Things to ponder on a very *Wild* Card Wednesday (*Facetious Alert*):
1) “Free Love” is Hard to Come by in the Age of HMO’s– In my early married years (25 years ago), I used to say that marriage was a license to have as much sex–or making love, as I prefer to refer to it—as you want. *wink* I was a late bloomer for love, so I still 
feel that I have a lot of catching up to do. Ha! Nowadays when you see all of the erectile dysfunction (ED) tv ads for mature couples, with the husband taking medicine that ends them up in side by side tubs in the wilderness looking at scenic views (image right), your HMO doesn’t tell you that you have to meet a $150 deductible when the new fiscal year kicks over July 1st and your hubby’s love medicine needs a refill. *shakes head* Personally, my idea of mature romantic love would not have me be in a separate tub, but in the same tub with my hubby. But as with the Hays Code as applied to films in the 1930’s and beyond, separate tubs, like separate beds, seems to be the norm in tv ads talking about overcoming ED. So word to the wise, stock up early next year–before the new fiscal year changes over and your deductible kicks in.
2) Colorado and Washington are two states that are going to become very popular tourist destinations for their recent legalization of their citizens and guests being in an altered state via marijuana. No longer will political candidates be asked did you inhale? The new question will be when didn’t you inhale? And I predict church ladies groups will come up with recipe books of their favorite brownie and other recipes and do booming sales–thereby being able to buy a new church kitchen remodel that will benefit church social functions. Now before you get your nighties in a knot, our church just recently remodeled our church kitchen–after 40 years–putting in a heated dishwasher, other new appliances, and an in sink garbage disposal in one sink, but powder coating the existing metal cabinets 
to save funds. And all of it was financed without inhaling–incense or anything else. And heck! When I was growing up Mary Janes were all the rage. But these Mary Janes were on your feet, as in the picture at right. And I don’t know about you, but a picture of three black shoes is odd. Three? Maybe they were smoking weed in Colorado or Washington when they conducted this advertising photo shoot. Ha!
3) Lastly, the politeness of fans of the exquisitely talented British actor Richard ![TheCrucible-poster_folio_print-3-RichardArmitage-amend[1]-1_Jun0914JayBrooksnet-sized](https://gratianads90.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/thecrucible-poster_folio_print-3-richardarmitage-amend1-1_jun0914jaybrooksnet-sized.jpg)
Armitage who are attending his theatre performances where Mr. Armitage stars as John Proctor in The Crucible at The Old Vic Theatre in London (image right), is in seeming stark contrast to his Hobbit costar Martin Freeman’s fans attending Mr. Freeman’s Richard III performances as noted by The Telegraph (and image left, courtesy of Warner Bros.) : “…regulars have complained that his [Freeman’s] celebrity status is drawing in an unwelcome crowd who are unaware of theatre etiquette”. 
They clap and cheer at inappropriate times, etc. Hmmm. Martin Freeman’s fans behave inappropriately? Mr. Freeman’s own propensity for colorful language–the man needs to expand his vocabulary beyond the letter “F”–and his fondness for certain hand-finger gestures is well known (and no, I won’t show one of those images here).
Have I shocked you yet? Then take a big gulp of wine like Harry in the gif at right
and relax–because he is marrying the vicar and “god is watching” him, and we are merely engaging in a bit of harmless banter. (gif courtesy of kelbel75 at her blog NoWhere in Particular’s recent sweetly funny post on RA Fanning).
Have a gReAt day!
P.S. But for all of the differences in their humor sensibilities between Richard Armitage and Martin Freeman, they made an engaging interview pairing for promos for the first Hobbit film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, in their two 60 Seconds with spots for Cinemax:
and
Something About Love (A) 
re: Freeman’s audience — people who were in the theater and have tweeted about it have said that there was no problem or next to no problem with younger viewers and the newspapers have blown the whole thing out of proportion.
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Excellent! Thanks for the update! You really don’t want any actor’s performance interrupted because it throws off their rhythm, etc.
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Freeman and his team *wanted* those folks in the theater. He’s been quoted about it extensively: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2674350/My-Richard-III-no-boring-bits-says-Hobbit-star-Martin-Freeman-Actor-wants-tedious-parts-taken-Shakespeare-younger-audience-enjoy-them.html
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Hmmm. Interesting article about Freeman hoping to make Shakespeare more accessible. Yet the article also quotes individuals labeled “education experts” who decry “watering down” Shakespeare:
“But [Mr Freeman’s] view isn’t unusual, it’s very prevalent within schools, the idea that children can’t cope and that it has to be watered down.
‘I think it’s very anti-educational and very patronising and it deprives children of an understanding of what a play is all about.’ ”
That’s the thing about education. It’s a fine balance between piquing students’ interest with a “nibble” or gee whiz demonstration (in the case of science), but then also wanting to guide students to a thorough understanding of texts, concepts, theories, etc., and how to apply them.
I think of Bloom’s Taxonomy of levels of thinking and wanting the students to have more than the ability to recognize keywords or concept labels. You want them to understand and be able to analyze and synthesize–using the their skill sets and tools in deeper more meaningful ways.
So though Martin Freeman might have his heart in the right place, wanting to “hook” young people into Shakespeare by leaving out the “boring bits”, sometimes those boring bits need to be understood within the total context of the play, literary work, etc.
I say, set the educational standards high and then support and facilitate students to achieve beyond their own expectations.
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I don’t agree with Freeman; that said, if you invite audiences into a theater who are not usual theater goers, you might expect that they may not automatically know how to behave.
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Teachable moment time then. You’re right that people experiencing something new–such as a theatre experience–might not necessarily know how to behave. They can be guided to that understanding, and not be left to “twist in the wind”, flailing about because they don’t know better.
On our campus, we are seeing more and more first generation college students–who have no family role models to help them through the educational system, let alone help them in becoming the person they need to be for their hoped for careers–in terms of poise, focus, collaborative collegiality, on top of gaining the knowledge and skill sets in their chosen discipline.
Something as simple as proper dining etiquette for when student’s hoped for job interviews might be over a meal, needs to be taught. So students are invited to attend practice dinners where they are guided what to wear, grooming, greetings and introductions, polite conversation (and especially not interrupting other people when they talk, a common problem), etc.
You want students to put their best foot forward, to be able to seek opportunities, and for them to put their hard won disciplinary knowledge to work. But they often need a guide or mentor–as we all do at some point.
So if Mr. Freeman or others invite young people to the theatre without their having knowledge of that milieu, then a kindness he can provide them is to educate them. Programs often contain dos & don’ts–such as turning off your cell phone, not talking during the performance, what being an attentive and respectful audience member entails. Ultimately, being armed with these guidelines will help newcomers also have a more enjoyable theatre experience.
P.S. And I speak from what I know and do–with our college students, and even with my nieces and nephews when they were little. Provide them with guidance, an opportunity for them to try new things (like spaghetti in the dining room without them pawing their little tomato sauced hands on the nice wallpaper, Ha!), and also letting them learn by their mistakes (missed deadlines have consequences in school, the workplace, and in life, etc.)
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July 09, 2014–Thanks for liking this post!
Servetus, richardtreehouse, and LadyButterfly
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