SUBMARINING—IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR PART 2
IT’S LIKELY THAT the Turtle was the world’s first submarine to attack an enemy ship. Or was this just American Revolutionary War propaganda? In either case, here in Part 2 … Continue reading
SUBMARINING—IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR PART 1
DAVID BUSHNELL’S TURTLE piloted by colonial patriot Ezra Lee has all the trappings of a proper war tale, complete with bravery, secrecy, opposing propaganda, revisionist theories, and even a modern … Continue reading
JOHN COBB AND HIS NAPIER-RAILTON
IT’S NOT EASY to work a high point of one’s career into everyday conversation, but it can be done. There I was leafing through the 1969 volume of R&T, prompted … Continue reading
CARMINA BURANA REVISITED
WHO ISN’T AWED by Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana? Its throbbing rhythm in O Fortuna/Velut luna/Statu variabilis (“O Fortune/Like the Moon/Changeable”). Its salacious lyrics composed for lusty 12th-century monks. And, for … Continue reading
CHECK THOSE TIRES, SIR?
GRANDPA WILL have to explain that “service station” attendants used to ask whether you wanted your tire pressures checked during refueling, this along with giving the windshield a polishing. These … Continue reading
NO MORE “クリスマスケーキ” IN JAPAN?
SLOWLY, BUT SURELY, women’s lib is transforming Japanese society. As reported by Motoko Rich in The New York Times, August 3, 2019, “Craving Freedom, Japan’s Women Opt Out of Marriage.” … Continue reading
A TRANSPORTER OF OPERATIC GRANDNESS
THE ITINERANT PLAYERS in Ruggero Leoncavalo’s I Pagliacci are four in number: Canio, his wife Nedda, Tonio the hunchback, and Beppe. The only other role of note is Silvio, Nedda’s … Continue reading
IS DECENCY STILL COMMON?
COLUMNIST DAVID BROOKS wrote “We need an uprising of decency,” and I agree. His Opinion column in The New York Times, August 1, 2019, carries the title “Marianne Williamson Knows … Continue reading
PAUL SPOONER—AUTOMATIST EXTRAORDINAIRE
I THANK ALICE SPAWLS, assistant editor at London Review of Books, for introducing me to the works of Paul Spooner. Collectively, Spooner and his pals form the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre, … Continue reading
BETTER THAN “CALIFORNIA DREAMIN”
THE HEADLINE IN Science, July 12, 2019, was eye-catching: “Solar Plus Batteries is Now Cheaper Than Fossil Power.” Robert F. Service describes the situation “driven by steady price declines in … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 