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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

New Year's Eve. Traditionally we have celebrated the new year at Greenwich mean time, which means 7 p.m. EST so that everyone can go to bed. But my 14-year-old is scoffing at that plan this year, which he takes as a sign of weakness. I hope this doesn't mean I have to stay up till midnight playing Monopoly and eating candy.

I watched Laurence Olivier in a very Technicolor Richard III last night and enjoyed it a great deal. This is a play with many good lines, which Sir Laurence, capering around in his red stockings and black page-boy wig and fake hunchback, made the most of.

Best Richard III line as spoken by Sir Laurence:

"I am not in the giving vein today" [meanwhile crouching hunchily on a throne and poking Lord Buckingham in the stomach with a scepter].
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 31, 2008 at 8:22 AM

    Have you seen Ian McKellan as Richard III? He cries, "A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse" while spinning the wheels of his army jeep in the mud--the film does a good job of including most of the real lines of the play despite its 1930s setting. Only Shakespeare propaganda could put someone in his mother's womb for 2 years, emerging with a full head of hair and a set of teeth!

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  2. Dawn PotterDecember 31, 2008 at 8:45 AM

    I have not seen the McKellan version. In fact this Olivier one may be the only performance I've seen, although my 11-year-old did act out the "Now is the winter of our discontent" scene in the living room last week.

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Thanks for responding. I'll post your comment soon, as long as you're not a troll.