Bulletin Board of the Brain

The Memorial Coatroom Literary Society Reads George Sand

Those of us who worked at Intiman Theatre over the past few years, couldn’t fail to notice that nearly everyone employed as Front of House staff had or was working on a Masters Degree, or had attended a conservatory, or was basically just incredibly erudite. This may have resulted from the fact that working FOH [...]

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“Worthy of What One Great Woman Should Have Written of Another”: Gaskell’s Life of Brontë

The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell My rating: 4 of 5 stars In my late teens, I read nearly every Charlotte Brontë biography in the cannon, except the most famous one: the one written by her friend, fellow author Elizabeth Gaskell. I skipped it for a few reasons. One, every contemporary biography essentially [...]

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Time Wasn’t The Only Thing They Stepped In: Beware Mary Poppins The Musical

Posted in Books, Film, Music, Pop Culture, theatre | 13 Comments »

My Bookshelves Are Organized By Color

Thus, when I receive an email like this from my roommate, “Do you have any of these? Plato’s The Symposium Saint Augustine’s Confessions Thomas Aquinas Summa Contra Gentiles: God Rene Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy Immanuel Kant Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics If so, can i borrow them? b” My response turns out like this, [...]

Posted in Books, Lists, Quotes, The Seattle School/MHGS | 1 Comment »

For Unto Us A Hobbit Is Given

It’s an amazing day to be alive. It’s as if Father Christmas made it possible to relive all your favorite Christmases past, only you’d be reliving them in the present and receiving all new gifts. It’s as if, when walking out your front door this morning you discovered, instead of being in your cul de [...]

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Les Miserables: Still Not Entirely Sure How Hugo Felt Abut Their Misery

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo My rating: 4 of 5 stars Having come to Les Miserables with only a North American osmosis-knowledge of the musical, memories of the 1998 film, and a lifetime of sermons referencing the encounter between Jean Valjean, the Bishop and the candlesticks, I am surprised by what I actually found here. [...]

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“What Yankee Candle Means to Me” Episode 4

Posted in Anglophilia, Books, Film, History, intertextuality, Lists, Music, Yankee Candle | 3 Comments »

There and Back Again: An Annual Journey

For the third year in a row, I joined a faithful fellowship of travelers for a New Year’s Day Lord of the Rings Marathon. I love starting the year with this epic film journey. Sets a good precedent for the months to come. This year, two of our fellowship came equipped with swords. Yes, swords. [...]

Posted in Anglophilia, Books, Film, intertextuality, Lists, Quotes, Seattle | No Comments »

Enchantment: Living in Magical Reality

en·chant –verb (used with object) 1. to subject to magical influence; 2. to delight or captivate utterly; fascinate; charm; 3. to impart a magic quality or effect to; “Enchantment produces a Secondary World into which both designer and spectator can enter, to the satisfaction of their sense while they are inside.” –J.R.R Tolkien, ‘On Fairy [...]

Posted in Anglophilia, Art, Books, Film, Quotes, The Seattle School/MHGS, theology | 2 Comments »

Patronizing Victoria

We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill My rating: 3 of 5 stars I had high hopes for this new biography of the relationship between Queen Victoria and Prince Consort Albert. While I learned a fair bit and enjoyed walking through their history, the biography suffers from some of my most [...]

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