Saturday, January 18, 2025

Speak No Evil

Saturday, January 11, 2025 
Congestion pricing is a hot local topic, charging motor vehicles traveling in midtown and lower Manhattan, the first time it is being tried in the United States. The public transportation system is the intended beneficiary, collecting the fees or increasing ridership. I own a car and live a short distance outside the target zone. Rarely do I drive anywhere on a weekday and almost never into the target zone. 


One young woman lives in central Brooklyn and drives to her job in midtown Manhattan. The trip takes her nearly 90 minutes and she pulls into a parking lot upon arrival. She complains about the $9 congestion pricing charge. What’s wrong with this picture? 

Much of Brooklyn is covered with subway lines and few rides to midtown take even 40 minutes. A round trip fare is $5.80, while quoted rates to park a car in the destination area range from $34 to $45 for two hours.  https://en.parkopedia.com/parking/locations/avenue_station_new_york_city_new_york_10019_united_states_g47bdr5rukr6kgc67j/?arriving=202501131100&leaving=202501131300

Her rationale? “[S]he does not want to give up the autonomy that a car grants her.”
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We have looked at popular baby names in the past. Now, for members of the household that attract abundant love and affection beyond my understanding, we have most popular names of dogs. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/most-popular-dog-names/

I never owned a dog and only lived under the same roof with one during my starter marriage. Therefore, I have little to offer on this subject, but I observe the startling absence of Spot, Queenie and Lucky.

Sunday, January 12, 2025
Regarding your underemployed brother-in-law living in your basement: Empty bedrooms are widely available throughout the country and the number has grown substantially over time.

With any luck, he will land at a distance.
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I listened to a talk on “Free Speech and Campus Antisemitism” by Erwin Chermerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley law school. He pointed out that there is no unqualified protection of free speech under the First Amendment. The courts allow punishment for harassment, incitement and a “true threat”, "a threat that a reasonable person would interpret as a real and serious communication of an intent to inflict harm” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/legal/true%20threat). Time, place and manner are factors to be examined.

Much of the rhetoric heard on college campuses today surrounding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict may be constitutionally protected, according to Chermerinsky. I have said that hated speech is not necessarily hate speech. However, colleges are responsible for dealing with hostile environments under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an area that he feels needs improvement.  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S62dg3DcC5s

Monday, January 13, 2025

Tuesday, January 14, 2025
So, the Green Bay Packers are playing the Philadelphia Eagles in a professional football playoff game in Philadelphia and a couple of Packer fans, a man and a woman, are in the stands and a male Eagles fan is behind them and, in spite of or because of the Eagles’ dominance on the field, the Eagles fan is saying some pretty ugly things to the woman and he happens to work for a management consulting firm focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion issues and he don’t work there no more.

Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Fan Szechuan, 103 Essex Street, is a new restaurant, with a non-specific decor running to gray and black. It was quiet at lunchtime, but the cold weather could have kept people away. Temperatures today never went above freezing.

Five of us had a hearty amount of food; portions were large. Where the dishes could be spicy, they were. Our menu — scallion pancake ($5.95), cold sesame noodles ($8.95), Dandan noodles ($9.95), crispy shredded beef ($19.95), orange chicken ($16.95), Laokan spicy flounder fish in hot chili oil ($22.95). Out of Diet Coke, but well worth a return visit.

Thursday, January 16, 2025
Stony Brook Steve missed lunch yesterday, so the two of us went out today to Parm Famous Italian, 235 Columbus Avenue. It wasn’t busy and we had time to schmooze with the waiter, a local kid who seemed to really enjoy his job.

I had the house roast beef sandwich, a generous amount of thinly-sliced, rare roast beef, a slab of fresh mozzarella, pepperoncini (pickled chili peppers) and olive oil on a perfectly toasted sesame hero roll ($17). Steve had the eggplant Parmesan hero, also on that wonderful roll ($16).

Friday, January 17,  2025
We hosted the Supper Club tonight, that is, my young bride did all the work while I remained on the sofa. I did offer words of encouragement periodically, however. The bill of fare was butternut squash soup, roasted cod Mediterranean-style (cherry tomatoes, onions, black and green olives, olive oil) and couscous. Other superior dishes were supplied by Eva and Susan. Connie contributed wine from the Goldfarb cellars. A fine evening.
.  .  .

By the way, if you need me on Monday, I'll be with Michelle Obama and Nancy Pelosi.

