Saturday, February 24, 2024

Frequent Flyers

Saturday, February 17, 2024
What sort of day was it?  A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times.  And it’s Michael Jordan's birthday and Adam Fox's birthday, among others.
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We saw a preview tonight of a new play with the all-encompassing title “Corruption", giving no hint of time or place.  It's a docudrama about the telephone hacking scandal that surrounded Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper empire a dozen years ago.  I enjoyed the play very much, although, while the actual events stirred righteous indignation, they soon were overtaken by greater perfidy.     

Sunday, February 18, 2024
Now that you have acquired a splendid primary residence and a comfortable getaway home, you can look for a vacation rental to generate some spare change.

What I found interesting about this list is how unfamiliar many of the top locations were.  Why do you go there if you never heard of them?
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Operating in “the most linguistically diverse metropolis on earth,” the Endangered Language Alliance tries to keep languages alive.  This is a review of a new book about their heroic efforts. 
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/19/books/review/language-city-ross-perlin.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Incidentally, it includes a link to a video recording of a trip to China narrated in Yiddish to test your linguistic skills.

Monday, February 19, 2024
Leaving the gym (sounds so much better than physical therapy) this morning, I came across a gaggle of Girl Scouts selling cookies at the corner of Broadway and West 68th Street.  As a supporter of youth and carbohydrates, I bought a box of Adventurefuls®, a recent addition to the cookie lineup, “brownie-inspired cookies topped with caramel flavored crème with a hint of sea salt.”

As it happens, Girl Scout cookies were on my mind, because I had just heard about a line of personal care products, such as deodorants, “inspired by some of the most popular Girl Scout Cookie™ flavors.”https://www.nativecos.com/collections/limited-edition

Can you imagine walking around smelling like brownie-inspired cookies topped with caramel flavored crème with a hint of sea salt?
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It’s Monday, so I had the Monday special at Pastrami Queen, 138 West 72nd Street, pastrami on rye with a can of Dr. Brown’s diet black cherry ($19.95, about 30% off).  Stony Brook Steve stuck with the mushroom barley soup.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Kind Ken Klein joined me for lunch at El Mitote, 208 Columbus Avenue, a casual Mexican restaurant, although it has tripled its size with a sidewalk shed and a curbside shed.  I had the Bisteca platter, grilled steak chopped into small pieces, carmelized onion, Mexican rice, black beans, mixed greens, guacamole and tortillas ($22).  Generous quantity, average quality.  On the other hand, the glass of sangria made with a shot of tequila enhanced the entire experience ($13).

Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Terrific Tom and I could be counted as two roosters having lunch at Three Roosters, 792 Ninth Avenue.  This is a Thai restaurant offering chicken, chicken or chicken, grilled chicken, fried chicken or poached chicken.  We both ordered The Basic, a dark meat chicken cutlet, beautifully fried, sliced into half-inch strips ($13.95).  It came with a portion of carefully cooked French fries, dusted with Zab seasoning, described as combining “spiciness, citrus notes, saltiness, and a touch of sweetness.”  It made an excellent meal, matched with a Diet Coke.

Thursday, February 22, 2024
Doing the Right Thing isn’t necessarily hard, figuring out what it is might be.  This century has seen a rejection of standardized testing as the gateway for admissions to more prestigious educational institutions.  Stuyvesant High School, my nurturing mother, has maintained this exclusivity policy, while the Ivy League and other top colleges and universities turned towards other, presumably more democratic, selection methods.  

I was skeptical of this trend, more on practical than theoretical grounds.  Apples are more like apples than cellists to basketball players.  That is, judging kids with disparate skill sets is inevitably rife with subjectivity.  “Quality” is harder to measure and maybe more difficult to explain.

Yale University just announced that it is returning to the use of standardized test scores in its admissions process, because “our researchers and readers found that when admissions officers reviewed applications with no scores, they placed greater weight on other parts of the application.  But this shift frequently worked to the disadvantage of applicants from lower socio-economic backgrounds.” 

Better (richer) schools provided applicants with a better platform to display subjective skills, so says Yale.  Without test scores, disadvantaged schools did little to advance their students.

