Monday, June 7, 2021
I don't hesitate to express my preference for the Holy Land over any domestic location, but I was tested Sunday morning. At 8:30 AM in Los Altos, California, we walked (!) about 1/2 mile to Coupa Cafe, 4748 El Camino Real, and sat outside for breakfast. The temperature was 61°, but the bright sun made it feel warmer, while my smartyphone told me that it was 90° and three hours later in New York City. I had the Breakfast Wrap - scrambled eggs, bacon, tomato, avocado, cheddar cheese in a flour tortilla ($12.50), donating the side of fruit to my mate who was eating the Breakfast Crepe - scrambled eggs, mushroom, avocado, gouda cheese in a buckwheat crêpe ($12.50). El Camino Real, the wide boulevard in front of us, is a name found in just about every California city or town. There was barely any traffic that time of the morning, allowing us to enjoy the fresh air and relative quiet. Of course, if our bodies really thought that it was 8:30 AM, we would not have ventured further than the bathroom in our hotel room.
. . .
One unexpected pleasure on the flight home from San Francisco was the showing of "All That Jazz," the overwrought, semi-autobiographical film by Bob Fosse. I remembered my enjoyment when it was originally released in 1979 and I wanted to see it again, especially the brilliant photography and editing of the opening scenes.
I have no idea whether the show biz theme of "All That Jazz" has any special appeal to the LBGTQ community, but Delta Airlines seemed to have firmly jumped into Gay Pride Month. The other movies that it was showing on-board included "Brokeback Mountain" and "The Celluloid Closet," a documentary on Hollywood's handling of gay themes. I found this quite a contrast to the usual collection of films featuring talking animals.
. . .
Covid certainly made it more difficult to buy/sell a home and relocate. The weekend's real estate section provided a list of those markets where the number of active home listings fell the most in the last 12 months, 55% to 73%. https://www.nytimes.com/
In only two of the top 20 locations where the inventory shrunk dramatically did prices fall, otherwise, the classic supply and demand model prevailed. The expensive cities, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, San Jose and Boston, were the least volatile, but also saw price increases.
. . .
Those clever Communists in Venezuela or Italy or China who rigged the 2020 election did a brilliant job, although some good Americans have seen through the deceit. See https://nyti.ms/2ShBhwb
I marvel at how the evil interference so precisely addressed only the presidential race, allowing loyal Republicans to perform relatively well in almost all other elections throughout the country contrary to predictions. Those are some clever critters we are up against.
Tuesday, June 8, 2021
Not all of you may have returned to anything near pre-pandemic levels of activity, but I have resumed very active participation in my favorite hobby -- grocery shopping -- and I want to share a few significant observations. Trader Joe's, 2073 Broadway, situated completely below street level, has reinstated two lines for checkout without any evidence of hastening the process.
Fairway Market, 2131 Broadway, has not returned to old ways, rather it has made several unsatisfactory changes resulting from its takeover by ShopRite Supermarkets. Fairway's house brands have disappeared, replaced by ShopRite merchandise labeled Bowl & Basket. Notably gone are the quart containers of gazpacho and spicy cucumber soup, two ideal starters in hot weather. While Zabar's, 2245 Broadway, has its own excellent versions plus a delicious cold fruit soup, the round trip is 2/3 of a mile longer on foot, to be avoided with 90° temperature upon us.
Actually, the abandonment of its own brands started at Fairway well before it lost its independence. An excellent coconut sorbet disappeared years ago as well as a line of pasta sauce more recently. Finally, Hebrew National tongue, sliced to order, has been gone for two months, which I hope is just a matter of finding the right end of the cow.
Wednesday, June 9, 2021
Until I read last week's issue of The New Yorker, I never heard of Chamath Palihapitiya and now I hope that I never hear of him again.
. . .
Chinatown called again and the Boyz Club gathered at Shanghai 21, 21 Mott Street. In the hot weather, we skipped the outdoor shanty and chose a comfortable indoor spot. Six of us shared soup buns (8 for $7.25), scallion pancakes (I over ordered two at $4.75 each), cold sesame noodles ($6.75), diced chicken in hoisin sauce ($15.25), tangerine beef ($18.50), eggplant with garlic sauce ($13.25) and egg fried rice ($7.50). The bottom line amounted to $17 each and no need to worry about dinner.
. . .
Another reason to skip meals is the nausea aroused by this story: "Wealthiest Executives Paid Little to Nothing in Federal Income Taxes, Report Says" https://www.nytimes.
Here is the report itself.
If you want to be spared most of the details and go right to the indignation, I recommend the short essay "The Real Tax Scandal Is What's Legal." https://www.nytimes.
As the writer cogently points out, "For tax purposes in the United States, income is basically defined as money." This ignores the value of assets, which is what really makes the rich rich.
Thursday, June 10, 2021
"Through Saturday, 678 people in the city had been killed or injured in 594 shootings so far this year. Both figures were up about 69 percent compared with the same period in 2020, when 402 people were wounded in 352 shootings. The number of victims was the highest for the period since 2002, according to Police Department data." I think that this paragraph from today's paper should be required reading for our politicians, just in case they want to continue to entice voters with calls to defund the police.
Police brutality and skewed law enforcement are chronic issues throughout this country and white people have a lot to learn about them. However, the murder of a 10-year-old Black boy at his front door (the reported event containing the paragraph above) has a visceral impact on Black and white parents alike. Local news broadcasts too often lead with similar stories. For at least a moment or two, a desire for swift justice, law and order, unites much of the population, including a whole lot of people who vote.
Friday, June 11, 2021
I
returned to Chinatown today on an errand which conveniently coincided
with lunchtime. I went into Hay Hay Roasted, 81 Mott Street, very
nicely redecorated inside and outside since it was Hoy Fong, a 42-year
fixture. The window is full of roasted meats and poultry, dark mahogany
and shiny with dripping fat. Seating is now offered only on nine tall
stools facing a long counter. One other person sat down while I was
there, but the restaurant was doing a very busy takeout and delivery
business.
I
had half a roasted duck ($13.50), the target of my visit. It was tasty
and greasy. Fortunately, the joint's bathroom was clean and
well-equipped, allowing me to scrub up afterwards.
The
streets were busy and the copyright infringers were out in full force.
I passed on myriad opportunities to purchase Cucci leather goods and
Polex watches. I couldn't resist, however, cherries as cheap as $1/lb. and mangos at $1 each, bigger and smaller ones priced accordingly.
. . .
Jew, Jew, Jew! I am sure that you may be as tired as I am of harping on this topic. But, as Michael Corleone observed, "Just When I Thought I Was Out. They Pull Me Back In." While I would rather be focusing on the Mets sitting comfortably in first place in their division, the Democratic Socialists of America come along inquiring of candidates for New York City Council: “Do you pledge not to travel to Israel if elected to City Council in solidarity with Palestinians living under occupation? Even though foreign policy falls outside the purview of municipal government, gestures like travel to a country by elected officials from a city the size and prominence of New York still send a powerful message, as would the refusal to participate in them."
Even as the DSA acknowledges how far afield the question is, it finds only one country's policies offensive enough to urge a travel ban. That is vicious and arouses my Brooklyn instincts. Baciami il culo, DSA.
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