A PLEA FOR SCIENTOCRACY
IMAGINE GOVERNMENT ADOPTING SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES of observation, measurement, experiment, and refinement of hypotheses. Instead we have hypocritical jackasses following whatever conspiracy theories happen to come to what passes for mind. … Continue reading
THE BONAPARTE/WALEWSKA FLING (THE FLICK, NOT REAL LIFE)
IT’S GENERALLY ACCEPTED THAT NAPOLEON BONAPARTE fooled around. Wikipedia notes in an extensively documented entry, “Napoleon acknowledged one illegitimate son: Charles Léon (1806–1881) by Eléonore Denuelle de La Plaigne. Alexandre Colonna-Walewski (1810–1868), the son of … Continue reading
TEMPORARY? NO WAY!
THE DAILYPASSPORT WEBSITE RECENTLY POSTED A TANTALIZINGLY TITLED “10 Iconic Structures That Were Supposed to be Temporary.” I could guess at several I’ve visited (The Eiffel Tower, The London Eye, … Continue reading
CELEBRATING RADIO CAROLINE—648 ON YOUR AM DIAL
“WHAT’S A ‘DIAL,’ GRANDPA?” And, for that matter, what’s “AM” besides time to get up for the day? Caroline logo on the ship’s starboard (its right side for us land-lubbers). … Continue reading
STRETTO PIANOS
RACHMANINOFF’S PIANO CONCERTO NO. 3, “RACH 3,” as it is known, is notoriously difficult and feared by many pianists, particularly those with smaller handspans. Details about this are offered in … Continue reading
DEB TYPECASTING—FOR REAL
MY LOVE OF OLD TIME RADIO BROADCASTS introduced me to Cobina Wright Jr., who typically portrayed a pleasant young lady of aristocratic birth in programs such as Duffy’s Tavern, George … Continue reading
FLAGS AND STATE(S) OF THE UNION
THE INTERESTING FACTS WEBSITE aroused my curiosity about our states’ flags. Here are tidbits about a couple of them. Oregon. In particular, Oregon’s is the only state flag with different … Continue reading
CALL ME ANYTHING BUT NOT LATE FOR DINNER
I AGED TEN YEARS MOMENTARILY in reading the Social Security Administration’s list of most popular baby names for 2023. Quickly, though, matters got back to what passes for normal in … Continue reading
SLEUTHING LEONARDO’S BACKGROUND
DALYA ALBERGE WRITES in The Guardian, May 11, 2024, “Mystery of Where Mona Lisa Was Painted Has Been Solved, Geologist Claims.” Alberge recounts, “The landscape behind Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona … Continue reading
SHILLING FOR PROFESSOR EAGLETON
NOT THAT TERRY EAGLETON, English literary theorist and public intellectual, needs the like of me to encourage folks to his lectures. But his “Where Does Culture Come From?,” London Review … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 