Gwyneth Paltrow and the Missing Yearbook

Monday, July 23, 2018

I closed last week defending the single-test admission policy for Stuyvesant High School, which also applies to two other schools.  Because of questions raised in a New York Times article about the validity of the test, I said that I want the "right" test, but I was not ready to substitute a more holistic selection method.  America's Favorite Epidemiologist, far more knowledgeable about statistics and test design than I, maintains that there is no "right" test, results will skew whether by design or not.

While not in the field of high school or college admissions, I have had very successful experience with a single gateway test.  Back in 1968, I applied for a job as a computer programmer trainee at one of the industry giants upon the recommendation of a dear friend employed there.  The first step was an aptitude test designed by Science Research Associates (SRA), a publisher of educational materials.  At the time, IBM owned SRA, although it was not the company that I was interviewing with.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Research_Associates

I aced the test I later learned, and was invited to interview with the manager of the company's New York office, a big cheese.  Not only was he a big cheese, he was a straight arrow and my test score wasn't sufficient to overcome my non-corporate background (and the hint of non-corporate values), although I was smart enough to wear a blue suit, white shirt and tie.  Ironically, a large number of the personnel of the company's New York office were about to defect to a newly-formed competitor and I was invited to join them, partly as a rebuke to Mr. Cheese-Arrow and partly in recognition of my raw aptitude. 

I did very well at this new venture and, within one year, I was given responsibility for hiring new programmers in New York and later in Los Angeles.  The hardware and software that we worked with was unique, not in the mold of the dominant IBM architecture.  Identifying programmers likely to succeed proved elusive.  Success at other companies with other hardware and software did not readily translate to us.

Once in charge, I turned to the SRA test that had kick-started my career, in spite of the detour.  A coherent cover letter and a résumé not written on a brown paper bag were sufficient to receive my invitation to take the SRA test.  I set no degree or technical requirements.  I tested musicians, factory workers, teachers of many different subjects, office workers and the unemployed (I was unemployed for five months before getting the job).  90th percentile and I loved you. 

It would be uncharacteristically immodest of me to tell you how well my reconstituted programming staff did, hired on the basis of one test.  However, my view on Stuyvesant admissions relies upon more than chauvinism.
. . .

Over time, I have presented different sets of facts and figures on real estate, typically the most and least expensive locations and the relationship between earnings and the cost of occupancy.  A new survey, however, looks at space as the variable.  How much space does $200,000 buy you in major American markets?   https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/realestate/how-many-square-feet-does-200000-buy-you.html

Where the San Francisco Bay Area and California usually top these real estate lists, this analysis elevates (??) the Holy Land.  We New Yorkers can't even expect to get a bang for our buck when purchasing real estate.  It's more like a pathetic whimper when $200,000 buys you 126 square feet of Manhattan residential property.  That's $1,587 per square foot, making this page worth some good bucks. 

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

We are thinking of Nate and Meredith today.
. . .

I went downtown to eat lunch today, guided by Grub Street's list of lower East Side and East Village Chinese restaurants.  http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/07/the-best-cheap-eats-in-the-east-villages-chinatown-north.html

I chose Han Dynasty, 90 Third Avenue.  While most of these downtown joints are standalone, Han Dynasty is one of 3 local outlets, with another half dozen in the Philadelphia area.  I had been to the Upper West Side restaurant, 215 West 85th Street, and had been impressed by the grand setting, apparently once a ballroom, and the very spicy food.  By contrast, the downtown physical premises were a dump.  There were round tables, square tables and rectangular tables, all in a very dark brown finish.  Lighting was random, a string of bulbs here, a fixture there.  A bar ran along one wall, looking left over from a 1930s Warner Bros. film.

Service was attentive; an antique-style cast iron tea pot and a glass of water came promptly.  The food was good; I ordered cold sesame noodles ($7.95) and scallion beef ($11.95 as a lunch special, $18.95 as a regular main course).  The noodles were slightly sweet and slightly hot.  The portion was generous, unlike the beef, stir fried with oyster sauce, onions, green peppers, red peppers and scallions, the size scaled down with the price.  Together, I had plenty to eat, not consciously avoiding some of the really hot and spicy items on the menu, which are rated 1 to 10, skipping the use of those red peppers on the side.  

