You might not realize it, but Connecticut is home to the world headquarters of a $5 billion international railroad company on whose trains you’ll never be able to ride. In a small office building across from the Darien railroad station sits the offices of Genesee and Wyoming Inc, a “short line” railroad conglomerate. The original railroad, founded in 1899, hauled salt on a … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: Connecticut’s Hometown Railroad
Columnists
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Why Homer Matters’ by Adam Nicolson
Our son, a teacher of English and a sailor, recommended this new study of the Homeric poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. I had read them in the Robert Fagles translations, the first in 1996, the second a year later. Nicolson’s learned and lyrical commentary brings these 4,000-year-old stories into a fresh perspective of how memory, epic and history are important to us. He … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Why Homer Matters’ by Adam Nicolson
Letter From Paris: Will Europe Fight Back in Face of World, Local Challenges?
The European Union (EU) is under attack from all sides. Will the EU strike back? The most serious threat against Europe is the dislocation of the world system of security and defense, which Europe relies on as a protection. During the past two years, an avalanche of steps taken by the US is unraveling the Atlantic-dominated frameworkwith a possible US pull-back from NATO; … [Read more...] about Letter From Paris: Will Europe Fight Back in Face of World, Local Challenges?
A la Carte: Hard to Believe, But You Can Make Mac & Cheese Glamorous! Lee Shows us How …
I don’t remember tasting mac and cheese until I was 14- or 18-years-old. i.e., high school or college cafeterias. Nobody made it in my house. I remember asking for it when I was fairly little, but at my house it was made with cottage cheese, sour cream, maybe butter, cinnamon and egg noodles. Basically, it was unconstructed noodle kugel. When I was married the first time, I … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Hard to Believe, But You Can Make Mac & Cheese Glamorous! Lee Shows us How …
Letter From Paris: Current Crisis Continues Long History of Franco-Italian Love-Hate Relationship
A diplomatic crisis is going on between France and Italy. Salvoes of insults proffered by deputy prime ministers Matteo Salvini (extreme right) and Luigi Di Maio (anti-establishment) are flying across the Alps. A red line was crossed when Di Maio went to France and met with the most radical gilets jaunes who openly demand the resignation of the French president and the … [Read more...] about Letter From Paris: Current Crisis Continues Long History of Franco-Italian Love-Hate Relationship
Letter From Paris: Life in the ‘City of Light’ is a War Zone … with Wheels!
Paris is waging a war on wheels. In order to survive crossing the street, pedestrians have to defy car drivers while on the sidewalks, the war is between the people who walk and those on wheels in a multitude of forms. Mayor Anne Hidalgo, a socialist, has made it her mission to reduce pollution in the French capital by shrinking the space open to vehicles. It is a laudable … [Read more...] about Letter From Paris: Life in the ‘City of Light’ is a War Zone … with Wheels!
Talking Transportation: Why 30-30-30 Doesn’t Add Up
How would you like a faster ride on Metro-North? Who wouldn’t?! How about a 30-minute ride from Hartford to New Haven, from New Haven to Stamford or from Stamford to Grand Central? That’s the vision announced by Governor Lamont in his inaugural address. It’s known as the 30-30-30 plan and sounds good compared to current running times (52 minutes, 55 minutes and 48 minutes … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: Why 30-30-30 Doesn’t Add Up
Reading Uncertainly: ‘The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World’ by Maya Jasanoff
Having read all of Patrick O’Brian, plus his biography (see LymeLine, Feb. 22, 2018), and having read most of that other great author of sea stories in the 20th Century, Joseph Conrad, it was only natural to launch into this latest study of him by Harvard’s Maya Jasanoff. Josef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski was as compulsive a reader as O’Brian, but this Pole added global travel … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly: ‘The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World’ by Maya Jasanoff
Letter From Paris: It’s Been a Rocky Ride, But Will Macron Still Make It?
France always seems to stand out by doing the best or the worst through social and political upheavals. The movement of the gilets jaunes has been like an earthquake shaking the system to its foundations. It has created the most serious political crisis the Fifth Republic has known since its creation by General de Gaulle in 1958. It is a pivotal moment for France and … [Read more...] about Letter From Paris: It’s Been a Rocky Ride, But Will Macron Still Make It?
Talking Transportation: Global Warming vs. Northeast Travel — An Apology to Future Generations
What follows is a public apology. Not to you, dear reader, but to future generations. “To my grand children: I’m sorry we left you with this mess. We should have done more, when we still had time.” What am I referring to? Not the national debt. Not even global terrorism. No, this apology is about coastal flooding that threatens the Northeast Corridor’s rail … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: Global Warming vs. Northeast Travel — An Apology to Future Generations
The Movie Man: The Joy of Going OUT to the Movies
As the calendar progressed through December, most people were looking forward to Christmas with joy and anticipation. For me, as I looked at the calendar last year, I found myself looking back to a December from my childhood. The year is 2003, and I am recalling the day I saw The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on the big screen; to this day it remains my favorite … [Read more...] about The Movie Man: The Joy of Going OUT to the Movies
Letter from Paris: Picasso’s Early Years on View in Blue … and Pink
In October 1900, Picasso - at age 19 - arrived at the Gare d'Orsay in Paris from Barcelona. So, it is appropriate that the Orsay Museum would host an exhibition about the young Spanish artist.The blockbuster, which opened in the autumn of 2018, was called "Picasso. Bleu, Rose" and refers to the 1900-1906 years. It is a long overdue theme, never before treated in … [Read more...] about Letter from Paris: Picasso’s Early Years on View in Blue … and Pink
Reading Uncertainly: ‘The Fifth Risk’ by Michael Lewis
Is our government too bloated, too intrusive, too expensive? Is it a “swamp” that needs to be drained if we are to survive? Michael Lewis, the author of such jewels as Liar’s Poker, Moneyball, The Big Short, Flash Boys (see my review of 12/15/2014) and The Undoing Project (see my review of 1/22/2018), has been stimulated by the election of Donald … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly: ‘The Fifth Risk’ by Michael Lewis
With Approach of Brexit Deadline, a New Conundrum Emerges: UK Grows More Divided, EU More United
It was a close call for Theresa May and probably the most difficult time of the 900-odd days of the Brexit negotiations. On Monday, Dec. 10, her proposed "deal" faced opposition from all sides. Several of her ministers had already resigned: Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab and David Davis, successive Secretaries of State for Brexit. Even her own Tory party was … [Read more...] about With Approach of Brexit Deadline, a New Conundrum Emerges: UK Grows More Divided, EU More United
Reading Uncertainly: ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ by Mohsin Hamid
How would you respond to a bearded gentleman greeting you in Lahore, Pakistan, with these words: “Excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance?” Followed by these, “Ah, I see I have alarmed you. Do not be frightened by my beard: I am a lover of America. I noticed that you were looking for something, more than looking, in fact you seemed to be on a mission, and since I … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly: ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ by Mohsin Hamid