Graymatters

in the jimmy james style…

100% USDA Prime Mamma’s boy on Vimeo.

Make sure to watch the rest of these (there are 14).

-Thom

Spring in Madison. One of the nice things about living where it actually gets cold is that you celebrate being able to get outside again. It’s like everyone in the city is 3% happier.

Outdoor soccer begins this weekend. It looks like pick-up on Tuesdays and Fridays is finally starting to get going. I burned my socks, did my spring cleaning, and turned in a revised draft of my Woolf chapter.

To celebrate enjoy this sick goal by Torres from Saturday’s match vs. Blackburn. I hope to some day be able to imagine that I’d be able to think about doing that.

We are going to see this next Friday, I’m very excited.  This will be the 4th time that I’ve seen it.  Here’s some basic information about the opera for those who will be going with me.  I’ll be adding more specific details about certain arias or moments that are worth knowing.

The full title is Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti (Thus Do They All, or The School For Lovers). The libretto was written by Lorenzo da Ponte who also worked with Mozart on The Marriage of Fiagro and Don Giovanni. One of the enduring points of interest about the opera is the tension between da Ponte’s obiviously comic libretto  and the apparent seriousness that Mozart gives to it.

This summary is from wikipedia (and is shockingly good).

***

Mozart and Da Ponte took as a theme “fiancée swapping” which dates back to the 13th century, with notable earlier versions being those of Boccaccio’s Decameron and Shakespeare’s play Cymbeline. Elements from Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew are also present. Furthermore, it incorporates elements of the myth of Procris as found in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, vii.^[5]

Place: Naples.

Time: the 18th century.

Act 1

Scene 1: A coffee shop

Ferrando and Guglielmo (two officers) claim that their fiancées (Dorabella and Fiordiligi, respectively) will be eternally faithful. Don Alfonso joins the discussion and lays a wager with the two officers, claiming he can prove in a day’s time that these two women (like all women) are fickle. The wager is accepted: the two officers will pretend to have been called off to war; soon thereafter they shall return in disguise and attempt to seduce each other’s lover. The scene shifts to the two women (they are sisters) who are praising their men. Alfonso arrives to announce the bad news: the officers have been called off to war. Ferrando and Guglielmo arrive, brokenhearted, and bid farewell (quintet: Sento, o Dio, che questo piedo è restio—”I feel, oh God, that my foot is reluctant”). As the boat with the men sails off to sea, Alfonso and the sisters wish them safe travel (trio: Soave sia il vento—”May the wind be gentle”), then Alfonso, left alone, rails against the fickleness of women (arioso: Oh, poverini, per femmina giocar cento zecchini?—”Oh, poor little ones, to wager 100 sequins on a woman”).

Scene 2: A room in the sisters’ home

Despina, their maid, arrives and asks what is wrong. Dorabella bemoans the torment of having been left alone (aria: Smanie implacabili—”Torments implacable”). Despina mocks the sisters, advising them to consider new lovers over old lovers (aria: In uomini, in soldati, sperare fedeltà?—”In men, in soldiers, you hope for faithfulness?”). After they depart, Alfonso arrives upon the scene. He fears Despina will recognize the men through their disguises, so he bribes her into helping him win the bet. The two men then arrive, dressed as mustachioed Albanians. The sisters enter and are alarmed by the presence of strange men in their home. The Albanians attempt to win over the sisters, Guglielmo going so far as to point out all of his manly attributes (aria: Non siate ritrosi—”Don’t be shy”), but to no avail (aria: Come scoglio—”Like a rock”). Ferrando, left alone and sensing victory, praises his love (aria: Un’aura amorosa—”A loving breath”).

Scene 3: A garden

The sisters are still pining. But Despina has asked Don Alfonso to let her take over the seduction plan—and suddenly, the Albanians burst in the scene and threaten to poison themselves if they are not allowed the chance to woo the sisters. As Alfonso tries to calm them, they drink the poison and pass out. Soon thereafter, a doctor arrives on the scene (Despina in disguise), who, through use of a large magnet (see animal magnetism), is able to revive the Albanians. The revived men, hallucinating, demand a kiss of the goddesses who stand before them. The sisters refuse, even as Alfonso and the doctor (Despina) urge them to acquiesce.

