THE MAN WHO WOULD BE—AND WAS—KING PART 2
THE YEAR 1810 was a busy one for Napoleon, for Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte (Napoleon’s appointed Prince of Portecorvo), and for King Charles XIII of Sweden. Emperor Napoleon’s goal of conquering … Continue reading
THE MAN WHO WOULD BE—AND WAS—KING PART 1
WITH HOMAGE to Rudyard Kipling’s The Man Who Would Be King, 1888, here’s a tale of Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte who actually became Sweden’s King Charles XIV John. It’s a … Continue reading
BEREFT OF INSULTS?
THESE DAYS, one can easily run short of invectives. However, in the spirit of literary recycling, we can learn from a master of the English language, William Shakespeare. Here’s a … Continue reading
FUNICULÌ, FUNICULÀ!
THE NEAPOLITAN ditty Funiculì, Funiculà celebrated the 1880 opening of the first funicular on Mount Vesuvius. Today here at SimanaitisSays, I celebrate this steep form of rail transportation based on … Continue reading
HARRY NILE, SEATTLE P.I.
THE GLORIOUS ERA of radio detectives ran from the 1940s into the 1960s. Private investigators such as Johnny Dollar, Philip Marlowe, and Sam Spade entertained me back then. And, through … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGY: DEVIL, DIABOLICAL
DEVIL AND DIABOLICAL are perfect additions to the SimanaitisSays series of Etymology for our Times, what with the Trump administration’s Wall hostage program of children. The words’ origins trace to … Continue reading
MAGIC POSTERS FROM TASCHEN
THERE WAS a time several years back when my grandson Carter was interested in magic. My singular influence in this activity was teaching him how to palm the pea in … Continue reading
A MOTOR TOUR OF THE MULTIVERSE
THERE ARE three basic states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. Even in today’s more deeply revealed world of quantum physics, these distinctions still apply. In fact, Science, the weekly … Continue reading
CHINA AND THE AUTOMOBILE
THE LATEST Automotive News, June 11, 2018, has a fascinating piece on a complex subject: China and the automobile. Hans Greimel, the industry weekly’s Tokyo-based Asia Editor, titles his article … Continue reading
THE HINDENBURG’S BABY GRAND
IT WOULD seem incongruous to find a piano aboard an airship. But, for awhile, the Lounge of the Zeppelin LZ-129 Hindenburg featured a baby grand built by Julius Blüthner Pianofortefabrik … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 