Simanaitis Says

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Author Archives: simanaitissays

“WINDOW; WINDOW IN THE TEST; WHO’S AMONG THE VERY BEST?” PART 2

YESTERDAY, THE 1982 R&T BOUND VOLUME brought back memories of tire testing. We continue here with details of our hard-working tire-changing crew, confidence windows, blind testing, and an R&T visit … Continue reading

November 15, 2025 · Leave a comment

“WINDOW; WINDOW IN THE TEST; WHO’S AMONG THE VERY BEST?” PART 1

I WAS RECENTLY RESEARCHING SOMETHING OR OTHER in the 1982 bound volume of R&T and came upon this subhead cited above. It brought memories of a significant achievement during my … Continue reading

November 14, 2025 · 2 Comments

QUAINT LITTLE PUBS

AND WHEN I SAY “LITTLE”…. IN PARTICULAR, KAREN BONES IS A SCOTTISH ARTIST EXTRAORDINAIRE who “started making miniature buildings as a natural progression.”  Karen Bones and her artful miniatures. This … Continue reading

November 13, 2025 · Leave a comment

THE SUBLIME, THE HEARTWARMING, AND (LAMENTABLY) THE RIDICULOUS PART 2

YESTERDAY WE CELEBRATED FRANCE MINTING TWO NEW COINS heralding Notre-Dame’s reopening. There was also a Notre-Dame wedding of one of its artisans and his bride. Alas, today in Part 2, … Continue reading

November 12, 2025 · Leave a comment

THE SUBLIME, THE HEARTWARMING, (AND THE LAMENTABLY RIDICULOUS)     PART 1 

THE MONNAIE DE PARIS, FRANCE’S NATIONAL MINT, IS ISSUING 2-Euro and 10-Euro coins celebrating the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris after construction following the cathedral’s horrific fire on April 15, … Continue reading

November 11, 2025 · Leave a comment

SEEKING A LIFE’S PHILOSOPHY

I’VE NEVER BEEN MUCH INTO PHILOSOPHY: I admire the wit of St. Augustine’s comment: “Oh, Master, make me chaste and celibate—but not yet.” And as for Bishop Berkeley’s Esse est percipi … Continue reading

November 10, 2025 · Leave a comment

WHAT A LITTLE SWEETHEART! PART 2

YESTERDAY IN PART 1, WE BEGAN DESCRIBING the Fiat 508S Balilla Corsa, its Balilla moniker honoring an 18th-century Italian patriot.  Today, Classic & Sports Car’s Richard Heseltine focuses on the … Continue reading

November 9, 2025 · 2 Comments

WHAT A LITTLE SWEETHEART! PART 1

“CHE PICCOLA DOLCEZZA!,” GOOGLE TRANSLATE offered, eventually. And Richard Heseltine’s writeup of the “Fiat 508S Balilla Corsa,” Classic & Sports Car, October 16, 2025, certainly fits this description. What’s more, … Continue reading

November 8, 2025 · Leave a comment

LRB LETTERS FUN        PART 2 

LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS READERS are literate (and good-humoured) people, as suggested yesterday in Part 1. Today we continue with tidbits gleaned from their letters to LRB editors.  A Pacific … Continue reading

November 7, 2025 · Leave a comment

LRB LETTERS FUN PART 1

AS SHOWN IN SIMANAITISSAYS FROM TIME TO TIME, the London Review of Books is a most literate —and entertaining—publication, even to its “Letters” column. See, for example, “LRB Letters—A Reader’s … Continue reading

November 6, 2025 · 1 Comment