Kidzdoc Reads Black Male Writers for Our Time in 2019, Chapter 7

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Kidzdoc Reads Black Male Writers for Our Time in 2019, Chapter 7

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1kidzdoc
Dic 12, 2019, 11:28 am



Mitchell S. Jackson, one of The New York Times's Black Male Writers for Our Time, was born in Portland, Oregon in the mid 1970s and grew up "hard and fast" in a tough neighborhood in which many of the men in his family dealt drugs or were pimps and spent time in jail. He also got caught up in the drug trade, and even though he won a scholarship to Portland State University he was arrested for dealing drugs and spent 16 months in prison. While there he developed an interest in writing, completed a bachelor's degree from Portland State, and later completed master's degrees from Portland State and from NYU, where he is currently an assistant professor. Jackson has written three books, Oversoul: Stories & Essays, a 2012 e-book collection, the acclaimed novel The Residue Years, which is set in Portland and whose characters bear similarity to the people he grew up around, and Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family, which is a biography, memoir, family history, and instruction manual for surviving in the streets and in jail, and in the larger world as a black man and as a formerly incarcerated one, which was published this year. I finished it on Monday, and I'll write a review of it next week.

2kidzdoc
Editado: Dic 12, 2019, 11:43 am

Currently reading:

    

Lisbon Tales, edited by Helen Constantine
Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life by Louise Aronson
The Tradition by Jericho Brown

January:
1. Happiness by Aminatta Forna
2. The Queen of Harlem by Brian Keith Jackson
3. My Struggle: Book Three by Karl Ove Knausgaard
4. The Most Beautiful Bookstore in the World, Part 1 by Livraria Lello
5. The Most Beautiful Bookstore in the World, Part 2 by Livraria Lello

February:
6. An American Odyssey: The Life and Work of Romare Bearden by Mary Schmidt Campbell
7. Survive FBT: Skills Manual for Parents Undertaking Family Based Treatment (FBT) for Child and Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa by Maria Ganci

March:
8. Spring by Karl Ove Knausgaard
9. Heart: A History by Sandeep Jauhar
10. Hardheaded Weather by Cornelius Eady
11. Mind on Fire: A Memoir of Madness and Recovery by Arnold Thomas Fanning
12. Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man by Thomas Page McBee
13. Juice! by Ishmael Reed
14. The Face: Strangers on a Pier by Tash Aw

April:
15. Indian Instant Pot Cookbook by Urvashi Pitre
16. The Moor’s Last Stand: How Seven Centuries of Muslim Rule in Spain Came to an End by Elizabeth Drayson
17. Second Lives, Second Chances: A Surgeon's Stories of Transformation by Donald R. Laub

May:
18. The Shape of the Ruins by Juan Gabriel Vásquez
19. The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán
20. Black Deutschland by Darryl Pinckney
21. Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi
22. The Face: Cartography of the Void by Chris Abani
23. Queen of the Sea: A History of Lisbon by Barry Hatton
24. Small Island (NHB Modern Plays) by Andrea Levy
25. The Firm by Roy Williams

June:
26. Lanny by Max Porter
27. Lord of All the Dead by Javier Cercas
28. Picasso: An Intimate Portrait by Olivier Widmaier Picasso
29. True Remarkable Occurrences by John Train
30. Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
31. Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey by Robert G. O'Meally
32. Now and at the Hour of Our Death by Susana Moreira Marques

July:
33. My Struggle: Book Four by Karl Ove Knausgaard
34. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

August:
35. Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry

September:
36. The Secret River (NHB Modern Plays) by Kate Grenville
37. Typical (Oberon Modern Plays) by Ryan Calais Cameron
38. Quichotte by Salman Rushdie

October:
39. 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak
40. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
41. The Doctor by Robert Icke
42. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
43. Professor Bernhardi by Arthur Schnitzler
44. An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma
45. Soup for Syria: Recipes to Celebrate Our Shared Humanity by Barbara Abdeni Massaad

November:

December:
46. Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family by Mitchell S. Jackson

3kidzdoc
Editado: Dic 12, 2019, 11:45 am

Planned reads for December:

Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life by Louise Aronson
Lisbon Tales, edited by Helen Constantine
The Tradition by Jericho Brown
We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

5kidzdoc
Dic 12, 2019, 11:47 am

The last thread for 2019 is now open!

6jessibud2
Dic 12, 2019, 12:00 pm

Happy new thread, Darryl and welcome back. I do hope you get some down time to relax and recharge for a bit!

7katiekrug
Dic 12, 2019, 12:26 pm

Hope you're enjoying your visit with your parents!

Happy new thread!

8kidzdoc
Dic 12, 2019, 12:48 pm

>6 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley! I'm glad that I reserved my last week of vacation for this week, so that I could have an early Christmas with my parents and have a chance to recharge my batteries in advance of my Christmas and New Year's work stretches.

>7 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie! It's been a very enjoyable visit with family, neighbors and old friends so far.

9figsfromthistle
Dic 12, 2019, 1:19 pm

Happy new thread!

>1 kidzdoc: What an interesting man. Can't wait to read his memoir

10benitastrnad
Dic 12, 2019, 1:23 pm

Good to see you again!

I will be leaving in the morning on a giant Christmas jaunt. I am driving to Kansas to see my family there. Then I am leaving for a weeklong trip to Germany to do a round of Christmas Markets in and around Munich. I will be traveling with my sister and an old friend from my school teaching days in Southwest Kansas. We have done several trips together this year and have had a good time together so we are ending the year with the three of us and some other family members in Germany.

I had hopes that I could do a LT meetup in Munich, but nobody has responded that they are LT'ers in Munich, so I won't do that. Darn a LT meetup in the Viktualian Market Beer Garden sounds great - even in December.

Safe travels over the holidays and I hope that work isn't overwhelming during the holiday season.

