Two things I love: old musicals that my grandpa performed in as a kid, and books written by dead French guys. If you’re into either of those categories, then, hoo boy, that makes two of us!
Here We Go
The Pirates of Penzance is a musical comedy written by Arthur Sullivan and W. S. Gilbert a whole bunch of years ago about a guy who has the craziest 21st birthday ever. The 1983 cinematic version with Kevin Kline sports some of the finest swashbuckling — in the fullest sense of the word — you’ll see on film. My grandpa used to regale us with stories of his experience playing the Pirate King in high school, dancing the hornpipe across stage and belting his baritone to the delight of (ostensibly) all. My hero.
Pensées is a posthumously published collection of thoughts written by Blaise Pascal, renowned French physicist, philosopher, and all around good guy (to quote the 1997 cinematic masterpiece, George of the Jungle). You may remember Pascal from the SI unit for pressure, his influence on modern French fashion, or from his angsty blog posts on the 17th century version of WordPress. I appreciate the bite-sized variations of intensity it represents: a smorgasbord of ideas, half-baked or meticulously crafted, but all earnest in the best way.
So, take the essence of those two things, stir ’em together in a big old pot, and that’s what I’m going for here: just some stuff I wrote that I’d like to share. So come, sit a spell, grab something comfy (tea, blanket, loved one–human or pet!), and take a gander at my Pirates of Pensées.