HEMINGWAY DECKED; FITZGERALD BLAMED
YES, HEMINGWAY as in Earnest and Fitzgerald as in F. Scott. I experienced a frisson of excitement when I learned of this odd boxing match in the “Letters” column of … Continue reading
THE LONDON UNDERGROUND—REDEFINED
THE TERM London Underground used to mean only this city’s subterranean transportation system. But cost of development has prompted some super wealthy Londoners to enhance their residences downward. In Hyde … Continue reading
THE TALE (AND SCENES) OF GENJI
THE TALE OF GENJI is noteworthy for several reasons: This 11th-century work of Japanese literature has been called the world’s first novel. It was more than just a tale; its … Continue reading
DECO DREAMING
I’M LISTENING to a CD of contralto Nathalie Stutzmann singing the songs of Francis Poulenc, and it’s giving me daydreams of Art Deco. This design style, short for Arts Décoratifs, … Continue reading
RED SCARE MADNESS—THE FIFTIES
THE OCCASIONAL CRAZINESS of modern days reminds me from time to time about the Red Scare during the 1950s. Its hysteria included the Hollywood blacklists, as explored in the current … Continue reading
THE HAUDENOSAUNEE
WHO WOULD think that researching the Watkins Glen race circuit would lead to the Iroquois Confederacy and a debunking of a Longfellow poem? And what about the Hiawatha Belt? Benjamin … Continue reading
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
Simanaitis Says 