Monthly Archives: March 2019

NYMysteries – March 30

I’m editing Graphic Lessons for the umpteenth time and want my lead character, Detective Steve Kulchek, to love Latino music. So I went to St. Peter’s Church at 619 Lexington Ave. on Monday evening to hear, to see, to savor Gregorio Uribe Big Band: Nueva York. The idea is to highlight Latin-American New Yorkers. Maestro Uribe had a stellar list of guests: Paquito D’Rivera, Jorge Glem, JP Jofre, Magos Herrera and Solange Prat. The place rocked. The photos tell the story.

Gregorio Uribe
Magos Herrera, JP Jofre, Gregorio Uribe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A friend and I celebrated his birthday at La Ripaille. For dining I appreciate old fashioned, formal French food and manners. La Ripaille is textbook perfect. Nothing like champagne, pate, and duck to make your conversation profound. 

Highlights in Jazz at BMCC Tribeca repeatedly reminds you that it’s the longest running jazz concert series in NYC. Forty-seven years young!!!! Sweetened by supper at Gigino’s, a friend gently dragged me to a concert honoring Sidney Bechet. .Dr. (North Florida State honorary degree) Jack Kleinsinger went through his usual humble tooting of his own horn. Bechet and Armstrong were both born in New Orleans. The music was wonderful. Everything worked: David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Band took us back to  the swinging 1920s and 30s. 

 

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed ? His hated boss, Captain Dick Holbrook, being a trustee of the Windsor School?  Losing his girlfriend to Holbrook? 

NYMysteries – Feb. 22

I belong to Sisters in Crime, a writing group devoted to promoting women crime writers. D. M. Barr the author of Expired Listings, and Slashing Mona Lisa gave a generous and informative account of what you have to do to be published: everything from evaluating small presses, evaluating a contract, guest blogging opportunities to a free course on List Building for Authors. D. M. worked in real estate and understands and enjoys marketing (!). She said she’ll write a book and then spend a year marketing it. 

D. M. Barr gave a recent talk about book and author promotion to Sisters in Crime at The Jefferson Market Library

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m in a political frame of mind.

  1. Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s prime minister, is a model for all other heads of state. 
  1. This dopey GOP message is directed at Beta O’Rourke, the Democrat presidential candidate. This is from the party of Lincoln?

GOP

✔

@GOP

On this St. Paddy’s Day, a special message from noted Irishman Robert Francis O’Rourke.

D1340JGWoAEYJPe.jpg

 

3. New York City activist Ravi Ragbir was quoted in The Guardian.

Ragbir, the executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition said at a rally outside NYC’s ICE office that a a fear of ICE would not stop him from speaking out. He has turned to lawsuits to legalize his claims.

“It’s just very uncertain and very traumatizing to know the government is watching you,” Ravi said. “But I can’t allow that to debilitate me … If they’re going to move me, I might as well fight as hard as I can.”

This is the link to The Guardian’s article about the targeting of journalists and immigration activists.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/20/leaked-database-targeting-journalists-immigration-activists?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

  1. Why aren’t Boeing executives in jail?

5. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pressuring the U.S. to support Israel’s illegal annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights. Trump has announced that the U.S. will now recognize this as Israeli territory,

 

 

 

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed ? His hated boss, Captain Dick Holbrook, being a trustee of the Windsor School?  Losing his girlfriend to Holbrook? 

NYMysteries Feb. 15

On the Judson Memorial Church list serve there were comments about education. One person wrote, We could do so much more to equalize opportunities by supporting early childhood education and focusing on process over product!! She went on to say there were underpaid care providers who work with low income families and are committed to making a difference for children. 

I worked in the private school world. There was emphasis on status. Not all, but a considerable number of parents, thought private schools guaranteed their child would gain entrance to a fancy college. It was competitive and commercial.  It came home to me once again with the college admissions fraud. 

