Another pet peeve

This is in response to Dr J's comment on my Jonathan 2.0 post.

Often as I'm getting off the subway on a cold morning with my mug of hot tea, soon to begin another day's work at the hospital, enjoying the remaining fleeting minutes of tranquility and peace; I find myself dodging would-be passengers flying down the steps trying to catch the subway I just left. Besides being dangerous (I read an article about a guy who tripped on the last step as he ran down the steps and fell onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train) and rude (they could very well cause me to spill my tea), the greater offense is that these tardy passengers destroy the last remnants of my morning peace.

Never run down the stairs to the subway. Just watch the doors close as you walk down, and think to yourself, "I should have given myself more time to catch this train. Here I am reaping what I sow. At least all is right with the universe." And please, stay to the right so that I can ascend in peace with my Earl Grey.

Two things to ponder

From an article in last week's Economist about the general sentiment of Europeans toward the EU:

Nobody has a good word for apathy. Arnold Toynbee, a historian, thought it defined the penultimate stage of decadence. Civilisations proceed, he said, from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to apathy; from apathy to dependency; and from dependency back to bondage. Apathy is also anti-democratic: democracy requires the informed consent of the governed, and will not last if voters can't be bothered.

Although the article was written in reference to Europe, I couldn't help but think about America's history. Although much has changed for the better throughout our short 225-year history, my intuition tells me we are settling our large-waisted selves onto the sagging sofa of apathy, from which it is difficult to reach the generous bowl of chips and guacamole resting on the coffee table of abundance. In other words, I would pin our civilization somewhere between selfishness and apathy on Toynbee's degenerative timeline.

It's almost laughable to think that America in 2007 demonstrates, more than ever before, such socio-political virtues as courage, tenacity, humility, wisdom, and compassion. And strangely, this couch isn't as comfortable as I first thought, but I'm too lazy to get up.

My second thought is the strange parade of celebrities who of late have made inexcusable and unquestionably racially insensitive remarks (I'm thinking of Mel Gibson, Michael Richards, and now Don Imus) who have then, after profuse and sometimes ambiguously sincere apologies, are then pulverized by cultural leaders via media coverage. Interestingly, this particular trio comprises three white men. The race and gender of the offender, however, are irrelevant to the pattern.

I read these comments by various players on the Rutger's basketball team on CNN.com.

• Don Imus "has stolen a moment of pure grace from us."
• "We are highly angered at his remarks but deeply saddened with the racial characterization they entailed."
• "We were stripped of this moment by degrading comments made by Mr. Imus last Wednesday. What hurts the most about this situation is that Mr. Imus knows not one of us personally."
• We just hope to come to some type of understanding of what the remarks really entailed, his reasons why they were said."

The strange thing to me is that these comments would seem appropriate if the offensive remarks came from someone close and well known. Is it unreasonable to suggest that one could just ignore rude and racist remarks? Is it true that responding with dignity rather than victimization (or not responding at all) would let the focus fall on the offender and his ignonimy? Is there any room to give a person the benefit of the doubt that his apology is sincere?

My favorite comment is the third. Why does the impersonal nature of their relationship lead to more and not less hurt?

Might I even suggest, without being accused of defending Mr Imus, that the reaction to this situation might be seen as more about punishment than reconciliation? To the women of the Rutgers basketball team, I say: Good work this season. You did well. And ignore the comments of those whose minds are smaller by far than your achievements.

Addendum
-------------------
My friend Ezer shared with me an article by Gwen Ifill in the NY Times today. I appreciated her perspective. A couple interesting things she wrote:

"I’ve been working in journalism long enough that there is little danger that a radio D.J.’s juvenile slap will define or scar me." This is what I was getting at by ignoring the comments. Rise above them.

And secondly, "So here’s what this voice has to say for people who cannot grasp the notion of picking on people their own size: This country will only flourish once we consistently learn to applaud and encourage the young people who have to work harder just to achieve balance on the unequal playing field." I think she's right in implying that Imus isn't picking on people his own size. The Rutgers girls stand far taller than he.

NYC American food

Where is Jonathan's favorite place to get American food in NYC? That would have to be Toast.

I've written about this restaurant before. If only I lived a little closer to it, it would be the ideal neighborhood restaurant. You can go for brunch. You can go for drinks. And their meals are both inexpensive and delicious. As one reviewer puts it on www.menupages.com, "My goal this year is to become a regular at Toast, so that when I walk in [to] this great bar / [restaurant] -Phoebe and Alex and Lex and Suzanne...all shout my name..." Another reviewer writes, "It's unpretentious. They don't try too hard, but on the other hand they don't try too hard not to try too hard."

