Saturday, September 19, 2026

Brave New Year

Sunday, September 13, 2026
Just as the Jewish New Year period was coming to an end, sundown Friday to sundown Sunday, we got a surprise gift here at Palazzo di Gotthelf, the freezer portion of our refrigerator stopped working, defrosting its contents and leaving puddles of water. Whether a minor repair or a major replacement is needed can only be determined tomorrow morning. 

This evening, I identified a credible replacement appliance, if needed. I spotted some possible vendors as well, but I will be missing the initial household excitement tomorrow morning because I will be having some personal excitement — cataract surgery on my right eye. 
.  .  .

By the way, I am well aware that not all of you dear readers are Jewish. So, while we often-chosen-for-the-wrong-reason people contemplate our coming year, I want to offer the rest of you some spiritual support.


Monday, September 14, 2026
I was up and out early to have my cataract surgery. It went well as far as I can tell with one eye completely bandaged.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the first miracle of 5787 seems to have occurred. The freezer compartment of our refrigerator, emptied of everything and wiped dry, resumed normal operations on its own. Just as we were preparing to place a rush order for a replacement, an ice cube tray left behind froze up normally.

My multi-talented young bride had rescued the defrosted beef and chicken by cooking it to be used in future meals. Now, it is watchful waiting even as I contemplate which ice cream I should purchase to restock my freezer.
.  .  .

Well before I went to law school, I was interested in constitutional law. It was a small component of the introduction to American government class that I taught centuries ago. It is the critical glue to our ongoing experiment in democracy and I urge all of you to have command of some of the basic principles: case in controversy, standing to sue, the role of precedents.

A simple guideline to evaluating the opinions of the current Supreme Court is Alito is Wrong. Whenever the Court faces the opportunity to broaden democracy and narrow the control of selfish interests, Samuel Alito is a consistent opponent of progress. His opinions harken back to a history and morality of his own invention, independent of the lessons of our own past.
.  .  .

By coincidence, with the arrival of 5787, Trader Joe’s reopened at 2073 Broadway, at the very busy intersection of West 72nd Street. It had been closed for four months to install new escalators and elevators for this entirely subterranean enterprise. Some of their products were so attractive that I would occasionally shop at their store at 670 Columbus Avenue at West 92nd Street or even 123 West 125th Street in the interim. Try the tangerine juice, 100% pure juice ($3.49/quart), if you need convincing.

Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Dr. DeLuca removed the bandages from my corrected right eye this morning. As my vision adapted to the new circumstances, I was able to find my way to Pastrami Queen, 1125 Lexington Avenue, to meet Michael Ratner for lunch.

We were able to benefit from the Twin Tuesday special, pastrami and corned beef each on a dinner roll, coleslaw, pickles and a small order of French fries, for $22.95. Additionally, I had a 10% off coupon as a regular customer. This was an excellent start for my corrected vision.

Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Our youngest grandchild had her Bat Mitzvah earlier this year. Her older brother recently graduated high school and is in Israel for a gap year before college. Allison and Will have been married for 10 years, Irit and David for 22 years. This means that there is no anticipated major lifecycle celebration on our calendar for the foreseeable future. Our progeny, therefore, are unable to benefit from the largesse of Umar Kremlev, a regular attendee at Vladimir Putin’s gin rummy games.

Kremlev, who recently paid for a substantial part of Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding festivities, seems eager to show Americans how to have a good time. He has established the Russo-American Bureau of Hotcha Happenings to handle applications and coordinate events. My lovely wife and I await word whether a public renewal of our wedding vows will qualify for Mr. Kremlev’s generosity.
.  .  .

A couple of weeks ago, to satisfy my curiosity, I did a simple poll of likely Democratic voters of my acquaintance. I asked their personal preference for the 2028 Democratic presidential candidate and their prediction as to the candidate. The preferences were scattered mostly among Andy Beshear, Kentucky Governor; Mark Kelly, Arizona Senator; Gavin Newsom, California Governor; Jon Ossoff, Georgia Senator and Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania Governor. Several people, Jewish people, explicitly rejected Jewish candidates: Rahm Emmanuel, former Chicago Mayor; Ossoff; JB Pritzker, Illinois Governor and Shapiro. No women seemed to want a woman either.

The predictions were much narrower, Beshear and Newsom named most frequently.

Thursday, September 17, 2026
The Thai restaurant that we picked for dinner before the theater was too crowded. So, we went down the block to Yum Yum Too, 652 Ninth Avenue, where we were immediately seated. 

