Monthly Archives: March 2013

March 6, 2013

Michelangelo 3.6.13 bonus Thought of the Day

By ritalovestowrite

“I live and love in God’s peculiar light.” — Michelangelo

Michelangelo Buonarroti

Michelangelo Buonarroti (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Some days are deserts I struggle to find some one to profile on this blog…and some days are overwhelming. Today, besides Dame Kiri (who got the official Thought of the Day birthday nod) Michelangelo, Cyrano De Bergerac, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Willie Mays, and astronaut Gordo Cooper were on the A List for a possible birthday nod. I think it came down to the fact that I wanted to listen to some opera today, so Kiri won.

But I just can’t ignore Michelangelo. 

Especially given what is happening RIGHT NOW in what is arguably his most famous “installation” the Sistine Chapel.

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Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born  on this day in Caprese, Italy in 1475. Today is the 538th anniversary of his birth.

The family soon moved to Florence, when Michelangelo was still a baby. His mother was ill, so little Michelangelo was sent to a wet-nurse who was part of a family of stone cutters.

Michelangelo’s father realized early on that his son had no interest in the family financial business, so agreed to apprentice him, at the age of 13, to the fashionable Florentine painter’s workshop. There, Michelangelo was exposed to the technique of fresco. Michelangelo had spent only a year at the workshop when an extraordinary opportunity opened to him: At the recommendation of Ghirlandaio, he moved into the palace of Florentine ruler Lorenzo the Magnificent, of the powerful Medici family, to study classical sculpture in the Medici gardens. [Biography.com]

“Faith in oneself is the best and safest course.” — Michelangelo

He went back to Florence in 1495 and worked  as a sculptor. Three years later he moved to Rome where he met Cardinal Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas.

Michelangelo sculpted his Pieta, a sculpture of Mary holding the dead Jesus across her lap, for the Cardinal’s tomb.

 

Rome tickets & pictures 2010 082

 

Carved from a single piece of Carrara marble, the fluidity of the fabric, positions of the subjects, and “movement” of the skin of the Pieta—meaning “pity” or “compassion”—created awe for its early spectators. [Ibid]

His next major work was David.

front

front (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

He “turned the 17-foot piece of marble into a dominating figure.” [Ibid]

“A man paints with his brains and not with his hands.”— Michelangelo

Next he was asked by Pope Julius II to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

The project fueled Michelangelo’s imagination, and the original plan for 12 apostles morphed into more than 300 figures on the ceiling of the sacred space. … Michelangelo fired all of his assistants, whom he deemed inept, and completed the 65-foot ceiling alone, spending endless hours on his back and guarding the project jealously until revealing the finished work, on October 31, 1512…. The resulting masterpiece is a transcendent example of High Renaissance art incorporating the Christian symbology, prophecy and humanist principles that Michelangelo had absorbed during his youth. The vivid vignettes of Michelangelo’s Sistine ceiling produce a kaleidoscope effect, with the most iconic image being the Creation of Adam… [Ibid]

michelangelo

michelangelo (Photo credit: 熊͘)

The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Click here for a virtual 3-d tour of the Sistine Chapel.

“I am still learning.”— Michelangelo

After the Sistine Chapel his work moved more toward architecture. He designed the tomb for Pope Julius II, the Laurentian Library in Florence, and the Medici Chapel. In 1546 he was appointed as the new architect for St. Peters Basilica in Rome. He designed the famous dome that crowns the church and work was well underway on it when Michelangelo died on Feb 18, 1564.

Robert MacPherson (1811-1872) - Rome - St. Pet...

Robert MacPherson (1811-1872) – Rome – St. Peter’s Dome in the Vatican. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last Judgment of Michelangelo Buonarroti

Last Judgment of Michelangelo Buonarroti (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The Last Judgement is a massive painting that takes up the alter wall of the Sistine Chapel. It took 4 years to complete.

