famed playwright’s sexuality, but
the authors of a forthcoming book claim to have finally cracked the age-old
case. Shakespeare, according to the findings of Professor Sir Stanley Wells and
Dr. Paul Edmondson, was bisexual beyond reasonable doubt.
According to the Telegraph, the scholars arrived at this conclusion after
chronologically ordering Shakespeare’s 182 sonnets — including 28 from his
plays — and determining that 27 are addressed to males, 10 to females and the
other 145 are “open in their directions of desire,” leaving the gender identity
of the beloved in question.
“The language of sexuality in some of the sonnets, which are definitely
addressed to a male subject, leaves us in no doubt that Shakespeare was
bisexual,” said Edmondson. “It’s become fashionable since the mid-1980s to
think of Shakespeare as gay. But he was married and had children. Some of these
sonnets are addressed to a female and others to a male. To reclaim the term
bisexual seems to be quite an original thing to be doing.”
More...
https://www.insidehook.com/daily_brief/books/scholars-say-william-shakespeare-bisexual
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