CARS OF THE STARS REDUX AGAIN
THE 1934 FLICK THE GAY DIVORCEE DESERVES an award among car enthusiasts: Not only does it feature three of the era’s classic automobiles, but one of them was actually owned … Continue reading
WHAT IS CLASSICAL MUSIC?
COMPOSER/CONDUCTOR MATTHEW AUCOIN ASKS “Do You Actually Know What Classical Music Is? Does Anyone?,” The Atlantic, April 15, 2025. This captures my eye because I include classical among my musical … Continue reading
HURRAH FOR MAC ’N’ CHEESE (AND FOR HISTORY AND NON-BINARY GENDER)
SO THERE I WAS, READING “THE ORIGINAL MACARONI CHEESE” by Eleanor Barnett in BBC HISTORY. She evidently knows her stuff, being as she is a food historian at Cardiff University. … Continue reading
MY NEW FAV AT THE ATLANTIC
“IT TURNS OUT,” ALEXANDRA PETRI WRITES IN THE ATLANTIC (with tongue firmly in cheek), “someone in the Trump administration automatically texts you a free scoop as sort of a welcome … Continue reading
MISS MANNERS AND TRUMP PART 2
TRUMP’S UTTERLY CALLOUS COMMENTS following the recent Minnesota horrors prompted me to consult Miss Manners as something of a purgative. Here in Part 2 we continue with her views on … Continue reading
SAID CORRECTLY
THERE ARE SOME WORDS THAT I MISPRONOUNCE; others that I say correctly but misspell. Conveniently enough, Merriam-Webster discusses both sorts. Our Mongrel Language. “English is famously difficult to spell,” M-W … Continue reading
CELEBRATING JUNETEENTH
TODAY, JUNE 19, 2025, IS THE FIFTH OFFICIAL FEDERAL CELEBRATION of the Juneteenth National Independence Day, enacted on June 17, 2021 by President Joe Biden. Etymology. Wikipedia recounts, “Juneteenth is … Continue reading
A WONDERFUL GIGGLE
PATRICIA MARX HAS IDENTIFIED “TRUMP’S TO-UNDO LIST” coming in The New Yorker, June 23, 2025. If you’re not already a subscriber, I encourage you to buy a copy as an … Continue reading
TRIUMPH SPORTS SIX—A MATTER OF BALANCE
R&T DECEMBER 1962 BROUGHT TECHNICALITIES TO THE FORE in its test of the Triumph Sports Six: “Many years ago,” it wrote back then, “when it was the custom to put … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 
MISS MANNERS AND TRUMP PART 1
MY MISS MANNERS’ GUIDE TO EXCRUCIATINGLY CORRECT BEHAVIOR is the updated 2005 edition, not that things haven’t changed in the past two decades. In particular, Trump’s reactions to recent Minnesota … Continue reading →