Shop, Jerry, Shop

Monday, December 24, 2018

Note to Grandpa Alan: The world is a very crowded place, which guarantees the appearance of almost every conceivable brand of nutsiness and craziness.  However, a few items that I noticed recently show a disturbing similarity.  

First, we have the first black woman to serve as American University’s student body president successfully suing several on-line harassers.  One of the bullies has agreed to apologize, renounce white supremacy, undergo counseling and help civil rights groups fight hate and bigotry.  He is currently 22-years old.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/us/american-university-racist-hate-training.html

Then, we have a couple who named their child after Adolf Hitler, who have been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison after they were convicted of being members of a banned neo-Nazi group that had sought to start a race war in Britain.  Pop is 22, Mom is 38.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/world/europe/uk-neo-nazi-national-action.html

Finally, we have the matter of a male college baseball player tweeting about Little League World Series star Mo'ne Davis, an African-American, the first girl to earn a win and to pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history.  Her singular accomplishment earned her the title of "slut" from this college junior.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/pattisonave/Bloomsburg-baseball-player-booted-for-offensive-Mone-Davis-tweet.html

Aren't our bigots supposed to be grizzled old men needing dental work?  Shouldn't our young people, benefiting from modern education and creature comforts, be tolerant, accepting and understanding of differences?  Or, should we scrap the idea that the the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice, a phrase associated with Martin Luther King, Jr., and instead simply substitute hard work, because we are the only ones responsible for our fate?

. . .

The Sunday real estate section has an interesting compilation of interurban movement under the headline "Which Cities Are People Leaving --- and Where Are They Going?"  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/realestate/which-cities-are-people-leaving-and-where-are-they-going.html

In sum, people are leaving expensive cities for less expensive cities.  Outflow is greatest from San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, while inflow is greatest to Sacramento, Atlanta and Phoenix.  If only we could choose which of our neighbors should be on the next bus leaving town.
. . .

Not everyone is moving, as I noted last week.  Rather, we have developed a breed of stay-at-homes who curse their fate, curse their benefactor and support policies that (and policy makers who) make their lives (and ours) more difficult.  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/business/economy/harlan-county-republican-welfare.html

(Discuss.  Write on one side of the paper in pen only.  20 minutes.)
. . .

Last week, I also mentioned race-blind theatrical casting in a somewhat dismissive fashion, which does not befit the complexity or seriousness of the issue.  Actors chose what seems to be a rotten career, if measured in terms of conventional success -- money, status, security.  One source reports that the 63,800 employed actors have a median hourly wage of $18.70, the lowest 10% earned less than $9.39, and the highest 10% earned more than $100.00.  https://collegegrad.com/careers/actors#outlook

I am unable to find a count of self-identified actors or what percentage of the whole are working as actors.  Anecdotal evidence leads one to believe that actors/waiters/Uber drivers have concatenated into one job category.  There is authoritative data on black vs. white unemployment, however, roughly twice the former to the latter, even as both approach record lows.  https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpsee_e16.htm

So, who should be cast as the friendly folks next door on the new situation comedy that I am unlikely to watch?  Were we a race-blind society, it wouldn't matter.  But, race-blind is not the American way and, in the past, was often considered quite un-American.  When Chief Justice John Roberts stated that “[t]he way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discrimination on the basis of race,” he seems to have forgotten most of what he learned as a history major at Harvard.  Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1, 551 US 701 (2007). 

It is the burden of history that bends our view of race in America as a prism bends white light into its component colors.  Should what we see on the stage or screen mirror our "normal" experiences or expectations, probably monochromatic couples and families?  I find a parallel with our historic immigration policy.  The Immigration Act of 1924 enshrined the National Origins Formula, introduced during WWI, which established immigration quotas on the basis of preexisting proportions of the population, the goal to preserve the Protestant, Northwestern European ethnic character of the country.  For the majority of Americans subsequently (not living in the immediate vicinity of 13 Essex Street), their new neighbors looked, acted, spoke and worshiped very much as they did.  

How far removed may our culture be from our daily lives?  "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" was released in 1967, almost simultaneous with the United States Supreme Court decision in Loving v. Virginia, 388 US 1 (1967), striking down all state laws banning interracial marriage.  So, I have no conclusion.  The logical part of me reaches for a formula -- Jackie Robinson was black and Harry Truman was white and they should be portrayed as such.  But, what of Oscar and Felix, Cagney and Lacey, Batman and Robin, Amos and Andy (!!), Archie and Veronica?

