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

“THAT’S FROM DISNEYLAND!”

A FABULOUS AUCTION brings back special memories. More than 900 bits of Disneyana collected over 25 years by Hollywood talent agent Richard Kraft were auctioned off by Van Eaton Galleries. … Continue reading

September 9, 2018 · 2 Comments

CHEVROLET CORVETTE ROADSTER—1954

WHAT WITH the real mid-engine Vette waiting in the wings (as opposed to R&T’s random speculations back in the old days), it seems most appropriate to look at the original … Continue reading

September 7, 2018 · 1 Comment

CLEOPATRA’S QUAFFING PART 2

THIS ALL STARTED yesterday with private investigator George Valentine (of SiriusXM “Radio Classics” Let George Do It) reading Pliny’s account of Cleopatra downing a pearl dissolved in vinegar. Today in … Continue reading

September 6, 2018 · 3 Comments

CLEOPATRA’S QUAFFING PART 1

IT’S GOOD FUN to be encouraged into interesting directions by SiriusXM’s “Radio Classics” old-time mysteries. Let George Do It is a fine example, with a recently aired episode titled “42 … Continue reading

September 5, 2018 · 2 Comments

ELLIE MANNETTE, MUSIC MAN EXTRAORDINAIRE

TRINIDADIAN ELLIE MANNETTE brought music to many during his 90 years. His obituary by Karen Zraick in The New York Times, August 31, 2018, cited Mannette as “Father of the … Continue reading

September 4, 2018 · Leave a comment

TROTTIE TRUE—AN EDWARDIAN ROMANCE

THE COMEDIC NOVELS of Caryl Brahms and S.J. Simon, principally their Stroganoff ballet mysteries, were topics here at SimanaitisSays more than four years ago. Recently, I’ve read Trottie True, another … Continue reading

September 3, 2018 · Leave a comment

WWBD? (WHAT WOULD BADDIES DRIVE?)

IT USED TO be that movie bad guys drove nondescript cars purposely stripped of automaker logos. It was fine for the good guys, for instance James Bond and Frank Bullitt, … Continue reading

September 2, 2018 · 2 Comments

THE SATO SCANDAL

SCIENTISTS, BLESS ‘EM, are only human. And, now and then, there’s one who is deeply flawed. This is a tale of Yoshihiro Sato, the Japanese specialist in bone medicine who … Continue reading

September 1, 2018 · Leave a comment

SALON: 1931 CHRYSLER LEBARON

I’VE READ some carping about the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance recognizing yet another 1930s automobile as Best of Show. But I beg to differ with the carpers: The 1930s … Continue reading

August 31, 2018 · 4 Comments

LE CORBUSIER’S JAPAN

CHARLES-ÉDOUARD JEANNERET, nom de plume Le Corbusier, was one of the most important architects of the 20th century. Though he has only one building in all of East Asia, his … Continue reading

August 30, 2018 · Leave a comment