The menu was pretty conventional and we didn't order much. We both had noodle dishes, Madam had Pad Thai with vegetables, stir-fried rice noodles, egg, tofu, peanut, beansprouts and scallions ($21) and I had Pad Woonsem with beef, stir-fried glass noodles, egg, scallions, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, dull nevertheless ($17).
.  .  .

School Girls, or the African Mean Girls Play, written by Jocelyn Bioh from a Ghanaian family, is a revival from 2017. It is set in a Ghanaian girls school where the Queen Bee feels threatened by the arrival of a new student who is richer and paler. Combining melodrama and comedy (America's White Castles are thought of as palaces of privilege), it addresses colorism, status and the Eurocentric standards of beauty. However, these legacies of colonialism seem readily adopted by these young people 30 years after Ghana's independence.

Friday, September 18, 2026

This illustrates the budget for football at America's leading (football) schools. CCNY, my alma mater does not appear; it hasn't had a football team since 1950. It's just that I like the colors.

Posted by at 2 comments:

Friday, September 11, 2026

How Time Flies

Saturday, September 5, 2026
Mama’s TOO, 2750 Broadway, is extremely popular, having placed near the top of many local best pizza lists. When I walked in at 2:30 this afternoon it was jammed with kids young enough, but not interesting enough, to be my grandchildren. There is no seating for customers, just room to lurk.

Most of their pies are cut in squares, what we call Sicilian style, others Detroit. However, I had a wedge slice, “Uncle Joe’s” a special for the day, with pepperoni, whipped ricotta, pesto and plum tomatoes. Adding a 20 oz. bottle of Coke Zero came to $11, a formidable amount, too much by at least a couple of bucks. By the way, while I doubt that the pizza was named for Joseph Stalin, no one was able to explain the nomenclature.
.  .  .

 In an essay in advance of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Paul Goldberger, architectural critic, writes: “You can destroy something in an instant, but it will take a generation to rebuild it, and even then it cannot ever be the same.” https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/opinion/ground-zero-world-trade-center-rebuilding.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Although he is referring to physical structures, this wise observation applies to human relationships as well.

Sunday, September 6, 2026
We had brunch with David and Julie Sandler Friedman today, two of the best people around, at Casa Carmen, 5 West 21st Street. This Mexican restaurant evokes a comfortable hacienda, with pinkish beige adobe walls and exposed wood beams.

We shared Trio de Quesadillas filled with Oaxaca cheese, sautéed mushrooms, poblano peppers, zucchini blossoms, just delicious ($19). I had “Enfrijoladas de huevo a la Mexicana,” Mexican scrambled eggs, black bean sauce, crema, Cotija cheese ($21). For better or worse, we all skipped alcoholic drinks although Carmen makes powerful fruity margaritas. On the other hand, I got a parking space right in front of the door.
.  .  .

This study answers the question How Climate Resilient Are the World’s Largest Cities? https://alphageo.ai/how-climate-resilient-are-the-worlds-largest-cities/

Risks and preparedness are assessed. Some places are more naturally prone to threats making the quality of planning critical. Finding Chicago at the top is understandable, no hurricanes, no forest fires, no earthquakes. In contrast are Ahmedabad, India and Hyderabad, India, at the bottom of the list, facing extreme heat and flooding for months at a time. Addis Ababa follows Chicago, something that I would never guess. Alexa tells me that it "enjoys a calm subtropical climate . . . year round thanks to its elevation." By the way, if you are considering buying property in Addis Ababa, don't be put off by prices in the millions. One Ethiopian birr is worth about 0.0062 U.S. dollar.

Monday, September 7, 2026
Susan Sarandon is a fine actress; regard her work in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. She is also a committed advocate for Palestinians and is blaming Zionist forces for impinging on her career as a result. https://www.timesofisrael.com/blaming-zionists-susan-sarandon-says-shes-still-losing-film-roles-over-gaza-stance/?utm_source=The+Daily+Edition&utm_campaign=daily-edition-2026-09-07&utm_medium=email

My question is if it's okay to boycott a country's film industry (I "pledge not to screen films, appear at or otherwise work with Israeli film institutions" https://www.avclub.com/israeli-film-institution-boycott), is it okay to boycott one film star?
.  .  .

