Really Minnelli

  Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet is widely considered one of the best adaptations to date, and he is regarded as the best Shakespearean actor in many circles. Although the play does feature a few comedic scenes, overall it has, quite fittingly, a very dull and melancholy theme to it. Death and afterlife in Olivier’s Hamlet is presented with uncertainty which is portrayed through Hamlet’s indecisiveness. In the famous “To be, or not to be” scene, Olivier (Hamlet) watches over waves crashing violently on some rocks beneath him from the top of the ramparts, where he considers suicide as he draws out a dagger, but decides against it as he seems to fear “…in that sleep of death what dreams may come”. It seems as if Hamlet is weary of life, but fears what may come after, which proves to be the deciding factor in him choosing to live. This theme of uncertainty of what happens after death seems to recur throughout the play. Another instance where Hamlet is bothered by this doubt is when he chanc

Director's Notebook   The play featured in the video is an amateur production of Hamlet, of Act 1 Scene 4. The opening scene shows Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus standing in silence on a minimalistic set, on watch for the Ghost King. The Ghost appears a few minutes into the clip, and only a few features are discernible because of the dim lighting and eerily swirling smoke, causing the trio to panic. The Ghost’s appearance has intentionally been given an air of mystery, so as to create a sense of tension and uncertainty among the audience, as this is one of the most important turning points in the plot. Although on watch, the group seem to be at ease before the Ghost appears. The speech is casual; however, at the appearance of the Ghost, the atmosphere of the scene changes instantly and dramatically. Horatio cries out in surprise and grabs Hamlet’s shoulder to point in the direction of the approaching apparition. Soon after, Hamlet addresses the Ghost in a frightened and wavering v

 Thank you for clicking on this post - it means so much to me. And yes, I know I could've been a little more comprehensive when titling this ("Art Shop!" isn't much), but whatever came to mind sounded too cheesy so I just gave up.  I have been running two art shops on the Threadless and Redbubble platforms for about a year, and although the sales I make aren't many, I really do enjoy the occasional purchase people make. I just wanted to put it up here as well, because creating art is something I really am passionate about and would like to share it with you. Below you'll find links to my Redbubble and Threadless shops. Have fun browsing and stay safe! Threadless Shop Link

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion seems to feature ideas ranging from the distant past like classicism, to more recent ones, such as Industrial Neoclassicism. Classicism is the style of the ancients, or the ancient Greeks and Romans, of which the Greek temple or the temple in general is considered the paradigm. Industrial Neoclassicism is a term coined by Peter Behrens to describe reduced and abstracted architecture, that became increasingly popular during the 19th and 20th centuries. Mies seems to have shared a passion for exploring how Industrial Neoclassicism could manifest itself better in modern buildings, a venture that Behrens, whom he worked with, had taken interest in himself. The combination of glass, steel and stone create dramatic contrasts and comparisons between the materials and the structures they create. The glass creates a sense of seamlessness while the stone seems to assert dominance. While glass and steel have been used extensively to ornament th

  The pied-à-terre has four floors: the ground floor and three levels. The ground floor has two small lawns at the front and back, a car park, utility room and a staircase leading up to level 1. Level 1 comprises of three bedrooms and two baths. The rooms are located in such a way that light would enter through the elongated windows into the rooms and hallway, each room would have enough privacy and also with an inverted arrangement, like Garches. Moving through the floor, another staircase is visible at the end, which leads up to Level 2. This floor has all the living spaces combined into one room, except for the toilet room which is cut off from the rest of the floor. Level 2 also has a small balcony that is accessible from the living area. Next to the toilet room is the last staircase that leads up to the roof terrace. This plan has been constructed in the manner of Corbusier by applying the Five Points of Architecture; the pilotis, free plan, ribbon window, free facade and the roof

The Code Of Honor—A Duel in the Bois De Boulogne, Near Paris , wood-engraving after  Godefroy Durand ,  Harper's Weekly  (January 1875). Image from Wikipedia. The gentleman’s duel is an arrangement between two people where they engage in combat with matched weapons. This practice was particularly common during the 17th and 18th centuries, where the opponents faced each other in the event where one of the two parties had offended the other. The two parties would duel although it was most likely that both would survive in the end, as it was mostly considered a symbol of risking one’s life to restore honour to both parties. In The Twelfth Night, Viola, who is disguised as a man who goes by the name Cesario, has to face Sir Andrew in a duel, and before the duel Sir Toby Belch gives Sir Andrew advice by saying “so soon as ever thou seest him, draw; and, as thou drawest swear horrible; for it comes to pass oft that a terrible oath, with a swaggering accent sharply twanged off, gives manh

Othello. Image from Wikipedia. Othello was a play written by Shakespeare presumably in the years 1603 and 1604, during which a peace treaty was signed between England and Spain. This might have brought about the memory of the War of Cyprus that occurred when Shakespeare was much younger, inspiring him to write a play set in Venice around the time of this war. Othello was a Moor that Shakespeare portrayed as a kind, brave and charismatic character, contrary to the common belief at the time where people usually saw Black Moors in rather disdainful light. In Act 1 Scene 3 of Othello, Iago tries to humiliate Othello in front of the Duke and judges by exposing Desdemona’s marriage to Othello, which was carried out without the consent of Brabantio. Previously, Iago and Roderigo wake Brabantio up and break the news of his daughter’s elopement “to the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor”, giving Brabantio the impression that she has been forced to wed. Othello arrives and agrees to settle the

