I love cake. I love books. These are awesome.

Source: Flavourwire 

Let's Play

I am kind of an awful. reader considering how much I love to read. I have a really short attention span and I need to be hooked on a book right away in order to be interested.For this reason I tend to shy away from long novels (I have been trying to read Les Miserables for years and I have come to terms with the fact that I will probably never read War and Peace, it will just sit on my bookshelf mocking me) and will turn to plays.

I thought that I would provide a list of some plays that I have read over the past year or so with a small summary and how I rated it out of five stars.

Spring Awakening

This play is about a group of young people in 19th century Germany. The play deals with the kids discovering themselves and deals with topics such as sexuality, abortion and suicide.

My Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Waiting for Godot

A play in which two characters wait endlessly for the arrival of someone named Godot. Was voted the most significant English language play of the 20th century.

My rating: 4/5 stars

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Set in the plantation home in Mississippi, the play surrounds Big Daddy Pollitt, a cotton tycoon and examines the relationships among the members of Big Daddy's family, focusing mostly on his son Brick and Maggie the "cat", Brick's wife.

My Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Normal Heart

The play focuses on the rise of the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks, the gay Jewish-American founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group.

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

You can lead a horticulture but you can't make her think.

Dorothy Parker is a gem; she is highly entertaining and insightful. Lately I have been reading The Portable Dorothy Parker and have come across some of her excellent poetry so I thought I would share some of my favourites. Enjoy!

A Very Short Song

Once, when I was young and true,

Someone left me sad 

Broke my brittle heart in two;

And that is very bad.

Love is for unlucky folk,

Love is but a curse.

Once there was a heart I broke;

And that, I think, is worse.

Observation

If I don't drive around the park,

I'm pretty sure to make my mark.

If I'm in bed each night by ten,

I may get back my looks again.

If I abstain from fun and such,

I'll probably amount to much;

But I shall stay the way I am,

Because I do not give a damn.

Inscription for the Ceiling of a Bedroom

Daily dawns another day;

I must up, to make my way.

Though I dress and drink and eat,

Move my fingers and my feet,

Learn a little, here and there,

Weep and laugh and sweat and swear,

hear a song, or watch a stage,

Leave some words upon a page,

Claim a foe, or hail a friend-

Bed awaits me at the end.

Though I go in pride and strength,

I'll come back to bed at any length.

Though I walk in blinded woe,

Back to bed I'm bound to go.

High my heart, or bowed my head,

All my days but lead to bed.

Up, and out, and on; and then

Ever back to bed again,

Summer, Winter, Spring, and Fall-

I'm a fool to rise at all!

Coda

There's little in taking or giving,

There's little in water or wine;

This living, this living, this living

Was never a project of mine.

Oh, hard is the struggle, and sparse is 

The gain of the one at the top,

For art is a form of catharsis,

And love is a permanent flop,

And work is the province of cattle,

And rest's for the clam in a shell,

So I'm thinking of throwing the battle-

Would you kindly direct me to hell?

Learn more about Dorothy Parker:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/756
http://www.poemhunter.com/dorothy-parker/

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is an Oscar-winning short film directed by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg. This short film is a wonderful tale of the powers of literature and definitely worth a watch.

PUNS

Puns, I'm crazy about them. While most people hear one and let out a groan or a light chuckle, chances are you will find me still laughing 5 minutes later, and then again when I remember it again later in the day. I can't help it, wordplay is funny, end of story.

I would like to share two of my favourites with you and as a frame of reference, I heard the second one approximately 5 years ago and I'm still laughing just as hard as I did then.

1.

Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, but when they lit a fire in the craft it sank-proving once and for all that you can't have your kayak and heat it, too.


2.
The friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds.
Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought this was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not.
He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him.
So the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop.
Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that: Hugh, and only Hugh, can prevent florist friars.

Side note: There are no puns in my introduction paragraph, I know, I'm disappointed in myself as well.

A Post

As a continuation of my last post I would like to share with you what is probably my favourite picture on the internet. It combines my love of Salvador Dali with my love of puns, and that's all I could ever really ask for.

It's a "Dali Llama...."

You're Welcome.

