Romeo and Juliet at The Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Sep 27, 2010 by Sami

Sitting at the gallery section of the theater. I look down and I say goodbye. Goodbye to the men in suits that would come wearing their best. The ones you imagine would have dry martinis and go to shoe shine shops. Goodbye to the lovely women in their pretty dresses and ironed skirts. Goodbye to the air of sophistication I used to smell every time I was at the theater. Goodbye. I look down and say, with a heartache, an unwelcoming hello to the skinny jeans. A sadder hello to the sneakers and graphic tshirts. A miserable hello to the giggles that echoes the theater after a kiss.

Believe me, I understand the unfortunate reality of little funding and the diminishing number of tickets being sold. I understand that maybe the Chicago Shakespeare Theater is trying to appeal to the younger audience to boost their attendance level…but what’s going too far? I saw Romeo and Juliet and I wondered that. It’s probably the one Shakespeare work, in my opinion, that you can show in it’s original form and still be understood by today’s generation. It could have been the giggles escaping some girls when Romeo kissed Juliet, it could have been the costumes that seemed to be made by a fan of  West Side Story and gay soft-core adult films, it could have been the unsettling accent of the actor playing Romeo or it could have been the way certain actors tried too hard to embody the puns. Whatever it was, it left a bitter taste in my mouth. I am planning on going to see it again and hope that at that time I will get to experience the Chicago Shakespeare Theater I came to love.

After some thought I realized that it wasn’t all that unfortunate. I did like Joy Farmer-Clary as a young carefree and in love, Juliet. I enjoyed Steve Haggard as Benvolio, whom I came to believe is to Romeo what Horatio is to Hamlet. Moreover, even with his over the top I’ll-show-you-that-this-is-a-pun-about-sex-by-doing-an-air-thrust, Ariel Shafir as Mercutio was also a pleasant to experience.

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My Picks for The 46th Chicago International Film Festival

Sep 22, 2010 by Sami

I LOVE MOVIES!

Yes, I screamed the above line.  Any one that knows me knows that every year I await the Chicago International Film Festival like a lover awaiting the return of their loved one from war. I count the days, wonder what films will be screened that year, what countries are they from, how many days will I be locked inside the theater with my favorite characters…

This year is no exception. The Festival is running from October 7th till the 21st. Check out the website on where to get your tickets! Act fast because usually they will go by faster than you can say “I want to check out this movie”.

I’ve made it easy for you folks. You know I have a great taste so I’m going to recommend few that I think are not to be missed. Comment and let me know what you think of my picks and what others do you plan to go see! Enjoy! The description is taken directly form the Festival’s site.

Asleep in the Sun (Argentina)

Lucio loves his wife Diana desperately, but her losing battle with depression prompts him to commit her to an institution in the hopes that their radical methods will cure her. Diana returns home only a few days later, pronounced healthy yet deeply altered by the treatments she underwent. Festival alum Alejandro Chomski creates an atmosphere of disquieting surreality with his arresting, off-center visual style in this Kafkaesque tale of mental illness.

Black Swan (USA)

This psychological thriller set in the world of New York City ballet stars Natalie Portman as Nina, a dancer in a ballet company who finds herself locked in a web of competitive intrigue with a new rival (Mila Kunis). Black Swan takes a thrilling and at times terrifying journey through the psyche of a young ballerina whose starring role as the duplicitous swan queen turns out to be a part for which she becomes frighteningly perfect.

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Smart People Read

Jul 20, 2010 by Sami

I came to the United States in the summer of 2000. It was an exciting time, with the little English I knew,  I managed to say things like “I am going to America!” or “When I go to America I want CD player”.  Most of my accent is gone now so when I make a mistake people don’t think I’m an exotic man with a sexy accent. They think that I’m an idiot. This is great because it only pushes me more to become a better English speaker. Most of my language skills did come from being an extremely loyal customer to Blockbuster. I remember averaging two movies a night. After all I didn’t have anything else to do at the time. That’s where my love for movies started. An alternate reality that I can exist in as so many different people. Little did I know that there’s yet one more way I was able to become the English speaker I am today.

I finally started taking college classes and just like so many great things in life, I have stumbled upon a “Great Books” course. I met a great professor in that course and couldn’t help but take another course with him…and then 3 more. He taught me that reading is a lost art. That I need to do my best to enrich my life with as many books as possible. I know it might sound cheesy at times but without books and movies, my life would have been incredibly miserable. Because I started late I’m still trying to catch up and as much as I can to fit books in my brain and heart. I have been lucky enough to have come across so many amazing people that showed me what great pleasure comes from reading a book. More lucky to have been able to work in a library where shelving books was a treat to get to know them more personally. I think I might be the last person to ever get an ebook reader due to the fact that I LOVE the smell of books. It brings an incredibly blissful smile to my face every time I smell one.

