INTERNATIONAL AIR RACES AND POLITICS—1920
THE ROAR OF the Roaring Twenties could well have been airplanes setting new records. World War I aviation technology would be transformed into peaceful endeavors of air mail and the … Continue reading
RALLY ’ROUND THE FLAG PART 2
YESTERDAY’S FLAG LORE had theories and practices of political science, religion, combustion, and inversion. Today in Part 2, the flag is monochromatically bland, though we’ll see that white flags have … Continue reading
RALLY ’ROUND THE FLAG PART 1
THE RALLY ’ROUND the Flag Effect is a political-science concept not exactly evident today. As detailed in Wikipedia, the concept describes an “increased short-run popular support of the President of … Continue reading
ICELAND—LAND OF OPERA, SCULPTURE, AND STREET FOOD AT 1 A.M.
ARMCHAIR TRAVEL IS a blessing these days. And, for me, old travel books provide the vehicle. Cook’s Traveller’s Handbook to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, 1936, is a fine example … Continue reading
THE BALSAMO/CAGLIOSTRO SAGA PART 3
WERE THE COUNT and Countess Cagliostros merely 18th-century proto-Eurotrash? Or is this too strong an assessment? Here in Part 3, we conclude with more tidbits gleaned from faust.com. The Affair … Continue reading
THE BALSAMO/CAGLIOSTRO SAGA PART 2
YESTERDAY, HERE AT SimanaitisSays, 18th-century conman Giuseppe Balsamo and his wife Serafina were in Cadiz, Spain. He had just “acquired” an expensive walking stick set with diamonds in its handle … Continue reading
THE BALSAMO/CAGLIOSTRO SAGA PART 1
MODERN CONMEN ARE short-fingered vulgarians compared to Giuseppe/Joseph Balsamo aka the Count Alessandro di Cagliostro. This 18th-century scam artist was in no particular order, a mystic, magician, gigolo, pimp, Coptic … Continue reading
SEEKING ANONYMITY IN A CROWD PART 2
JOHN SEABROOK’s MOST informative “Dressing for the Surveillance Age” in yesterday’s SimanaitisSays got us into the latest of deep-learning facial recognition. Today in Part 2, we learn about our cars’ … Continue reading
SEEKING ANONYMITY IN A CROWD PART 1
IT’S LIKE LIVING IN a small town, where everyone knows everything about everyone else. Or, at least, they think they do. Modern surveillance technology recognizes the face in the crowd. … Continue reading
LATTER-DAY RAZOR EDGES
WHEN THE MUSEUM of Modern Art in New York City celebrated the automobile in 1951, its catalog commended the razor-edge styling of one of MOMA’s eight cars by observing “the … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 