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

"I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here."  The schmatte business's loss is America's gain.

Thursday, July 26, 2018

I imagine that one might still like Gwyneth Paltrow the actress even after reading about Gwyneth Paltrow the brand.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm#inbox/164d6a97f346cf49?compose=164d8197fc2267d2

Her fiancé is named Brad Falchuk, a piece of information I probably could have learned from the cover of magazines stacked at the Rite-Aid checkout counter, instead of wading through the goop of the long feature story in The New York Times.  Falchuk.  Odd name.  Ken Falchuk?  Stuyvesant?  Pull out Indicator 1958, the Stuyvesant yearbook; there he is.  At first, I thought that Ken Falchuk was in my homeroom, but he didn't sign my yearbook.  Everybody in my homeroom signed my yearbook, even Gary Medows, who had just changed his name from Medzowitz, taking aim at a good medical school.  

Google: "Dr. Kenneth H. Falchuk, of Newton, MA, peacefully passed away on May 3, 2018, . . . attended Stuyvesant High School, Dartmouth college and Harvard Medical School."  The obituary said that he was devoted to, among others, "his son Brad and his fiancé Gwyneth."  Condolences to the family. 

Which brings me to my everlasting animosity towards Andrew L. and Adam G., president and vice president, respectively, of Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School's Student Bar Association, 2000-2001.  Besides sponsoring frequent drinking parties, the SBA was responsible for production of the yearbook, such a convenient way to confirm or augment memories.  But, not for the Cardozo Class of 2001.  Andrew and Adam must have lingered at one of their beer busts too long, because no yearbook was ever published for us.  Pictures were taken, bios were submitted, but nothing surfaced.  Nada!  Rien!!  Bupkis!!!  

After graduation, I worked for about 14 years in the New York State court system, meeting dozens of lawyers weekly in several courtrooms.  Occasionally, I was greeted with more than a polite nod (handshakes, air kisses and bro hugs were out of line), leaving me wondering if I am supposed to know this person from before.  Where's my damn yearbook?

Friday, July 27, 2018

The New York Times really serves up a treat for us political junkies with a report on the 2016 presidential election at the precinct level.  Previously, the tightest focus was at the county level.  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/07/25/upshot/precinct-map-highlights.html 

This uncovers some surprising information.  "More than one in five voters lived in a precinct where 80 percent of the two-party vote went to Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton."  Of particular note to our Jewish friends: "Neighborhoods like Borough Park, [Brooklyn] home to one of the largest Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish populations in the United States, were about as red as precincts in the rural white South."  Must be the Ivanka Effect.

Now, you can ask for the returns by local address, your own, your in-laws, your childhood home (you've come a long way, baby).   https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/07/26/upshot/voting-precinct-bubbles-of-your-life.html  

. . .

I continued my tour of lower East Side/East Village Chinese restaurants at Dun Huang, 300 East 12th Street.  Like Han Dynasty, it has branches uptown and at other locations.  Unlike Han Dynasty, the physical premises were quite attractive.  The double storefront was all glass, floor to ceiling, and mirrors covered some interior walls, making for a very bright interior.  The white wallpaper had pictures of animals and vegetables, the same figures cut out and pasted on the mirrored surfaces.  The dozen large tables easily seated six people; a picture of a gargantuan feast was printed on their wooden surface.  

However, almost no one was taking advantage of this colorful setting.  I was the only customer just before one o'clock; our total number never exceeded six.  A four-day closure for repairs may have kept people away and it left Dun Huang unable to serve some of the dishes on its menu for lack of ingredients.  The relatively short menu features a half dozen noodle dishes ($11-14), a half dozen dozen main courses of fish, beef, lamb and mutton ($15-34) and a variety of small dishes, hot and cold ($6-9).  At dinner, grilled animal and vegetable skewers are added ($2.50-8.50).

I ordered lamb rice pilaf ($15), described inaccurately as "covered in a fragrant sheen of fat, onion, raisin and carrot."  It really resembled a spicy lamb biryani, which was OK because I'm a fusion guy.  I should have ordered the noodles, though.

