LETTERS AS ENCOURAGEMENT
I WAS READING the Letters column in the August 13, 2020, London Review of Books, with nary a serious thought in my head. Then I encounter several communications that didn’t … Continue reading
CHURCHILL’S COOK PART 2
YESTERDAY Georgina Young chose kitchen service as scullery maid no. six in a fairly grand household. Today, she marries, learns from, and thrives with chef Paul Landemare. And has wartime … Continue reading
CHURCHILL’S COOK PART 1
THE ENGLISH SATIRIST Saki wrote, “The cook was a good cook, as cooks go, and as cooks go, she went.” By contrast, Georgina Landemare was more akin to Mrs. Patmore, … Continue reading
HAPPY (BELATED) EIGHTH BIRTHDAY, SIMANAITIS SAYS!
THIS WEBSITE STARTED on August 13, 2012, with “1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata.” Things were a lot simpler back then. There have been occasional anniversary celebrations since. “A Year in Review” … Continue reading
MANAGING OPERA CHAOS PART 2
“OPERA,” SIR PETER USTINOV said, “rides the razor edge of absurdity.” And, as discussed yesterday in Part 1, it’s only through adroit control by stage managers that chaos is avoided. … Continue reading
MANAGING OPERA CHAOS PART 1
THE PRODUCTION OF opera is a split-second business. As part of a recent streaming of the Metropolitan Opera’s Turandot performed January 30, 2016, host Renée Fleming interviews two of the … Continue reading
ON THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY
A RED SKELTON comedy show from 1950 was recently on “Radio Classics,” the old time radio channel of SiriusXM. A couple of things on it led to today’s tidbits about … Continue reading
WHO DOTH DUNIT PART 2
YESTERDAY’S WHO DOTH DUNITS had Shakespeare’s Italian crime families and cross-dressing lawyers. Today, there’s a rich British guy and his trio of daughters, two bad, one not; and a whole … Continue reading
LAISSEZ LES BONS PLATS ROULER!
MAQUE CHOUX is French, literally “fake cabbage,” but in Cajun it describes a variation on succotash: a chunky corn stew with onions, bell peppers, hot peppers, garlic, and maybe tomatoes, … Continue reading
DECO FLICKS PART 2
YESTERDAY IN PART 1, we enjoyed the Art Deco settings of a 1924 French sci-fi flick and a 1929 celebration of Broadway. Today in Part 2, there’s an hotel saga, … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 