MONACO GRANDS PRIX, 1929–1933
A GRAND PRIX on the streets of the half-vertical principality of Monaco is magic, despite occasional comments to the contrary. Here are tidbits from the first five Monaco Grands Prix, … Continue reading
ON APPRECIATION OF MOTOR RACING
I’VE BEEN reading complaints about this past Sunday’s 2018 Monaco Grand Prix, some even from World Drivers Champions Fernando Alonso, who dropped out of the race, and Lewis Hamilton, who … Continue reading
ARE YOU A HENRY? OR JUST A WANNABE?
I RECENTLY heard the demographic descriptor Henry, as in High Earner Not Rich Yet, and this got me thinking of more familiar terms, which in turn led me to some … Continue reading
WHERE’S TH@T @T?
ONCE A MERE substitute for “at the rate of,” as in “3 apples @ 25¢ each,” the symbol @ has thrived to travel the world on the Internet. It punctuates … Continue reading
THE FIRST PERSON TO FLY IN THE U.S.
JUST AS GEORGE Washington crossed the Delaware River in December 1776, within two decades Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard entered aviation history as the first person to fly in the U.S., also … Continue reading
THE 1 1/2-LITRE SQUIRE
I DIDN’T realize it at the time, but back in junior-high study hall I was sketching the Squire. And, indeed, in England back in 1926, 16-year-old Adrian Morgan Squire was … Continue reading
WHAT’S A TELEX, GRANDPA?
QUITE APART from many young people seemingly not knowing how to do long division in any sensible way, they’ve also been known to ask things like “How does a dial … Continue reading
BOUILLABAISSE AND DEFIANCE OF CODIFICATION PART 1
ONE THING leads to another. And, seemingly, to two-part items here recently at SimanaitisSays. There I was, reading a London Review of Books article by Inigo Thomas on Maison Empereur, … Continue reading
THE NAPOLEON DUPORT CAPER PART 2
WHEN LAST we encountered the cello of Jean-Louis Duport, indeed only yesterday, it had been manhandled by the overly enthusiastic as well as musically inept Napoleon Bonaparte. Today, the caper … Continue reading