Fox News Abhors a Vacuum

World Series game 6 was rained out. Guess I’ll have to do some work. Maybe I’ll rile up Benedick instead. Hey Mr. B, what do you think about gender stereotyping in MacBeth? Did he get his cojones back only after Lady McB died?

I think it’s the Reverse Vampires.

An Iraqi vet is in critical condition after somebody – perhaps Oakland Police – smashed in his head when clearing Frank Ogawa Plaza of the Occupy Oakland protest. Unfortunately I think the trustafarian anarchists from Walnut Creek have seized the spotlight and the message away from the original concept.

The Guardian’s live blog of the protest has much more, including email sent by a Fox reporter to OWS asking about ACORN involvement and “rumors” that homeless people were being paid $100/day to participate in the protest.

@Mistress Cynica: Shit, where do I sign up?

@Dodgerblue: The play is over as far as I’m concerned once Lady McB checks out. Who cares what happens to the wimp?

However, I will admit to enjoying the concept of an attacking forest.

Any other votes for Crazy Eyes and spouse to play the happy couple? Fox News can probably stump up some newsbots to play the witches.

@Walking Still: Gotta see “Throne of Blood” if you want to see an attacking forest.

@Mistress Cynica: From a review quoting a book by a former prison librarian: “Pimps made the best librarians. Psycho killers the worst.”

@SanFranLefty: Sadly unsurprising that the poh-leese have ended up on the kleptocrats’ side. They’ve got that whole mindless-obedience-to-authority thing to enforce.

The quickest way to get shot-up in Sea-town is to raise both hands in the air and yell “please don’t shoot!,” especially while committing the crime of being non-white. Our local alt-weekly recently uncovered the paranoid, neo-fascist, racist, far-reich ramblings in the internal SPD union’s noozletter. It’s not exactly a secret that our little fishing village’s constables are severely deranged ex-military crackers amped up on speed, 7-11 snax and dumFux Nooz propaganda, but still it’s scary shit, indeed.

I know that the protests are supposed to be peaceful–wouldn’t want to inconvenience anyone during our slow-motion, murder-suicide, imperial collapse–but why doesn’t everyone just grab a brick and head for Paul Allen’s nearest nouveau riche, trashy mansion?

@Dodgerblue: Had no phone or internet yesterday. I blame the president.

It’s a very crude melodrama written by a genius poet. As such it has a dream-like quality which can be very effective if well acted. I saw it at Stratford Ont in a production so ridiculous I was compelled to start behaving badly. Great parts for actors who know how to act but you need to be able to reach its rough-hewn heart. It has no place for lyricism. Gielgud, for example, was famously bad as Himself.

Lady B is quite an achievement, particularly when one thinks she would have been created by a 12 or 13 year old boy. As a personification of a particular kind of ambition I think it’s very successful. I once did what I think is a very interesting and funny reworking of it by Ionesco. I forget where Shakes found the story.

The play is never mentioned by name in the theatre to this day. American actors slightly lean on the conceit to demonstrate their Englishy theatre roots. There is a ritual that if the title, or character names are voiced inside a theatre, you have to go outside, spit on the ground, and turn around three times before coming back inside. The play must never ever, under any circumstances, be quoted. When you point out to English actors how ridiculous the whole ‘cursed play’ thing is they will agree with you then go on to recount all the disasters that have supposedly dogged productions. The play is known as The Scottish Play and the characters are the Scottish Gentleman and his Wife.

When Nicol Williamson (name mean anything? was going o be an important actor but booze and insanity got in the way) played the Scottish Gentleman at Circle in the Square way back when, Sigourney Weaver was cast as Mrs. But the star made everyone’s lives such hell she either quit, was fired, or it was a combo. They then went through so many other actresses that the play became known in the wig room as Queen for a Day, which remains my favorite alternate title for it.

@Benedick: I like “rough-hewn heart.” The three witches remind me of a couple of panels of the Court of Appeal I’ve argued in front of.

@Dodgerblue: Light rain turned to wet snow this morning. No really sticking yet.

@Dodgerblue: I suspect, on the basis of no evidence whatsoever, that in His day they would have been played by three elderly drunken character actors.

The outside spitting thing has been modified to outside the dressing-room or standing up (if you can) and turning around.