11richardderus
Dic 12, 2019, 1:29 pm

Happy to see you're still leaving a 2020 return open, Darryl, though the demands of a life caring for the ill is guaranteed to make a person into a stressball and thus eat into funtime.

Happy Yuletide wishes!

12connie53
Dic 12, 2019, 2:04 pm

Happy New Thread, Darryl!

13jnwelch
Dic 12, 2019, 3:42 pm

Happy New Thread, Darryl!

I hope you enjoy the Jericho Brown collection as much as I did. I look forward to your review of the Mitchell S. Jackson book. Assistant professor at NYU? Remarkable, given where he started.

14karenmarie
Dic 12, 2019, 4:30 pm

Happy new thread, Darryl!

I would have tracked you down in Club Read but am happy to read that you'll stay in the group next year.

15richardderus
Dic 12, 2019, 5:50 pm

Eurgh.

Murdoch's World: The Last of the Old Media Empires is the tome I mentioned. Explains a lot, none of it happy reading.

16bell7
Dic 12, 2019, 8:23 pm

Happy new thread and hope you continue to have a good visit at your parents! Though I didn't comment in your last thread, I was following along with some of your challenges and just want to echo what many already said, that whether you choose to have a thread in the 75ers or another quieter place, I'll certainly look for your reads in 2020.

17ronincats
Dic 12, 2019, 8:46 pm

Darryl, good to see you come up for air! I hope you have a great visit and get your asthma under control.

18scaifea
Dic 13, 2019, 6:14 am

Happy new thread, Darryl!!

19msf59
Dic 13, 2019, 6:33 am

Happy Friday, Darryl! Happy New Thread! Glad to see you posting. We have definitely missed seeing you around.

20streamsong
Dic 13, 2019, 6:43 am

Hi Darryl and Happy New Thread!

It's nice to get an update. I'll look forward to your review of Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family. It sounds like one I'll be interested in.

I'm glad you are getting to spend time with your parents. I know you are cherishing them.

21kidzdoc
Dic 13, 2019, 9:35 am

>9 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita! I'm now eager to read Jackson's novel The Residue Years, which has been described as an "autobiographical novel".

>10 benitastrnad: Have a great time in Germany, Benita! I'm not aware of anyone who will be in Munich at that time; have you checked with Kay (RidgewayGirl)?

>11 richardderus: Thanks, Richard. 2020 will be a much busier year for me than 2019 was, and I certainly won't be as active here, but I will maintain a thread.

22torontoc
Editado: Dic 13, 2019, 9:59 am

Good to see you back! I just finished reading Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo -it was an excellent choice as co-winner of the Booker Prize along with Margaret Atwood's The Testaments. I liked both books!

23kidzdoc
Dic 13, 2019, 12:42 pm

>12 connie53: Thanks, Connie!

>13 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe! I expect that I'll enjoy The Tradition, as Jericho Brown did read several of the poems in it at the reading I attended at the Decatur Book Festival in August.

My copy of Survival Math is back in Atlanta, so I'll wait until after I return on Tuesday to write a review of it.

>14 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen!

24kidzdoc
Editado: Dic 13, 2019, 3:06 pm

I just finished preparing a batch of Emeril Lagasse's slow cooker chili, which will cook for six hours in my parents' slow cooker; I haven't yet tried to use the slow cooker feature of my Instant Pot or my father's Ninja FOODI, so I'm using the Hamilton Beach 6 Quart Set it 'n' Forget It Slow Cooker to make the chili. I invited my former next door neighbor and best friend from high school and her family to join us for dinner tonight.

I just finished six steamed duck dumplings that I bought from Sang Kee Peking Duck House in Reading Terminal Market in Center City Philadelphia, the oldest continuously operating indoor market in the US, on Tuesday, so I can finish catching up here.

>15 richardderus: Thanks for that recommendation, Richard. I'm absolutely shocked, sickened and angered by yesterday's general election in the UK, and Labour's spectacular failure under its inept leader Jeremy Corbyn that led to an outright majority for Boris Johnson's Conservative government, which means that Brexit is all but completely certain. I spent an hour and a half to prepare the ingredients for the chili, and I watched the post-election coverage on BBC One (shown here on BBC World News), which included several Labour shadow cabinet members who gave all sorts of pathetic excuses for their party's historically bad performance. Jeremy Corbyn is a complete failure IMO, and he needs to stand down immediately, and not wait until a new party leader has been chosen.

Having said that I'm in no mood at the moment to read anything about Rupert Murdoch or the rise of the right wing media in the UK. Yes, perhaps they tarred and misportrayed Corbyn in their coverage of him, but that is no excuse for his tin eared and piss poor performance as the Labour Party leader, IMO. I'll consider reading it later, when I'm a bit less upset.

When you mentioned Rupert on my Facebook post I initially thought that you were referring to Dr Rupert Beale, the physician researcher (and chef extraordinare) husband of Rachael Beale (FlossieT), the first LTer I met in person a decade ago. He's a former Tory supporter who has turned away from the current Conservative government, and is quite upset about today's result, as his research at Cambridge has been greatly hampered as a result of the dissolution of former partnerships and agreements before the 2016 vote in which UK citizens voted to leave the EU. I quickly realized that you probably weren't friends with Rachael, and definitely wouldn't know Rupert.

>16 bell7: Thanks, Mary! I appreciate your kind words and support.

>17 ronincats: Thanks, Roni! My asthmatic symptoms are better today than they have been all week, probably because the air is far better here in Philadelphia than it is in Atlanta.

25richardderus
Dic 13, 2019, 2:16 pm

>24 kidzdoc: I am sickened by the awfulness of the result. I only hope the future will bring an opportunity to change course far sooner than expected.

26tangledthread
Dic 13, 2019, 2:40 pm

Happy new thread!