Related articles

Leave a comment   |  tags: , | posted in Art, David, Europe, Italy, Michelangelo, Pieta, postaday, Sculpture, Thought of the Day, Today's Birthday

March 6, 2013

Kiri te Kanawa 3.6.13 Thought of the Day

By ritalovestowrite

“When I perform Strauss, it is as if the music fits me like a glove. My voice seems to lie in a happy area in this music, which is lyrical and passionate at the same time.”–Kiri te Kanawa

Kiri Te Kanawa [Image adapted from Last.fm.com]

Kiri Te Kanawa [Image adapted from Last.fm.com]

Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron was born on this day in Gisborne, on the North Island of  New Zealand in 1944. She is 69 years old.

She was adopted by Thomas and Nell Te Kanawa as an infant. She went to school at Saint Mary’s College in Auckland where she was trained to sing. In her teens and 20’s she was a popular singer in New Zealand.  “She enrolled in the London Opera Center in 1966, and had her Covent Garden debut 1 December 1971.” [IMDb — Kiri Te Kanawa] Her first performance on  stage was as the Second Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

She “was granted a three-year contract as a junior principal at Covent Garden.” [Bach Contatas.com] and soon came to…

international attention singing the role of Xenia in Boris Godunov and the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro….after her successes at Covent Garden, Kiri Te Kanawa performed her Metropolitan Opera debut as Desdemona in Otello (replacing an ill Theresa Stratas). Her other performances include Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, Arabella in Arabella, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Violetta in La Traviata, Tosca in Tosca, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and, most notably, her numerous performances as Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.[Ibid]

Te Kanawa sang “Let the Bright Seraphim” at Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s wedding. Her “O Mio Babbino Caro,” and “Ch’il bel sogno di Doretta,” by  Puccini, were featured in 1986’s “A Room With A View.”

She was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1990, awarded the Order of New Zealand in the 1995, made an  Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1973, and made “Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1982 for her services to music.” [IMDb — Kiri Te Kanawa]

But why am I TALKING about her when I could be letting you HEAR her sing ?

Here’s O Mio Babbino Caro by Puchinni

http://youtu.be/fKOibYPqO-8

And how about a little Mozart on a snowy afternoon? Here’s Porgi amor from Le nozze di Figaro

http://youtu.be/QfZT2Zn0mWc

Lastly here’s Schubert’s Ave Maria…

2 Comments   |  tags: , | posted in Kiri Te Kanawa, Music, Opera, postaday, Thought of the Day, Today's Birthday

March 5, 2013

Henry II 3.5.13 Thought of the Day — Part 2

By ritalovestowrite
English: Henry II and Thomas Becket

English: Henry II and Thomas Becket (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Click here for PART ONE

When word reached Henry that Becket was hiring armed men to protect him he said “What miserable drones and traitors have I nourished and brought up in my household, who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric?” [History of Britain, Schama, pg 142] It was said in a moment of frustration and anger, and probably not given as command, but it was all the anti- Becket faction needed. Four knights set out to murder the Archbishop while he was at Vespers in Canterbury Cathedral.   “Almost overnight Becket became a saint. Henry reconciled himself with the church.” [BBC.co.uk] He was genuinely grief-stricken over the loss of his former friend. He did penance at Beckett’s tomb and reversed the Constitution of Clarendon.

Family

English: Henry II and his wife Eleonora

English: Henry II and his wife Eleonora (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Henry had trust issues. Those extended to his family. Eleanor, 10 years Henry’s senior, was very much in love with him when they first married. She was a dutiful wife and bore him seven children, five of whom were boys. She traveled with him when she could. But he preferred to have Becket entertain visiting royalty — usually the Queen’s job — and he was a restless busy man who gave her titles but not power. She put up with it for 14 years before returning to Aquitaine to “assume personal control of the lands. Henry was left to his own affairs (of every sort) back in England.” [About.com]

Henry now had problems within his own family. His sons – Henry, Geoffrey, Richard and John – mistrusted each other and resented their father’s policy of dividing land among them. There were serious family disputes in 1173, 1181 and 1184. The king’s attempt to find an inheritance for John led to opposition from Richard and Philip II of France. Henry was forced to give way. [BBC.co.uk]

[James Goldman’s excellent play The Lion in Winter portrays a fictionalized Christmas between the imbittered royal family in 1183.]