The Frick Concert series featured the Ensemble Caprice, a German group now based in Montreal. The five musicians played the recorder, flute,  baroque cello, baroque guitar, and various percussion instruments. The 17th and 18th century music was superb and lively. Unfortunately, the ensemble drifted into coy territory with some rigamarole about the joys of chocolate. 

Several friends and I ventured to former Amazon territory, Long Island City, to have a delightful lunch in the Indian Restaurant, Adda, Indian Canteen . We feasted on Dilliwala Butter Chicken and Mumbai Lamb Curry, Garlic Naan, Vegetable Samosa. All delicious and washed down with Thums Up, an Indian cola drink.    https://www.addanyc.com/menu/ 

Indian Lunch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thums Up
Have a slurp!

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed ? His hated boss, Captain Dick Holbrook, being a trustee of the Windsor School?  Losing his girlfriend to Holbrook? 

NYMysteries Feb. 9

What do these dance companies have in common? They’ve all appeared at the Joyce in the heart of Chelsea. The 472 seat Joyce is named after the daughter of the donor who underwrote the building in 1982 for $225,000. Sigh, pocket change in 2019. The building had begun life in 1941 as the Elgin, a movie house. Even if you don’t like modern dance, it’s a treat to go to the Joyce. Not a bad seat (maybe an exaggeration about the first two rows) in the house and the 1981-2 renovation was perfect. 

On Monday, a friend and I went to a half hour showing of the Royal Ballet of Flanders. The program included Sidi Large Cherkaoul’s Faun and an excerpt of  Drew Jacoby’s Supreme. Beautifully presented to a packed house (at least the main seating section). 

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed ? His hated boss, Captain Dick Holbrook, being a trustee of the Windsor School?  Losing his girlfriend to Holbrook? 

NYMysteries Feb. 2

What’s that white stuff? Oh, it’s snow. I’ve just returned from the land of sunshine, Florida. Glorious weather, Cumulus clouds, friendly, POLITE people, lovely drinks, delicious wholesome and not wholesome food and poker.

When you say you’ve been to Florida you’re asked where in Florida. i.e. how rich are you. Well, showing you my bank account, I was in Stuart, Ft. Pierce and Fort Lauderdale. Two hospitable friends shared the honors of entertaining me. First, in Ft. Pierce, my host  arranged for us to go to several natural farms and have a late stupendous lunch in one and a five course dinner at Kai-Kai. We planned a dinner party for the last night I was there. Such excitement. Any excuse to buy far too much at food stands. He also took me to the Flaglier Museum, known as Whitehall to the locals. In addition to a scrumptious tea, after a light breakfast of bloody marys, we walked around the mansion built by the railroad magnet. We climbed the stairs down which Flagier fell (pushed?) to his death. The highlight of the day was a lecture given by Professor Erica Ryan, When the World Broke in Two: The Roaring Twenties and the Reshaping of American culture. Her account of the KKK’s rise was chilling. 

Home Sweet Home
The Flagier Museum, Whitehall
Mr. Flagier’s Private railroad car

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mine host and I drove to Fort Lauderdale and lunched with my friend who was putting me up and putting up with me for a few days. That evening she and I played poker. We went to Kelly’s with a group of her friends. What a great experience. How patient people were with my attempt to learn Texas holdem. We ducked in and out of the unusual shops on Las Olas Boulevard.

Kelly’s

 

 

A Roman soldier waiting for you in a Las Olas shop
It’s in the mail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day we took the water taxi to Margaritaville. Down the river we went. It was a lovely day, not too hot, a hint of rain. After a hamburger large enough for a family of four, we walked down the beach stopping to listen to an outdoor concert by Paul Anka era musicians. So beautiful, so calm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Margarita Hollywood Beach Resort               Will it fit?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort. How’s that for a chandelier?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed ?  His hated boss, Captain Dick Holbrook, being a trustee of the Windsor School?  Losing his girlfriend to Holbrook?