Ladies Last

Saturday, April 11, 2026

Now that we are back to our full range of cuisines, ingredients and preparations, I can better plan our dining options. As can be expected, Madam and I are not of one mind when it comes to restaurants, although we are on the same continent. She prefers Indian and I prefer Chinese. Neither eschews the other. Here is an interesting comparison of these two enormous countries. ​

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I think that it is instinctive to throw yourself into the middle of this and imagine how you would fare under these living conditions. The critical factor is Average Monthly Salary where, if employed, the average American earns $5,220 monthly.  https://www.consumershield.com/articles/average-salary-per-month

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According to Emma Allen, The New Yorker’s cartoon editor, of the roughly 1,000 cartoons she receives weekly, about 15 get into the magazine. It’s easier to get into Yale.

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Caring Ken Klein and I celebrated Stony Brook Steve's birthday today by having lunch at the Fairway Cafe, 2131 Broadway, on the second floor of the famous market.  I'm not sure that we told Steve what we were doing, but he certainly would have been pleased that the two of us had a good time. I had their bacon-egg-cheese sandwich on a hard roll, a very generously stuffed sandwich ($10). I kept squeezing the complimentary lemons into the glass of refreshing cold water frequently being refilled.

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Marie-Louise Eta has made history being appointed head coach of Union Berlin, one of the teams in the Bundesliga, Germany's major professional soccer league. Union Berlin make history by appointing Marie-Louise Eta as Bundesliga’s first female head coach - Yahoo Sports

She becomes the first full-time female head coach of a top tier professional male sports team anywhere. Becky Hammon was head coach of the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association for one day in 2020, when the head coach was ejected from a game with the Los Angeles Lakers. It took six years for the next step. 

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Another ray of sunshine: Hungarian voters rejected the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban who had become increasingly authoritarian over the last decade. His success, with Trump’s, was viewed as part of a worldwide political shift to the right. Anticipating our midterm elections, we hope that 2026 will see a major course correction.

Monday, April 13, 2026

Does this map showing the percentage of Americans working after the age of 65 contain good news or bad news? 

As an unappointed representative of the lame and the halt, I am pleased that so many of us have not retired to the sidelines. However, West Virginia with the lowest rate of senior employment lost more jobs between May 2024 and May 2025, than any other state. West Virginia lost more jobs than any other state last year, labor bureau says | WV News | wvnews.com

It's likely that many of those folks of any age sought work unsuccessfully and it's no surprise that West Virginia trailed only Hawaii in losing population in 2025. https://flowingdata.com/2026/01/29/population-drops-and-gains/    

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Armed with my new New York City Special Parking Identification Permit, attesting to my infirmities, I drove to Chinatown with three passengers to join two other compañeros at Wu’s Wonton King, 165 East Broadway, once the site of the legendary Garden Cafeteria. I found parking right alongside the restaurant. 

We ate well, sharing shumai ($4.79 for 4 pieces but two guys came late), spare ribs ($19.99), two orders of scallion pancakes ($6.49), Singapore rice noodles ($18.99), Famous Garlic Aromatic Crispy Chicken ($22.99). Our only disappointment came after lunch when the Naz directed us to a new ice cream parlor, Julia Jean's, 202 Clinton Street, which promised  Apple Cider Caramel ice cream and blackberry and nectarine sorbet among other flavors. It was closed on Tuesday.

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

File for an extension.

Thursday, April 16, 2026

The temperature was 88° when I went out for a late lunch at Choice Brooklyn, 2040 Broadway. In fact, I was not headed for Choice Brooklyn, which I had never heard of. It occupied the space of a failed patisserie that had just closed. I passed it on the way to a new Vietnamese joint up the block and I decided to stop in especially when I saw that it made sandwiches to order. I chose roast beef with horseradish aioli, roasted baby beets, provolone and baby arugula on a ciabatta roll, a tasty concoction ($15.95). 

Friday, April 17, 2026

I had an appointment with Dr. Brucker today for an unspeakable procedure.

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By contrast, dinner tonight was quite speakable, the Supper Club gathering at the Schneiders. The discussion was the movie Denial, an account of the trial of Deborah Hofstadter for allegedly libeling a Holocaust denier. It wasn't quite the slam dunk you might imagine. In Britain, the burden is on the defendant to prove the truth of the statement rather than the plaintiff to prove the falsity. 

Dinner was excellent, salmon roasted in citrus fruits, oranges, blood oranges, lemons. Our team (you know who really) supplied the lemon squares and the chocolate chip mandelbrot for dessert. 