From reviewing my Gmail calendar and from memory, I can recollect at least twelve times I've been.

July 2006--Dinner with Clay and Zach
July 2006--Brunch with Zach and Emily
November 2006--Lunch with DavidO
November 2006--Brunch with Mom and Dad
December 2006--Brunch with Choir
January 2007--Drinks with William
January 2007--Dinner with Dustin and Mauricio
January 2007--Drinks with Justin
March 2007--Dinner with William
March 2007--Dinner with Justin
April 2007--Dinner with Dustin and Dustin
April 2007--Dinner with Justin and Clay

I suppose I'm pleased with this track record. I'll see if I can go every month this year. My favorite dishes include the Buffalo chicken salad and the Eggs Benedict. A $3 beer at happy hour is easy on the wallet.

There's another restaurant up on 181st called Jesse's Place which rivals Toast in atmosphere. Cozy, dark, and half-way below ground with lots of rich stained wood. However, the service is slower, the atmosphere isn't as lively, it's just a tad more pricey, and whereas I have several friends who live close to Toast, I don't know anyone else in the 181st Street neighborhood. I've only been a couple times, but both times the food was delicious. Turkey burger, and lamb kabob.

And then there's the Chelsea Grill. Owing to its location on Ninth Avenue and 45th Street, it will never be my "neighborhood restaurant" as long as I live in Washington Heights. However, it is a good place to take guests to if we happen to be in the Times Square area. The funny thing about visitors is that they they like to be tourists ("Let's see Times Square!") but they also like to ape "real" New Yorkers. So when I give them a choice between eating at Bubba Gump's Shrimp on Times Square, or walking over a couple blocks to Ninth Avenue where "normal New Yorkers" eat, they'll always choose the latter.

I've been to the Chelsea Grill at least four times. I've had one of the best burgers ever there, and their Bartlett pear salad consistently impresses. Their prices are fair, and the atmosphere is that of a slightly upscale and smaller Toast. The best feature of the location is a glass garage door at the front of the narrow room that opens up to the sidewalk when the weather is nice.

One last thought: I've noticed New Yorkers love eating outside. Whether the weather is 50 degrees or 90 degrees, you'll see diners happily munching and talking in sidewalk cafes. Wish more cities were like this!

Vanity and opacity

I was just looking over yesterday's post, and I had a sudden realization that a blog can be a very vain thing. My blog is infatuated with my life. It's all about me. I guess it is nice to be a superstar, but here I am once again writing about my own thoughts. Ah well, still, perhaps, better than regularly emailing every post out to a long list of family and soon to be former friends. As it is they read by choice.

I ran across an interesting letter in this week's Economist, which I will now reproduce in full for the purpose of offering commentary:

"Sir--I believe your obituary on the "death" of "Jean Baudrillard" is in error (March 17th). Sub-Lacanian theory would presuppose that the signified "Baudrillard" is merely a new-modernist capitalist paradox and "death" is a sub-textual patriachalist paradigm interpolated through a post-colonialist hermeneutic.

"As such, as Sontag states, "society is dead"; the signifier is merely replicated as a series of pre-cultural totalities implying post-Foucaultian absurdity. A Derridean reading would suggest that Murphy's mythopoetic reality is a more appropriate gesture to assume."

Thor Halland
Pattaya, Thailand

My commentary: Most pieces are written to communicate ideas. That is not the case here. But I do like the term "mythopoetic".

How to spend a post-call day

0630 Roll out of the call-room bed so as to be changed and leaving the hospital by 0700.

0700 Leave hospital. Pick up amNewYork on the way out. Work on the crossword puzzle on the subway.

0730 Arrive home. Start another crossword puzzle.

0800 Eat breakfast: yogurt, pomegranate juice, Trader Joe's low-fat granola

0830 Work on home network between Clay's and my computer to transfer gigantic iTunes files (namely, six episodes of The Office purchased by me) from his to my computer.

1030 Succeed at transferring files over the new wireless home network.

1035 To Target in Marble Hill. Start third crossword puzzle on the subway.

1105 Purchase two 6-packs of new socks. I'd forgotten that putting on brand new socks is one of my favorite of life's "little pleasures." Finding money in a jacket pocket during the first chill of the fall is another.

1200 Meet Justin at Columbia's Dodge Fitness Center

1330 Email

1415 Sit on steps in the pleasant afternoon sunshine in front of the Low Library. Finish third crossword puzzle; read The Economist.

1500 Stop by Chase bank to buy quarters.

1545 Laundry

1830 Meet Dustin Michael C____ at Toast with his friend from the Manhattan School of Music, also named Dustin Michael.

2015 Movie at Lincoln Center.

2300 Crawl into bed.