ANDES HIGH (AND WE’RE NOT TALKING ALTITUDE)
ANDREW LAWLER’S OPENER IS DATELINED CHAVÍN DE HUÁNTAR, PERU: “The subterranean corridor was lit only by eerie light that filtered down narrow ventilation shafts and reflected from polished stone. Priests … Continue reading
CHINESE CARS IN THE U.S.?
WHAT A PROVOCATIVE—AND COMPLEX—IDEA. Here, in a lengthy collection, are tidbits gleaned from Automotive News, SAE International Automotive Engineering, and Jalopnik, together with my R&T sleuthing. Paige Hodder writes in … Continue reading
A.I. VERSES MATHEMATICS
DR. ZEYNEP TUFEKCI HAS BECOME MY GO-TO on lofty matters: See “How Zeynep Tufekci Keeps Getting the Big Things Right,” Ben Smith, The New York Times, August 23, 2020. See … Continue reading
SHOULD DICTIONARIES BE HEP?
NITSUH ABEBE REPORTS “SORRY, WEBSTER. MOST PEOPLE DON’T WANT INTERNET SLANG IN THE DICTIONARY,” The New York Times, September 18, 2026. Or so claims a news release he received last … Continue reading
OPERA’S RAZOR EDGES
I ENJOY QUOTING SIR PETER USTINOV: “Opera rides the razor edge of absurdity.” The October 2026 issue of Opera With Opera News offers interesting extremes of scenery and notable examples … Continue reading
GEORGE HANGER: 4TH (AND LAST) BARON OF COLERAINE, MILITARY BLUNDERER, EARLY FEMINIST (??)
THE SLEEZE MEDIA THESE DAYS ARE REPLETE WITH GOINGS-ON (or non-goings-in) of English Royals (or non-Royals). Leafing again through Brewer’s Rogues, Villains & Eccentrics, I came upon George Hanger, 4th … Continue reading
FAIRY TALES: CRADLE SCISSORS, SHAKESPEARE, CONAN DOYLE, OSCAR WILDE’S MOTHER, AND A WOMAN IN THE BATH
SOMETIMES, I FEAR, I MISS THE POINT of a book review. In London Review of Books, September 10, 2026, Nick Richardson offers a lengthy (7107 words!) article “Cradle Scissors,” (the … Continue reading
CELEBRATING OSCAR WILDE ANNOTATIONS PART 2
WE STARTED THIS ANNOTATION GLEANING YESTERDAY, with H. Montgomery Hyde’s The Annotated Oscar Wilde: Poems, Fiction, Plays, Lectures, Essays, and Letters as our source, specifically its play The Importance of … Continue reading
CELEBRATING OSCAR WILDE ANNOTATIONS PART 1
I HAVE LONG SAVORED THE WIT, ERUDITION, AND STYLE of Oscar Wilde. See “In Praise of Annotated Editions,” November 22, 2013; “The Best of Lines,” April 21, 2017; “In the … Continue reading
2026 IG NOBEL AWARDS—WITH A NEW HOME
I KNOW YOU’VE BEEN WAITING, AND JENNIFER OUELLETTE ANNOUNCES THE 2026 IG NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS, ars TECHNICA, September 3, 2026. She observes, “It’s that time of year again, when we … Continue reading
