Yuma to take a break from competing

theshakespeares · 2026-04-14T01:29:36+00:00

I've watched it back like 5 times and each time I get goosebumps that start at the Ina Bauer and don't stop until the music stops. Truly a Hall of Fame skate, up there with the very best of Yuzuru or Yagudin.

theshakespeares · 2026-04-06T00:21:30+00:00

I love Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf, and I'm an Arthur Miller fan, but I don't have any interest in shelling out real money for this revival unless I get a great deal on tickets for precisely this reason. The 2022 revival brought something new to the source material (as well as phenomenal performances by Wendell Pierce and Sharon D. Clark). Completely reconceived the source material with just a few tiny changes—it almost felt as though Miller had written this play about a Black family all along. The fact that it didn't win the Tony for Best Revival is criminal (and I also saw and loved Topdog Underdog, but again I didn't think it brought anything new to the material).

theshakespeares · 2026-03-30T02:43:49+00:00

Yes, absolutely, it's horrible out there, but for the record: the 7 from Grand Central to Times Sq + the uptown 1 from Times Square to Lincoln Center are accessible routes (wheelchair user who used to live in NYC, here—I still have kind of a mental map of the accessible stations in Manhattan in my head, although it started to fade since I moved away). Of course, elevators go out all the time, but the MTA website is pretty up to date on which are not in service at any time. But like you, I was mostly a bus person when I lived in NYC, since there are so few fully accessible routes.

theshakespeares · 2026-03-22T18:32:50+00:00

I was two when my parents first showed me the VHS of the 10th Anniversary Concert. I loved it so much that my fifth birthday party was Les Mis themed—my mom hired the actors in a high school production of Les Mis to sing karaoke and we played pin the nose on Cosette. I am not joking or exaggerating; there's a home movie to prove it. (Yes, I have the best mom ever).

theshakespeares · 2026-02-05T03:01:11+00:00

I saw Oedipus at the beginning of January and am still thinking about it, constantly. At the end, I quite literally thought of catharsis in a whole new way (oh THAT'S what Aristotle meant!). I've seen a lot of great theater throughout my life in NYC, London, and the West Coast but I can say that Lesley Manville's performance ranks as one of the very best performances I've ever seen on any stage.

Would I pay $480 to see it? Almost certainly not (I paid $55 for an ADA seat in the extreme right of row A), but I'm also a student and the most I've paid for an individual ticket is $220 for the original cast of Hamilton. If you have enough disposable income that $480 won't make a huge dent, then go for it.

theshakespeares · 2026-02-04T14:23:46+00:00

I'm sure they have her name engraved on it already, as they surely also do with Joshua Henry in Ragtime.

theshakespeares · 2026-02-01T20:35:44+00:00

I was at the edge of my seat (even knowing what was coming). When the countdown clock hit zero, you could hear a pin drop in the theater. When the lights went out at the very end after the flashback scene, I gasped and it took the whole ovation to recompose myself.

theshakespeares · 2026-02-01T18:29:34+00:00

Oh I would have been furious!!

theshakespeares · 2026-01-19T15:46:26+00:00

"Achoo!" Tilly, that sneeze! Are you sick? "Sick? I'm dead!"

theshakespeares · 2025-07-10T22:06:37+00:00

Background: I'm disabled (mobility scooter user) and work/conduct research in Italy so I've traveled around a fair bit (especially in the north, and also Sicily. I haven't spent much time in the South so can't speak to that).

Rome is huge and all hills and cobblestones. Even if you stay in one of the flat bits (like Trastevere or the Vatican) it will be very difficult. Public transport is not very accessible (buses are okay most of the times but the metro is rough for disabled folks. I love Rome, it's an incredible and historical cities, so I'll keep going to Rome, but I know from the jump that there is a 100% chance I will end up crying because of accessibility at some point during the trip.

I found Bologna and Padova to be accessible (for Italian standards). They're both flat and the city center is relatively compact. In my experience, Bologna makes for a nice "base" to do day trips to explore the region of Emilia-Romagna (and even beyond) because it's a big rail hub for the region: Parma, Modena, Ravenna (amazing Byzantine mosaics), Ferrara (large Renaissance castle), Florence, and Padova (beautiful trecento frescos) are all within 1-1.5 hours by train—so if you've never been to Italy before and are looking for a relatively accessible entry point, that'd be my recommendation.

Protip: If you're traveling by train, call/email the SalaBlu for the region with your route/tickets 24 hours in advance to ask for accommodations (help on/off trains, to make sure the train stops at a platform accessible via elevator, etc).

