ON GERRYMANDERING
MERRIAM-WEBSTER DEFINES “to gerrymander” as “1: to divide or arrange (a territory) into election districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage.” and “2: to divide … Continue reading
THE 1921 RUMPLER TROPFENWAGEN—AERO WONDER AND MOVIE STAR PART 2
THE RUMPLER W-6 Tropfenwagen appeared yesterday at SimanaitisSays as a 1921 look into the automotive future. Today in Part 2, we examine the car’s technicalities, why I can link it … Continue reading
THE 1921 RUMPLER TROPFENWAGEN—AERO WONDER AND MOVIE STAR. PART 1
WHAT DOES THE 1921 Rumpler Tropfenwagen have in common with the 1933 Napier-Railton? And, even more obscurely, what ties these two cars with my own personal driving experience? An article … Continue reading
FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT! (NO KIDDING….)
THE DISCOVERER BLOG has carved itself an online niche of travel information: fascinating destinations, critical things to bring with you, how to behave once you’re there. With many of us … Continue reading
LET US ALL CELEBRATE
AS I WRITE this on Sunday, November 8, 2020, Joe Biden has a lead of some 4 million in the popular vote and a projected Electoral College tally of 290 … Continue reading
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
Simanaitis Says 