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

We spent the last two days visiting the second and third generations in Massachusetts, returning today with #2 grandson in tow.  What I learned on the ride home is that the owners of roadside diners of Connecticut are either more devout or kinder to their employees than I imagined.  Not a one was open as we sought a lunch break.  Even the large Blue Colony Diner, Newtown, exit 10 on I-84, usually open 24/7, was closed.  I wasn't the only one surprised by this; while we sat in the parking lot considering non-existent alternatives, car after car pulled in seeking sustenance.  Had I known this, I might have set up a charcoal grill with hot dogs and hamburgers to offer a quick fix.

Instead, we pushed on to the Holy Land, very hungry when we arrived at 3 PM.  Choosing between Chinatown and Curry Hill as likely havens for heathens, we went to DB Dhaba, 108 Lexington Avenue, a reliable favorite for Indian food, and found that South Asians are as likely as Jews to go out to eat on Christmas Day.  A good time was had by all, especially our 8-year old guest, who ate his Chole Punjabi (curried chickpeas), Basmati rice and 4 pieces of naan as if he were auditioning for a remake of "Gunga Din."  For another perspective on this general topic, read "Nothing Is More American Than Chinese Food on Christmas."    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/25/opinion/christmas-chinese-food.html

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

In high grandparent-entertaining-mode, we took our Harry Potter-obsessed guest to the very impressive Harry Potter exhibit at the New-York Historical Society.  Even with his expert guidance and insights, it was all Hogwarts to me. 
. . .

I've tried to avoid year-end best-of lists, which are designed to embarrass us ordinary folks without a lot of time on our hands to sample the culinary/cultural/cocktail landscape, but I'll share the Best Crime Novels of 2018.  
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/books/review/best-crime-fiction.html

Friday, December 28, 2018

The New York Times offers a not-entirely sorrowful look at those we have lost this year.   

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/26/obituaries/deaths-in-2018.html 

In addition, Amos Oz, one of Israel greatest writers, died this morning.  He wrote: "I like being Israeli. I like being a citizen of a country where there are eight and a half million prime ministers, eight and a half million prophets, eight and a half million messiahs. Each of us has our own personal formula for redemption, or at least for a solution. Everyone shouts, and few listen. It’s never boring here."

We should also mourn the intangibles, the values, standards, dignity and honor that have been washed away in the acid bath of the present administration.  Admittedly, they were hard to achieve and nearly impossible to maintain day-to-day, but most of us, regardless of other differences, recognized their importance to our society. 

This afternoon, I received a little boost of encouragement.  Shopping at Fairway Market, 2127 Broadway, I rounded a corner and ran into Jerrold Nadler, Democratic Congressman from this district, the next chair of the House Judiciary Committee.  Jerry, who went to Stuyvesant High School before settling for Columbia University instead of CCNY, knows how to spell subpoena, but this afternoon he was shopping at Fairway, as I have seen him do many times in the past.  Standing patiently in line, just like you and me, insulting no one.  He was accompanied by a tall, silent, broad-shouldered man who did not seem to be scanning the shelves for a bargain.

Not All Black and White

Monday, December 17, 2018

Judy Chicago, an artist who focuses on feminist themes, has been living in Belen, New Mexico, a town of 7,000 people, for over 25 years.  Some prominent citizens have suggested a museum devoted to her works, looking to emulate the success of the Georgia O'Keefe Museum in Santa Fe.  Other folks, noting the aggressive feminism of Chicago's work, including the representation of "nasty bits", are in opposition.  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/15/us/judy-chicago-belen-new-mexico-museum.html

One person said, "As Christians, we are for order, justice, security and protection."  He is not a theologian, so I won't extrapolate his comment too far.  However, I have to note the isolation of justice, absent love or truth.  He might as well be hiring a group of mall cops. 

. . .

To my mind, ramen is to the kitchen as a bookcase made of bricks and boards is to the living room, the most modest attempt at self-sufficiency.  Nevertheless, I entered Momosan Ramen & Sake, 342 Lexington Avenue, with only minor hesitation.  It's an attractive space, white-painted brick covering most of the interior.  A bar on the left is backed by a mirror, roughly 4' x 8', reflecting dozens of colorful sake bottles. 