Act 2

Scene 1: The sisters’ bedroom

Despina urges them to succumb to the Albanians’ overtures (aria: Una donna a quindici anni—”A fifteen year old woman”). After she leaves, Dorabella confesses to Fiordiligi that she is tempted, and the two agree that a mere flirtation will do no harm and will help them pass the time while they wait for their lovers to return (duet: Prenderò quel brunettino”—”I will take the dark one”).

Scene 2: The garden

Dorabella and the disguised Guglielmo pair off, as do the other two. The conversation is haltingly uncomfortable, and Ferrando departs with Fiordiligi. Now alone, Guglielmo attempts to woo Dorabella. She does not resist strongly, and soon she has given him a medallion (with Ferrando’s portrait inside) in exchange for a heart-shaped locket (duet: Il core vi dono—”I give you my heart”). Ferrando is less successful with Fiordiligi (Ferrando’s aria: Ah, lo veggio—”Ah, I see it,” and Fiordiligi’s aria: Per pietà, ben mio, perdona—”Please, my beloved, forgive”), so he is enraged when he later finds out from Guglielmo that the medallion with his portrait has been so quickly given away to a new lover. Guglielmo at first sympathises with Ferrando (aria: Donne mie, la fate a tanti—”My ladies, you do it to so many”) but then gloats, because his betrothed is faithful.

Scene 3: The sister’s room

Dorabella admits her indiscretion to Fiordiligi (È amore un ladroncello—”Love is a little thief”). Fiordiligi, upset by this development, decides to go to the army and find her betrothed. Before she can leave, though, Ferrando arrives and continues his attempted seduction. Fiordiligi finally succumbs and falls into his arms (duet: Fra gli amplessi—”In the embraces”). Guglielmo is distraught while Ferrando turns Guglielmo’s earlier gloating back on him. Alfonso, winner of the wager, tells the men to forgive their fiancées. After all: Così fan tutte—”All women are like that.”

Scene 4:

It begins as a double wedding for the sisters and their Albanian grooms. Despina, in disguise as a notary, presents the marriage contract, which all sign. Directly thereafter, military music is heard in the distance, indicating the return of the officers. Alfonso confirms the sisters’ fears: Ferrando and Guglielmo are on their way to the house. The Albanians hurry off to hide (actually, to change out of their disguises). They return as the officers, professing their love. Alfonso drops the marriage contract in front of the officers, and, when they read it, they become enraged. They then depart and return moments later, half in Albanian disguise, half as officers. Despina has been revealed to be the notary, and the sisters realize they have been duped. All is ultimately forgiven, as the entire group praises the ability to accept life’s unavoidable good times and bad times.

to prevent you from thinking i am a fan of romance, i offer the following to balance the affirmation contained in my previous post.

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the title of this post is a quote from adam which was then immortalized on a random poster i made in high school for… SGA elections… or the spring dance… something…

i thought this article about meeting people online was interesting, especially the comments.

online dating good for romance

-t

In reverse order:

This wins the coveted third spot because of the exchange between the two guys doing the electrical work. Specifically because this seems like something that would happen between Adam and I.

In second place we have this ad that begins on the high note of Alec Baldwin doing scare quotes around the term televison star and only builds from there. The moment of weirdness–the laughter–in the middle also improves the overall quality.

I believe my exact quote after seeing this was: “I have to go buy High Life right now.”

The Cheetos commercial gets an honorable mention for sheer bizarreness.

TG

So, I don’t know if you’ve seen this site for a company that makes custom “luxury” fantasy beds for children.  They make castles and crap like this for kids to play/sleep in. Maybe I’ve become desensitized to the gold jewelry that musicans and sports figures wear, but there is something about seeing these photos of ridiculously over indulgent ‘forts’ for these kids that is nauseating. I mean can you look at those photos and think that that is in any way okay. Moreover, those kids have NO FUCKING CHANCE to become well adjusted adult humans.  Seriously, I worked at Georgetown: I’ve seen the damage that this kind of thing does. Really, the parents should be throw in prison for destroying the life of a child.

I just found this today when I was ordering replacement toothbrush heads and thought it was pretty awesome.  The more automation I can include in my life the better.

In any event, you can use this service to have amazon automatically send you refills of something.  Not only does this mean that you are always using a new toothbrush head and, therefore, brushing away 10% more plaque (by the way, my resolution this year: have 10% less plaque) but also they give you a discount. Pretty bad ass.

Now I just need amazon to send me a completed dissertation chapter every 4 months.