A Good Man Gone

Saturday, May 17, 2025

Yesterday afternoon, we got the latest Covid shot. While it might spare me another bout of Covid in the future, it delivered a miserable day today. It felt like everything wrong with aging came in one bundle. I had forgotten that I had the same reaction to last year’s shot, so presumably it is recoverable.

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At a snail’s pace, I made it to Lincoln Center to see “Floyd Collins,” a musical play set in 1925, about a Kentucky man stuck in a cave deep underground. It was very well done, based on a true event, but its grimness delayed the return of my normally unfailingly cheerful demeanor.

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Speaking of show business, the Cannes Film Festival has published a dress code leaning towards more modesty than in the past. Specifically, “nudity is prohibited on the red carpet.” This seeming "no nipple" policy is not welcomed by all.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/opinion/cannes-red-carpet-nudity.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

This essayist laments that this “Cannes power play is tone-deaf at best and misogynistic at worst. It also comes at a time when women’s autonomy over their bodies is being threatened worldwide.” Which brings me to the oft-criticized male gaze, women as sexual objects from the perspective of a heterosexual male. That more or less fits me and I gaze, especially when there is a lot to gaze at. Can you blame me? Okay, blame me.

Sunday, May 18, 2025

A housing shortage seems to be a national malady. A new study shows that the rate of apartment building generally has not returned to pre-pandemic levels.

https://www.redfin.com/news/multifamily-construction-permits-2025/

In spite of the rise in telecommuting, allowing people to work from home in their gotkes, 63% of major metropolitan areas have posted a decline in multifamily building permits since the pandemic.

There seems to be no pattern to the areas with the most growth and the least. For instance, the Rust Belt does not stand out in either category. Cleveland, Ohio was among the slowest growing, while Columbus, Ohio was among the fastest. Several Florida cities had strong growth even as other Sun Belt cities fell to the bottom.

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Another reason to make a Jew crazy: Scheduled for June 28th during Pride Week, the 2025 New York City Dyke March’s official Instagram account posted that they were “strengthening their commitment to anti-Zionist, anti-racist, pro-LGBTQ+ community standards.”

https://forward.com/culture/720745/oct-7-new-york-dyke-march/

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We stepped out for dinner at Jaz Indian Cuisine, 813 Ninth Avenue, uncharacteristically quiet when we arrived. This resulted in efficient service for us, enhancing the good food.

I had two starters, the Tandoori platter, two pieces each of chicken tikka, ginger chicken and sheikh kebab ($18.72, the credit card price 4% over the cash price), and two baby lamb chops ($20.80). My young bride had Malai Kofta, vegetable croquettes in a spiced cream sauce ($21.84), which I had the pleasure of sampling. By the way, look for a Jaz discount on Groupon to increase your pleasure.

Monday, May 19, 2025

Judaism has been associated with fierce justice throughout the millennia. When we were docile, we were repressed or worse. On October 7th, Hamas unleashed a savage attack on Israel and anyone found on its ground. The 1,200 deaths that Israel immediately experienced in its population of 8 million would translate into 49,500 deaths in our population of 330 million, approximately 16 times the toll of 9/11.

Israel, deeply physically and psychologically wounded, responded strongly, then harshly, now cruelly. A desire to be rid of its enemy is understandable, but unrealizable. Israel’s relentless assault in Gaza has made it nearly impossible for us to maintain our support of Israel (Zionism?). Our conscience is deeply wounded. The hypocrisy of others should not allow us to look away. I am traveling to Israel next month. Can peace arrive there before I do?

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

[Some] America[ns] First Department 

Headlines on CNN.com this morning, in case your coffee does not give you a sufficient jolt:

• "House GOP lawmakers are proposing nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and food stamps."
• "The 10 richest Americans got $365 billion richer in the past year. Now they’re on the verge of a huge tax cut."
  

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I had lunch at Kuu Ramen, 1275 First Avenue, a small Japanese joint, blond wood, slats, kanji calligraphy. About 1/3 the floor space was given to food preparation. A wood counter in the front window had four stools, another facing the open kitchen had five stools. Additionally, there were eight two-tops close together.

The menu had a variety of chicken, pork, beef and vegetable dishes. I chose Karaage Curry Rice, Kuu fried chicken with "10 hours of [mildly spicy] Japanese beef-based curry," red pickle and white rice ($16). The six pieces of chicken,  >1" <2" (Musk's next child?) were filling, the meal pleasant.

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I received an unsolicited message today from a new website. When I saw the title “Endless Urgency,” I thought at first that it came from my urologist.

Thursday, May 22, 2025

Then, there was last night’s historic collapse by the Knicks in the playoff game on their home court. It’s a tale that will frighten little children for decades to come.

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“This call may be monitored for quality or training purposes.” You get this message almost immediately upon entering any organization’s voicemail system. However, do you imagine that anyone, in fact, reviews the conversation that follows given the cockups that often ensue?

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With a high temperature of 53° and showers on and off today, Manhattan in May felt more like Manitoba in March. However, the Boyz Club boldly ventured forth to Chinatown and met for lunch at Green Garden Village, 216 Grand Street. Several of us were particularly thankful that it was just a short stroll on level ground from the nearest subway station.

Six of us ate heartily as usual, sharing mei fun (angel hair) with scallions and ginger ($9), beef chow fun (broad rice noodles) ($9), shrimp with spicy peanut sauce ($19), beef with black pepper sauce ($23), garlic aromatic crispy chicken ($18). Thus fortified, the return to the subway was easily managed.

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Write your own headline 

The Trump administration announced that funding Boston’s Museum of African American History “no longer serves the interest of the United States.”

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/22/politics/trump-culture-arts-humanities-grants-funding?cid=ios_app

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I just learned that Larry Storrs died this morning. We met in 1962, entering graduate school together. He was a serious Mormon from a small town in Utah and I was not much worse than I am now. I was an usher at his wedding in 1965 and then we took different paths, reuniting briefly in 1990. Reconnecting last year after another long pause, he proudly attached the mezuzah I sent him to his doorpost.

Friday, May 23, 2025

I wondered above whether peace (or at least reasonable de-escalation) might arrive in Israel before my visit in mid-June. Well, British Airways has changed the equation. We were going to London for a few days before continuing to Israel on BA. This morning, BA cancelled its flights to Tel Aviv for the foreseeable future. Right now, we are confirmed outbound to London and inbound to New York from Tel Aviv on El Al. America’s Favorite Epidemiologist and I are very concerned about the missing leg of the triangle unlike the booking agent, the one that we thought we were using and its unannounced subcontractor.

 

We are hustling to find an alternative. Keep a light in the window. 

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Singer-songwriter Billy Joel has announced that he has normal pressure hydrocephalus, a neurological disorder that affects gait, balance and cognition. It often can be substantially controlled by surgery. Late last year, several doctors were certain that I had hydrocephalus and I spent four days in the hospital being tested. Good news/bad news. I don’t have this serious condition/I still have serious symptoms. It leaves me a little envious of Billy Joel. He has what I don’t, a diagnosis.