The Diplomat (Netflix)

 For a little while before the pandemic started, my wife and I were empty nesters. During that time we experimented on watching a few serial shows together: some were abandoned in an episode or two, but we both loved a couple that we watched all the way through. Some that we watched all the way through:

1. Made in Heaven (Amazon Prime).

2. Family Man (Amazon Prime).

3. Madame Secretary (network TV, then syndicated by Netflix).

4. Panchayat (Amazon Prime).

There may be others but the above are ones that we absolutely loved and looked forward to curling up together with and watching. 

Netflix recently released a show, The Diplomat, that I thought we might love because it sounded kinda’ like Madame Secretary — a woman in a powerful US government post with international repercussions to her position.

Although we completed the first season — and were very glad that we did — there were instances where we almost abandoned the show:

1. The lead actress in The Diplomat, Keri Russell, doesn’t have the presence that Tea Leoni did as Madame Secretary.

2. Madame’s husband was a theologian and he was amazing as one. He had the scholarly background and his acting and persona totally embraced the role that he was put into. Also, the focus was on Madame because that’s what the show was about. Diplomat’s husband was in the role that she steps into and it appears that he was a formidable one too. Too much attention is being paid to his doings. There appears to be an important role there but it’s a bit confusing in season one at least.

3. Madame had three endearing kids and their stories were nice too. The diplomats have no kids. Moreover, one could relate to Madame’s married life. The diplomats are in marriage hell but having way too much sex for the hell they’re in.

4. Madame’s clothes were always on. The script and the crew treated her with the respect and dignity that she deserved. Diplomat is way too willing to take her clothes off and the script doesn’t give her enough respect. Besides, her body isn’t too appealing. She’s slim, but small breasted — hello, small is out right now.

5. Madame’s supporting staff was way more interesting than diplomats’.

Anyway, we ARE looking forward to the second season because toward the end of the season the show got much more interesting. No spoilers here other than that.

Shiv Shakti Bhavan

 This is Shiv Shakti Bhavan at the intersection of H. T. Parekh Marg and Maharshi Karve Road in the Churchgate area of Mumbai. It’s a superb example of reasonably well preserved and not too modified Art Deco architecture in Mumbai.

A few features that make it Art Deco:

1. A square building with one rounded corner at the intersection of the roads of its venue.

2. Geometric patterns and motifs that harken to Native American art.

3. Balconies with metal railings.

4. Eyebrows above windows and balconies.

5. Threes recurring: three windows at every rounded corner. Three balconies on every side (third not visible on the left hand side though in this picture).

Monday, December 19, 2022

This is my fourth full day in Miami Beach. I arrived on Thursday but that doesn't count as a full day. This is the first day I don't have anything vital on my agenda. Got up in the morning and watched a beautiful sunrise. Listened to WDNA the local jazz station in the morning. Hung out all morning. 

After lunch I made my way to Technique Records: a vinyl store. It's located on 79th St. in a small "business district". The store is about 50' x 50'. It's packed end to end with racks full of vinyl. Coincidentally, when I entered I found myself in the disco section. Was delighted to find that they have a large collection of disco vinyls. Was even more delighted to find that the prices on used vinyl were reasonable: usually $4.95.  Glanced up to see the jazz section. Browsed. Then the classic rock section. I was here to find two specific rock albums. They didn't have them, but I came across some interesting vinyls. Their new and reissued album prices are comparable to those online. But their strength is the used section. They also have two turntables connected to headphones just in case you want to listen to any used vinyl before buying it. Ended up buying Village People (YMCA), and Ramsay Lewis' "The Movie Album". And a Rhino album: the worst songs in the world because it comes with a barf bag attached to it.

Early evening I went to the beach for a swim. While walking to the Sterling Condo, I noticed that the beach had a sprinkling of Portuguese man o' wars. At the lifeguard station near Sterling the yellow and purple flags were up: yellow for moderately hazardous conditions and purple for dangerous marine life. The wind was blowing pretty hard, so the waves were big and strong. In fact in all the times I have been at this beach, the force with which the waves hit me was strongest so far.  

It was sunny so I had put on sunscreen. Mistake: sunscreen on face. Because it invariably runs into my eyes. The salt in the water going into eyes is bearable, but the sunscreen isn't. It stings. Anyway, after struggling my way from Sterling to Bel Aire, from Bel Aire to Akoya was awesome!! Spent 40 minutes in the water when about 15 minutes in I was about to quit due to the strong waves and the man o' wars.

The absolute highlight of the day was from 5:30 pm until 6:30 pm when I sat out in the balcony, watched the sunset and then the sky turning all kinds of colors. The feeling of joy and serenity that came over me was incredible. The lights came on slowly in the city. Skulling crews were still rowing in the canal even though it was close to darkness. Everything was just right those minutes. Normally, I'm keen to capture the view on my camera. I did capture the sun as it set over the city. 

But...thereafter the minutes were so serene and right that there was no desire to even capture what I was seeing on camera. Only in the windmills of my mind.

Miami Beach 2

Walking around the South Beach area, there are numerous very beautiful Art Deco buildings. Some are very well preserved, others not so much. One sultry August morning I found myself walking from 17th St. and Collins Av. to 10th St. and Ocean Dr. There's a Meetup group called Miami Beach Volleyball Group dedicated to organizing Saturday morning beach volleyball games that anyone can join in. I wanted to play beach volleyball, so I was making my way there. 

