A poem and translation for Advent: “I Want to Leave These City Streets”, by Gerrit Engelke (1890 – 1918)
Ein Gedicht und Übersetzung zum Advent: Ich will heraus aus dieser Stadt, von Gerrit Engelke (1890 – 1918)
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A poem and translation for Advent: “The Snowman on the Street”, by Robert Reinick (1805 – 1852)
Ein Gedicht und Übersetzung zum Advent: Der Schneemann auf der Straße, von Robert Reinick (1805 – 1852)
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A poem and translation for Advent: “It Is Advent”, by Friedrich Wilhelm Kritzinger (1890 – 1947)
Ein Gedicht und Übersetzung zum Advent: Es ist Advent, von Friedrich Wilhelm Kritzinger (1890 – 1947)
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A poem and translation for Advent: “Promise”, by Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874 – 1929)
Ein Gedicht und Übersetzung zum Advent: Verheißung, von Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874 – 1929)
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I placed my lunch order at a local restaurant, and while I was waiting, I did what everyone else was doing in the burger joint. I stared at my phone.
I had no idea my phone had so little battery left, but it died suddenly, before it even connected to the WiFi.
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Today is the traditional date of Shakespeare’s birthday. I almost did a double take when I saw this news item from the BBC last week:
Kyrgyz mayor dons fake beard to tour city in disguise
The mayor of Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek says that he sometimes tours the city in disguise so that he can see people’s problems first-hand.
This is a plot device used by Shakespeare in Henry V, Act IV, Scene 1, when he asks Sir Thomas Erpingham, Lend me thy cloak, Sir Thomas.
He then goes around in his own camp to find out what’s really going through his soldiers’ minds.
And people say Will doesn’t have anything to teach us anymore.
Yesterday’s Advent Calendar entry was a lovely, simple winter picture called “Wintersonne“, “Winter Sun”. Today’s treat is a wonderful poem by Martin Greif (1839 – 1911). I admit, as an American Protestant, I had no idea what a St. Barbara’s Branch is. There’s not even an English Wikipedia entry, here are a few sections from the German article:
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Today’s Advent Calendar entry has a catch: it already has a translation. This is an adaptation of Aesop’s fable by August Gottlieb Meißner (1753–1807).
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There’s a terrific online German-English dictionary at LEO.org. I’m very excited that I’ve discovered a Christmas tradition of theirs: posting an online Advents-Kalender, with one poem for each of the 24 days leading up to Christmas.
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Warning: this post contains spoilers!
One of the many, many reasons I love Halloween is that it reminds me to watch a scary movie.
Horror isn’t usually my genre of choice. In the big picture, I love having a time of year when it’s all right to be spooky, to be scared, and to be cleverly morbid before we Give Thanks, and then celebrate Christmas.
In years past, Megan and I have fixed shortcomings in our movie knowledge, like watching The Exorcist. This year, she and I watched The Babadook.
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