I read Elderhood shortly after the Terri Gross interview and found it to be very interesting. Though I did shudder a bit at the story about the couple who just dumped their pills into a bowl on the dining room table because they couldn't open the bottles.

Also read Nickel Boys a couple weeks ago....it's not the kind of book that one should say "I liked it". Rather I much appreciated the story and the way it was told. Colson Whitehead is quite the writer. My review is on the book page.

Hmm looks like I didn't even add Elderhood to my library, so no review there. Must go add it now...

Happy holidays to you and yours.

27kidzdoc
Editado: Dic 13, 2019, 3:30 pm

>18 scaifea: Thanks, Amber!

>19 msf59: Thanks, Mark!

>20 streamsong: Thanks, Janet! You're absolutely right; I do cherish my time with my parents, and I view every day with them as a gift from God.

28kidzdoc
Dic 13, 2019, 3:34 pm

>22 torontoc: Thanks, Cyrel! I loved Girl, Woman, Other, but I haven't yet read The Testaments. Hopefully I can get to it early next year.

>25 richardderus: I hope that you're right, Richard, and that a Boris Johnson led Tory government won't be as bad as it would appear to be. I'm not holding my breath, though.

>26 tangledthread: Thanks, tangledthread! I probably won't finish Elderhood until next week, but I'm greatly enjoying it so far.

29johnsimpson
Dic 13, 2019, 4:04 pm

Happy new thread Darryl mate.

30Familyhistorian
Dic 13, 2019, 4:31 pm

Happy new thread, Darryl. Looks like you are putting your pre-Christmas vacation time to good use. I hope you are getting in some relaxing as well.

>24 kidzdoc: Like you, I was unhappy with Johnson's win in the UK election but I was not surprised after listening to my relatives talk about the situation when I was there in May. The consensus in that group was that Corbyn was no choice at all so although they didn't want to vote for Johnson what could they do?

I was glad to read that you will have a thread on the 75ers next year. I won't have to track you down on Club Read that way.

31drneutron
Dic 13, 2019, 9:38 pm

Happy new thread! Glad to have you back. 😀

32avatiakh
Dic 14, 2019, 6:34 am

Hi Darryl - glad to see you with a well earned week off. I've finally got stuck into James Robertson's And the Land Lay Still which promises to be an absorbing read, I know you also have this on your shelves.

33laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Dic 14, 2019, 12:07 pm

I've loved your FB posts about cooking for your parents, Darryl. And it's good to see that you have been able to do some reading, in the midst of all the busy-ness and concern in your life. You offer a perspective here that I'd hate to lose out on. That's not to suggest you owe the group anything, just so you understand your presence in it is of great value.

34PaulCranswick
Dic 14, 2019, 11:16 pm

I am enjoying having a certain someone by in Kuala Lumpur, Darryl and getting a regular supply of her ability in recreating the best of the world's cuisine.

Shepherd's Pie - Monday
Iranian Barbery Rice - Tuesday
Mee Goreng Mamak (Indian muslim noodles) - Wednesday
Steamed Fish with ginger and soya sauce (Chinese recipe) - Thursday
Chapati with mincemeat thick curry (Indian recipe) - Friday
Asam Pedas Ikan (fish in a spicy tamarind sauce with okra - Malaysian recipe) Saturday

I am one heck of a lucky guy.

Have a great weekend Darryl when you finish salivating.

35Familyhistorian
Dic 15, 2019, 8:43 pm

Hi Darryl, just to let you know, my review of Stony the Road is up on my thread.

36FAMeulstee
Dic 16, 2019, 8:04 am

Happy new thread, Darryl!

>21 kidzdoc: Happy to read you decided to stay with us in 2020.

37kidzdoc
Editado: Dic 16, 2019, 9:15 am

Happy Monday, everyone! As always, the best day of the week is No Work Monday. I'll return to Atlanta tomorrow evening, and that will be my last flight of 2019.

I've been doing far more cooking for my parents and helping out around the house than reading this past week, so it may be a challenge to finish 50 books this year. It's possible that I won't be needed to work at all this week, and if that is the case I may make it after all.

I'll try to make time to post some of the newer recipes I've tried lately, especially ones that I and my father have made in my Instant Pot and his Ninja FOODI, which is essentially an Instant Pot with a hinged lid for air frying. Last night he and I prepared dinner together; he made Turkey Thighs in the Ninja FOODI, with minimal help from me, which was the tastiest turkey dish I've ever had, and I made Crispy Gnocchi with Brussels Sprouts and Browned Butter in a skillet while the turkey was pressure cooking. I took a photo of the turkey, which didn't turn out well, as I was eager to taste it (it smelled heavenly!), so I'll probably make it again this coming weekend and post a photo and the recipe at that time.

>29 johnsimpson: Thanks, John!

>30 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg. My visits to my parents' house are always very special, given their advanced age, increasing frailty, and my mother's slowly worsening dementia, and, as I may have said above, every day with them is a gift from God, as I know that our time together in their house is limited.

From what I've read a large percentage of working class Britons did not like or trust Jeremy Corbyn or his grandiose promises, and because of that they voted Conservative, some for the first time or at least for the first time in decades. From this outsider's view it seems that Corbyn was highly appealing to his closest supporters, but not to the majority of members of the Labour Party and definitely not to the country as a whole. Corbyn's ideas may have been laudable, and ones I would wholeheartedly support, but they don't matter if the public doesn't embrace them and vote for the party that endorses them, especially if the alternative is as potentially damaging as a government led by Boris Johnson (or Donald Trump; pay attention, Democrats!).

The author and Guardian columnist Gary Younge wrote what I thought was an excellent analysis of the Labour fiasco in the paper on Saturday:

Labour won’t win again until it works out why it lost

>31 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

38kidzdoc
Editado: Dic 16, 2019, 11:29 pm

>32 avatiakh: Thanks, Kerry. I definitely want to get to And the Land Lay Still soon, so I look forward to your review.

