DEADLY CONS PART 1
I’VE WRITTEN LIGHTHEARTEDLY about cons, including Guiseppe Balsamo aka Cagliostro, whose 18th-century antics inspired the modern opera The Ghosts of Versailles.. There are, though, modern cons with horrible outcomes. Here, … Continue reading
MOTHERS’ MUSICALE
OPERA NEWS, PUBLISHED monthly by the Metropolitan Opera, had a particularly entertaining collection of Mother’s Day tidbits earlier this year. Here are several that remain in mind, even now in … Continue reading
996? 855? 933? Or?
WHAT’S THE OPTIMAL work week? The Chinese have been complaining about the 996; 9 a.m.-9 p.m., six days a week. The traditional American 40-hour work schedule has been 8-5, with … Continue reading
DOING RIGHT BY ART
IT’S NEVER TOO late to remedy art abuses, whether perpetrated for evil means or just triviality. Two examples come to mind: One involves the Nazis and French Vichy collaboration, a … Continue reading
THE FIRST HUMANS/DIE ERSTE MENSCHEN
RECENTLY I ENCOUNTERED the first humans, at least metaphorically. Here are tidbits about the Dutch National Opera’s production of Die Erste Menschen, a 1920 opera by German composer Rudi Stephan. … Continue reading
A TRIPLE CONJUNCTION OF VENUS, MERCURY, AND THE SUN IN SCORPIO?
MY FAVORITE ASTROLOGICAL predictions are the specific ones: “Tomorrow, Libras are going to step upon Virgos’ umbrella tips.” And, so it seems, Alexander Boxer shares this view in his book … Continue reading
MORE REPUBLICAN IDIOCY
THIS TITLE ISN’T just SimanaitisSays socialist ranting. The following tidbits come from the likes of Voice of America, Kaiser Family Foundation, Johns Hopkins University, Nobel prize winner Paul Krugman, and … Continue reading
“MOTLEY’S THE ONLY WEAR.”
THIS SUGGESTION WAS uttered by Jacques (Jay-Qwees, pronounced Elizabethan fashion) in Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Act II Scene 7. He was referring to the patchwork of red, green, and … Continue reading
CHICKEN CORN SOUP, CHINESE STYLE
RECIPES OFTEN CALL this “Chinese Chicken Corn Soup,” but then this begs the question, “Where do I find a Chinese chicken?” Indeed, Wife Dottie and I have been avoiding chicken … Continue reading
CELEBRATING THE GLOBE THEATRE
THEATER IS REOPENING in the U.S. and, in time, in other parts of the world as well. Let’s celebrate this by recalling a classic venue: London’s Globe. Here are tidbits … Continue reading
