CELEBRATING THE FIRST MG A—ITS MISSING LINK HERE AT SIMANAITISSAYS PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE PRESENTED ABINGDON WORKS DETAILS of the MG A. Today are tidbits gleaned from R&T’s December 1955 road test of this new Abingdon product. A Changing U.S. Scene. R&T … Continue reading
CELEBRATING THE FIRST MG A—ITS MISSING LINK HERE AT SIMANAITISSAYS PART 1
IN RECOUNTING THE TALE OF THE MG A, SimanaitisSays talked about its progenitor in “George Phillips and His MG Race Cars,” October 26, 2015; and, summarizing the end of MG … Continue reading
DON’T FORGET THE SYMPHONIC SNEEZE
THERE ARE FASCINATING SOUNDS IN CLASSICAL MUSIC: the Anvil Chorus in Verdi’s Il Travatore, 18 anvils in Wagner’s Das Rhinegold, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture with its bells ringing and cannon fire, … Continue reading
THE SMITHSONIAN’S QUANDARY
IN 1829, ENGLISH SCIENTIST JAMES SMITHSON bequeathed his estate to the United States to establish an institution for “the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” The Smithsonian Institution followed in 1846 … Continue reading
DREAM SHOPPING IN 1955
SO THERE I WAS, WITH MONEY BURNING A HOLE in my teenage pocket and leafing through the R&T Market Place, January 1955. And before you get all slobbery about prices, … Continue reading
SCOTUS AND GERRYMANDERING
LIKE PONTIUS PILATE, CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN G. ROBERTS has washed his hands on a matter affecting humanity. As described by David Daley in “Trump Isn’t the Only One to Blame … Continue reading
PLACE NAMES—SIGNPOSTS TO THE PAST
HISTORIAN MICHAEL WOOD WRITES, “… a rusting cast-iron signpost peeping through the foliage in a sunken lane gives me an inexplicable thrill. It’s the idea that the deep past might … Continue reading
DEEPFAKE—AND OUR RESULTING LOSS OF ATTENTION AND CREDIBILITY
ZEYNEP TUFEKCI WRITES, “LAST WEEK THE TELEVISION HOST Chris Cuomo took to social media to share a video…” Prof. Tufekci is one of my most highly regarded thinkers/most valuable sources, … Continue reading
COME FLY WITH ME
I SHARE FRANK SINATRA’S VOCAL ENTHUSIASM for air travel: “Once you get up there, where the air is rarified/ We’ll just glide, starry-eyed” being a particularly telling lyric. And thus … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGIES FOR OUR TIMES REDUX
IT’S FUN—AND ILLUMINATING—TO SEE WHERE WORDS ORIGINATE. Sometimes the answer is trivial. For example, “Pettiness” from the French petit, little; as in “Short-fingered vulgarian’s pettiness.” Other times, it’s rather more … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 