Saturday, January 13, 2024
The obituary of Edward Jay Epstein appeared this morning. https://www.nytimes.
He was a fascinating figure. His thick black hair and deep-set dark eyes made him look like a 19th Century Russian anarchist. For a time, we were good buddies at Cornell University, especially when most other people were put off by his manic intensity. He was, of course, fascinated by the Warren Commission report on the Kennedy assassination, producing his own best seller, "Inquest: The Warren Commission and the Establishment of Truth," and launching a long career as an investigative journalist.
His carrel in the graduate student library held the 26-volume report, bound in blue leather, and one cheap paperback history of political assassinations. He spent most of his time there, while many other of us graduate students in the Government Department (never renamed Political Science) gathered in a reading room at the end of the corridor. Periodically, however, he would pop in, holding an open volume, to cite some anomaly in the evidence. I was often the audience for these revelations.
My part in the story ends in the summer of 1965. One evening, I went to a restaurant in downtown Ithaca with Ed, Michael O., a fellow graduate student, and a young woman who was the object of the affections of one or the other of them. I was under duress academically and my normal grumpiness was accentuated. The chatter at the table was unbearable and I finally burst out with, "Shut up, Epstein! Don't ever talk to me again." He never did and he made a lot of money.
. . .
I rode down to the Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway, to just look around and I was thoroughly heartened by what I saw.
Those people were crowded in a BOOKSTORE. There was no celebrity around to autograph a ghostwritten memoir. There was no wine tasting. There were no giveaways, mainly books. Civilization may survive.
Sunday, January 14, 2024
All across the U.S., the average monthly rent is $1,700. Prototypically, this gets 944 square feet, a large one-bedroom space or a medium two-bedroom space. But, location, location, location is the name of the game in real estate. Here is what $1,700 really gets you in zip codes around the country.
It’s no surprise that you will have to tuck yourself into as little as 211 square feet in the Holy Land, while you can luxuriate in 1,996 square feet in Memphis.
. . .
Balancing dollars vs. dimensions is not an issue for some guys. “Since 2020, the richest five men in the world have doubled their fortunes.” https://www.oxfamamerica.
Monday, January 15, 2024
“[G]un-related injuries have solidified their position as the leading cause of death among children and adolescents, surpassing motor vehicles, drug overdoses and cancer.”
Yet, there is only a strange silence from the otherwise rabidly “pro-life” Evangelical Christian community. While they cherish a handful of cells soon after conception, they tolerate the wanton destruction of fully-formed human beings without lifting a voice to Heaven.
. . .
I thought that a road trip would be a good way to celebrate the holiday and had the company of Art Spar, Ken Klein and Stony Brook Steve on a drive to Long Island City, just on the edge of the East River opposite Manhattan. We were all agape at the building boom in the area. Nothing older than a decade seems to be still standing and high-rise construction was underway everywhere you turned. The narrow side streets were jammed with delivery trucks, cement mixers, cranes and dumpsters.
We headed for JACX&CO, 28-17 Jackson Avenue, a food court in the lobby of a new office building. It was comfortably furnished with lounge chairs as well as dining tables and chairs, inviting hanging out. There are about 10 food vendors, pizza, Mexican, hamburgers, fried chicken, Middle Eastern, pan-Asian, and, indeed, each of us went in a different direction.
I got a triple burger at Paper Plate, very much in the Southern California mode, gooey with cheese and their special sauce ($13.55). I certainly enjoyed it and the smell that lingered on my fingers for the rest of the afternoon. The Classic Fries, on the other hand, thin, krinkle-cut, were ordinary ($4.25).
Thursday, January 18, 2024
I paid a shiva call this evening. Shiva is the mourning period after burial observed, in one form or another, by most Jews. It may last up to seven days, excluding the Sabbath and holidays. Very much like a bris, the circumcision ceremony, no one is traditionally invited, Jews just show up. Attendance is considered a mitzvah, a good deed. While shiva is intended to comfort the grieving family, I find that it is also a valuable community-affirming event.
I had a particularly fortunate encounter. I met a young woman whose paternal grandmother had the maiden name Gothelf, too attenuated a link to explore for a family tie, but interesting nevertheless. However, Jessica herself was very interesting. She is a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, one of 400 elected. That works out to one for each 3,300 residents, a pretty direct form of democracy. Indeed, while New Hampshire is the focus of cable news for the next several days until the Republican presidential primary on Tuesday, Jessica is a Democrat and is spared most of the mishegas.
Friday, January 19, 2024
I was in midtown today, gathering new doctors in my desperate attempt to preserve this once grand edifice. At least, I was able to explore new territory, all the way to the Philippines. Actually, to Jollibee, 609 Eighth Avenue, the local branch of a worldwide fast food chain based in the Philippines with 1,100 locations. Ten dollars bought me a "2pc Chickenjoy Meal Deal," a leg and a thigh, a biscuit, a side dish, a peach mango pie and a refillable fountain soda (Pepsi products). The chicken was very good, although not quite Popeyes good. Similarly, the biscuit with a pat of butter and a small packet of honey on the side. In all, about 30% less than nearby competitors and well worth it. Can 118 million Filipinos be wrong?
. . .
Sorry, but I've saved the worst for last. https://www.sajr.co.za/is-it-
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