Monday, October 18, 2021
Every
time that I read about a campus controversy these days involving a grownup irking near-grownups, I am reminded of the many CCNY
classrooms that I sat in or even the few Cornell University classrooms
that I stood in front of. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/
Ideas
not feelings were addressed in those classrooms. It's difficult enough
trying to shape brains, perish the thought of trying to reach hearts.
The saddest, most wrong-assed comment in the University of Michigan
incident came from a freshman; “I was stunned,” she said,
adding that the classroom was “supposed to be a safe space.” No! No!
No! You should emerge from the best classroom dazed, amazed, enthused,
confused, enlightened, frightened. Why bother to leave a warm bed
otherwise?
By chance, a story about the reaction to comedian Dave Chappelle's rhetoric says "part of his enduring popularity is his ability to manufacture a sense of danger."
WARNING!
Comedy club closed to undergraduates
. . .
Manhattan shows signs of resurgence. Automobile traffic seems as bad as it has ever been. My trifecta of grocery stores, Trader Joe's, Fairway and Zabar's, are busy. Upper West Side restaurants are crowded at meal times, although some others did not survive the lockdown.
You see the toll of the pandemic, however, in midtown where tall office buildings normally harbor thousands of accountants, secretaries, salespeople, computer programmers, copy writers, and others whose workday is spent at a desk. They are, in many cases, working, but not coming to work. A computer, a telephone line and a flat surface are often sufficient to earn their pay.
This results in very light foot traffic in the 30s, 40s and 50s during office hours and ghostly quiet at night, outside the resurgent theater district. Economic indicators are up, but few predict a dramatic surge in central city commercial occupancy, here or elsewhere. An increasing trend benefits landlords and tenants, ordinarily as difficult as cooking up a tasty broth from oil and water, converting commercial space to residential use. https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/
Many of us may have already practiced sleeping at our desk.
. . .
Today, Canada celebrates Persons Day, the anniversary of Edwards v. Canada, 1929, which decided that women were eligible to sit in the Senate of Canada. It overturned a lower court decision that women were not "qualified persons" and thus ineligible to sit in the Senate.
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
Small world? Alexis Lafrenière was the #1 pick in the National Hockey League last year and now plays for the New York Rangers.
Isabella LaFreniere is a member of New York City Ballet’s corps de ballet.
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
This is a very unhappy headline. "Police officers and unions put up a fight against vaccine mandates for public workers." https://www.npr.org/2021/10/
"To Serve and Protect" is a phrase made famous by the Los Angeles
Police Department and adopted, in various forms, by law enforcement
agencies across the United States. https://www.policemag.com/
. . .
I had lunch at Bareburger, 2233 Broadway, one of two dozen local outlets in this chain. There are six or so unsheltered tables outdoors, and a mix of booths and two-tops indoors. About 2/3 of the seats were occupied at 12:30 PM and the sole server was being run ragged. The menu is not as Spartan as the name. It offers
a variety of hamburger and chicken sandwiches, with a large group of add-ons. The emphasis is on organic, but I ate there anyway.
I had the "Dilly Chick," buttermilk-fried, all-natural chicken, organic green leaf, organic tomatoes, dill pickles, organic garlic aioli on a brioche bun ($12). The aioli was well hidden, though, leaving the sandwich a bit dry and flat. The French fries were notable, however, very crisp, probably twice-fried ($5).
Thursday, October 21, 2021
A medical appointment took the
Upper West Side's Power Couple to the North Central Bronx. Mission
accomplished, as lunchtime approached, we headed to the Bronx's Little
Italy, very convenient to the Bronx Zoo and the Botanical Gardens, two
treasures that we sometimes overlook.
As
always, the neighborhood was very crowded and even all the illegal
parking spaces were taken. Frustrated, I turned towards home when buona fortuna intervened
and an honest, legal parking space opened up. We only had to walk
a little more than one block to Zero Otto Nova, 2357 Arthur Avenue, the casual partner to Roberto's Restaurant, 603 Crescent
Avenue, a favorite, owned and operated by congenial chef Roberto Paciullo.
The interior of Zero seemed to reach as far as Yonkers, but we sat at one of the dozen
outdoor tables, as you would expect from my epidemiological companion.
The menu is an abbreviated Greatest Hits of Italian American
Restaurants. I chose pizza and was rewarded with one of the very best
pizzas in the world, even though the tomato-less, sausage, broccoli
rabe and mozzarella combination (La San Mateo) did not match my pizza template ($16.95). It was also large, a full 12" diameter. I almost didn't finish it.
Go to the Zoo, go to the Gardens, then go to Zero for lunch or Roberto's for dinner and I will humbly accept your thanks.
Many many many lunches over the years at Roberto’s (old and new locations). He’s one of a kind and we always had fun with him! 089 is is pretty good spot too….
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