The Long Road Poem by John Oxenham:

 

The Long Road

Poem by John Oxenham.
 
Long the road,
    Till Love came down it!
Dark the life,
    Till Love did crown it!
Dark the life,
    And long the road,
Till Love came
    To share the load!
For the touch
    Of Love transfigures
All the road
    And all its rigours.
Life and Death,
Love’s touch transfigures.
Life and Death
    And all that lies
In between,
Love sanctifies.
Once the heavenly spark is lighted,
Once in love two hearts united,
Nevermore
    Shall aught that was be
As before.

Recommended reading:

Bees in Amber: A Little Book of Thoughtful Verse

by John Oxenham.

Picture:

The Road Ahead (2019)
by Jack Kost

Video by Jack Kost
2025

Music credit:
Softer Love
By Clavier-Music
From Pixabay
 

Rachel Carson, on writing:

Writing is largely a matter of application and hard work, or writing endlessly until you are satisfied that you have said what you want to say as clearly and simply as possible.

For me, that usually means many, many revisions.

- Rachel Carson.

Recommended reading - TCM Underground

 

TCM Underground

50 Must-See Films from the World of Classic Cult and Late-Night Cinema

by Millie De Chirico & Quatoyiah Murry.

Foreword by Patton Oswalt.

Turner Classic Movies (TCM).
 
Published by Running Press Adult.
Published 2022.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0762480009
ISBN-13: 978-0762480005

Description:

With knowledge, humor and an appropriately twisted perspective, [the authors] give readers a fuller realization of what late-night cinema offers. With a foreword by Patton Oswalt, this celebration of strangeness is well worth exploring. – Pop Culture Classics.

Based on the Turner Classic Movies series, TCM Underground is the movie-lover's guide to 50 of the most campy, kitschy, shocking, and weirdly wonderful cult films you need to see.

In the pages of this book, you'll explore this unique order of films – primarily from the 1960s, '70s, and '80s – with insightful reviews, behind-the-scenes stories, subgenre sidebars, and full-color and black-and-white photography throughout. Go along for the ride with new takes on crime films, including The Honeymoon Killers and The Harder They Come. Witness one-of-a-kind horror in Bill Gunn's landmark vampire film Ganja and Hess and Nobuhiko Obayashi’s infamous and indescribable Hausu. Absorb the boundary-pushing documentary-style trilogy The Decline of Western Civilization, which throws you into indelible moments in the punk and metal music scenes. And marvel at pure '80s oddities like Mac and Me and The Garbage Pail Kids.

 

From Possession to Polyester and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls to Xanadu, no two films are alike in this compendium. Just sit back and prepare to be surprised, amused, and entertained by this celebration of the stars, filmmakers, and stories behind fifty of the most beguiling and unforgettable movies ever to hit the screen.

Born on this day – Jules Verne:

 

Jules Verne

Writer

February 8, 1828 – March 24, 1905

Credits:

Books:

