G.P. MERCEDES OF MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO PART 2
YESTERDAY, ANTHONY BIRD OFFERED ANALYSIS of the 1908 G.P. Mercedes, a 12.8-liter behemoth winning the Grand Prix at Dieppe much to the consternation of the French (who, in a sense, … Continue reading
G.P. MERCEDES OF MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO PART 1
IT WAS 115 YEARS BEFORE TODAY’S Mercedes-Benz participation in Grand Prix racing (and, indeed, it wasn’t until 1926 that the hyphenated firm even existed). Laurence Pomeroy’s The Grand Prix Car … Continue reading
MY MY FAIR LADY PART 2
YESTERDAY WE SAW Pygmalion evolve from Greek legend to George Bernard Shaw play to Leslie Howard/Wendy Hiller movie to Broadway’s My Fair Lady and its Hollywood flick to my entertaining … Continue reading
MY MY FAIR LADY PART 1
I’M ENJOYING MY FAIR LADY on Turner Classic Movies in multiple viewings: Conveniently enough, the first one coincided with the closing notes of “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” the second one … Continue reading
NOT SO SILENT
MY FAVORITE TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES are from the pre-Code Thirties, though I confess to enjoying the occasional silent film. Indeed, a couple of the latter are real keepers having been … Continue reading
HÉLÈNE DUTRIEU—AVIATRIX AND MORE
I FIRST LEARNED ABOUT HÉLÈNE DUTRIEU from my Minute Epics of Flight, a book that begins with ancient Babylon and Etana’s flight on the back of an eagle and brings … Continue reading
WHAT MAKES FOR A PERFECT TWO-SEAT COMMUTER?
BACK IN DECEMBER 1983, R&T WROTE “The 1.5-liter CRX is the most fun you can have on four wheels for less than $7000.” Cover blurbs blurbed, “Lotus Turbo Esprit: blindingly … Continue reading
JONATHAN MILES’ (AND MY) RIVIERA
LIESL SCHILLINGER QUOTES SOMERSET MAUGHM’s French Riviera as “A Sunny Place for Shady People” in her review of Jonathan Miles’ The Once Upon a Time World: The Dark and Sparkling … Continue reading
YOU CAN COUNT ON US
I’M TALKING ABOUT THE CENSUS, not just matters of communal reliance. Indeed, John Lanchester offers 6500 words in “Get a Rabbit,” London Review of Books, September 21, 2023. Here are … Continue reading
BRINGING ZHUZH TO THE PADAWANS
LEXICOGRAPHIC PALS MERRIAM AND WEBSTER bring 690 new entries into their dictionary, two of them utterly new to me and included into today’s title. Here are tidbits about them and … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 