"Deny everything; apologize for nothing. Hog the spotlight. Counterattack, counterpunch, countersue. Always declare victory, even when you lose (especially when you lose). Resentment sells. Nativism sells. Cruelty, if not yet normal, becomes the norm. Rules and traditions are for suckers; everyone is, if not corrupt, at least corruptible.These are President Trump’s instincts, yes. But before they were his, they were Roy Cohn’s." From Carlos Lozada's review of a new biography of Roy Cohn. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/07/opinion/roy-cohn-kai-bird-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1._VA.GAfY.xIWfddhpRpDP&smid=url-share

Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Barbara & Bernie, cousins of cousins, will soon be returning to California for the Fall and Winter seasons, so tonight was our last supper in the Holy Land. We went to Crave Fishbar, 945 Second Avenue, and had an excellent meal and a very good parking space. We assembled an assortment of appetizers, side dishes and salads with complete success: Italian Burrata, creamy cheese, date-blood orange jam, pickled red onion, pistachio, grilled sourdough ($20); Tri-Color Crudo, seared tuna, Faroe Island salmon, yellowtail over Greek lemon parsley sauce ($22); grilled fish tacos, ancho chili espresso dusted sea bass, black bean puree, chipotle crema, cabbage slaw (four for $36); rice dusted Point Judith calamari, Thai miso sauce, mung bean sprouts, aleppo chile ($22); garlic chive griddled rice with snap peas and egg ($11).

A Van Leeuwen ice cream shop was nearby to finish the evening. I had one scoop of "Bigface Coffee Affogato" with hot fudge at no extra charge on Topping Tuesday ($7.95). We had to sleep well after all this.

Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Haunted houses are often windswept, isolated mansions. If you spend enough time in a local neighborhood, you might discover a commercial site that seems haunted in spite of its benign appearance. 208 West 70th Street fits that picture. I found evidence of six previous restaurants at that location, four of which we ate at before they closed. In fact, our great friend, that fabulous gentleman, Dean Alfange dined with us on Friday the 13th, 2020 at Tavola Della Nonna (our grandma's table) two days before the Covid shutdown. Unfortunately, grandma had her grand opening on February 3, 2020. The space lay idle for over six years. 

Wu's Dynasty had its soft opening on September 3rd on this site. The Boyz Club came for lunch today. The interior has been completely renovated, creating a big, open space with tasteful Chinese touches. A bit old school were the big tanks in the front window where lobsters, crabs and fish resided unaware of their pending fate.

The place was nearly full at lunchtime and service was smooth. It has a conventional Cantonese menu, no Peking duck, hot pot or cumin lamb. Carts circulate with a variety of dim sum, although not carrying as many as listed on their menu which could presumably be ordered directly. We only had dim sum, 12 dishes. The quality was generally B while the unit prices were A to my Chinatown trained eyes. We spent $31 each, some of it on real estate.

With the exception of Shun Lee West, 43 West 65th Street, there is no other “nice” Chinese restaurant on the Upper West Side and that might help Wu overcome the jinxed location.

Thursday, September 10, 2026
I skipped reading most of the newspaper this morning in order to get to a medical appointment. As it turned out, I could have dawdled another hour until I heard my name called. When I got to the newspaper late in the afternoon, it finished a story that I began on July 24th with a death notice for William Ciporen, someone I never met. However, I taught with Fred Ciporen in 1967-68 and Fred was listed as William’s brother.

I went to the funeral home on July 26th hoping to reunite with Fred, a very bright and witty fellow. I gave Fred’s son my card when he told me that his father was too ill to attend. I never heard from Fred in the next six weeks. Today, I read Fred’s death notice. He left teaching and had a very successful career in publishing. His funeral was this morning while I sat in the doctor’s office. 

Friday, September 11, 2026
As the anniversary of 9/11 continues through the day, Rosh haShana begins at sundown, the Jewish new year 5787. 

My sort of gift to myself were two shots in the tuchus yesterday to relieve hip and leg pain. I will search the prayer books over the weekend for the proper liturgical support. Accordingly, I will stay away from a keyboard for two days and release this contribution to the progress of civilization late this afternoon.
Posted by at No comments:

Saturday, September 5, 2026

Sunrise, Sunset

Saturday, August 29, 2026
This was a sort of yin and yang day. In the morning, we went to Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale for the Bar Mitzvah of the grandson of one of my wife’s dearest friends. The young man was impeccable in his command of the Hebrew prayers and Bible readings. In my time, I managed, but was never ever that good. 

In the evening, we paid a shiva call on the family of William Freund, who died nine days before his 100th birthday. He was a remarkable man, fleeing Nazi Germany as an adolescent. He attended Stuyvesant High School and CCNY. After a very successful business career, he often returned to Germany to discuss the Holocaust with students.