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1869); A Fantasy of Dr. Ox (1872); A Floating City (1871); Adrift in the Pacific (1888); Among the Cannibals (1867); Around the World in Eighty Days (1873); Beach Books Anthology (2023); Beneath the Waves: Tales from the Deep (2018); Caesar Cascabel (1890); Captain Antifer (1894); Captain Grant’s Children (1867); Carpathian Castle (2018); Child of the Cavern (1877); Classic Sea Stories (1996); Claudius Bombarnac (1892); Clovis Dardentor (1896); Dick Sand: A Captain at Fifteen (1878); Doctor Ox And Other Stories (1874); Drama In Livonia (1904); Eight Hundred Leagues On The Amazon (1881); Facing The Flag (1896); Family Without A Name (1889); Five Weeks in a Balloon (1863); Foundling Mick (1893); From the Earth to the Moon (1865); Godfrey Morgan (1882); In Search Of The Castaways (1867); In the Year 2889 (1889); Invasion of the Sea (1905); Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864); Jules Verne Collection, 33 Works (2004); Keraban the Inflexible (1883); Master of the World (1904); Mathias Sandorf (1885); Mistress Branican (1891); Mysterious Document (1867); North Against South (1887); Off On A Comet (1877); On the Track (1867); Paris in the Twentieth Century (1863); Propeller Island (1895); Robur the Conqueror (1886); Round The Moon (1869); Science Fiction Stories (1988); Sea Serpent (1901); Second Year Ashore (1940); Tales of the Restless Sea - Adventure Anthology (2023); The Adventures of Captain Hatteras (1864); The Archipelago On Fire (1884); The Arctic: an anthology of the finest writing on the Arctic and the Antarctic (2007); The Begum’s Fortune (1879); The Castaways of the Flag (1900); The Castaways of the Flag (1900); The Castle of the Carpathians (1892); The Chase of the Golden Meteor (1908); The City in the Sahara (1905); The Demon of Cawnpore (2008); The Desert of Ice (1866); The English at the North Pole (1866); The Exploration of the World (1879); The Flight To France (1887); The Fur Country (1873); The Great Sea Adventure (2019); The Green Ray (1882); The Kip Brothers (1902); The Lighthouse at the End of the World (1905); The Lottery Ticket (1885); The Mighty Orinoco (1898); The Mysterious Island (1874); The Mysterious Island (1874); The Purchase of the North Pole: Topsy-Turvy (1889); The Secret of Wilhelm Storitz (1910); The Sphinx of the Ice / An Antarctic Mystery (1897); The Steam House (1880); The Survivors of the Chancellor (1875); The Survivors of the Jonathan (1897); The Tribulations of a Chinaman (1879); The Vanished Diamond: The Star of the South (1884); The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction (2010); Their Island Home (1924); Tigers and Traitors (1976); Travel Scholarships (1903); Two Years’ Vacation (1888); Underground City (1877); Village in the Treetops (1901); Will Of An Eccentric (1899); Yesterday And Tomorrow (1910).

Movies and television:

