DR. KATHY SULLIVAN—WORLD TRAVELER EXTRAORDINAIRE
I’VE BEEN AT 30,000 ft. in jetliners and 282 ft. below sea level at Death Valley’s Bad Water Basin in a car. However, Kathy Sullivan’s achievements make me look neighborhood-bound … Continue reading
A VOYAGE TO LAPUTA, BALNIBARBI, LUGGNAGG, GLUBBDUBDRIB, AND JAPAN PART 2
YESTERDAY IN PART 1, we learned why Jonathan Swift included Japan among fanciful destinations in Gulliver’s Travels and also why he chose anonymous authorship for this satire. Today in Part … Continue reading
A VOYAGE TO LAPUTA, BALNIBARBI, LUGGNAGG, GLUBBDUBDRIB, AND JAPAN PART 1
THE ITINERARY ABOVE is actually the title of Part Three in Gulliver’s Travels, published anonymously in London in 1726. Why, I wondered, did Jonathan Swift include Japan with these outlandish, … Continue reading
ATALANTA—THE WOMAN, THE CARS PART 2
YESTERDAY, THE VIRGIN huntress Atalanta held center stage. Today in Part 2, automobiles profit from the etymological origin of Atalanta: αταλαντοσ, Greek for “unswaying” or “equal in weight” Atalanta, the … Continue reading
ATALANTA—THE WOMAN, THE CARS. PART 1
THIS IS A TALE of ancient Greek mythology and latter day British ingenuity, with a soupçon of French style. It’s told in Parts 1 and 2, today and tomorrow. A … Continue reading
SERENDIPITOUS SORTING
WHAT WITH SHELTERING-IN, I have engaged in serendipitous sorting. I was actually looking for something I never did find, but was delighted by what I did stumble on. Here are … Continue reading
CONNECT THE DOTS: LEAD, BALLOONS, PENCIL, NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
THIS CONNECT-THE-DOTS has an easy solution: Nicolas-Jacques Conté. He was a French polymath who gave Napoleon’s army the first significant use of aircraft and he also perfected the lead pencil … Continue reading
THANKS, CHRISTO, FOR GIVING US PLEASURE
ART GIVES PLEASURE in many ways. It can illuminate; it can provoke. It can be ephemeral; it can be timeless. All of the above describe the artistic endeavors of Christo. … Continue reading
GOOD SNACKIN’ ON YA, MATE! PART 2
YESTERDAY IN PART 1, we met the Australian Halal Snack Pack’s North American cousins, Poutine and Chili Cheese Fries. Today, we sample H.S.P., as it’s known to Ozzies. And I … Continue reading
GOOD SNACKIN’ ON YA, MATE! PART 1
THE HALAL SNACK PACK is an Australian cousin of Québécoise Poutine and American Chili Cheese Fries. What’s more, H.S.P., as the Ozzies call it, has become a symbol of liberal … Continue reading
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