Ronnie To Donnie

Saturday, September 7, 2024 

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth and an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle.

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There seems to have been very little change in ownership of the properties adjoining Palazzo di Gotthelf over the years. Even when I noticed a new face, Holy Land protocol kept me from exchanging more than Hellos. This survey of local buyers’ origins, therefore, was especially interesting. Who was buying here, now and then.

https://www.propertyshark.com/Real-Estate-Reports/2024/08/13/buying-nyc-tracking-out-of-state-and-local-buyers-in-2024-vs-2014/

The results are not really surprising. Other New York State residents followed by Jersey folk lead the parade, actually a parade that has thinned out over time. Population size and proximity play a big role in this migration, California, Florida, Connecticut and Texas coming next. Unfortunately, foreign buyers are lumped together, Shanghai chefs with Russian oligarchs and Mediterranean gun runners. (Hey Autocorrect, that was gun not fun.)

Sunday, September 8, 2024

According to the New York Times, "voters are unsure they know enough about where Kamala Harris stands."

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/08/us/politics/trump-and-harris-times-siena-poll.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=highlightShare

Therefore, Donald Trump remains even or slightly ahead in many public opinion polls. That’s perfectly understandable, since his policies will evidently produce bigger, stronger, faster, prettier, safer, taller, curlier, tastier, slimmer results and tax cuts for everyone.

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It was a recent feel-good story when Farhan Al-Qadi, a Bedouin Israeli hostage who was kidnapped on October 7 by Hamas, was rescued by the IDF on August 28. Look how broad minded, how inclusive we Jews are. But, most Israeli Bedouins have a harsh life, deprived of basics, forget privileges, to a degree that I failed to recognize.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/07/middleeast/israel-bedouins-arabs-unrecognized-villages-neglected-hamas-war-mime-intl?cid=ios_app

A quote from an obituary for Rabbi Michael Lerner sticks with me in spite of too many exceptions. “Jewish religion is irrevocably committed to the side of the oppressed.” My family was not political and we did not speak of social justice at the dinner table. Rather, if you went to more than one Passover seder, you internalized a rooting interest in freedom and justice, the very essence of Judaism in my eyes. At the very least, it fostered a guilty conscience and sometimes it generated a charitable act. Clearly, Israeli Bedouins deserve more than that. 

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After spending most of the week changing dressings, my young bride deserved a treat. So, we went to Bhatti Grill, 100 Lexington Avenue, for good Indian food. Almost empty when we entered, the 16 tables inside were all soon occupied as were most of the half dozen outside. It was a good choice for all of us.

We started with Banarsi Chaat, grilled potato patties with chickpeas, tamarind and yogurt sauce ($9.95). Just listing the ingredients doesn't do justice to this dish, which has a surprising kick. Note, they claim the menus are outdated with lower prices. My main was Kalmi Kebab, three small chicken legs (the menu calls them thighs) marinated in yogurt and black pepper ($16.95). Misidentification aside, it was delicious. Madam had Khatte Baingan, eggplant cooked in tomatoes and tamarind ($16.95). I had one good taste of this and I would order it myself.

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Most of us will be paying attention to Harris vs. Trump tonight. But, what’s your reaction to the Fleet vs. the Frost? The Professional Women’s Hockey League announced the names of its original six teams, following the Original Six of the National Hockey League — New York, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal and Toronto, Rangers, Bruins, Blackhawks, Red Wings, Canadiens and Maple Leafs. 

The PWHL, unfortunately, has saddled most of its teams with awkward names — Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montreal Victoire and Ottawa Charge plus New York Sirens and Toronto Sceptres. Singular team names are not unknown in sports, more prevalent at the college level, but still a rarity for most professional teams in the major sports. While the National Basketball Association has four single names among 30 teams, the Women’s National Basketball Association has eight single names among 12 teams. 

Even if some teams fail to show team spirit, they are nevertheless a team, not a thing: Minnesota Vikings, not Minnesota Frost. As an aside, I would eliminate abominations, such as Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers, the unthinking retention of names after a relocation. So, back to the drawing board PWHL and bring on the Boston Beans, the Minnesota Icy Toes, the Montreal Croissants and the Ottawa Owls.

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I returned to see Dr. Jesse Lewin to have my stitches removed so I don’t look like I lost a fight with a sewing machine. With my nose now reduced to ugly from grotesque, I ventured forth to meet Michael Ratner for lunch at Vanessa’s Dumpling House, 1623 Second Avenue. Starting from a small storefront on the Lower East Side, Vanessa has expanded to seven locations, including Brooklyn, Queens and northern New Jersey.

We shared spicy boiled beef dumplings ($8.88 for 8 pieces), a Peking duck sesame pancake sandwich ($9.88), and noodles with sesame peanut sauce ($8.88). The large portion of noodles was disappointing, the sauce was weak, not very peanutty. All else was very good and Michael’s company was as good as always.

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

We had the exquisite pleasure of having Dr. Allison come over for dinner. She is here to address a medical conference. She chose her mother’s cooking over a Michelin star on her expense account. What a tribute!

Thursday, September 12, 2024

La Grenouille was one of the Le and La restaurants that opened in the 1960s, beautiful, toney, expensive. During the 1980s, I think that I got to them all, because I was in a position to charge clients for my indulgences. As my career regressed, these opportunities faded. 

The absence of my patronage made no difference to their fate, but time and changes to manners and mores did. La Grenouille, a particularly beautiful setting, is closing this week after 62 years. Its website cited devotees, such as “Gregory Peck, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sidney Poitier, Salvador Dali, Sophia Loren, David Bowie, Truman Capote, Lee Radziwill a veritable who's who of the world's most beautiful and celebrated.” I don’t feel slighted.

Friday, September 13, 2024

A review of a new biography of Ronald Reagan says that “today, he is wreathed in a cloud of nostalgia, and many historians have judged him both consequential and effective." I grant that he was consequential, but, viewed free of nostalgia, I think that Reagan was destructive. He initiated a cycle of weakening government to allow power to return to selfish private interests as had been customary before the New Deal.

His mantra, stated in his first inaugural address, was “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” He imagined that a nation of hundreds of millions of people could proceed on a glide path regulated only by the laws of supply and demand.

Forty-four years later, about half the American voting population imagine that bluster, bankruptcy and debauchery are ample qualifications for governance.