SHERLOCK HOLMES, ELIZA DOOLITTLE, LILIAN BAYLIS
THE WORD “OPERA” links the three personages of today’s title, thanks to the December 2021 issue of Opera News, monthly magazine of the Metropolitan Opera. In fact, each of the … Continue reading
TIGER, TYGER, AND TIGGER
ONE THING LEADS to another. For instance, the DownToEarth website had a fascinating item “Why Do Tigers Have Stripes?” This in turn reminded me of The Tyger’s “fearful symmetry” in … Continue reading
DON QUIXOTE’S QUEST
THE NEW YORKER’S November 15, 2021, cover is thought-provoking on several levels. Painter and graphic novelist Eric Drooker titles it “The Impossible Dream,” in reference to the Man of La … Continue reading
ADS, A HALF-CENTURY AGO
I WAS RECENTLY LEAFING through a January 1969 issue of Popular Science, which says something about retirement, life priorities, and proprietorship of SimanaitisSays. This particular Pop Sci had a 16-page … Continue reading
NORMA JEAN, AS SHE WAS KNOWN
THESE NORMA JEAN TIDBITS come to me from two sources: SimanaitisSays reader Bob Storck and SiriusXM’s “Radio Classics.” You may well remember her by another name, Marilyn Monroe. This autographed … Continue reading
GOSFORD PARK—SORTA PREQUEL TO DOWNTON ABBEY
I DELIGHT IN the works of Julian Fellowes, especially his film Gosford Park and TV series Downton Abbey. That a sole writer composed the scripts for these wonderful English period … Continue reading
SERENDIPITOUS ART RETROSPECTIVES
THERE’S A BENEFIT in decluttering: Things previously forgotten bring renewed joy. For instance, over the years I’ve been to the Canadian Grand Prix several times. And in one of the … Continue reading
CUISINE ADVENTURING—THROUGH GASTRO OBSCURA
ATLAS OBSCURA HAS PUBLISHED fine travel and adventure books, including The World’s Most Adventurous Kid described here at SimanaitisSays. Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer’s Guide is the latest, and it’s … Continue reading
COLDPLAY COMBATS CO2
THE ENGLISH ROCK BAND Coldplay plans a sustainability-enhanced 2022 world tour, with a pledge to cut CO2 emissions by 50 percent compared with that of their 2016-2017 tour. Ben Beaumont-Thomas … Continue reading
ARISTOPHANES AND HIP-HOP PART 2
I RECENTLY GOT HOOKED on the plays of Aristophanes because of Emily Wilson’s fine article “Punishment by Radish,” in London Review of Books, appearing in print October 21, 2021. Here … Continue reading
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