Tag Archives: romance

Romance Advice From William Shakespeare – Part 1

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, dudes.  And even though I totally just reminded you, you’re going to wait until Feb. 14th at 6 pm to get some tired, left over card and a box of stale candy from the discount bin at the drug store because that’s all they will have left.

So, I’m here to help.  Even if you screw up your gift giving responsibilities, you can still check my blog, and recite some love poetry with the help of my main man, Bill Shakespeare.

“To Mac, or Not to Mac? That is the Question.”

Shakespeare was the most romantic dude of his day, which, alright, was pretty easy, since he lived in an age where people thought bathing was optional.

Alright.  SCENARIO – You get home on Valentine’s Day.  Your lady love is all dressed up, waiting for you to get your romance on, and what do you do?  You’ve got nothing.  You’ve got one of those M and M Dispensers where the cartoon M and M men are doing something hilarious.  But it’s not enough for this woman, because, I don’t know, what, does she think she’s the Queen of England or something?  Why is your woman not cool enough that she can’t just appreciate a good M and M dispenser?  Sheesh.

Alright, anyway, all you do is lay out the Romeo and Juliet action:

But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
That her maid art far more fair than she:

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

I’m just going to say it.  Women like drama.  Ok some women do.  Not all.  Let’s not use sweeping generalizations.  Some like to have all kinds of attention and have the focus be on them.

What was Bill saying in this scene?  He’s having Romeo tell Juliet, “Hey, Juliet, you’re hot like the sun, and you’re such a hot sun that you’re hotter than the moon.  The moon’s got nothing on you baby.”

You can just skip the poem altogether and just tell your lady, “You’re hotter than the moon.”  Or, just pick a gal she hates.  Her sister.  Your next door neighbor.  The dame she complains about from work.  Just be all like, “Baby you are way hotter than Becky from Accounting.”

Actually, don’t do that.  Then she’ll just accuse you of checking out Becky from Accounting.

The point is – Bill Shakespeare can get you chicks.  So keep following and I’ll tell you how.

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Your Favorite Romantic Books and Poems

Valentine’s Day is around the corner.

What are your favorite romantic books and poems?  I am not asking so I can use them on women.  I just legitimately want to know as a literary connoisseur.

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Nicholas Sparks Divorce

The Master of the Romance Novel is getting a divorce.  Naturally, the Twittasphere is aghast, with tasteless comments about the irony of a romance writer’s marriage falling apart.  Hell, even this jerk face felt the need to say something snarky:

Personally, I say we give the guy a break.  I hate to break it to people, but here goes:

Authors make up stuff for a living.

The real world is never as perfect as the fantasy worlds that an author can create.  In a make believe world, dudes climb up the sides of Ferris Wheels to impress their lady loves.  In the real world, yours truly would not climb up the side of a Ferris Wheel, even if the trifecta of Scarlett Johannson, Charlize Theron, and Katy Perry where waiting for me.  I’d totally climb a Merry-Go-Round for them but a Ferris Wheel?  Fahgeddabout it.

In fact, here’s an early draft of The Notebook where I was originally considered for Gosling’s part:

RACHEL MCADAMS:  Climb up this Ferris Wheel to see me, my love!

ME:  Um, no thank you.

RACHEL MCADAMS:  But it will be a great expression of your love for me!

ME:  That looks pretty high.  I can love you just as well from down here.

RACHEL MCADAMS:  If I hook up with another man, will you pine half your life away for me until I see your picture in the newspaper and find you again?

ME:  Um…Jesus, that sounds like a lot of work.  No, no, probably not.  You’re cool and all, but you know…other fish in the sea and everything.

See?  Real life is never as good as the fantasy that an author can create.  And we WANT those authors to create fantasy worlds to distract us from the drab realties of the world.

So before people gang up on Sparks, consider the following:

1)  George Lucas is not really a Jedi.

2)  Stephanie Meyer and Anne Rice are not vampires.

3)  John Grisham has never been an attorney in the wrong place at the wrong time who accidentally discovers the wrong file and now all the bad guys are chasing him.

4)  Michael Crichton never made a dinosaur.

5)  Shakespeare was never the Prince of Denmark.

6)  Suzanne Collins never fought in a futuristic, no-holds barred kid vs. kid reality show.

7)  Hugh Howey doesn’t live in an underground silo.

8) Steven King never went insane while working as the Winter caretaker of a haunted inn.

9) Charles Dickens was never visited by three Christmas ghosts.

10)  Pierce Brown has never lived on Mars.

11)  James Patterson has never been an African American Detective

12)  George RR Martin is not a knight in an enchanted land of magic and wonder

13)  Orson Scott Card has never fought an intergalactic race of bug aliens

14)  Thomas Harris is not a cannibal

15)  Ray Bradbury was not a Martian.

So honestly, folks – if writers have to limit their writing to things they have done, then we won’t have much to read, will we?

Sure, there’s plenty of irony and room to make jokes, but when I see the comments people are making like “I can’t trust his romance novels again” etc. – I mean, come on…the guy just lost his marriage, people, you don’t need to attack his career too.

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