b r a v e c r e a t u r e s

Its strange the routes we come to things.

I havent read any Shakespear since I was at University, studying a Batchelor of Music.They were shoving any culture they could at us in the hope that something would stick - it didnt really.

But recently some of Shakespears sonnets came past me from the most unlikely of sources (see the video below), and I have been reading a few of them.

 Now, at last they seem to touch me.

Maybe it was that as a 19 year old, I didnt have the experience to understand them. But a little battle scarred and love lorn as I am, there are words there that mean something.

This one has particular meaning. The people I have loved, I have never seen as perfect. In fact, when i look back, I think I have loved them for their humanity, their weakness and their flaws as much as the things that made them so obviously special. And part of me still loves them - that includes the one who broke my heart, and the one recently gone.

Sonnet 130
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.

And now for something lighter…

Fairy story's?

Ha!

What meaning do they have in the real world?

On the surface probably very little, but they touch archetypes and core issues we all face, and they speak to something in our hearts. Thats why they have survived so long.

And OK - I am a bloody romantic.

Recently I have been referred to as a Beast. Lets face it, i am large, strong willed, outspoken, impulsive, sometimes inconsistent - and yes, yes; apparently some what overwhelming - man. Its easy to mistake all of that, and the gruff bravado that goes with it for aggression. In fact that's not the truth - or at least not all of it.

Inside most beasts, and certainly this on, there is something and someone quite different.

Luckily for me there are those that see it.

But I think that I need to be better at showing it, one time I would like to have learnt the lesson before the final petal falls.

Once upon a time, in a faraway land,
A young Prince lived in a shining castle.
Although he had everything his heart desired,
The Prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind.

But then, one winter's night,
An old beggar woman came to the castle
And offered him a single rose In return for shelter from the bitter cold.
Repulsed by her haggard appearance,
The Prince sneered at the gift,
And turned the old woman away.

But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances,
For Beauty is found within.
And when he dismissed her again,
The old woman's ugliness melted away
To reveal a beautiful Enchantress.

The Prince tried to apologize, but it was too late,
For she had seen that there was no love in his heart.
And as punishment,
She transformed him into a hideous beast,
And placed a powerful spell on the castle,
And all who lived there.

Ashamed of his monstrous form,
The beast concealed himself inside his castle,
With a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world.
The Rose she had offered,
Was truly an enchanted rose,
Which would bloom for many years.

If he could learn to love another,
And earn her love in return
By the time the last petal fell,
Then the spell would be broken.
If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast
For all time.

As the years passed,
He fell into despair, and lost all hope,
For who could ever learn to love…a Beast? 

I am currently COMPLETELY addicted to the BBC Quiz Show - "QI " with Stephen Fry as the quiz master.

Mr Fry is currently rocketing to the top of my Englishmen-I -must -meet- when -I-get- to -London list; close to Mr Izzard (although I am not revealing in which direction) and WAAAAY out in front of Sir Elton and Mr Michaels (bless em both). 

David Tennent is also on the list, but not in advance of Izzard and Fry.

If you have not see QI, your life is a truly sad and sorry place. Best you check yourself into YouTube for an afternoon and catch up - meanwhile, here is a snippet for you.

On a blog ramble this morning I ran across a YouTube video of a TV show that as a kid I was kind of facinated by - ElectraWoman and DynaGirl . At the time I wasnt so much facinated by how good they were as how could anyone make something that lame. Lame but kind of captivating. But then I think the same thing about Big Brother and Idol.

The creators of the show, Sid and Marty Krofft, were responsible for a number of other high camp, low production value spectaculars including Land of the Lost, Isis, Wonderbug, The Bugaloos, Lidsville and HR Pufnstuf. Clearly 70's, laced with drug references and anti establishment references, I suspect my love of bad, high comedy drag was founded in these programs.

I can't tell you how much I am loving those boots. 

I know this is cheating.

I should just be posting my own content, but after talking with someone the other night who definately wanted sex with men, but who was DETERMINED he wasnt gay, I felt it was appropriate.

In case there is a problem with the Flash Player, here is the link to YouTube .

Enjoy