JACOB REES-MOGG—ANOTHER BRIT, ANOTHER REAL PIECE OF WORK
THE NEW BRITISH prime minister, Boris Johnson has made Jacob Rees-Mogg leader of the House of Commons. I’d have thought a prime minister would be the leader, and historically often … Continue reading
YOU CAN’T KEEP A GOOD STORY (OR TRILOGY, EVEN) DOWN PART 2
BEAUMARCHAIS’ STORIES HAD good legs, operawise. Here in Part 2, we’ll continue with lives of the Almavivas and Figaros, sung to our favorite tunes. La Mère Coupable, The Guilty Mother … Continue reading
YOU CAN’T KEEP A GOOD STORY (OR TRILOGY, EVEN) DOWN PART 1
CULTURAL TALES CAN lead to literary works, then be transformed into operas. The myths of Greek gods, for instance, led to The Oresteia, a trilogy of plays by Aeschylus in … Continue reading
ON STRAITS AND NARROWS PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE were visiting the troubled Hormuz Strait in the Middle East. Today, we explore two other straits, Gibraltar and Bering, and find that the only hassles in these two … Continue reading
ON STRAITS AND NARROWS PART 1
THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ, so critical to the world’s oil supply, has been in the news recently. In particular, BBC News, July 26, 2019, reported that it “is at the … Continue reading
SEAL HIJINKS
THE PRESIDENTIAL SEAL, formally the Coat of Arms of the President of the United States, is an impressive thing. Its definition contains plenty of heraldic jargon: The shield consists of … Continue reading
IACOCCA’S FIRST MUSTANG
THE RECENT PASSING OF Lee Iacocca, age 94, reminded me of his Ford Fairlane Group’s first Mustang. I’m not thinking of the Falcon-based four-seater introduced in ’64 1/2 and destined … Continue reading
THE ENGLISH JOHNSONS: DEFT OR JUST DAFT?
TO SUMMARIZE ENGLAND’S new Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his family, imagine the Trump clan, including in-laws and hangers-on, all as Donald J.’s brothers and sisters. Oh, and toss in … Continue reading
FACIAL RECOGNITION—GIGO PART 2
ARE YOU CONCERNED that facial recognition might become overbearing in its disturbance of your privacy? As suggested yesterday, sorry, folks, that train has already left. Today’s tidbits are gleaned from … Continue reading
FACIAL RECOGNITION—GIGO PART 1
PHRENOLOGY, THE ANALYSIS OF head contours to predict mental traits, used to be considered a science. This led to eugenics, selective improvement of certain genetic groups and elimination of others … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 