Simanaitis Says

On cars, old, new and future; science & technology; vintage airplanes, computer flight simulation of them; Sherlockiana; our English language; travel; and other stuff

SET AND COSTUME DESIGN FOR OPERA

“LEAPS OF IMAGINATION” IS THE APT TITLE for Anthony Freud’s article in Opera with Opera News, July 2026. It follows up on his “Illuminating the Stage,” February 2026, tidbits of … Continue reading

July 1, 2026 · Leave a comment

ADVANTAGES OF THE PRINCIPLED PUBLIC SPHERE   PART 2

IN PART 1, ALEX ROSS’S “Jürgen Habermas Defended Reason in a Darkening Age,” The New Yorker, June 22, 2026, introduced us to the philosophical concept of the Principled Public Sphere. … Continue reading

June 30, 2026 · Leave a comment

THE ADVANTAGES OF A PRINCIPLED PUBLIC SPHERE    PART 1

FROM TIME TO TIME, MY KANTIAN PHILOSOPHICAL LEANINGS COME TO MIND. This time around, curiously, they arise from words of Alex Ross, music critic of The New Yorker, who evidently … Continue reading

June 29, 2026 · 1 Comment

JD’S BS

MANY OF US REMEMBER NIXON. He was a foul-mouthed conniving corrupt president driven to resignation by a sure-thing threat of impeachment by the House and conviction by the Senate. We remember … Continue reading

June 28, 2026 · 4 Comments

MEDICAL RESEARCH UNDER ATTACK    PART 2

IN PART 1, RNA SPECIALIST DR. JEFF COLLER WARNED OF FEDERAL CUTBACKS in medical research in his Guest Essay in The New York Times. Today in Part 2, he cites … Continue reading

June 27, 2026 · 1 Comment

MEDICAL RESEARCH UNDER ATTACK      PART 1

WITH ADDLED GUIDANCE FROM THE LIKES OF RFK JR. AND TRUMP, it’s no surprise that medical research is under attack. How many measles deaths must we experience? What about our … Continue reading

June 26, 2026 · 1 Comment

I LOVE SATIRE!

DANA MILBANK CONTRIBUTES A WONDERFUL BIT OF SATIRE to NOTUS “Perspectives,” June 23, 2026. I encourage you to read it in totality. Just for fun (and as I love satire!), … Continue reading

June 25, 2026 · Leave a comment

THE PLANTS’ REVENGE   PART 2

YESTERDAY WE BEGAN DISCUSSING THE VENUS FLYTRAP’S REVENGE on the animal world, as described by Science’s Jacques Dumais’ description of how this plant accomplishes its capture. Today in Part 2, … Continue reading

June 24, 2026 · Leave a comment

THE PLANTS’ REVENGE      PART 1

JACQUES DUMAIS OBSERVES, “PLANTS AND ANIMALS INTERACT in countless ways, but in most cases the plant appears to be a passive participant in the interaction….” Here, though Dionaea muscipula, the … Continue reading

June 23, 2026 · Leave a comment

A “SIMPLE” SEAL FOR A FORMULA ONE LSD

THANKS TO SAE INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING, June 2026, we get a glimpse into what might be considered a “simple” seal for hydraulic actuation of the McLaren Formula One car’s limited-slip … Continue reading

June 22, 2026 · Leave a comment