AROUND THE BLOCK
I learned today…
It's been a while since the last Around the Block post. There are many reasons why I went on hiatus, but primarily because I felt that writing satirical posts, like News with a Twist, didn't suggest funny anymore given the current state of affairs in the country. At least not to me. I figured I should leave the satire to Borowitz and Bee and Oliver...professionals who are really good at it. Importantly, my heart simply wasn't in it.
Although I stopped writing, I did continue to forward articles and commentary I thought worthy of a read, just in case friends and/or former Around the Block readers missed them. And, you know, some did. Which leads to my going back to my original iteration of Around the Block– I learned today... In this version, I won't be twisting the news but rather posting interesting articles that moved me somehow: made me think, made me angry, made me laugh...you get the point. Oh yeah, and where appropriate, I'll also add my own commentary.
This is my first attempt at the new Around the Block. It might take a few tries to get into a groove, so bear with me (or not, as the case may be). In any event, feedback is appreciated, and opting out is allowable without any rancor or retribution on my part.
So, here goes:
MAGA
I learned today that a San Francisco Bay Area restaurant is refusing to serve diners wearing MAGA (Make America Great Again) hats.
Now, I’m as liberal as they come, but denying service because you don’t agree with a patron’s political views, while perhaps not as odious as denying service due to a person’s sexual identity, is simply wrong. What’s next, banning Yankee hats at Fenway’s Bleacher Bar? (Note to self, find out if they already ban Yankee hats at the Bleacher Bar). In any event, here’s better approach, as shown in the “Take Your Hat Off” scene from the Sopranos:
Take it from Tony, banning all hat wearing in restaurants solves the MAGA problem, not by promoting discrimination but by promoting common courtesy.
Jackie Robinson
I learned today that the Museum of the City of New York has opened a new exhibit: In the Dugout with Jackie Robinson: An Intimate Portrait of a Baseball Legend. https://www.mcny.org/exhibition/dugout-jackie-robinson.
The exhibit, which will be on display through September 15, will then become part of a new Jackie Robinson Museum opening in SoHo in December.
Opening a Jackie Robinson museum in SoHo? In Manhattan? Home of the hated NY Giants? The only thing worse would have been locating the museum in the Bronx. C’mon Robinson Foundation, Jackie Robinson = Brooklyn. I mean it’s not like no one's going to Brooklyn nowadays.
Marin Civic Center
As a 40+ year (but now former) resident of Marin County, I am justly proud that Frank Lloyd Wright’s last building is in Marin, the iconic Marin County Civic Center. The civic center has been going through a roof renovation, including restoring the roof to its original “Marin Blue” color.
But I learned today that Wright’s original conception was for the building to have a gold roof to mimic the “summer gold hills of Marin.” For those of you who have seen the civic center while driving down Highway 101, I think you’d agree that the iconic blue roof is one of the buildings most striking features. Thank goodness the contractors at the time couldn’t find a gold paint that would weather Marin’s sun and rain and received permission from Wright’s widow to change the roof to a blue color Wright had used before.
Will Marin Color Service, Marin’s premier paint store, be working with Benjamin Moore on a new Marin Blue color? Stay tuned.
3 comments:
Um YES, Yankee hats should be barred at ALL of Fenway Park!
Just sayin' ... ;-)
I gotta say I'm torn about the hat thing Ted. When a hat carries a political endorsement for a candidate, that is one thing. Problem is, MAGA has come to symbolize a movement that fosters hate and fear mongering. So, while a hat with a swastika might have once been just an endorsement of the current administration in Germany, thereby fitting your definition of just another example of free speech, it certainly grew to be something much more sinister and worthy of banning.
If the kids in D.C. who came under fire from the hate group that was staging a demonstration there had NOT been wearing that hat, it's very likely nothing would have happened. You have to ask yourself, what is it about the MAGA hat that inspires such a response? Does the phrase itself give permission to violence because of the man behind it and his behavior and rhetoric? Isn't that the same thing as the symbol of the Nazi party?
So if I ran a restaurant, and a MAGA hat-wearing crowd came in, I might gently ask them to remove their hats for their own protection.
Above comment from your friend Veronica. Still in Redwood City, moving soon to SF.
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