CURTISS MODEL F—A FLYING BOAT OF FIRSTS
GLENN CURTISS was the first in the U.S. to take off and land on water, January 26, 1911. And within a year, he commercialized this achievement with the Curtiss Model … Continue reading
CHAPLIN-AIR-LINE PART 2
IT DIDN’T TAKE long for Syd Chaplin, Charlie’s half-brother, to add aviation to his entrepreneurial set of ambitions. A hundred years ago, Los Angeles was a center of aviation development, … Continue reading
CHAPLIN-AIR-LINE PART 1
TODAY, THE INTERSECTION of Wilshire and Fairfax is a Los Angeles cultural focus: The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the Petersen Automotive Museum, and the Architecture and Design Museum>Los Angeles … Continue reading
HOW DO YOU SAY THAT IN ENGLISH?
A LETTER TO the London Review of Books got me thinking about words that don’t readily translate to English. Jem Thomas, Bristol, cited the Portuguese word saudade and the Welsh … Continue reading
PORSCHE BEETLES
DR. ING. FERDINAND Porsche’s company was commissioned by Adolf Hitler to design the rear-engine Volkswagen in 1934. This was five years before Porsche built the Type 64, which used many … Continue reading
ON-LOAN WORDS IN JAPANESE
MAKIKO ITOH HAS the online food blog justhungry.com, subtitled “Japanese recipes & more.” And, indeed, Maki, as she has been known since 2003, writes about so much more than food. … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGY: CAITIFF, VARLET PART 2
YESTERDAY WAS CAITIFF’S day; today, varlet exhibits the same sort of linguistic switcheroo: What originally had an innocent meaning evolved into a word rather less complimentary. Varlet. Varlet’s original meaning … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGY: CAITIFF, VARLET PART 1
CAITIFFS! VARLETS! WHAT rare but appropriate words describing too many politicians these days. Merriam-Webster lists “caitiff” as an adjective meaning “cowardly, despicable.” It defines the noun ”varlet” as “attendant, menial; … Continue reading
NOSTALGIA? NOT!
A VINTAGE AD on Sirius XM’s “Radio Classics” reminds us of things not missed: The ad advised making sure we had enough flash bulbs for vacation. Flash Bulbs. What’s a … Continue reading
ON MANUAL DEXTERITY
EACH DAY I do tasks that the best of robots cannot yet accomplish: I grasp more than one object with one hand. In feeding our kitties, I manipulate cat bowl, … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 