AROUND THE WORLD IN FIVE GENRES
TURNER MOVIE CLASSICS recently aired Mike Todd’s Around the World in 80 Days, 1956. This got me thinking about the marvelous tale by Jules Verne in his novel, Le Tour … Continue reading
STRENGTHEN YE, STRENGTHEN YE!
THERE ARE SEVERAL views on the etymology of the word “stork,” but Katherine Rundell’s suggestion is particularly appealing in “Consider the Stork?,” London Review of Books, April 1, 2021. “Storks … Continue reading
RICHARD DIAMOND TEACHES ME ABOUT AN EARLIER ERA
I AM ADDICTED to SiriusXM’s “Radio Classics.” Indeed, Wife Dottie says that one day I’ll wake up in 1944 and get all nerdy about our Ration Book’s missing red stamps … Continue reading
EXTRAORDINARY ARCHITECTURE FOR ORDINARY FOLK
THIS YEAR’S WINNERS of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, often referred to as that profession’s Nobel Prize, are French couple Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal. Unlike many architects of note, the … Continue reading
THIS JUST IN—FROM HERE AND THERE
OUR DAILY NEWS cycle has toned down considerably, now that we have capable adults in control in Washington, D.C. Nonetheless, fascinating news items still crop up. Here are tidbits on … Continue reading
PARENTAL ADVICE TO WIFE DOTTIE
WIFE DOTTIE is the youngest of four children, 13 years younger than her sister, with elder brothers who served in World War II. Thus, her mother and father had seen … Continue reading
THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIALS, THEN AND NOW
A FELLOW ALUMNUS of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, class of ’65, inspired me to learn more about the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 1965 versus 2021. The Dow’s evolution is a suitable … Continue reading
BOIS-CLAIR’S TURNING PICTURES
AN AD FROM M.S. RAU, Fine Art—Antiques—Jewels, in The New York Times, March 7, 2021, reads “Seeing Double: Dual Royal Portrait.” The ad describes a royal portrait, but unlike any … Continue reading
RIP’S DREAM
RIP VAN WINKLE slept—and dreamt—from January 20, 2020, to January 20, 2021. When he awoke from this extended nap, he asked his daughter, “So, what’s new?” “Dad,” she said, “you … Continue reading
A BEAUTIFUL LOVE LETTER TO THE SIMPLE, SOULFUL FOODS OF JAPAN
MY TITLE HERE is taken from comments offered by American chef, restauranteur, and activist Alice Waters in describing Sonoko Sakai’s book Japanese Home Cooking: Simple Meals, Authentic Flavors. Sakai says, … Continue reading
