Simanaitis Says

On cars, old, new and future; science & technology; vintage airplanes, computer flight simulation of them; Sherlockiana; our English language; travel; and other stuff

A FULL CENTURY OF AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

THE YEAR 1925 WAS AN INTERESTING ONE in the history of the automobile: Ford produced 1,911,706 Model Ts; up from 1922’s 1,301,067 and to dwindle to 1.5 million (its last … Continue reading

January 19, 2026 · Leave a comment

A QUITE PROPER MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE—1923    PART 2

YESTERDAY, WE EMBARKED ON A CRUISE around the Mediterranean Sea with Rolland Jenkins’ 1923 guidebook. Today, we continue in Part 2, first with the “sparkling city of Algiers.” Algiers. “The … Continue reading

January 18, 2026 · 4 Comments

A QUITE PROPER MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE—1923 PART 1

THEY CERTAINLY KNEW HOW TO TRAVEL BACK THEN. And to write about it as well: Rolland Jenkins noted cogently, “In looking over the material available in the form of what … Continue reading

January 17, 2026 · Leave a comment

OUR 친애하는 지도자: TO BE RIDICULED OR PITIED—OR BOTH?

ACCORDING TO GOOGLE TRANSLATE, THE KOREAN IN TODAY’S TITLE IS CHIN-AEHANEUN JIDOJA, “Dear Leader,” an honorific I’ve not yet heard applied to Donald J. Trump.  However, recent occurrences bring it … Continue reading

January 16, 2026 · 2 Comments

LYNN PECKTAL’S DESIGNING AND PAINTING FOR THE THEATRE  PART 2

YESTERDAY IN PART 1, WE SET THE STAGE offered by Lynn Pecktal’s seminal book on theater set design. The more I examined his book, the more I understood that my … Continue reading

January 15, 2026 · Leave a comment

LYNN PECKTAL’S DESIGNING AND PAINTING FOR THE THEATRE,   PART 1

IF YOU’VE EVER DREAMT—AS I DID—OF A CAREER in theater set design, then Lynn Pecktal’s books would have been your required must-reads: Designing and Painting for the Theatre, 1975; Costume … Continue reading

January 14, 2026 · Leave a comment

CELEBRATING SADYE MARKS/MARY LIVINGSTONE

I DELIGHT IN THE HUMOROUS WRITING for The Jack Benny Show, as broadcast these days on SiriusXM “Radio Classics.” Favorite quips come from Jack’s interactions with Mary Livingstone, in real … Continue reading

January 13, 2026 · 1 Comment

PAUL FRÈRE ON FERRARI PROTOTYPES 1961–1967   PART 2

YESTERDAY, WE BEGAN SHARING PAUL FRÈRE’S INSIGHTS gleaned from Cars in Profile Collection 1. Here in Part 2, Paul recounted Ferrari’s achievements as well as foibles.   Ferrari’s Initial Views … Continue reading

January 12, 2026 · 2 Comments

PAUL FRÈRE ON FERRARI PROTOTYPES 1961–1967   PART 1 

PAUL FRÈRE WAS A BELGIAN RACING DRIVER, ENGINEER, AND JOURNALIST. Indeed, as the European Editor for R&T he was also a pal (and mentor). Paul Frère, 1917–2008, French-born Belgian race … Continue reading

January 11, 2026 · 1 Comment

TRUMP ON HISTORY—160 YEARS AGO, 5 YEARS AGO, AND JANUARY 7, 2026.

TRUMP HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN TO PREVARICATE. To lie and go on is bad enough, but to attempt rewriting history is another matter entirely—and markedly contemptible. Image by Flavio Pessoa … Continue reading

January 10, 2026 · 2 Comments