Hooray Bradbury!

They gave out the Pulitzers yesterday, and Ray Bradbury was awarded a Special Citation "for his distinguished, prolific and deeply influential career as an unmatched author of science fiction and fantasy."

Cool. And overdue.

Shakespeare in the Park

Greetings, New Yorkers. It's that time of year again, when Shakespeare buffs the world over ask, "what the Public Theater doing this summer in the Park?" I have the answers right here. Two popular plays, Romeo and Juliet and Midsummer Night's Dream, are coming our way, though in the wrong order if you want to see Midsummer at midsummer.

Looks interesting, though I always hold my breath until I see what changes have been made. I am not a fan of modernization without a compelling reason behind it, and if I had to pick one play that should never be moved out of it timeless pastoral setting, it's Midsummer.

Oh, and I looked the actors playing the leads in R&J. Both are in their late 20s, so no teens playing the parts, alas. I wonder, has any major stage version tried to follow Zeferreli and Luhrman's cinematic lead on this?

VT

So, one of my co-workers - one of the few people here I would call a friend - went to Virginia Tech. I know this because she had a VT hat in her bag when I was at her desk. She took classes in Norris Hall. She's handling it okay at this point, but it's also been a while since she was a student there. She also plans to make sure I get any e-mail she does from the alumni association regarding fundraising. I might post the info.

There isn't much I can say. It would be trite, or hokey, or full of crap. So I will just be quiet and offer my thoughts and prayers.

One Victim

So I keep looking at the "news" in the aftermath of the VT shootings. I should know better since the signal-to-noise ratio is awful. But I found this story among the stories, about how one of the murdered professors was a Holocaust survivor.

Liviu Librescu survived the Holocaust, the repressive regime in Romania, and the hazards of life in Israel. He did not survive this latest burst of violence. Maybe it's ironic. Maybe he was supposed to be at this place at this time to save lives. Maybe it's just what was. There's no way to know.

May his family, and all the families mourning today, find solace.