On Vacation

Hello loyal readers,

Just a quick note to let everybody know that I’m taking the family to Disney World this week, so there won’t be too much by way of blog posts.  You may spot me on Twitter however!  You never know where you’ll spot a Shakespeare reference.  (Everybody knows about the Macbeth reference in Beauty and the Beast, right?  Ask Bardfilm to tell you about it while I’m gone. 🙂

See everybody when I get back!

D

P.S – I’m taking an audio version of Richard III with me to listen (and follow along!) on the plane.  If I make it through that, I’ve got Midsummer right behind. Got to start working on my teaching debut next month!

Email Book Giveaway CANCELLED

Hi everyone,

So, I did just like I said, today’s Black Friday and I sent a note out to my email subscribers announcing the start of my book giveaway.  I previewed it by sending it to myself, and off it went.

And then I promptly got a response back from one of my readers saying that they got garbage – a paragraph of text, and then nothing.  No mention of book, no links, no nothing.

When I got my actual copy (I am, of course, subscribed to my own list for just these purposes :)), I got the same junk.

I’ve contacted the support people for the list server asking what the heck.  Unfortunately this means that, at least for now, I’ve got to cancel the giveaway. I have no idea when I’ll be able to generate a functional email.

I completely understand if people signed up specifically for the giveaway and now want to unsubscribe. I can see how this would sound like a scam for collecting email addresses, but it’s not. 

Sorry for the inconvenience.  My timing was pretty lousy, of course, trying something on such as weird semi-holiday.  Oh, well.  Lesson learned.

Duane

Pink Floyd + Shakespeare = #ShakesFloyd

Once upon a time, Bardfilm challenged me to do a Pink Floyd / Shakespeare mashup game.  It’s actually much harder than it looks once you realize that most casual Pink Floyd fans are only really going to recognize “Another Brick In The Wall”, “Money” and “Dark Side Of the Moon.”

Here’s my best shot at it!  Who’s got more?  I did my best to keep them all in tune, if you want to hum them to yourself 🙂

  • All in all it was all just chinks in the wall.
  • Well (not!) shone, dark side of the moon!
  • One of these days I’m going to cut you into little pieces! And then maybe bake you into a nice pie, serve you to your mom.
  • Hush now baby, baby, don’t you cry. Mother’s gonna dash all your brains out for you.
  • Good morning, Chair your honor; the crown will plainly show my daughter who now stands before you, was caught red-handed saying, “Nothing.” Saying “Nothing!” in a most ungrateful manner – this will not do.
  • Crazy, toys in the attic, Lear is crazy, truly gone fishing. They must have taken his kingdom away, crazy!
  • Now there’s a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky. Shine on, you blinded Gloucester.
  • You are young and life is long, and there is Claudius to kill today.
  • Ducats, get away.  Make a good loan, interest pays, you’re ok.
  • The lunatic is on the heath.
  • Careful with that axe, Titus!
  • Emilia tries, but misunderstands (wah-oooo),
    She’s often inclined to steal somebody’s hanky til tomorrow…
  • You’ll lose your mind and play
    Free games for may
    See Ophelia play.

Baron Munchausen, John Neville, Has Died. (Or Has He?)

I’m a little late on this one so I’m sure that most Shakespeare fans now know that legendary Shakespearean actor John Neville has died at 86 from Alzheimer’s.

Since Mr. Neville’s got too many Shakespeare credits for me to even mention (see the article for the highlights), instead I’ll remind people of Terry Gilliam’s wonderful The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, a fantastic tale in which you’re just not quite ever sure whether the good Baron (played by our Mr. Neville) is ever really dead after all …

Flights of angels, Mr. Neville.  RIP.

End of Year Book Giveaway Starts Friday

‘Tis the season for Shakespeare Geek to get a bunch of new Shakespeare books for Christmas.  This year I’ve decided to make some room on the shelves by giving away a bunch of my old ones.

Please note that these are my own books, sometimes purchased with my own money and sometimes review copies that I’ve received in the past. Either way, I want to make sure everybody understands that they are not brand new.  I won’t bother giving away anything that’s got major damage, of course.  I’m just talking about usual wear and tear, the occasional smudge on a page or fray at the edge of a book jacket sort of stuff.

Still interested?

Ok, here’s how it’s going to go down.  I’m both announcing and giving away these books in the email newsletter.  Starting Friday I will announce via email what book I’m giving away next, and anybody interested in that particular book will be asked to reply to that email saying so.  From everybody that replies, I will choose a winner and send off the book.  I don’t yet know how many books we’ll do this for.

Rules

1) Sign up for the email newsletter.  You will receive a confirmation email that you will have to click, so please don’t forget that step.  My email blasting software will consider you “unconfirmed” if you don’t do that second bit, and you won’t get future email.

2) Be on the lookout for email from me.  I don’t yet know what I’ll call it, but expect something obvious like “Shakespeare Geek Book Giveaway”.  I’m still going to be half asleep from the turkey.

3) Unlike many email blasted newsletters, this one has a “write back” function that I plan to use.  If you are interested in possibly winning the current book, write back and say so.

4) In your reply, please take a moment to give me some feedback on how else you’d like to see the email feature used.  I can’t afford to give stuff away every week, you know!  Would you like to see original email-only content, or a digest of what’s gone on in the blog?  Let me know!

5) Each giveaway will last about a week, depending on how badly the holidays mess up my schedule.  Details will be in each email.

6) US RESIDENTS ONLY.  My apologies to my international friends, but if I’m going to make this a regular feature there’s just no way that I can afford to open it up to international shipping costs.

Any questions?

Sign up now!  Once the giveaways start I will NOT NOT NOT be announcing every single book in a new post!  If you’re not getting the emails when contest announcements go out you will NOT know about them!

Want a HINT?  The first book I’m giving away is one of the very first I ever reviewed (2008), but I can find references to it going all the way back to 2006.