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

ART OUT FRONT—RADIATOR MASCOTS

BACK WHEN RADIATORS weren’t hidden within automotive bodywork, radiator caps could be objets d’art. In their most artistic, these hood ornaments were designed by famous sculptors. Other automotive mascots displayed … Continue reading

October 28, 2020 · 1 Comment

DOEST THOU HEAR A DOG WHISTLE?

WE LIVE IN an era of dog whistles, seemingly subliminal messages that are intended to alert some, yet be inaudible to the less enlightened. I say “seemingly” because who among … Continue reading

October 27, 2020 · Leave a comment

NAPIER-HESTON RACER—IN SEARCH OF A RECORD

DESPITE INNOVATIVE DESIGN, plenteous funding, and meticulous fabrication, the 1940 Napier-Heston Racer failed to fulfill its purpose of setting a World Air Speed Record. The onset of World War II … Continue reading

October 26, 2020 · Leave a comment

WHEN A RAT IS CORNERED….

THE PRESIDENT IS in trouble, and not only in the polls. His latest actions—and mendacity—have gotten only worse.  His strategy: Lie, and when caught, double down.  Examples are numerous. Here … Continue reading

October 25, 2020 · 2 Comments

MARTHE HANAU—CON FEMME EXTRAORDINAIRE PART 2

THE SWINDLING PRESIDENTE has a timely ring to it, but note that final “e.” It’s a female president that Janet Flanner described in The New Yorker, August 19, 1939, and … Continue reading

October 24, 2020 · Leave a comment

MARTHE HANAU—CON FEMME EXTRAORDINAIRE PART 1

I BELIEVE IN equal opportunity for men and women. Thus, when I learned from The New Yorker about a “woman, with vulgar, virile gestures,…and a fulminating vocabulary and voice, both … Continue reading

October 23, 2020 · Leave a comment

ON ORIGINALISM PART 2

IS THE U.S. Constitution carved in stone? An originalist would claim so. Yesterday in Part 1, we offered a satirical view from Dan Rather (use leeches as medicine? travel by … Continue reading

October 22, 2020 · 3 Comments

ON ORIGINALISM PART 1

THERE HAS BEEN much discussion recently about originalism in its interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.  Judge Amy Coney Barrett argued “that I interpret the Constitution as a law, that I … Continue reading

October 21, 2020 · 2 Comments

SEPARATED AT (COACHWORK) BIRTH?? AT LEAST IN SPIRIT

WHAT DID MY 1958 English Ford Consul Mk II convertible have in common with the 1933 Barker-bodied Rolls-Royce 20/25 Three-Position Drophead Coupe?  “Utterly nothing,” one is tempted to respond. However, … Continue reading

October 20, 2020 · 3 Comments

THE MATHEMATICIAN WORE A LARGE AND FLOPPY HAT PART 2

YESTERDAY, WE FOUND 20-year-old Sonja Kowaleski—she, of the marvelous blue eyes—charming the 55-year-old Professor Karl Weierstrass into accepting her as a student. Her large and floppy hat helped Weierstrass keep … Continue reading

October 19, 2020 · 2 Comments