Henry and Richard were at war in France when Henry took seriously ill. After so many years of refusing to name Richard his heir he was forced to do so at Ballan. He died  on the 6th of July, 1189.

Henry II & his children

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Links:

We saw The Lion in Winter at the  American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia last summer. It was an amazing theatre and an awesome Shakespeare (and historical) experience. Click on the link and check them out.

Leave a comment   |  tags: | posted in American Shakespeare Center, England, Europe, Henry II of England, History, postaday, Thought of the Day, Today's Birthday

March 5, 2013

Henry II 3.5.13 Thought of the Day PART ONE

By ritalovestowrite

“Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” — Henry II of England

James Keegan as King Henry in The Lion in Winter, 2012. Photo by Michael Bailey. James Keegan as Henry II in last summer's production of The Lion in Winter at the American Shakespeare Center.]

James Keegan as King Henry in The Lion in Winter, 2012. Photo by Michael Bailey. [At the American Shakespeare Center.]

Henry II of England was born on this day in Le Mans, France  in 1133. Today is the 880th anniversary of his birth.

Henry, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland, and  eventually King of England (1154–89)  was the oldest child of Empress Matilda and Geoffrey the Fair. Matilda was the eldest daughter of England’s Henry I who died unexpectedly in 1135 without naming an heir. She had a strong claim that her baby boy, a direct male descendant should be next in line for the throne, but her cousin Stephen, Count of Blois,  (aka Stephen the Usurper), got there  first. Matilda, aided by her half-brother Robert of Gloucester, raised an army and a 17 year civil war ensued.

Stephen and Henry discuss across the River Tha...

Stephen and Henry discuss across the River Thames how to settle the succession of the English throne. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Henry’s early years were spent in the Court of Anjou with his father, but beginning in 1142 the boy traveled to England to join the campaign.  The years he spent living in a Spartan manner followed him the rest of his life and Henry eschewed the opulence and soft pleasures of other monarchs.

1151, Henry became ruler of Normandy and Anjou, after the death of his father. In 1152, he married Eleanor of Aquitaine, the greatest heiress in western Europe. In 1153, he crossed to England to pursue his claim to the throne, reaching an agreement that he would succeed Stephen on his death, which occurred in 1154. [BBC.co.uk]

Henry and Becket

The next order of business was to restore peace and order in England. To do that Henry turned to Thomas Becket. Together they rid the country of the robber barons, disloyal knights and criminals who were lapping up the offal of 17 years of war. As a reward for a job well done (and to strengthen his own power over the church) Henry named Becket Archbishop of Canterbury when the old Archbishop died. The church hierarchy was stunned and dismayed, Becket was the King’s man. He wasn’t even a priest. He was ordained on June 2nd, 1162, and consecrated Archbishop on June 3rd. But Becket surprised everyone, especially Henry. He undertook a religious transformation, and where he had been loyal wholly to the King he was now loyal only to God.  He began to work to restore the powers of the  Archbishop and the Church, especially in matters of Law.

English: King Henry II and Thomas Archbishop Č...