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Saturday, January 11, 2025

Watch Out, 15,482,083, I'm Coming For You

Saturday, January 4, 2025 
Last week, I noted the pessimism that many of my fellow successful, professional, urban, American Jews feel today, especially dismayed at the sense of abandonment by other segments of society. I, for one, continue to test my patience by reading the Middle East coverage of the New York Times and the New York Review of Books.

I don’t for a moment deny the plight of Palestinians at the hands of a frighteningly nationalistic Israeli regime. But, and it’s a big BUT, there is more to the story than that. Death and destruction of Arabs by Arabs just don’t seem newsworthy until they reach the level of the anarchy in Syria. How about equal opportunity for bad guys?
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There is another important distinction that I have been thinking about — Democrats, Republicans and reading. There is no doubt that they read different newspapers, magazines and online media, offering contrasting views of events. It’s what they seem to do with the information that intrigues me. Democrats are enervated, “Oy, gevalt! What is this world coming to?” Republicans are energized, “Let’s get those S.O.B.s.” Just saying.

Sunday, January 5, 2025
If you are wary of life in the big city, the Holy Land has just published its list of most frequent complaint (311) calls for the past year. 

The top five:
  • Noise
  • Illegal parking
  • Heat/hot water
  • Blocked driveway
  • Unsanitary condition
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CNN.com this morning asks “Golden Globes: How, when and where you can watch the 2025 awards.” To me, the operative question is Why?

Monday, January 6, 2025
A guiding principle of medical practice is “First, do no harm,” which, with its fraternal twin “Do not offend,” has come to define liberal politics. However, these platitudes fail when it comes to governance and, more importantly, campaigning for office and winning elections. Without the latter, the former is daydreaming. 

Policy requires choices, inevitably producing winners and losers. We liberals sometimes fear harming or offending, no matter to what degree, allowing the greater harm or offense to prevail. On ne saurait faire d’omelette sans casser des œufs, you know, eggs and omelettes. (I had such success with French last week, I’m pushing ahead.)
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Toby McMullen was 35 years old last week. In fact, I was visiting his family in Charlotte, North Carolina, up until two days before he was born. Today, we celebrated at lunch at Smith & Wollensky, 797 Third Avenue, a classic steakhouse, that means big portions and prices to match. We jumped right in as if I were a hot shot salesman and he a big prospect instead of retiree and standup comedian.

Toby had filet mignon ($59) and I had prime rib ($78). We shared creamed spinach ($17) and Loaded Baked Potato Gratin, with cheddar cheese, bacon and chives ($15). When I told the solicitous waiter that I was disappointed with the potato, because it was lukewarm and gluey, he removed it from the table and the check and, unbidden, brought creamy mashed potatoes at no charge. All else was excellent.

Tuesday, January 7, 2025
Having shed their ethnic origins, bagels and pizza are All-American symbols today. While pizza, which apparently made landfall in New York around the beginning of the 20th Century, is now available in many varieties, the New York slice is still an important reference point. An authoritative source found that three of the top 10 American slices are in the Holy Land.

On the other hand, the universality of hot dogs has been thwarted in North Korea. The Morning Star King a/k/a Kim Jong Un has banned hot dogs, labeling them treasonous.

In Coney Island, it’s Nathan’s Famous; in Pyongyang, it’s Nathan’s Infamous.

Wednesday, January 8, 2025
My budding acting career has not bloomed. Here's why.
Thursday, January 9, 2025
The destruction of thousands of structures by fire in Southern California will require a massive restorative effort. It will take money, material and labor, some skilled, such as architects, engineers, electricians, plumbers, others just needed to supply muscle to sweep, to shovel, to haul, to lift, to hammer. It's likely that much of this hard work will be done by folks who risked all to find a semblance of security, otherwise known as immigrants.
.  .  .
 
I might have found the secret to get the New York Rangers back into championship form. Take an Englishman to the game. John Mervin came with me tonight to the exciting 3-2 overtime victory. We started strong with free eats at the Chase Lounge in Madison Square Garden, mini tuna tacos, black bean taquitos, "totchos" (tater tot nachos) and beef empanadas. I just hope that John has lots of free evenings through June.

Friday, January 10, 2025
Today is Quitters Day, the drop off point for keeping New Year’s resolutions, for those who made a silly promise to reverse longstanding habits at a moment’s notice. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/01/10/quitters-day-new-years-resolutions/77559275007/
.  .  .

I learned that this modest effort is 15,482,084 in the global rank of websites.
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Saturday, January 4, 2025

Mais où sont les neiges d'antan?

