USED CAR ADS—ROAD AND TRACK 1949-1950 PART 1
TALK ABOUT A FASCINATING WISH LIST! In the early days of Road and Track (the “&” didn’t appear until 1954), there were several means of advertising used cars. Here are … Continue reading
A CHAT WITH CHRIS: “PUTTING THE HEART BACK IN TECHNOLOGY”
CHRIS BORRONI-BIRD HAS APPEARED SEVERAL TIMES here at SimanaitisSays: Along with Larry Burns and Bill Mitchell, he’s coauthor of my much-cited Reinventing the Automobile: Personal Urban Mobility for the 21st … Continue reading
NO MORE INNIES NOR OUTIES??
SIMANAITISSAYS PRIDES ITSELF ON BEING CULTURALLY HEP. Note its recent analyses of “Kit Marlowe—an Elizabethan John le Carré,” “ ‘Poi Tristano,’ Jotted Puccini,” and “Liar, Liar, Middle East on Fire.” … Continue reading
THE JAPANESE HAVE A WORD FOR IT PART 2
YESTERDAY, REBEKAH BRANDES’ NICE NEWS article got us started with Japanese words and phrases enriching our lives. Perhaps still in need of intellectual and emotion reparation, we continue today in … Continue reading
THE JAPANESE HAVE A WORD FOR IT PART 1
I ENJOY READING NICE NEWS—a website that, as its name describes, celebrates the world’s joys. For example, Nice News’ Rebekah Brandes offers “From Ikigai to Wabi-Sabi: 8 Japanese Philosophies for … Continue reading
A.I.’S MIRAGE REASONING—ITS LATEST HALLUCINATIONS
I’VE COME TO RESPECT GARY MARCUS’ knowledge and opinions concerning A.I. His latest analysis “The Mirage of Visual Understanding in Current Frontier Models,” Substack, March 29, 2026, introduces me to … Continue reading
KIT MARLOWE—AN ELIZABETHAN JOHN LE CARRÉ PART 2
YESTERDAY, MICHAEL DOBSON’S LRB PIECE “Flash and Thunder” got me thinking about Christopher Marlowe, my favorite noir Elizabethan. Today in Part 2, we shuffle through Kit’s Tudor closet, not to … Continue reading
KIT MARLOWE—AN ELIZABETHAN JOHN LE CARRÉ PART 1
GREAT WRITERS THINK ALIKE. And also, moderate hacks occasionally parallel the thoughts of competent authors. I’m thinking of two examples: Christopher Marlowe and John le Carré. And me and London … Continue reading
DONATE TRUMP-SIGNED CURRENCY TO ACLU! THEN TELL HIM SO!
MERRIAM-WEBSTER NOTES THE WORD “TRIBUTE” HAS CONTRASTING MEANINGS: One positive; the other, less so. M-W defines a tribute may be “something (such as material evidence or a formal attestation) that … Continue reading
“POI TRISTANO,” JOTTED PUCCINI PART 2
YESTERDAY IN PART 1, KEVIN NG ASKED “Is It Possible to Solve the Ending of Puccini’s ‘Turandot’?” We meandered about Puccini’s sketching “poi Tristano” and its love defying death in … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 