32 Across - Life preservers?
Monday, May 28, 2018
Friday, June 1, 2018
I spent one year living in Alexandria, Virginia, the prototypical Northern Virginia suburb, working for Greg Jennings, a really good guy. Last might's final episode of "The Americans" brought that to mind. The Soviet spies Philip and Elizabeth Jennings lived in Northern Virginia, according to the Internet, but that appeared obvious. Their travel agency was in Dupont Circle, a hip DC neighborhood, that is to the degree that any DC neighborhood could be considered hip. After work or assassination or sex with people who had access to government secrets, the attractive couple returned to a clean-looking suburban subdivision.
While Kushner is a neighbor and I saw his masterwork originally and in revival, my credentials as a culture vulture are weakened by this compilation. I have seen only 5 of the 25 works, which appeared in a variety of venues, mostly well-removed from Broadway. I am sure that many of you far exceeded that number, but, in my defense, I would like to add in attendance at New York Rangers hockey games and New York Mets baseball games, even if they were often less artful than the theatrical productions.
. . .
Cereal boxes
Monday, May 28, 2018
Memorial
Day is intended to honor those who fought for this country throughout
its history. I remember, as a Boy Scout in Brooklyn, going to the
national cemetery in Cypress Hills to place flags on the graves of
soldiers. This came to mind as I read a group of stories about
executive compensation:
One quote sums up these articles: "A
Walmart employee earning the company’s median salary of $19,177 would
have to work for more than a thousand years to earn the $22.2 million
that Doug McMillon, the company’s chief executive, was awarded in 2017."
During
WWII, our War Department, before being gentrified as the Department of
Defense, commissioned a series of documentary films, collectively titled
Why We Fight. Individual titles included The Battle of Britain, The Battle of Russia and The Battle of China. Obviously, they missed The Battle for Eight Figure Executive Compensation. Is this a great country, or what?
. . .
We
live in a binary world, either/or. The haves/have nots,
lefties/righties, Mets fans/Yankee fans. I was slow to realize that
there is another significant divide separating people, wash it or wear
it. I refer, of course, to handling new apparel, especially T-shirts.
Upon returning from Africa recently, we dispensed souvenir T-shirts to
some beloved family members. Were I on the receiving end, the new
T-shirt would have been pulled on as soon as possible. Instead, the
shirts headed to the washing machine to be laundered before being worn.
I will not disparage this instinct to protect loved ones from the
perils of an unwashed T-shirt. But, my own impatience would override
any such personal concern. Wash it or wear it. Take a stand!
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Today, the New York Times reviews Don Angie, 103 Greenwich Avenue, a new Italian restaurant which shows "the chefs’ skill for cross-pollinating with other cuisines, especially Asian ones." It sounds attractive, in all, but the review warns that getting in isn't easy, because of the established reputation of the chef-owners. What caught my eye though was mention of "a house Chianti, and it comes in a straw-covered bottle." When was the last time that you saw a straw-covered Chianti bottle, once the common denominator of every post-adolescent living away from home for the first time? How sexy the accumulation of red candle wax around the bottle, reaching onto the tablecloth. Maybe there is now an app for that.
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Today, the New York Times reviews Don Angie, 103 Greenwich Avenue, a new Italian restaurant which shows "the chefs’ skill for cross-pollinating with other cuisines, especially Asian ones." It sounds attractive, in all, but the review warns that getting in isn't easy, because of the established reputation of the chef-owners. What caught my eye though was mention of "a house Chianti, and it comes in a straw-covered bottle." When was the last time that you saw a straw-covered Chianti bottle, once the common denominator of every post-adolescent living away from home for the first time? How sexy the accumulation of red candle wax around the bottle, reaching onto the tablecloth. Maybe there is now an app for that.
Thursday, May 31, 2018
Those religious skeptics among you should take comfort that the crosses being hung in the entrance of every state building in Bavaria, Germany are merely cultural symbols, without any religious significance. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/0
Horst Seehofer, a former Bavarian premier, taking a break from being treated for amnesia, just "described Bavaria alternately as 'the promised land' and 'paradise.'" The cross is important, he said, because "Germany’s value system was 'shaped by Christianity.'" Actually, if we review Germany's historic twisted value system, a twisted cross is a reasonable symbol.
Those religious skeptics among you should take comfort that the crosses being hung in the entrance of every state building in Bavaria, Germany are merely cultural symbols, without any religious significance. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/0
Horst Seehofer, a former Bavarian premier, taking a break from being treated for amnesia, just "described Bavaria alternately as 'the promised land' and 'paradise.'" The cross is important, he said, because "Germany’s value system was 'shaped by Christianity.'" Actually, if we review Germany's historic twisted value system, a twisted cross is a reasonable symbol.
I spent one year living in Alexandria, Virginia, the prototypical Northern Virginia suburb, working for Greg Jennings, a really good guy. Last might's final episode of "The Americans" brought that to mind. The Soviet spies Philip and Elizabeth Jennings lived in Northern Virginia, according to the Internet, but that appeared obvious. Their travel agency was in Dupont Circle, a hip DC neighborhood, that is to the degree that any DC neighborhood could be considered hip. After work or assassination or sex with people who had access to government secrets, the attractive couple returned to a clean-looking suburban subdivision.
Given that some Americans seem susceptible to the most hysterical
conspiracy theories (Pizzagate) and outlandish accusations
(birtherism), I wonder if Greg has had to sweep his front lawn clear of
patriots confusing him with his fictional kin.
. . .
. . .
Spurred by the 25th anniversary of Tony Kushner's "Angels in America," the New York Times published a special section today identifying, in its eyes, the best best 25 American plays of the intervening period. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/31/theater/best-25-plays.html
While Kushner is a neighbor and I saw his masterwork originally and in revival, my credentials as a culture vulture are weakened by this compilation. I have seen only 5 of the 25 works, which appeared in a variety of venues, mostly well-removed from Broadway. I am sure that many of you far exceeded that number, but, in my defense, I would like to add in attendance at New York Rangers hockey games and New York Mets baseball games, even if they were often less artful than the theatrical productions.
. . .
Cereal boxes
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