Hamilton!

19 July 2018:

[Catch-up post]

Hamilton with three of my favorite people with a bonus gorgeous sunset at intermission? Sometimes the universe seems very kind.

Hamilton at NEMLA

25 March 2017: "['My Shot'] is coded as both opportunity and violence." --a presenter discussing Hamilton at a session all about the musical that I attended at the NEMLA Convention in Baltimore today. I am probably not getting the quotation right, but this particular presentation, about hip-hop and history in the play was amazing. I could have talked with the presenter for hours.

"Raise a glass to freedom / Something they can never take away..."

Pro-tip: enjoy social media coverage of so many amazing Americans (including many of your loved ones) marching today while listening to Hamilton. Your heart will swell with even more pride and hope and love. Side effects include lots of teary eyed moments, but that's okay.

"America, you great unfinished symphony..."

9 November 2016: Yesterday, I sat with my finger over the "publish" button for several minutes before publishing the day's post. It was the post's title that was hanging me up. It's so relentlessly positive. And I kept thinking, "But what if she doesn't win? Will I still feel that way?" I thought about hedging my bets a bit and going with the original post title ("History..."). But in the end, I left it as is. It was, I think, a sign of stubborn faith in this country and its people. I told myself, even if he does win, I will still feel that way about my country: We are lucky to be alive right now in this world, in this moment. Because we have the power to love and hope and pray and change and get work done.

One of my favorite literary critics, Sacvan Bercovitch, writes about the power and flexibility of American ideology. ("America, you great unfinished symphony...") For better or worse, it tells us we are always on our way to becoming the thing we are supposed to come. It tells us that dissent is actually assent, a way of staying in the system, working from within to make it better. Those ideas are sometimes problematic, but today, I find them comforting.

So yeah: lots of writers are running through my head today--Thoreau, Whitman, Alcott, and of course, Miranda. They, too, bring comfort.

I am so very sad and anxious. But I am also determined and hopeful. I think that those feelings--determination and hope, in all their messiness--are today's good things. But to stick to the rules, I am going to go with that line from Hamilton... It feels right and soothes my soul. Let's get to work, America.*

*Yup: the last episode of Angel, too, continues to come to mind when I need it to. (See #1 on the list in this post.)

"Look around, look around! How lucky we are to be alive right now!"

8 November 2016: Who knows what will happen today when the results come in, but I voted for a woman for president today and darn it, did my eyes get teary! I voted for hope, love, and a deep faith in our common humanity and the American experiment.

Hamilton's America

21 October 2016: How could this PBS special not be the day's good thing? It was amazing--such a joy to watch.

Mind at work!

Check out this most excellent early birthday present I received from my awesome friend Hannah. It will help me channel my inner Schuyler sister. I so want to be an Angelica, but am probably a Peggy.

Broadway Carpool Karaoke

7 June 2016: How can this not be today's good thing? So much fun.

Patti Lupone and Lin-Manuel Miranda

18 May 2016: I've been a bit under the weather today and the cloudy day wasn't helping my mood. But you know what did? The clip below, of Patti Lupone singing while Lin-Manuel Miranda looks on with adoration. Amazing. (Found it here.)

"It's Quiet Uptown"

7 April 2016: Like so many others, I remain under Hamilton's spell. Today while taking my walk through Morgan's Grove Park and when this song came on, I found myself weeping. And yes, that might sound like a weird thing to say about today's "good thing," but it was a lovely moment, I think. Grief like the song explores is the "unimaginable," the ineffable. And these lines got to me in a way they hadn't before:

"There are moments that the words don’t reach
There is a grace too powerful to name
We push away what we can never understand
We push away the unimaginable"

So yeah, this sad and beautiful song is today' good thing.

The Women of Hamilton + Feminism = Perfection

3 March 2016: Today's good thing is a no-brainer.

Watch this video on The Scene.

Co-winner goes to my yet-to-arrive baby niece, whose face I saw today in an email that included an ultrasound picture and video. Baby Girl will make her entry, God willing, into a world that is getting much cooler about embracing feminism.

"Alexander Hamilton"

15 February 2016: Monday was a strange day--troubling weather, a cold coming on, just kind of yucky. But I was thrilled by these four minutes or so from the Grammy awards. Amazing.

Update: looks like Youtube has pulled the video clip, so I'll just post this clip of Lin-Manuel Miranda's acceptance speech.