ちょっとつんどく—MY PERSONAL JAPANESE PHRASE
I RECENTLY LEARNED THE JAPANESE word つんどく, tsundoku, which means acquiring books but letting them pile up without reading. To which I add ちょっと, chotto, Japanese for “a little.” That … Continue reading
HOLMES NOIR?
IT SOUNDS ACHRONOLOGICAL, but was the world’s first consulting detective a noir shamus? Let’s examine this thesis with the help of Merriam-Webster, Sherlockians, and film authorities. Weak Merriam-Webster Evidence. M-W’s … Continue reading
OBAMA’S MEMOIRS
I HAVEN’T READ Barack Obama’s A Promised Land, and considering the number of books already on my “to-read” stack, I’m not likely to attempt this 768-page challenge. On the other … Continue reading
LET’S CELEBRATE THE VOA, NOT CORRUPT IT! PART 1
IN AN EVER-GROWING list of things Trump and his connivers are corrupting, the Voice of America may be next. Imagine if this highly regarded international news service had the reputation … Continue reading
DR. KATHY SULLIVAN—WORLD TRAVELER EXTRAORDINAIRE
I’VE BEEN AT 30,000 ft. in jetliners and 282 ft. below sea level at Death Valley’s Bad Water Basin in a car. However, Kathy Sullivan’s achievements make me look neighborhood-bound … Continue reading
1952 BRM 15—AN ADAGE VERIFIED PART 2
THE BRITISH MOTOR TRUST had high aspirations for its BRM 15 Grand Prix car described in Part 1. The car’s engine, especially, was replete with innovation. However, as motoring journalist … Continue reading
ETYMOLOOGY: DEUTSCHESPRACH AND OTHERS
THE GERMAN LANGUAGE is great at word-building. For instance, I recall the following storefront signage. Come to think of it, my source for this photo, translated into German, is another … Continue reading
GODZILLA—AND CHANGING TIMES
SINCE ITS 1954 film debut, Godzilla has doubled in size, breaking all sorts of guidelines in evolutionary theory. It’s more along the lines of the Hollywood dictum that if one … Continue reading
SOME THOUGHTS ON URBANIZATION
I’VE JUST READ Ben Rogers’ “The Great Sorting,” a London Review of Books review of Richard Florida’s The New Urban Crisis: Gentrification, Housing Bubbles, Growing Inequalities and What We Can … Continue reading
TONY’S STRAIGHT SHOOTER
THE FOKKER EINDECKER changed the tactics of aerial combat midway through World War I. Aeroplanes were initially used exclusively for observation, until an observer took a potshot at an enemy … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 