AUTOMOTIVE ART—IN PAINT AND PRINT
IN MY CONTINUING quest of bringing a modicum of order to 33 years of R&T memorabilia, I came upon several 24 x 36-in. poster boards that were part of the … Continue reading
THEATRICAL TIDBITS OF EMANUEL SCHIKANEDER
I KNEW the name Schikaneder only vaguely: librettist of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute and also a bit character in the Mozart biopic of sorts, Amadeus (Director’s Cut). I’m gleaning a … Continue reading
VOISIN FARMAN BIPLANE, 1907
MILESTONES OF THE AIR: Jane’s 100 Significant Aircraft includes the biplane of Frenchmen Gabriel and Charles Voisin as its second entry, directly following the Wright Flyer, and for good reason. … Continue reading
SWEDISH ADVENTURING WITH SAAB’S BJÖRN ENVALL
IT’S O-DARK-THIRTY, pitch-black along a bridle path in wintery 1991 Karlstad, Sweden. People are savoring sips of akvavit from flasks and waiting patiently behind tape loosely strung between the trees. … Continue reading
ALFA ROMEO 8C 2900B SPECIALE TIPO LE MANS
RAYMOND SOMMER’S straw-hatted participation in the 1938 Le Mans race was cited two days ago. Today I am delighted to follow up with an essay on the car he drove, … Continue reading
WE’RE THE HIGH-ENERGY APES
“WE MAY NOT be raring to go on a Monday morning, but humans are the Energizer Bunnies of the primate world.” This wonderful opening line by Ann Gibbons in AAAS … Continue reading
LA FAMILLE SOMMER—L’ESSENCE PROPRE
LIKE ENGLISH, French is amenable to multiple meanings, puns, if you will. To describe the Sommer men, father Roger and sons François, Raymond and Pierre, I sought the French equivalent … Continue reading
AN OVERTURE IN BASALT
GEOLOGY AND MUSIC seemed like a strange mix. Until, that is, I learned more about Felix Mendelssohn’s Opus 26, The Hebrides, which is also known as Die Fingalshöne, Fingal’s Cave. … Continue reading
BOHEMIAN LEGS, OPERA-WISE
WHILE LISTENING to the Metropolitan Opera’s Mary Jo Heath commentate on Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème, I got to thinking about operatic legs. Today an operatic mainstay, this tale of bohemian life … Continue reading
SEVERAL MORE MILHOUS TREASURES
BOB AND PAUL MILHOUS knew how to collect neat stuff. And, back in 2012, Bob, then 75, and his brother Paul, 73, also knew how to bring pleasures of their collection … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 