Self Government?

Monday, October 19, 2020 

My roommate and I have been watching "Borgen" on Netflix, a 30-episode series dealing with government and politics in Denmark. The very remoteness from our own experience is its strength. Free of the emotions evoked by our own mishegas, we can concentrate on the fundamental issues of governing a modern society. What adds spice to the storyline is the presence of an assigned-female-at-birth prime minister, married, with an adolescent daughter and a younger son. The complications are predictable, but still presented intelligently.

As much as I like the series, it has a major flaw, illustrated by an oft-repeated scene. As the PM comes home late after a hard day at Borgen, The Castle, the physical center of the government, akin to Capital Hill or Westminster, her husband, a university professor, is drying dishes, having put the kids to bed. Where is the housekeeper, the nanny, the au pair, the au jus, the au gratin? Somebody to help these two busy professionals manage their home life? While we haven't finished watching, no credible reason for this gaping hole has been offered. Is no one looking for work in Copenhagen?

. . . 

 

The headline reads: "Having Dementia Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Vote." https://nyti.ms/3jX5WYk  More relevant may be "Having Dementia Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Run." 

. . . 

 

This story intrigued me. "N.Y. Shuts Down Hasidic Wedding That Could Have Had 10,000 Guests"  https://nyti.ms/3lZKqCO  Let's be clear, I was not invited, but what if I were? What do you give as a wedding gift when you are one of 10,000 guests? Don't you imagine that someone else will give them a Cuisinart? And how likely will anyone notice you skip a gift all together? What of the Happy Couple having to write 10,000 thank you notes? Are you really doing them a favor by showing up? 

. . . 

 

Uninformed about the art world, I knew nothing about Philip Guston, a 20th-Century American artist, until he became a sort of cultural litmus test in these highly sensitive times, 40 years after his death. Known as an Abstract Expressionist, it is rather some cartoon-like images inspired by his left-wing politics that has aroused sufficient controversy to cause four major museums to postpone a retrospective of his work for several years. "At issue are some darkly comic paintings . . . which feature cartoonish Ku Klux Klan figures smoking cigars, tootling around in open cars, and generally making fools of themselves," according to a very valuable essay on the subject by Peter Schjeldahl in The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/10/19/philip-guston-and-the-boundaries-of-art-culture 

 

Opposition to the exhibition began with staff members at one of the participating institutions. It seemed to be based on the racially sensitive subject matter as the work of a white artist. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/kaywin-feldman-philip-guston-interview-1913483 

 

I am uncomfortable with such a literal reaction, although I recognize that the sight of a Klansman in any context might be offensive to "people who neither find humor nor seek subtlety in racist symbology." Schjeldahl doesn't leave us cosmopolitan elitists unchallenged either, "so confident of virtue—putatively independent of race and class, democratically self-selected, oozing benignity." 

 

Tuesday, October 20, 2020 

Speaking of culture, I would like to make a small contribution of a sort. Last night, in my dream, I picked up a book briefly. I didn't open it and I don't remember how or where that I found it. It's the wonderful title that stood out and that I wish to offer to a writer able to do it justice: "Truck Stop Jews." 

. . . 

 

The New York Times is more than flirting with hyperbole by labeling this recipe as The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie. I will be happy to validate the results. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021435-perfect-chocolate-chip-cookies

 

Wednesday, October 21, 2020 

A book review describes Richard Wagner as "composer, conductor, dramatist, poet, polemicist, anarchist, Teutonic nationalist, anti-Semite, feminist, pacifist, vegetarian, animal rights activist." He certainly sounds fascinating, but I don't think that I would like to be stuck in an elevator with him. 

. . . 

 

Today is Dizzy Gillespie's 103rd birthday. He was an early favorite of mine. Unlike many of his fellow modern jazz musicians, Diz appeared to be genuinely enjoying himself on stage. Miles Davis often turned his back on the audience; Thelonious Monk seemed to occupy his own world. John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Gerry Mulligan produced great music and you could see them working at it. "Dixieland" bands generally put on a show, while Diz's natural good humor reached to his bandmates and the audience. He was with us for 75 years. 

. . . 

 

Good Human Being Michael Ratner joined me for lunch on the sidewalk in front of Tri Dim West, 467 Columbus Avenue. The interior was attractively furnished and empty. The outdoor accommodations, on the other hand, were primitive; four two-tops not separated from foot traffic, not covered by a canopy or umbrella. Jackhammers were being utilized in the construction work a few feet away. Service, however, was very attentive and the food was good, although, on balance, you might want to stay away for a while.

 

We started with shu mai (4 plump pieces for $8) and an excellent scallion pancake, crispy and grease-free ($7). We each had Sizzling Rice Cracker Soup, with shrimp, pea pods, water chestnuts, mushrooms, and the rice cracker ($2 over the lunch special price) and then shared main courses from the lunch menu, tangerine beef ($10.95) and pork lo mein ($9.95). Historic footnote -- This was my first Chinese meal since the world started coming to an end. 

. . . 

 

"Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges related to its marketing of the addictive painkiller, and faces penalties of roughly $8.3 billion." I may be cynical, but I figure that if Purdue is willing to pay $8.3 billion how much should it really pay? 

 

Thursday, October 22, 2020 

Following up on my good lunch with GHB Michael Ratner yesterday, I had the pleasure of the company of Gentleman Jerry today at Tacombi, Neighborhood Taqueria, 377 Amsterdam Avenue. Unlike Tri Dim West, Tacombi set up an extensive outdoor operation, about 18 four-tops, a majority under a sturdy canopy. Only shovels were being used at the construction site across the avenue.

 

Tacombi's menu is simple, but offers good alternatives. I had the Ensenada "Burrita," a female burrito, I guess, containing crispy fried Alaskan cod, shredded lettuce, black beans, spicy sauce ($12.95). It was excellent. To drink, I had aqua de sandia, "a light and refreshing [indeed] Mexican drink made with only 3 ingredients – watermelon, water and a touch of sugar" ($2.95). Jerry had the Vegetariana Quesadilla, featuring mushrooms ($6.95), and Lupita Lime Soda ($3.49). More history -- The first back-to-back lunches since entering the Dark Ages. 

. . . 

 

Thank goodness that lunch went well, because here's what followed: 

• 2 PM Panel - "Electoral Anxieties: November 3rd and Its Aftermaths"
  
• 7 PM Lecture - "The Virus and the Vote: COVID19 and the 2020 Election"
• 7 PM  Panel - "The 2020 Election: Disinformation and Democracy" (to be replayed later)  
• 9 PM 2020 Presidential Debate 

I await my diagnosis of PTSD. 

 

Friday, October 23, 2020 

34 Across - Batting equipment 

. . .

 

Trump Country: Counties with the highest 

number of recent Covid-19 cases per resident

----------------------------------------------------------

                                    Infection Rate %

Norton, Kan.		5.148
Bon Homme, S.D.		2.362
Faulk, S.D.		1.914
Sheridan, Kan.		1.785
Harding, S.D.		1.772
Miner, S.D.		1.670
Buffalo, S.D.		1.631
Carter, Mont.		1.597
Oglala Lakota, S.D.		1.566
Roosevelt, Mont.		1.509

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html

. . .

Answer = FAKEEYELASHES