'The Insatiate Countess'

Realized I promised a further account of the events of cup change day, but, sadly, there is not much to report except to say that 'The Insatiate Countess' is a hilarious play to read aloud. The main plot revolves around a countess who has a voracious appetite for men, hilariously falling in love with ever man she meet and then trying to get them to kill whatever lover she just abandoned.

Then there is this ridiculous (aren't they all?) subplot about two newlywed couples wherein the grooms hate each other so they decide to cuckold one another, which the brides quickly discover and then use the bed trick so that no one, in fact, cheats on anyone. But the husbands THINK their wives have cheated on them, so, to avoid the shame, they both confess to the murder of someone who, it turns out, is very much alive.

Anyway, it was hilarious. There is a Spanish character who was played by a Spanish research student not afraid to really sink his teeth into the role (and play up the accent like whoa). It was especially funny because of how many awful slant rhymes he had, so he was constantly changing the pronunciation of things to make them rhyme, like 'prove' and 'love.' A lot of the female characters wound up on their knees for various reason, so the readers were constantly falling out of their chairs, and Prof. Plays (who edited the Oxford edition of this and three other plays) had a protracted injury scene that saw him writhing about the floor of the lounge, moaning.

Since then, I've really been just doing work (save the epic footie game on Friday). Lots of library time, lots of reading, lots of laundry. I'm currently working on an annotated bibliography for Research, an essay for History and gathering things for a thesis proposal. Not so much I feel overwhelmed, but enough that I'm always doing something.

On that note:

It does not appear to be very important whether Shakespeare or Bacon wrote [the plays]. The thing that is important is that we now posses them and that they contain a world of wisdom for the student of human nature...Regardless of the authorship of these profound and wonderful delineations of human nature, we have them for our instruction and entertainment. We can study them for their intrinsic value--especially for the great heart lessons they teach us--and reflect that gems from any other pen would have like worth.

-L.W. Rogers

Found that while reading. I am a complete Stratfordian, but I think this gets to the crux of my feelings on the authorship 'debate.'

Mail shout out to Mom and Mary Lee! Loved getting your cards (:

Vacation's Over

Having Tau here was like a glorious little mini-break. Now, the real world comes back.

And I was ready for it! Yesterday, after walking Tau to the train station, I truly earned the title "responsibility champion." I went to the shops for food! I went for a run! I registered with my doctor and made a follow-up appointment! I filled out bank forms for the Players*! I contacted people about my supplemental loan! I read for class! I was, generally, epically productive.

Until noon. Once noon rolled around, I was useless. But look at everything I did before! And then, in the evening, I had a glorious Skype date with my Sister to watch 'Nightmare Before Christmas' together.

I'm so pumped for Christmas, I can't even tell you. I am walking personification of every excited anticipatory feeling anyone has ever had in the history of time. THE HISTORY OF TIME.

In between all of this eager expectation, I still have class. This morning was the last main class of Research, though us MASSCHRE folks have two more after reading week (next week) and an extra assignment. We talked about presentation and organization and it was kind of a 'let's emphasize things you already know' kind of deal. It seems I am either the only person in the class who prefers speaking extemporaneously to reading verbatim, or the only willing to raise my hand to admit it.

Plays was about the Revels Office...what they did, who was doing it, how it changed. Prof. Plays brought a really fascinating book of all the accounts from the office during Elizabeth's reign, as well as photocopy of a bill of services relating to a masque. As he only had one copy of each, we were all directed to gather in a circle on the floor. If anyone had walked into the Lounge at this point, they would have found a coven of postgraduate students hunched over the objects of inspection in crouching positions, attempting to divine 16th century secretary hand, like so many academic weird sisters. It was very bizarre.

Am still working on getting the Halloween posts up, so those should be in the next day or two. I seem to have lost my camera charger, which is part of the delay.

Never sure what to include, here. Is there anything you want to hear more about? Things you are sick of hearing about? Suggestions? I walk the line between recording for my own benefit and writing with an audience in mind, but I appreciate anyone taking the time to follow this and would like to repay the gesture by at least being moderately entertaining/interesting!

On that note, sweet mail shout out to Leslie and Aunt Betty! Thank you for your cards!

*Incorrectly, as it turns out, but WHATEVER.

This Is Just to Say

Just turned in the first paper of my MA experience, a 2,000 word unassessed essay on to what extent (and why) London because the social, cultural and political capital of Renaissance England. Feeling....okay about it. I did a lot of research, almost half of which wound up not being used. I think my argument is clear if not brilliantly eloquent, and I think I could have used more specific examples. As an undergraduate paper, I would think it's fine. As a postgraduate paper?

