HOLMES TRUTH
TRUTH IS being assaulted these days through alternative facts. Early a.m. tweets claim this truth is spread by “enemies of the people.” Truths of intelligence and science are downplayed or … Continue reading
THE FIRST 1.5-LITER COOPER, AN EARLY BEETLE AND OL’ SHEL TOPS THE HILL
I’LL NEVER LACK for automotive reading material, what with a closet full of old magazines. R&T October 1956 is a perfect example. Formula 1 was at the height of its … Continue reading
CON WOMEN—BALANCING THE GAME
I’VE HAD a good time here discussing con men such as Pierre Arnold Bernard, aka Oom the Magnificent; Wolfgang von Kempelen and The Turk chess-playing automaton; and Donald J. Trump, … Continue reading
ON HEARING ONESELF, AND OTHERS
AS A KID in Cleveland, I worked occasionally at WBOE, a pioneer public radio station operated by that city’s Board of Education. I suspect I was identified early on as … Continue reading
MARTIN M-130 SWEETHEART PIN
WIFE DOTTIE was sorting antiques swap meet jewelry treasures and came upon a piece of aircraft memorabilia with lots of interesting history. Her Martin M-130 crafted in sterling silver is … Continue reading
ARISTOPHANES—ANCIENT GREECE’S S.N.L.
SATIRE WAS AS important to ancient Greeks as it is to those of us living through today’s muddle. Think of the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes as that era’s combination of … Continue reading
A PHONY BARD
THIS IS A TALE of deception. It involves a collector of English artifacts; his talented, if unscrupulous, son; the greatest of playwrights, William Shakespeare; and a passel of people capable … Continue reading
PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORSHIP, PART 4
IN CONCLUDING MY notes here on U.S. Presidents who could read and even write books, I move from the sublime to the present. After the likes of Presidents Thomas Jefferson, … Continue reading
OPERA FUN CONTINUES
OPERA RIDES the razor edge of absurdity, according to Peter Ustinov. And it continues to delight me, whether in performances or in its attendant fun. Today, I share charming tales … Continue reading
LOTUS SEVEN AMERICA
THE Lotus Seven America is the John Adams of automobiles: Like this composer of Short Ride in a Fast Machine, the Seven is minimalist. It has nothing more than it … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 