>33 laytonwoman3rd: I appreciate your kind comments and support, Linda. My reading output has dropped off significantly in the past five years or so, as I'm now reading less than half of the number of books I did then, and hopefully I can get back to reading at least 75 books starting in 2021, if not next year.

>34 PaulCranswick: Ha! You are a lucky man to have Hani as your wife and personal chef, Paul. I don't have anyone to cook meals for me, but I'm fortunate in that I can fend for myself in the kitchen and can make meals that I and others greatly enjoy. We have plenty of scrumptious homemade food here, so although I admire Hani's culinary creations I see on Facebook and Instagram I won't be salivating with desire.

>35 Familyhistorian: Thanks for letting me know, Meg. I'll read your review after I finish this message.

>36 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita! I hope to see you and Frank in person in Amsterdam next year.

39Sakerfalcon
Dic 16, 2019, 9:43 am

It's good to see you back here, Darryl, and I'm glad you've had a good visit with your parents. All the cooking sounds wonderful and I'm surprised they are letting you leave!

I think you can imagine my thoughts regarding the outcome of the general election ....

40kidzdoc
Dic 16, 2019, 9:52 am

>39 Sakerfalcon: Thanks, Claire! My mother became quite emotional a few minutes ago when she realized that I would be leaving tomorrow. She was crying when she and my father dropped me off at the Langhorne SEPTA Regional Rail station on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, as well. Although she wants me to work, travel and visit friends here and abroad I'm sure that she and my father would be ecstatic if I moved back to the Delaware Valley and found a job here. We'll see...

We were going through her old recipe boxes on Saturday, and after breakfast we'll make South African Coconut Gingerbread together, which is one of the favorite things she made when I was a child. If it turns out well I'll post a photo and the recipe here this afternoon. I'll also make Jalapeño Chicken Cream Cheese Enchiladas for dinner.

I think that all of my British friends are despondent about Friday's general election. I'm now more nervous than I was before about the 2020 presidential election here, as I unfortunately believe that the Democrats are going to lurch too far to the left, alienate working class and suburban voters, and hand the election to trump. Four more years of him is absolutely unthinkable.

41kidzdoc
Dic 16, 2019, 11:13 am

Sad news (at least for me): the Wellcome Book Prize, the literary award for the best works of fiction and nonfiction about medicine, health and illness, is "taking a pause". I'm not sure what that means, but I hope that the prize continues to be awarded in the future. This announcement was made in May, but I saw it only this morning, as I was looking for the date of the 2020 longlist announcement.

Wellcome Book Prize will be taking a pause

42mdoris
Editado: Dic 16, 2019, 11:43 am

>41 kidzdoc: Darryl I saw that too a few days ago when I was looking, like you, to have a peek at the long list for 2020. I wondered what "taking a pause" was all about too. I love the medical/health connection of this prize and will be very disappointed if it folds. Just finished The First Cell and found it well done, interesting and moving.

Glad that you are thinking of a thread with the 75s next year. Enjoy your visit with your parents!

43Familyhistorian
Dic 16, 2019, 12:18 pm

>37 kidzdoc: Interesting article on the UK election, Darryl. It is a shame how it turned out but understandable given that many were in limbo because of there was no understanding of what would happen once Brexit was complete.

I notice that there was a quote from W.E.B Du Bois, in the article. I have run across his name quite a bit in the last while.

44EBT1002
Dic 16, 2019, 6:29 pm

Darryl, I have been AWOL, off and on, myself although my work- and life-stress sounds pretty tame compared to what you are juggling. I hope it slows down (although that sounds unlikely) and/or that 2020 is just easier. The parental stuff is so tough -- and having to travel back and forth adds to it.

I could so relate to the comment you made on your prior thread about sleeping 5-6 hours because you wake up thinking about patients and can't get back to sleep. Early morning wakening has become a thing for me and I hate it. I often wake around 3am and I'm still lying there thinking when 4am passes, 5am passes. Sometimes I just get up and read since my alarm goes off at 5:42am (I know). If I fall asleep in those last 45 minutes before the alarm, I'm really miserable when it wakes me. Anyway, I wish you good sleep and some you-time in the coming weeks.

I'll follow your thread next year whether you are in both Club Read and 75ers, or just CR. I always learn from your thread and I enjoy your eclectic reading and cooking. :-)

45Berly
Dic 16, 2019, 7:07 pm

Happy new thread, Darryl. Glad you have had such nice time with your parents. I KNOW they have been and are going to enjoy your cooking!! England/BREXIT, politics in general--I don't really want to talk about; it's just depressing. Wishing you wonderful holidays ahead and I will be sure to follow you whatever thread you set up.

>1 kidzdoc: Also, being a Portlander myself, I have to look this guy up!

46kidzdoc
Dic 16, 2019, 11:17 pm

One of my favorite desserts growing up was my mother's South African Coconut Gingerbread, which I haven't had in at least 30 years. I looked through her recipe boxes earlier this year and found the recipe for it. She's no longer cooking much, so I decided to try it myself. The recipe makes two loaves, which is a good thing because it tastes just the way I remember it, and especially because I was able to share half a loaf with one of our neighbors, who came to visit just before it came out of the oven. Frank loved the slice I gave him, as did my parents.



Here is my mother's recipe:

South African Coconut Gingerbread (from Mom, dated 2/21/02)

Ingredients:

1⅓ cups sugar
1½ cups margarine
6 eggs
1½ cups molasses
3 tsp ginger
¼ tsp allspice
2 cups coconut
3 tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp salt
4 cups flour
1½ cups cold water
2 tsp baking soda
1½ tsp baking powder

Instructions:

Cream margarine, add sugar, beat until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs.