 

Passing Over

Saturday, April 4, 2026

For many Jews and Christians this is a time of refreshing and renewal, comporting with the change of seasons. Unfortunately, I failed to get the message and am still displaying bad conduct. It would seem at my age that I would know better.

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I find it interesting to put these two maps together. The first shows obesity by state and the second shows relative prosperity, the percentage of households earning over $200,000 annually. 

There appears to be a correlation, although not a perfect one. Living high on the hog does not seem to lead to eating like one. 

Monday, April 7, 2026

For better or worse, I am willing to court controversy. The supposed newspaper of record has updated its list of New York City's best bagels.  https://www.nytimes.com/article/best-bagels-nyc.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

While I have enjoyed some of their choices, omitting Zucker's Bagels & Smoked Fish, multiple locations, is unforgivable. Not only does Zucker's bake excellent bagels all day long, its whitefish salad is unchallenged. Check it out for yourself.

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It is far too early to be worried about Hanukkah gifts. Certainly, getting bagels now would be a bad idea unless you are building up an inventory of hockey pucks. However, I did come across an item that might fill many of your gift giving needs.

This would demonstrate adherence to the Second Amendment discreetly.

Tuesday, April 8, 2026

We have one high school senior in the family who has chosen another path rather than the Ivy League. While I have complete confidence that he would have been welcomed at any one of those venerable institutions, he avoided the angst associated with their admissions process. "Yale admitted a record-low 2.9% of regular decision applicants from a pool of nearly 55,000 students, the second-largest in the school's history. Columbia  received 61,031 applications — the largest pool in its history — and admitted just 4.23%. Brown admitted 5.35% from a record pool of nearly 48,000 applicants. Harvard and Princeton withheld their official data, but estimates place their acceptance rates at approximately 3.7% and 3.9%, respectively." 

https://share.google/a1WeeA0CHSYoLS2LH

Wednesday, April 9, 2026

I spend a lot of time on the Internet, as you can probably tell. Lately, two hustles have been taking up a lot of space — lose 20 pounds in two weeks with a diet based on Jello or ward off dementia by drinking honey daily. You will just need one little ingredient sold by our on-line advertiser. In each case, Big Pharma is allegedly trying to squelch the news which threatens its profits. Hurry up and get skinny and stay sharp.

Thursday, April 9, 2026

Phil Ochs committed suicide 50 years ago today.

Cut and paste this into your browser and play the whole album.  https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k7zIecZopiQMeHuuXLgCzAg4Ot7v6FVJ4&si=e4zAeSnM0irY8Rlz

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Herring in wine sauce, gefilte fish from a jar; not even a piece of matzoh. That lunch was my last Passover meal this year. I’ll wait until sundown approaches to resume my heathen ways. Since my return from physical therapy sessions takes me within one block of Zabar’s, 2245 Broadway, the transition will be easy.

I’m sure there a few of you who have never set foot on Manhattan Island and know not from Zabar’s. This 92-year old food store excels in cheese, coffee, smoked fish, knishes, crumb cake, egg salad, chocolate bobka and a housewares department on the second floor where senior citizens sometimes get a discount. It's a Jewish oasis. 

Friday, April 10, 2026

Today’s Headline:

Swalwell Faces Sex Assault Accusation as He Runs for California Governor

Tomorrow’s Headline:

Swalwell Becomes Republican, Charges Dropped

No, That Way!

Saturday, March 28, 2026

I confess that I really like the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Little Shop of Horrors and have seen each of them multiple times. That sets the stage, so to speak, for my enjoyment of Bigfoot!, a new musical, much of it the work of comedian Amber Ruffin. If you are pained by reading the front section of the New York Times, go see what it called the “show with ecstatically silly punchlines and physical gags.” 

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/theater/bigfoot-review-amber-ruffin.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

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If Muddirt, Bigfoot’s hometown, doesn’t appeal to you, you can choose among America’s healthiest cities and avoid the unhealthiest. That would allegedly be San Francisco, Honolulu and Seattle on one end and Shreveport, Louisiana, Gulfport, Mississippi, and Brownsville, Texas on the other.

https://share.google/Wddnmac5EjkmDI7Hc

Sunday, March 29, 2026

It’s no secret that I go out to eat a lot. It’s not that our larder is bare or that America’s Favorite Epidemiologist is unable to serve a first-class meal. From boyhood, I liked the commotion in a restaurant and the foods that I was unlikely to get in a traditional Jewish household. This survey looks at the cost of dining in the larger American cities.

https://www.foodandwine.com/most-least-expensive-dining-cities-11935521

While not perfectly identical, the expensive cities are often the healthiest, as identified above.