Sunday, August 30, 2026
The cost of housing is a critical factor in the affordability crisis. Many people are dealing with it by living with roommates in a practical economic relationship. https://www.storagecafe.com/blog/category/research-reports/

Shared housing has grown by at least 20% in the last decade. The savings can be substantial, $6,700 annually per person as a national average for two people in a two-bedroom apartment. In some cities, such as Jersey City, New Jersey and Irvine, California, the savings are nearly double that. Maybe marriage is not the only way that two can live as cheaply as one.
.  .  .

Everything costs money. A survey says that the average wedding guest spends $1,395 to attend a wedding.  

It’s just an average, not a limit. You may be unfortunate to have friends (worse, relatives) who think that Lake Como is the perfect setting for their marriage instead of the VFW hall around the corner. In 2024, 18% of couples reportedly hosted a destination wedding. 

As another example of my descent into antiquity is my fond recollection of driving to New Jersey for what I called a destination wedding.

Monday, August 31, 2026
A modest proposal: Wherever Donald Trump’s name or visage has been affixed or is in the process of being affixed to a public structure, the name or visage of Dolly Parton be substituted.
.  .  .

At first I was impressed by the Smart City Index, looking for a “good balance between its economic prowess (jobs and business activity included), applied technology, environmental concerns, and inclusiveness.” It placed Zurich, Oslo and Geneva at the top with London fourth. Seeing the Holy Land 45th was disquieting, though.

Then, I looked at the methodology. “A unique feature of IMD’s smart-city report is that it puts aside hard data to focus on the human aspect of city living, computing the answers of a survey of about 400 inhabitants per city to rank cities by their ‘livability.’” In other words, the opinions of 400 people in Gothenburg, Sweden, population 625,000, ranked #44, are worth a tad more than 400 New Yorkers out of a metropolitan area population of 11,311,000. 

Come on now. There are only two synagogues in Gothenburg. 
Worse, it only has 22 Chinese restaurants. 

Tuesday, September 1, 2026
Just over one week ago, Madam and I went to Best Buy to buy tablets. We did not have in mind recreating the Ten Commandments, but rather to have a convenient way to carry and read books. In fact, we each have been doing that for years and the very age of our devices was the reason that we were seeking replacements. Because Best Buy offered trade in allowances, we brought in a Mac Air laptop, a  mini iPad and a Kindle reader along with the two old tablets, hoping to offset a large portion of the very attractively priced new equipment.

Zero! Zip! Zilch! Nada! Rien! Gor nisht! Niente! Nihil! Do I make myself clear?

What might have originally been a couple of thousand bucks was now worthless except maybe to a scavenger looking for electronic components. It made me, of course, consider myself. What, if any, residual value did I have and to whom? My lifespan exceeded the combined age of all five electronic devices.

Wednesday, September 2, 2026
This morning, I got a message from Google announcing that my reviews of local establishments had been seen by a nice round number of people. As you know, I don’t hesitate to share my opinions, but I usually confine them to this blog, unpublished letters to the New York Times and my living room. I only had about half a dozen reviews in Google, most from the distant past and, upon rereading, some out of whack with my current point of view. 

Should I update them, delete them or ignore them? 
.  .  .

That Donald Trump is clever. After he spent six months unsuccessfully trying to impose his will  in the Middle East, “President Trump called on Iranians to ‘rise up and fight’.”
He obviously recognized the need for a competent military force to accomplish his goals.
.  .  .

Hey, Mom and Dad or Mom and Mom or Dad and Dad or Mom or Dad or To Whom It May Concern: As your high school senior contemplates a college choice, note that a list of the best party schools has just been published.  

Do not necessarily fear that four beer-soaked years yields only bad results. America’s Favorite Epidemiologist is a graduate of one of the Top 10.

Thursday, September 3, 2026
Terrific Tom and I had lunch at Lovely’s Old Fashioned, 642 Ninth Avenue, a sort of strange name for a hamburger joint. It’s a very small place, eight stools inside, four outside. Two guys work incessantly over a grill in front of you.

The menu is quite simple, a variety of hamburgers, a chicken sandwich and a hot dog plus the appropriate accoutrements. I had an excellent patty melt with sautéed onions, mushrooms, Swiss cheese, pickles and “Charlotte’s sauce” on grilled marble rye bread ($9.85). Their notable potatoes are called Sidewinder Fries, “a cross between a curly fry and a steak fry!” ($5.95). 

The tight quarters make it hard to linger at Lovely’s (the short-order cooks were too busy to be interrupted by our questions about the name), but it’s open until 1 AM, giving you plenty of time to enjoy great food.
.  .  .