There are 16 stools at the bar, 6 booths, 2 high communal tables with 12 stools each and a counter in the front window with 6 more stools.  Almost every seat was occupied at lunchtime by no one more than half my age, which probably explains why the loud music was much more foreground than background.  Note also that manual dexterity is required, because the only utensils provided are chopsticks and that cute little Asian spoon.  

I ordered the "new tokyo chicken/zuke lunch set" for $17, capital letters apparently extra.  It consisted of a bowl of  chicken broth with soy marinated chicken, menma (lactate-fermented bamboo shoots), kikurage (edible jelly fungus), aji (pepper sauce), ramen and half a medium-boiled egg (all together quite delicious) and zuke don, marinated tuna (nori) over rice, very good as well.

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

"Geographic mobility hit a historical low in 2017, when only 11 percent of Americans picked up shop and moved -- half the rate of 1951."  Many others sat around waiting for Appalachian coal mines to reopen and automobile plants to return to the Midwest, as promised by Tangerine Man, even while 96% of New York City taxicab drivers are foreign born, over 60,000 Filipinos are nurses and healthcare practitioners locally, the waiter in the Italian restaurant is Albanian, the cleaning woman is Polish and the nanny is Haitian.  Don't give me that Hillbilly Elegy stuff when I'm hearing an Ode to Inertia.   

. . .

Speaking of mobility, my grandnephews Tomas and Benjamin, who grew up in Buenos Aires, now both attend the University of California, Santa Cruz.  They are sojourning in the Holy Land during their holiday break and, as part of their pilgrimage, they went to Madison Square Garden tonight for services conducted by the New York Rangers on ice, accompanied by their grandfather. 

I caught up with them before the game at Ben's Kosher Delicatessen Restaurant, 209 West 38th Street.  I was delighted to have this time with them.  I had lunch with Tomas in California a couple of years ago, but last saw Benjamin 9 years ago.  I've asked them to set aside time for Chinatown with me later in the week to continue their religious studies.   

Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Open Table is the leading restaurant reservations web site in the United States and it uses its transaction data to periodically publish restaurant rankings.  Now, it offers the 100 "best" restaurants in the USA.  "The list of honorees is based on an analysis of 12,000,000+ reviews of more than 28,000 restaurants across the country."    
https://www.opentable.com/lists/best-restaurants-in-america-for-2018?ref=9472&cmpid=em_Email2018

Given the volume of data, I accept the results, even if they are not in harmony with my own preferences.  The list may be addressed geographically, but not by cuisine or price range, a limitation in the denser urban areas.  I must also note that, of the 22 restaurants cited on Manhattan Island, none are in Chinatown.  
. . .

Arthur Dobrin, longtime friend and fellow Stuyvesant High School graduate, sends along "The Case Against Peter Stuyvesant".  https://newyorkhistoryblog.org/2018/12/the-case-against-peter-stuyvesant/ 

While there is a lot of agitation about Stuyvesant's elitist admissions policy, some folks are bothered by the name on the door.  Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch governor of New Amsterdam, was a good bigot -- good in the sense of the comprehensive scope of his bigotry.  His record has been evident for hundreds of years; I think that most of us Jewish kids were well aware that he was an anti-Semite and took a perverse pleasure in going to "his" school.  We don't know what Stuyvesant thought about Asians, currently the school's dominant ethnic group, but we can guess at his displeasure.  While there shouldn't be a statute of limitations on cleansing our history, let's leave old Pete alone in his ironic position. 

Thursday, December 20, 2018
An interesting controversy has arisen in the area of race-blind theatrical casting.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/19/theater/all-my-sons-director-quits.html

 

Arthur Miller's daughter has refused permission to cast a black couple in a revival of "All My Sons," her father's play set in Ohio in 1947.  They would have played against a white couple and Ms. Miller believes that benign inter-racialism was highly unusual for the time and place.  Last year, the estate of Edward Albee rejected a contemplated production of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" that would have had a black man as one of the two husbands, as two couples spend an evening insulting each other and exposing their secrets.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/21/theater/a-black-actor-in-virginia-woolf-not-happening-albee-estate-says.html?module=inline

 

A representative of Albee's estate said "that a mixed-race marriage between a Caucasian and an African-American would not have gone unacknowledged in conversations in that time and place and under the circumstances in which the play is expressly set by textual references in the 1960s.”  The article notes a few instances where white actors are excluded from "black" roles.  

