PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORSHIP, PART 2
HERE’S ANOTHER in my series about U.S. Presidents who demonstratively knew how to read a book and even write one. Ulysses S. Grant’s literary effort involved his friend Mark Twain, … Continue reading
IN PRAISE OF DIVERSITY AND TRUTH, AND A RESONANCE BETWEEN THE TWO
TWO ARTICLES IN The New York Times, March 5, 2017, have different topics, but they generate a synergy. “What Biracial People Know,” by Moises Velasquez-Manoff, describes research suggesting that diversity … Continue reading
A PARABLE OF PROPORTIONALITY
APPARENTLY WE LIVE in times when ideology trumps logic. In particular, there is no logic in the proposed demise of the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for … Continue reading
PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORSHIP, PART 1
SOME U.S. PRESIDENTS have been known to read books. Imagine that. Indeed, a fair number of them have written books, though not without controversy here and there. This SimanaitisSays theme … Continue reading
PRESIDENTIAL INTELLECT
THE U.S. PRESIDENCY has been blessed, from time to time, with those of considerable intellect. Thomas Jefferson, for example, was a polymath and student of Euclid; natural philosopher and oenophile; … Continue reading
HOW WE LISTEN TO MUSIC
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, a local newspaper, publishes well-executed infographics of one thing and another. A recent topic struck a note close to my heart: The way we listen to … Continue reading
MIGHT HE BE CHANNELING JAMES JOYCE??
I CONFESS THAT I don’t understand either one, but I believe there’s an argument that Donald Trump has been channeling James Joyce. In particular, consider this Irish author’s masterpiece, Ulysses. … Continue reading
ART DECO, THE MET, THE POLISH BRIGADE, TRUMP TOWER AND TRUTH
RECENT NEWS OF possible demise of the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting got me thinking about Bonwit Teller’s … Continue reading
CHEECH’S STASH
INVETERATE 17-YEAR-OLD that I am, I associate Cheech Marin with his stoner-hippie comedy partner Tommy Chong. And then in the 1990s he was Don Johnson’s partner in the Nash Bridges … Continue reading
PACIFIC OPERA PROJECT!
L’ELISIR D’AMORE, by Gaetano Donizetti, had its debut in Milan, Italy, in 1832. Yet this comedy of phoniness promoted by a charlatan of the highest order remains a grand operatic … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 