I'd like to not believe it also.

Posted by at 2 comments:

Saturday, August 29, 2026

USA! USA!

Saturday, August 22, 2026
Everywhere you turn, Donald Trump has made America worse. Our health, our economy, our military, our influence, our security have all been weakened by his decisions. Only his bank account and that of a few (maybe more than a few) friends and relatives have improved under his reign. If I were conspiracy minded, I would suggest that he is under the influence of a hostile power. I can't go that far, but I wonder how that would differ from the world that he has created?
.  .  .

A lot of attention is being paid to the forthcoming return to Great Britain of the 
Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The New York Times reports that their failure to make a big splash in show business influenced their decision to leave their “sprawling estate” on America’s West Coast. 
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/22/us/meghan-harry-hollywood-uk-move.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

As we commoners read the article, sounds of skepticism and disbelief emerge at the amount of money and the nature of the deals they were involved with. $20 million from Spotify? An interview with Paris Hilton? $28 Orange blossom honey? 

It’s easy to fault the couple for their avariciousness, as we often do for an athlete signing a seemingly inflated contract. Find a baseball fan and ask him about Bobby Bonilla. But, do we forget that it takes two to tango? We more often direct our scorn to the hired rather than the hirer, the player not the team, the star not the studio. Why? Because on one side is a person, a recognized individual, even if supported by a retinue of lackeys, versus a typically faceless corporate entity of some sort. 
.  .  . 

After making an appointment for early tomorrow morning with the nearby Doc-in-a-box and canceling a brunch date with some of our dearest friends, we risked spreading germs at dinner with Barbara & Bernie, cousins of cousins, at Bustan, 487 Amsterdam Avenue, a Mediterranean restaurant with a distinct Israeli flavor. While it is not Kosher, it serves Kosher beef and chicken and offers several Kosher wines. Because of or in spite of that, the food was generally excellent. Bustan means garden in Arabic and there is a garden room at the back of the long, narrow space.

We shared everything, starting with two loaves of puffy, hot Taboon bread, dusted with za'atar, the Lebanese spice ($4 each). We dipped this into tahini, ground sesame seeds ($9) and tzatziki, yogurt mixed with dill ($9); and, continued with a large Israeli salad ($19). Batata followed, a heavenly roasted sweet potato ($12); then, smoked trout served over mashed potatoes ($25) and Kebab Halabi, three ground lamb balls cooked with tomatoes and onions, served in a bowl covered with Taboon bread, a sort of Moroccan pot pie ($37). Politics aside, if ever, this was an excellent meal.
.  .  .

Just across the street is Gelateria Gentile, 498 Amsterdam Avenue, has been open two years. It is the offshoot of an establishment in Bari, Italy, founded in 1880, with three other Holy Land locations, and an excellent product. I had a small cup with two flavors, tiramisu and stracciatella (Italian chocolate chip) (~$8, Bernie paid).  

Sunday, August 23, 2026
In case you’re looking for something to read, Dan Patrick, Republican, Texas Lieutenant Governor, is promoting a list of 2,200 dirty books to be removed from schools. It’s probably a good place to start.
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/full-list-books-dan-patrick-school-libraries/285-dccb696d-e6d8-4a6b-88e1-c1e06e4c800a
.  .  .

I just came across a bad idea that has nothing to do with Republicans. In fact, we Americans have been spared this entirely, so far at least. Coin operated elevators. 
https://www.gadgetreview.com/coin-operated-elevators-in-condominiums-and-apartment-buildings-are-becoming-more-common

How many quarters do you have in your pocket right now?
.  .  .

If you happen to believe that we should eat the rich, here’s your menu.
https://www.decoist.com/view/the-richest-families-in-america-ranked-in-order
.  .  .

We are at war. Not with Iran, they’ve won that one. We are in a trade war with Canada. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/world/canada/canada-us-trade-war-trump-carney.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

And this is serious business. Every puck used in a National Hockey League game is manufactured in Canada by one company. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inglasco

Additionally, the sticks used by professional hockey players are made by several different companies, none in America (real America). https://bladetechhockey.com/blogs/news/where-are-nhl-sticks-made

Bauer and CCM manufacture 90% of the skates worn in the National Hockey League. https://cncruixi.com/top-10-hockey-skate-manufacturers/

They are both Canadian companies. The remaining 10% are made by companies in California, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Illinois and Michigan.

