Linkage

I'm proud to say that both the author of this piece (Andy Ngo) and one of the subjects (Athena Brown) are friends of mine. The photos are from the June 4 rally at Terry Schrunk Plaza.
https://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2017/07/06/for-this-woman-coming-out-as-transgender-was-easier-than-coming-out-as-pro-trump/

Baldilocks (Juliette Ochieng, my travel buddy on a recent trip to Africa) remembers Whitney Houston.
http://datechguyblog.com/2017/07/04/whitney-houstons-legacy/

Shavu'oth in Abuja, Nigeria.
http://tikvatyisraelsynagogue.blogspot.com/2017/06/sights-and-sound-of-shavuot-57778.html

Where There's a Will

This weekend I decided to get serious about digging into my Shakespeare. In the course of reading up on the Bard's life, I found the following observation in 'The Riverside Shakespeare':

'Contrary to a fairly widespread impression, there is no special mystery about his life. ... The biographical outline provided by more than a hundred such documents is filled in by well over fifty literary allusions to Shakespeare and his works in the published writings of his contemporaries. But these details, even when they have been eked out by traditions and conjectures, scarcely combine to portray a vivid personality. Modern readers, accustomed by the Romantics to poets who lived their poems and dramatized their lives, have felt somewhat put off by the undramatic nature of the dramatist's private career.'
- Henry Levin in 'The Riverside Shakespeare'.

Well, that will never do. But fear not!

http://www.tntdrama.com/shows/will

'Will tells the wild story of young William Shakespeare's (Laurie Davidson) arrival onto the punk-rock theater scene in 16th century London -- the seductive, violent world where his raw talent faced rioting audiences, religious fanatics and raucous side-shows. It’s a contemporary version of Shakespeare's life, played to a modern soundtrack that exposes all his recklessness, lustful temptations and brilliance.'

So there you go ... Shakespeare's life made as exciting as it ought to have been!