Tell it, Captain.

This morning, Patrick Stewart surprised me.
He echoed what's been rattling around in my head lately.

Musing on the two halves of his Shakespearean career, Mr. Stewart said that acting feels different to him now. He kept himself in check in the early years, he explained, acting with deliberation rather than passion, faking rather than feeling.

“I had a certain fear of exposing myself too much in my work for a long time,” he said. “A lot of what performing to me had been was elaborate, and at times quite clever, concealment. Someone once said of acting that it is ‘telling beautiful lies,’ and well, it became just no longer satisfactory to work that way.”

More than anything, he has Shakespeare on the brain. “I have this theory that these roles, the really great roles — there are elements of them in all of us. And that is part of the greatness of this dramatist, that he taps into something which is entirely human. You feel him reaching out his hand and saying to you as an actor, ‘Come on, it’s easier than you think.’ ”

Read the whole NY Times article. It's fantastic.

Special thanks to Beth for finding this.

Only Yesterday

New resource for all you art directors and history-philes out there:
the Library of Congress now has a blog.

And a FLICKR ALBUM.
No Photoshopping. These are the real deal.
Hi-res, full-color photographs.
Taken in the 1940's.
Preserved in impeccable condition.





The RPG forums have already leapt on this as a character and location resource. Historical fiction novelists can't be far behind.

WANT.

bumper sticker:



And a close runner up:




Nerdy, perhaps. But c'mon, SO COOL.

Too much fresh air?

The semester has begun, and we're already running full tilt. I'm working on campaigns for tap water, leaf blowers, breast cancer in the UK, and the Dictionary of American Slang. And that's just this week. But it beats the holiday slump of having nothing to work on except a promotion for our school's new name.

And our new building is more than exciting. It's HUGE.
My department used to be crammed in a cozy space that smelled persistently of chinese take-out and ancient carpet funk. Now we're lost in a massive sparkly structure filled with sunlight, brick and glass, steel and concrete, day-glo colors and, thank god, fresh-smelling air.

But that air comes at a price.

The student area's ventilation system is incredibly loud. One must raise their voice considerably to be heard over the massive whooshing air ducts, making meetings awkward and close-huddled. Plus the student body is scattered across a sprawling new space, so we have to work a lot harder to connect with everyone, including the faculty who have an entire separate floor to themselves. No one's really sure where to hang out, get drinks, or go for food yet. But there's really no reason to leave this gorgeous huge building, ever, especially when incessant hordes of undergrads swarm just beyond the front steps.

Nevertheless, I adore our new home. I'm sure everyone will acclimate soon.

Speaking of climate, I've updated Flickr thru early September 2007, when a tornado almost struck my apartment. Heart-pounding excitement, that.

There's the rotating part!