PLACE NAMES—SIGNPOSTS TO THE PAST
HISTORIAN MICHAEL WOOD WRITES, “… a rusting cast-iron signpost peeping through the foliage in a sunken lane gives me an inexplicable thrill. It’s the idea that the deep past might … Continue reading
DEEPFAKE—AND OUR RESULTING LOSS OF ATTENTION AND CREDIBILITY
ZEYNEP TUFEKCI WRITES, “LAST WEEK THE TELEVISION HOST Chris Cuomo took to social media to share a video…” Prof. Tufekci is one of my most highly regarded thinkers/most valuable sources, … Continue reading
COME FLY WITH ME
I SHARE FRANK SINATRA’S VOCAL ENTHUSIASM for air travel: “Once you get up there, where the air is rarified/ We’ll just glide, starry-eyed” being a particularly telling lyric. And thus … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGIES FOR OUR TIMES REDUX
IT’S FUN—AND ILLUMINATING—TO SEE WHERE WORDS ORIGINATE. Sometimes the answer is trivial. For example, “Pettiness” from the French petit, little; as in “Short-fingered vulgarian’s pettiness.” Other times, it’s rather more … Continue reading
COUZINET 10—A SHORT TALE, A LENGTHY PROJECT
I BEGAN MY JUST COMPLETED GMAX PROJECT, THE COUZINET 10, on January 13, 2025. Fabrication of other aircraft (for example, the Consolidated PBY Catalina, the Kalilin K-12) and reporting about … Continue reading
ITALIAN HAPPY SNAPS
THE DISCOVERER BLOG CONTINUES TO DELIGHT and to remind me what wonderful adventures Italy has provided. Here, tidbits gleaned from its “Stunning Photos That Will Make You Want to Book … Continue reading
THE 1927 TARGA FLORIO—AT THE CHECKER BUGATTIS ARE 5 FOR 8, ANOTHER BUG IN A GARDEN PART 2
PART 1 YESTERDAY BEGAN our review of the Targa Florio with details of two women competing in the event, the Baronessa Maria Avanzo in 1920 and Elizabeth Junek in 1927. … Continue reading
THE 1927 TARGA FLORIO—AT THE CHECKER BUGATTIS ARE 5 FOR 8, ANOTHER BUG IN A GARDEN PART 1
THE TARGA FLORIO WAS THE OLDEST sports car racing event in the world. Established in 1906 by wealthy pioneer race driver and automobile enthusiast Vincenzo Florio, it was part of … Continue reading
FACTS, OPINIONS—AN AUTHORITARIAN’S “REALITY” PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE BEGAN DESCRIBING “Trump’s Efforts to Control Information Echo an Authoritarian Playbook,” by Peter Baker, Chief White House Correspondent for The New York Times. We continue this today in … Continue reading
FACTS, OPINIONS, AND AN AUTHORITARIAN’S “REALITY” PART 1
PETER BAKER, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT for The New York Times, absolutely nails it in “Trump’s Efforts to Control Information Echo an Authoritarian Playbook,” August 3, 2025. Here, in Parts … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 