1888: The Extraordinary Voyage of The Santa Isabel (2005); 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1905 / 1907 / 1916 / 1954 / 1972 / 1985 / 1991 / 1997 / 2004); 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea / Video Game (1995); 30,000 Leagues Under the Sea (2007); 5 Weeks in a Balloon (1977); 80 Days (2005 / 2014); 800 Leagues Over the Amazon (1959); A dunai hajós (1974); A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1977); À la conquête du pôle (1912); A Sequence from Round the World in 80 Days (1955); A Trip to the Moon (1902); Adventure at the Center of the Earth (2008); An Impossible Voyage (1904); Ancient Aliens (2010); Around the World in 80 Days (1919 / 1956 / 1988 / 1989 / 1990 / 1999 / 2004 / 2021); Around the World in Eighty Days (1972–1973); Around the World with Bolek and Lolek (1977); Around the World with Willy Fog (1983); Capt. Grant's Family (1936); Captain Nemo (1975 / 1976); Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969); Cesta kolem sveta za 80 dní (1964); Chroniques de France (1967); Cinci saptamîni în balon (1966); Crayola Kids Adventures: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1997); Dante's Inferno (2025); Das U-Boot (2021); De la tierra a la luna (1969); De reis om de wereld in 80 dagen (1957); Der Meister der Welt (1927); Die Reise um die Erde (1964); Die Reise um die Erde in 80 Tagen (1963); Dino Adventure Jurassic Tripper (1995); Donauschiffer (1940); Dos años de vacaciones (1962); Drama in the Air (1904); Dvacet tisic mil pod morem / TV Movie (1980); Eight Hundred Leagues Down the Amazon (1993); El Faro del Fin del Mundo (2025); Festival of Family Classics (1972); Fifteen Boys Adrift (1982); Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962); From the Earth to the Moon (1958 / 1979 / 2013); Ginga hyôryû Vifam: Kieta 12-nin (1985); Have Gun - Will Travel (1960); History's Mysteries (1999); I riassuntini (2018); Iki sene mektep tatili (1964); In Search of the Castaways (1914 / 1962); Inside the Earth (1910); Insula comorilor (1975); Invention for Destruction (1958); Invitation au voyage (2021–2022); Jam (2009); Jorden runt på 80 dagar (1975); Josie and the Pussycats (1970); Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012); Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959 / 1967–1969 / 1993 / 1996 / 1997 / 1999 / 2003 / 2008 / 2004 / 2017); Jules Verne's Mysterious Island (2010); La chasse au météore (1966); La Destinée de Jean Morénas (1916); Le château des Carpathes (1976); Le docteur Ox (2004); Le fabuleux voyage de l'Oncle Ernest (1999); Le théâtre de la jeunesse (1963); Le théâtre de la jeunesse: Le secret de Wilhelm Storitz (1967); Le tour du monde en 80 jours (1955 / 1979 / 1980); Le Tour du monde en 80 jours (1975); Le triomphe de Michel Strogoff (1961); Le voyage dans la lune (1986); Les aventures extraordinaires de Michel Strogoff (2004); Les Indes noires (1917); Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (2014); Les voyages extraordinaires de Jules Verne (2000–2001); L'île mystérieuse (1973); L'Île mystérieuse de l'Oncle Ernest (2000); Lolita from Interstellar Space (2014); L'orgue fantastique (1968); Los diablos del mar (1982); Los sobrinos del Capitán Grant (2012); Maître Zaccharius (1973); Manga sekai mukashi banashi (1978); Master of the World (1961 / 1976); Mathias Sandorf (1921 / 1955 / 1963 / 1979–1980); Michael Strogoff (1908 / 1910 / 1914 / 1956 / 1926 / 1936 / 1944 / 1975–1977 / 1997); Michele Strogoff - Il corriere dello zar (1999); Morfi, todos a la mesa (2017); Mysterious Island (1951 / 1961 / 1995 / 1996 / 2005); Mysterious Planet (1982); Mystery on Monster Island (1981); Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water - Nautilus Story I (1991); Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water - Nautilus Story II (1991); Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water - Nautilus Story III (1991); Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water - The Motion Picture (1991); Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990–1991); Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water Specials (1991); Nautilus (2024); Nemo (1970); Novela (1966–1974); Off on a Comet (date?); On the Comet (1970); Pilgrim's Captain (1987); Piratii din Pacific (1975); Pyatnadtsatiletniy kapitan (1946); Robur, luftens erobrer (1967); 'Round the World in 80 Days (1914); Round Vernian Vifam (1983–1984); Round Vernian Vifam 13 (1998); Round Vernian Vifam: 13 Meet Again (1984); Round Vernian Vifam: A Letter from Katue (1984); Round Vernian Vifam: Memory of Ms. Kate (1985); Shao ye de mo nan (1987); Shirley Temple's Storybook (1961); Siesta Z (2017); Slomannaya podkova (1973); Strange Holiday (1970); Strogoff (1970); Tainstvennyy ostrov (1941); Tajomstvo alchymistu Storitza (1991); Tales of Adventure (1952); The Black Indies (1964); The Carpathian Castle (1981); The Children of Captain Grant (1997); The Czar's Courier (1936); The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003); The Light at the Edge of the World (1971); The Lost 15 Boys: The Big Adventure on Pirates' Island (2013); The Magical World of Disney (1976–1978); The Man in Search of His Murderer (1931); The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (1981); The Mysterious Island (1929 / 1975); The Mysterious Island of Captain Nemo (1973); The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1968); The Return of Captain Nemo (1978); The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne (2000); The Secret of Steel City (1979); The Soldier and the Lady (1937); The Southern Star (1969); The Story of Fifteen Boys (1987); The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze (1963); The UnXplained (2020); Those Fantastic Flying Fools (1967); Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1973); Two Years' Vacation (1974); Ukradená vzducholod (1967); Un capitán de quince años (1973); Un, dos, tres... responda otra vez (2004); Up to His Ears (1965); Utazás a Holdba (1974); V poiskakh kapitana Granta (1986); Valley of the Dragons (1961); Verne World / Video Game (1995); Viaje fantástico en globo (1975); Where Time Began (1977); Willy Fog 2 (1993–1994); Willy Fog en 20.000 leguas de viaje submarino (1995); Willy Fog en viaje al centro de la Tierra (1995); Wishbone (1995); Zacharius (1984).