Monday, August 24, 2026
This is an interesting look at the law school origins of law school faculties. “Yale graduates have roughly three times the rate of success as graduates of Harvard, Stanford, and Chicago; while graduates of those latter three schools have at least three times the rate of success of graduates of Berkeley, Columbia, Michigan et al.”
https://leiterreports.com/2026/07/22/top-producers-of-law-teachers-at-the-leading-law-schools-since-1995-published-originally-january-31-2011/

Cardozo, my law school, while not included as a producer of faculty, appears frequently as a faculty destination.

Tuesday, August 25, 2026
A few weeks ago, I heard Zalman Newfield, Associate Professor at Hunter College, discuss his book Brooklyn Odyssey: My Journey Out of Hasidism. Newfield is not bitter about his focused background, believing that it was the basis for his intellectual curiosity. He is speaking again on Tuesday, September 15 at 6 PM at Fordham Law School, McMahon 109, 155 West 60th Street. The event is free. Register by e-mail to JewishStudies@fordham.edu.

Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Some people see the end of summer as the end of ice cream eating season. I share little DNA with such people. On the other hand, we Americans may be second in military prowess in the Middle East and Indochina, but we fall further behind in per capita ice cream consumption. 

Not only does New Zealand out pace us, it seems to have innovated into territory where Ben & Jerry's hasn't. Hokey pokey anyone?

Friday, August 28, 2026
The Trinity
Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law
Tony Kushner, author of Angels in America
.  .  .

Bulletin: Canada Geese now called Donald Ducks

ca4
Posted by at 1 comment:

Saturday, August 22, 2026

Down For The Count

Saturday, August 15, 2026
Noam is 16 today.
.  .  .

Usually, I develop my blog close to real time. In other words, if something happens or I learn of it on Tuesday, I will write about it on Tuesday or Wednesday. I am making an exception for two articles that appeared in the New York Times on Thursday, August 13th. I chose to delay for two reasons: 1) I had already packed in a lot for the week; 2) I wanted to think a bit. The articles are:

Should Letting Children Play Alone Outside Be a Crime? 
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/11/well/family/children-safety-independence-laws.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
To Improve Student Mental Health, University of Michigan Eases Grading https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/11/us/university-michigan-grades-freshmen-pass-fail.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

The connection is obvious to me. How are we raising our kids? I read these stories, just as I experience most things in life, through the lens of my own upbringing and education. See Karl Mannheim's Ideology and Utopia (1929). My first 13 years were spent in Brooklyn, in a working class/lower middle class neighborhood, in a household of modest means. Ironically, the neighborhood had a major Mafia presence, which made it safe for us locals. Although I was an indifferent student, my success on standardized tests helped me along.

Outside of school and the home, the world of the neighborhood children, including me and my brother, was entirely self-governing. It centered almost entirely on the large schoolyard across the street from our home. Very little of importance occurred outside the schoolyard. We definitely were not bundled into cars and taken to another venue.

The rules of the games that we played and our general code of conduct were internalized from an early age. While there was certainly a cultural divide between the Italian kids and the Jewish kids (that's all there was), there was no dispute at the practical level. When is a ball fair or foul? Who's got next? When must you win by two points?

The article on children's play speaks of supervision, independence and neglect. Certainly, our dictionaries contained these terms, but they had no connection to our daily lives as children. The article says that "stranger danger" is now a factor in parent-child relations, emerging from the tragic case of Etan Patz in 1979, long after my childhood. "When the missing children’s movement first began to attract public attention during the mid-1980s, figures as high as 50,000 abductions per year in the United States were initially reported. Professional researchers, however, countered that such statistics were greatly overstated and that more accurate figures were between 70 and 600 abductions per year."
https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/law/kidnapping

The toothpaste will never be returned to my tube, I understand, but my experience offers a way to measure the world today.

One area that has had no need, in my view, to squeeze the tube is higher education. Higher can't and shouldn't mean easier. What I learned from Greek tragedies, without going to the movies, is that Adversity Builds Character or at least it affords us the opportunity to build character whether we like it or not. The world does not get friendlier or less challenging as we move through it. It is reasonable to expect just the opposite.

Making the first year of college a sort of rest stop on the road to academic achievement is precisely the wrong way to develop mature, competent individuals. I don't know about medical school, but law school almost has it right. Performance in 1L, the first year, controls much of your destiny. The key elements of law - contracts, torts, criminal law, civil procedure, property and constitutional law - are typically front loaded on the 1L menu.

Taking time to acclimate to the demands of your new environment will not win cases or clients.