Friday, February 23, 2024
In the good old days, the graduate student population of Cornell University’s Government Department on campus was under 50, 15-20 new students admitted each year.  So, it was remarkable that we had a reunion of sorts today of five of us who entered the program in 1962.  We met virtually on Zoom, David Mervin from England, three guys from the Washington area and me.  I had not seen David Boesel since 1965; I visited Larry Storrs’s home in 1990; I ran into John Fox near the United Nations 30-something years ago; David Mervin was just here for a family celebration.   
While the gathering might be an excuse to feel old, as if we need another reminder, I found it rejuvenating.  It was a chance to bring back memories, reliving a critical time when careers were launched or sunk.  Where there was hair, it was white.  Otherwise, we looked pretty good for seriously old men.
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Tonight, the Upper West Side’s Power Couple are leaving for a one-week visit to Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal.  Why Madeira, you may ask?  The best answer is that it’s not Florida and it’s not Israel.  Perched in the Atlantic Ocean, several hundred miles off the coast of Africa, we are seeking some temporary comfort and mild temperatures.  It has the provocative motto: Das Ilhas as Mais Belas e Livres (Of all islands, the most beautiful and free).  Take that Capri, Catalina and Coney.

Saturday, February 24, 2024
I'll bet that this is the first e-mail that you ever received from the airport at Ponta Delgada, Azores.

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Saturday, February 17, 2024

Lunch Breaks

Saturday, February 10, 2024
An auspicious day.  A major birthday for Cindy McMullen and the Chinese New Year (the Year of the Dragon).

Sunday, February 11, 2024
It was a pretty good football game.

Monday, February 12, 2024
The hot topic in the sports section today, that’s if you can still find a sports section, was San Francisco’s decision to take the ball first in overtime.  However, I haven’t seen mention of the critical play that cost them the game much earlier — the blocked extra point, that nearly automatic, taken-for-granted, extra point.  20-19 means no overtime.
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The first webinar of the day was “Antisemitism, the Israel-Hamas War, and Distorting the Law of Genocide: A Perfect Storm,” given by Menachem Z. Rosensaft, a Cornell University Law School professor, and child of Holocaust survivors, at 5 P.M.  He pointed out that antisemitic rhetoric and violence had been on the rise domestically well before October 7, 2023.  

This was followed at 7 P.M. by “How Campuses Turned Against the Jews” by Andrew Pessin, professor of philosophy at Connecticut College.  He demonstrated that anti-Israel activity on campuses surged on October 7th even while Hamas was still marauding on Israeli soil.  Then, I kicked the cat.

Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Say it ain’t so: “Jared Kushner says he wouldn’t serve in a second Trump administration”
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As part of its Valentine’s Day coverage, the New York Times has an article on romantic breakups conducted in public, restaurants particularly.  

While I broke or was broken up with many times in the past, I don’t recall it spoiling a good meal.  However, I remember being a bystander at one supercharged event.  It was decades ago and I was out for a late meal with my inamorata du jour at Umberto’s Clam House on Mulberry Street, site of at least one Mafia mob hit.  

A young couple, what we would now call heteronormative, were seated a few feet away, directly in my line of sight.  Suddenly, she stood up, pushed the table over, coating his lap with some fine Cucina Italiana, and ran out the door.  Mamma mia!
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Stony Brook Steve and I went to lunch at Noodies [no, not Noodles] Thai Kitchen, 830 Ninth Avenue, a tiny joint, packed with 15 tinier two-tops.  One long wall was exposed brick, the other covered with dozens of ceramic bowls affixed to the wall, a very colorful display.  Three funky chandeliers hung above.  The food was less interesting than the decor.  The soup included with the lunch special was notable, a tomatoey hot and sour, with some mushrooms afloat, just right on this cold day.  I had Pad Woon Sen, a modest portion of glass noodles with carrots, mushrooms, scallions, yellow onions, egg, tomatoes and four shrimp, good enough ($14.95).  

Thursday, February 15, 2024
Jay Stanley is in town doing his work as the ACLU’s privacy maven, although, given Jay’s deep New England Yankee roots, maven may be an inappropriate term.  We had lunch at Bill’s Bar & Burger Downtown, 85 West Street, which I took to be a long-established neighborhood joint. Instead, it is an enormous operation, covering most of the ground floor of a new Marriott Hotel, with tables of every size and shape, from intimate two-tops to the seder with all the in-laws.  

Hamburgers are at the center of its menu, running $15.95 to $19.95.  In aiming to be different, I either misread the menu, misspoke my choice or was misheard by the waiter and wound up with a Big Bird BLT (sliced turkey), not the Crispy Chicken Sandwich that I wanted ($16.95 in either case).  We were somewhat rushed for time, so I kept my disappointing dish.  Fountain soft drinks were $4.50; it took two refills of Diet Coke to be at peace with that.  