Well, it's unassessed. Time for the next one!

Research this morning was on citations which, of course, gave me a lot of concern in writing said essay. I kind of felt like Robbie Hart in The Wedding Singer when Linda explains why she stood him up at the alter:

Once again, things that could've been brought to my
attention YESTERDAY!

That said, I don't know that it would have been soooo terribly helpful, since class focused on MLA and our tutors prefer Chicago. Now I'm in a break between classes, hanging out at the library and listening to the rain fall.

Not much to report, just felt like checking in.

Remainders/Shout-Outs:

• I am always fascinated by how people find my blogs if they aren't blood relations or Facebook friends, and so I'm mildly obsessed with Blogger's statistic feature. Found out today that searching "Candy Girls Dolls" via blogs.icebucket will somehow lead you here. I don't know what that person was trying to search, but I bet they were dissatisfied.
• Kind of on that note, hello to whoever is reading this Denmark and Brazil!
• Super Skyping shout-outs to David, Ashley, Jackie, Jacey, Gracie, Victoria and my parents! Have loved talking to you all over the past few weeks!
• Super mail shout-outs to Jess and Dad! Got your cards yesterday!

Presenting and Puzzles

There is never going to be Wednesday morning wherein I do not bitch about having to trek into Birmingham. It's just not going to happen. Setting that alarm, trundling to the station, shivering on the platform...these require complaining. That's just how it's going to be.

That said, I'm actually really glad I have to do it. I like that I'm somewhat forcibly reminded that I belong to a larger campus, that I get to hang out in the main library or explore the student union. That I know where to buy hoodies, or where to buy lunch, or that the campus players are putting on Henry V. And for someone who didn't have a real undergraduate campus, I get a real kick out of having one now, even if it's only a day a week.

Class this morning was really the first time we got hardcore into substance...a little too much, since we came close to running over. Prof. History called on us each to present, informally, to the class and then there was a little back and forth on what we had found and then on to the next.

Extemporaneous speaking makes me incredibly nervous, so while I was waiting to be called on I quickly jotted down a skeleton review of what I had read to make sure I didn't leave anything out or get my various readings confused. My notes wound up being something like this:

• Impulse (opening of ideas, aspirations, relationships, magnificence)
• Goods (domestic production, arguments against, volume vs. type, naturalization, porcelain)
• Methods (Exchanges, agents, women, vice, The French Garden)

At one point, while talking about how the import-export business allowed for a naturalization of goods, I referred to the English as "we" and then checked myself out loud–

"What am I saying? I'm not English."

"Oh, but you will be!"

"Stop threatening the Americans!"

Less than a month in, and it's begun.

On the way to reception after the CREMS lecture, Prof. History made a point to tell me she had really liked my presentation, which made me really happy. I mean, it doesn't count for anything or anything like that, but I really want to do well here and I found it very encouraging and motivating to do well on my practice essay.

CREMS itself was on anagrams. The lecturer talked about the cyclical nature of importance placed on them (in the Renaissance, they were taken seriously, but in the Victorian era, they were more just word games; that sort of thing) and then spent a lot of time talking about how they were (are) used in the authorship question. Edwin Durning-Lawrence's "mechanical proof," if you didn't know, is kind of wonderfully ludicrous.* Also, he (the lecturer) wants to write a musical based on Riverbank Laboratories, which sounds like a fascinating place.

Came home from an exciting day of intellectual endeavor, and saw this as a friend's status:

One reason my new school is cool--history of Shakespeare criticism professor didn't have access to his usual facsimiles of Pope's 1725 edition of Shakespeare, so he passed around the real thing.

Have I mentioned I love it here?

And, finally, super awesome mail shout-out to Dad and KO! Thanks for your notes, and I'll try to write back soon!

*I was unable to find a link to a summary of his theory, unfortunately, and it's too complex to remember...suffice it to say, it involved a lot of hilarious math

The Best Part of Waking Up...

...is the future tea I will drink from this awesomely spectacular mug!

When I saw the box on the stairs, I thought one of my roomies had ordered some books, but no. It was instead a material manifestation of how supremely wonderful my friends are. Huge shout out to Claire (and Zach!) for being amazing and making my morning!

Now, time to (as the mug would say), get shit done. Consuming Splendor: Society and Culture in Seventeenth-Century England, watch out. I'm coming for YOU.