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

FRENCH STREAMLINING OF THE EARLY 1920S   PART 1

IN THE EARLY 1920s, the French were well into racecar streamlining when perpendicularity still ruled on the British side of La Manche. Here, in Parts 1 and 2 today and … Continue reading

January 16, 2022 · Leave a comment

SCHOOLING AT BONDURANT’S

I’M IN GOOD COMPANY having been schooled in high-performance driving by Bob Bondurant. Bob, who died last November at the age of 88, had taught Jim Garner and Yves Montand … Continue reading

January 15, 2022 · 3 Comments

WHY EVER DID I SAVE THIS?

I HAVE BEGUN DECLUTTERING the garage. No mean feat, this, what with 33+ years of R&T memorabilia and even more years of other stuff, plus 150 boxes of books accumulated … Continue reading

January 14, 2022 · 9 Comments

THE CASE OF THE TWO IAN FLEMINGS, AND ANOTHER MISTAKEN LINKAGE

WHAT DID THE 007 AUTHOR have in common with the man portraying Dr. John H. Watson in British movies in the 1930s?  Nothing, except for sharing the name Ian Fleming. … Continue reading

January 13, 2022 · 4 Comments

TWO EINSTEIN ANECDOTES

I WAS SORTING THROUGH colloquium presentations of mine from the mid-1970s—Geez, was I ever scholarly back then—and I came upon these two Einstein anecdotes. Their source was Ira M. Freeman, … Continue reading

January 12, 2022 · 1 Comment

EXASCALE COMPUTERS COMING IN 2022 

 DIGITAL COMPUTERS MERELY count on two fingers, 1, 0, on, off; but they do so amazingly quickly. And the faster they count, the more things they accomplish. Recent articles in … Continue reading

January 11, 2022 · Leave a comment

FLAUBERT FLÂNEURING WITH BARNES

A FLÂNEUR, THE FRENCH describe, is a stroller, an idler, an observer of life. Gustave Flaubert was a French novelist, for whom we celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth. … Continue reading

January 10, 2022 · Leave a comment

STAGING CELEBRATED; VIVALDI VINDICATED

A RECENT OPERATIC happening celebrates a 40-year-old production. Another rectifies a 282-year-old injustice. Here are tidbits on these two gleaned from several sources. The Zeffirelli La Bohème 40th. In “Enduring … Continue reading

January 9, 2022 · Leave a comment

THOSE MUSICAL NEWMANS   PART 2

PROMPTED BY NEWMAN movie film credits and my Randy Newman CDs, I decided to research tidbits on these musical Newmans. Here in Part 2, we continue admiring the Newman Musical … Continue reading

January 8, 2022 · Leave a comment

THOSE MUSICAL NEWMANS   PART 1

I WATCH A LOT of Turner Classic Movies and the name “Newman” often appears in music credits. I also enjoy the music of Randy Newman and recall he’s related to … Continue reading

January 7, 2022 · Leave a comment