Portrait of William Shakespeare. Image from Wikipedia.   Knowing a fair amount about Shakespeare’s life would help in understanding his plays better, and could even give you an entirely different perspective to them. In addition to that, you might even learn about the culture and the ways of society at that time. Happenings in Shakespeare’s life might have caused him to put them in his stories. Shakespeare bringing back people from the dead could mean that he had lost someone that he cared for (possibly his son, Hamnet) that he wanted to bring back, and since he couldn't, he let his imagination run free, and make the impossible only seemingly impossible in his world. So, Shakespeare bringing back someone from the dead in his plays could signify an important turning point in the storyline. Shakespeare might have been intrigued or amused by the Roman story, Menaechmi, which could have led him to write a very similar story that he called The Comedy of Errors. The two stories are so

The subway was bustling with people. I was lucky to have found a seat and I sat, my backside indignantly plastered to the hard metal chair. I often wondered if I'd ever be able to lift my weight off the seat, and when I wasn't contemplating the possibilities of me getting up in time for my train, I was watching the people around me in the subway. There was a mother dragging her two children behind her, desperately urging them to hurry up. I wondered where the father was. " So many broken families these days ," I thought. Then there was an old man who was being fussed over by a woman wearing several layers of make-up and too little clothing. She seemed too old to be his daughter, and too young to be his wife. What people do for money . A middle-aged father passed me by, talking to his unresponsive daughter that was too busy poking at her mobile phone. These teens are too self-obsessed . A train whooshed into the subway and there was a crowd that swarmed at the doors of

 I've been taking some time off writing and started painting for a bit because writing takes up a bit more time than it should right now. (You'll know if you read my previous post that I have some exams coming up). I thought of sharing my art with you, so I'll be posting them like a gallery in a few days (hopefully). I'll try not to keep you guys waiting. Stay safe! :)

 Hi! I haven't been posting much lately because I've got a few major exams coming up soon, so I won't be posting like before. I managed to get this piece of writing ready for you, but I'm still developing this story. I'll update this version as soon as possible. Hope you enjoy this. Stay safe! :) “See you later Dodge,” I texted. I waited for a reply and getting none, went offline to do the good stuff. And by the good stuff I mean the cool stuff, which was hacking for me. Because we all have that vice which is our downfall or our salvation, and for me it was the latter. Just then, one of my telephones rang. The ugly black one with its paint peeling off which I had scavenged from the scrapyard, which meant the Pig was calling. “Hello,” I said. “Hey Joey. I got a job for ya.” “I’m listening.” “I need you to rig the system,” he said. “The usual?” I asked. “No. This time it’s me. Get me out.” “Oh…okay, well I’m on it boss. And um, hey, I need the dumplings,” I said, rath

“James Perry, fondly known as Jamie, was the best eight-year-old that any parent could wish for. He was the sweetest little boy that loved taking care of others despite his young age. He’d hold his grandmother’s hand when she’d go down the stairs, he’d help his mum feed his baby sister, and he’d adorably carry little buckets of water to his dad whenever he had to wash their family car. Everyone that met Jamie agreed that they were truly blessed and lucky to have met the little boy. He was the epitome of positivity, and everyone hoped that it would be so for the rest of his life. However, noticing that Jamie’s drawings started to take on more dark and sinister themes, Mrs Perry questioned him but got no reply. His pictures showed a clear transition from bright colours to blacks and dark blues. One day, he approached his sister who was sitting on the floor doodling and tried to shove her on the floor and stab her with a pencil, but fortunately their mother having being around, the baby

Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. His works showcase the deepest feelings of humans, that the majority of us would be too ashamed to even admit the presence of. On reading Othello, I have been awed by such human emotion that is so vividly portrayed in Shakespeare's words. I also realised the amount of energy that a person, overcome with jealousy and hunger for power, is willing to put into another's downfall, instead of using this energy to improve oneself, and that even though this world has evolved in various aspects such as social and technological, those basic feelings are still prominently expressed and also underlie conflicts that occur at different levels, be it international or personal. The themes of his work are based on human feelings. He shows that by being infatuated by one thing, and by being overcome with strong degrading feelings, you become rather possessed and unable to function on activities that you believe to be

This is a piece of writing that I published on Reedsy's website. You can read my writing here , but I'll be posting them on my blog anyway. Hope you enjoy reading this. :) I kept looking at the door expectantly, watching the people come in and go out of the restaurant. I could feel butterflies in my stomach, and I wondered if I’d even eat tonight. I was nervous — not even the light instrumental music playing in the background or the bright little candles dotting every table could make me calm down — but it was a good sort of nervousness. Looking around, I noticed that there were a few families, but most of them seemed to be couples, all of which were busy chatting or clinking their glasses together and cutlery on plates filling the air with the sound of dining. The waiters bustled in and out of the kitchens, some even skilfully and effortlessly balancing a number of platters on both their hands and along their arms, making the aroma of food waft around the place. After watching

This is a piece of writing that I published on Reedsy's website. You can read my writing here , but I'll be posting them on my blog anyway. Hope you enjoy reading this. :) The bus-station this particular morning was deserted save for a few people dotting the concrete seats built into the walls of the station. I knew that I had to take the 4.30 bus to Kandy, but I didn’t know which exact bus to take. I was in the mystical foreign land of Sri Lanka that my ancestors had under their grasp a few decades short of a century; however, people that could converse well in English (and not send you on the wrong route, speaking from personal experience) were almost nowhere to be found. Undeterred yet, I decided to ask the stationmaster, or who I assumed to be was the stationmaster. “Hello,” I said warmly with a tinge of tentativeness in my voice. The little man in a beige shirt and black pants looked at me in an unwelcoming manner and returned to the piece of paper he was holding, which he