Protest Too Much

During the play’s the thing scene, Hamlet asks his mother what she thinks of the claims of love that the play queen makes of her play king. Queen Gertrude responds with the famous line, “the lady doth protest too much, methinks.” What I always found interesting was the real meaning of the word “protest.”

In the 16th century, to “protest” didn’t have today’s connotation of a statement expressing disapproval or of an objection to something, but it was simply a solemn declaration before a group or before god (pro=“forth/before” and testare=“witness”). Today, when we use the phrase “the lady doth protest too much,” what we’re really trying to say is that by objecting so vociferously, a large (or complete) degree of credibility is lost. But the way that Shakespeare wrote it, it meant the complete opposite: the play queen didn’t object, but affirmed herself to such a degree so as to ring hollow.

Which really makes one think…what did the Queen really think about the nature of love? The Player Queen’s declarations – her protests – were that “If once I be a widow, ever I be a wife.” That she’ll never love, never marry ever again…that life and love is static. Or, really, that life and love should be static.

But to Queen Gertrude it rings false. Love and marriage – life, in general – is not a fixed moment in time; life is not static, nor should it be. We are in flux. That is what it means to be human and to experience. To Gertrude, then, perhaps it’s better to see things clearly and — taking a line from Stoppard’s take on it — understand precedent and know which way the wind blows.

Perhaps, then, it is less about the protestations, and more about the living of it all.

Or is this just me avoiding commitment? Aware that it is highly unlikely that I’ll ever be accused of protesting too much? That I set up a false dichotomy and that there is, in fact, a middle ground?

Bullet Point Wednesday: Of Running, Mika, True Blood, and Merlin's Big Ears Coming to America

Today is a bulletpoint day. Bear with me. (ed. I always like the idea of writing it out as “bare with me,” which would involve much less clothes and could be decidedly more fun)

  • I’m running this year’s Marine Corps Marathon in late October. I “ran” (totally ran the first thirteen miles, hopped/limped the next ten, walked the remainder) it back in 2006 but I want a significantly better time this time around. So, against my better judgment, I’ve been training.

Now, there is a magical moment in a runner’s life when they truly become runners. At that point, we need running like we need coffee (or tea, I don’t judge) or food. And the runs are not only addictive but are almost a zen-like experience. It’s tough to explain, but it happens. And it’s happened a couple of times and it’s why I run. However, until I get to that point, I detest the process. It’s painful, I end up sweaty and smelly, and it takes a long time to see progress. That’s pretty much where I am now: I know it’ll get better if I keep it up, but damnit if I’m not sore, not running awesomely, and it’s all still a chore.

Can we just skip to the good part?

I feel like I just walked into a “running as an analogy for life” future post.

I’m a huge Mika fan and when we went to his concert at the 9:30 club back in 2006(7?) Mika secured his place as the best performer I think I’ve ever seen. That concert had so much energy, so many happy people (gay and straight, though mostly gay), so much candy and bubbles and smiles…it was great.

And then there was the music itself: so well done and Mika is an amaaaaazing singer. When he covered one of my favorite songs of all time, the Jackson 5’s I Want You Back, I may (or may not) have squealed like a schoolgirl and jumped up and down with my arms flailing.

Speaking of shows, he is playing on June 23rd in NYC and it seems to be his only US show for 2009. Anyone game for a road trip?

(pictures thanks to Ali. )

  • I’ve been trying to watch True Blood, I really really have, I promise. I’m trying really hard to be open minded and accepting. But sweet flying spaghetti monster is it as campy as I remember it. I’m on episode 4 and I want my time back. It isn’t quite as bad as BBC’s Merlin (which, by the way, seems to be about to air in the US on NBC) but it’s close.

My thoughts on Merlin are decidedly here.

  • I’ve been made aware of the inability to get an RSS feed for 12minds. Rather, its difficulty with Google Reader. As a temporary solution, fit 12minds.com/rss into Google Reader and it should work fine. (If you’re using firefox, it should take you straight to the Google Reader part and hook you up, if you’re using IE, I don’t really know what to tell you.) The entire site is going to go through a revamp sometime in the next couple of weeks, but as a temporary stopgap, the /rss addy should work fine. If you encounter any other problems, hiccups, or if you have comments in general, feel free to leave a comment or to email me. Witty comments and trivia are also appreciated.

Mr SOS and the Apocalyptic Doomsday

People are often surprised when I tell them I like hip hop (the pink JCrew shirts, my love of Foreign Affairs, and obsession appreciation of good interior decorating probably go a long way explaining the surprise), but I’m a big fan of good music anywhere. Mr. SOS’s debut album, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, was released early this month and it’s really worth a listen. Conceptually (a dystopian future where war and corporate greed control), the album is reminiscent of the seminal Deltron 3030, but SOS sets up his own distinctive sound.

These are some tight beats, smooth transitions, a very solid and smart rhythm, and great rhymes. So, even if hip hop isn’t your thing* I do recommend you taking a couple of minutes and listening the song.

*Don’t worry, I’ll soon be back to singing the praises of the Little Mermaid Soundtrack and Ashley Tisdale’s rendition of ‘Kiss the Girl’ tomorrow (full story of how I discovered that gem of a song can be found here )

Links

Thursday, July 2, 2009

This is how it works: I run to find my voice, I like high fives because they remind me of my dad before he became my father and it makes me feel safer than anything I know, I'm shy but pretend I'm not, I believe in the soul, and if the most creative thing that one can do is to tell the truth through lies...then I have a few stories to share with you.

Care to comment?

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Via Last.fm and iTunes

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