Ice Cream & Cake

Monday, July 16, 2018

I received unwarranted attention this weekend.  Yesterday was National Ice Cream Day and people asked me (well, one person) how was I celebrating.  Would I take advantage of the special offers ballyhooed by several businesses?  In fact, I had no ice cream all day, partially because of a good, but hurried late dinner at Bengal Tiger Indian Restaurant, 58 West 56th Street, lamb biryani ($17) distinguished by the large portion size and the tenderness of the lamb.  

 

However, even if time allowed, the special offers were not really that special.  Typically, Dairy Queen, Baskin-Robbins, Carvel and Cold Stone Creamery were offering buy-one-get-one-free.  Whole Foods was selling pints of Ben & Jerry's and Talenti Gelato at 2 for $6, a good deal, if not a great deal, one worth pursuing, but not one that I could pursue, because our freezer already held two pints of Ben & Jerry's, our household's legal limit under the terms of our pre-nuptial agreement.  

 

Another reason that I was unhesitant about not observing National Ice Cream Day was, according to the terms of the public law signed by President Ronald Reagan on July 9, 1984, while National Ice Cream Day was to be July 15th, henceforth, July was to be National Ice Cream Month.  So, I still have plenty of time to indulge, and you do, too.

. . .

 

Dean Alfange, Jr., retired from teaching American constitutional law at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, after more than 40 years.  Nate Persily is in his second decade of teaching it, now at Stanford University.  I don't presume to approach the subject with their range and depth, but I have something to say, contrasting two recent controversial Supreme Court cases.

 

Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission deals with the Christian baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.  The United States Supreme Court did not affirm his right to deny his services on the basis of his religious convictions.  That issue was allowed to slip by.  Instead, the court found that, in its deliberations, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission disparaged the baker’s sincerely held religious views, thereby violating his First Amendment right to free exercise of religion.  So, the commission's actual decision succumbed to the perceived attitude underlying the decision making process.

 

Next up, Trump v. Hawaii, addressing the Muslim travel ban.  The U.S. Solicitor General, arguing for the administration, recognized the danger of his master's voice when he contended, in oral argument, that "campaign statements are made by a private citizen . . . [and] those statements should be out of bounds."  He ignored the rhetoric that flowed from the unpopularly-elected candidate once he took office.  According to The New York Times, this was good enough for "the court’s conservatives [who] said that the president’s power to secure the country’s borders, delegated by Congress over decades of immigration lawmaking, was not undermined by Mr. Trump’s history of incendiary statements about the dangers he said Muslims pose to the United States.”  The court proclaimed that, to the contrary, "Given the clarity of the text [that allows the President to control immigration], we need not consider such extra-textual evidence."  

It's nice to know that the court's Strict Constructionists (not to be confused with Jewish Reconstructionists) are able to find wiggle room for Christians, at least.

Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Last week, I forwarded a list of newish Chinese restaurants in the East Village/lower East Side. 
http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/07/the-best-cheap-eats-in-the-east-villages-chinatown-north.html 

Most were unfamiliar to me, but the list came from Grub Street, a generally reliable source of restaurant recommendations.  Therefore, I set out today to start filling the information gap and went to The Bao, 13 St. Marks Place, once the Main Street of the East Coast's counterculture.  There are still head shops, now extended to vaping, and tattoo parlors.  There are also a bunch of interesting little eating joints, including Mamoun's Falafel, 30 St. Marks Place, reputedly serving the best falafel in town.  But, even if the street were otherwise empty, The Bao would be a worthwhile destination.

The near-square room is fairly stark.  One wall is exposed brick, the opposite covered in large rectangles of dark gray cloth, looking like concrete slabs at a distance.  Suspended parallel to the ceiling are dozens of six-foot lengths of downspouts, coated with terra cotta paint.  Don't ask me why.

