A MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT OF BATTLE PLANS
MANY MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS were liturgical, but there were exceptions. The fifteenth-century Visconti Semideus, as described in Christopher De Hamel’s Meeting with Remarkable Manuscripts, is an artful collection of battle plans. … Continue reading
ON CONSPIRACY THEORIES
THE LONDON REVIEW of Books continues to illuminate and entertain me with its erudite articles. Its October 22, 2020, issue has “Red Pill, Blue Pill,” subtitled “James Meek on the … Continue reading
AN EARLY FARCE—BUT AS TIMELY AS TODAY’S HEADLINES PART 2
YESTERDAY IN PART 1, we met the characters of The Farce of Pierre Pathelin, a play from the fifteenth century that resonates today in its portrayal of mendacity. Today in … Continue reading
AN EARLY FARCE—YET AS TIMELY AS TODAY’S HEADLINES PART 1
LET US PAUSE to enjoy theatrical farce. In fact, The Farce of Pierre Pathelin may be one of the earliest of its kind, the genre defined by Merriam-Webster as “a … Continue reading
VOTE!!
TODAY, NOVEMBER 3, as we all recognize, is Election Day. But not just any election day. Here in California. Wife Dottie and I put our ballots in the mail on … Continue reading
HEALTH RESORTS—JUST IN TIME PART 2
YESTERDAY, COOK’S HANDBOOK to the Health Resorts of the South of France, Riviera and Pyrenees offered advice, albeit most appropriate for the year of its publication, 1905. Today, in Part … Continue reading
HEALTH RESORTS—JUST IN TIME PART 1
IF EVER I’VE needed a health resort, it’s now, right?. So I turn to my Cook’s Handbook to see what meets my fancy. It’s a 1905 edition? Whatever. This particular … Continue reading
HAPPY FIFTIETH BIRTHDAY, PBS!
LET’S CELEBRATE INTELLIGENT, entertaining, illuminating, and charming television provided by the Public Broadcasting Service, now in its 50th year. This non-commerical, free-to-air public broadcaster was founded on November 3, 1969, … Continue reading
MONACO GP 1956—MOSS BEATS A FANGIO TAG TEAM
JUAN MANUEL FANGIO and Stirling Moss are legendary race car drivers. Fangio’s record five Drivers’ World Championships, 1951, 1954–1957, held up for 46 years until the Michael Schumacher era. Moss … Continue reading
MEMORABLE POLITICAL LINES, TIMELY AND TIMELESS
IN READING ONE thing and another, I encounter lines well worth remembering. Indeed, see “The Best of Lines” and “I Wish I Said That (First)”, both here at SimanaitisSays. As … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 