Monday, November 27, 2017
Friday, December 1, 2017
I
normally ignore all that hooey about Black Friday and the attendant
materialistic mania. So, in a masterly exercise of self-control, I only
bought a new mobile phone and a tablet.
. . .
. . .
Lord
Kennington, f/k/a David Brodie, in a trans-Atlantic gesture of
friendship, sent me this link to a performance by Lambert, Hendricks
& Ross, taking action while I was just sulking last week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
. . .
. . .
Experiments at UCLA and Princeton University support the headline: "Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting." https://www.nytimes.com/2017/1
I recall my own experience while attending law school at the turn of the century. Many fellow students were typing fiercely on laptop computers and even smaller devices throughout classes. (Others were playing Solitaire.) They operated at a speed that I've never approached when recording my own ideas, no less than when transcribing someone else's.
I recall my own experience while attending law school at the turn of the century. Many fellow students were typing fiercely on laptop computers and even smaller devices throughout classes. (Others were playing Solitaire.) They operated at a speed that I've never approached when recording my own ideas, no less than when transcribing someone else's.
Even
if I owned a laptop computer in addition to or instead of the bulky
desktop system that I had at the time, I never would have carried it
along to class. Not only did I type slowly, but I found it distracting,
occupying my attention. At the start of each term, I went to Staples
and bought an economy pack of 5 spiral notebooks, each with a brightly
colored cover, one for each subject for the new semester.
I did this for several years, even though I really did not need new notebooks, because I found that I only took three or four pages of notes throughout the previous semester in any subject. There were several reasons for the scarcity of notes, leaving lots of empty space: I am a lousy note taker; I had my hand up to speak more often than not; I was too engaged by the subject to do anything but listen if I wasn't talking. At the end of law school, I had a lot of notebooks in near mint condition.
. . .
I did this for several years, even though I really did not need new notebooks, because I found that I only took three or four pages of notes throughout the previous semester in any subject. There were several reasons for the scarcity of notes, leaving lots of empty space: I am a lousy note taker; I had my hand up to speak more often than not; I was too engaged by the subject to do anything but listen if I wasn't talking. At the end of law school, I had a lot of notebooks in near mint condition.
. . .
The Sunday real estate section has been a consistent source of interesting lists. This week, it answered the question "How much do you need to make to buy a home in a major American city?" https://www.nytimes.com/2017/1
Four of the five top spots go to California, the Holy Land coming in fifth. "Factoring in current home prices, 30-year fixed-mortgage rates and
insurance costs (and assuming a 20 percent down payment and
industry-standard mortgage-debt-to-earnings ratios), the report arrived
at the minimum annual income needed to buy a median-priced home in each
area."
The trend is up in almost all the locations, Median home prices in San Jose, at the top of the list, increased 16.5% to $1.165 million from 2016,
requiring an annual income of
$216,181. In Pittsburgh, at the bottom of the list, the
median home cost $146,000, an increase of 4.3%, affordable for someone
earning $35,205. Pennsylvania has a minimum wage of $7.25, the same as
the federal standard. Two adults working 40 hours per week at the
minimum wage for 50 weeks would gross $29,000.
Do
you see a problem here? Don't worry, help is on the way. Deregulation
of banks and financial markets, as well as tax reform, will reward
honest labor and prudent conduct, making America great again.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Two recent stories illustrate a challenge to assessing foreign regimes in an ethical manner. In the first, domestic opponents of Vladimir Putin lament the attention paid to his meddling in American politics. "[I]t reinforces a narrative put forth tirelessly by the state-controlled
Russian news media. On television, in newspapers and on websites, Mr.
Putin is portrayed as an ever-victorious master strategist who has led
Russia — an economic, military and demographic weakling compared with
the United States — from triumph to triumph on the world stage." https://www.nytimes.com/2017/1
The second story describes the rise in nationalism in Iran, stimulated by the hostility shown independently by Saudi Arabia and the United States. Without judging the underlying validity of foreign attitudes towards the Iranian regime, it's no surprise that anything less than fawning admiration is likely to build fervor for the home team. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/1
The second story describes the rise in nationalism in Iran, stimulated by the hostility shown independently by Saudi Arabia and the United States. Without judging the underlying validity of foreign attitudes towards the Iranian regime, it's no surprise that anything less than fawning admiration is likely to build fervor for the home team. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/1
The
defensiveness shown by Them when hearing criticism from Us is almost
universal. Do we desist, as some of Putin's beleaguered opponents ask?
How much, if at all, should realpolitik influence the expression of our (universal?) values? Is an honest opinion ultimately only for the benefit of Us, not Them? Discuss.
. . .
It
was only a few weeks ago that we were enjoying a one-week visit to
Berlin. Adding immeasurably to our experience was meeting Marianne
Motherby, a friend of a friend, whom we now cherish as a friend to us.
