Weekly Update: 6-26-16: Shakespeare Season Begins

"Hunchback'd toad," they all did groan,

but Richard kept his face a grin.

He quick consumed his tadpole kin 

and leapfrogged up the British throne.

Free at Griffith Park

Life Update: It's Shakespeare season. Yesterday, my father, my friend Rita, and I attended the opening performance of Richard III as acted by the Independent Shakespeare Co. at Griffith Park. (Performances are free and run throughout the summer.) Although more traditional than other adaptions of Shakespearean plays done by this company,  Richard III included some fun modern-day twists, such as  a background track of electric guitar riffs and a montage of Richard shaking hands and kissing babies before ascending to the throne in a burst of confetti. The play took place in the evening. In the afternoon, Dad, Rita, and I visited the Getty Center, a ginormous (and free) LA art museum, where we viewed the Romantic landscapes of Rousseau, admired 18th century French furniture, and ambled through the beautiful gardens.

Getty Sculpture or the Isle of Lost Souls?

Writing Update: One of the rock sculptures at The Getty reminded me of the Isle of Lost Souls, a barren rock where sailors are shipwrecked by a sea dragon in the children's fantasy book I'm writing called Three Floating Coffins. Purely by coincidence, I happened to be editing the very chapter where the Isle of Lost Souls was introduced just a few days earlier. I wanted to edit my Coffins novel before Nanowrimo takes hold next week. In two weeks, I finished editing 3 chapters and got about halfway through 2 more. It's progress, I suppose, but I wish it wouldn't take so long. I'd really like to get Three Floating Coffins done by the end of summer, but between Nanowrimo, college, and all the Shakespeare days I'm taking, I've no idea how I will finish it all.

 Summer Tip: The Huntington Library is an awesome, awesome combination of museum and gardens. (I've written about it here.) Unfortunately, it's a bit expensive, with tickets costing up to $25. Fortunately, the museum has a monthly free day--the first Thursday of the month. Unfortunately, there is a limited amount of people who can enter, so you need to order tickets in advance. Tickets can be ordered on the website and printed at home. Tickets for July are already "sold out," but you can reserve up to 5 tickets for August 4th, starting from July 1st, 9:00 am. See website for details.