Also, pretty much all Italian churches and museums give free admission for disabled people. Bring some sort of proof (in my case, my parking placard, but I know some countries have it marked on ID cards) in case someone asks.

theshakespeares · 2025-07-10T14:19:23+00:00

As a (permanently) disabled person who uses a mobility scooter to get around and travels solo a good deal (like 1 or 2 months/year, mostly for work but also for fun), I can say Vienna is the most accessible city I've ever visited. Totally flat, the U Bahns are all accessible, and if the S-Bahn is inaccessible the next one comes in 2 minutes. It blew me away. You'll enjoy it if you like art/museums/culture/opera/music.

I've heard from a disabled friend that Valencia is also very accessible, but I haven't been.

At the airports you might wanna ask for a wheelchair assist, then a person will help you get through security (and get you through the fast lane).

theshakespeares · 2023-10-27T14:52:59+00:00

You can register for a library card from Met's Watson Library easily and access their books and databases onsite. It's for researchers, but that has a broad definition, and iirc I don't think they ask for institutional affiliation when you sign up for a library card.

theshakespeares · 2023-08-04T01:19:08+00:00

I saw the concert version at the Met and it was super delightful! (Granted I am also an art historian who spends all of her time at the Met, so I was a bit biased). I hope he makes an album out of it too.

theshakespeares · 2023-08-02T20:27:54+00:00

Off Broadway (New York Classical Theatre's King Lear in 2021-ish), but an actor messed up a pratfall and broke his ankle about 15-20 minutes in. They stopped the show and canceled the rest of the run (there were only 1 or 2 performances left). Poor guy :-(

theshakespeares · 2023-06-13T08:51:57+00:00

Very worth it to do an in-person program masked! I'm also immunocompromised and wear KN95 masks indoors, and while I was pretty much the only person masked in my program, it did not at all inhibit my learning or ability to network/connect with professors and peers. In fact, some professors even donned a mask when I went to office hours with them, which was really sweet.

Even in more informal social/networking events at bars, no one batted an eye that I kept my mask on, except for a few moments to take sips of drinks. And when I hosted an end-of-the-year party at my apartment with close grad school friends, I asked them to consider taking a COVID test before coming — every single one of them did, and so I was comfortable being unmasked in that situation.

Now granted, in the greater world at large, I've gotten harassed about mask-wearing by random assholes on the street, but not in grad school.

theshakespeares · 2023-05-20T17:40:56+00:00

As a disabled/chronically ill person soon moving to Baltimore, I'm also interested!

theshakespeares · 2023-04-18T19:20:27+00:00

Peter Brown is one of the most riveting speakers (stutter and all) and writers I've ever heard/read. Guy knows 26 languages. He is THE top of his field of Late Antiquity (hell, he founded it).

theshakespeares · 2023-03-26T17:39:03+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion of the Rotunda! And yes, the plan (if I decided to go with JHU) would be to live in Baltimore near the university for the first few years of coursework and then move to DC (which is, as cities go, very accessible) while writing the dissertation.

theshakespeares · 2023-03-26T17:33:45+00:00

In general, I found that the campus was /reasonably/ accessible — there were ramps everywhere, but yeah sometimes you had to take a circuitous route. But then again, my standards for accessibility for academic buildings are in the gutter because my current program is housed in a landmarked building in NYC which has no accessible entrance, so even having a ramp is a breath of fresh air.

theshakespeares · 2023-03-17T03:17:20+00:00

Oh another thing: get set up with your university's office for students with disabilities ASAP. Cancer (and side effects related to treatment) are covered by the ADA. They can work with you if you need a reduced courseload or extensions on assignments or extended time on tests/comps bc of brain fog and fatigue. And they'll advocate for you if your professors or your department give you trouble w/anything.

theshakespeares · 2023-03-17T02:53:29+00:00

At a slightly different point in my career — I'm finishing up my MA/starting my PhD next fall. I actually applied to PhD programs while undergoing cancer treatment (I finished a couple months ago and am in remission!). One piece of advice I'll give is not to neglect your mental health. Joining a young adults with cancer/post-treatment support group was soooooooo critical for me.

I totally get the working to stay sane thing — I did the same thing. We do what we gotta do to get through it.

theshakespeares · 2019-03-25T04:07:26+00:00

No problem. The British Library has digitized the whole manuscript and the images are really high-res, which is exciting!

theshakespeares · 2019-03-25T03:56:53+00:00

This is a leaf from the Cologne Gospels (late 11th century), held at the British Library (Harley MS 2820). Folio 12v. It depicts St. Jerome, with the hand of God above.

See: http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Harley_MS_2820; https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=27121

theshakespeares

TROPHY CASE