Monday, August 17, 2026
Miles Davis released Kind of Blue on August 17, 1959. It should be a national holiday.
.  .  .

This screenshot shows the cost of living in the most expensive U.S. cities versus the national average.

It doesn’t necessarily correlate to the cost of raising a child. 


I am surprised that the Holy Land doesn’t lead this list with so many families turning to private schools and expensive extracurricular activities.

Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Here’s a factoid that will probably evoke a “Wow!” Ralph Nader, age 92, does not own a cellphone, a computer or a credit card. 

Of course, the following story is a good reason to not own a computer. “Google Just Made It Easier for Campaigns to Send You Fund-Raising Emails”
.  .  .

I had lunch at Mila Cafe, 694 Columbus Avenue, not named after the kids’ other grandmother. It’s a small place, 18 chairs and 2 stools, almost all occupied at the lunch hour. The top 2/3rds of the walls are painted Columbia University blue. One woman at the counter takes your order and your money and later delivers your food.

The whole menu is presented on 10 small blackboards above eye level. Prices are remarkably reasonable, French toast or pancakes are $9, omelettes with any three ingredients $11. I had a panini, honey turkey, mustard, provolone, lettuce and tomato on a nicely toasted ciabatta ($8.95).

Wednesday, August 19, 2026
This is a picture of 2/3rds of half a page in today’s New York Times business section. It is headed NOTICE OF NAMES OF PERSONS APPEARING AS OWNERS OF CERTAIN UNCLAIMED PROPERTY. I think that I counted 141 names. Of course, I looked for me and other familiar names, which was quite difficult considering the complete randomness of the list.  While so much of current technology and economic news deals with A.I., could someone have thought to ask for this list in alphabetic order? It might have taken 30 seconds on the outside, saving countless readers from squinting over the names searching for a match. Or, is it better to talk of the life-changing potential of A.I. without putting it to use?
.  .  .

Jolibee is a very successful Philippine-based fried chicken chain. It has over 1,700 stores worldwide, but only two in Manhattan. I’ve now been to both, eating a late lunch at 14 East 42nd Street. Perched between the New York Public Library and Grand Central Station, it will always be busy. 

Three electronic tablets are available for ordering. It was simple, intuitive even. I had a combo, two pieces of chicken, a biscuit, gravy, mashed potatoes (instead of French fries) and a fountain Diet Coke (no refills) ($12.99). The chicken pieces were thighs, hot from the fryer. One was regular seasoning and one was spicy, genuinely spicy. All good.

Friday, August 21, 2026
Attention: Bob Saginaw, Cousin Jerry L., My Brother, Stony Brook Steve
You are all superior researchers. Please find out who was the first guy (undoubtedly male) to wear his baseball cap backwards and why and is it too late to punish him?
.  .  .

“President Trump this week promised an ‘economic D-Day’ against Iran, a ‘crushing’ operation to ‘cripple’ Iran.” 

Is that the same Iran that we previously annihilated, destroyed, blown to pieces, obliterated? Or, as the White House press release of March 3, 2025 declared “We’ll Never Tire of Winning Under President Trump.”
Posted by at 5 comments:

Saturday, August 15, 2026

We All Scream For Ice Cream

Saturday, August 8, 2026
“A picture is worth a thousand words” seemed so very true until computerized tools and especially A.I. came along. Now, something will have to happen right in front of your eyes to be trusted. Even when there is no question of veracity though, words may still be needed to clarify what you are seeing.

This chart ties travel experiences to nationality; who travels more. 


The rankings are clear, but is that all that is needed to be said? Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany, whose citizens are most traveled, have good roads and highways, modern transportation systems, friendly neighbors and relatively prosperous populations in contrast to India, Indonesia and Nigeria, at the other end of the scale.

But, here is where words make things more interesting. Consider Australia, apparently well-traveled. While it is prosperous and its mostly urban population has good roads and transportation systems, it abuts nothing but water. Yet, Australians travel a lot. One reason that I can think of is vacation policy. Employed Australians are guaranteed at least four weeks annually of paid vacation, accrued from the first day of work. 

Since the full-time adult average weekly total earnings of Australians is near or at the top ten worldwide, travel benefits.
.  .  .

Whether it was late lunch or early dinner, Madam and I decided to go out to eat. Bengal Tiger, 234 West 56th Street, has moved from its dark, crowded second floor location down the block to a bright, airy ground floor site, done in taupe and cream. It was only around 15% full at four o’clock, resulting in quick and attentive service.