English: King Henry II and Thomas Archbishop Česky: Jindřich II. a Thomas Beckett From the Liber Legum Antiquorum Regum, a 12th century work (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Henry thought the Law of the Land superseded the Law of the Church. Becket disagreed. Henry called and assembly of clergy to Clarendon Palace  in January 1164 where he demanded that Becket sign the Constitution of Clarendon which “established procedures of criminal justice, establishing courts and prisons for those awaiting trial. In addition, the assizes gave fast and clear verdicts, enriched the treasury and extended royal control.” [BBC.co.uk]  In other words it gave Henry power over the church. After much heated debate Becket pledged an oath to the  idea of the Constitution, but he refused to sign. Henry was satisfied. But later when Becket refused to say mass until the oath was overturned. Henry was outraged and had the Archbishop put on trail for treason. Becket fled for exile in France. A  battle of wills ensued between two of Europe’s most stubborn men and neither Queen Elinor nor the Pope Alexander III could bring the parties together. Becket used the last most powerful arrow in his quiver. He tried to excommunicate Henry. Henry countered by threatening to arrest any one who supported Becket with treason. Becket’s support dwindled. He agreed to meet Henry in July of 1170. Becket accepted Henry’s legal supremacy in England. He was allowed to return to England. But he wasn’t willing to leave well enough alone.

Henry II with Thomas Becket, from a 13th-centu...

Henry II with Thomas Becket, from a 13th-century illuminated manuscript (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Click here for PART TWO

Leave a comment | posted in American Shakespeare Center, England, Europe, Henry II of England, History, postaday, Thought of the Day, Today's Birthday

March 5, 2013

Antionio Vivaldi 3.4.13 Thought of the Day

By ritalovestowrite
Français : VIVALDI: Portrait d’un violoniste v...

Français : VIVALDI: Portrait d’un violoniste vénitien du XVIIIe siècle, par François Morellon de La Cave (1723), portrait généralement considéré comme étant celui de Vivaldi Museo internazionale e biblioteca della musica (Bologna) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Antonio Vivaldi was born on this day in Venice, Italy in 1678. Today is the 335th anniversary of his birth.

 

Vivaldi was born into a working class family. He was the eldest of 9 children. His father, who started out as  a tailor, then a barber, learned how to play the violin and eventually landed a gig as church violinist for St. Marks in Vienna. Antonio’s father taught him to play violin as well.

 

“In 1703, he became ordained as a priest and was widely known as the “Red Priest” due to his red hair.” [Biography.com] But he  really had no calling to religious life. His religious training was a way for him to get an education (a common practice amongst the poor). Once ordained he…”no longer wished to celebrate mass because of physical complaints.” [Baroque Music.org] It is uncertain whether the illness was angina, asthma or a nervous disorder.

 

He began to teach violin at Ospedale della Pieta, a girls “orphanage” (it was really a home for the illegitimate daughters of wealthy noble men.) He also composed for the girls.

 

Vivaldi is best known for his Concertos (especially those for violin), his choral works and his operas (he wrote over 40.)

 

Here’s Autumn from his Four Seasons:

 

http://youtu.be/mGqF4ZgjLnc

 

and  here’s Gloria in a in Excelsis Deo.

 

 

Antonio Vivaldi by François Morellon la Cave; 1725

Antonio Vivaldi by François Morellon la Cave; 1725 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Orchestral music

 

  • over 230 vn concs., incl. “Four Seasons,” op.8 nos. 1-4 (circa 1725)
  • circa 120 other solo concs. (bn, vc, ob, fl, rec etc)
  • circa 40 double concs. ensemble concs. ripieno concs. and sinfonias
  • 4 concs. for double orch

Chamber music

 

  • circa 40 vn sonatas
  • 9 vc sonatas
  • circa 10 fl sonatas
  • 27 trio sonatas
  • 22 chamber concs.

