CHINA AIR—THE MIDDLE YEARS OF THE MIDDLE KINGDOM
BY 1925, CHINA had a good number of aircraft, most imported, though a few of its own manufacture. Following the 1912 demise of the Qing imperial dynasty, Sun Yat-sen served … Continue reading
CHINA IN THE AIR—THE EARLY YEARS
PRINCE TSI TAO and Y.L. Lee are the only Chinese aviators listed in Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft, 1913. In my next Jane’s, six years later, Jane’s All the World’s … Continue reading
DANTE’S INFERNO, A DESTINATION GUIDE
WASHINGTON, D.C. PRONOUNCEMENTS concerning the defunding of Meals on Wheels and of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and of the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities are having an … Continue reading
PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORSHIP, PART 3
AMONG THE most prolific of U.S. Presidents who demonstratively knew how to read a book is Teddy Roosevelt. Indeed, he wrote a goodly number of books on a variety of … Continue reading
PROTEST—CLASSICAL STYLE
THE FOLK GENRE is rich with songs of protest: Pete Seeger’s We Shall Overcome and Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ come to mind. But what about classical music? … Continue reading
SCIENCE AND “AIR QUOTES”
ACCORDING TO White House press secretary Sean Spicer, we’re supposed to identify “air quotes” in presidential tweets about surveillance. And, says presidential senior advisor Kellyanne Conway, we’re to acknowledge “microwaves … Continue reading
THE GLIDER THAT HELPED TAKE NORMANDY
LET’S CELEBRATE the Waco CG-4A Hadrian glider, first flown 75 years ago. This U.S. glider’s delivery of troops and armament was part of the Allied invasions of Sicily, Normandy, the … Continue reading
SHERLOCK HOLMES—CRYPTOLOGIST
WHAT WITH international intrigue being leaked right, left and center these days, I am au courant in discussing Sherlock Holmes’ involvement in such matters, as detailed by chronicler Dr. John … Continue reading
PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORSHIP, PART 2
HERE’S ANOTHER in my series about U.S. Presidents who demonstratively knew how to read a book and even write one. Ulysses S. Grant’s literary effort involved his friend Mark Twain, … Continue reading
IN PRAISE OF DIVERSITY AND TRUTH, AND A RESONANCE BETWEEN THE TWO
TWO ARTICLES IN The New York Times, March 5, 2017, have different topics, but they generate a synergy. “What Biracial People Know,” by Moises Velasquez-Manoff, describes research suggesting that diversity … Continue reading
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