Anyway, on my way there I enjoyed seeing a variety of these buildings. I've been in this area always in the afternoon, evening or night. At all of those hours, Collins Ave. along this stretch is quite crowded. It's difficult or impossible to get good shots of the buildings. On a Saturday morning however, it's fairly quiet. The calm and quiet lends itself very well to enjoyment of architecture. I took several pictures of buildings, but I'm going to share one interesting building here pointing out some of its Art Deco features.

The building I'm referring to is located at 1200 Collins Ave. In its current incarnation it appears as The Marlin Hotel -- a small boutique hotel that appears to be quite highly rated and houses an Italian restaurant (Osteria del Teatro) that appears to be highly rated as well.  Here's one of the better shots that I took:

This shot doesn't capture every important architectural detail. But here are a few features that make it interesting:

1. Very well preserved.
2. Pastel colors.
3. Eyebrows: on the first floor they extend all the way around. On the other two floors, only partially.
4. Rounded corners (the southeast corner is visible, but apparently there is another corner that is rounded as well.
5. Windows on rounded corners.
6. Some features appear in threes like the windows in the center. Symmetrical.
7. Right at the top of the building there is a decorated horizontal band called a "cornice" in architecture.
8. Central bay with a "dome" and a flagpole at the top.

Neon sign announcing the hotel.

Here's another photo, this one taken from the hotel's website that shows more of the building:

I'm guessing this one was taken at either sunrise or sunset because the lighting is gorgeous. However, it also makes the facade a little more yellow that it is. In that respect, my photo is better.
 

Art Deco: Ram Mahal in Churchgate

Many of the buildings in Mumbai date back to the heyday of the Art Deco (AD) era. Those parts of Mumbai (then known as Bombay) were built and populated in the 1920s and 1930s -- the peak of AD architecture -- so it's natural that the British AD movement would find a home in one of their colonies. Among lovers of AD, Mumbai is well known as "must visit" place to view originally gorgeous but now largely dilapidated or modified (you'll see what I mean by that later in this post) AD architecture. Of course there are some very well preserved AD buildings in the city. And there is a movement among local AD lovers to further preserve whatever they can. Another reason that AD flourished in Mumbai and in some other parts of India was that many of the architectural elements were well suited to the tropical weather. For instance, "eye brows" -- a common feature in AD architecture -- is apt for tropical climates because it provides a shield against the intense rain that this area receives during the monsoon season. Another feature that fits right in is balconies: the warm weather is conducive to people enjoying fresh air by hanging out in their balconies. Additionally, the high population density lends itself well to people-watching from balconies. This may see like a strange thing, but I remember as a child spending a good time hanging out in the balcony just enjoying the tableau below as it unfolded. Large windows that let in fresh air is another feature of AD that found a welcome home in Mumbai buildings.

Now, if you were visiting Mumbai and wanted to visit just one area where you could feast on the AD architecture that the city has to offer, locals would point you to the area just south of Churchgate Station. The area I'm referring to is roughly the red rectangle in this map (click on the map to view a larger version):

From Churchgate Station, if you exit at the southern end you can take the underground walkway to cross the street, skirt Eros Cinema -- itself a superb specimen of AD architecture -- and walk down Maharishi Karve Rd. which borders Azad Maidan. As you walk down that road, on your right you will see some really well-preserved specimens of AD apartment buildings. 

About half way down Azad Maidan, if you make a right turn on Dinshaw Vacha Rd. you'll see more of these specimens. I took a slightly different route, but ended up at one lovely specimen: Ram Mahal. Here it is:

Although I'm not an architect, I'm going to take the liberty of "marking up" some interesting AD  features of Ram Mahal.

• a. Balconies galore with metallic railings.
• b. "Suntrap" curved corner windows.
• c. Metal framed and glass-windowed stairwell (I'm guessing it's a stairwell).
• d. Tower at the top. This one is quite subdued as far as towers go.
• e. "Eye brows" protecting windows from sun/rain.

Oaxacan Sail (a riff on the Aviation)

 The Aviation cocktail is a delicate and beautiful-looking drink. It was invented in the 1910s when America and the world was fascinated with aviators like Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindhberg. If done right, it has a beautiful light violet hue to it thanks to the Creme de Violette that is an essential ingredient. For many, many years this liqueur had completely vanished, but Rothman's brought it back in the 2010s. It calls for a dry gin, but I was in the mood for an Aviation made with mezcal instead of gin. I simply replaced the gin with mezcal and voila!: the Oaxacan Sail is born.

• 1.75 oz. (50 ml.) mezcal
• 2 teaspoons Rothman Creme de Violette
• 0.75 oz. (20 ml.) fresh lemon juice
• 0.25 oz. (7 ml.) simple syrup
• 0.25 oz. Luxardo maraschino liqueur
• lemon garnish

Half fill a mixing glass with ice. Pour the lemon juice, simple syrup, Creme de Violette, maraschino liqueur, and mezcal over the ice and stir the contents thoroughly. Strain into a coupe glass or a martini glass. (Optional: add ice to the glass). Twist the lemon peel over the rim of the glass, then drop it in. Cheers!

Asparagus soup in the Philips Viva Soup Maker

 Asparagus Soup in the Philips Viva Soup Maker

• 0.33 lbs. asparagus (frozen thawed, or fresh)
• 1 cube bouillon
• 1 pearl garlic
• 1 small chopped onion
• 0.50 teaspoon chipotle powder
• 0.67 cup yogurt
• 1 cup water.

Load all the ingredients into the soup maker. Plug it in. Select the hot soup setting. Start.

In about 20 minutes, you will have delicious hot asparagus soup.

Couple of possible mods: add more salt if the salt in the bouillon cube is insufficient. Use whole milk yogurt to get a more creamy texture. Add a tablespoon of chopped cilantro.