Mix and dissolve baking soda in molasses and allow to stand.

Add spices and salt to flour and sift twice.

Add to creamed sugar mixture, alternating with cold water.

Beat well, add molasses mixture and newly grated coconut.
_________________________

This is where my mother's recipe ends. I baked it uncovered in a 350 F oven for 60 minutes, and since it wasn't done in the middle I took my father's advice and covered the dishes with aluminum foil and baked the loaves for another 30 minutes on 300 F. The bread came out moist and very tasty.

47kidzdoc
Editado: Dic 17, 2019, 11:39 am

>42 mdoris: The Wellcome Book Prize, which was inaugurated in 2009, took a break in 2013, in order to reevaluate and reinvent itself. I can begrudgingly live with a similar break in 2020, but I would be gutted if the prize was permanently cancelled. Assuming that there is no award next year I'll use 2020 to read longlisted books from previous years that I own but haven't read yet. I'll also look for similar prizes in the US, although I'm unaware of any that exist here.

I hadn't heard of The First Cell, so thanks for mentioning it.

>43 Familyhistorian: Right. The issue of The Economist that was published after Boris Johnson was chosen as Prime Minister featured him on top of a Transport for London bus filled with terrified passengers and decorated with the sign "Make Britain Great Again", which was perched precariously on a rickety rollercoaster whose tracks suddenly ended at the edge of a cliff. The magazine's Facebook page showed an animation of the bus going off the rails and over the edge of a cliff, as the passengers screamed in horror. Apparently the majority of British voters preferred to see Boris the Buffoon take them over the edge of the cliff rather than Corbyn.



That seems about right. Some cartoonist will need to draw a similar cartoon of a MAGA hat wearing trump leading the American people to an equally dire fate if he wins the 2020 election, as I expect that he will.

48kidzdoc
Dic 17, 2019, 6:59 am

>44 EBT1002: Good to see you here, Ellen. We get most of our patients from our ED, and it did slow down the weekend before last, when our census dropped from the low 100s to the upper 60s. However, I received a call on Sunday night from one of the ED docs, asking if I was taking admissions; I told him that I wasn't, as I was at my parents' house, 750 miles away. He apologized, and said that I was lucky that I wasn't on call, as the ED was crazy busy. I'm hopeful that I won't have to work Wednesday through Friday, but I won't be surprised if I'm needed to help out at least one day.

Part of the problem at this time of the year is parents' refusal to get their children vaccinated against influenza, due to the misguided fear that "the flu vaccine causes the flu". The pediatricians' offices, urgent care centers and EDs are swamped with kids who are sick with the flu, and the worst of them end up getting admitted to hospital, some on or just before Christmas Day. Some of these parents get upset with us for these admissions, rather than taking responsibility for their child's illness. Working on Christmas Day is generally unpleasant, due to a higher percentage of angry, demanding and unreasonable parents, all of whom want to be seen first and discharged home early, even if their child does not meet discharge criteria.

I don't think that 2020 will be easier than 2019 was, for a variety of reasons, which is why I had originally decided to take a break from this group next year. I'll struggle to finish 50 books this year, and although I'd like to hit 75 books in 2020 I think that will be an unrealistic goal.

>45 Berly: Thanks, and Happy Holidays to you too, Kim!

49kidzdoc
Dic 17, 2019, 11:47 am

Hmm. I'll have to choose a book other than Lisbon Tales to close out 2019. My mother picked it off of the dining room table, started reading it, and told me that she'll let me read it after she's finished. 😂

50Caroline_McElwee
Dic 17, 2019, 2:46 pm

>46 kidzdoc: I will definitely be trying this Darryl. I might make it to take to my sibs for Christmas.

>49 kidzdoc: Ha. That's funny.

51tangledthread
Dic 18, 2019, 1:49 pm

This sounds amazing. But I must ask: what kind of coconut did you use?

With the burgeoning of coconut in everything these days it comes as flaked, shredded, dessicated...and the list goes on.
Coconut...the new cauliflower. :^\

52kidzdoc
Dic 18, 2019, 6:21 pm

>50 Caroline_McElwee: Sounds good, Caroline.

As it turns out my mother gave me back my copy of Lisbon Tales just before I left yesterday afternoon to return to Atlanta. I promised that I would finish it before I returned to see them in February.

>51 tangledthread: Ha! I used the store brand of coconut flakes that I purchased at Giant, a supermarket chain in the Mid Atlantic (mainly Pennsylvania and Virginia, but also in Maryland and West Virginia) that I like nearly as much as my local Publix Super Market in Atlanta...which is saying a lot.

53kidzdoc
Dic 18, 2019, 6:42 pm

I made one more new to me recipe for my parents before I had to leave for Philadelphia International Airport, Jalapeño Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas:





Ingredients:

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, minced
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced (wear gloves)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 tablespoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 (28 ounce) can green enchilada sauce
7 flour tortillas
8 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Step 2: Season chicken breasts with 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Place into a baking dish.

Step 3: Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink inside and the juices run clear, about 45 minutes. Allow chicken to cool, and shred with 2 forks. Set chicken aside.

Step 4: Heat butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion and jalapeños until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes; stir in the cream cheese in chunks, and allow cream cheese to melt and soften. Stir in cream cheese, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, chili powder, and cumin. Mix in the cooked chicken meat; remove from heat.

Step 5: Pour half the green enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Lay tortillas out onto a work surface, and place chicken mixture in a line down the center of each tortilla; sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon of Monterey Jack cheese per tortilla. Roll up the tortillas, and place into the sauce in the dish, seam sides down; pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Sprinkle remaining 4 ounces of Monterey Jack cheese over the top.

