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

LET’S CELEBRATE THE VOA, NOT CORRUPT IT! PART 2

FOR ALMOST 78 years now, the Voice of America has showcased American values around the world by broadcasting a valuable commodity: truth. These days, however, Trumpian strategies could corrupt its … Continue reading →

June 24, 2020 · 2 Comments

LET’S CELEBRATE THE VOA, NOT CORRUPT IT! PART 1

IN AN EVER-GROWING list of things Trump and his connivers are corrupting, the Voice of America may be next. Imagine if this highly regarded international news service had the reputation … Continue reading →

June 23, 2020 · Leave a comment

GENERAL AVIATION—A HALF-CENTURY PERSPECTIVE PART 2

YESTERDAY, WE STARTED leafing through the November 1966 issue of The Flyer. Today, we continue with this general-aviation magazine’s coverage of a “10-Engine Magic Carpet,” an instrument tutorial, a woman’s … Continue reading →

June 22, 2020 · Leave a comment

GENERAL AVIATION—A HALF-CENTURY PERSPECTIVE PART 1

SORTING ONE THING and another, I came upon the November 1966 issue of The Flyer magazine, Vol. 6, No. 8, 40¢. It offers interesting insights about general aviation of more … Continue reading →

June 21, 2020 · 1 Comment

AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE AWAITED

FOR 30 YEARS, Anne Glenconner was a lady in waiting for Princess Margaret, younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II. Now in her late 80s, Glenconner has got around to writing … Continue reading →

June 20, 2020 · Leave a comment

ARCHIGRAM—AN ARCHITECTURAL COLLECTIVE OF WHIMSY

JONATHAN MEADES’ “SIGHTBITES,” in the London Review of Books, May 21, 2020, summed up Archigram perfectly: “They formed in the early 1960s and over the next decade or so produced … Continue reading →

June 19, 2020 · Leave a comment

GOODBYE, MOORE’S LAW. HELLO TO THE TOP

IN 1975, INTEL founder Gordon Moore predicted that the number of transistors in a semiconductor would double every two years. Moore’s Law, as it came to be known, held true … Continue reading →

June 18, 2020 · Leave a comment

ON TUMBLING ICONS

WE AMERICANS AREN’T the only ones soul-searching about what to do with historic icons that no longer reflect modern times. In the London Review of Books, June 12, 2020, Rebecca … Continue reading →

June 17, 2020 · 3 Comments

ETYMOLOGY: JINGOISTIC, JINGOISM

THE WORD “JINGOISTIC” came to mind, even before Trump’s trumped-up photo op at the West Point commencement on June 13, 2020. It might have been my memory of him standing … Continue reading →

June 16, 2020 · Leave a comment

CELEBRATING A STEAM PUNK ZEPPELIN BUSTER PART 2

NOEL PEMBERTON BILLING had a fertile imagination, exemplified by his four-winged P.B. 31E Zeppelin buster. We continue the tale of this quadruplane in Part 2 today and view one in … Continue reading →

June 15, 2020 · Leave a comment