Currently

I've seen some other people write these kinds of posts so I thought I'd give it a go.

Currently, I am:

Reading


So many different things right now.

Just recently I finished Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt for my Shakespeare class. It was an intriguing read, and for someone who has never studied Shakespeare in depth before it was a... memorable... introduction. That's a good way to put it. Apparently my professor has worked it out to where our class will have the privilege of meeting and talking with Stephen Greenblatt himself via Skype on April 19. It should be an educational experience!

I am also currently in the middle of Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer by Phyllis Bennis. Up until just recently, I have been a complete novice when it comes to the history, current events, and controversy surrounding the conflict and violence in Israel and Palestine. This book has been an excellent introduction for a beginner. I do not feel that I would not be able to tell Rachel Corrie's story well unless I had some knowledge of what she stood for and why she chose to do what she did. I'm treating it as character research. This particular book has been extremely informative and helpful, but it's clear that the author has a strong pro-Palestinian bias. To try to have some balance, the next book I read, then, will be:

The Case for Israel by Alan Dershowitz. I've only just glanced through the introduction, but it's clear that the author has taken it upon himself to explain the pro-Israeli perspective and I will be able to read a perspective on the other side of this conflict.

The other book on this topic that I am particularly looking forward to is called Palestinian Memories: The Story of a Palestinian Mother and Her People by Alex Awad, kindly lent to me by my friend Phil, who spent some time the summer before last in Israel. It is the story of Huda Elias Awad, told by her son, and tells the story of a brave mother living in the middle of the Palestinian-Israeli violence.

For my history class I just finished the classic autobiography Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody. Anne chronicles her life in Mississippi and Louisiana in the 1950s from her childhood and early school days to her graduation from college and involvement with the civil rights movement. Anne's courage, passion, strength, and stubbornness were inspiring.

Next on the list for my history class is Taken Hostage: The Iran Hostage Crisis and America's First Encounter with Radical Islam by David Farber.

And, finally, the book that I would like to be reading for pleasure but I haven't been able to make much progress on, thanks to the above, is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, whom I am coming to have a great fondness for. She writes about writing and the process thereof, but better still, she writes about life, and she does so in a way that would make anyone smile.

And, over spring break, I finally read Hamlet and Freud's Last Session, which I already wrote a little bit about.

Listening

Just at the end of the week a package came for me with the CD Simunye -- a collaboration effort of I Fagiolini (a choir founded at Oxford) and the SDASA chorale from Soweto in South Africa, which combines traditional Zulu chants with sacred and traditional music. "Bistylism," to quote Jeremy Begbie.

Watching


Over Spring Break last week I got the chance to watch Midnight in Paris, which made me want to go spend an evening in the 1920s.

I also got the chance to see The Artist, which I instantly adored. Fabulous.

On Thursday night, I got to see Singin' in the Rain for the first time ever! Warm fuzzies and smiles. And very interesting to watch for the first time after having just seen The Artist. 

Last night I watched the new Three Musketeers that just came out (which was visually appealing but rather ridiculous and laughable in many places -- I don't necessarily recommend it), and Immortals, which wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen, but slightly off-putting. The title is "Immortals," and yet most of the gods die bloodily at the end. I was confused.

And then, tonight, I watched Hugo. Lovely and charming. I liked it very much, even if it was a bit long.

I will finally get to see War Horse next weekend! I've wanted to see it since it came out.

Playing


Unless Words with Friends and Text Twist count, I haven't played any good new games lately. Any suggestions?

Thinking About


Oh so many things. Where to start?
Hugo, and all of the wonderful symbolism that the movie was dripping with. I'm a sucker for symbolism.
Summer plans. I emailed one of the directors at Great River Shakespeare Festival today, hoping to hear back from him about their apprenticeship program. Also heard back from the American Shakespeare Center with what I'm fairly certain was a positive for a production management internship if I'd like it.
Future - what are my goals? Where do I want to be in five years? How do I go about getting there?
Israel and Palestine. And Rachel Corrie. Of course. Friday was the ninth anniversary of her death, so she was on my mind most of the day. There will be a post soon about how research is going and some of the things I've been learning.
I'm also going back to my church tomorrow. So it's also on my mind in a different way.
Two research papers that I need to write for my Shakespeare class. One will be on Hamlet and I'm not sure what the other one will be about yet. I'm thinking The Merchant of Venice and Shylock. We shall see.
My character analysis and costume design for costume and makeup class. Hoping I don't completely screw up the costume I'm going to try to make.
The observation that, when the weather gets warm, IWU on the weekends takes on an atmosphere akin to that of summer camp. Strange.