The Godzilla series turned seventy years old this month, and I marked the occasion by writing a piece for The Everyman (which is now on Substack): There are few cinematic creations that achieve the status of genuine myth; of a tale embodying deep, complex truths about the world and of the civilization that gave them … Continue reading Marking Godzilla’s 70th Anniversary at the ‘Everyman’
Author: DBreitenbeck
Poem – “Background” (repost)
(Because yesterday was my birthday, and this one seems fitting) I never can be tied to raw, new things,For I first saw the light in an old town,Where from my window huddled roofs sloped downTo a quaint harbour rich with visionings.Streets with carved doorways where the sunset beamsFlooded old fanlights and small window-panes,And Georgian steeples … Continue reading Poem – “Background” (repost)
Another Year Older and I’m In Cirsova
It's my birthday yet again, and as always this song comes to mind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuJA5WwaL_A I'm a little less melancholy than usual this year (thought still with plenty of black bile to get along with), as this is the first time I've had a day job that I'm actually invested in (emotionally; financially I could use … Continue reading Another Year Older and I’m In Cirsova
Friday Flotsam: Tiresome Internet Videos, Boxing, and ‘Star Trek’
1. I am extremely thankful that there is a break coming up: the last few weeks have been exhausting. Working with teenagers is no joke. 2. Ridley Scott really needs to retire. All accounts are that Gladiator II is...well, exactly as bad as you'd expect a 2024 sequel to a highly-regarded film from 2000 to … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Tiresome Internet Videos, Boxing, and ‘Star Trek’
Poem – “My Boy Jack”
"Have you news of my boy Jack? "Not this tide."When d'you think that he'll come back?"Not with this wind blowing, and this tide. "Has any one else had word of him?"Not this tide.For what is sunk will hardly swim,Not with this wind blowing, and this tide. "Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?"None this tide,Nor … Continue reading Poem – “My Boy Jack”
Saturday Flotsam: Mostly ‘The Hobbit’
1. I'm extra late this week. I wish I could say it was for a good reason, but it isn't. 2. My class finished reading The Hobbit this week (I pretty much gave two whole periods to almost nothing but reading because I'm realizing how little time is left in the first semester). As always, … Continue reading Saturday Flotsam: Mostly ‘The Hobbit’
Poem – “A Garden”
There’s an ancient, ancient garden that I see sometimes in dreams,Where the very Maytime sunlight plays and glows with spectral gleams;Where the gaudy-tinted blossoms seem to wither into grey,And the crumbling walls and pillars waken thoughts of yesterday.There are vines in nooks and crannies, and there’s moss about the pool,And the tangled weedy thicket chokes … Continue reading Poem – “A Garden”
Friday Flotsam: In Which I Critique Both Walt Whitman and Muhammed, but Mostly the Former
1. If nothing else, it's a relief to actually have an election that ended 'clean'. No talk of cheating or collusion, no 'too close to call', just a clear outcome arrived at in the space of a single night. Seems to me that used to be the norm, once upon a time. 2. I really … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: In Which I Critique Both Walt Whitman and Muhammed, but Mostly the Former
Wednesday Politics: Post-Election Thoughts
First I have to get this out of the way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgWr3hNXPhk And this: My main reaction has been simply an appreciation of the storybook quality of the events. Six months ago I would have said that Trump didn't stand a chance in Hell of being re-elected, and that the smartest thing he could have done … Continue reading Wednesday Politics: Post-Election Thoughts
Poem – “I Hear America Singing”
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear;Those of mechanics - each one singing his, as it should be, blithe and strong;The carpenter singing his, as he measures his plank and beam;The mason singing his, as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work;The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat - the deckhand … Continue reading Poem – “I Hear America Singing”
Serpent's Den 