What's the Score?

Saturday, May 21, 2022 

It is 9:40 AM and NYTimes.com has not a word about the Rangers/Hurricanes game that ended last night at about 10:30 PM.  Of course, the print edition delivered to our door is also silent on this subject, but it may have been put to bed too early.

 

Thinking about this raises a broader issue.  While I wouldn’t spend a nickel on the New York Post, the malodorous Murdoch mouthpiece, I sometimes go to its online sports section for its abundant reporting and analysis of the New York Rangers.  Is the failure of the Democratic Party to gain support among a significant population bloc, once loyal men in non-professional capacities, due to diverting its focus from everyday concerns, as the newspaper of record has done?  Lots of tennis, lots of golf, but, as Stony Brook Steve first brought to my attention, the daily New York Times has even stopped printing league standings, how are the teams doing. 

Skipping these simple details for the sports fan is akin to failing to hammer home to the voters, all the voters, the tangible benefits of Democratic policy.  It’s far from a flawless record, but it has benefited more of the people more of the time than what they have gotten from the opposition.  

Sunday, May 22, 2022

Is it a (mal)function of age or character that makes someone chase down memories from his past?  This question arose when I noticed an article about the upcoming movie “Top Gun: Maverick” taking up a lot of space in today’s business section, because of its anticipated boost to motion picture revenue.

It is a sequel to “Top Gun,” a 1986 movie that I’ve never seen and will probably never see.  However, I feel a connection.  In 1986, I took my first trip to Israel under especially auspicious circumstances.  As a byproduct of business travel when I was still in the commercial world, I was able to get a free first-class ticket to Tel Aviv on TWA, of blessed memory.  It was a wonderful experience, sitting right up front in a 747, high quality food and beverage at my fingertips.  

What made the trip even more memorable was the man sitting next to me, sifting through a collection of newspaper and magazine clippings.  His name was Ehud Yonay, an Israeli native, who had written a magazine article on military fighter pilots in 1983 that became the basis for the original “Top Gun,” a very big hit.  When we met, he had moved to Beverly Hills and was working on a history of the Israeli Air Force, “No Margin for Error: The Making of the Israeli Air Force,” published in 1993.

I enjoyed the hours together, but never had any future contact.  Today, however, the article about the movie sequel that began with his reporting led me to the Internet.  Sadly, I learned that he died of cancer in 2012.

This story doesn’t go anywhere, but maybe it serves as a warning to all of you young folk under 60 as to how your mind will wander in future years.

Monday, May 23, 2022

We have been considering getting a new television set for the bedroom.  Those large, flat screen, wall-hung models seem to be cheaper than a paint job.  We thought that a 55” set would be the right size, so I went to Best Buy’s website to comparison shop while sitting down.

Was I surprised?  Yes, I was surprised.  Samsung had 10 different 55” television sets for sale, priced from $499.99 to $2,999.99.  Sony had 10 also, LG 8 and Toshiba 5.  What a wide choice, but what did Admiral, Philco, Dumont, Emerson, Sylvania and Capehart have to offer?

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Wo Hop, 17 Mott Street, is always a desirable destination, but the mild weather was an added incentive for the troops to gather for lunch.  The four of us amounted to more of a patrol than a troop, but our intake belied our numbers.  We shared duck chow fun, Singapore chow fun, honey crispy chicken, beef with scallions and pork fried rice.  The bill came to $22 each, including a generous tip, as always, because we sat around so long.  But, that's what old men do.

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Pious conservatives offer thoughts and prayers after a mass murder; pious liberals offer facts and figures.  “The 45,222 total gun deaths in 2020 [in the U.S.A.] were by far the most on record, representing a 14% increase from the year before, a 25% increase from five years earlier and a 43% increase from a decade prior.”  https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/02/03/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s

Of course, for the America Firsters, there is still room for improvement.  "[T]he [murder] rate in the U.S. was much lower than in El Salvador (39.2 per 100,000 people), Venezuela (38.7), Guatemala (32.3), Colombia (25.9) and Honduras (22.5)."  https://www.healthdata.org/news-release/six-countries-americas-account-half-all-firearm-deaths

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Today is our wedding anniversary, in case you forgot.  There will be no excuse for missing it next year.  To celebrate, we saw “Hamilton,” that very inventive reimagination of American history, this time on American soil.  In October 2019, we saw “Hamilton” in London, in the company of Lady and Lord Kennington.  That was a very special evening and tonight even more so.

Thursday, May 26, 2022

Reactions to the school shootings are another example of the right-wing belief that the right to life ends at birth.

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A bright spot: "Gun makers’ stocks, which often rise after mass shootings, jump."
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/25/business/gun-makers-stock.html?referringSource=articleShare

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The east side of Amsterdam Avenue between West 72nd Street and West 73rd Street has been in the deep shadow of scaffolding for years.  As a result, it is not a particularly attractive location for a restaurant.  #267, a narrow storefront, has seen several come and go in a hurry.  On July 13, 2021, for instance, Stony Brook Steve and I had lunch at Kitakata Ramen Bannai, then on the premises. Today, I ate alone there at Simply Noodles, although a few other people were seated at several of the eight two-tops in the small space.

True to its name, the joint serves mostly noodles, in or out of soup, along with some dumplings and buns. I enjoyed the Dan Dan noodles, vermicelli, scallions, chopped peanuts and enoki mushrooms in a spicy hot sesame oil ($13). Although I handled my chopsticks with dexterity, I tucked a napkin under my chin to protect the white polo shirt that I was wearing, the one with the New York Rangers emblem over my heart.