We went right to main courses, she - vegetable korma, mildly spiced curry with vegetables simmered in coconut milk ($21); me - lamb biryani, cubed lamb, basmati rice and spices slow-cooked in a sealed pot ($24). Portions were large; neither of us joined the Clean Plate Club. The quality was consistently high. 

Sunday, August 9, 2026
I have opinions and I seem to have little reluctance to share them. In many areas, my point of view is just that of an ordinary person and I expect to be regarded that way. But, in some matters, I am deeply grounded and offer my opinion with sincere concern for your good and welfare.

Which brings me to whitefish salad. I have long held that Zucker’s Bagels & Smoked Fish, 273 Columbus Avenue and other local locations, offers the best in town. While that may still remain true, they have taken a step backwards based on today’s purchase. It was merely good, not excellent. Previously, there used to be just enough mayonnaise to bind the fish, now it was a distinct ingredient. It is aiming towards the ordinary. Proceed accordingly.

Monday, August 10, 2026
It was another Double Doctor Day, neurologist and orthopedist, with a physical therapy session thrown in as well, all that before dinner.

At 7 PM, we went to the Westside JCC to see Ethan Bloom, a movie about a young teenager who wants to join the Catholic Church rather than get Bar Mitzvahed. The screenwriter was present for Q&A, herself a convert to Judaism from Catholicism. It was a better film about adolescence than about religion and, on the whole, I would suggest seeing it.

Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Vive la France!
.  .  .

While driving back from a shopping trip to New Jersey for a new kitchen light fixture among other things, my lovely wife read me part of a Talmudic debate among ancient rabbis. The situation was so arcane that describing it as one in a million would be a gross overstatement of its probability. My reaction was that these guys had too much time on their hands. Maybe the ratio of rabbis to Hebrews back then was skewed, not enough Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, funerals and the like to keep them all busy. So, they filled the idle time splitting hairs. If those guys (no female rabbis until the 20th century) were like me, there were tasks left undone while they ruminated. 
  • Did you fix the tent?
  • Did you feed the sheep?
  • Did you get my sandals back?
  • Did you finish digging the new latrine?
  • Did you walk the camel?
Wednesday, August 12, 2026 
Among the results of yesterday’s primaries, the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial race surprised many people. Francesca Hong, the Democratic Socialist, held a big lead in almost all pre-election polls, but lost by a narrow margin. My own research uncovered the reason. Ms. Hong had previously made the controversial suggestion that Thanksgiving be abolished. However, the rush of electoral support from turkeys failed to materialize, because most were found ineligible to vote.
.  .  .

I had the pleasure of Terrific Tom’s company at lunch today at Kung Fu Kitchen, 610 Eighth Avenue. It’s relatively new, narrow, neat and clean, in an area that’s less tidy overall. The menu features dumplings, dim sum and noodles, priced fairly for the portion size. 

We shared soup dumplings (6 for $11.95), Taiwanese popcorn chicken ($12.95) and scallion pancake with braised beef ($10.95). Each dish was very good and went well with Diet Coke ($2.50). Even though it was matinee day and we were just beyond the edge of the theater district, service handled the full house efficiently. We expect to return to this place often.
.  .  .

In 2024, the New York Times announced that it was stopping endorsements in New York congressional and Senate races and the city’s mayoral elections.

Are voters now taking the time to study the qualifications and policies of contesting candidates without the guidance of the New York Times? Of course, if voters are doing their own biomedical research, as advocated by our MAHA friends, they may not have time to dig into politics. 

But fear not. The New York Times is still taking a firm stand where it counts: “The Best Ice Cream Shops in New York City Right Now.”

18 establishments, some with multiple locations, are identified. I am sorry to say that Salt & Straw, 360 Amsterdam Avenue and 540 Hudson Street locally, and Ample Hills Creamery, 526 Amsterdam Avenue and 3 locations in Brooklyn and Queens, two of Grandpa Alan’s favorites are omitted. However, that doesn’t necessarily disqualify those included.

On the other hand, The Infatuation, a professional group of food writers and critics 
offers “The 19 Best Ice Cream Spots In NYC.” https://www.theinfatuation.com/new-york/guides/the-best-ice-cream-in-nyc

Surprisingly/Unsurprisingly there is very little duplication and Salt & Straw is included. For a broader view, Time Out offers "The best ice cream shops in America." 

One place tops two lists and appears in the other unranked list and I haven't been there yet!

Thursday, August 17, 2026
What do the Strait of Hormuz and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have in common?

They were both open before Donald Trump became President of the United States.


Posted by at 1 comment:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)