Is the Jared Suite Available for the Weekend?

Monday, July 8, 2019

I haven't read Mad magazine for decades, but I was unhappy to learn that it was ceasing publication.  It was part of my youth and, no doubt, contributed to my skeptical and ironic view of human behavior.  

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/05/business/media/mad-magazine-publication-demise.html

The newspaper article suggested that the publication "would seem to be an awkward fit in the blockbuster-centric media universe of 2019."  A careful reading of the story disclosed how Mad's fate was sealed.  "Last year, Mad moved from its New York home to Burbank, Calif."  It's well known that Burbank is an antidote for humor.
. . .

The New York Times summarizes "Which States Are the Safest?"  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/04/realestate/which-states-are-the-safest.html

Determining factors include crime, highway safety, and environmental threats.  I didn't find the list surprising, Minnesota at the top, Mississippi at the bottom.  I followed up, though, and found that 7 of the safest 10 states voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, while all 10 of the least safe voted for the stable genius occupying the White House.  

. . .

If you are concerned about safety, financial safety, that is, you might consider an annuity.  If you need prodding, you might be influenced by knowledge that the Alliance for Lifetime Income, a trade association that promotes the sale of annuities, is underwriting the current Rolling Stones tour.  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/01/business/rolling-stones-social-security-retirement.html

I saw the Rolling Stones twice in person, Voodoo Lounge in 1994 and Bridges to Babylon in 1997, well before either they or I needed an annuity.  The next time around, I imagine that Depends and Ensure might vie for sponsorship rights.
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I have a suggestion if you find the cost and complexity of arranging a tour of South Asia daunting.  Take the 7, E, F, M or R train to the Roosevelt Av-Jackson Heights-74 St station.  Within a radius of one block, you will find restaurants serving the food of Nepal, Tibet, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Thailand, amid sari stores, mobile phone merchants, jewelry stores and Asian grocers.  For variety, you can also try Latin American cuisines and there is a Wendy's with a clean bathroom.

One word of caution -- even using GPS and noting the exact address, many desired destinations seem to be hiding in plain sight.  It took me 10 minutes to find the entrance to Namaste Tashi Delek, 37-66 74thStreet, a Nepali restaurant favorably discussed in the New York Times last week.  The restaurant is on two levels, but the ground floor area is even harder to find than the basement space.  Many subway platforms are more attractive than the dark, grungy room where I sat.

I had a lunch special ($8), 4 fried beef momos a/k/a dumplings and stir-fried noodles (between mei fun and lo mein) with beef.  It was undistinguished.  The best deal was a bulky samosa for $1, filled with curried shredded beef, potatoes and peas.  Two of those and your favorite diet soda would make a good lunch. 

I was pleasantly diverted by meeting a group of 15 North Carolina Christian teenagers, here to pray for the heathens.  I gave them some advice on bible study: Stick to the Original Testament.

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

After taking a virtual tour of South Asia yesterday, I came back to earth with the Boyz Club at Shanghai Asian Cuisine, 14A Elizabeth Street, at lunch today.  We five dug into 2 orders of soup buns (6 pieces for $6.25), 2 scallion pancakes ($3.75), cold sesame noodles ($5.50), hand ripped chicken salad ($8.25), tangerine beef ($17.25), crispy whole yellow fish with sweet and sour sauce ($19.75) and a couple of bowls of white rice to fill in the crevices.  How easy it is to make old men happy.

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

You lose some, you win some.  I started the day by losing a tooth, actually a tooth that had been installed 6 years ago, not one that was original factory equipment.  In 2013,  I received a million-dollar mouth, or something approximately that expensive, at the talented hands of a team of oral surgeons and prosthodontists at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.  This morning, one tooth apparently got bored with my mouth and dropped out of its own volition.  Fortunately, I was not eating or drinking or even swallowing at the time, so I captured the errant chiclet and headed to the Bronx.

On the way to the subway station, I stopped at Trader Joe's, 2073 Broadway, to be awarded my winnings.  Trader Joe's has been in the Holy Land about 10 years, first appearing on 14th Street, near Union Square, drawing long lines at all hours, resulting to a great degree from being surrounded by NYU student housing.  The next one opened about 7 years ago, conveniently situated between the Palazzo di Gotthelf and the 72nd Street subway station. 

I shop there regularly, although you have to watch out for impossibly busy times.  Trader Joe's attempts to be consumer-friendly, health-friendly and eco-friendly.  It gave up plastic bags earlier this year.  While other stores refund 5¢ or 10¢ directly for those bringing their own shopping bags, Trader Joe's tries to encourage recycling with a voluntary lottery for those using their own bag, my normal custom.  When asked, you usually have to leave your name and telephone number with a cashier.  So, finally, after hundreds of shots, I hit it.  My name was pulled and I won a Trader Joe's reusable shopping bag and a $25 gift card, the equivalent of 250 10¢ refunds, unadjusted for inflation, so I came out okay. 

Thursday, July 11, 2019

The president had a rare victory in court yesterday when the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found that the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia had no legal standing to sue the president for violating the Constitution's emoluments clauses by receiving income from a hotel near the White House, popular with foreign visitors, diplomats, lobbyists and other buyers and sellers of influence.  Federal officeholders are generally prohibited from receiving any gift, payment, or other thing of value from a foreign state or its rulers, officers, or representatives.

The court's ruling illustrates an elusive issue that often divides lawyers from ordinary human beings -- standing.  Article III, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution extends federal judicial review to a case or controversy, barring advisory opinions or generalized resolutions.  With some exceptions, a plaintiff must have actually and personally suffered injury or harm that is fairly traceable to the defendant's actions.  So, what harm did Maryland and/or the District of Columbia experience by the operation of a garish hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue?  The court dismissed the case without examining evidence of possible unconstitutional enrichment, because it held that the plaintiffs lacked standing, they had no case or controversy.  

  

Ubi jus ibi remedium is a classic common law axiom, "For every wrong, the law provides a remedy," but not this time it seems.  Before you burst a blood vessel, however, wait for a decision in a similar case brought by members of Congress in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.  Might federal legislators, who swear to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States," have standing to assert a violation of the emoluments clauses?