Is That A Word?

Monday, October 29, 2018

When the American nation-state was being founded, 1776-1789, Great Britain was the only national system known to the founders as having progressed beyond a hereditary ruler, surrounded by or sometimes surmounted by his inner circle.  Great Britain had a parliament and parliamentary leadership that, at times, at least tried to balance or check the monarchy.  Since then, most political systems that have emerged throughout the world distinguish between the head of state and the head of government, even though the balance of power may be disproportionate.  

  

Generally, over time, power has moved from the head of state to the head of government, as in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Cambodia, Norway, and Thailand.  In some cases, the shift of power has been dramatic, from the Emperor to the Prime Minister in post-war Japan and from the Prime Minister to the President in France moving from the Fourth Republic to the Fifth Republic, counter to the overall trend.  

In creating the American system of government, described by the Constitution, the founders were evidently wary of monarchal power in one set of hands, but did not separate the roles of head of state and head of government.  These days, our president's head of government functions are substantially codified and understood -- sign bills into law, appoint ambassadors, commander-in-chief of the armed forces.  However, as head of state, the president usually relies on custom and common sense -- pardoning a turkey at Thanksgiving, welcoming a winning sports team to the White House, visiting disaster sites.

Our current president relishes the role of head of government, going further than many predecessors in intruding on the political process.  However, he shrinks from acting as head of state on difficult occasions.  His reading of prepared statements of concern, comfort or consolation usually sound forced and they do not share the vocabulary or emotional tenor of his ab lib comments.  When he leaves his script, he is most likely to provoke, accuse and/or denigrate others, to the delight of his immediate audience, while the general public may be awaiting reassurance and encouragement in the face of challenging or disturbing circumstances. 

Whatever their politics or yours, George W. Bush at Ground Zero (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7OCgMPX2mE) or Barack Obama at Charleston, South Carolina (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9IGyidtfGI) said the right thing at the right time.  As different as the setting, the man and the mood, neither president superimposed his own ego on the event.  He was our head of state and he seemed to recognize that he was speaking to and for all Americans at the time.

. . .

Size matters.  American homes have apparently been getting larger on a pretty consistent basis, the newer the house the more likely that it is bigger than those older nearby.  https://www.lendingtree.com/home/mortgage/cities-with-the-biggest-houses-in-america/

This web site compiles the cities with the biggest and the smallest average houses.  The South and Texas specifically have the biggest average houses, primarily because of their more recent population growth fostering new construction.  Conversely, the Midwest, with a stable and even declining population, has the oldest and smallest housing stock.  

The average new American house is now 2,412 square feet.  This is twice as much space as I have ever inhabited in my entire life, not that I would mind an extra few yards of books shelves, but I won’t move to Houston to get it.

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

I’m sorry, but I was unable to find a reproducible picture of the winning board in the World Scrabble Championship, just completed in London.  So, my photograph of a picture in the newspaper will have to suffice.  

The winner is quire remarkable, the fourth time he has triumphed, also winning the French Scrabble competition twice by memorizing the French Scrabble dictionary, since he does not speak French.  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/29/world/europe/scrabble-champion-nigel-richards.html

But, back to the board, the source of some agitation for the recreational Scrabble player, such as Grandpa Alan.  The official Scrabble rules say, "When playing an English version of the game, foreign words are not allowed to be placed on the board."  Notice the presence of aji, gae, zo, li, and nortenos, though.  Respectively, they mean a spicy sauce common to Andes cuisine, go in Scottish, a Tibetan breed of cattle, a Chinese unit of measure, and northerners in Spanish (requiring a ~ over the second n).  What they ain't is English.  It's a groyser shanda that these words determined the championship.

Wednesday, October 31, 2018 

Tim Ho Wan has the reputation of operating the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world.  Since beginning in Hong Kong, he has opened 45 dim sum restaurants in Asia, Australia and North America.  I have gone to his first American joint at 85 Fourth Avenue several times, always starting with a line in front of me, but always pleased with the end result.  Today, Tom Terrific and I went to the newest THW, open just two days at 610 Ninth Avenue. 