Salvador Dali

I am crazy about Salvador Dali. Everything from his crazy paintings to his ridiculous mustache, I love it all. I first took note of him when I saw his film he created with Luis Bunuel called Un Chien Andalou. I watched it for a film class I was taking and it was one of the only films that stayed with me from that year. It was sporatic and crazy, everything you would want it to be and more. From then on I was hooked, I couldn't get enough Dali.

You may be wondering why this is on my blog about books, and to that I would say: "Geez, give me a minute to set a scene and I'll tell you. You're so impatient. I've always said that about you..."

In 1969 Salvador Dali illustrated an edition of Alice in Wonderland (a book!). Only 2,500 copies were ever created and I felt the need to share some of the illustrations on this blog because they are awesome. I would kill to get my hands on a copy. They do exist but they'll set the buyer back as little as $7500. I don't know about you but that seem a little...(wait for it)... surreal to me. A girl can dream though, right?

Check out some of this illustrations:

Title Page

    

Down the Rabbit Hole

                                                                                                    

Advice from a Caterpillar

Mad Tea Party

           

Sleep No More

(warning: long post ahead)

As I mentioned in my previous post about the book The Night Circus, part of the inspiration for the circus in the novel came from the theatre show Sleep No More, created by the immersive theatre company Punchdrunk. I have had the pleasure of seeing this show three times over the past year and a half and I felt that it required a post of its own because it is truly amazing.

The premise of the show is that it is Macbeth mixed with Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, set to dance, in a few abandon warehouses that have been converted into an old hotel. That alone spiked my interested and little did I know what I would be getting myself into.

The whole idea of the show is to break down the wall of traditional theatre while exploring the idea of voyeurism and continuity in modern theatre.

How the show works is you buy your tickets online and it is as if you are booking a room at a hotel and they tell you to check-in with the concierge at your designated time. You show up right before your time and they make you wait outside. Once it is your time to go in they open the doors and you are immediately ushered in a darkened hallway. Once you find your way though a few twists and turns you arrive at the concierge desk. You check in and they give you a playing card.

Once you have your card you make your way through more dark hallways and finally emerge in a bar.

Keep in mind, this is all before the show has even started.

Eventually, when the time comes for the show to start, the first group of people (first ones to book their tickets and pick up their cards) are called. People are called in groups of approximately 10 based on which playing card they have. After your card has been called you make your way to a room in the corner of the bar. There they explain the rules of the show to you and give you a mask.

They explain to you that from that point onward you are to wear the mask at all times and there is no longer any talking. Also, that if for any reason the experience becomes a bit to overwhelming for you, you can make your way back to the bar for some fresh air or a shot of absinthe. (yes, this is the part where i was kind-of peeing my pants. Although i should have known something was up when I received an email before going that included the line "guests may experience psychologically traumatizing situations"). The idea behind the masks is that if the audience is wearing them at all times it becomes a voyeuristic experience with the performers. This means that the audience is more likely to react to situations and behave in a way that is without restriction, hesitation, or due to embarrassment. The audience is free to explore the space in a way that is limitless.

After you have been warned, they put you into an elevator. The "hotel" that they have created has 6 floors total. The bellhop takes you up to a random floor and starts letting people off, sometimes only one or two on each floor. Once you have been let off the elevator the show has begun. The idea is that you are free to roam around the hotel. They have converted approximately 100 rooms into everything you can imagine. A funeral home, a hospital, hotel rooms, a church, a forest, a graveyard, etc. each in a different area, and each one more unique than what came before. 

All of these rooms are filled will papers and artifacts and the audience is free to rummage through them all. If a door is open, you can go in. The whole idea is, the play runs on a loop, each time for an hour. You are generally there for 3 hours so you will have a chance to see the play three times. But the crazy part about it is that what you see of the play depends on what rooms you are in a what times. If part of the play is happening and you are in the vicinity, then you will see that scene. Generally an actor will come into the room and perform their scene (all dance remember, no talking, only music for queues.)  From there you can either follow a character and see how all of their scenes play out within the hour or you can bounce back and forth between exploring the rooms and chasing after characters to see where they are headed next. After the first hour is up, the play restarts from the beginning and you could follow different characters in an attempt to piece together parts of the story you are missing. 

