POLITICS AND MOTORSPORTS
VLADIMIR PUTIN has been courting Bernie Ecclestone. The reason: The Russian president hopes to “encourage” the boss of Formula 1 to bring a Grand Prix to Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, next year. … Continue reading
BIG SHIP, BIG DATA
AN INTERESTING article by Thomas Laqueur, “Why Name a Ship After a Defeated Race?,” in the London Review of Books, 24 January 2013, discusses seven recent books on the RMS … Continue reading
PEWABIC POTTERY
FOR MANY years now, I’ve kept a touchstone at my work table. Merely through its appearance and texture, this object helps me put things—good or bad—in perspective. My touchstone is … Continue reading
ENTHUSIAST CAR FLICKS
OSCAR NOMINATIONS have been announced for 2013, so here’s our own look at movies celebrating enthusiast cars, sports cars, auto racing and related passions. This list is in no sense … Continue reading
THE ART OF KABUKI
KABUKI THEATER is to Japan as Shakespeare is to our culture—and more. Originating around 1600, coinciding with the Elizabethan theater of Marlowe, Jonson and Shakespeare, Kabuki continued to add repertoire … Continue reading
LABATT’S BEER AERO
WHAT A great use of advertising dollars! Here we are, about to celebrate the start of the year 2013 and, at the same time, remembering an advertising campaign that began … Continue reading
JEFFERSON’S TOY BOX
WE’VE ALL heard that Thomas Jefferson was something of a renaissance man, a Leonardo da Vinci of his time. This is corroborated in the fine book, Passions, The Wines and … Continue reading
CHRISTMAS EVE 2012
IN 1822, Clement C. Moore published A Visit From St. Nicholas. This wonderful poem sums up so many things about the holiday, from its image of the real Santa Claus … Continue reading
A FORMULA OF BEAUTY
THIS CONVERSATION took place years ago, 1986, to be exact: “We all recognize that a 1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso is better looking than a 1958 Buick,” I said, “but … Continue reading
DAVE BRUBECK
ONE OF the giants of jazz, and of modern music in general, Dave Brubeck passed away December 5, just one day short of his 92nd birthday. Brubeck was more than … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 