Sep 8, 2022The Summer the Leaves FellThe buzz of the leaf blower is not an uncommon summertime annoyance in my Flatbush neighborhood. They come with the crews, in their long-sleeved tees and bucket hats, whining away as the lawns of the nearby single-family houses are maintained. Usually, the leaf blowers are used to scatter the lawn…Climate3 min readClimate3 min read
Jun 2, 2022About That TweetA week and a half ago my old friend Dan Enriquez was murdered on a Q train on the Manhattan Bridge, headed for the Canal Street Station. And since Dan was murdered on public transit, his murder is more of a public matter than a murder of Dan, or me…Daniel Enriquez3 min readDaniel Enriquez3 min read
Apr 25, 2022Taking a Stand for the Local BarOnce upon a time, a while ago, there was a local bar. It was well-worn, but it wasn’t a dive at all, very friends-as-family oriented, largely on account of the manager. The manager was a lovely man, and he elevated this thirst parlor to an bona fide third place by…Bars2 min readBars2 min read
Apr 5, 2022“Excuse me, waiter, but I think my food has been elevated.”Everyone can make whatever food they want. They can call the food whatever they want, and, largely, they can sell it to whoever they want, however they want. Having said that, elevated garbage plates are a terrible, terrible idea. Some restaurant people with a natural wine background are opening a…Food4 min readFood4 min read
Mar 11, 2022Watch This: Terror in a Texas TownA movie starts in a sad little town, run by bad little people. Then there is a visitor to the town , a mysterious stranger. The stranger somehow upsets the order of the sad little town, and gets roughed up for his troubles. Whereupon stranger absolutely kicks everyone’s ass and…Culture3 min readCulture3 min read
Jun 8, 2018BourdainSo lemme tell my little Bourdain story, the least of all the Bourdain stories, anyway. I only saw him once. It was five years or so ago, some sort of fundraiser, a good-guy fundraiser, and Bourdain was the guest of honor. It was the kind of deal where all these…Food3 min readFood3 min read
Jun 1, 2017Kathy Griffin is only partially the enemy of anything good and innocent in the worldIt turns out that 48 hours is enough time to run any subject of contention into the ground. But at the risk of impertinence, the most galling aspect of Kathy Griffin’s autodefenstration with a fake severed head doused in raspberry jam is not that thing those people you disagree with…Donald Trump3 min readDonald Trump3 min read
Mar 1, 2017About Hate and Evil and Donald TrumpIn yesterday’s pundit-lauded joint address to Congress, President Donald J. Trump set the tone by addressing the current national backdrop of threats and aggression against non-Caucasian citizens: Recent threats targeting Jewish Community Centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as last week’s shooting in Kansas City, remind us that…Donald Trump3 min readDonald Trump3 min read
Published inThe Awl·Jan 20, 2017Wayne Barrett, 1945–2017And now he’s dead. — Yesterday long-time New York City reporter Wayne Barrett died in Manhattan at the age of 71. Barrett’s 27-year stint writing for The Village Voice, eventually taking over the Runnin’ Scared column, which was a beat devoted exclusively to muck-raking in its most elemental form, was one of the greatest runs…Journalism4 min readJournalism4 min read
Published inThe Awl·Dec 30, 2016Yakkin’ About TinfoilIn my other life, I’m a weird historian. — Before I ever learned history, I learned that there were histories that were rumored to exist behind them. I grew up during the Reagan Administration, and that was a very special time for not ever being trustful of what was actually going on. This was true even without searching out…Politics8 min readPolitics8 min read