Saturday, December 28, 2024 
The food choice quiz last week proved popular, although several of you noted that it leaned toward the treyf. I landed solidly middle class along with most of you. I would have liked it to have included Mother Ruth Gotthelf’s salmon croquettes as a baseline to calibrate the quality of your taste.
.  .  .

Once a decade, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development tests 160,000 adults in 31 countries and regions in numeracy, literacy and problem-solving, resulting in the “Survey of Adult Skills.” 

Finland leads all nations, followed by the Netherlands, Norway and Japan, making a case for population homogeneity and/or educational effectiveness, while the United States falls in the middle of the pack. There are real-world implications. “People who perform best in the tests boast wages that are 75% higher than those with the worst scores.” 

Sunday, December 29, 2024
During the holiday season, we are typically out and about, shopping, partying, traveling, gazing. If we are out long enough, the need for relief arises. In many locations, this may prove challenging. The Holy Land, for instance, has only four public toilets per 100,000 population compared to 35/100,000 in Madison, Wisconsin, the best equipped American city. If you are in Dixie, you might want to bring your own Dixie cup, because Mississippi and Louisiana provide only one public toilet per 100,000 population.
Monday, December 30, 2024
I recently sat with a group of successful, educated, urban Jews. They were prosperous professionals. They mirrored me in almost all regards. We differed mainly in our feelings about the zeitgeist (the temper of the times). They all felt beleaguered by today’s often unchecked antisemitism and anti-Zionism (if they can be distinguished). I feel more annoyed, my default response to much that I encounter. I am also saddened that these people, and many more like them, feel the need to look over their shoulders in otherwise normal circumstances.

I don’t know that any of us ever experienced classic discrimination — rejection from a job, school, organization, residence or social group because of our religion, which we openly acknowledge and display. We are far removed from “Gentleman’s Agreement.”

Caroline Kennedy married a Jew; Chelsea Clinton married a Jew; Ivanka Trump married a Jew. We are here, we are entrenched, we have succeeded. Maybe that’s the problem. Our enemies are uncomfortable with our success, unsure whether we attained it by guile or corruption, only certain that we are unworthy. We ourselves are somewhat ambivalent, proud of our achievements, but not wanting to stand too far out in the crowd.

Tuesday, December 31, 2024
The headline is self-explanatory. "The most successful and influential Americans come from a surprisingly narrow range of ‘elite’ educational backgrounds"

The article "found that exceptional achievement is surprisingly strongly associated with 'elite' education," specifically, 34 "elite" colleges and universities and particularly Harvard University. Once upon a time, CCNY was known as the proletarian Harvard, but no longer. 
CCNY did not make the cut this time. 

Wednesday, January 1, 2025
The New York Times looks back at New Year's 2000, the once notorious Y2K.
 
"In the 1960s, storage on computers was a scarce, precious resource. To save memory space, programmers routinely lopped off the first two digits of the years in dates, substituting, for instance, '99' for '1999'.” I was writing software back then and that’s exactly what I did. When needed, I would grab the last two digits of a six-digit array and slug in the 19 for external display. Frankly, in 1970, I didn't expect to have my programs in use 30 years later and I don't believe they were. But, if they were, the users deserve what they got.
.  .  .

While there was no drama for me on New Year's Eve 2000, there was a personal highlight exactly three years later, when I proposed marriage to the woman now known as America's Favorite Epidemiologist at midnight on January 1, 2003.

Thursday, January 2, 2025
The New York Times announced the discontinuance of the Stamps, Coins and Camera columns on January 2, 1994. The Chess column survived until October 11, 2014. The Bridge column lasted one more year.
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Mordecai Kaplan, a major 20th-Century Jewish scholar, said that we Jews live in two civilizations, one Jewish, one American. After sleeping through the precise start of the new year on Tuesday night, we jumped into both civilizations today by shopping in New Jersey. The first destination was Grand & Essex, 89 New Bridge Road, Bergenfield, a very large, all-Kosher supermarket, offering prepared food and packaged products. From a myriad of items, we selected chopped chicken liver ($14.99/15.5 oz.), beef stuffed cabbage ($17.99/28 oz.) and Bubbie's Hearty Kishka ($4.99/9 oz.), all made on the premises.

ShopRite of Englewood, 40 Nathaniel Place, was our portal into American civilization, where we loaded up on cereal, milk, yogurt, tissues, potato chips, ginger ale, orange juice, paper towels, bananas and more and more. We are well supplied.

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