Born on this day – Lonnie Johnson:

Lonnie Johnson

Blues singer

Guitarist

Violinist

Songwriter

February 8, 1899 – June 16, 1970

Born on this day – Ralph Steiner:

Ralph Steiner

Photographer

Filmmaker

February 8, 1899 – July 13, 1986

Credits:

Look Park (1974); This Is Tomorrow (1943); The City (1939); People of the Cumberland (1937); The River (1938); Pie in the Sky (1935); Cafe Universal (1934); Hands (1934); Panther Woman of the Needle Trades, or the Lovely Life of Little Lisa (1931); Surf and Seaweed (1931); Mechanical Principles (1931); H2O (1929).

Born on this day – Lyle Talbot:

Lyle Talbot

Actor

February 8, 1902 – March 2, 1996

Born on this day – Lana Turner:

Lana Turner

Actress

February 8, 1921 – June 29, 1995

Born on this day – Audrey Meadows:

 

Audrey Meadows

Actress

February 8, 1922 – February 3, 1996

Born on this day – Jack Lemmon:

Jack Lemmon

Actor

February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001

Born on this day – Floyd Dixon:

 

Floyd Dixon

Blues singer

Pianist

February 8, 1929 – July 26, 2006

Born on this day – James Dean:

 

James Dean

Actor

February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955

Credits:

The Big Story (1953–1957); Giant (1956); Crossroads (1955); Rebel Without a Cause (1955); Schlitz Playhouse (1955); Lux Video Theatre (1952–1955); East of Eden (1955); Kraft Theatre (1955); General Electric Theater (1954); Danger (1953–1954); Kraft Theatre (1954); The Philco Television Playhouse (1954); Pepsi Commercial (1954); Robert Montgomery Presents (1953); Armstrong Circle Theatre (1953); Kraft Theatre (1952–1953); Campbell Summer Soundstage (1953); Omnibus (1953); Studio One (1952–1953); Tales of Tomorrow (1953); Treasury Men in Action (1953); Trouble Along the Way (1953); You Are There (1953); The Kate Smith Hour (1953); Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1952); Hallmark Hall of Fame (1952); CBS Television Workshop (1952); Sailor Beware (1952); The Stu Erwin Show (1951); Fixed Bayonets! (1951); The Bigelow Theatre (1951); Family Theatre (1951).

Born on this day – Richard Romanus:

Richard Romanus

Actor

Writer

Producer

February 8, 1945 – December 23, 2023

With Harvey Keitel and Martin Scorsese, in Mean Streets (1973).

 

Credits:

