RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS

Because sometimes a muse loss ensues, even for the most experienced writer...
So this post is going to be a collage of scraps and snippets, much like an oddly sewn quilt that looks more like a patchwork ghost costume or expressionist picture.

800 lb. grrrrilla (gorilla): is a person or organization (like Wallenstein, Napoleon, or C****s F***a) so powerful that one can put no objection to his/her/its requests, no matter the circumstances or repercussions.
The expression comes from a rather lame riddle joke:
Q: Where does an 800-pound "grrrrilla" sit?
A: Anywhere it wishes.

Because folks keep on being killed in action all the time in this blog: Here's a fragment from a Victorian Cinderella story (when the heroine's dad leaves her and this world, giving the stepfamily full powers) by Constance Cary. Just to show you.

A war breaking out, Count Constant made haste to draw his sword in his king's service. A great battle ensued, and one of the first to fall, while gallantly fighting, was Ethelinda's father. He murmured a blessing on his child, and saying he was glad to go, died upon the battlefield, in the arms of his attendant.

Folks keep on dying upon the battlefield in my blog. Just in the Ringstetten Saga, whenever "a great battle ensues" (Breitenfeld, Lützen, Nördllingen, Rocroi, Poltava), hundreds of warriors "die upon the battlefield". In my 30YW play: King Gustavus, Count Pappenheim, the heir of the Wallensteins, and all those unsung officers and privates "die upon the battlefield" of Lützen. Mourning ensues, international level.

Mourning Becomes Electra: a play that retells the Oresteia in the Southern US. I never knew of anything like that until last summer. Stunning, and a fantastic introduction to classic tragedy.

Frau Oster: I am due to encounter her this week or the next to see the corrections made on my play. Since I got an 8 in this term's evaluation, I am left to believe that the errors have been few.

The Eighth Plague, encore: Locusts. Clouds of them. Swooping above the rice fields and leaving them empty. The close-up of a green locust, as the word "green" is sung out LOUD by the chorus in the song, is really startling.

Planet of the Pigs: Animal Farm is just like Planet of the Apes: rebel animals drive humans out and establish their own society. Then, one species becomes the corrupt "ruling class"... I had never, until now, thought of that!

Staging my 30YW play? Frau Oster herself suggested a staging or at least an aloud reading. I would cast myself as Gustavus Adolphus. Frau Oster would be the narrator. Then, putting the dreamcast together, I would have it this way the best:

Ulrike Oster: Narrator, supporting roles (various)

Sandra Dermark (me): Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden

María Calzada: Mary Eleanor of Sweden

J.C. Ruiz: Jean 't Serclaës de Tilly

Kim Schulte: Albrecht von Wallenstein

Cristina García: supporting roles (various)

Kiss Me (by Sixpence None the Richer): The lyrics and melody of this song liven up my mood... I usually listen to it when I'm sad... and when I'm not so sad as well!