The Trip: Pics

June 7, 2014

Well, I guess I’ve got a bit more to share from THE TRIP! I realized after my last post that I failed to include photos. Yes, I shared food pics, but we—Cate and I—did take other pictures. Before I share my pics, here is a link to Cate Rubin Art at Fine Art America. Photos 42-50 on page 2 are from our trip, all of the photos are for sale (in many formats/sizes), and she’s got lots more talent than I’ll ever have.

Now, I have many pictures, but in going through them I note the fact that many are familiar sites, and my takes are not especially … well, not especially special. So, while we saw and photographed

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Eclectic

June 5, 2014

Eclectic. “ec·lec·tic, deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad range of sources,” per “the Internet.” Now, with 133 published posts—this is No. 134—the notion of “eclectic” had probably passed through at least one reader’s mind. I’ve always thought of myself as an eclectic thinker—open to ideas from all sources—and someone with an eclectic mind. Candidly, or, in modern parlance, tbt, I think my mind is in a calcification stage. Really. I’m less supple, and less willing to tolerate that which is not what I expect/want/like. Working on it every day, and worrying about it even more frequently. If anyone else has been experiencing this phenomenon, please share, either privately at markdrubin@gmail.com or by commenting on this post.

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The Trip: Food (not)

June 4, 2014

Most exciting thing WE did?  On Thursday, May 22, Cate and I attended the 2014 National Heritage Lecture, co-sponsored by the Supreme Court Historical Society, the White House Historical Association, and the United States Capitol Association, in the Supreme Court courtroom. The speaker was James Swanson, who spoke about the Kennedy assassination and the role of Chief Justice Earl Warren and the Warren Commission in the aftermath. Chief Justice John Roberts introduced Mr. Swanson and, then, dashed off to his daughter’s eighth-grade play. We stayed! Interesting and informative lecture, especially so for someone—Cate—for whom the Kennedy assassination is really history. Very nice reception in a conference room, where Cate was quite taken with the fancy apps, especially some passed

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The Wednesday Curator – 6/4/14

June 3, 2014

Another Wednesday; another session with the Wednesday Curator!

Here’s a piece from The Daily Intelligencer at New York magazine (May 30), written by Jonathan Chait, titled Why Do Republicans Always Say “I’m not a Scientist”? Mr. Chait is always perceptive and worth reading.

Patrick Smith, writing for Salon on May 26, nails phony patriotism in American Exceptionalism is a Dangerous Myth. When I read pieces like this one (and Mr. Chait’s), I can’t help but recall Michael Douglas as President Andrew Shepherd in An American President, wrapping up an impromptu and angry talk with these words:  “This is a time for serious people, Bob, and your fifteen minutes are up.”

Is the World Losing Faith in Barack Obama?

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Heroes!

June 3, 2014

Gary Freed is a retired CPA from the Phoenix area, an old friend, and the man who stood beside me when Ms. J and I did the “until death do us part” thing almost 27 years ago. He’s a proud grandfather, my only retired peer, and my first guest blogger. Thanks, old friend!

In a Mark Rubin Writes blog entry he congratulated the many graduates of college this year, which got me to thinking. Besides the obvious socialization and technical education received, what class or classes did I attend in college from which I took away something that served me well in my life? This concept was particularly of interest in light of my perusal (the original meaning of

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Bond v. United States: One Crazy-Goofy Case

June 2, 2014

On June 2, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Bond v. United States, No. 12-158, one of the crazy-goofiest cases ever presented to the Supreme Court. Here’s commentary from Amy Howe and Lyle Denniston, both from SCOTUSblog.

The case is very sad. Carole Ann Bond was married and living a pretty traditional life. She worked in a science field, was married, and, among other things, was pleased as punch when she learned about her good friend Myrlinda Haynes’ pregnancy. Until, that is, she found out her husband was the father-to-be. Then, she was sufficiently not pleased that she used chemicals to try and harm Ms. Haynes, her former friend. (The good news? Ms. Haynes suffered

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The Trip: Food

June 1, 2014

Here’s a not totally thorough review of our consumption during our DC/NYC trip. Enjoy; we certainly did!!!

Best bagel?  Well, why don’t we piss off a bunch of people early? (Nothing like a good fight about whose bagels are best!) Cate and I were big, big fans of Black Seed Bagels. Nothing else really compared. By the way, the Mile End delicatessen people own Black Seed. They focus on Montreal-style deli. We skipped deli—I love salted meats, but they hate me—but, for a future trip, there will be a stop at Mile End.

Sorry about the lack of bagel pics. The best I can do? Share with you my photos of the Super Heebster from Russ & Daughters.

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Joe the Plumber

May 29, 2014

Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher is back. He wrote an open letter to the families of the Santa Barbara shooting victims, and was quoted within the past day or so thusly:

I am sorry you lost your child. I myself have a son and a daughter and the one thing I never want to go through, is what you are going through now. But:  as harsh as this sounds—your dead kids don’t trump my Constitutional rights.

This person, Joe Wurzelbacher, became famous in 2008 when he approached Senator John McCain during the Presidential campaign to complain that he would not be able to purchase a plumbing business if Senator Barack Obama won the election, or something like that. Senator McCain

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The Trip!

May 28, 2014

Just back from a great, great trip to Washington and New York with Cate Rubin. Family trips are terrific, but we know our children in a different way, one on one! Nothing like DC and NYC as canvasses for daughter-daddy time. I’ll be reporting in shortly, but am just back and “my body’s achin’ and my time is at hand … .” I’m not certain, but I believe we hit 125,000 total steps during our non-flying days. DC and New York are walking cities, and we’re both compulsive about taking advantage of the opportunities both cities presented. Stay tuned, with lots of pics and details coming.

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The Wednesday Curator – 5/28/14

May 28, 2014

Another Wednesday, and that means more from the Curator:

Here are two pieces, How Republicans Became the “Stupid” Party:  Turning Right, Refusing to Recognize Facts and Change by Edmund Fawcett and GOP’s Post-Obama Problem:  Why They’re Lost Without Him — and with the Electorate He Helped Create by Joan Walsh, both posted in Salon, that focus on longer term problems for the Republican party. No insult intended by me, but when you focus on winning the news cycle, when you’re only against things (and not for other things), and when you speak mockingly of the “reality-based community,” reality will bite you in the backside. (BTW, I take no pleasure in any of

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