About 50 people occupied almost every seat and I had to wait until a group of 13 got up from the big table at the center of the room.  I skipped the dozen lunch specials at $9.50, main courses usually priced at $12.95 to $15.95, and went right to the eponymous bao.  I ordered the Kung Fu Xiao Long Bao (6 for $8.95), an excellent rendition of the classic soup dumpling.  I can't recall better.  My second course was a scallion pancake with sliced beef ($9.95), also a big hit.  The scallion pancake was crispy and thin, closer to a crêpe than a pancake, wrapped around beef dressed with hoisin sauce.

My only regret was eating alone, not able to use the presence of another person as an excuse to sample many more things on the menu.

Thursday, July 19, 2018
I had lunch with Mossad Moshe today at Humus Place, 305 Amsterdam Avenue, chosen to avoid culture shock for him.  And, I must say that the humus was silky smooth. It was a side dish to an excellent shakshuka, eggs cooked in a pan of ratatouille ($15 with cheese, $14 without).  It was hard to choose what to do with the fresh pita bread, dip it in the humus or the shakshuka.

Politics at the table were even more challenging.  Was the right wing nationalism controlling the Israeli government worse than the one controlling the American government?  We shared dismay at the news of the new Israeli "basic law," declaring the right of national self-determination in Israel as “unique to the Jewish people” — not to all of its citizens.  https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-passes-controversial-nation-state-bill-1.6291048

This converts the de facto second-class citizenship of Israeli Arabs into de jure status.  Did the machismo of Bibi Netanyahu's right-wing constituents need reinforcement?  Was a diversion needed from the mounting criminal investigations of Bibi and his wife?  Was Bibi envious of all the attention the American president is getting for the wrong reasons?
. . .

I have defended the admission process to Stuyvesant High School, relying entirely on a single test, although it has produced racially skewed results.  I don't believe that there is a method of populating the school that would be recognized as fair by all (make that most) interested parties.  Even the definition of fair might cause a never-ending debate.

My stand is based on the presumption that the dispositive test is carefully crafted to avoid bias, providing the proverbial level playing field.  However, a story in The New York Times casts some doubt on the utility of the test, not necessarily any tilt in its design, conscious or unconscious.  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/18/nyregion/shsat-new-york-city-schools.html

The article states that the test has not undergone "predictive validity testing, which provides statistical evidence that a test is actually doing what it claims to do."  This results, according to one expert, in a test that is "just a self-contained evaluation to see who does well on the test,” unconnected to the goal of selecting the best and the brightest.

I still believe in a test, because I believe in selecting the best and the brightest.  It's the students who make the school, after all.  In my experience, competition is a good thing, a performance stimulant.  I'm afraid that's my Brooklyn roots showing and I have found no reason to abandon them.  The world isn't better than Brooklyn.  Relax later.

I still believe in a test.  Can we find the right one?

Educating A President

Monday, July 9, 2018

Hello?  Is my cousin Barbara out there?  Why do I ask?  Because, leaving a showing of "Three Identical Strangers", the fascinating documentary about triplets separated at birth, we saw Harry Belafonte in the  lobby of the movie theater.  Now 92-years old, he was gaunt and needed the support of a cane and the arm of his companion, but still elegant in his bearing.  

The last time that I saw him in person he was performing at Barbara's Sweet Sixteen party in April 1957, held at Ben Maksik's Town & Country Club, on Flatbush Avenue at Avenue V in Brooklyn, which billed itself as "The World’s Most Magnificent nite club" (sic). 

Belafonte was at the height of his popularity, with successful recordings, television appearances and movie roles, although circumscribed by the racial conventions of the day.  His album Calypso was the best seller for 31 straight weeks in 1956-57, with more sales than any previous recording.

My uncle Arthur was very generous and treated his daughter (the only girl among 7 cousins) to a lavish party.  Town & Country was supposedly the largest night club in the world and booked the top talent in the days before they were diverted to Las Vegas or massive sports arenas.  

Belafonte put on a great show, as I recall; most of his songs were already familiar to us and included that Brooklyn anthem Hava Nagila.    https://youtu.be/KTCmKmofaKA

Our group was entirely white, all Jewish except for Barbara's half-Jewish friend Michelle.  The rest of the audience was mixed, definitely some Italians.  The good old days.
. . .

