A LOVE POTION GONE AWRY PART 1
I ENJOYED WATCHING Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, part of the Metropolitan Opera’s free streaming. This opera generates ecstatic appreciation from some and bored derision from others. I place myself in … Continue reading
AUTO NEWS—THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE DOPEY
FOR AWHILE THERE, the world’s pandemic put something of a hold on automotive news. Now that we’re reopening and, not surprisingly, occasionally reclosing, there seems to be a lot of … Continue reading
A POSTCARD STASH
IT IS A commentary on our times that I send few postcards these days. For one, I’m not traveling. Plus, texting and e-mail are so immediately satisfying. And I don’t … Continue reading
SLED DOGS HAVE MUSHED SINCE THE HOLOCENE
GENOME STUDIES SHOW that modern sled dogs trace back to a 9500-year-old Siberian dog related to a 33,000-year-old Siberian wolf. In particular, they’re not related to any modern American wolves. … Continue reading
THOUGHTS FROM A PHILOSOPHER WHO HAS STUDIED EVIL
THESE DAYS, THE United States is into moral introspection concerning governance, divisiveness, immigration, Black Lives Matter, Covid-19, and many other issues. Isaac Chotiner’s article “How to Confront a Racist National … Continue reading
CALAIS, THE CHANNEL ISLANDS, HENRY VIII, AND THE NAZIS PART 2
YESTERDAY, HILARY MANTEL’S The Mirror & the Light inspired me to learn more about the Pale of Calais, an English outpost across the Channel during the time of Henry VIII. … Continue reading
CALAIS, THE CHANNEL ISLANDS, HENRY VIII, AND THE NAZIS PART 1
I’M REALLY ENJOYING The Mirror & the Light, Hilary Mantel’s third novel in her Wolf Hall series about Thomas Cromwell. He was Henry VIII’s fixer, sort of like a Trump … Continue reading
SST CONCORDE REDUX
IT’S NO SURPRISE that a 9949-word article would teach me more about the SST Concorde. The historic supersonic transport had already appeared twice here at SimanaitisSays: “Concorde vs QE2,” May … Continue reading
ON BILINGUAL BRAINS
I ENJOYED READING Michael Hofmann’s “Not in Spanish,” in London Review of Books, May 21, 2020. This article is a review of The Bilingual Brain, by Albert Costa, Catalan cognitive … Continue reading
PLAYING CARD TIDBITS
THIS WEBSITE’S RECENT account on Trump doubling down got me to thinking about other playing card-related terms that have entered our language as metaphors or similes. Here’s a sampling, in … Continue reading