Friday, February 16, 2024
I am trying to come to grips with the fact that chocolate chip ice cream is an endangered species.  https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/15/business/chocolate-chip-ice-cream.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
 
Once upon a time, the addition of chocolate chips was a departure from the smooth consistency of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream, the reigning flavor triumvirate.  Nowadays, the proliferation of flavors and add-ins has taken the consumer beyond the simple pleasures.  So, shelf space is taken by Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch, Cookies & Cream Cheesecake Core, Matcha Green Tea and Salted Caramel Almond, leaving plain chocolate chip out of the cold.  Cherish Häagen-Dazs Double Belgian Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, however.
.  .  .

You recognize this photograph taken in 1932 during construction of Rockefeller Center.

What I just noticed is that no one is wearing penny loafers.


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Saturday, February 10, 2024

Something to Celebrate

Saturday, February 3, 2024 
The music was too loud, as seems to be inevitable at these events, but we joyfully attended a dual Bat Mitzvah today.  It was held for two sisters, not twins, but close enough in age to make a joint ceremony a wise choice.

The girls were a delight, overlaying the traditional prayers and ritual with their own original words and dance.  Additionally, they spoke loudly and clearly before an adult audience, something that many adolescents are unable to manage.  

A very special element of the event for me was the attendance of their paternal grandfather, my friend of more than 60 years, David Mervin, coming from England with other family members, all of who in a Jewish setting for the first time.  I warned David that this fraternization may eventually extend his time in Purgatory.

Sunday, February 4, 2024
Another foreign visitor today was my niece Susan, coming from Shanghai to see her father.  She was accompanied by her son Tomás, who has the very interesting role of Tour Interpreter at Alcatraz, the now inactive, notorious Federal penitentiary.

We had lunch at Seasons 52, 217 Lafayette Avenue, Edison, New Jersey, a member of a national chain of far-better-than-average restaurants.  It is big, with spacious seating, showing sports on televisions above the bar, a legal requirement in its suburban locale.

I had the lump crab cake sandwich, generously piled on a potato bun, with a fresh green salad instead of the ubiquitous French fries ($17.50).  It was good, but not as good as the “Wood Grilled Tenderloin Salad” that I had last time ($22).  I also skipped the delicious lobster bisque this time, which you should not do ($12).

Monday, February 5, 2024
After a visit to the orthopedist to discuss the (lack of) progress of my recuperation from hip surgery, I met Gentleman Jerry at Madison Square Garden, where the New York Rangers treated us to dinner before the hockey game.  Or maybe it was Chase Bank who offered hot wings and snack-size hot dogs and pieces of steak over creamed spinach plus free soft drinks.  

And for dessert, we got a 2-1 victory in overtime.

Tuesday, February 6, 2024
As if David Mervin’s trip to the U.S.A. was not memorable enough, I invited him to join the Boyz Club at lunch in Chinatown, Wo Hop, 17 Mott Street, of course.  

The menu: Egg rolls, crispy fried noodles, duck chow fun, beef with scallions, honey crispy chicken, ginger and scallion lo mein, mushroom fried rice, shrimp with lobster sauce.  Seven guys, $150.

Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Remember way back when media had the Holy Land on the verge of becoming a ghost town?  


Now, that it’s evident that we are not going away, the challenge is to broaden the vitality to encompass many more who are struggling to fit in.

Thursday, February 8, 2024
I just received a message that tomorrow is National Bagels & Lox Day.  Whatever the source of this designation, I strongly object to it.  Tomorrow is Friday; bagels and lox are for Sunday, occasionally Saturday if you are having company.  Mondays, a pastrami sandwich is on special at Pastrami Queen.  Wednesday, a gyro from a street cart (almost all run by Egyptians).  Friday, a legacy tuna fish sandwich.  Tuesday and Thursday, look for a good fried chicken sandwich and a hamburger, many possibilities.  Note that pizza may be substituted on one weekday.  All of this applies to daylight, when you can see what you are eating.  
.  .  .

I hosted a Zoom talk tonight by Rabbi Jonah Rank, President & Rosh Yeshivah of Hebrew Seminary, A Rabbinical School for Deaf & Hearing, "How Jewish is Democracy?"  He identified key principles of democracy and cited ancient Hebrew texts as precedents.  He did a great job, although thousands of years of rumination will provide support for almost anything.  

