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: I Usta be an Editor Y’Know

FIE ON AUTO-CORRECT!

I’VE DISARMED THE auto-correct on both sides of my PC/Apple machine. I’ve had enough of fighting with its opinions on what I really mean. More often than not, it’s wrong; … Continue reading

September 21, 2016 · 6 Comments

AN ADVENTURE, BLESSED

PARADOXICALLY, ON LAGUNA DIABLO I had an adventure that was truly blessed. Laguna Diablo is a vast dry lake in Baja California and, in the early 1980s, the R&T crew … Continue reading

August 19, 2016 · Leave a comment

BACH IN A MINUTE

I’M HAVING A BALL learning more about the history of music. But not from the work of just any musicologist. Rather, it’s from a favorite author, actor and one-of-a-kind, Stephen … Continue reading

August 17, 2016 · 1 Comment

“DO PUT DOWN THE REVOLVER”

THIS WONDERFUL TITLE appeared in the London Review of Books, August 14, 2016, in a book review written by Rosemary Hill, whose other work in LRB I’ve enjoyed. I’m sure … Continue reading

August 14, 2016 · Leave a comment

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SIMANAITISSAYS!

THIS ITEM BEGINS the fifth year of SimanaitisSays. Once more, I thank you for your readership and interactions. Indeed, celebrating this camaraderie, I recall several notable items of the past … Continue reading

August 13, 2016 · 7 Comments

A 1953 TIME CAPSULE—BUGATTI LORE AND MORE

ETTORE BUGATTI, Le Patron, died in 1947, the same year that Road and Track published its first issue. In November 1953, the magazine was six years old when it chose to … Continue reading

August 12, 2016 · 1 Comment

“#&*%@!!” HE SAID

A FEATURE IN The Wall Street Journal, August 2, 2016, is titled “Vol. 29, No. 7: Vulgarities.” It updates this newspaper’s treatment of words and phrases that once weren’t uttered … Continue reading

August 5, 2016 · 1 Comment

THE WEEKEND

VIOLET CRAWLEY, Dowager Countess of Grantham, delivered a wonderful line at Downton Abbey: She asked, quite innocently for once, “What is a weekend?” The Countess was responding to Matthew Crawley, … Continue reading

July 13, 2016 · Leave a comment

R&T, MAY 1954

MY DAD, rest his soul, wasn’t really a car nut. But he was interested in keeping his kid off the streets and out of the pool halls. I’ve forgotten the … Continue reading

June 1, 2016 · 5 Comments

AUTOMOTIVE ART—IN PAINT AND PRINT

IN MY CONTINUING quest of bringing a modicum of order to 33 years of R&T memorabilia, I came upon several 24 x 36-in. poster boards that were part of the … Continue reading

May 25, 2016 · Leave a comment