Step 6: Bake in the preheated oven until the filling is hot and bubbling and the cheese has melted, 30 to 35 minutes.
_________________________________

I used four boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of three chicken breasts; cooked the thighs in a 450 F oven for eight minutes on each side (16 minutes total); used only one jalapeño pepper and left out the additional cayenne pepper in step 4; and used 10 tortillas, as I had enough of the filling to make 12 enchiladas (I bought a package of 10 flour tortillas, and filled them as much as I could). Otherwise I followed the recipe as it was written. I thought that these enchiladas would be good, but...WOW. They tasted amazing! I had two of them for lunch yesterday, but I should have eaten only one, as they were very filling. I added slices of half of a second jalapeño pepper to my two enchiladas, which gave them an added kick; my parents were able to enjoy the dialed down enchiladas without them being too hot for them. I'll make these again on New Year's Eve for a New Year's Day potluck lunch with the nurses and physicians working on the 3rd floor, as I'm on call that day, and I'll make them again for myself on a regular basis from now on.

54Familyhistorian
Dic 20, 2019, 10:58 pm

>47 kidzdoc: That's a very good cartoon, Darryl, but I hope it doesn't get repeated after the 2020 US election.

55richardderus
Dic 21, 2019, 3:55 pm

>54 Familyhistorian: ^^^What she said.

Soviet Santa says "Happy Yule!" Solstice Greetings to all. Read more here: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/soviet-santa

56johnsimpson
Dic 21, 2019, 4:18 pm

Hi Darryl mate, Atlanta United old boy Miguel Almiron scored his first Premier League goal for Newcastle United in his 27th appearance and the crowd went wild for the lad and it was the winner. Hope all is well with you and send love and hugs from both of us dear friend.

57kidzdoc
Editado: Dic 22, 2019, 12:37 pm

>54 Familyhistorian: I hope that you're right, Meg. However, for far too many Americans preservation of white privilege outweighs Christian morality and love, and the vast majority of evangelicals seem to embrace him as if he were the second coming of Christ, and I expect that trump will be re-elected in 2020.

>55 richardderus: Thanks, Richard!

>56 johnsimpson: I'm glad that Miggy finally scored a Premier League goal. He would have had many more had he stayed with Atlanta United, and they may have successfully defended their MLS championship had he not bolted for apparently greener pastures.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and Karen!

58jnwelch
Dic 23, 2019, 9:33 am

Have a great holiday, buddy.

59connie53
Dic 24, 2019, 2:36 am

Happy Christmas and a very good 2020, Darryl!

60SandDune
Dic 24, 2019, 7:54 am



Or in other words, Happy Christmas! And have a great New Year as well.

61ChelleBearss
Dic 24, 2019, 10:09 am



Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

62Storeetllr
Dic 24, 2019, 10:46 am

Hi, Darryl - Just stopping by to wish you a very Merry Christmas and

63karenmarie
Dic 24, 2019, 1:31 pm

No chance of catching up, Darryl, but I do want to wish you a


64johnsimpson
Dic 24, 2019, 4:21 pm

Merry Christmas Darryl from both of us dear friend.

65Caroline_McElwee
Dic 24, 2019, 6:00 pm


Merry Christmas Darryl. I hope you will make it to London next year.

66EBT1002
Dic 25, 2019, 1:59 am

Hoping that you are hanging in there and wishing you a



from stormy Kauai!

67streamsong
Dic 25, 2019, 12:20 pm

Merry Christmas from Montana!



Hope you're not being run off your feet! It sounds like the flu season is going to be a bad one, indeed.

And may all your patients' parents find their patience this holiday!

68ronincats
Dic 25, 2019, 6:42 pm

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, some other tradition or none at all, this is what I wish for you!

69EllaTim
Dic 25, 2019, 8:11 pm

Here's a fitting book to wish you a Very Merry Christmas!



Hope you find some time to enjoy your Christmas!

70PaulCranswick
Dic 25, 2019, 9:14 pm



Thank you for keeping me company in 2019.......onward to 2020.

71drneutron
Editado: Dic 29, 2019, 3:22 pm

calm and I could use some friends over here in this new joint...

The 2020 Group is up!

72SqueakyChu
Dic 26, 2019, 12:04 pm

>71 drneutron: Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was waiting each day for it. Thank you so much for your dedication to this cause.

Wishing you and your family much joy this holiday season and throughout the New Year!

73Berly
Dic 27, 2019, 12:04 am

Best wishes this holiday season!! See you in 2020!


74kidzdoc
Editado: Dic 28, 2019, 11:59 am

Happy last Saturday of the decade, everyone! I'm off this weekend, after putting in a full work week, including Christmas Day, but I'll work all of next week and nights the following week, so I'm happy to have two days off to rest, recuperate...and read. As is usually the case, our inpatient census dropped significantly as we approached Christmas, but then rapidly increased starting that afternoon, after everyone had opened their presents and parents realized that they could no longer wait for their sick kids to be seen. Fortunately I was working with the pediatric residents this week, which made my days much more bearable, although we were swamped yesterday, as my partner who was working with me on the fourth floor of the hospital called out sick. We ended up seeing his patients along with ours, which made for a long, hectic and stressful day. Fortunately, and unusually, none of the families we saw were abusive towards myself, the residents or the nurses, so I was spared from having to put any entitled parents in their place.

As is usually the case, the nurses on the different units organized potluck lunches, as no one wants to eat hospital cafeteria food on holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas. I made another huge pan of chicken and Andouille sausage Creole jambalaya, and dined mainly with the second floor staff, although I shared half of the pan of jambalaya with the fourth floor crew. The food on both floors was even better than usual, and we'll do it again on New Year's Day, as I'll make jalapeño cream cheese chicken enchiladas for the third floor staff.

