SIKORSKY CHICKSAW = WESTLAND WHIRLWIND?
I’VE BEEN RIGHT UP next to a Sikorsky Chicksaw helicopter, admittedly a stripped example in residence at Musée d’Art Populaire Chez Manual. This fabulously eclectic collection is just north of … Continue reading
HISTORICAL—AND HYSTERICAL—CONGRESSIONAL SHENANIGANS
“SUPPOSE YOU WERE an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.”—Mark Twain, a Biography. Corroborating this is “The Great National Circus,” by Eric Foner, … Continue reading
IS THAT WHAT’S TROUBLING YOU, BUNKIE? PART 2
AS RECENTLY AS yesterday here at SimanaitisSays, I cited Ann Gibbons’ Science magazine article “Why 536 was ‘the worst year to be alive.’ ” What with one thing and another, … Continue reading
IS THAT WHAT’S TROUBLING YOU, BUNKIE? PART 1
SOME MIGHT SAY that 2018 has to be the worst year ever. No, bunkie, I’m here to tell you there was a year that topped 2018 by a long shot. … Continue reading
A 21ST-CENTURY WRIGHT FLYER
A PROTOTYPE AIRPLANE with ion drive has made its first successful flights. Its EAD (electroaerodynamic) propulsion has no moving parts; rather, it depends on high voltage generating thrust via an … Continue reading
IS THE INTERNET BROKEN?
“FIXING THE INTERNET” is the title of a thoughtful Editorial in the November 23, 2018, issue of Science, the weekly magazine of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. … Continue reading
MG TC—1949
LONG BEFORE there were Porsches and Corvettes, decades before Mustangs and Miatas, there was the MG TC. So the story goes, G.I.s returning after World War II brought home these … Continue reading
COMPLICITY AND COLLUSION—DUAL ETYMOLOGIES
MUCH IN the news these days, the words “complicity” and “collusion” warrant inclusion in my series of Etymology for our Times. It’s most appropriate to compare and contrast these two … Continue reading
A GUIDE TO THE UNITED STATES
“THE VAST EXTENT and rapidly changing conditions of the United States make the production of a satisfactory guidebook a peculiarly difficult task.” You’re telling me. I hasten to mention that … Continue reading
WILL THE REAL PIETER BRUEGEL PLEASE STAND OUT
THE MODERN WONDERS of infrared macrophotography, infrared reflectography, and X-radiography have offered new insights into the works of 16th-century Dutch artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder. “Peeling Back the Paint to … Continue reading
