Tag Archives: England

“Improvement makes strait roads, but the crooked roads without Improvement, are roads of Genius.” — poet/engraver/visionary William Blake

“I mean, don’t you think it’s a little bit excessive?” “The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom. William Blake.” Pause. “William Blake?” “William Blake!” “William Blake???” “William Blake!!!” — Bull Durham William Blake was a poet virtually … Continue reading

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“I find that I cannot exist without poetry—without eternal poetry—” –John Keats

I was just beautifying him, don’t you know. A thing of beauty, don’t you know. Yeats says, or I mean, Keats says. – James Joyce, Ulysses Born in 1795 on this day, John Keats was orphaned at fifteen. Because his … Continue reading

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On This Day: October 25, 1415: “We Few, We Happy Few.”

Happy Anniversary of The Battle of Agincourt Today is the feast day of Saints Crispin and Crispinian, cobblers by trade (and patron saints thereof, although Vatican II nixed them from the calendar), fierce warriors of their faith, martyred in 286. … Continue reading

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“My thoughts bustle along like a Surinam toad, with little toads sprouting out of back, side, and belly, vegetating while it crawls.” — Samuel Taylor Coleridge

He looked at his own Soul with a telescope. What seemed all irregular, he saw and shewed to be beautiful Constellations: and he added to the Consciousness hidden worlds within worlds. –Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Notebooks It’s his birthday today. I’ll … Continue reading

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“I rather like the idea of death.” — poet Stevie Smith

Born on this day in 1902, in Hull, Yorkshire England, Stevie Smith was christened Florence Margaret, but was called “Stevie” by her friends. (She was a very petite woman: “Stevie” was the name of a famous jockey of the time.) … Continue reading

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“I have often wished I had time to cultivate modesty… but I am too busy thinking about myself.” — poet Edith Sitwell

Born on this day. I don’t remember Sitwell being “read” in my poetry class in college, and I don’t remember her being covered in my English or Humanities classes in high school. She doesn’t seem to be one of the … Continue reading

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“The reason we’re successful, darling? My overall charisma, of course.” — Freddie Mercury

It’s his birthday today. It’s hard for me to talk about my feelings for Freddie Mercury. When Freddie Mercury moved, he cracked open the atmosphere. He’s almost frightening. When he walked across a stage, or threw his body into a … Continue reading

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August 2023 Viewing Diary

Oppenheimer (2023; d. Christopher Nolan) In general, I am not a Nolan fan (the only one of his I liked was Dunkirk), and I went into this hesitantly because I read an interview with him where he said the whole … Continue reading

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Happy Birthday, drummer Honey Lantree

Even now, a “girl drummer” in an all-boy band is a rare thing. Back in the 1960s, it was unheard of. Which is why Honey Lantree, drummer for the Joe Meek-produced The Honeycombs, stands out. Still. When she joined the … Continue reading

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Review: Scrapper (2023)

An amazing directorial debut. I loved it. A 21st century entry in the sadly-rare Tomboy Movie Pantheon! I reviewed Scrapper for Ebert.

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