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When I read these two sentences below my jaw dropped. They capture our national character in a brief, brilliant fashion.

America does not know how to exist in a world it does not control. Since its inception, America has assured itself it was simply too big, too far away and too richly endowed to suffer any serious consequences for its actions.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/opinion/trump-america-iran-war.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

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Barbara and Bernie, cousins of cousins, joined us for dinner at Miriam’s, 973 Lexington Avenue, its third site. They had just come in from their home in Palm Desert, California, where it was 102°. We offered a cool alternative.

The restaurant is narrow, just one storefront wide. We sat toward the front, opposite a full bar. The menu is Mediterranean with an Israeli tinge. We shared two appetizers, spanakopita, spinach pie presented in a spiral rather than the traditional wedge or rectangular shape ($17.50); and pistachio-crusted goat cheese crostini with toasted za'atar pita, Fresno chili, fire-roasted peppers, truffle oil, honey vinaigrette, absolutely delicious ($14.50). Bernie had a large piece of chicken schnitzel with mashed potatoes ($27.50) while I had three Middle Eastern pomegranate meatballs with mashed potatoes ($27.50). The women shared pistachio pesto pasta, leaving enough for me too ($23.50).

We also shared two desserts, burnt cheesecake with white wine-braised grapes ($13) and Bambousa, semolina cake with orange syrup, whipped cream and a chocolate disc ($13). It might go without saying, but a good time was had by all.

Monday, March 30, 2026

I had a new doctor today who thought that I was peachy keen.

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Sacre bleu! 

“Air Canada CEO to step down after backlash over his English-only crash message."

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The New York Times reports on a number of instances where senior Democratic elected officials are being challenged by young opponents, claiming a need for fresh blood. However, from my superannuated perch, I cannot help but point to the value of tested experience in these difficult times.

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

The Upper West Side’s Power Couple took to the highway to Eastern Massachusetts having heard that Natick, Massachusetts is a good jumping off point for the Sinai Desert. We arrived in time to enjoy Irit’s fabulous pre-Passover chocolate-peanut butter mousse pie and wish David Happy Birthday.

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

America’s Loveliest Nephrologist arrived in the early morning hours and rested enough to join us for a late breakfast at J&M Diner, 50 Worcester Road, Framingham, an institution that really gets breakfast right. I had the best waffle that I ever had, with soft scrambled eggs, crisp bacon and Vermont maple syrup ($15). I drank a tall glass of cold brew iced coffee ($5.25). The young doctor had an egg, cheese and tomato sandwich on a toasted English muffin with a side salad in a lemon white balsamic vinaigrette dressing ($12) while Big Mama had a vegetable Benedict, two poached eggs over spinach on an English muffin with a side fruit cup ($15.50). 

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Tonight, we took our first steps towards the Promised Land fleeing slavery and oppression, under David's learned direction.

Thursday, April 2, 2026

A federal judge has ruled that the University of Pennsylvania must comply with the Trump administration’s order to provide the government with a list of its Jewish employees. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/judge-orders-upenn-provide-list-jewish-employees-sought-by-eeoc-rcna266103

The honorable response is to provide a list of all university employees. “I am Spartacus!”

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Meanwhile, Syracuse University is closing or pausing 93 of its 460 academic programs in order to create a university that would be “more focused, more distinctive and more aligned with student demand.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/01/nyregion/syracuse-university-degrees-eliminated.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

A popular new offering is Beer 101.

Friday, April 3, 2026

Two numbers are important part of the Exodus story, the original, not the Leon Uris version. The Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians for 400 years until Charlton Heston led them to freedom. However, it took 40 years wandering in the desert before they reached the Promised Land, actually few of the actual escapees living to see it. 

I am skeptical about these measurements of time. While calendars date from 3000 BCE or so (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_calendars), and the Exodus is estimated around 1350 BCE, the ordinary Joe would have trouble if someone asked him for the correct date. What could he have carried around and where would he carry it to answer the question out on the agora?

So, I think the 400 supposed years of bondage really meant just a long time. As to the 40-year trek, biblical scholars and modern geographers agree that spending 40 years in Sinai could only result from going around in circles. Not all of us have a good sense of direction. Thinking of couples I know, I think this is where opposites attract. If the Israelites indeed spent 40 years in the desert, I am certain that half the time they stood around bickering.