Color-blind casting is becoming more common, but not common enough that a Broadway stage looks like the contents of a New York City subway car.  While "Hamilton" effectively turns history on its head and Pearl Bailey succeeded with an all-black "Hello Dolly," it's not easy to leave conventions and experience behind.  Can we have an interracial couple at the center of "Fences" or as the Roosevelts in "Sunrise at Campobello"?  

I admit that some casting decisions have made me squirm in my seat (for a whole variety of reasons including race), but remember that I'm the guy who confronted Arthur Miller backstage in 1992, at a revival of "The Price," because the NYPD officer on stage was wearing the wrong color shirt.  Can I limit myself to OCD and get rid of the racism?

Friday, December 21, 2018

I tried to make our time together interesting and enjoyable when Tomas and Benjamin met me this afternoon in spite of the rain.  We started in front of 13 Essex Street, where Mother Ruth Gotthelf, their great-grandmother, was born in 1909, right there, not at some hospital or clinic.  I gave them a copy of the ship's manifest showing that her mother Esther Malka arrived in the United States on February 24, 1909, reuniting with her husband, 9 months and 2 days before Baby Ruth (!) was born.  

We went around the corner to 121 Henry Street, where Esther Malka opened a grocery store to make sure that her growing family (eventually six children) was fed one way or another.  I showed them various examples of the vital Jewish community once centered around East Broadway, including The Forward building and the Garden Cafeteria, now almost entirely replaced by Fujianese Chinese.  

 

Since worship was an essential part of their visit to the Holy Land, we wound up at the High Temple, Wo Hop, 17 Mott Street.  We shared beef chow fun, shrimps in lobster sauce over shrimp fried rice and sweet and pungent boneless duck.  If they needed to be converted, this sealed the deal.

 

 

Anti-Anti-Semitism-Zionism

Monday, December 10, 2018

I think that we have a vocabulary problem.  An opinion piece in The New York Times bore the headline “Anti-Zionism Isn’t the Same as Anti-Semitism."  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/07/opinion/rashida-tlaib-israel-antisemitism.html

Meanwhile, an advertisement in the same newspaper proclaimed that "Anti-Zionism Is Racism."   

https://www.factsandlogic.org/ad_167-anti-zionism-is-racism/

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379, adopted on November 10, 1975, declared that "Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination," later revoked.  All of these statements point to Israel, the realization of the Zionist vision.  I am a Zionist, a believer in the need and validity of a homeland for the Jewish people.  

Except as understood by Avenue Q, I do not consider myself a racist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbud8rLejLM.  However, I am strongly opposed to many of Israel’s current domestic and foreign policies.  Might I express that without being regarded as an anti-Semite or a racist?  Of course, I have the advantage of being a member of the tribe, which offers me some insulation.  What if I were not so lucky as to be an MOT, but still objected to Israeli policies?  While I would prefer to see a change in some Israeli policies, I may have to be satisfied to simply settle for a change in vocabulary.

It may not be entirely fair, but I expect Israel to operate at a slightly higher level than the typical nation-state.  I want Israel to reflect Jewish values, not merely to succumb to realpolitik.  Aha!  What are Jewish values – a question that itself breeds fraternal conflict.  While I wrestle with the last two items on this list, here is a reasonable collection from Rabbi Mark Diamond (formerly Executive Director of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California):

Love of others

Justice/responsibility
Kindness/compassion
Love of learning

Welcoming guests/strangers

Peace/harmony in home/family

Perfecting the world
Sanctity of life

Sanctity of language

Modesty/humility

This article conveys an obvious conflict between Jewish values and realpolitik: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/08/opinion/sunday/yad-vashem-holocaust-memorial-israel.html

Political criminals and Fascists are being welcomed in Israel, because they seem to share either some of the same enemies or a harsh nationalism.  It seems that the present Israeli regime strongly supports the efforts of the ultra-Orthodox to keep men and women apart while allowing Jews and fascists to mingle freely.

. . .

