NINTH ANNIVERSARY OF THIS WEBSITE
THE FIRST OF SimanaitisSays, August 13, 2012, celebrated the Mazda Miata. I’m still enjoying no. 000348. And I continue to enjoy the research, composition, and production of SimanaitisSays. It’s my … Continue reading
IS THERE AN ALCHEMIST IN THE HOUSE?
ALCHEMY WAS MORE than changing base metals into gold. Malcolm Gaskill reviews Jennifer M. Rambling’s The Experimental Fire: Inventing English Alchemy, 1300–1700 in the London Review of Books, July 15, … Continue reading
THAT’S A PARAPROSDOKIAN TO ME!
THE WEBSITE Inspiring Quotes is entertaining. Plus, I learned a new word from it, “paraprosdokian.” The word has a Greek etymology: παρά, para, “against,” and προσδοκία, prosdokia, “expectation.” Inspiring Quotes, … Continue reading
WHERE’S NINA?
YOU WOULDN’T THINK that crow quill pens would be all that common, but in less than a week I’ve encountered a second famous artist who employed them. Theatrical caricaturist extraordinaire … Continue reading
GOREY’S SPOOKY PEN AND INK
EDWARD GOREY’S WHIMSICALLY spooky credits for PBS’s Masterpiece series have entertained me for years. And Rosemary Hill’s recent “How Peculiar It Is,” London Review of Books, June 3, 2021, adds … Continue reading
MAYBE IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES
A DICKENS CITATION at a recent Inspiring Quotes reminded me of high school. Typical of teenage angst, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” These … Continue reading
READING—A LONG VIEW
TODAY’S TIDBITS TAKE a long view on reading and its celebration of our living in one of two pivotal periods: the transition of script to print and from print to … Continue reading
I WISH I’D SAID THAT. AND I SHALL.
I CONTINUE TO encounter comments I wish I had said. And, paraphrasing Oscar Wilde’s quote, I offer here several good ones originally appearing in the London Review of Books. Fries … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGY: RANSOM
WHAT WITH RANSOMWARE much in the news these days, etymology of the word “ransom” is worthy of research. Merriam-Webster defines it as “a consideration paid or demanded for the release … Continue reading
BEATRIX POTTER, GENTLEWOMAN AND CONSIDERABLY MORE PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE ENCOUNTERED Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter’s pal who has delighted children (and their parents) since 1902. Today in Part 2, Beatrix confronts resistance from her own parents, but thrives … Continue reading
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