DANTE’S INFERNO, A DESTINATION GUIDE
WASHINGTON, D.C. PRONOUNCEMENTS concerning the defunding of Meals on Wheels and of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and of the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities are having an … Continue reading
PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORSHIP, PART 3
AMONG THE most prolific of U.S. Presidents who demonstratively knew how to read a book is Teddy Roosevelt. Indeed, he wrote a goodly number of books on a variety of … Continue reading
PROTEST—CLASSICAL STYLE
THE FOLK GENRE is rich with songs of protest: Pete Seeger’s We Shall Overcome and Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ come to mind. But what about classical music? … Continue reading
SCIENCE AND “AIR QUOTES”
ACCORDING TO White House press secretary Sean Spicer, we’re supposed to identify “air quotes” in presidential tweets about surveillance. And, says presidential senior advisor Kellyanne Conway, we’re to acknowledge “microwaves … Continue reading
THE GLIDER THAT HELPED TAKE NORMANDY
LET’S CELEBRATE the Waco CG-4A Hadrian glider, first flown 75 years ago. This U.S. glider’s delivery of troops and armament was part of the Allied invasions of Sicily, Normandy, the … Continue reading
SHERLOCK HOLMES—CRYPTOLOGIST
WHAT WITH international intrigue being leaked right, left and center these days, I am au courant in discussing Sherlock Holmes’ involvement in such matters, as detailed by chronicler Dr. John … Continue reading
PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORSHIP, PART 2
HERE’S ANOTHER in my series about U.S. Presidents who demonstratively knew how to read a book and even write one. Ulysses S. Grant’s literary effort involved his friend Mark Twain, … Continue reading
IN PRAISE OF DIVERSITY AND TRUTH, AND A RESONANCE BETWEEN THE TWO
TWO ARTICLES IN The New York Times, March 5, 2017, have different topics, but they generate a synergy. “What Biracial People Know,” by Moises Velasquez-Manoff, describes research suggesting that diversity … Continue reading
ALFA ROMEO SPRINT SPECIALE—AN UNFULFILLED LOVE AFFAIR
DO YOU HAVE an unfulfilled automotive love affair? Not simply a car of such exotic character—and cost—that it is clearly out of the question. (For instance, “my” 1930 Bugatti Type … Continue reading
A PARABLE OF PROPORTIONALITY
APPARENTLY WE LIVE in times when ideology trumps logic. In particular, there is no logic in the proposed demise of the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 