The greatest hits of the last month of December: Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, Broken Code by Jeff Horwitz, My Darling Clementine by John Ford and Memories of Murder by Bong Joon-Ho.
Continue reading...Nihilistic November 2023 Reading and Writing
Greatest hits include the 1942 film “The Glass Key” and the 1993 film “Groundhog Day” and reading Schelling and reading Schiller.
Continue reading...Ominous October 2023 Reading/Writing
Little aliens deeply impressed by the British Invasion arrived in Philadelphia, begged me to read and watch through October.
Continue reading...Pride and Prejudice, the Movie Tie-In Edition
Purchased the Movie Tie-In edition of “Pride and Prejudice” to my profound moral chagrin
Continue reading...Scintillating September 2023: Reading, Writing
Greatest hits of September: the charming memoir “Family Lexicon” by Natalia Ginzburg, Luchino Visconti’s “The Damned” and then “The Seven Ups”
Continue reading...Reading Aloud: Ben Lerner’s “The Rescue”
Reading aloud a poem published in the New York Review of Books September 21, 2023 issue.
Continue reading...Listless July/August Reading/Writing
Reflecting on these reminds me of how great "Germany Year Zero" and "The Player" really were. Also, "Yoga" and Henry James.
Continue reading...Dull June 2023: Reading, Watching, No Writing
Greatest reading and watching hits of June 2023 included “Men”, “Sword of Doom”, “Heat”, “Merry Wives of Windsor”, and “The Anniversary Party”.
Continue reading...“An Ideal Craftsman”: Psychological Horror from Walter de la Mare
“An Ideal Craftsman” follows a young boy down to the larder, happening upon a crime scene.
Continue reading...Piranesi: The Etchings
Detailing the purchase of a less puerile, more dignified Taschen volume collecting the etchings of Piranesi, the article and exhibit inspiring these.
Continue reading...Sumptuously Reading, Watching, Viewing: May 2023
Reading 15th- and 16th-century lit and watching contemporary, 21st-century film. Greatest hits: Heat (1995), Montaigne, Shakespeare (immer wieder).
Continue reading...Strata: William Smith’s Geological Maps
Not long ago I ordered "Strata: William Smith’s Geological Maps" lighting a fire of memory and reflection
Continue reading...31 Days Sub Specie 16th-17th-Century-Aeternitates
For 31 days I read from 16th- and 17th-century literature, most notably including Montaigne’s "Essais" and the metaphysical poets. Snuck in some Shakespeare.
Continue reading...April-Showered Reading, Watching
Rereading Shakespeare, Borges; then reading stories by Walter de la Mare. Re-watching two films by David Lynch—neither being “Blue Velvet” nor “Inland Empire.”
Continue reading...Discovering Robert Southwell’s Metaphysical Poetry
A few reflections on the discovery of 16th-century poet Robert Southwell, apparently an exemplar of English Metaphysical Poetry.
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