It’s Mueller Week ™! That trademark is my idea of a little joke, as I didn’t coin the term. (By the way, every time I refer to one of my children, I call them my exhibits™. I use the trademark notation humorously. I find it funny, no matter how many times I type it myself. I hope it amuses you.)
Anyway. Mueller. I am so certain he is appearing reluctantly at this week’s hearing. And I am so sure that members of either side will find the whole ordeal unsatisfying. I respect Special Prosecutor Mueller, but unless all Americans of voting age watch the proceedings in real time (as opposed to viewing excerpts within their pre-determined echo chambers), it may be for naught.
Oh well. Having just survived both unnaturally high temperatures and heavy rainstorms, I have determined we are officially in the dog days of summer. #OfficialDogDays ™! My prescription for surviving these oddball days: reading good books, organizing one’s cupboards and closets, and taking all the unframed pictures and art to finally be framed. (Now you know what I’ve been up to.)
1. The Rare black and white film from 1915 – about 9 minutes long, taken of the master artists Claude Monet, Renoir, Rodin, and Degas. I savor this little scrap (set recently to music) because I revere the work of these men. Of course, much like the Birnbach family home movies of the 60s and 70s, there was a lot of not knowing what to do or where to look. The Renoir segment just shows him walking and walking. Messrs. Monet and Renoir smoked a great deal when they worked. And Auguste Rodin wore a distinguished chapeau. What is just thrilling about seeing these long gone artists move, and paint, and shuffle down the street, and sculpt is that it makes them real. They weren’t considered museum worthy in their lifetimes. In fact, their work was considered almost affrontery to the norms and standards of the French Academie of art. But a 75 year old man (he looked like Father Christmas. Consider that Mick Jagger will be 76 next week.) (But I digress.) a 75 year old man with a long white beard painting in his backyard at Giverny. By then his eyesight was poor but still he worked steadily.
It makes them human. It makes them real. And seeing them on film makes them feel closer to us. Because, we all lived in the age of film. Wow.
2. Arnold Palmer, the beverage. I imagine that the golfer was a nice fellow, but his drink is superb. It is a combination of iced tea and lemonade. A kind of perfect summer cooler. No alcohol needed.
As I hoped, this beverage has its own Wikipedia page – (thank you!) and naturally a history that may be somewhat apocryphal.
In it, according to a waitress at Augusta National Golf Club, Palmer ordered his namesake beverage by saying, "I'll have a Mr. Palmer.” When Palmer visited the Latrobe Country Club in his hometown, the staff at the snack shack served the beverage to him or his wife, Kit, without prompting. "Mr. Palmer should never have to order the drink named after him."
Whatever you choose to call this drink, enjoy it.
3. I keep trying to find non-dairy versions of the many dairy products I love. I kind of fall in like with one yogurt, then the 2nd or 3rd time I buy it, I cannot bear it. I did try something tasty for those of you who are trying to avoid the cow but want a treat. It’s Daiya N. Y. style cheesecake—sorry – cheezecake (their spelling) and it tastes like the old Sarah Lee cheesecakes taste in my memory. Instead of cream cheese it’s made of (Filtered Water, Desiccated Coconut, Evaporated Cane Sugar, Coconut Oil, Tapioca Starch, Non-GMO Expeller Pressed Canola and/or Non-GMO Expeller Pressed Safflower Oil, Potato Starch, Pea Protein Isolate, Vanilla Extract, Sea Salt, Vegan Natural Flavors, Vegetable Glycerine, Sodium Alginate, Xanthan Gum, Lactic Acid (Vegan, for Flavor), Tricalcium Phosphate, Cultured Sugar, Agave Syrup, Titanium Dioxide (a Naturally Occurring Mineral), Vegan Enzyme)
But give it a whirl.
4. The ethics statement which The Washington Post requires all its freelancers to sign. It’s an excellent template for decency and accuracy and bias-free writing. It emphasizes how to avoid conflicts of interest and is utterly clear. It is a reminder of everything that responsible journalism represents.
Julie K. Brown of the Miami Herald
5. Julie K. Brown, the tireless reporter on the staff of the Miami Herald almost singlehandedly brought back the sickening case of Jeffrey Epstein. Without her pursuit, we might still be talking about… ooh I don’t know…. What happened to E. Jean Carroll?
When I first knew of today’s guest, Yale Hollander, he was a lawyer living in St. Louis, who dressed prep, ate ribs on his way to the meeting of his synagogue, and was an all -around fun guy. Now Yale has made a huge reinvention. He’s one of St. Louis’ favorite local comedians. I admire anyone who can change his or her life like that. https://yalehollander.weebly.com/
The 5 Things that make Yale’s life better are as follows.
1. Breakfast
2. Yacht Rock
3. Print Magazines
4. London, England
5. Mr. Ralph Lauren
George Hodgman • 1959 - 2019 • RIP