Sacred vocal music

 

  • Gloria, D
  • Magnificat, g
  • psalms, hymns, motets etc
  • Juditha triumphans (oratorio, 1716)

Secular vocal music

 

  • circa 50 operas, circa 20 surviving, incl. Teuzzone (1719), Tito Manlio (1720), Giustino (1724), Orlando (1727), La fida ninfa (1732), Griselda (1735)
  • 3 serenatas
  • circa 40 solo cantatas

[List from Great Performances]

 

Leave a comment   |  tags: | posted in Antonio Vivaldi, Europe, Italy, Music, Thought of the Day

March 4, 2013

Jane Austen at Goucher

By ritalovestowrite

[Image courtesy: Goucher Library. Photo by: ritaLOVEStoWRITE]

[Image courtesy: Goucher Library. Photo by: ritaLOVEStoWRITE]

Dear readers,

I’ve had an article on the Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice and the amazing Jane Austen Collection at Goucher Library published in the March/April edition of Mason-Dixon ARRIVE magazine. Goucher has the largest collection of Austen related material (including several first editions of the books) in North America. It was a real treat to sit down with the ladies who shepherd this collection and talk about Jane.

Click here to go to the magazine’s website, then click on the cover to read a virtual copy of the magazine. The article is on page 22.

[Image courtesy: Goucher Library. Photo by: ritaLOVEStoWRITE]

Reading Jane’s Letters [Image courtesy: Goucher Library. Photo by: ritaLOVEStoWRITE]

While you are on-line… how about stopping by  “Mason-Dixon ARRIVE” on Facebook to learn more about the magazine and leaving a comment on the article.

[Image courtesy: Goucher Library. Photo by: ritaLOVEStoWRITE]

[Image courtesy: Goucher Library. Photo by: ritaLOVEStoWRITE]

Here’s a link to the Jane Austen Collection at Goucher.

[Image courtesy: Goucher Library. Photo by: ritaLOVEStoWRITE]

[Image courtesy: Goucher Library. Photo by: ritaLOVEStoWRITE]

2 Comments | posted in books, Goucher College, Jane Austen, Mason-Dixon ARRIVE, Pride and Prejudice, Thought of the Day

March 4, 2013

Robyn Hitchcock 3.3.13 Thought of the Day

By ritalovestowrite

“If you do things out of time you’re weird.” — Robyn Hitchcock

[Image courtesy: TurnTableInterview.com]

[Image courtesy: TurnTableInterview.com]


Robyn Rowan Hitchcock was born on this day in London, England in 1953. He is 60 years old.

[I couldn’t find anything about Hitchcock’s upbringing or family. Nada. Zip. Really… I looked. If you can find something send a reply.]

He started his music career as a singer songwriter in the 1970’s. He listened to the Beatles, Dylan, the Velvet Underground and absorbed it all. He says he developed a kind of song writing muscle that takes hold every summer and starts producing with out his taking any notice of it.  He genre hopped from Folk to Punk with his band, the proto-punk group The Soft Boys.

The Soft Boys

The Soft Boys (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The group, “a punk-era band specializing in melodic, chiming jangle pop and clever lyrics” [All Music] mixed the psychedelic with the weird, but they kept away from  the “aggressive, simplistic approach of most punk bands.” [About.com] Their “masterpiece” [Ibid] album Underwater Moonlight, released in 1980. Soon after Underwater Moonlight was released the group broke up and Hitchcock made his solo debut with Black Snake Diamond Role.

Black Snake Diamond Role represented a subtle but clear shift away from the more aggressive tone of The Soft Boys toward a more pop-oriented sound. “The Man Who Invented Himself” is user-friendly… and the production, while mostly straightforward, is …polished and professional. …the surrealism of the lyrics and the trippy undertow of the melodies are in the same league as Hitchcock’s earlier work…. Black Snake Diamond Role staked out a distinct sonic territory for Hitchcock’s solo career [All Music — Black Snake Diamond Role review]

Here’s I’m the Man with the Lightbulb Head:

http://youtu.be/NPhZhOy3RLg

The 80’s progressed with Groovy Decay  and the all-acoustic I Often Dream of Trains. Then he formed Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians and produced the album that usually tops the Best of Robyn Hitchcock list, Fegmania!

Featuring layered, intertwining guitars and keyboards that created lush and thick sonic textures. … Fegmania! was Hitchcock’s most consistent work to date, featuring such highlights as the Eastern-tinged “Egyptian Cream,” and the creepy “My Wife & My Dead Wife,” and the relatively straightforward “The Man with the Lightbulb Head.” [All Music review of Fegmania!]

