ARTFUL BUGATTIS
ONE COULD say that all of Ettore Bugatti’s automobiles are works of art, but here I’m thinking about the models, miniatures and sculpted versions of this famous marque. Over the … Continue reading
EATING BRIT-STYLE, THE 1940S
SOCIAL HISTORY, nostalgia and curiosity are all wrapped in my recommending a cookbook with a particularly narrow focus: recipes for today taken from the context of World War II Britain. … Continue reading
PICASSO SHOULD HEAR IT CALLED “SHMATTE”
NOT FOR the first time, a brief news item has a lot more interest lurking beneath its few paragraphs. The item, appearing on CBS New York, September 6, 2014 (http://goo.gl/epXRAq), … Continue reading
BY THE NUMBERS….
HAVE YOU ever done anything “by the numbers”? Have you ever wondered about the origin of this phrase? Or have you actually ever painted by the numbers? This term “paint … Continue reading
A TRIO OF COOKBOOKS
I’VE BEEN accumulating cookbooks since the early 1960s. Three of them surfaced recently as I looked up recipes. Talk about a diverse trio of cookbook authors! A black chef from … Continue reading
TOYS—1927
NOT TO sound like an old guy—which, of course, I am—but today’s play for kids seems a bit artificial, if not downright electronically weird. By contrast, one of the books … Continue reading
GAMESMANSHIP—WITH A MOTORING SUBTEXT
STEPHEN POTTER (not related to Harry) was a British academic, writer/producer at the BBC and most revered for putting self-help books in their place. He originated the Theory and Practice … Continue reading
INTERIOR DESIGN
THERE ARE multiple reasons I enjoy books on interior design. The topic is interesting from a historical viewpoint of how people live. The books reinforce my interest in the art … Continue reading
MUROC MADCAPS
MUROC DRY LAKE, in the high desert about 100 miles north of Los Angeles, has a rich history in motor sport. Here are a few of my favorite Muroc madcaps, … Continue reading
ON BILINGUAL TROLLEY ACCIDENTS
DO OUR morals depend on which language we’re speaking? Can something be ethically acceptable in a second language, but not in our native tongue? Researchers in cognitive sciences say “yes,” … Continue reading