Some Christmas photos:

Me and the two pediatric residents who worked with me for most of this week. (It's hard to see, but I'm wearing a green and white Philadelphia Eagles Santa hat, in honor of their big win over the Dallas Cowboys last weekend.) The one closest to me was actually ill that day, and I sent her home before noon. She was diagnosed with influenza A on Thursday, and stayed home for the remainder of the week.



This is a little over half of the potluck lunch on the second floor, not including most of the dessert, ham, and a very tasty squash casserole. Most of my partners who worked that day attended this lunch, and half of them made food.



This is about half of the second floor potluck lunch group. Nurses had to eat quickly, and tend to their patients, as did two of my partners.



Me with two of my favorite fourth floor nurses, Anna and Rachel. I love this photo, so it will be my new primary picture on my LT home page.



In addition to lunch the kitchen in my group's office had more than enough sweets for everyone.


75Berly
Dic 28, 2019, 12:00 pm

D--Sorry you had to work on the holiday, but it looks like there was great Christmas cheer!! And food! Enjoy your days off. And don't catch the flu.

76SqueakyChu
Dic 28, 2019, 12:01 pm

Great pictures, Darryl! Wishing you all the best in 2020.

Keep on cookin'!

77kidzdoc
Editado: Dic 29, 2019, 3:57 am

My parents bought me a KitchenAid Professional 5 Plus mixer (my father purchased one for himself as well), and my brother bought me three books from my Amazon wish list:

Monument: Poems New and Selected by Natasha Trethewey (former Emory professor and US Poet Laureate)
Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World by David Owen (as recommended by Madeline (SqueakyChu)
The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom (winner of this year's National Book Award for Non-Fiction, which is a memoir of the author's family who lived in New Orleans East, and their house that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina)

I plan to read Volume Control and The Yellow House next month, along with the three books I'm currently working on, and The Infamous Rosalie by Évelyne Trouillot.

I'll wait until at least next weekend to create a 2020 thread in this group and in Club Read. If I finish any books between now and Tuesday I'll post reviews in the new threads next weekend.

78kidzdoc
Editado: Dic 28, 2019, 1:47 pm

Thanks, Joe, Connie, Rhian, Chelle, Mary, Karen, John, Caroline, Ellen, Janet, Roni, Ella, Paul, Madeline and Kim for your lovely Holiday greetings! I hope that your holidays are equally as special.

>75 Berly: Thanks, Kim. Fortunately Christmas Day wasn't busy, as we only had four patients to start with and I only had one admission that afternoon.

I'm also hopeful that I don't contract influenza. However, we're in the midst of a serious "flunami", as I've cared for 20 or more inpatients who were diagnosed with influenza A or B. Fortunately I've stayed well the past two months since I've been vaccinated (touch wood), with only one day where I had a sore throat for a few hours earlier this week.

>76 SqueakyChu: Thanks, Madeline! My freezer and refrigerator are nearly completely free of filled with homemade food, including most of a Christmas ham, macaroni and cheese, a container of jambalaya, and crawfish étouffée, so I won't do any cooking between now and New Year's Eve, when I make enchiladas for the New Year's Day potluck lunch.

79SqueakyChu
Dic 28, 2019, 1:37 pm

>78 kidzdoc: I'm guessing you mean completely "full" rather than "free"!

Today is my latke-making day, although I found time to make some cookie dough (with dried cranberries, white chocolate chips and coarsely chopped walnuts) so those get made today as well. :D

P.S. Have you ever made latkes?

80kidzdoc
Editado: Dic 28, 2019, 2:04 pm

>79 SqueakyChu: Ha! You're absolutely right, Madeline. My freezer is so full that I'll need to bring several Tupperware containers to work on Monday so that I can make room in my freezer to fit the étouffée and ham I made this week. I need to cook rice, to go with the étouffée, and I may make a tortilla española tomorrow, but that will be all before Tuesday night.

Yum for latkes and cookie dough!!!

I've never made latkes, although I love them and my mother occasionally made them when we were kids living in Jersey City (she learned to make them, matzo ball soup, borscht and other Jewish dishes when she worked as a dietitian at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx in the late 1950s). I did see a very enticing photo of Plantain Latkes with Avocado Crema on my Facebook timeline earlier this week, and I would love to make those soon, probably early next month.



Mmm, borscht...I'll need to make it soon.

81jessibud2
Dic 28, 2019, 2:33 pm

>80 kidzdoc: - Oh my. That sounds (and looks) interesting. I may have to try it!!

Happy holidays, Darryl. Your feast(s) at work look terrific and I love that the staff takes the time for this. It's important!

82kidzdoc
Dic 28, 2019, 2:53 pm

>81 jessibud2: Please let me know if you try this recipe before I do, Shelley! I had originally thought about making these latkes this weekend, and although I probably won't I wouldn't completely rule out doing so tomorrow.

I — and we — completely agree with you. The nurses and hospitalists, more so than other hospital physicians, work closely together, and I and most of my partners have fond and even affectionate relationships with more than a few of them. We rarely share a table together, as the nurses dine in their breakrooms and we have lunch in the Doctors' Lounge or at our workspaces, although the nurses that like us (which is true for most, but not all, of my partners) will frequently invite us to share homemade sweets with them. I think I can claim credit for beginning my group's participation in these potluck holiday lunches, not just being invited but bringing home cooked food to share. We're essentially a work family, and these shared meals are greatly treasured by all of us.

83tangledthread
Dic 28, 2019, 2:56 pm

Happy Holidays Daryl!! Now you went and made me put Volume Control on hold from the library....thank you!

Just started reading Tommy Orange's There There this morning and am quite engrossed. Too soon to say if I'd recommend, but it has a good start.

Hope the flu skips right over you and that the New Year brings good health and happiness to you and your family!

