PUCCINI’S WORLD TOUR PART 1
RICHARD WAGNER VISITED the underworld Nibelheim and the upperworld Valhalla in his epic Ring Cycle, but a much more practical world tour is offered by Giacomo Puccini in his Madama … Continue reading
CELEBRATING OSCA
OSCA IS short for Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili—Fratelli Maserati. In business between 1947 and 1967, this Italian automaker fabricated some of the swoopiest, snarliest, and most potent of sports cars. … Continue reading
ON POLITICAL BRILLIANCE
WHAT WITH this being Election Day, and indeed one of the more important elections in our nation’s history, I offer thoughts from three Americans of unalloyed brilliance: Mark Twain, Will … Continue reading
CHARLES FLETCHER LUMMIS—NOT A STEREOTYPICAL LIBRARIAN PART 2
YESTERDAY, IN SimanaitisSays, Charles Fletcher Lummis left Harvard early, married his first Mrs. Lummis, walked across the U.S. in knickers and tomato-red knee socks to a job with the fledgling … Continue reading
CHARLES FLETCHER LUMMIS—NOT A STEREOTYPICAL LIBRARIAN PART 1
I REMEMBER HAVING a crush on my junior high school librarian. She was tall, lithe, and wore glasses and a shirtwaist dress. Alas, or maybe fortunately, the affair came to … Continue reading
TINTYPES—MAKE THE AMERICAN MUSICAL GREAT AGAIN
IF EVER THERE was a Broadway musical revue that’s ripe for revival these days, it’s Tintypes. The Tintypes revue was originally produced by the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. It … Continue reading
1940 AUTO AVIO COSTRUZIONI TIPO 815
THE FIRST FERRARI wasn’t called a Ferrari. Yet it is quite an automobile with a tale to tell. What’s more, Jim Donick, editor of Vintage Sports Car, the quarterly magazine … Continue reading
HURRAH FOR TILLY SHILLING—ENGINEER, RACER, AND MORE PART 2
WE LEFT Beatrice “Tilly” Shilling yesterday at SimanaitisSays in her new position as a researcher at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, the R&D arm of the RAF. It was 1936. She … Continue reading
HURRAH FOR TILLY SHILLING—ENGINEER, RACER, AND MORE PART 1
I LEARNED ABOUT Beatrice “Tilly” Shilling while researching yesterday’s SimanaitisSays on the Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engine. This engine played a major role in Britain’s and the Allies’ defeat of the … Continue reading
THE ROLLS-ROYCE MERLIN—REFINEMENTS REWARDED
ENGINEERING IS a process, not a result. An excellent example of this is development of the Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engine, renowned for powering the Avro Lancaster, de Havilland Mosquito, Hawker … Continue reading
