WILLIAM WALKER—FILIBUSTER EXTRAORDINAIRE PART 2
AS WE learned yesterday, the original meaning of the word “filibuster” meant a person, an irregular military adventurer, not a political stalling ploy as we commonly use it today. And, … Continue reading
WILLIAM WALKER—FILIBUSTER EXTRAORDINAIRE PART 1
IN THESE times of less than cooperative members in the U.S. Congress, we’re all more familiar with the term “filibuster,” of endless oration to delay action. However, this particular meaning … Continue reading
PACIFIC OPERA PROJECT: “DON GIOVANNI”
WHAT WITH the past two days here at SimanaitisSays devoted to Mob Talk, it’s logical to follow up with a review of Pacific Opera Project’s Don Giovanni. Logical? Yes, because … Continue reading
“THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH” PART 2
THORNTON WILDER adopted a cosmic view when he composed The Skin of Our Teeth, a history of mankind that intermingled prehistoric creatures, ancient Greeks, classic literary characters and a family … Continue reading
“THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH” PART 1
AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHT Thornton Wilder called The Skin of Our Teeth “the most ambitious project I have ever approached.” And no wonder. The play mixes the early 1940s with prehistoric times, … Continue reading
YOU VOTE, GRRL!
THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY of victory for British suffragettes is celebrated in the February 2018 issue of BBC History, though the magazine notes that this victory was a nuanced one. To … Continue reading
OPERATIC CARS PART 2
WHO WOULD have guessed the closeness of automobiles and opera? We move from yesterday’s Wagner Ring Cycle links to those involving Verdi, Gounod, Berg, and back to Wagner again. A … Continue reading
OPERATIC CARS PART 1
I’M LISTENING to Richard Wagner’s Siegfried, the third opera of his epic Ring Cycle. Early on, in Scene 2, the Wanderer (actually top god Wotan in disguise) tells an interminable … Continue reading
MY PRICELESS ORIGINALS
TRUMP’S BOASTING that he owns priceless original art has encouraged me to identify several priceless originals in my stuff. Trump’s Renoir.You may recall the article in news.artnet.com, October 18, 2017, … Continue reading
AN HOMAGE TO DR. STRANGELOVE
THE FULL name of Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 political satire flick is Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. And I cannot imagine a more … Continue reading
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