r+j w00t

This has been around for a few years, but that doesn't mean it's not worth watching again. Chris Coutts' version of Romeo and Juliet is one of my favorite flash animations and I had forgotten about it until today when my brother reminded me of it. The version of Hamlet is pretty enjoyable too.

Not to detract from these animations, but while watching them I started wondering: how bad can a revised version of Shakespeare be? I mean, you're starting with dynamite material (unless you aim for Troilus and Cressida) and you know you shouldn't change the story in any way because you'll just make it worse. (cf. Romeo Must Die: in this version the star-crossed lovers do not die; instead, Romeo kicks everyone's ass and leaves with his girl. Not surprisingly, this ending is less satisfying than the original.) Anyway, my point is, even if you execute it poorly, your revised version of Shakespeare should still be pretty good, as long as you stick to the script.

On the topic of internetty things that have been around for several years, just yesterday I watched Peanut Butter Jelly Time for the first time ever, and that's only because I saw it on Family Guy and wondered what it was from. I have since mentioned this to several people, and their stunned reactions ("you'd never seen it?") made me feel like I'd been living under the sea for the past three years. Surely anyone who posts links to random junk on the internet would be aware of Peanut Butter Jelly Time; it's tantamount to never having heard of the Beatles. Anyway, notwithstanding my mild shame, of course I loved it, although to be honest I probably wouldn't have loved it as much if I hadn't just died laughing when it appeared on Family Guy.