KATY LUTHER—YES, THAT LUTHER PART 2
IT WAS the year 1523, six years after theologian Martin Luther posted his disagreements with the Roman Catholic Church. With Luther’s help, a dozen Cistercian nuns, including novice Katharina von … Continue reading
KATY LUTHER—YES, THAT LUTHER PART 1
MARTIN LUTHER disagreed with the Roman Catholic Church’s sale of indulgences, its “Get Out of Purgatory Early” scam. October 31, 2017, was the 500th anniversary of Luther’s Ninety-five Theses, also … Continue reading
MARTIANS INVADE DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES!
WALT DISNEY Concert Hall and its Los Angeles environs won’t be confused with Grover’s Mill, New Jersey. On the other hand, this time around, an operatic version of War of … Continue reading
WAR OF THE WORLDS—ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS
IT WAS October 30, 1938. Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his wooden pal Charlie McCarthy had just finished their opening bit on the Chase & Sanborn Hour, which owned Sunday radio … Continue reading
CHARLES H. CRAWFORD, A LOS ANGELES AL CAPONE PART 2
FAILURE OF California’s Julian Petroleum Company, aka “Julian Pete,” caught up Charles H. Crawford, Los Angeles politician/saloon owner in 1930. Allegedly, he paid $75,000 to hush up exposure of his … Continue reading
CHARLES H. CRAWFORD, THE LOS ANGELES AL CAPONE PART 1
IN MY continuing recognition of scalawags, political and otherwise, I offer Charles H. Crawford, who in the 1920s was the Los Angeles version of Chicago’s Al Capone. The tale has … Continue reading
STEFANO ZANNOWICH—A GENUINE RASCAL PART 2
WHEN WE left the Montenegrin Serb royal impersonator Stefano Zannowich yesterday here, it was 1773 and he had just composed Pigmalione. Let’s not credit Zannowich with inspiring the 1956 Broadway … Continue reading
STEFANO ZANNOWICH—A GENUINE RASCAL PART 1
WHAT WITH two-bit, four-bit, and six-bit rascals populating Washington, D.C. these days, it’s comforting to learn about a genuine, first-class, international rascal of the highest order. Indeed, his rascality calls … Continue reading
THE GREAT FIREWALL OF CHINA
THE INTERNET used to be likened to the wild and woolly west. Less so today, perhaps; but a Great Firewall has limited China’s access to the worldwide web. I learned … Continue reading
ARTURO BENEDETTI MICHELANGELI, CLASSICAL PIANIST—AND RACE DRIVER? PART 2
ARTURO MICHELANGELI was regarded as a great classical pianist. In a profession not unknown for eccentricities, he was also one of the most idiosyncratic and most mysterious. Forte-Piano-Pianissimo.com writes that … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 