APOSTROPHES LIVE
PITY THE poor apostrophe. It is getting increasingly misused, abused and even relegated to secondary status among its punctuational brethren. Yet I also appreciate that our English language is a … Continue reading
TAZIO NUVOLARI
NO LESS an authority than Dr. Ferdinand Porsche called Tazio Nuvolari the “greatest driver of the past, the present, and the future.” The diminutive Italian from Mantua—known as Il Mantovano … Continue reading
NIKKO, JAPAN
THERE’S A saying, “Never say ‘kekko’ [Japanese for ‘I am satisfied’] until you’ve seen Nikko.” Having visited this city and its environs, I can appreciate the sentiment. The region, in … Continue reading
HOLMES AND MATHS
I’VE PURPOSELY chosen the word “maths” for this bit of Sherlockiana. Not only is this a common British term for the subject, but it also suggests its richness, everything from … Continue reading
LEARN TO FLY
A SHOW of hands, please, of all who have ever wanted to learn how to fly. I thought so. And, like me, maybe, what with one thing and another, you’ve … Continue reading
BOURTON-ON-THE-WATER
AN ENGLISH village can have a fairytale appearance, and one of my favorites is Bourton-on-the-Water. This Cotswolds town of about 3300 residents is 85 miles northwest of London, in Gloucestershire. … Continue reading
ENTHUSIAST CAR FLICKS
OSCAR NOMINATIONS have been announced for 2013, so here’s our own look at movies celebrating enthusiast cars, sports cars, auto racing and related passions. This list is in no sense … Continue reading
WHEH’S THE CAH PAHKED?
A LETTER in The New York Times Book Review, January 6, 2013, reminded me of my own experience with the New England accent. What with Downeast Maine, the Northeast Kingdom … Continue reading
MIND THE GAP
HURRAH FOR the London Underground, 150 years old today! It was on January 10, 1863, a Saturday, that thousands of Londoners queued up to ride the Metropolitan Railway underground from … Continue reading
LE BUGATTI ENGLOUTI
WITH HOMAGE to Claude Debussy’s La Cathédrale Engloutie (The Sunken Cathedral), I offer the story of Le Bugatti Englouti—a tale at least part of which happens to be true. The … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 