TOADY, pl. TOADIES (THERE’S NO LACK OF THEM)
I FIND it odd that the word “toady” dates from not quite 200 years ago. One would have thought such “flatterers in hope of gaining favors” had been around long … Continue reading
MASANIELLO MAKING NAPLES GREAT AGAIN?
TOMMASO ANIELLO, Masaniello, for short, was a Neapolitan fisherman who led a populist revolt against Habsburg Spain in 1647. So far, so good. However, he was destined to be dissed … Continue reading
2017—WE MADE IT TO THE END!
IT HAS been an interesting year here at SimanaitisSays. I’ve had a ball researching and composing items at a rate far exceeding my pre-retirement editorial activities. Here, celebrating 2017’s passage, … Continue reading
РОССИЙСКИЙ РОК
ROCK MUSIC in Russia has an interesting history, as I was reminded while sorting some old vinyl LPs looking for Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band that appeared here at … Continue reading
HUZZAH FOR SETH MACFARLANE!
THIS PAST Friday evening, Wife Dottie and I “Celebrated the Holidays with Seth MacFarlane” at our local René and Henry Segerstrom Hall. A good time was had by all, albeit … Continue reading
SYCOPHANTS? NAILED ‘EM, ONE AND ALL!
THERE HAVE been people called sycophants since 1575. But why are we so plagued with so many of them today? For just two examples, see Trump cabinet lovefest, June 12, … Continue reading
LITTLE CON ON THE PRAIRIE
IT’S AN irony that the sweet, gentle, and heartwarming stories by Laura Ingalls Wilder are associated with literary piracy. At the heart of this Little Con on the Prairie are … Continue reading
GIUSEPPE TARTINI—DEALING WITH SIGNORINA PREMAZORE, CARDINAL CORNARO, AND THE DEVIL
SO HERE’S this rich kid from what’s now Slovenia, back then the Republic of Venice when he lived at the turn of the 18th century. He marries beneath his class, … Continue reading
BANNED WORDS
OH, I get it. Trump officials weren’t limiting freedom of speech in prohibiting those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from using these seven terms: diversity, entitlement, evidence-based, … Continue reading
ALEISTER CROWLEY—A FIRST-RATE NUT CASE PART 2
AT A TIME when representatives fail to represent, judges can’t judge, and leaders don’t lead, it’s somehow comforting to hear about a nut case who was first-rate in his outrageousness. … Continue reading