My memory was not as sharp when I read in The New Yorker that "New York’s subway system now has fewer miles of track than it had in the nineteen-forties."  My quick mental inventory disputed that.  While I knew that the Fulton Street El wasn't torn down until after we moved to Queens in 1955 and the Third Avenue El still ran when I went to Stuyvesant High School nearby, I figured that the extension of the A train into East New York and acquisition of the Long Island Railroad's line to the Rockaway peninsula made up for the lost miles.  Also, I knew that the Sixth Avenue El had stopped running in the Thirties.

The Internet soon set me straight.  In 1940, when the IRT and the BMT were acquired by New York City, which already owned the IND (my regrets if these designations are meaningless to you), there was a Second Avenue El, a Ninth Avenue El, the Fifth Avenue [Brooklyn]-Bay Ridge Line, the Lexington Avenue [Brooklyn] line, the Culver Line, a different Myrtle Avenue Line, the World's Fair Subway Line (that existed from 1939 to 1941), along with the Third Avenue El and the Fulton Street El that I remembered.  The administrative integration of the transit system allowed the elimination of duplicative routes. 

If you are anywhere as nutty as I am about subjects like this, you certainly want to see a list of closed subway stations.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_closed_New_York_City_Subway_stations

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Professor Barry Seldes, CCNY '61, sends me this collection of Chinese restaurants established north of Chinatown, on the traditional lower East Side.  http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/07/the-best-cheap-eats-in-the-east-villages-chinatown-north.html 

I only know a few of them, most being quite new.  I'll try to plow through them and report for the sake of posterity.  My initial reaction is quite positive; from what I can tell, they generally seem to eschew the pretension that is inherent to many new downtown joints.  The dividing line is usually the willingness to operate in daylight, open for lunch as well as dinner. 

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Tom Terrific was able to join me for lunch while the sun was shining at Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles II, 648 Ninth Avenue, a tiny joint, seating 14 very close friends.  It never got crowded; most of its business was takeout or delivery.  The menu is built around 8 types of noodles, served in soup or dry.  Additionally, a few dumplings and vegetable dishes are offered.  We shared 8 pan fried chicken dumplings ($9.50) and a very large plate of beef and shrimp chow fun ($13.50).  Both were very good, but $3 or so higher than they cost at the Chinatown mother ship, 1 Doyers Street.   

Fortunately, we left a little room to warrant a stroll over to Gotham West Market, 600 11th Avenue, to ingest the handiwork of Ample Hills Creamery, ice cream at its finest.  A Chinese meal should always end with ice cream.  I had two scoops, Oatmeal Lace - dark brown sugar cinnamon ice cream with pieces of oatmeal lace cookies - and Chocolate Milk & Cookies - all-chocolate cookies and cream.

. . .

I got home in time to watch the second half of the Croatia-England World Cup match.  What intrigued me was the sight of enormous numbers of Croatian fans in the stands, distinctive in their red and white checkerboard shirts, appearing to be a vast undulating Italian restaurant.  I visited Croatia in October 2016 and got the impression that it suffered vast unemployment.  Tourism seemed to be the most dynamic part of the economy, but it was limited to the warmer months when the long Adriatic coastline attracted boaters, swimmers, water skiers, sunbathers and those serving them.  In fact, during our visit, many resorts and restaurants were closing or had closed for the season.

So, the average employed Croatian would be in the midst of his busy season right now and might be understandably reluctant to take off to Moscow to see a soccer game.  An unemployed Croatian, on the other hand, might be eager for the diversion, but unable to muster the financial resources to enjoy it.  Round trip airfare Zagreb to Moscow on Expedia, right now, is $1,724 non-stop and $692 one-stop.  For a bargain, you can bundle a non-stop fare and space in a hostel (a bunk bed in a 6-person dormitory room), starting at $1,884.  Additionally, the lowest price ticket in Luzhniki Stadium, on StubHub, for the finals on Sunday the 15th is $1,675.  In all, a hefty sum for Ivan Q. Javno (Croatia's John Q. Public).

