MUSICAL (AND SOCIETAL) SUCCESS STORIES PART 1
MUSIC CAN HAVE a beneficial influence on society, even sometimes a happy one. This came to mind recently when I heard the full story of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ charming … Continue reading
1947 ARSENAL CTA GRAND PRIX CAR PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE LEARNED of an optimistic post-World War II plan of returning France to the forefront of Grand Prix motor racing. Chosen to lead this effort was Albert Lory, whose … Continue reading
1947 ARSENAL CTA GRAND PRIX CAR PART 1
WHAT DOES THE post-war French Arsenal CTA grand prix car have in common with a locomotive? At first thought, it isn’t the robustness of its construction nor the success of … Continue reading
ON POLYMATHS
MERRIMAN-WEBSTER DEFINES polymath as “a person of encyclopedic learning.” This is a direct translation of its Greek origin, πολυμαθής, polymathis. I’d add “and of encyclopedic doing,” for how else would … Continue reading
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN ENDORSES JOE BIDEN
THE EDITORS OF Scientific American declared, “We’ve never backed a presidential candidate in our 175-year history—until now.” “This year,” the editors wrote in Scientific American, October 2020, “we are compelled … Continue reading
SCIENCE GOES DEUTSCHE POP
AN UNUSUAL EXPERIMENT was performed at a trio of pop concerts in Leipzig, Germany, on August 22, 2020. Tim Bendzko and his band performed at a 12,000-seat arena, but unlike … Continue reading
HUGO PICTOR’S SELFIE
IT’S RARE TO know authorship of an 11th-century manuscript. However, thanks to Christopher De Hamel’s Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts, the Oxford University’s Bodleian Library’s Bodley 717 is an exception. Tidbits … Continue reading
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL—GLOBALIST PART 2
COMPOSER HANDEL WAS quite the globalist in an era when many folks only rarely left the villages of their birth. By his early 20s, he had already resided in Halle, … Continue reading
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL—GLOBALIST PART 1
FOR A VARIETY of reasons, the pandemic one of them, bullying nationalists another, “globalism” is almost a pejorative these days. However, reading about composer George Frideric Handel, I found a … Continue reading
QUOTE MARKS REDUX
THE QUOTATION MARK is the anonymous hero of written clarity. As described in Keith Houston’s entertaining Shady Characters, it is “quietly competent, thank you very much, and would like to … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 