May 10, 2007 Henry V "St. Crispian's Day"

I wanted to pull this from my Live Journal because my thoughts have become more resolute in regard to this piece that I contemplated using for a Toastmasters Speech at work the other day.

Proclaim it Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart;
his passport shall be made, And crowns for convoy put in his purse:
We would not die in that mans company,
That fears his fellowship to die with us,
This day call'd the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbors,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian':
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say, 'These wounds I had on Saint Crispians day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages,
What feats he did that day; then shall our names,
Familliar in his mouth as household words,
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispian Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,

But we in it shall be remembered:
We few we, happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother: be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And Gentlemen in England now abed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispians day.

This piece sits upon my desk as a constant reminder of what it is to strive. It is so easy for me to be tempted to settle in a job like this for the here and now and the quick fixes. It would be so easy now that I make enough to live off of to not return to my education. To not strive.

And then, as I get down from the esoteric soap box, it is just plain beautiful prose, which is why I couldn't recite it for my poetry competition. Some in forensic matters have managed to soar in with bits like this under the banner of Bill Shakespeare, but it remains still prose.

When the battle was being lost in the minds of his men even before the battle has begun Henry the King took that doubt and dashed it upon the rocks, even going so far as to offer to thin his ranks by paying for men to return home if the have no stomach to fight.

Which would mean anyone who left would be condemned a coward. What a motivating factor.

This speech appears in several other media, including being quoted in film, and is one of my favorite of Shakespeare.

Side note: As I was working on this, another Shakespeare fan that I know here at work told me a story of her two white mice named Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

They were eaten by a boa constrictor.

They are dead.

The Boa was named Shakespeare.

May 9, 2007: Hot Fuzz

Well, to start, I swore I would not start another blog or e-mail account, especially since I need to rely on my work for email access at the moment, but with Isaac, Craig, and our new Pastor and his wife all on blogspot I thought it was finally worth the investment. (usually take about four people I know to convince me.)

One aspect of my Live Journal account (which is my most frequently updated account) is the review aspect of it. I thought it would be nice to devote this little blog to reviews of music, movies, books, events, places, books, experiences, concepts, books, and....books.

I shall start with the movie I saw last night that was supposed to be Spiderman 3. Hot Fuzz.

How that happened...... well I was supposed to go see Spiderman 3 with Kenny. (yes, for those of you who know us that means going to see the movies in separate cities and calling each other from a coffee-food spot afterwards. It works.) But he had seen it already and while still a loyal fan, wasn’t to keen on a second viewing. We had watched "Shaun of the Dead" together and had enjoyed immensely the zany and surreal modern British humor.

Now I know when I say 'British humor' a few people cringe and run away. But this is very much unlike the dry and slow subtle humor you might be used to.

Hot fuzz stars the duo from "Shaun" of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. They work well together, and remind me much of how well George Clooney and Brad Pitt worked together in Oceans 11. (just not as 'good' looking) They have natural comedic flow.

According to Kenny, other famous British actors can bee seen in bit roles as well. He would know better that I. I am such a newb at the "ID that random actor game."

The movie begins at a slow pace, plot wise. The cinematography is face paced, using the same instant flash pace to show the main character moving from scene to scene. If you have seen "Shaun" you will know what I mean.

The film is rated R for swearing....(which is British swearing, which when coming over the culture barrier is more funny even though the meaning of the words is deplorable still) and for blood, guts, and gore. But it is the kind of guts and gore that zombie video game makers must fantasize about. Very skillfully done but akin to "Kill Bill" very theatrical.

A word about the flying leap kick that KO'd the Grandma with the shotgun. In his defense, she was about to shoot him with a shot gun. Irreverent, wonderful scene that had a lead in at the very beginning of the film.....

Detective Andy Wainwright: You do know there are more guns in the country than there are in the city.
Detective Andy Cartwright: Everyone and their mums is packin' round here!
Sgt Angel : Like who?
Detective Andy Wainwright: Farmers.
Sgt Angel : Who else?
Det Andy Cartwright : Farmers' mums.

Overall a good film, and one I would rewatch. One for the "Mother and Fathers Movies Cupboard" in the family household, or better yet, locked in the dresser in the bedroom.