The only wrinkle in our relationship was her advocacy for the Eisbox,
20/21 Knesebeckstraße,
one of the finest ice cream parlors in Germany, just around the corner
from her apartment. The problem was that it closed most days at 6 PM, occasionally daring to stay open
until 7, even during daylight savings time.
To show her how crazy that was, I sent Marianne this message last night: "I just looked at the hours of 5 leading ice cream shops in Manhattan for Monday, today, end of November. One closes at 10 PM, one at 10:30 PM, three at 11 PM. That's the way to sell ice cream." Her sad response came quickly, "and 'my' ice cream shop around the corner has already closed for the season." She should consider emigrating.
To show her how crazy that was, I sent Marianne this message last night: "I just looked at the hours of 5 leading ice cream shops in Manhattan for Monday, today, end of November. One closes at 10 PM, one at 10:30 PM, three at 11 PM. That's the way to sell ice cream." Her sad response came quickly, "and 'my' ice cream shop around the corner has already closed for the season." She should consider emigrating.
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Often
during the week, Wo Hop, 17 Mott Street, the quintessential Chinatown
Chinese restaurant, offers a special on soup, won ton with slivers of
chicken or pork, won ton in egg drop, egg drop, or hot and sour, $1
small, $2 large. Their small, by the way, is larger than the tiny small
served in London for four times the price.
Today,
the Boyz Club unanimously availed itself of the soup special to start
lunch. Of course, we had fried, crispy noodles to dunk either in the
soup or the dishes of hot mustard or duck sauce plopped down with the
tea and water without asking. We then worked our way (too colorless for
the elevated mood generated by the food) through shrimp fried rice,
pork fried rice, honey crispy chicken, beef chow fun, salt and pepper
scallops, and beef with scallions. Generously tipping, as always, we
spent $18 each.
Not having had
enough of Tom Terrific at lunch, I joined him in the evening at the
New-York Historical Society for a talk by Lawrence O'Donnell on the 1968
election, the subject of his new book. O'Donnell had a lot of
interesting things to say, much of it dredging up images good and bad
from the past.
He reminded us that treasonous collusion with a foreign government to influence our presidential election is not a 21st century innovation. Nixon's emissaries were promising the South Vietnamese a better deal if they skipped peace talks before the November 1968 election. Contemporaneous handwritten notes confirm Nixon's knowledge of these persuasive discussions. Meanwhile, American military casualties in Vietnam averaged 325 deaths each week of 1968.
He reminded us that treasonous collusion with a foreign government to influence our presidential election is not a 21st century innovation. Nixon's emissaries were promising the South Vietnamese a better deal if they skipped peace talks before the November 1968 election. Contemporaneous handwritten notes confirm Nixon's knowledge of these persuasive discussions. Meanwhile, American military casualties in Vietnam averaged 325 deaths each week of 1968.
Friday, December 1, 2017
I thought the New York Times crossword puzzle tripped up this morning. 12 Down asked where "All in the Family" was set, 7 letters. Maspeth, for sure, but the unarguably correct letters across didn't allow for it. I put in what the puzzle wanted and turned to Google, which echoed the fake news. Still unsatisfied, I sent a message to some of the New Yorkiest New Yorkers that I know, all but one born here, raised outside Manhattan. Where was 704 Hauser Street, Archie Bunker's fictional address, Glendale, Astoria, Maspeth, Ridgewood, or Corona? Results so far, Maspeth 2 (including me), Glendale 2, Ridgewood 2 and Tom Terrific, coloring outside the lines, choosing Flushing.
None of us chose Astoria, the dubious answer according to the puzzle and Google. Actually, the house shown over the credits, 89-70 Cooper Avenue, is in Glendale. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/new-york-stories-back-archie-bunker-old-block-article-1.2701529 What is still true after 40 years is that the Jeffersons would be the notable exceptions in any of these neighborhoods.
. . .
Stony Brook Steve and I went back to Chinatown to try out Dim Sum VIP, 68 Mott Street, a new joint in space previously occupied by House of Vegetarian. It has been renovated inside and out, the walls of the long narrow room painted white and left unadorned. It holds about a dozen tables, two and four tops, less than half of them occupied while we were there.
The paper menu serves as your order when you X the little boxes of your choice. We had steamed BBQ pork buns (3 for $4.95), "Red Oil Wontons" (6 for 6.95), pot stickers (4 for $4.95), pan fried vegetable buns (4 for $4.25), and baked BBQ pork buns (4 for $4.95). Everything was very good, cooked to order; outstanding were the Red Oil Wontons in a spicy sesame sauce and the baked BBQ pork buns in a near crispy wrapper. Service was very enthusiastic, if a little confused.
. . .
Fight the power.
. . .
Fight the power.
Instead of "worked our way," how about "made a royal progression through..."
ReplyDeleteSpoken like a prince.
ReplyDelete