A CENTURY OF AIRLINE COMFORT
IT’S TIME to celebrate the 100th anniversary of airline comfort. Things have changed a great deal since 1913’s first commercial scheduled passenger-carrying heavier-than-air flight (all these qualifiers are useful). Here’s … Continue reading
U.S. DIALECTS
WE ARE a country rich in dialects, y’know? The dialects are partly based on geography, partly education, partly upbringing, partly age, but fun to learn about however they’re analyzed. A … Continue reading
LE MANS
WITH THE Le Mans Vingt-Quatre Heures de l’Endurance coming later this month, it’s appropriate to recall Le Mans tales, several entertaining, one horrific. Its Le Mans start is historical now, … Continue reading
A SMALL CYCLE COLLECTION
I AM current custodian of a small cycle collection. Well, not all cycles, as one of them is a Vespa; the others are a Dirt Bike and a Road Cruiser. … Continue reading
CALIFORNIA COOL
IN THE mid-part of the last century (how quaint this sounds in 2013!), Southern California was the birthplace of the cool. A wonderful exhibit curated by the Orange County Museum … Continue reading
WHAT’S “FRENCH KISS” IN YIDDISH?
THE WORD police of the world have been very active recently. Matters have ranged from “French kiss” to “Jewish dumpling,” which certainly suggests the breadth of it all. And, in … Continue reading
F1 ENGINES 2014—HONDA 2015
RACING IMPROVES the (Honda) breed. The company’s recent announcement to return to Formula 1 in 2015 as McLaren’s engine supplier makes great sense for Honda, its production cars, its engineering and … Continue reading
TUPOLEV ANT-25
WHEN STALIN said “Jump,” Soviets were wise to respond “How high?” Famed aircraft designer Andrei Nikolaevich Tupolev was no exception. In fact, I’ve already recounted two of his technical leaps, … Continue reading
NIKOLA TESLA
THE TALE of Nikola Tesla is one of advanced technology, high drama, eccentricity bordering on the barmy—and even modern crowdfunding. It’s almost incidental that Tesla has a car named after … Continue reading
OLD SCHOOL TIES
I’ve managed to get through most of my life without wearing ties. Not that I don’t appreciate this element of traditional menswear. In fact, rummaging through my books recently I … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 