Simanaitis Says

On cars, old, new and future; science & technology; vintage airplanes, computer flight simulation of them; Sherlockiana; our English language; travel; and other stuff

Monthly Archives: February, 2021

OBAMA’S MEMOIRS

I HAVEN’T READ Barack Obama’s A Promised Land, and considering the number of books already on my “to-read” stack, I’m not likely to attempt this 768-page challenge. On the other … Continue reading

February 28, 2021 · Leave a comment

ETYMOLOGY: VACCINE

MUCH ON OUR minds these days, the word “vaccine” has interesting etymology and important current usage. Here are tidbits gleaned from my usual Internet sleuthing. Dictionary Definition. Merriam-Webster says a … Continue reading

February 27, 2021 · Leave a comment

BARD STATS

WHEN WIFE DOTTIE was a kid, she and her friend Gracie Watts would perform plays for their parents. When she asked her dad which part he liked best, he’d invariably … Continue reading

February 26, 2021 · Leave a comment

THE DRONE RACE

DRONES CAN BE entertaining radio-controlled hobby craft. They’re useful for aerial photography and employed in news and traffic reports. They’re increasingly seen as delivery vehicles. And, alas, they’re the hot … Continue reading

February 25, 2021 · Leave a comment

1914 G.P. VAUXHALL—ANALYZING A FATHER’S WORK    PART 2

YESTERDAY WE BEGAN discussing Laurence “Pom” Pomeroy’s analyses of his father L.H.P.’s design for the 1914 G.P. Vauxhall, a car replete with innovative features. Today in Part 2 we offer … Continue reading

February 24, 2021 · Leave a comment

1914 G.P. VAUXHALL—ANALYZING A FATHER’S WORK PART 1

IN 1913, ENGLISH engineer L.H. Pomeroy designed an innovative racing car for the 1914 Tourist Trophy race as well as the internationally important, and highly popular, French Grand Prix. In … Continue reading

February 23, 2021 · Leave a comment

HELDENDIVAS OF WAGNER’S RING DES NIBELUNGEN

HELDENTENORS ARE RENOWNED for their heroic Wagnerian singing. But what about the divas? They’re typically portrayed as plumpish, large-bosomed ladies wearing cow-horned helmets. Tenors, Helden and Otherwise. Nick Slonimsky has … Continue reading

February 22, 2021 · Leave a comment

POM ON MOTOR RACING AND NATIONALISM

LAURENCE “POM” POMEROY, 1908–1966, wrote about more than automotive technicalities in his classic book The Grand Prix Car. There is a tale that Pom’s father, English automotive engineer Laurence Henry … Continue reading

February 21, 2021 · Leave a comment

ERTÉ, MARION DAVIES, AND WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST

A COIN TOSS linked Art Deco artist Erté with publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst. One result of the coin toss was a movie, The Restless Sex, all but forgotten—and for … Continue reading

February 20, 2021 · Leave a comment

ENTERTAINING ENGLISH HISTORY

SURE, WE HAVE our George Washington cutting down that apple tree and proving the law of gravity by throwing an apple across the Potomac. (Or do I have this wrong?) … Continue reading

February 19, 2021 · 3 Comments