In 1988 he signed with A&M Records, thus widening his reach to an American audience. He put out  Globe of Frogs  in ’88 and (my favorite Hitchcock record) Queen Elvis ’89.

Here’s a live version of Lost Madonna of the Wasp:

and  a very MTV version of the brilliant One Long Pair of Eyes:

Perspex Island and Respect followed in 2 year intervals for A&M. Then he switch to Warner for Moss Elixir for which he…

returned to the spare singer/songwriter format for his best set of songs in more than ten years. Everything is here: the quirky on “Man with a Woman’s Shadow,” and the elegant on “Beautiful Queen,” and the straight-ahead Beatlessque music in which Hitchcock excels in the perfect pop of “Alright, Yeah.” [All Music review of Moss Elixir]

He did a few more “solo” LPS — Jewels for Sophia, 1999, Luxor, 2003, and  Spooked, 2004 — before teaming up various rockers to form the Venus 3 project in 2006. With Venus 3 he put out Olé! Tarantula, 2006, Goodnight Oslo, 2009 and Propellor Time, 2010. In 2011 he released Tromsø, Kaptein, on Hype City Records, a Norwegian label.

He has a new album, “Love from London,” coming out on Tuesday. He’ll be touring the UK and the US  shortly to celebrate the album.

“Forty years ago, when I first got hold of an electric guitar, if someone had told me that at 60 I’d be playing amplified beat music, I would have just said, ‘Get out of here! … It’s like Mr. Rogers is playing guitar; that’s gross!’ But you know, rock ‘n’ roll is an old man’s game now.” [NPR: Weekend Edition]

English: Musician Robyn Hitchcock on stage at ...

English: Musician Robyn Hitchcock on stage at Iron Horse in Northampton, Massachusetts, 13 March 2005 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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This blog goes out to my buddy Sam who reminded me that today is Robin Hitchcock’s birthday. Sam, who is a freshman in college, learned about Hitchcock through his dad, Chip. He says “I think what I like most about Robyn’s style is his dreamy weirdness, but also the ability his songs have to be interpreted many different ways.” Some of Sam’s favorite Hitchcock songs are

Queen Elvis,
So You Think You’re In Love,
Victorian Squid,
Balloon Man,
The Man Who Invented Himself, and
The Man With The Lightbulb Head.

Good list Sam. And thanks for the nudge!

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Music, postaday, Robyn Hitchcock, Thought of the Day, Today's Birthday

March 2, 2013

Second Character Saturday Alan Rickman: Severus Snape

By ritalovestowrite

Blogger’s Note: When I started to thinking about Secondary Character Saturday somehow Alan Rickman kept coming to mind. He’s been around for a long time, he’s been in a LOT of great movies, and he’s almost always in the secondary character spot. He’s PERFECT for this blog segment. But WHICH Alan Rickman role to feature on Secondary Character Saturday? Ah that’s the rub. He’s done everything from rom-com, to Shakespeare, to comic science fiction, to serious drama. Which side of A.R. do I show? Frankly, I couldn’t decide. So I’m claiming the month of MARCH as Alan Rickman Month! (He’s also one of my all time favorite actors so I wont mind spending a month researching him and maybe re-watching a few movies!)

Snape topper

Who: Professor Severus Snape

From: The Harry Potter series

By: J.K. Rowling wrote the fabulous and engaging books. The movies were directed with varying degrees of success by different people. For my money Alfonso Cuarón saved (the movie) franchise from generic blandom with his wickedly good HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and David Yates brought the magic in HP and the Deathly Hallows 1&2.