We were not the only ones with this idea.  People were waiting in the street for a text on their smartyphone announcing that a table was ready.  Tom had arrived early to provide for this contingency and, just as I approached him, he got the welcoming message.  Lunch was well worth waiting for, even if I didn't have to wait.

We ordered from a checklist on a small clipboard, referring to the color pictures of dishes on the placemats.  We shared congee with pork and preserved egg ($4), deep fried spring rolls with egg white and shrimp ($5.75, 3 pieces), deep fried dumplings with pork and dried shrimp ($4.75, 3 pieces), baked BBQ pork buns ($5.25, 3 pieces) and pan fried noodles ($5.75).  Everything was well prepared, generously portioned, fairly priced and very good tasting. 

Tom had not been to THW downtown and lunch today was a special treat for him, because he lives across the street from the new location.  I may never be able to lure him to Chinatown again.

. . .

I returned home to "attend" a webinar on synagogue security with 1,300 other people.  The most interesting information provided was also the most disheartening.  Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh had worked with local law enforcement to develop an active shooter plan, promoted it and conducted walkthroughs.  Additionally, the police were on the scene of the massacre within 2 minutes of being notified.  The result: 11 congregants dead, 4 police officers and other congregants wounded.  I conclude that an AR-15 in civilian hands can never be a legal weapon. 

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Manhattan's Lower East Side used to be thick with Jews.  After WWII, they were gone and replaced mostly by Puerto Ricans.  Then, the Chinese came and the Puerto Ricans left the Lower East Side.  Now, the grandchildren of earlier inhabitants, accompanied by their friends with MFAs from expensive educational institutions, are occupying much of the space. 

There are no Kosher delicatessens on the Lower East Side anymore and the stores where Bar Mitzvah boys bought their prayer shawls and their parents bought silver Sabbath candlesticks are long gone.  Yet, throughout most of the century, with the Bowery as the dividing line, Little Italy stayed intact, holding onto its population.  The boundaries of Little Italy, once approximately Bowery to Centre Street, Canal Street to Kenmare Street, however, have now been breached.  The major reason: "The number of immigrants from mainland China in the United States nearly doubled from 299,000 in 1980 to 536,000 in 1990, and again to 989,000 in 2000, reaching 2.1 million in 2016."  https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/chinese-immigrants-united-states/

Many of these Chinese headed to New York and were drawn to Lower Manhattan, first swelling the existing Chinatown, then changing the complexion of the Lower East Side and most recently pushing back the long-standing borders of Little Italy.  Italian restaurants, bakeries and souvenir shops are still in business, but in a more concentrated area around the intersection of Mulberry Street and Grand Street. 

Four years ago, I went to Beijing Pop Kabob Restaurant, 122 Mulberry Street.  It was newly opened, replacing an old line Italian restaurant, in a stretch of old line Italian restaurants.  Today, accompanied by Michael Ratner, I went to Tiny Shanghai, which now sits at 122 Mulberry Street.  Surprisingly, the rest of the block remains ethnically intact, although a new apartment building is under construction immediately south of Tiny Shanghai, probably the first new residence in the vicinity since Chiang Kai-shek left the mainland.

Regardless of the surroundings, Michael and I enjoyed soup dumplings ($5.75, 6 pieces), sliced beef wrapped in scallion pancake ($6.75), shrimp lo mein ($9.50) and beef lo mein ($9.50).  The beef blintz/burrito was especially delicious.  Scallion threads and cucumber slivers were wrapped up with the beef in a delicately fried scallion pancake.  Besides its unique position on Mulberry Street, Tiny Shanghai bears an ironic name.  Its 2017 population was 24.18 million, which leads me to believe that there is nothing tiny about Shanghai.