Monday, April 19, 2021
Saturday's puzzle -- 10 Down = Homecomings?
. . .
"Least Vaccinated U.S. Counties Have Something in Common: Trump Voters." https://nyti.ms/3x0v9bj
Surprised?
. . .
The Forward has been a vital part of New York life for almost 125 years. For many decades, it was the most influential newspaper among Yiddish-speaking immigrants, introducing them to the manners and mores of a society they never could have imagined back in Eastern Europe. In recent years, the pressures of the digital world forced it solely on-line in both Yiddish and English.
But, no one's perfect and an article about a New York City mayoral candidate's description of Israeli policy as apartheid evoked this response from me.
Labelling Dianne Morales as "one of the leading candidates for mayor of New York City" is a serious distortion of the facts. The poll cited in your article places her 7th of 8 named candidates.
This is a scare technique meant to agitate your Jewish readers by inflating the standing of a marginal candidate who has uttered the feared "A" word.
The editor answered me quickly, claiming that "we and virtually all other media have been referring to the top 8-10 in polls as 'leading.' . . . [While] Yang, Adams, Stringer and Wiley are generally described as the 'top.'" So, I guess we will have to resort to Cole Porter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
. . .
Confusion about choice of words also arose in another context. It seems that gender fluidity is a subject that the Social Security generation has some trouble with. If we seem to be lacking in empathy or even understanding, communications may be part of the problem along with lack of experience with the subject. An article this weekend quoted a person identified by the
reporter as "a nonbinary lesbian," presumably at the person's
suggestion or request, although it's possible that the reporter left the
house in the morning looking for someone to put that label on. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/
In any case, my immediate concern is language. What then constitutes a lesbian? Isn't being a woman a precondition of being a lesbian?
. . .
Stony Brook Steve and I headed to Pastrami Queen, 138 West 72nd Street, to take advantage of their Monday special, pastrami on rye, pickles and Dr. Brown's soda for $14.95, a 35% discount. When the pastrami is running right, this is a great deal. There are two things to regard, however. Only pastrami is covered as of now; corned beef, roast beef et alia are at full retail, $20 for the sandwich alone. Second, this deal applies Mondays to in-house only, no takeout. However, management construes in-house somewhat broadly to include the two small tables on the sidewalk in front of the store. Go for it.
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Thanks to Gentleman Jerry for sending this article about the happy confluence of bagels and Italy.
When I have eaten bagels outside the Holy Land, with or without use of my passport, I have been disappointed. My expectations have diminished over time, but, as Rome is on my short list of next destinations, I am happy to use this as further incentive to get going.
. . .
Writing about food this weekend, the New York Times got its chronology mixed up. It claimed that its food writer
"broke news of an innovation in the world of hamburgers: the cheeseburger," in 1947. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/
However, it cross-references its own article from 1938 that "Discovers the Cheeseburger." https://www.nytimes.com/times-
The origins of the cheeseburger are even muddier, with several creditable versions, all dating from well before 1938. See the Origins section in the Wikipedia entry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
As a nice (?) Jewish boy, brought up in a conventional home in Brooklyn, I grew up with the laws of kashrut, Kosher food, primarily the separation of milchigs and fleishigs, dairy products and meat products (with a dispensation for Chinese food, of course). A cheeseburger was inherently illegal. As a result, my first encounter with a cheeseburger probably took place in graduate school, when I was no longer living at home. Also, while I worked summers and Saturdays throughout college, my disposable income was limited and disposed of cautiously. Why spend my limited funds on the possibility of eternal damnation?
I have strayed afar from those days, but I have to admire the resolve of my kinfolk who have consistently avoided cheeseburgers, sausage/meatball/pepperoni pizzas and veal parmigiana. While their ultimate reward is unknown, I think that they undoubtedly have been spared some indigestion along the way.
Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Recently, in a local dispute, "you and others with your privilege" were chided for "narrow" thinking. That "you" was me, of course. The criticism had some merit, I admit, especially coming from a professor at an Ivy League university, someone well acquainted with privilege.
Thursday, April 22, 2021
I'm struggling to find a way to combine this headline with Jerry Seinfeld's "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" and James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke":
"Proposed G.O.P. Bills Protect Drivers Who Hit Protestors With Cars."
. . .
A study of "30 million change-of-address requests to the U.S. Postal Service in 2020 show that with these two very visible exceptions — and a few smaller ones — migration patterns during the pandemic have looked a lot like migration patterns before it." Metropolitan New York and the Bay Area, both heavily populated by desk-bound employees, had net outflows in 2020 at twice the rate of 2019.
- Tenants - Happy
- Landlords - Unhappy
- Rapid transit ridership - Down
- Gasoline prices - Up
- Neighborhood stores - Declining
- Amazon shipments - Increasing
And you?
Friday, April 23, 2021
The Upper West Side's Power Couple are heading this afternoon to Massachusetts to join in the celebration of our oldest grandchild's B'nai Mitzvah. This is the sort of occasion that fills you with immense joy while reminding you how old you are.
Only immediate family will be present during services, with Zoomers from all over the US and Israel. It would have taken the most drastic quarantine measures to keep Bubbe and Grandpa Alan away. We are both fully vaccinated and tested Covid negative in the last few days, thus making us the most welcome guests since Elijah.
. . .
Just as I was going out the door, my inbox caught this article from Time Out New York. https://www.timeout.com/
Claiming to identify "The best bagels in NYC" may trigger divorces, end friendships, cause family feuds and/or provoke urban unrest. However, concentrating on the very special nature of the weekend, I remained calm, at least until we return on Monday.
. . .
Answer = RUNS
Per change of address forms, there are 160 million changes on the USPS database. Instead of making it harder to vote, States can bring their voter rolls up to date using this and other databases. Just do what Marketers do.
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