Released: The character of Severus Snape first appeared in June  of 1997 when Rowling published Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in Great Britain.  We first got to see A.R. as Snape in 2001 with the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Pros: He’s brilliant, of course. He’s got fantastic wand skills and is so fab at potions that he literally rewrote the book. He’s inventive, hard-working,  intuitive. He protects Harry even though he can’t stand him. He teaches Harry Occlumency so he can keep Voldemort out of his mind. He’s acts as a double agent for Dumbledore. And he’s loyal to Lily, his one true and unrequited love. Having made both Lily and Dumbledore (and Narcissa Malfoy) promises he stops at nothing to keep them. He’s the perfect Slytherin.

Still from HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Snape rushes in front of Harry, Ron and Hermione to protect them from a werewolfe. Maybe he's just being a good teacher/adult. But I doubt whether some other teachers at the school would have done the same. [Image courtesy: Warner Brothers]

Still from HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Snape rushes in front of Harry, Ron and Hermione to protect them from a werewolf. Maybe he’s just being a good teacher/adult. But I doubt whether some other teachers at the school would have done the same. [Image courtesy: Warner Brothers]

Cons: Well… he’s mean. He’s REALLY mean to Harry! And that’s just not right! (OK I’ve got that off my chest. But lets face it, Snape isn’t the meanest one of the lot. He’s got nothing on Umbridge.) He’s a bully and he takes out his resentment for what James Potter did to him on Harry.  He’s spiteful, malicious, angry, bitter, resentful, and cruel.  He always favors Slytherin . He’s a double spy for Voldemort. He’s a Death Eater. And he KILLS Dumbledore! He’s the perfect Slytherin.

Most Shining Moment: I agree with Harry Potter Blog Spot who picks Dumbledore’s Death as Snape’s Shining Moment “For to honor Dumbledore’s wishes and protect Harry’s (and Draco’s) life, Snape risked the damage his own soul that this horrific act would bring.” [Harry Potter blog spot] It is the crowning action of commitment, loyalty and self-sacrifice, while on the outside (and to the reader)  it looks completely the opposite.

Least Shining Moment: All the times he was meaner than he had to be to Harry and the other students who weren’t in Slytherin … and when he killed Dumbledore.

The Mary Grandpre illustration of Half-Blood Prince.

The Mary Grandpre illustration of Half-Blood Prince.

Yeah, I know I sound schizophrenic, but things with Snape are COMPLICATED. And nothing in the books was more complex and, dare I say, misleading, than Snape’s killing Dumbledore. When it happened it was THE WORST THING EVER in the HP universe and I didn’t think I could ever forgive Snape. Up until then Rawlings had given me enough ammunition to  forgive away his nastiness towards Harry. But this? How could he be redeemed from this? Hmmmm.  Things have changed.

He remained true to himself by remaining loyal to Dumbledore and his lost love. As the stakes and danger increased for him, and Dumbledore pushed him to greater acts of spying and risk, Snape met these challenges bravely, even if irritably, to protect the son of the man he loathed and thereby preserve the memory of the woman he loved. [Ibid]

Something clearly resonates with Snape. He was the top pick of for favorite character in a poll done by the H.P. British publisher Bloomsbury. He received 20% of the votes in the poll that asked readers to rank their favorite 40 characters. (Hermione came in second. Harry was a distant 5th!)

Not to take anything away from the Snape Rowlings painted on the page, but Alan Rickman’s nuisanced performance as the greasy haired potions professor had a lot to do with that high rating. He’s delightful to watch throughout the series. (He makes the first couple of movies bearable with his dark, snarkiness). And as Snape’s story arch progresses Rickman’s performance builds in a measured, restrained, mysterious pace. He respects the character enough not to give anything away. He’s multidimensional in a very limited scope of dimension, many shades of black, as it were. And he’s fun to watch … right up to the moment he makes you cry.

Found this piece of Fan Art on Pinterest (with Maggie's help -- thanks Maggie!) And can not find any one to attribute it to. Sorry.

