Saturday, December 27, 2025
The Times of Israel reported today: “Thousands of protesters are expected to take to the streets in the nation’s largest cities on Saturday night amid a series of damning reports about Qatar’s ties with aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.” This statement alone provides two major reasons to remain engaged with Israel. Vigorous public dissent is part of its political process, not the case in any of its neighbors. The many domestic opponents of the current regime need to be encouraged.
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I’ve been a sports fan all of my conscious life, focusing on New York teams. Additionally, some major events attracted me, such as the Kentucky Derby and Indianapolis 500, more for the spectacle than any rooting interest. New Year’s Day offered the Rose Bowl, two of college football’s best teams, preceded by a colorful parade. There was also the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl, usually featuring college teams a cut below.
Today, the last Saturday before the New Year, a variety of college football bowl games are being played across the country and televised nationally. The choices include the Go Bowling Military Bowl, the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl, the Wasabi Fenway Bowl, the Pop Tarts Bowl and the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl. In this regard, I do not believe that civilization has advanced.
Sunday, December 28, 2025
Metropolitan Diary appears every Sunday in the New York Times. It consists of “an anecdote, memory, quirky encounter or overheard snippet of conversation” submitted by readers. I made it twice so far, Aunt Judi once.
A statue? Maybe at Mar-a-Lago, but not on a college campus.The best entry of 2025 was selected by a poll. I love it.
Dear Diary:
I went to a new bagel store in Brooklyn Heights with my son.
When it was my turn to order, I asked for a cinnamon raisin bagel with whitefish salad and a slice of red onion.
The man behind the counter looked up at me.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I can’t do that.”
. . .
New College of Florida, in Sarasota, is not to be confused with the New School in Greenwich Village. New College, originally private and now public, started in 1964. Until recently, it combined elements of Hampshire College, Simon’s Rock, and Reed College, in other words loosey goosey. At the direction of Governor Ron Desantis, that has changed. It now has a curriculum rooted in the Great Books.
The most dramatic example of the newness of New College is the plan to erect a statue of Charlie Kirk on campus. He’s the guy who, before he was shot dead, said: "It's worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year, so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.” He called Martin Luther King, Jr., "awful" and "not a good person." This was consistent with his view of empathy: "I can't stand the word empathy, actually. I think empathy is a made up new age term that does a lot of damage."
Monday, December 29, 2025
Speaking of bagels, New Absolute Bagels, 2788 Broadway, opens today at the same location as old Absolute Bagels, often rated as the best bagel emporium in the Holy Land. It was closed a year ago by the Department of Health because of an exaggerated concern for having bagels cohabit with rats.
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Stony Brook Steve, Terrific Tom and I had lunch together. We headed to Tacombi, 377 Amsterdam Avenue, a good Mexican restaurant, surprisingly busy at the end of the normal lunch hour on a dull Monday. We soon learned why it appeared so busy; there was only one waiter running around trying to handle a couple of dozen tables. Once seated, people sat and sat. We walked.
Nice Matin, 201 West 79th, across the street, was also very busy, almost every table full. But, it seemed to have a full complement of waiters and it didn’t take long for us to be seated.
The menu was fairly typical for a French bistro (redundant?). I had Pan Bagnant, salade niçoise on a baguette, a little weak on the promised garlic aioli ($22). It came with a generous portion of excellent fried matchstick potatoes. And, with a little coaxing, my second glass of ginger ale had no ice.
Incidentally, our table might have been the only one without a woman.
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
My young bride, Joelle, Kathleen and Liddy graced my table today at lunch at Jing Fong, 202 Centre Street, along with second cousins David, Didier and Jerry. Jing Fong was also very busy, with lots of carts heaped with dim sum scooting around the tables.
Under the circumstances, the food comes fast and furious and I lose track of the fare. I know that at least 13 plates hit the table and someone else paid. What more can you ask?
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
Thanks to Alan Silverman, an original member of the All-Alan Chorus, for this information. “Irondequoit, NY, a suburb of Rochester, is the most competitive housing market in the U.S. Homes in the lakeside town typically sell in just 8.5 days and for well over their asking price. It’s followed by Sunnyvale, CA, Santa Clara, CA, Tonawanda Town, NY (a Buffalo suburb), and Mountain View, CA.”
While this NY-CA nexus is interesting, there is a sharp distinction. The median sale price in Irondequoit is $249,132 while in sunny Sunnyvale it is (hold on) $2,671,373!
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We attended the annual New Year’s Eve party at the lovely home of Judy and Roger. It’s a classic apartment directly overlooking Central Park. Another guest commented that it reminded them of the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia with walls entirely covered by art works. At midnight, it affords a good look of the fireworks display over Central Park.
Everyone present were our contemporaries, so there were no references to ephemeral fads or current one-hit wonders that we have chosen to ignore. Instead, we uncovered some old acquaintances or shared experiences, an excellent way to celebrate the passing of time.
Thursday, January 1, 2026
A survey reports that 38 percent of adults in the United States are currently estranged from a close family member.
Why go to strangers?
. . .
The holiday season is noted for parties, dinners and a variety of gatherings. Guests often bring gifts. Why do they bring red wine, not white?
Friday, January 2, 2026
If you would like to begin 2026 with a healthy dose of indignation, watch the documentary Coverup on Netflix.
. . .
Zohran Mamdani promised to govern expansively and audaciously in his inaugural address.
There are, indeed, many problems in the city that would benefit from an aggressive new approach. So why did he bother to revoke two Israel-related executive orders on his first day in office that were issued by Mr. Mamdani’s predecessor, Eric Adams?
Can't he start off with affordability, homelessness, education, transportation, sanitation or some other issue that affects the daily lives of us here and now? Has he got his Holy Lands mixed up?
. . .
We celebrated my brother's birthday belatedly today at lunch at Seasons 52, 21 Lafayette Avenue, Edison, New Jersey, very close to his longtime residence. We have been there before, enjoying good food and excellent service on their large premises. It has a very suburban vibe, big tables, a lot of parking spaces, but, having given it the benefit of the doubt years ago, I've become a fan even in the absence of small tables jammed together, bad lighting and indifferent service.
I started with a bowl of Farmhouse Chicken Soup, "pulled roasted in-house rotisserie chicken, rich spaetzle noodles, carrots, spinach and garnished with fresh dill," which hit the spot on this freezing day ($8.50). Then, I had Wood-Grilled Tenderloin Salad, with romaine and spinach, sweet corned, red peppers, pumpkin seeds and six slices of steak, cooked rare as requested (a rarity itself) ($25). The portion was large, the preparation and presentation first-rate.
Seasons 52 has 44 U.S. locations. I have not been to any other, but this spot does not feel like part of a chain. To its credit, nothing seems prepackaged or formulaic. Gee, next I'll be enthusing over a mall.
