"Will in the World" by Stephen Greenblatt

As a Shakespeare enthusiast, I was eager to read this kinda sorta biography of the Bard himself. It is vastly different from any other biography that I have read, in that it takes Willy Shakes’s life and also puts it in context with what he was writing at the time. So you have an explanation of what London was like at the time, and quotes from his plays with some guesswork as to where he got the inspiration for the scene or character. The result is that it is partially fictitious, sure, but it also makes for a new and different angle on the man.

The result of this is that the book ends up discussing much more than just Shakespeare’s life. It also talks about England at the time, and what the political and social conditions were. It is essentially new historicism taken to the next level. New historicism is the idea that we are all a product of our situation, literature and arts included, so to truly understand a work you have to first understand the conditions it was created in. This is most certainly an application of that line of thought.

However, that also means that it involves a lot of guesswork. Many of the points that Greenblatt brings up in his discussion are little more than just guesswork. Shakespeare might have been present at this event, he could have known this person, there is a possibility that… and so on. As such, this is not the best book if you want a just the facts account of Shakespeare’s life.

Having said that, I found it to be a wonderful new and different take on the life of the Bard. Bringing in his plays makes it much more personal, since part of the book is written in Shakespeare’s own voice. And the guesswork seems necessary, since we know so little about his life. Greenblatt clearly did his homework and researched the time period rather heavily, so I am inclined to trust his guesses as being reasonable and possibly accurate. There is so little that we know about this man, any possibilities out there can only lead us closer to one of the most influential authors out there.

Find That Dory!

Being the mature and worldly student that I am, my friend and I went to go see "Finding Dory" on Thursday when it came out. It was a bit like a return to our childhood, since we grew up loving "Finding Nemo" and it was finally getting a deserving sequel (enough with the "Cars" spin offs please).

Needless to say we loved it.

The cuteness started with the Pixar short, which admittedly are always cute. "Piper" is a short about a little baby piper on the beach trying to learn how to eat when waves keep coming. It's adorable. And the animation is incredible, the feathers on the bird look amazing! The music as well was stellar, which is crucial since there is very little talking in shorts.

The movie right off the bat was emotional, paraphrasing Dory's life before the events of "Finding Nemo" as she loses her parents and searches the ocean for them. This is made difficult by the fact that she can't remember what she was looking for. Eventually Dory remembers a little bit of where she comes from in the middle of Mr. Ray's class, and insists on dragging Marlin and an enthusiastic Nemo across the ocean to find her parents.

There are plenty of new and old characters in the film, Crush the sea turtle from "Finding Nemo" makes an appearance, and stick around after the film to get a glimpse of the tank gang from the dentist's and their adventures. Marlin takes a more backseat role this time and mostly functions as the voice of wisdom, but it's nice to see Nemo interact with him a little more during the adventure. The cast of new characters includes an octopus, a nearsighted whale shark, and a beluga that can't use echolocation. All of them are charming and quirky in their own way.

Other elements from the first movie are also used, such as the infamous "just keep swimming" song and the fact that Dory can speak whale. It's charming to see more of Dory's backstory and fun to spot the connections between the movies.

It's a very empowering film for neuro-atypical people, since the gang involves Dory, who has short-term memory loss, as the leading lady and various others with some kind of disability. Of course it all works out adorably in the end, with plenty of giggles along the way.

It was a wonderful movie, and would highly recommend for both kids and adults. I wouldn't say that it was better than the first one, but it certainly does not fall far short of it either.

Orlando

tw: the events of Orlando over the weekend

I’ve been thinking for a while about what the best way to respond to the Orlando shooting would be. And as of now, I don’t have a good answer.

To be honest, I’m really tired and fed up with all of this. I’m tired of hearing about mass shootings like Sandy Hook, San Bernardino, and now Orlando. I’m tired of all the hate circulating because of it. I’m tired of having different groups of people being pit against each other on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. And how many innocent people need to die before anyone in our government decides to do anything about it?

But I also know that the only way to fight against this kind of hate is with love. Love for each other, love for the LGBTQA+ community, love for people the media will try to pin this on. Yes there is a time and a place for mourning and anger, but ultimately we must respond to this with love and only love, since to respond with hate would put us on the same level as the sicko who caused this in the first place.

I have no idea what will happen as a result of this tragedy, but I do know that everyone needs to help the victims (by donating blood, etc) and stay determined to not let the media cause them to give up on love and the dream of peace, as remote as it is.

“Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda

Not going to lie, the main reason why I picked up this book was because I know that George Harrison was a fan of it. So there’s that. Beatles obsession aside, I also am into spiritual books and books about spiritual people, so I figured that I would like this.

As the title suggests, it is the autobiography of a yogi, the first one written in English I think. Yogananda was also the first one to come to America and spread teachings here, as well as setting up a community in California that then spread. As you can imagine, he has lived a pretty interesting life, bringing together the Eastern and Western schools of thought.

Most of the book consists of descriptions of various other yogis and people that he has met on his travels, such as other yogis and yoginis (female yogis). There is precious little about his own life, the section on America is pretty short, and when he does discuss it he presents his life as leading to something else. For example, he set up a school for boys in India, he does not really say how just says that it happened when he needs to tell a story of a visitor there. Which is all very humble and everything, but I would have liked more insight into what he did, especially while in America. At one point he does not write anything but takes a passage from his companion’s travel journal!

There are sections when it gets heavy and slightly unbelievable, such as when his guru appears to him in a vision and describes the afterlife. Or the very many descriptions of miracles and visions that he or others have. It gets pretty unbelievable, but I also keep a policy where I will not argue with it until I am also an Indian yogi, these are people who devote their lives to God, so I bet that he pays special attention to them and gives them miracles more often.

In terms of the religions here, literally all of them are present. The Bible is often discussed, as well as Hindu teachings. Buddhism and Islam are also mentioned frequently. Literally no matter what your religious background is, you can find something to relate to here. I found that to be really nice, he takes the teachings from multiple religions and brings them all together in unity.

I will tell you right now that this book is not for everyone, it is pretty religious and a little bit out dated since it was originally published in the 40s. But as someone who is interested in religion, I found it to be a fascinating read, and one that I think was well worth having.

Recognizing the Fact that You are an Asshole

I think that probably the most important realization that I have had in my life is the fact that I am actually an asshole. Everyone goes through life thinking that they’re ok and aren’t actively hurting anyone; most people don’t sit there and contemplate how to ruin someone’s day. But as you carry on you realize all of these subconscious opinions or habits that you have, and while you did not form them with the intention of being hurtful, they still can cause pain in others. This can be sexism, racism, or anything really.

At some point everyone has to realize that this applies to them, there is no way to escape this. Literally everyone in the world has inherent biases, and no one is exempt. Coming to this realization is an important point in your development, because then you can commit to making yourself better. That does not mean that it is going to happen instantly, but even once you begin to set down that path you are already a better, more self-aware, person.

Everyone is going down this path together, so do not feel discouraged, you are not the only one struggling through. The important thing is to learn and grow together, because the truth is that this journey never actually ends, people do not just hit a point where they are perfect, it is a constant struggle to be more aware and more conscious of your thoughts and actions. And that is perfectly ok.