EASTER FLICKS
IT’S MID-afternoon. Maybe a holiday meal with the family is either in preparation or has been concluded. Maybe the familial/liturgical/political chatter has temporarily subsided. What to do? See if there’s … Continue reading
THE CHINA TRADE
TRADE WITH China is often in the news. At the same time, I’m enjoying Eric Jay Dolin’s book, When America First Met China, as sort of a “Chinese Trade, Part … Continue reading
AMERICA’S SONGS
THE SONGS of America’s musical theater and film musicals have been called “the Great American Songbook.” Radio personality Jonathan Schwartz offers this view daily, and I agree with his assessment. … Continue reading
THIS RECTANGLE IS GOLDEN
WHICH RECTANGLE do you think is aesthetically more pleasing? Most people believe it’s the one on the left. The rectangle on the left is an example of the “golden rectangle,” … Continue reading
RUN IT UP THE FLAGPOLE…
THIS IS something of an unfinished book review, one that also prompts a celebration of the flagpole. The book, which I’ve just started reading, is When America First Met China. … Continue reading
WHAT’S THAT IN GUINEAS?
IT HAS been said the English were the most honest of people when they had to deal with each other and their ₤ s d currency system. A recent item … Continue reading
MY KINGDOM FOR A PARKING SPACE
AN ITEM in Science magazine, 8 February 2013, got me thinking about England’s Richard III, the last of its Plantagenet kings and recently unearthed beneath a Leicester parking lot. There … Continue reading
RED BULL FLUG TAG
ONE OF the more imaginative events I covered for R&T was the September 2003 Red Bull Flug Tag competition at the Santa Monica Pier. There’s a similar event planned for Long … Continue reading
VAUDEVILLE AND MUSICALS
VAUDEVILLE COULD well be a metaphor for my career in magazines and academe, and maybe for yours too. There are two entertaining books that are fun to share. The first is No Applause—Just … Continue reading