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Mother's Day is behind us this year, but a little advance planning might be appropriate for next year's celebration.  Why not follow the example of Jared Kushner, that nice Jewish boy, and put millions in assets in a trust controlled by your mother to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest?  That allows you to wheel and deal freely on the international stage without you personally appearing to benefit from your actions.  For Mom, it's better than a scarf.

https://nyti.ms/2Je1TUx
 

Friday, July 13, 2018

On this propitious day, I decided that enough was enough with our current dismal political atmosphere.  I want light and bright and cheer, so I invited William Franklin Harrison to lunch.  As you know, I have been an early proponent of the candidacy of WFH for the American presidency in 2036, when he will be well past the constitutional age threshold.  It's with renewed optimism about the future of the American Republic that I contemplate WFH's ascendancy as the 48th President of the United States.  His very name says "Let's get going."
 

Not only will WFH be distinguished by his youth, but his (contemplated) career in computer graphics and digital cartoon creation will bring previously untapped skills to the White House.

As part of his preparation for the duties that will loom so large in his future, I took him to Chinatown for lunch.  We went to Wok Wok Southeast Asian Kitchen, 11 Mott Street.  As nominally a Malaysian restaurant, it combines the cuisines of China, India, Vietnam, and Thailand, bringing WFH closer to almost 3 billion people on Earth.  

We shared roti canai ($3.95), a lovely Indian crêpe served with a buttery curry sauce containing small pieces of chicken and potato; 4 deep-fried Vietnam spring rolls ($5.95); and Char Kway Teow ($8.95), flat rice noodles stir-fried with shrimp, sausage, squid, eggs, bean sprouts, and chives in a mix of soy sauce.  I considered lunch a foreign policy triumph.



 

Footwork

Monday, July 2, 2018

We were on the road this weekend and I stopped for lunch today at Commonwealth BBQ, 659 South Street, Wrentham, Massachusetts, about 28 miles south of downtown Boston.  It's the real deal.  You can smell the hickory smoke about a mile away.  Most of their business is takeaway, but I sat at one of the 5 outdoor picnic tables even though the temperature was over 90˚.  I'm not completely crazy; there is no indoor seating.

The menu centered on pork, beef, chicken and the proper accompaniments.  I ordered the Mason Dixon, a beef brisket sandwich dressed with cole slaw (yes) and baked beans (no) ($11.95).  I selected French fries at no extra cost from the list of "Cowboy Beans, Cole Slaw, Black Bean Rice, Collard Greens, Seasonal Fresh Veggies, Mac n’Cheese, Potato Salad, Fries, Sweet Potato Fries."

The beef was very good, but machine-sliced, making it much less interesting and harder to hold one of the three sauces that you can squirt on.  I asked if they would hand slice, but I think they would sooner vote for Hillary Clinton. 

. . .

I am having trouble with the World Cup and not because the United States is absent.  The tournament is conducted by FIFA, the international federation of football associations, an enterprise more profitable and more corrupt than the Mafia, without even bothering to fire a shot.  The games are being held in Russia, a crime ring with a flag.  Further, they are being shown on television by Fox.  Talk about an axis of evil.  

Regardless of these contextual factors, the games display great athleticism in the near total absence of sportsmanship.  Players fall to the ground (dive) when an opponent stirs a breeze passing by.  Once on the ground, grown men writhe, grimace and clutch body parts in a display of agony that, I imagine, rivals childbirth.    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/05/sports/world-cup/neymar-brazil-diving.html

 

Celebrations after scoring are also conducted with such wretched excess that I wish that only Presbyterians be allowed to play the game.  The worst displays of unsportsmanlike conduct by the multimillionaires on the field usually follow calls by referees that are even modestly disputatious.  Big shot international soccer stars rush at, surround, beseech and beleaguer the referees with a passion usually reserved for closing arguments in a capital punishment case.  Time is wasted and all concerned look stupid, the referees for appearing ineffectual and the players for the intense insincerity in pleading their case. 

. . .

After watching the dreadful Spain/Russia contest, I sent a message to the Oakland Heartthrob, who is traveling with wife and children in Europe.  Their first stop is Barcelona, so I asked him about the local reaction to Spain's embarrassing performance.  He responded that it was considered a defeat for Spain, not Catalonia which was anxious to secede even before the match. 
. . .

