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
“POI TRISTANO,” JOTTED PUCCINI PART 1
CLOSE TO FINISHING HIS OPERA TURANDOT, Giacomo Puccini expressed the intent “poi Tristano,” “then Tristan.” That is, wrap up the complex relationship of the mysterious prince Calaf with ice queen … Continue reading
A RUBE GOLDBERG-SORTA TALE
THE MARCH 2, 2026, AAAS SCIENCE HAS REVIEWS of fourteen books selected from two lists prepared annually by the National Science Teaching Association and the Children’s Book Council—the “Best STEM … Continue reading
A SELF-SUPPORTING NOBLE COMPOSER—AND A WOMAN AS WELL PART 2
YESTERDAY IN PART 1, DORA PEJAČEVIĆ WAS INTRODUCED as a composer as well as a duchess with Socialist leanings. We started listening to her Symphony in F-sharp minor. (Perhaps you’d … Continue reading
A SELF-SUPPORTING NOBLE COMPOSER—AND A WOMAN AS WELL PART 1
THERE’S A LONG HISTORY OF COMPOSERS depending upon nobility for their livelihood: Vivaldi and Emperor Charles VI, Bach and Prince Leopold of Anhalf-Cöthen, Handel and the British royalty, Haydn and … Continue reading
A FINE PRADERA BRUNCH
THE SPANISH “PRADERA” IS A MEADOW, A PRARIE, A GRASSLAND. The English/American “brunch” is a portmanteau word of breakfast/lunch. And, specifically, SoCal’s Pradera restaurants (there are two, the original in … Continue reading
FEELING CRUSTY AND BARBED? PART 2
YESTERDAY WE BEGAN GOOD FUN gleaning barbs among theatrical folks from Colin M. Jarman’s collection of Barbed Quotes. Here in Part 2 we continue the dissing with folks ranging from … Continue reading
FEELING BARBED AND CRUSTY? PART 1
FORTUNATELY, I HAVE JUST THE BOOK about dishing out barbed and crusty quotes: Indeed, its full title is Barbed Quotes: Mudslinging, Backstabbing, and Celebrity Dirt Dishing. It has already made … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 