In case you were unaware, the weekend real estate section tells us that “the average size of a new rental apartment in the United States shrank more than 5 percent over the past decade, from 993 to 941 square feet.  And the smallest apartments got even smaller: The average new studio shrank from 573 to 514 square feet, a decrease of more than 10 percent.  At the same time, the average rent went up, from $1,523 to $1,944 a month — an increase of nearly 28 percent.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/06/realestate/the-incredible-shrinking-apartment.html

Unfortunately, the average size of an American has been moving in the opposite direction.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, “the average American man now stands at 5-feet-9 1/4 inches tall and weighs 196 pounds — up 15 pounds from 20 years ago.  For women, the change has been even more striking: The average female today stands 5-feet-3 3/4 inches and weighs 169 pounds.  In 1994, her scale read 152 pounds.”  https://www.vox.com/2016/8/31/12368246/obesity-america-2018-charts

In all, it makes for a tight squeeze.

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Paul Hecht, our favorite male thespian, keeping in touch with his northern roots, forwards this article on the dilemma faced by Montreal bagel bakers.

https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/freed-can-montreal-make-a-delicious-bagel-thats-politically-correct

Montreal bagels have their eager advocates, including David Brodie now removed to London.  I have heard it claimed that Montreal water made the difference.  Alternatively, the cooking method has been singled out and there’s the rub.  Montreal bagels are typically baked in wood-burning ovens and some neighbors have been unwilling to put up with the smoke and smells to get a feinschmecken bagel.  Now, even as the city is considering forcing a change to electric or gas ovens, one centrally-located borough (arrondisement) has banned all new wood-burning cooking ovens.  So far, there have been no assertions of anti-Semitism.

December 12, 2018

Frank Sinatra would be 103-years old today. 

. . .

  

If Mexico does not pay for the border wall, will their government have to shut down?

. . .

It's that time of year again.  10 Best of the Year Movies/Restaurants/Novels/Classical Recordings/Plays/Recipes/Puppy Names.  I feel a little guilty in not reproducing for you the dozens of versions that are coming to my attention, but you have to do some homework yourself.  One that I feel obliged to pass on, though, comes from The New York Times: "Top 10 Cheap Eats of 2018."

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/07/dining/best-cheap-restaurants-nyc.html

This list covers Dungan (descendants of Muslim traders who  married Han Chinese), Tibetan, Japanese, Moroccan, Dominican Republican, Belarusian, northern Thai, Malaysian, southern Ecuadorean, and Oaxacan (Mexican) joints.  How wonderful, how diverse, but mostly how inconvenient.  Only one of the joints is on the island of Manhattan; 8 of the 10 are on the island of Long.  The Bronx, once home to the not-yet-America's-Favorite-Epidemiologist, the only part of the Holy Land actually on the mainland United States, has Ajo y Orégano,  1556 White Plains Road, featuring Dominican food.  

All right.  I'm going to dust off my Metrocard and explore these remote regions.  Companions welcome.

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Speaking of companions, Michael Ratner and Ken Klein joined me for lunch at Café Evergreen, 1367 First Avenue, a nice, clean Chinese restaurant, befitting the Upper East Side.  We shared two 4" round scallion pancakes ($8), then each of us ordered a lunch special, $9-12, that included a green salad, choice of soup, and choice of rice.  I had Crispy Orange Trio, beef, chicken and prawn, exactly what you would expect, and I would do it again.  Ken also enjoyed his moo shu chicken and Michael his shrimps in lobster sauce.

Friday, December 14, 2018

To celebrate his birthday one day late, I took my brother to the Rangers game tonight and almost as if the team knew that one of their most devoted fans was present they jumped out to an insurmountable 3 goal lead.  Well, nearly insurmountable.

Here Comes The Judge

Monday, December 3, 2018
I received some interesting Hanukkah gifts from kind and generous friends.  Here is my favorite:

. . .