This concept creates a very exciting theatre experience. Each scene you see is based on being at the right place at the right time. The scenes as you view them will never be in order so to try and piece together the plot and the overall play you would have to either follow a character, or see as many characters interact as you can. This is intriguing because no matter how many times you go and see this play, it will never be the same. You can't possibly see all 100 rooms in one visit, or even see all of the characters, let alone how they interact with one another. This means that every time you go you can see something new. The 3rd time i went I encountered a character in the last 10 minutes that I hadn't even known existed up until that point. 

Oh yeah, and on top of all this craziness that is already happening there are also these things called one-on-ones. These occur when the characters do not have a major scene. If you are following them at this time you may have a chance to have a scene with them one-on-one. This means they take one person into a room and act out a private scene with them (it's not quite as creepy as it sounds but it happened to me and to say i was nervous would be severely understating the situation). This is an aspect of the show that most people will not get to see. (for example, if a character only has one of these interactions per loop, only 3 people will get to do it per night) This is just another aspect of the show that makes it unique. No matter what your experience was one night, if you go back it will be completely different. Hell, if you go with a friend (you WILL get separated from whoever you came with)  your experience will probably be vastly different from that friend's experience the same night.

Overall, this show is amazing and it completely revolutionized the way I see theatre. I am used to sitting in a chair staring at a stage. This production allows you to interact with the set and the characters all the while experiencing this amazing dancing that is telling an incredible story. I knew from the moment I saw it that it was something I would not soon forget, and it is an experience that I can not wait to have again.

sleepnomorenyc.com

I Just Read....

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. (http://erinmorgenstern.com)

Rating: 3/5

This book centres around a circus that is, at its core, a playground for a game between two magicians. The magicians have been chosen by their father-like figures to compete in a game of magic until there is only one winner. The circus acts as their canvas where they design different tents and spectacles, attempting to out-do the other person.

The book continually jumps between the story of these two magicians, the creation of the circus and its history, the story of a child named Bailey, and a second-person narrative describing the circus. I believe that only two of these intersecting stories were successful.

The second-person description of the circus (written as if the reader was experiencing a night at the circus) was, in my opinion, the most successful portion of the story. The circus comes alive in these parts of the book, which are few and far between (too far for my liking). The detail of the circus and the imagery of the different tents made me want to go to this circus. I felt that the overall plot of this book fell quite flat but the overwhelming sense of wonder and excitement that was created through the night circus was enough to keep me interested. Part of what I found so interesting about the circus comes from the inspiration behind it. The author cites the theatre company Punchdrunk (punchdrunk.org.uk) as her inspiration behind creating the night circus. It seems as though the show in particular she was inspired by was their immersive theatre production called Sleep No More (sleepnomorenyc.com.) I have had the pleasure of seeing this production (expect a full blog post about this later) on multiple occasions so while reading the book I had a pretty good idea of what the author was trying to achieve with the circus, and I thought she did a wonderful job.

I also loved the storyline concerning the child named Bailey. At the beginning of the book, he is one of us. He  is an outsider, unaware of the effects of the night circus. He is just a kid who wants to go to the circus, and what he finds there changes the course of this life. I found this storyline to be quite riveting and as I was reading I was continually excited to go back to his portions of the book.

As for the rest of the book, I really wanted to like it but I thought it fell short. The competition between magicians was never fully explained (there was a brief explanation but it was not given enough time) and the creation of the circus was quite interesting but I felt that more detail and background would have been beneficial. The author introduced many characters that were crucial to creating the circus but never really fleshed them out. I often found myself wanting to skip over chapters when these secondary characters where the main focus.

Overall, I gave the book a 3/5 rating. I thought that the concept was very good but was lacking in execution. Although the chapters describing the circus almost made up for all the shortcomings, they were that good.

Beautiful Libraries

"I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library."-Jorge Luis Borges















Source: http://www.beautiful-libraries.com/index.html

You Should Read:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

Very interesting book set during WW2. Approximately half of the book is told from the perspective of death (as a character) as well as centering around a young girl and her adoptive parents who hide a Jewish man in their home. 

Great book, quick read. Amazing even if you are not a history buff. I highly recommend it. 

" To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark." Victor Hugo