My last class with this professor he spoke to us about books and how they changed his life. He said that an important person once told him “smart people read” and he never stopped reading since. With all the undeniable sentimentality that came along with the moment, my eyes sparkled and I vowed to myself to never stop reading…ever!

I am always interested in new things that would encourage me and others to deepens our relationships with books. I have discovered two fun tools or “toys” the past few days that I wanted to share with you.

The first is I Write Like. A fun way to determine what popular author you write similar to. You copy and past a writing sample from your blog, journal, long comment, etc. A click later it reveals to you an author that the site thinks you write like. I told you it’s fun! I have to thank @MarisaVictoria for introducing me to the site.

The second one is Project Gutenberg. Someone amazing out there decided to “put at everyone’s disposal, in electronic versions, as many literary works from public domain as possible for free”. You can even get them via an application on your smartphone! I know it might go against what I have mentioned earlier about ebooks but this is a great way to start reading on the go or when carrying books around is not an option.

I hope that this has inspired you to go out and start reading. If you have a reading story or a favorite book you’d like to recommend to me, please leave it in the comments box. Would love to hear your thoughts and recommendations! Even better tell me what author do you write like!

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So…what IS #ShakespeareSaturday?

Jun 14, 2010 by Sami

What is #ShakespeareSaturday? I get asked that more times than any other hashtag I use on twitter. I’ve always thought about writing a post to answer the question but a reply tweet seemed to do the trick. However, I think it’s time I write something more detailed than below or my previous post:

#ShakespeareSaturday is something I started. Every Sat I pick Shakes. work and select quotes form it and post it. Sometimes I add commentary next to quote.Tweeps can RT, reply with their thought or pick another quote-from same work or another.

I just tried to figure out when exactly was my 1st #ShakespeareSaturday tweet but was not able to. If anyone has a solution, do tell me. Yes, I have tried several clients that help you search twitter but I still wasn’t able to go back that far. I would say it was around mid 2009.

Well, now that’s taken care of. On to why I started it in the first place.  A lot of people regard Shakespearean works as something you suffer during school and after that it becomes obsolete and useless. This couldn’t have been further from the truth. A lot of people fail to realize how modern Shakespeare really is. Everyday we say things like “love is blind” and completely overlook the fact that it originated from a Shakespearean work. I decided that people need to get more exposed to Shakespeare and maybe if I keep repeating quotes from certain works, that I think are relevant in today’s conversations, then people will eventually realize how familiar these words sound and join in on the conversation and even attend a play or two. That is the main reason I started #ShakespeareSaturday.

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Calvin Klein, not so “retro” anymore!

May 26, 2010 by Sami

A group of very different men were sitting in a bar during a cold Chicago night. We ranged from 25-38 in age, all worked in different industries and did not agree on which was the best sushi joint in town. One thing lead to another and we started discussing brands’ personalities. I informed the group that a personal favorite of mine was Calvin Klein clothing and how I felt that their clothes almost always acts as an extension of my personality.  As if rehearsed, I got few confused looks back. When I asked about what the others thought I was told that they thought that CK had an “old people” image attached to them. We then got to talking about that the brand and its advertisements and some people thought it was unable to keep up with the times and seemed more “retro” than modern.  I am convinced that that night the branding and marketing experts from CK were sitting few tables away from us because a month or two later Calvin Klein Underwear launched a new global integrated campaign that was so so un-retro.

This is what happened in case you missed it. Feburary 3rd, 2010, Calvin Klein Underwear releases a press release introducing the new global marketing campaign. Helen McKluskey, president of Warnaco Intimate Apparel and Swim states that they are “appealing to CK’s worldwide consumers today and reaching them through the media that’s relevant to them”. Read: FACEBOOK!

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Which is more important, the Armani Suit or the Attitude?

Apr 18, 2010 by Sami

I was enjoying a drink with Mana, from www.Manamica.com not too long ago and we got to talking about suits and attitude. Which one is more important or do we need both to succeed in our life endeavors? She decided it’s best that we take our conversation to the internet and see what others thought.

Here are my thoughts on the matter:

I’m not a tailor. Although sometimes I wish everyone knew a great one. I like seeing people walking in the suits, talking in the suits, and…smiling in the suits. A suit can’t make the man but can easily break him.

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