The sore throat went away. It was very likely allergies; I found out later in the day that the heavy rains had flooded our storeroom, conference room, and my department chair's office (all on the south side of the first floor; my office is on the north side of the second floor). It could have been mold or just the general dampness.

I did take a Claritin last night even though I don't like to take them at night because they give me dry mouth and vivid dreams. But at least I am reasonably certain I am not going to get sick. (I've had a lot of students out sick, and a couple of the guys in the back of the Ecology class were talking before class about "how high a fever do you have to have before staying home is justified?" So I'm a little spooked about all the germs.)

I think what I meant by the "petty things" was being unhappy about the prospect of being sick over my break - which, actually, if I HAD to get sick, would logically be the "best" time in terms of not missing class. (But hopefully that is a moot point now)

We have hand sanitizer dispensers around the building but I don't use them because (a) Does an antibacterial product even WORK on viruses? and (b) I don't want to kill off my commensal skin bacteria and (c) the stuff is really hard on your hands, and it contains phenol, which I have sensitivity to. I have been more diligent with washing with soap and water before eating, after class, etc.

I'm hoping that the combination of eating yogurt, getting lots of exercise, getting enough sleep, washing hands, and eating enough fruits and vegetables will help keep me well. I do most of the things they recommend to rev up the immune system (short of taking the supplements they sell).

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I finished the first Angee sock last night. I really like these! It's a fun pattern to knit, not hard but not boring either. I also like the yarn - it's a Fibra Natura 100% wool sock yarn, and to continue my discussion of yesterday, it's very tightly spun and has almost a "hard" finish to it, which I think will make it hold up well. (And also leads to it having nice stitch definition).

It's hard to photograph the sock, though, as it's a dark mottled color that doesn't seem to show up well:





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I didn't mention that I bought a ticket for an on-campus production of Hamlet last night. It was very well done - it was our Theater department's entry in some contest that eventually goes to the national level.

They re-set it in "modern day or thereabouts" but other than that seem to have changed little (I say "seem" as I've never read the play. But I will, sometime in the future).

The play was well-done. I think the body count (six, not considering old king Hamlet) is a bit high for one to actually say they ENJOYED the play, but it was enlightening.

A couple of observations, and again with the caveat that I am NOT a Shakespeare scholar and so these may sound very obvious and naive to people who know more than I do:

- It seems to me that many of S.'s tragedies (at least the four with which I am now familiar) seem to center on misplaced or improper ambition: Macbeth wanted to be king. Lear's daughters wanted their inheritance. Brutus and Cassius wanted to rule Rome rather than Caesar, whom Cassius felt was unfit. And in Hamlet, Claudius wanted to be king (and perhaps also wanted Gertrude?). And I guess, in Shakespeare's day, How Ambition Ruins Everything would have been a popular book.

- The modern reset, I think, served to underline the whole "court intrigue" angle. Claudius was almost pompous, very sure of himself, believing he had done the right thing (well, until the chapel scene) - or at least that's the image he presented. The lords and ladies of the court had become sort of a circle of "advisors" that were really the king's handpicked yes-men and -women. When he spoke, they stood in a sort of half-circle around him and applauded his every pronouncement, which was very creepy and also I think a nice touch - it put one in mind of some of the tinpot dictators one reads about, where they kill off the smart people and put their cronies in to bow and scrape to them.

- I think also the modern reset allowed more "clothing semiotics" that the audience would recognize. Gertrude, in particular: they had her in these severe, tailored suits most of the time: feminine and brightly colored, but still severe. It made me think a bit of Eva Peron, at least as she was portrayed in Evita, and I wonder if maybe that was the intention of the costumer.

Also, the "adult" generation dressed very formally: full suits on the men, skirted-suits or severe dresses on the women. Hamlet and his cohort dressed more casually, sort of in 'student' mode (though they dressed better than most of our students; I mean the men wore collarless shirts and Ophelia was a bit less tailored than the "adult" women).

- The lighting was extremely well done. Very atmospheric. The stage set was very simple (after all, it is a Danish Modern reset). The stage was very simple: a long ramp with some steps to one side (and a place where the throne (actually a bench) could be set). As Hamlet is going up, at the middle of Act III, to speak with Gertrude, he is walking stage left up the ramp. The stage lights come down but a strong orange directional spot is on him (shining from stage left), and you can't really see him on stage - but his shadow is thrown onto the opposite wall by the spot, and it grows ominously larger and larger as he walks. It was very creepy and very effective.

(There was also a screen on stage where different things were projected: a dead tree for the first scene where they encounter the ghost, stained glass windows for the chapel scene....)

- I guess they eliminated Fortinbras. At the end of the play, they closed with Hamlet dying in his friend Horatio's arms, and I walked out going, "Okay, so who would rule Denmark now? Everyone in the royal family is dead." Apparently in some productions there's a last scene where Fortinbras comes on and Horatio recounts what happened.

- They made Rosencrantz and Guidenstern female. I suppose this was to allow for more female roles in the play (some of the "lords" were also female). But it added an interesting extra layer of comic relief - they were dressed as very trashy women, in a sort of 1980s Madonna mode (Rosencrantz - or maybe it was Guildenstern - had high ratted blonde hair, tight jeans with a sparkly top, and high heels, and the other wore a short tight skirt and low blouse). And they flirted shamelessly with Hamlet while trying to get information from him.

- The graveyard scene was very effective, thanks to a "pit" in the middle of the stage. The gravediggers, though they had but small parts, were good - again, comic relief. (I suspect they're almost always played as country-bumpkin types?).

I will admit I was fighting tears at Ophelia's funeral, even though I was completely aware I was watching a play. It was very effectively done - starting out subdued and somber (one of the "traveling players" - a woman with a good singing voice - was suited up in the procession and she quietly sang "Amazing Grace" - which can make me tear up a bit at the best of times - as the procession processed). And then it became wild and unhinged as Laertes and then Hamlet leapt down into the grave, and then they had to be held back from each other, as the mourners stood, stunned and shocked.

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I want to rent the Branagh version sometime now and see it. (And huh. Wikipedia says the "Lion King" is a loose adaptation. I guess I never realized that but now it kind of, sort of makes sense. (Except, obviously, the body count is must needs much lower).

Another thing: even though I'd never read the play, I recognized large chunks of dialog (not just the famous Hamlet soliloquy or the Yorick scene - also Polonius' advice to Laertes) and also lots of quotations. I'd be willing to agree that this is the most widely-quoted of the Shakespeare plays. I also think there are three or four book or movie titles that came from quotations ("And Be a Villain," "Murder Most Foul," "What Dreams May Come," and "The Undiscovered Country," which is actually a subtitle of one of the Star Trek movies...) I'm sure there are more. (There is also a Thursday Next novel featuring Hamlet but I've not read it yet)