GERMANY COUGHS ON ITS OWN DIESEL EXHAUST
A RECENT German Federal Administrative Court ruling complicates that country’s love affair with diesel cars. The decision gives German cities the power to ban vehicles, especially older diesels, from urban … Continue reading
A SHARP RIGHT, THEN SET ‘ER DOWN
THESE DAYS, most commercial aircraft landings are thankfully bereft of drama. A long, straight, and gentle descent. Even St. Thomas’s relatively short 7000-ft. runway comes after a gradual straight-as-an-arrow approach … Continue reading
AN OCTAGONAL MOVIE STAR
TO CAR enthusiasts, the name MG conjures up an image of a classic two-seat English roadster. The MG TC was the sports car that American servicemen brought home after World … Continue reading
STEVEN PINKER AND ENLIGHTENMENT
IT IS only appropriate to offer some optimism after yesterday’s SimanaitisSays item on Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 dark and wonderful Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love … Continue reading
AN HOMAGE TO DR. STRANGELOVE
THE FULL name of Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 political satire flick is Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. And I cannot imagine a more … Continue reading
HOLMES AND BARTITSU
HOW WELL did the world’s greatest consulting detective know Japanese gentle arts of self defense? Indeed, the nearest that Holmes ever got to Japan was during his hiatus that included … Continue reading
CORPORATIONS—THE GOOD AND THE BAD
A CORPORATION is a legally authorized entity formed to pursue a particular goal. It might be manufacturing lightbulbs, selling firearms, or myriad other endeavors of modern civilization. Two things recently … Continue reading
HAPPY 50TH, ISIS IMPORTS! CONGRATULATIONS, BILL FINK!
THE ISIS, a river renowned for its rowing and punting, flows through the English town of Oxford. When American Bill Fink was a student at Keble College, University of Oxford, … Continue reading
TREACHERY—AN ETYMOLOGICAL AND EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
SEEKING AN example of unmitigated treachery, I offer Trump and DeVos’ recent proposal for educational aspects in the fiscal 2019 federal budget. According to whitehouse.gov, “The President is responsible for … Continue reading
THE AUTOMOBILE AND POETRY
ITALIAN FUTURISM evolved as a cult of the machine at the beginning of the 20th century. Filippo Marinetti’s poem “To My Pegasus,” 1908, is exemplary of the genre: “Vehement god … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 