Saturday, June 28, 2025
Iza ana amir wa-inta amir — min rah yisuq el-hamir?
If I’m a prince and you’re a prince, who’ll drive the donkeys?
. . .
I’ve made an important discovery, an excellent store-bought babka.
The pretzel element is in the twisting; it is not brittle and salty. It is more chocolatey than Breads Bakery’s, the best that I have had before. I bought it at Morton Williams Fresh Marketplace, 2015 Broadway, where at $16.99 it is $4 more expensive than at ShopRite.
. . .
I was stymied as to the right wedding gift for Jeff and Lauren. There seemed to be no obvious gap in their possessions. Fortunately, Kim suggested that we go in together and get something special. I’m letting her do the shopping.
. . .
In Trump v. CASA, Inc., the United States Supreme Court just held that federal courts may not give universal injunctions, in this instance to maintain birthright citizenship. The majority took a seemingly technical approach, ignoring the policy implications.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson saw through this. “Perhaps the degradation of our rule-of-law regime would happen anyway. But this court’s complicity in the creation of a culture of disdain for lower courts, their rulings and the law (as they interpret it) will surely hasten the downfall of our governing institutions, enabling our collective demise.”
. . .
We met intrepid fellow travelers Jill & Steve for dinner at Moonstone Modern Asian Cuisine & Bar, 14 Northern Boulevard, Great Neck. It is a large, bright space, comfortably furnished with no ethnic touches except for the menu and the waiters. The large menu combines Chinese and Japanese elements, although we stuck to the former.
We all shared scallion pancakes ($16) and sesame cold noodles ($19). They were good, the noodles very good and obviously expensive as were all the other dishes. Steve and I, the carnivores, shared Mango Chicken with Honey Walnuts ($31) and Crispy Beef ($34), a generous portion of thick strands of beef. Service was slow, a virtue in this case since we don’t see these friends often enough. There was also ample parking.
Sunday, June 29, 2025
זה הזמן לבצע צ'ק אין לטיסתך
. . .
An obituary appears today for John Robbins, “Author of Groundbreaking Diet Book.” It wasn’t my obvious need for such guidance that connected me to him, however attenuated. It was a family matter. He was the son of a co-founder of Baskin-Robbins.
Sometime in early 1964, when I was a graduate student at Cornell University, my dear friend Andy asked me to join him at the ΑΕΦ sorority house, an eminent collection of young Jewish women. Among the attractions was Marsha Robbins, he said, something to do with ice cream. While the original stores began in the mid-1940s, Baskin-Robbins was formed in 1953. In 1964, however, it was still concentrated in the West and unknown to my gluttonous palate. “Who’s this Robbins?” I said dismissively; the Baskin was silent. I never met Marsha Robbins, who
subsequently transferred to Stanford University after her freshman year. The 31 flavors never included me.
. . .
This evening I attended a memorial service on Zoom for my friend Larry Storrs. I learned that he served as a bishop in his stake (congregation) of the Latter Day Saints a/k/a the Mormons, a disfavored term. A bishop has a fixed term, combining the functions of the rabbi and the president of the shul. We never addressed spiritual matters, an area that I religiously avoid. We focussed on politics instead, where Larry sounded more like a New York Jew than a Utah Mormon.
Monday, June 30, 2025
My problems with Booking.com drew me to the National Customer Rage Survey.
I think all of us qualify at one time or another.
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
David Goldfarb passed away 15 months ago. Stony Brook Steve still calls him the Chairman. A group of six met for lunch at Pastrami Queen, 138 West 72nd Street, to celebrate David’s 96th birthday. He was an authoritative source on wine, apples, cheese, tomatoes, fish, herbs, orchids and several historical periods. Our learned group in aggregate could only approximate the breadth of his knowledge. Recognizing our limits, we concentrated on the food.
Since it was Tuesday, I ordered the Tuesday special, pastrami and corned beef each on a dinner roll with French fries, coleslaw and a pickle ($22.50). A fitting tribute to a great friend.
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
It was by the narrowest margin, but the United States Senate really showed those poor slobs who’s in charge. Now, it’s the turn of the House of Representatives.
. . .
Among the many ugly things happening in Washington these days, the attack on science forebodes long lasting consequences. In the absence of inquiry and investigation, we may know less about accomplishing good things and avoiding bad things. Fortunately, one valuable study has just been completed — What’s cool. https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/xge-xge0001799.pdf
“From San Francisco to Santiago, Sydney to Seoul, people want to be cool.” We are talking Miles Davis cool. The study doesn’t provide a path as much as identifying a goal. “Cool people are largely perceived to be extroverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous.” A good lesson was provided by Oscar Brown, Jr. in 1961. https://youtu.be/z4yEyDjclo4?
Thursday, July 3, 2025
In its campaign to Make America Grovel Again, the administration is pushing a bill that, among other things, would cut healthcare spending by a trillion dollars or more, disregarding the fact that healthcare is the leading employer in 38 states, employing about 13% of the national workforce.
. . .
My brother’s daughter and grandchildren, normally far afield, are in the vicinity. Therefore, we all gathered for lunch at LouCás, 9 Lincoln Highway, Edison, New Jersey, a very nice Italian restaurant that resembles, in my mind, a country club dining room, although I have rarely if ever been in one. The long lunch menu was augmented by many specials which the waiter recited without a hitch. Everything that followed was very good.
We ordered two plates of Fried Shoe String Zucchini, sprinkled with fresh grated Romano cheese ($12). The portion was so large that one plate would have been enough for the eight of us, although I made sure that none remained. I also had some shared fried calamari in a chunky mango sauce, a daily special not on the menu.
My main course was "Maryland Lump Crabmeat Broiled and Glazed with a Chardonny [sic] Buerre Blanc Sauce" ($19). The issue was quantity not quality. The portion should have been larger or the price lower. On the other hand, the chocolate-covered Peanut Butter Bomb, the size of a baseball, was well worth the $9. With so many people at the table, I couldn't keep up with all food. I did observe eggplant rollatini filled with a blend of ricotta and parmesan cheese served with pasta ($15) a couple of times, broiled shrimp stuffed with Crabmeat Imperial Stuffing ($19) a couple of times, grouper special ($?), and a crab cake special ($?). LouCás, to its credit, has a BYOB policy, which keeps a hearty meal within economic boundaries.
Wise Rabbi Jonah Rank writes: "Because the Hebrew language originated several millennia ago and arose in a land far from where many Jews had settled in their Diasporic homes—Jews regularly read sacred books filled with words that even those who speak Hebrew fluently struggle to understand." With that in mind, consider the Second Amendment to the Constitution. "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Unlike the ancient Hebrews, we are removed from the Founding Fathers by only 236 years and 94 miles via the New Jersey Turnpike. Yet, we struggle to make sense of their words. In fact, for 217 years the Second Amendment was considered as only addressing a collective right to bear arms, that is to field a militia. In 2008, however, in a 5-4 decision written by Antonin Scalia the United States Supreme Court held that it protected an individual's right to bear arms from most forms of government regulation. Sanity in gun control is now as unachievable as fairness in our tax code.
