Monday, May 14, 2018
Read
this very fast, read the newspaper very fast, read your favorite
magazines very fast. You need the practice in case you ever become a
client of Kirkland & Ellis in a bankruptcy proceeding. The firm
charges "as much as $1,745 an hour" for its representation. So, you
cannot afford to have them sit around while you are reading any legal
papers or documents to sign. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/1. . .
. . .
Someone
should know better is how I react to the news from Israel. Mahatma
Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., might only be historical footnotes
if they called for the destruction of their oppressors, as too many
Palestinians do, rather than elimination of the oppression.
The Netanyahu regime, on the other hand, seems satisfied to increase the Arab death toll, without seeking means to improve conditions in Gaza, partially of Israel's creation. (I'm uncertain that Palestinian leadership actually desires an improvement in conditions, because that might heighten expectations in the population, which might be difficult to satisfy.) Both populations seem to be captive of religious zealotry wrapped in their flag, animated by a history of bloodshed. Or, is it the seductions of power and ego that are the motive forces on each side, cynically cloaked in pious rhetoric?
The Netanyahu regime, on the other hand, seems satisfied to increase the Arab death toll, without seeking means to improve conditions in Gaza, partially of Israel's creation. (I'm uncertain that Palestinian leadership actually desires an improvement in conditions, because that might heighten expectations in the population, which might be difficult to satisfy.) Both populations seem to be captive of religious zealotry wrapped in their flag, animated by a history of bloodshed. Or, is it the seductions of power and ego that are the motive forces on each side, cynically cloaked in pious rhetoric?
Admittedly,
there is no easy path to peace and justice. Can both values even coexist? I'll tell you one thing that I know better, having those phony
Christian evangelicals speaking at the opening of the US Embassy in
Jerusalem was an insult to Jews around the world, only meant to buoy the
political fortunes of the current Israeli and American regimes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Another
seemingly intractable problem, but without the physical violence, is
the de facto segregation that has characterized Stuyvesant High School
for decades. A new article offers the views of some black graduates and
some interesting statistics.
https://www.wnyc.org/story/
I didn't know that the number of black students reached a high of 303 in 1975, approximately 10% of the student body. The city's economic crisis of the 1970s had further stimulated white flight, offering opportunity to black students, but only temporarily as liberalized immigration laws soon brought tens of thousands of Chinese to New York, eager for their children to live better than their parents ever could. Now, less than 1% of Stuyvesant kids are black and the majority are Chinese.
https://www.wnyc.org/story/
I didn't know that the number of black students reached a high of 303 in 1975, approximately 10% of the student body. The city's economic crisis of the 1970s had further stimulated white flight, offering opportunity to black students, but only temporarily as liberalized immigration laws soon brought tens of thousands of Chinese to New York, eager for their children to live better than their parents ever could. Now, less than 1% of Stuyvesant kids are black and the majority are Chinese.
. . .
Speaking of the Chinese, I completed my return to the Holy Land after my trip to Africa by having lunch today at
Wo Hop, 17 Mott Street. In spite of the calendar saying mid-May, the
special deal on soup was welcome on this rainy, chilly day. Bowls of
hot and sour, won ton, egg drop or any mixture of these were $1 small and
$2 large. Add crispy noodles at 80¢, dipping
into the very hot mustard and sweet duck sauce, and the ordinary human
being might be sated. Fortunately, my companion, though slim, was
ready, willing and able to soldier on through the large portions of
shrimps with lobster sauce, brown rice and Singapore chow fun, that
delightful melange of wide noodles, chicken, pork, egg, scallions, bean
sprouts, onions and love seasoned with curry, which has been a
successful antidote to aging for me, so far.
Thursday, May 17, 2018
I
have been known to have Chinese food three times a day, without
visiting China. More typically, if I am not at home eating my shredded
wheat, I like to start the day with an egg sandwich, egg and cheese, at
least, bacon, egg and cheese often. The variations on this theme
described in this article sound awfully good, although I have not had
any yet. My hands get sticky just looking at the pictures. https://www.eventbrite.com/
. . .
. . .
Alan Ayckbourn has written over 80 plays, most famously The Norman Conquests, Absurd Person Singular and How the Other Half Loves.
I've seen a dozen or more of his works here and in London, and have enjoyed each and every one. His latest play A Brief History of Women
(an obtuse title) is part of the annual Brits Off Broadway program at
59E59, a neat cluster of theaters nearer Bloomingdale's than Broadway.
As have many of his more recent works, it swirls elements of tragedy
through the comedic affairs of quirky residents of the
UK.
A completely unexpected
delight in the theater was the presence immediately behind us of retired
Justice Marjory D. Fields and Mary Elizebeth (sic) Batholemew, the two
women who endured my earliest struggles with judicial restraint, when we
worked together in Supreme Court at 71 Thomas Street.
Friday, May 18, 2018
I
will be out of town, but you might not want to miss the Scooper Bowl,
an ice cream festival in Bryant Park June 1-3.
There is a separate $25
entry charge for each day, but that allows you to spend an entire
afternoon eating ice cream while supporting the Jimmy Fund's pediatric and adult cancer care and research. What's not to like?
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