THE LRB, GRENADA’S ERIC GAIRY, UFOS, AND PRESIDENT CARTER’S INVITATION TO SATURN’S TITANIA PART 1
FIRST, I STRESS THAT THE LATE JIMMY CARTER was one of our most technically trained of presidents: He was a Naval Academy graduate eventually specializing on nuclear submarines. Thus, his … Continue reading
CAN A GOVERNMENT BE RUN TO “FAIL FAST, LEARN FASTER”? SHOULD IT BY OPERATED IN SUCH FASHION?
“FOUR EARLIER STARSHIP LAUNCHES Highlighted SpaceX’s ‘Fail Fast, Learn Faster’ Approach” reads the headline of Deccan Herald, citing the International New York Times, October 13, 2024. The article’s subhead expands, … Continue reading
WADDINGTON’S WAR PART 2
YESTERDAY WE LEARNED OF THE ALLIES’ SECRET WW II WEAPON—the game of Monopoly fitted out with escape aids for POWs. Today we continue with details from a variety of sources. … Continue reading
WADDINGTON’S WAR PART 1
“CRIKEY!” SAID THE BRITISH WW II POW, “I’ve just landed on Regent St. and it has a hotel!” He also recognized that his escape plans were enhanced by this Monopoly … Continue reading
DOGE FLUNKS ARITHMETIC
THE DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY (sic) recently posted a “wall of receipts” claiming it had already saved the federal government $55 billion. What with a math Ph.D. and all, I … Continue reading
BULLOCKS WILTSHIRE—IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT.
I CONTINUE TO BE SAVORING Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep, the Annotated version. Like an eager Bible student, I’m reading portions of it repeatedly seeking new tidbits about Los Angeles … Continue reading
WOULD YOU BUY A USED (OR NEW) CAR FROM THIS MAN?
I DON’T RECALL ELON MUSK (aka “The Chainsaw Wielder”) being on any ballots. Yet he has become BBF of the guy who won by a mere 1.5 percent of the … Continue reading
“IT AIN’T WHA’CHA SAYS, IT’S HOW YOU SAYS IT”
“THAT CROONER,” THE FEMALE HUMPBACK CONFESSES, “melts my heart.” “The complexity of humpback whale songs is suspected to attract females for mating.” Image by D. Parer and E. Parer-Cook in … Continue reading
DIGITAL OVERLOAD—TWO BOOKS (HOW QUAINT BUT EFFECTIVE)
JENNIFER SZALAI’S “How Big Tech Mined Our Attention and Broke Our Politics” appeared in The New York Times Book Review (alas, perhaps behind a paywall). Yet it contains tidbits well … Continue reading
H.L. MENCKEN REVISITED PART 2
LET’S CONTINUE ENJOYING the acerbic wit of H.L. Mencken. One excellent source of this is his Chrestomathy, (from the Greek adjective chrēstos, “useful,” and the verb manthanein, “to learn), now in its second edition. … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 