A GIFT FROM THE COSMOS
EVERY YEAR, TENS of thousands of meteorites survive trips through our atmosphere to reach Earth. But the one that struck in the Costa Rican rainforest last year was really special: … Continue reading
AN INSPIRATIONAL OPERA INDEED
OPERAS CAN INSPIRE—but enough to create a country? Yes, the history of Belgium is woven into the obscure La Muette de Portici, The Mute of Portici, an 1828 opera by … Continue reading
BESSIE COLEMAN—A COURAGEOUS WOMAN OF SOARING AMBITION PART 2
HERE’S A WOMAN who rose from a http://wp.me/p2ETap-az9 sharecropper family to being called “the world’s greatest woman flier” in 1922. Today in Part 2, we find Bessie returning to the … Continue reading
BESSIE COLEMAN—A COURAGEOUS WOMAN OF SOARING AMBITION PART 1
MORE THAN 100 years ago, a young woman heard about pioneer aviatrix Harriet Quimby and thought flying might be fun for her too. The young woman had two challenges: her … Continue reading
HOW COME MY RAZOR GETS DULL?
SURELY STEEL IS stronger than hair, right? Indeed, it’s fifty times stronger. Then how come razors don’t stay sharp forever? What with one thing and another, this may seem inconsequential. … Continue reading
YOU CAN’T PLEASE EVERYONE
I’VE BEEN ENJOYING Nick Slonimsky’s Lexicon of Musical Invective: Critical Assaults on Composers Since Beethoven’s Time. Its theses are two-fold and clear: You can’t please everyone. And critics write for … Continue reading
A CARRIAGE FOR THE KING
HERE’S A TALE of transportation fit for a king; indeed, named for one. Yet, in the last decade, this 1911 Hispano-Suiza Alfonso XIII Double Berline twice went begging at auction, … Continue reading
LETTERS AS ENCOURAGEMENT
I WAS READING the Letters column in the August 13, 2020, London Review of Books, with nary a serious thought in my head. Then I encounter several communications that didn’t … Continue reading
CHURCHILL’S COOK PART 2
YESTERDAY Georgina Young chose kitchen service as scullery maid no. six in a fairly grand household. Today, she marries, learns from, and thrives with chef Paul Landemare. And has wartime … Continue reading
CHURCHILL’S COOK PART 1
THE ENGLISH SATIRIST Saki wrote, “The cook was a good cook, as cooks go, and as cooks go, she went.” By contrast, Georgina Landemare was more akin to Mrs. Patmore, … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 