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…

EXPANDING ON ENGLISH MYTHS PART 2

ST. GEORGE, HIS DRAGON, and Robin Hood and his Merry Men are familiar myths. Yesterday in Part 1, an article in the London Review of Books got us started with … Continue reading

October 20, 2018 · Leave a comment

EXPANDING ON ENGLISH MYTHS PART 1

MYTHS ARE ur-memories, tales of our striving for one thing or another. The London Review of Books, October 11, 2018, discussed two English myths that even us ’Mericans recognize: St. … Continue reading

October 19, 2018 · 1 Comment

PERFORMANCE ART—SHREDDER STYLE

WHO IS BANKSY? The answer: Nobody knows the identity of this anonymous British graffiti artist/vandal/political activist/performance artist/vulgarian/satirist. Have I missed any more accurate descriptors? I also think of him (I … Continue reading

October 11, 2018 · 2 Comments

A PARABLE ON FLOUR POWER

A CULINARY FEATURE about tortillas brought to mind abuses of power, one even directed against my own ordinarily placid lifestyle. The article “A Homemade Flour Tortilla to Rival Its Corn … Continue reading

October 10, 2018 · Leave a comment

SAMUEL SLOAN ON SCHOOLHOUSES—1852

PHILADELPHIA ARCHITECT Samuel Sloan, 1815-1884, left a rich legacy of buildings, particularly in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. In fact, I’ve seen his Lancaster County Courthouse, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and the … Continue reading

October 5, 2018 · 2 Comments

TAMING THE MACHINE

IT CLUNKED. IT clicked. It rattled. It whooshed. Once it left the Gods stranded from ascending their rainbow bridge to Valhalla. Rest easy, though: An improved Machine is coming to … Continue reading

September 26, 2018 · Leave a comment

BRAZILIAN CULTURE—SENHOR TUCANO, SCULPTURE, AND MORE PART 2

THE FOLLOWING IMAGES and commentary on Brazilian sculpture come from Artista da escultura Brasileira. The Art of Brazilian Sculptors. Die Brasilianische Bildhauerkunst introduced yesterday here at SimanaitisSays. Bruno Giorgi is … Continue reading

September 25, 2018 · Leave a comment

BRAZILIAN CULTURE—SENHOR TUCANO, OTHER SCULPTURE, AND MORE PART 1

TODAY’S PRINCIPAL THEME is Brazilian culture. Indeed, it’s tomorrow’s theme as well in Part 2. There’s timeliness, in reporting on a terrible fire that recently destroyed Brazil’s Museu Nacional. There’s … Continue reading

September 24, 2018 · Leave a comment

R&T’S NEW PLACE—1968

YESTERDAY’S SIMANAITISSAYS concluded with a rendering by architect Bill Ficker of R&T’s building at 1499 Monrovia Avenue, Newport Beach, California. Immediately below this rendering here is a photograph accompanying R&T’s … Continue reading

September 20, 2018 · 11 Comments

ON ARCHITECTURE, SAILING, CIVIC PRIDE, AND R&T’S HOME IN 1968

BILL FICKER was the architect of R&T’s 1499 Monrovia Avenue offices, Newport Beach, California. But he was also a victorious America’s Cup skipper, a civic leader, and an articulate spokesman … Continue reading

September 19, 2018 · Leave a comment