OPERA AND COLONIALISM PART 1
MY LATEST OPERA WITH OPERA NEWS contains “Terra (In)Cognita,” by Simon Banks. He “highlights shifting attitudes towards colonialism as reflected in opera across the centuries.” Surely an interesting topic. Indeed, … Continue reading
THE BIG LIFT AND TRUMP’S DEMOCRACY
TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES RECENTLY SHOWED THE BIG LIFT, a 1950 Hollywood drama centered around the Soviet blockage of Berlin and the allies subsequently successful support of the city by air … Continue reading
IS THAT OCTOPUS A RIGHTY OR A LEFTY? NEITHER; SORTA OMNIDEXTROUS.
NICOLE DAVIS WRITES “Octopuses Prefer To Use Different Arms For Different Tasks, Scientists Find,” The Guardian, September 11, 2025. The creatures, Davis recounts, favor front arms for most tasks, though … Continue reading
A TRUMP/GATSBY TIME CAPSULE FROM 2017/1925 PART 2
YESTERDAY WE BEGAN EXPLORING A TRUMP/GATSBY TIME CAPSULE prompted by “A Short History of the Trump Family,” by Sydney Blumenthal, London Review of Books, February 16, 2017, and its linkage … Continue reading
A TRUMP/GATSBY TIME CAPSULE FROM 2017/1925 PART 1
IN AN ART DECO APPRECIATION about a week ago, “Art Deco, The Met, The Polish Brigade, Trump Tower and Truth,” February 23, 2017, was cited; and therein resided reference to … Continue reading
1934 ALFA ROMEO 2.3 MILLE MIGLIA: SALON (AND ROAD TEST, SORTA)
“THIS CAR TURNS OUT TO BE THE FIFTH ALFA ROMEO PASSENGER CAR which appeared on R&T’s cover,” the magazine recounted in September 1958. (Indeed, R&T Vol. 1 No. 1, July … Continue reading
MARS—AS TIMELY AS TODAY’S HEADLINES, OR THOSE OF THE LATE 19TH CENTURY, OR THOSE OF MAR’S ORIGIN PART 2
YESTERDAY WE STARTED ANALYZING a cornucopia of things Martian appearing in AAAS Science. We continue today in Part 2 with assessment of Mars’ elemental structure—and, though lacking canals, any signs … Continue reading
MARS—AS TIMELY AS TODAY’S HEADLINES, OR THOSE OF THE LATE 19TH CENTURY, OR THOSE OF MAR’S ORIGIN PART 1
I PLANNED THIS AS A BOOK REVIEW of David Baron’s The Martians, with tidbits gleaned from Dov Greenbaum’s “Mars Mania and the Making of Scientific Authority,” AAAS Science, August 28, … Continue reading
HEY, DUDE—CATCH THAT WAVE!
DORANY PINEDA AND JENNIFER MCDERMOTT report that “In LA Port, Bobbing Blue Floats Are Turning Wave Power into Clean Energy,” AP News, September 8, 2025. Prototype floats react to wave … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 
GROSS INJUSTICE IS RAMPANT
TRUMP’S MOB ACTIVITIES CONTINUE. Joseph Gedeon reports, “U.S. Justice Department Removes Study Finding Far-Right Extremists Commit ‘Far More’ Violence,” The Guardian, September 17, 2025. And Andy Borowitz writes “Trump’s War … Continue reading →