TIME WARPS
THE INSIDER WEBSITE offered an interesting example of time warp: “Cleopatra lived closer in time to the building of the first Pizza Hut than to the building of the pyramids.” … Continue reading
1962 TRIUMPH TR-4—DOES A SPIFFY ITALIAN SUIT SUFFICE?
“FOR NEARLY A DECADE,” R&T noted in February 1962, the Standard-Triumph Company has been manufacturing its TR-series sports cars and, of course, has sold them in substantial numbers.” Good performance … Continue reading
CONFESSIONS OF A BOOK-WRAPTER
I DIDN’T HAVE a word for it, but I now believe I’m a book-wrapter. I learned this from Julie Lasky’s article in The New York Times, December 24, 2021, “How … Continue reading
“S. A. E. RETURNS TO PEACE PURSUITS” PART 2
YESTERDAY WE WATCHED postWWI engineers, their spouses, and guests having fun and games at the summer 1919 meeting of the Society of Automotive Engineers. Today in Part 2, the engineers … Continue reading
“S. A. E. RETURNS TO PEACE PURSUITS” PART 1
IT WAS A LITTLE MORE than a century ago that a newly named Society of Automotive Engineers emerged from supporting U.S. efforts in World War I. Founded in 1905 as … Continue reading
A NEW YEAR—TWO BOOKS AND AN OLD MOVIE
TWO BOOKS, NEW to my shelves, offer tidbits about a classic movie, oft (and recently) enjoyed. One of the books is a collection of movie reviews; the other, a newly … Continue reading
HIGH HOLIDAYS
THE CESTA DE NAVIDAD, Christmas Basket, is a traditional Spanish gift consisting of wine, liquor, sweets, other treats, and cured ham. The Guardian, December 21, 2021, offers a variation of … Continue reading
TRAVELS WITH ZENOBIA PART 2
TWO AMERICAN WOMEN, foot-loose after World War I adventures, decide to buy a Ford Model T in Paris and drive it to Albania. Their journal was transformed into the book … Continue reading
TRAVELS WITH ZENOBIA PART 1
WHENEVER I CONSIDER giving a book away, I leaf through it to recall why I bought it in the first place. And then I wonder if I really want to … Continue reading
夫を連れて行って, ください
A JAPANESE COMEDIENNE might use the line above, Google Translate’s rendering of “Take my husband, please.” But until relatively recently she wouldn’t be performing rakugo, the classical form of Japanese … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 