COVID-19 AND THE WORLD ECONOMY
IN THE LONDON Review of Books, April 16, 2020, historian Adam Tooze’s “Shockwave” offers insights on the Covid-19 pandemic’s consequences for the world’s economy. Here are tidbits selected from his … Continue reading
ON PRESIDENTIAL WIT
INHERENT PRESSURES OF the job tend to preclude witticisms on the part of our national leaders. Over the years, though, there have been exceptions beyond an inadvertent toilet-paper heel, staring … Continue reading
ABDUCTING HAMLET
“HAMLET IN MODERN DRESS” has become a cliche of untraditional theater and opera. Here are a few tidbits about several innovative efforts. In fact, one of the performances, Mozart’s opera … Continue reading
AARRGGHH! A DIVA ROLE? AND OTHER RASCALS
I’M STREAMING VERDI’S Don Carlo as I write this. What with its complex historical theme, I’m foregoing my somnambulant practice of trusting subliminal awakening at the opera’s juicy parts. This … Continue reading
MY SOCIAL DISTANCING THE RING OF THE NIBELUNGEN
LIKE SO MANY other organizations, cultural and otherwise, the Metropolitan Opera has cancelled the remainder of its 2019-2020 season, including all performances and, hence, Live in HD transmissions. Met Streaming. … Continue reading
OUR NATIONAL ADDLED UNCLE
IT IS A concern when an addled uncle upsets family gatherings with irrationality on one thing or another. It is even more an embarrassment when our national leader behaves this … Continue reading
PASTIME WITH GOOD COMPANY
GIVEN COVID-19’S SUGGESTED pastime at home sans company, I got to thinking about fulfilling ways to hunker down. Recently here I cited armchair travel. Today, tidbits touch on Henry VIII … Continue reading
ON EQUALITY, MATHWISE AND OTHERWISE PART 2
WHAT BEGAN yesterday at SimanaitisSays as a math discussion takes a decidedly cultural turn today. The equality symbol “=” joins two things that are of the same value. And this … Continue reading
RALLY ’ROUND THE FLAG PART 2
YESTERDAY’S FLAG LORE had theories and practices of political science, religion, combustion, and inversion. Today in Part 2, the flag is monochromatically bland, though we’ll see that white flags have … Continue reading
THE BALSAMO/CAGLIOSTRO SAGA PART 3
WERE THE COUNT and Countess Cagliostros merely 18th-century proto-Eurotrash? Or is this too strong an assessment? Here in Part 3, we conclude with more tidbits gleaned from faust.com. The Affair … Continue reading
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