The Young Black Stallion (2003); The Sopranos (1999–2002); Nailed (2001); Providence (2001); Carlo's Wake (1999); If You Believe (1999); Giving Up the Ghost (1998); Urban Relics (1998); NYPD Blue (1996); Diagnosis Murder (1996); Charlie Grace (1995); The Rockford Files: A Blessing in Disguise (1995); Northern Exposure (1995); Chicago Hope (1994); Cops and Robbersons (1994); Johnny Bago (1993); Point of No Return (1993); Reasonable Doubts (1992); To Protect and Serve (1992); The Entertainers (1991); Jake and the Fatman (1991); Oscar (1991); Final Stage (1990); Hollywood Heartbreak (1990); Married to the Mob (1989); Mission: Impossible (1989); Midnight Caller (1989); The Couch Trip (1988); Cagney & Lacey (1983–1987); Ghost of a Chance (1987); The A-Team (1983–1986); MacGyver (1985–1986); Murphy's Law (1986); Hill Street Blues (1986); Shadow Chasers (1985); Stir Crazy (1985); Tales from the Darkside (1985); Fame (1985); Crackups (1984); Protocol (1984); Hunter (1984); Second Sight: A Love Story (1984); More Than Murder (1984); Hardcastle and McCormick (1983); Strangers Kiss (1983); Matt Houston (1982); Hey Good Lookin' (1982); Strike Force (1981–1982); Pandemonium (1982); Foul Play (1981); Fantasy Island (1981); Heavy Metal (1981); Hart to Hart (1980); Sitting Ducks (1980); Tenspeed and Brown Shoe (1980); Gold of the Amazon Women (1979); The Rockford Files (1978); Hawaii Five-O (1978); Outtakes (1977); Starsky and Hutch (1977); Night Drive (1977); Wizards (1977); Charlie's Angels (1977); Russian Roulette (1975); Kojak (1974); Rhoda (1974); The Dion Brothers (1974); Mean Streets (1973); Mod Squad (1970–1971); Night Chase (1970); Walk the Walk (1970); Mission: Impossible (1970); The Ghastly Ones (1968).

Born on this day – Niels Arestrup:

Niels Arestrup

Actor

Writer

Director

February 8, 1949 – December 1, 2024

Credits:

20 heures le journal (1999–2014); 20h30 le dimanche (2021); 28' (2022); 96 heures (2014); A Private Affair (2002); A Prophet (2009); Albert Savarus (1993); Allons au cinéma (1976); Arte Journal (2024); At Eternity's Gate (2018); Au Field de la nuit (2014); Barbablù, Barbablù (1987); Baron noir (2016); Bouillon de culture (1991–1992); By the Sea (2015); C à vous (2011–2021); Calls (2019); Capitain Marleau (2017); Champs-Elysées (1982); Charlie Dingo (1987); Cinema 3 (2009–2010); Citizen Langlois (1995); City Empires (1998); Clique dimanche (2018); Compression (2024); Délit mineur (1994); Demain les mômes (1976); Diesel (1985); Diplomacy (2014); Diplomatie: Making of (2015); Divertimento (2022); Doux amer (1987); Dream On (2000); Du blues dans la tête (1981); Effraction (1986); En aparté (2023); Farewell (2009); Fernando Krapp m'a écrit cette letter (2000); Film Önü / Arkasi (2020); Fragments of Antonin (2006); Grandeur et décadence d'un petit commerce de cinéma (1987); Histoires abominables / Segment: La passion d'une femme sans Coeur (1979); I, You, He, She (1974); Jacques Audiard - Le cinéma à coeur (2021); La cerisaie (1982); La danse de mort (1982); La derelitta / Cinéma 16 (1977–1988); La dernière carte (1974); La femme abandonee (1992); La grande dune (1990); La guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu (1984); La guerre d'un seul homme (1981); La nuit des Césars (2006–2019); La nuit des Molières (1920); La part animale (2007); La part de l'ombre (2000); La passion d'une femme sans Coeur (1979); La rumba (1987); La traversée du miroir (2011); La vie de château (1984); Le candidat (2007); Le cercle de minuit (1994–1995); Le goûter chez Niels (1986); Le grand échiquier (1983); Le grand journal de Canal+ (2007–2016); Le grand soir (1976); Le petit théâtre d'Antenne 2 (1980); Le pique-nique de Lulu Kreutz (1999); Le Rainbow Warrior (2006); Le retour d'Elisabeth Wolff (1982); Le roman du samedi (1980); Le Temps des Cerises (2008); Le tourbillon des jours (1979); Les apprentis sorciers (1977); Les derniers jours de la victime (1995); Les enquêtes d'Éloïse Rome (2002); Les héritiers (1981); Les loups entre eux (1985); Les papillons noirs (2022); Les poneys sauvages (1983); Les secrets de la princesse de Cadignan (1982); Lettres à un jeune poète (2010); L'invitation (2009); L'invité (2021); L'oiseau bleu (1981); Lulu (1978); Lumiere (1976); Manon Roland (1989); Meeting Venus (1991); Memoirs of a French Whore (1979); Messieurs les jurés (1974); Miss O'Gynie et les hommes fleurs (1974); Myster Mocky présente (2020); Nulle part ailleurs (1995–2000); On est en direct (2021); On ne peut pas plaire à tout le monde (2001); On n'est pas couché (2015–2016); Our Children (2012); Papa lumière (2015); Parlez-moi d'amour (2002); Plus ça va, moins ça va (1977); Profession (2018); Rausch der Verwandlung (1989); Return to Montauk (2017); Rewind (1998); Sarah's Key (2010); Second Chance (1976); See You Up There (2017); Seuls (1981); Sincerely Charlotte (1985); Small World (2010); Sortie d'usine 2017 (2017); Stavisky (1974); Studio Gabriel (1996); Suite noire (2009); Tauwetter (1977); Télé Caroline (1989); The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005); The Big Picture (2010); The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007); The Dune (2013); The French Minister (2013); The Future Is Woman (1984); Thé ou café (2001–2015); The Song of Roland (1978); The Woman Cop (1980); Villa Caprice (2020); Ville étrangère (1988); Vivement dimanche (2015–2019); Vivement dimanche prochain (2011–2021); War Horse (2011); You Will Be My Son (2011).

