A CLASSICAL VACATION—THE SUMMER OF ’93
SPILLVILLE, IOWA, in the state’s northeast corner, has never had a population exceeding 415. In the 2010 census, there were 367 people in 168 households. And, back in the summer … Continue reading
WHO WAS THAT LADY I’LL SEE YOU WITH?
ENGLISH NOVELIST Jane Austen, Scottish astronomer Mary Somerville and an as-yet unnamed American woman of historical significance will soon be portrayed on their respective countries’ paper currency. They join an elite … Continue reading
AIDA AND THE CANAL? THE COBBLESTONES OF SUEZ ONCE TROD BY OTHELLO?
EGYPT HAS rich operatic history, but not without misunderstanding, myth and surmise. It has been said that Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida was commissioned to celebrate the grand opening of Cairo’s Khedivial … Continue reading
ON NEW YORK CITY CLUBBING
WITH A FEW exceptions, my view on clubs agrees with Groucho Marx’s: He wired the Friar’s Club of Beverly Hills, “I don’t want to belong to any club that will … Continue reading
BOB & RAY—LAUGH TRACKS ARE REDUNDANT
BOB ELLIOT, the smaller soft-spoken one of the Bob and Ray comedy pair, died recently, age 92. His partner, Ray Goulding, had died in 1990 at age 68. Together, they … Continue reading
YVONNE CHOUTEAU, NATIVE AMERICAN DANCER
THE TERM “Native American dancer” may conjure up the image of an Indian campfire, but actuality couldn’t be more contrasting. Yvonne Chouteau, who died recently at age 86, had a … Continue reading
SIX ON THE ROOF
THEY WERE known as “Les Six,” a sextet of French composers who enlivened Paris in the 1920s with their antics and their avant garde music. Georges Auric, Louis Durey, Arthur … Continue reading
SHALL WE DANCE? AND WALK THE DOG?
THE MUSICAL delights of George Gershwin are just as fresh today as they were in the first third of the 20th century. They encompass genres of popular music, opera, classical … Continue reading
RHINE ADVENTURES
THE RHINE RIVER is the aquatic north/south interstate of western Europe, just as the Danube/Donau is the east/west interstate through Europe’s eastern portion. Keeping my geography honest, I note that … Continue reading
BETTER EATING—THROUGH CHEMISTRY
A CHRISTMAS GIFT from Wife Dottie was utterly impossible to guess: an 8 1/2 x 10 3/4 x 1 3/4-in. rectangle, rigid as a board—and heavy! Later assessment proved it … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 