Pieces of Ate

Saturday, April 23, 2022 

Tavish McMullen, restaurant manager extraordinaire, pays careful attention to the rants of his godfather.  So, he made sure that I saw that "Apple must pay a man more than $1,000 for not including a power adapter with his new iPhone, judge rules."   https://www.insider.com/iphone-charger-apple-pay-brazilian-man-1000-not-including-adapter-2022-4

Having been treated the same way by Apple (March 19, 2022), I promise to campaign for Judge Vanderlei Caires Pinheiro to be nominated to the United States Supreme Court.  I don't care that he's from Brazil.  

Sunday, April 24, 2022

The weekend’s real estate section featured an impressive home for sale on Long Island, 9,600 sq. feet, seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, indoor pool.  However, it is located on Skunks Misery Road, which has to be a disincentive to visitors.

. . .

We saw the Lincoln Center production of “The Skin of Our Teeth” this afternoon.  I was never in a high school or college drama society or a community theater company, so my exposure to this theatrical staple was from a seat in the audience in the distant past, if at all.  

This production was more (or less) than a revival, attributing “Additional Material“ to an unindicted co-conspirator.  Sitting through it, it was obvious that the director hated the play and labored to insure that the audience shared his opinion.  

Monday, April 25, 2022

Another reason that I'm glad to be Jewish.  "A majority of white evangelical Protestants (60%) and around four in ten white Catholics (40%) and white mainline (non-evangelical) Protestants (37%) believe that the [2020] election was stolen from Trump."    https://www.prri.org/research/competing-visions-of-america-an-evolving-identity-or-a-culture-under-attack/

. . .

"A California man was arrested this week on charges that he sent messages to Merriam-Webster in which he threatened to shoot and bomb its offices because he didn’t like the company’s dictionary definitions relating to gender identity, the authorities said."  https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/22/us/merriam-webster-threats-lgbtq.html?referringSource=articleShare

They is set to appear in court later this week.

. . .

Michael Ratner and I had lunch at the East River Eatery, 404 East 64th Street, a Chinese restaurant behind its generic name.  While well-furnished, I found the premises unnecessarily dark -- exposed brick, dark brown flooring, brown painted tin ceiling, dark wood furniture.  This might keep some folks away, but an open air patio at the rear offers a bright alternative. On the other hand, the dark interior should encourage smooching.

Michael and I kept our hands to ourselves, but we shared a scallion pancake wrapped around shredded duck ($9), an excellent starter.  We ordered two lunch specials, including tea, rice and a soft drink, and traded halves -- beef with garlic sauce and shrimp with mushrooms ($13 each).  Both were good, but portions were modest for the price.  Try to get to Chinatown instead.

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Here’s how my evening went.  Hours in the company of Gentleman Jerry — excellent; dinner at bb.q Chicken, 25 West 32nd Street — large portions of very good fried chicken; Rangers game at Madison Square Garden — painful.

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

In their never-ending devotion to the ideals that once made America great, the Republicans have uncovered the latest threat to our sovereignty — dead illegal aliens, paid by George Soros, voting over and over again on ballots shipped from China.  Mark Meadows, former White House chief of staff, could not be located in the rusting mobile home that he had not previously occupied, although claiming it as his voting address, for comment.

Thursday, April 28, 2022

Enormous is today’s magic word.  The Boyz Club gathered at Katz’s Delicatessen, 204 East Houston Street, to celebrate Spring, even as wind gusts up to 35 mph brought back Winter.

Enormous were the hand carved pastrami and corned beef sandwiches we ordered ($23.95).  I’ve never seen larger outside of cartoons.  Other deli sandwiches are thick in the middle, making them look hefty.  Katz's are thick, 2" or more, edge to edge and beyond.  And, the crowds waiting outside to get in and at the counters waiting to be served were enormous.  They might be predominantly tourists, but they are spending money here and actually getting good food.  An additional pleasure for me was Dr. Brown's diet root beer, joining the more commonly available repertoire of diet black cherry and diet cream soda, vital elixirs for keeping my boyish figure.

Friday, April 29, 2022

The arts section of Friday’s New York Times always abounds with reviews of movies, many never otherwise getting an ounce of attention beyond immediate family members.  The reviews themselves are worth reading to see how often they skirt insult.

My favorite line today is “The American characters are performed almost entirely by British or Australian actors, a choice that might be less noticeable in a film not set in Texas.“