Two corollaries arise from Rabbi Rank’s presentation:
  • How democratic is Judaism?
  • How democratic should Judaism be?
Friday, February 9, 2024
Until yesterday, Robert K. Hur labored in obscurity, investigating the handling of classified documents by Joe Biden out of office.  Then, he propelled himself to the heights of James Comey by embroidering his findings with some verbal hand grenades.  His reference to a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” will long live in history as it possibly seals the fate of its subject.  Meanwhile, others bow at the feet of a self-confessed, convicted sexual predator. 

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Saturday, February 3, 2024

Michael, Row the Boat Ashore

Saturday, January 27, 2024 
Nikki Haley’s husband is named William M. Haley, known as Bill to friends and family through adulthood.  However, once married, Nikki decided that he wasn’t a Bill, but a Michael, his previously unused middle name, which is how he is known today.  

This reminds me of the distinguished Canadian political scientist B. Michael Frolic, an authority on contemporary China.  As it happens, soon after beginning his graduate studies at Cornell University, he was approached by his advisor, a rather imperious chap, who asked his name. “Bernie.”  “No, what’s on your birth certificate?  Bernard?”  “No, it’s just Bernie.”  “Well, that’s too informal.  Do you have a middle name?”  “Michael.”  
 
Thus, B. Michael Frolic was born to go onto a very successful academic career at York University, Toronto, publishing extensively under that name.  However, he is still known personally as Bernie, 60 years later.  Clearly, his wife isn’t as big a noodge as Nikki Haley.

Monday, January 29, 2024
I had the pleasure of Gentleman Jerry’s company at lunch today.  We went to Caridad 72, 130 West 72nd Street, the successor to Caridad 78, one of the pioneering Cuban Chinese restaurants in the Holy Land.  Jerry had never been there; I was returning for the fourth or fifth time.  Previously, I had the fried chicken, which I found to be more fried than chicken.  Instead, I ordered shrimp egg foo young, thoroughly inauthentic, but comforting ($18).

Jerry chose the fried chicken and was served a dish completely different than what I last had ($12.95 lunch special).  The coating was a light tan rather than deep mahogany.  It seemed to be modestly crisp, not having the stiff texture of peanut brittle.   He enjoyed it and I’ll have to have it again next time.

Wednesday, January 31, 2024
In spite of the murky day, I decided to work for my calories and I walked down to 43rd Street for lunch, just shy of 10,000 steps roundtrip.  Most of the time, I was on Ninth Avenue, 57th Street to 42nd Street which has to have the greatest variety of places to eat in any neighborhood on Earth.  Pizza, empanadas, hamburgers, sushi, bread, noodles, juice, tacos, coffee, seafood, bubble tea, meatballs, dim sum, cookies, ice cream, kebabs, poke, bagels, Chinese, Italian, Georgian, "fine American comfort food", Spanish, Turkish, Japanese, French, Thai, Mexican, Korean, Indian, pubs, diners and grocery stores.  If this range of choices is nerve-wracking, there are several "smoke shops" offering tranquility in chewable, inhalable and digestible form.  

For fried chicken joints, you have a choice among others of Thai fried chicken, Korean fried chicken, Japanese fried chicken, Taiwanese fried chicken or just "the finest gourmet chicken fingers."  Not fried, "French-inspired rotisserie chicken.  I chose Poppy Poppy, 617 Ninth Avenue, Taiwanese.  It is a hole in the wall, as are many of the neighboring shops, six stools against a narrow counter.
  
I ordered the Poppy Mixed Box, fried chicken, fried oyster mushrooms and fries ($15.95), a lot of fried food.  The chicken was really popcorn chicken; the mushrooms tender and chewy; the fries like potato sticks.  All were dusted lightly with a vaguely sweet plum powder, my choice instead of pepper or chili powder or none.  Grade B+.

Thursday, February 1, 2024
Ouch!

I had some serious oral surgery today, three explants -- the opposite of implants.  It was partially redeemed only by having to eat ice cream for the next few days, doctor's orders.  Let the healing begin.

Friday, February 2, 2024

The British National Health Service is offering free BRCA gene testing to those of Jewish ancestry, much more susceptible to cancer than the general population.  At present, all the tests can do is alert you to the danger.  Would you get tested under those circumstances? 

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