On this day in movie history - Taxi Driver (1976)

Taxi Driver

directed by Martin Scorsese,

written by Paul Schrader,

was released in the United States on February 8, 1976.

Music by Bernard Herrmann.

Cast:

Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks, Leonard Harris, Peter Boyle, Steven Prince, Harvey Keitel, Martin Scorsese, Harry Northup, Victor Argo, Joe Spinell, Diahnne Abbott.

On this day in movie history - Witness (1985)

Witness

directed by Peter Weir,

written by Earl W. Wallace and William Kelley,

based on a story by Earl W. Wallace, Pamela Wallace and William Kelley,

was released in the United States on February 8, 1985.

Music by Maurice Jarre.

Cast:

Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Lukas Haas, Jan Rubeš, Josef Sommer, Alexander Godunov, Danny Glover, Brent Jennings, Patti LuPone, Angus MacInnes, Viggo Mortensen, Frederick Rolf, John Garson, Ed Crowley, Timothy Carhart, Beverly May, Richard Chaves, Robert Earl Jones, Sylvia Kauders.

On this day in music history - Rossini Recital, by Cecilia Bartoli (1991)

Rossini Recital

by Cecilia Bartoli

was released on February 8, 1991.

On this day in music history - The album Careless Loving, by Roxanne Potvin (2004)

 

Careless Loving

by Roxanne Potvin

was released on February 8, 2004.

Track list:

I Don't Want Nobody (To Have My Love But You); Make Me Yours; Ain't It a Shame; If I Can't Have You; Missing You; My Book; Don't Get Close to Me; Careless Loving; Wild Wild Young Men; Long John Blues.

On this day in movie history - Cold Pursuit (2019)

Cold Pursuit

directed by Hans Petter Moland,

written by Frank Baldwin,

was released in the United States on February 8, 2019.

A remake of In Order of Disappearance a.k.a. Kraftidioten (2014),

directed by Hans Petter Moland.

Music by George Fenton.

Cast:

Liam Neeson, Tom Bateman, Tom Jackson, Emmy Rossum, Domenick Lombardozzi, Julia Jones, John Doman, Laura Dern, Aleks Paunovic, William Forsythe, Raoul Trujillo, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Michael Eklund, Bradley Stryker, David O'Hara, Christopher Logan, Nathaniel Arcand, Ben Cotton, Micheál Richardson, Mitchell Saddleback, Manna Nichols, Arnold Pinnock, Wesley MacInnes, Elysia Rotaru, Nicholas Holmes, Michael Adamthwaite, Elizabeth Thai, Gus Halper, Kyle Nobess, Glen Gould, Glenn Wrage, Michael Bean, Nels Lennarson.