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
FAMILIAR OPERA SETTNGS
SETTINGS FOR SCENES of an opera are contained in its libretto, “booklet” in Italian. Many librettists offer extreme detail; others give no more than suggestions. Here are tidbits about three … Continue reading
INNES’S GRANDE EPREUVE WIN PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE SET the stage for the 1961 U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Team Lotus’s first Formula One victory, and Innes Ireland’s sole Grand Epreuve win. Today, R&T’s Jim … Continue reading
INNES’S GRANDE EPREUVE WIN PART 1
THE U.S. GRAND PRIX, October 8, 1961, is multiply significant, as reported by R&T’s Jim Crow: “Statistically, it was the first World Championship win for the uninhibited Scot, the first … Continue reading
LET’S HAVE HEALTHY BUILDINGS!
SCIENCE MAGAZINE SAYS there’s a “lasting positive from the pandemic,” namely, awareness of the importance of indoor air quality. Studies have identified that fine aerosols, those smaller than five micrometers, … Continue reading
IN THE WILDE’S OF NORTH AMERICA
NAME-DROPPING OSCAR WILDE in my recent tale of Horace and Baby Doe Tabor calls for learning more about Wilde’s 1882 tour of North America. Indeed, a fellow named John Cooper … Continue reading
A LITTLE WONDER WITH OPULENCE ESCHEWED
EARLY SIXTIES AUTOMOBILES were less opulent than those of the Fifties. GM popularized the hardtop convertible (an oxymoron for the pillarless sedan), Ford exhibited a concept car called the Mustang I, … Continue reading
THOMAS TALLIS—A RESILIENT COMPOSER OF MOTETS
PERHAPS IT’S NO surprise that Thomas Tallis merits mention here at SimanaitisSays, what with “Holmes and (Polyphonic) Motets” having already made an appearance here. Let’s not quibble about the redundancy … Continue reading
HIGH CULTURE IN LEADVILLE—REDISCOVERED PART 2
COLORADO PIONEER ENTREPRENEUR Horace “Haw” Tabor and his second wife Baby Doe led adventurous lives. Today in Part 2, their legacies extend to film, radio, opera, and The New York … Continue reading
HIGH CULTURE IN LEADVILLE—REDISCOVERED PART 1
THE TABOR OPERA HOUSE is in Leadville, Colorado at an elevation of 10,200 ft. Built by Horace “Haw” Tabor in 1879, it brought high culture to rough-and-tumble silver miners of … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 