KARAKURI TRICKS
IN CLASSIC JAPAN, automata known as karakuri delivered tea to guests. The mechanized doll would approach the guest, then, with head bowed, offer the cup of tea. When the tea … Continue reading
JACKFRUIT BARBACOA
I’M A VEGETARIAN, EXCEPT for sausage. And maybe an annual celebratory filet mignon cooked black-and-blue. However, I do admire the appearance of a pulled-pork BBQ sandwich, and I’ve found this … Continue reading
FOLKTALES OF THE DOLOMITES
THE DOLOMITES, in northeastern Italy, are part of my favorite mountain range, the Alps, and the home of whimsical folktales. By the way, “DOH-loh-mytes” is an acceptable English pronunciation, though … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGY: TO COZEN, A COZENER
GIVEN THAT we may be entering the second half, and perhaps the end game, of Trumpery, it is not inappropriate to discuss classical terms for the personality type, in particular, … Continue reading
BOOSTING FLIGHT—WITH FLAPPERS AND MORE PART 2
YESTERDAY AT SimanaitisSays, Aeromarine Airways established international service between Key West and Havana with converted World War I flying boats. Today, the airline expands in particularly novel ways. Mr. Uppercu … Continue reading
BOOSTING FLIGHT—WITH FLAPPERS AND MORE PART 1
AEROMARINE AIRWAYS RECOGNIZED early on the marketing potential of aeroplanes. In 1920, Aeromarine inaugurated an international flight schedule, among the world’s first for heavier-than-air craft. (Dutch KLM beat it only … Continue reading
PASS THE PASTICHES, PLEASE
THE YEAR 2019, according to Alexandra Alter in The New York Times, December 29, 2018, will be one of “New Life for Old Classics, as Their Copyrights Run Out.” She … Continue reading
RACE TO THE CLOUDS, R&T’S 1956 REPORT
NEW HAMPSHIRE’S Mt. Washington is among the most prominent peaks in the U.S. And, as reported in R&T, it’s renowned as a hillclimb venue and notorious for erratic weather as … Continue reading
GETTING OPERATIC, QUOTEWISE
QUOTES ABOUT opera range from ”Bravi tutti!” to “Wagner’s music is better than it sounds.” A new book reviewed in The New York Times Book Review offers a goodly number … Continue reading
THE STATE(S) OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY
AN ARTICLE IN The New York Times, December 24, 2018, by Nadja Popovich, asks “How Does Your State Make Electricity?” Alas, its graphics seem not to be reproducible here. Instead, … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 