In another life wake up. by Lily-fox

Sorry the text is small in the comic:This is what it says…
Snape wakes from the dream to find his daughter at his bed side.
She asks “Are you awake?”
He reaches out to touch her red hair — she looks so much like Lily “Yes.”
She smiles “Mommy says pancakes are ready.”
Life is good.

 

Frankly… (if you haven’t guessed) I’m not a big fan of the HP movies. (LOVED the books — so don’t kick me out the club — but he movies… for the most part … eh.) But Rickman was always worth watching.

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So which other A.R. characters should we tackle this month? We’ve got 4 more Saturdays in the month so get your votes in!

  • Hans Gruber (Die Hard’s evil bad guy)
  • Alexander Dane  (Galaxy Quest’s classically trained science officer)
  • Dr. Blalock (the life saving doctor in Something the Lord Made)
  • Judge Turpin (the evil judge in Sweeny Todd)
  • Steven Spurrier (the wine snob from Bottle Shock)
  • Alex (the grief-stricken stranger in Snow Cake)
  • Jamie (the cello playing ghost in Truely, Madly, Deeply), or
  • Col Christopher Brandon (from Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensiblity)  — Yeah, I’m doing Branon.

To see how Rickman “elevates the role of a villain from the plain ol’ bastard to a bastard coated bastard with bastard filling.”…go to the excellent blog The Many Faces of Alan Rickman.

9 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Alan Rickman, books, Fiction, fictional character, Film, Harry Potter, postaday, Ron Weasley, Snape, Thought of the Day

March 2, 2013

Ron Howard 3.1.13 Thought of the Day

By ritalovestowrite

“One of the great things about being a director as a life choice is that it can never be mastered. Every story is its own kind of expedition, with its own set of challenges.”– Ron Howard

Gallery ~ Opie Taylor

Gallery ~ Opie Taylor (Photo credit: erjkprunczýk)

Ronald William Howard was born on this day in Duncan, Oklahoma, USA in 1954. He is 59 years old.
He was born into a theater family. His mother was an actress, and his father both acted and directed. He was in his first film at 18 months and on stage at 2. He appeared on television frequently as a child and had reoccurring gigs on CBS’s Playhouse 90,  Dennis the Menace, and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis before landing the roll of Opie Taylor in the Andy Griffith Show.

He played Opie from 1960 to 1968. The show ran for 268 episodes and was ranked as the #9 best show in  American Television History by TV Guide.

Howard kept busy while the show was in summer hiatus with family films like The Music Man and  The Courtship of Eddie’s Father.

In the early 70’s the worked on The Smith Family, a sitcom about a police detective and his family starring Henry Fonda. (It lasted two seasons) In 1973 he starred in George Lucas’ American Graffitti. Then hit with another sitcom as the star of Happy Days.

Photo of Richie (Ron Howard) dressed as a girl...

Photo of Richie (Ron Howard) dressed as a girl dancing with Fonzie (Henry Winkler) from the television program Happy Days. In this episode, Richie must dress as a girl and attend a Jefferson High School dance as part of an initiation. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

His second act came as a producer / director / producer.  He’d been behind the camera before Happy Days was a wrap, but it was Night Shift with Michael Keaton, Shelly Long, and Happy Days alum Henry Winkler that made his as a Director. Other comedies include Splash, Gung Ho, Cocoon, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and The Dilemma.

Adult Opie in the 1986 reunion telemovie, &quo...

Adult Opie in the 1986 reunion telemovie, “Return to Mayberry”. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dramas and Dramedies include: Parenthood, Backdraft, Far and Away, The Paper, Apollo 13, Ransom, A Beautiful Mind,The Missing, Cinderella Man, The Da Vinci Code, Frost / Nixon and Angels & Demons. He won an Academy award for A Beautiful Mind, and the Directors Guild of America Award for A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13.
Next up is a biopic about formula one race car drivers in RUSH due out in September of this year.

Ron Howard during filming of Angles and Demons...

Ron Howard during filming of Angles and Demons in Rome. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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