Simanaitis Says

On cars, old, new and future; science & technology; vintage airplanes, computer flight simulation of them; Sherlockiana; our English language; travel; and other stuff

Category Archives: And Furthermore…

ON CULTS OF IGNORANCE

WE ARE BEING besieged by cults of ignorance. Alas, in their dying breath, Covid-19 sufferers are calling the disease a hoax. What appeared to be a late summer diminishing of … Continue reading

January 18, 2021 · 2 Comments

HOW DO YOU SAY “HALLELUJAH” IN TURKISH?

GOOGLE TRANSLATE SUGGESTS “şükürler olsun” as a Turkish “hallelujah.” Back-translated, though, this literally means “Thank God,” which somehow misses the fervor of Adnan Oktar.  This Turkish Islamic TV evangelist was … Continue reading

January 15, 2021 · 7 Comments

HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED SEALIONING LATELY?

GIVEN INCESSANT DEBATES of late, it’s likely that you have encountered sealioning, described by Merriam-Webster as “a harassment tactic by which a participant in a debate or online discussion pesters … Continue reading

January 14, 2021 · Leave a comment

BUCATINI CONFIDENTIAL PART 2

THIS CONTINUES RACHEL Handler’s entertaining story of missing bucatini pasta, described in “What the Hole Is Going On?,” New York Magazine’s “Grub Street,” December 28, 2020. Yesterday’s tidbits concluded with … Continue reading

January 13, 2021 · Leave a comment

BUCATINI CONFIDENTIAL PART 1

TO QUOTE RACHEL Handler, “What the Hole Is Going On? The very real, totally bizarre bucatini shortage of 2020.” The story of this extruded pasta is compelling. Rachel Handler’s investigative … Continue reading

January 12, 2021 · Leave a comment

SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH: REPUBLICANS EVOLVE TO HAVE SPINES IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS!

“EVOLUTION IS CHANGE in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations,” this, according to Wikipedia. In ordinary times, these changes take eons to evolve. However, as you might … Continue reading

January 9, 2021 · 5 Comments

INCREASINGLY BOHEMIAN BOHÈMES PART 2

PUCCINI’S LA BOHÈME has been a recurring opera here at SimanaitisSays. Yesterdays’s Part 1 described its 1977 TV premiere; “Create One’s Own La Bohème” was D.I.Y. Today in Part 2, … Continue reading

January 8, 2021 · Leave a comment

INCREASINGLY BOHEMIAN BOHÈMES PART 1

OPERA IS ALIVE and well. I recently enjoyed three remotely viewed productions of Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème, one from 1977, another from 1981, and the third—the most bohemian—a 2020 production. … Continue reading

January 7, 2021 · Leave a comment

DID SHAKESPEARE CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS?

PEOPLE WHO KEEP track of such things identify only three references to Christmas in all of Shakespeare’s plays. On the other hand, the Bard’s Christmas season lasted longer than ours. … Continue reading

December 24, 2020 · 4 Comments

RECONCILIATION? NOT QUITE YET

IN TIME, I hope, there will be reconciliation between Trumpers and the rest of us. In the meantime, however, I am reminded of St. Augustine’s famously insincere plea, “Grant me … Continue reading

December 21, 2020 · 2 Comments