Special Quote of the Day/Week-William Shakespeare

Since Monday was Talk Like Shakespeare Day, and it was the day in which the Bard died in 1616 (conversely, Willy Shakespeare was born on April 26, 1564).

The North Carolina Shakespeare Festival takes place in High Point every year, and this year, the troupe will bring Shakespeare's most famous play "Romeo and Juliet" (editorial comment: I personally prefer "Othello" and "Macbeth") in a modern setting. That performance will run from Sept. 9-30.

Here is the quote from the beloved playwright:

"Life is as tedious as twice-told tale, vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man."http://www.ncshakes.org

Quoting Romeo and Juliet for V-Day

Yes, I know. I am getting suffocated from Valentine's Day nonsense myself, but of course since I am an American (well my late father came from Turkey) why not be a bit of a contrarian/hypocrite and indulge in this madness/nonsense.

So, here is a quip from "Romeo and Juliet," which will probably be made into a 3-D movie soon:

"But, soft! What light through window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the son."

We learned that the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va., is not performing "Romeo and Juliet" at the moment, but they will be staging the John Marston play "The Malcontent," including a performance on Sat., Feb. 19 at 2:00 p.m.

SIDEBAR: For those American tourists who have the spare time to span the globe and the courage to stay in the Middle East in spite of political upheaval, you can go to Tel Aviv, Israel, to see everyone's favorite Russian emigre punk band Gogol Bordello perform at the Barby Club there from Feb. 28-March 2. The band is actually giving three concerts at the venue!

They later head to Rome, Italy, for a concert on my 41st birthday (March 4th) at the Atlantico Live Club before heading to one of my favorite cities Istanbul, Turkey, for a March 11th concert at the Babylon.

But, for those of you who live in Nebraska and prefer classical music (I actually like everything from heavy metal to classical, but I'm the first to admit that would make for quite a surreal mixed tape!) there will be a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on Fri., March 4 at 8:00 p.m. and on Sunday, March 6 at 2:00 p.m. with conductor Thomas Wilkins at the Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha. The performance will be from the Omaha Symphony. It should be fun; be sure to wear your Grateful Dead tye-dye t-shirt to the event!

Oscar Quote of the Week- Sally Field

Now that she is nearing my mom's age it is a tad bit unsettling to admit that as a teenage boy I had a huge crush on Sally Field after seeing her opposite Paul Newman in "Absence of Malice."

Field had won a Best Actress Oscar for the first time for "Norma Rae" (1979) based on a story that took place at a now-closed factory in Roanoke Rapids, NC, and then again for "Places in the Heart" (1984).

Here is her quote:

"I think the first thing I did was several scenes from Romeo and Juliet."