Oregon Shakespeare Festival I

That is a fairly new building at the airport in Medford above, at least I didn't remember it from the trip in the Spring. The whole airport looks new.

Because Billings is far away from the centers of population in this country we need to get up at
4 am in order to let the TSA do their thing to allow you to catch a 6 am flight to Seattle, and then change planes to catch another to Medford OR, arriving about mid-day on Wednesday.

We picked up some nice wine and cheese snacks from The Market of Choice. Oh yes, because of the Jazz Jubilee in Medford and the fact that I forgot to reserve a car we wind up with a fancy SUV from Hertz, but they did give me a 10% discount because I was old. We fall into bed early at The Plaza, our favorite hotel in Ashland.

Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All Is vanity.

That nasty, mean-spirited George Will. I thought guys who tied their own bow ties were always kind and sympathetic and told the truth. Well, a .333 batting average is not bad.

What Were You Doing When Rio Was Selected?

Is it possible that, at some future time, everyone over a certain age will remember what they were doing on October 2nd 2009? When Obama and Chicago were given the finger by the rest of the world? Will people wonder whatever happened to So-and-So, and to their chagrin discover that he died on or around 1-2 October 2009. I wonder if people in Chicago and Washington DC and perhaps other places too will remember things that way.

The picture, above left, comes from March 1960 in Appleton Wisconsin before this couple had ascended to the throne.

For years I wondered whatever happened to C.S. Lewis. Finally, it dawned on me when I happened to read his obituary some years later. He died November 22, 1963. Of course, he suffered the inglorious fate of those who happen to die or do something else noteworthy when Super-Celebrities do the same thing. Royal Figures like John Kennedy or Princess Diana or Michael Jackson simply dominate our media and thus our minds.

Why Do We Use Pen Names

It turns out that Theodore Dalrymple is really Anthony (A. M.) Daniels, though not the British actor with the same name. I just found out as I was googling something else and stumbled onto this information by accident. The picture to the right is from The Brussels Journal a few years ago.

Turns out he sometimes is Edward Theberton and perhaps others as well. I immediately thought of some lady novelists of the 19th century, and men too—e.g. Mark Twain instead of Samuel Clemens—but the early 20th century was famous for Hollywood "stage" names too, and of course, both Christian and Muslim communities are famous for these name changes. When I googled the word "pseudonyms" I was reminded of many others of these being used by various people for a very long time, right up to the present, and for very many reasons, or none.

The Wiki article on Anthony Daniels says he "chose a name that sounded suitably dyspeptic, that of a gouty old man looking out the window of his London club, port in hand, lamenting the degenerating state of the world." He neglects to add that his laments are witty, truthful and really well written.

Concealing one's real identity for whatever reason seems to be the main reason we use fictitious names, though various traditions are another significant reason. It seems to be a human trait.

From the Playbill Rimrock Opera's Barber of Seville

"We need magic, and bliss, and power, myth, and celebration and religion in our lives, and music is a good way to encapsulate a lot of it."—Jerry Garcia

"Theatre is a lunatic asylum, and the opera is a refuge for incurables."—Gioacchino Rossini

"No opera plot can be sensible, for people do not sing when they are feeling sensible."—W.H Auden

"Without music, life would be a mistake."—Nietzsche

You're in trouble if:

"you're a baritone in an Italian opera and you expect to get the girl."

"you're a soprano in a romantic opera and expect to live."

Is Our Max A Bully?

Can the story here be true? Max Baucus a bully? Must have been one of his assistants?

Sunspots: Why Do They Excite Some People?

I mean, of course, those smudges on the surface of the sun. See, for example, this excellent blog.

Lots of Funny Stuff Out There

I found this picture on a blog called On the Other Foot And of course, some very funny captions.

These are some of the funniest:

"The main suspects in yesterday's drive-by baptisms."

"Look out! It's the brothers from Our Lady of the Broken Kneecaps."

"What's that, a sissy? You callin' St. Francis a sissy?"

"(not pictured: The Devil pissing his pants)"

"Alright. Let's baptize the shit out of this kid."

"We're not saying you have to give the church 10 percent of your income. We're just saying that something bad might happen if you don't."

And my personal favorite: "Felonious Monks"

A Hamburger Today

From time to time I post something about a good meal and especially a good hamburger. I thought it would be helpful to my readers to point out a website that does that sort of thing really seriously and well.

It seems to be a conglomeration of dining blogsites including Serious Eats and Adam Kuban's A Hamburger Today —that is where the picture above comes from, and Slice, which I think is a pizza website. I find the AHT site very helpful. The latest entry is an illustrated compendium of various hamburger and cheeseburger styles. Nicely done too.

Fun In Our Capitol September 12th

Marxism The Opiate of the Asses! Perfecto! I borrowed this image from a much larger collection at this website. Just in case you missed the reporting of this surprising event in the mainstream media.