PREPARING FOR A SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE, 50 YEARS AGO
THE WISDOM of old guidebooks is often found charming and occasionally even timely by today’s travelers. Donald Sea Briggs certainly had a way with words in his Briggs South Seas … Continue reading
A MOVEABLE FEAST OF ELEGANCE—THE BUGATTI TYPE 50T
HAVE THERE ever been automobiles more elegant than Bugattis? I doubt it, and I offer this 1932 Type 50T as an example. The Type 50 and its variants are the … Continue reading
AN ENLIGHTENING T-SHIRT
I LEARN something every day. Well, sorta every day. Recent enlightenment came when I solved a personal sartorial shortcoming by ordering new T-shirts from March for Science. The March for … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGY—RIDICULE, DERISION, MOCKERY
MINIONS SHAMED in restaurants. A giant balloon to float above London. A ballad celebrating inarticulate ramblings about mouth, brain, and Elton John. What a perfect time to add the word … Continue reading
THE TRAGEDY/SUCCESS OF THE COMMONS
WHAT FOLLOWS is a brief account of a philosophical concept in the social sciences. My account is brief for two reasons: I haven’t the space here nor the depth of … Continue reading
WHEN IS THAT?
OUR ENGLISH language has the word “today.” For the day immediately prior, we have “yesterday.” And for the day immediately following, there’s “tomorrow.” From there on, passages of time in … Continue reading
WAS SHERLOCK HOLMES AN AMERICAN? PART 2
YESTERDAY, NONE other than noted Sherlockian Franklin Delano Roosevelt offered the view that the world’s first consulting detective was indeed an American. Here in Part 2, we hear from another … Continue reading
WAS SHERLOCK HOLMES AN AMERICAN? PART 1
THERE’S SOLID evidence provided by chronicler Dr. John H. Watson that Sherlock Holmes visited the United States. But is it possible, nay probable, that the world’s first and greatest consulting … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGY—ELOQUENT, INARTICULATE
EVERY SO often, the meaning of a word surprises me. As an example, consider the word “eloquent.” It conjures up thoughts of classic Roman orations or the most memorable of … Continue reading
THE CRADLE WILL ROCK—80 YEARS LATER PART 2
MARC BLITZSTEIN’S The Cradle Will Rock was inspired by U.S. labor unrest of the 1930s. However, its story and the tale of its 1937 production are timely today. Blitzstein’s The … Continue reading