The weekend's real estate section told us where to find the most expensive homes in America by zip code.  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/28/realestate/zip-codes-with-the-priciest-homes.html

 

Six of the top 10 are in California, leading with Atherton 94207, in the heart of Silicon Valley, having a median asking home price of $11,997,550, almost double the next location.  This is far from me physically and financially, but I am at least able to close the physical gap between me and the two most expensive Holy Land zip codes.  Rather than Fifth Avenue or Park Avenue, 10013 and 10007 are downtown locations that became desirable only in recent years.  Much of the housing in these areas is contained in repurposed buildings, once factories, warehouses, lofts, offices.  I am tickled by the fact that the courthouses that I worked in, 60 Centre Street and 71 Thomas Street, are respectively in those zip codes.  Will they eventually be converted to condominiums as happened to the former police headquarters at 240 Centre Street, with its marvelously Beaux Arts architecture?  Or might they be leveled to allow new glass fingers to reach high in the sky?  In any case, the properties would attract dazzling prices and seduce politicians anxious to fill a budget gap.

But, let's return to Atherton, California.  While it may have the most expensive homes for sale, it is only second to Miami, Florida, as the home to the richest Americans. 
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-10/to-visit-america-s-richest-zip-code-first-you-ll-need-a-boat  May we conclude that Latin American expatriates are better off than Harvard dropouts?

If you don't have millions lying around, but still want a comfortable nest in an urban area, look at "Where to Find the Best Bargains in America's Biggest Cities."  https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/best-neighborhoods-find-cheap-rents-big-cities/

The list took commuting time and crime rates into consideration in identifying least expensive median one-bedroom rentals.  Choices ranged from Fairbanks/Northwest Crossing in Houston at $733 monthly to Parkmerced in southwestern San Francisco at $2,588.  For a bargain in the Holy Land, you have to go to Arrochar, Staten Island at $1,475, but remember the ferry is now free.   

Tuesday, July 3, 2018
The "National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement" provides some very interesting information. 
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/16466d8f7e00dabc?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1

US college and university students voted at a higher rate in 2016 than 2012; women students vote at a higher rate than men; Hispanic and Asian student turnout increased from 2012 to 2016, while black turnout decreased; social science majors voted at significantly higher rates than STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) majors.  Overall, student turnout in 2016 was 48.3%, compared to 59.7% of all eligible Americans.   http://www.electproject.org/2016g
. . .

Last week, I enjoyed gelato and ice cream back-to-back and, in close proximity, the tastes were distinctive, which is not always the case.  Here is a concise explanation; "gelato . . . uses more milk and less cream, and is churned at a much slower speed, resulting in a lower fat content and a creamier texture."
https://www.tastingtable.com/cook/national/difference-between-ice-cream-gelato-sherbet-sorbet-frozen-desserts?utm_medium=email&utm_source=TT&utm_campaign=Daily&utm_content=Editorial

While not defining, many fine ice creams (cf. Ample Hills Creamery) are loading up with stuff -- chocolate chips, Oreos, pretzels, cookie dough, peanut butter cups -- while gelato tends to be served straight up.

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

I've noticed that the number of telephone calls soliciting political contributions has definitely increased.  That means that I have heard from the DNC, DGA, DSCC, DCCC as well as a few individual candidates. I feel privileged to singlehandedly support the various tentacles of the Democratic Party.  

While caller ID usually tipped me to these political calls, if not by caller name, then by the metropolitan Washington area place of origin.  However, my mobile phone has attracted another breed of caller.  Every day lately, at all hours of day and night, I have gotten calls from Tonga, a Polynesian kingdom.  I customarily refused to answer and subsequently blocked the calls, not knowing what I was missing.  Tonight, though, I succumbed to curiosity.  After all, maybe one of my errant relatives had his passport and wallet taken in downtown Tonga and he is trying to reach me for an immediate infusion of funds.  Unfortunately for Robinson Crusoe Gotthelf, the telephone company aborted my call to Tonga 676-848-9283, citing "technical difficulties."  Sorry, guy.  Give me a call when you get home.