I don't know Michael Wolfe personally (not Michael Wolff, author of Fire and Fury, either), but he has taken on the daunting task of rating Jewish food. 
http://www.toolazytowriteabook.com/2018/09/13/definitive-absolutely-correct-ranking-jewish-foods/

His claim to be absolutely correct guarantees that he is not, but he has to be applauded for the effort.  However, had he ingested Fairway's whitefish salad (listed at #38 of 40), chocolate chip mandel bread (mandelbrot) baked by my wife, daughter-in-law Irit, sister-in-law Judi (a/k/a Aunt Judi) or niece Shoshana (#36), Danny Macaroons' macaroons (#32), Mother Ruth Gotthelf's gefilte fish (or the deep fried gefilte fish that Aunt Judi buys for Passover) (#25), Yonah Schimmel's knishes (heated in an oven, not a microwave) (#23), he would have to rethink his scoring.  But, that's part of the beauty of talking about Jewish food or Jewish anything, it leads to an argument.

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

For the last couple of years that I worked in the New York State Supreme Court, I spent one day a week working with Ilana Marcus, a fellow court attorney.  While no more than half my age, I found her to be a wonderful colleague, smart, organized, diplomatic and thorough.  I was delighted, therefore, to learn that she was running for a judgeship right in my home district.  (Life if too short to try and understand New York election law, even in the seemingly narrow field of judicial contests.) 

She ran unopposed, which is the way the system works, and her installation was tonight.  Hundreds of people showed up, many from within the court system, friends, family and politicians who helped clear her path.  Ilana deserved this attention and I believed that even before I ate the hand-rolled Peking duck wraps that highlighted the lavish buffet provided after the ceremony.

Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Speaking of duck, the Four Seasons, formerly at 99 East 52nd Street, consistently served the best duck that I have ever had.  That was one reason that I considered it my favorite restaurant anywhere, enhanced by the physical structure; internal design elements; dignified, attentive service; and food generally.  A bargain, all things considered, was the three-course pre-theater menu that included the "Farmhouse" duck, once at $40, eventually costing $70.

Two years ago, the Four Seasons closed after a dispute with its landlord, the space taken over by an even more luxurious enterprise, which, like the other shul, I vowed never to set foot in.  It reopened this summer at a nearby location and, if I follow the review in The New York Times, I may never bother to go there either. 
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/dining/four-seasons-review.html

The review reflects the current state of consciousness in so many fields -- private conduct overshadowing public performance -- taking several column inches discussing the conduct of one of the owners, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor felony charge of sexual abuse in 2016, reduced from a felony charge.  He also had been sued for sexual harassment in 1991 and settled a suit for gender discrimination in 2014.  Knowledge of this could ruin a person's appetite. 
. . .

I became devoted to the music of Thelonious Monk more than 60 years ago.  His jangly dissonance appealed to me in almost any context, as soloist, group leader or accompanist and irritant to Miles Davis -- listen to the brilliant recording of "Bags' Groove" where Monk wasn't allowed to play a note until Miles finished his solo (https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=tightropetb&p=bags+groove+miles+monk#id=10&vid=dc5d162bf7b3762769f861c63a0eb91f&action=view).

Beyond the purely musical, I have several emotional connections to Monk.  He went to Stuyvesant High School, but didn't graduate.  He died on my birthday in 1982; my private shiva consisted of playing his music for 10 uninterrupted hours.  He lived across the street from my present location, although decades before I arrived. 

  

Appropriately, I found the news from the 29th Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition particularly interesting.  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/arts/music/thelonious-monk-competition-tom-oren.html

There was some ethnocentric gratification in the first place taken by 24-year-old Israeli pianist Tom Oren, but it was coupled with the sad news that the competition is ending, at least as named for Thelonious Monk.  There are hints of discord between his family and the sponsoring organization, befitting Monk's history of battles with other musicians, club owners and the New York City Police Department.     

Thursday, December 6, 2018

Grandpa Alan's Broadway Briefing

Skip To Kill A Mockingbird, a preachy work with amateurish acting, and rush to The Ferryman, real drama, professionally performed.
. . .

I agree that Elizabeth Warren made a tactical error by having a DNA test to establish her alleged Native American ancestry.   https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/06/us/politics/elizabeth-warren-dna-test-2020.html

Trying to return fire from the unpopularly-elected president just doesn't seem to work, whether he has better aim with his mudslinging or his mud sticks better.  What interests me is the reaction that her gaffe has aroused.  "The lingering cloud over her likely presidential campaign has only darkened." 

She should have just simply insulted John McCain, grabbed men by the testicles, refused to release her tax returns, and bankrupted her flagship businesses stiffing lenders, vendors and workers along the way.  That would put her in the proper frame for the presidency.