84kidzdoc
Editado: Dic 28, 2019, 2:59 pm

Bianca's work group at King's College Hospital in London had a similar Christmas Night potluck lunch; she posted this photo on my Facebook timeline:

85kidzdoc
Editado: Dic 28, 2019, 3:09 pm

>83 tangledthread: Thanks, tangledthread! All credit goes to Madeline, who reviewed Volume Control earlier this year. Once she told me that its author suffers from tinnitus I knew I would want to read it ASAP, as my father also suffers from this condition. I'll get to it as soon as I finish Elderhood next week.

There There is on my radar screen, although I haven't purchased it yet. I look forward to your thoughts about it.

Thank you! I'm glad that I haven't yet contracted influenza, and that I didn't pass it onto my parents when I saw them earlier this month.

86jessibud2
Dic 28, 2019, 3:11 pm

>85 kidzdoc: - I picked up Volume Control from the library about an hour ago! Also, thanks to Madeline!

87Familyhistorian
Dic 28, 2019, 3:30 pm

Your potluck looks good and what a wonderful tradition, Darryl. Stay healthy!

88SqueakyChu
Dic 28, 2019, 3:54 pm

Looking forward to everyone's review of Volume Control...

89jnwelch
Dic 28, 2019, 4:02 pm

Love the hospital photos, Darryl. Seems like quite a congenial group. What a good idea to have potluck at holiday time. I can see why that's your favorite photo; what a happy trio.

I think you'll enjoy Trethewey's Monument: Poems; I sure did. I know you're already a fan of her.

We have our annual latke party next weekend; wish you could be there!

90Berly
Dic 28, 2019, 4:10 pm

My RL bookclub #1 is reading The Yellow House for our February meetup--I'll keep an eye out for your thoughts.

And I just started There, There He's coming to Portland soon, although I forgot to buy tix. I may have to see if my Literary Arts connections can help me out...

Hppy Saturday!

91richardderus
Editado: Dic 28, 2019, 7:40 pm

Plaintain latkes with avocado crema...

...that Windtorte drool-debt is Paid In Full, dude.

92torontoc
Dic 28, 2019, 9:41 pm

Plantain latkes?!! sounds interesting.

93kidzdoc
Dic 29, 2019, 10:08 am

>86 jessibud2: Excellent! I suspect you'll finish Volume Control before I do, Shelley.

>87 Familyhistorian: These potluck lunches are an excellent tradition, which seem to be common based on the similar spread in Bianca's photo.

I would be surprised if I contracted influenza at this point, as I've been exposed to at least two dozen kids — and a pediatric resident — who were sick with influenza A or B. We're still seeing plenty of RSV, but I probably picked that up in September during the flight from London to Atlanta or beforehand, and I'm probably already immune from the other prevalent respiratory viruses.

>88 SqueakyChu: I suspect that I won't finish Volume Control until my week off from work in mid January, or possibly afterward.

94kidzdoc
Editado: Dic 29, 2019, 10:27 am

>89 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe. No one is excited about working all day on a major holiday, but we greatly look forward to planning these potluck lunches and participating in them.

Anna, the shorter nurse on the left, came up to me on The Day After in November 2016, a few hours after we learned that trump was going to be our next president. She was crying, and after I hugged her tightly for a few seconds, with tears in my eyes, she said "Thank you. I needed to know that there are still good people in this world." Most of the nurses are from Georgia, unlike the physicians, and they tend to vote Republican, and I expect the crew she was working with that day did not share her despair over the election result. Hopefully we can share another hug this coming November and exchange smiles instead of tears.

I'm glad that you enjoyed Monument, which I hope to finish in January, along with The Tradition by Jericho Brown.

Dang. I wish I could be there for your latke party.

>90 Berly: Sounds good, Kim. I intend to do a much better job in writing prompt reviews of the books I've read next year.

>91 richardderus: Mmm...I think not, sir. Plantain latkes with avocado crema seem easy to make, but the Spanische Windtorte is well beyond my baking capability.

>92 torontoc: Right, Cyrel. I'll probably make them next weekend.

95SqueakyChu
Dic 29, 2019, 11:11 pm

Oooh! Darryl. The carrot souffle that my daughter-in-law made for our Chanukah party this evening was eaten up right away. I got to taste one last bite. I'll need to get the recipe and make it myself.

96kidzdoc
Dic 30, 2019, 6:30 am

>95 SqueakyChu: Sounds good! I'll have to ask Anna for her carrot soufflé recipe, and Laura, a 2nd floor nurse, for her very tasty squash casserole recipe.

Sigh. Back to the grind...

97karenmarie
Dic 31, 2019, 7:45 am

Hi Darryl!

Work potlucks were the rule at the company I worked for the last 21 years before retiring. They were always quite wonderful. Great pics, thanks for sharing.

98scaifea
Dic 31, 2019, 11:22 am

Hi, Darryl! I *love* the look of that holiday spread, and I also love that you all organize such meals together - that's wonderful!

99richardderus
Dic 31, 2019, 11:55 am

>94 kidzdoc: Darryl...dude...patissiers have trouble with the Spanische Windtorte! It is a *nightmare* of opportunities to fail. That's why it's filled with fruited-up creme chiboust! At least ONE thing is easy.

100connie53
Dic 31, 2019, 12:17 pm

Happy New Year, Darryl!

101Ameise1
Dic 31, 2019, 3:52 pm



102kidzdoc
Dic 31, 2019, 4:39 pm

>97 karenmarie: You're welcome, Karen. I'll share photos from tomorrow's potluck thread after I create my new 2020 thread sometime next month.

>98 scaifea: Thanks, Amber. Everyone (or nearly so) looks forward to these holiday potluck lunches, and the camaraderie that accompanies them.

>99 richardderus: Ah. I couldn't imagine trying to make a Spanische Windtorte. I (think) I know my (many) limits.

>100 connie53: Thanks, Connie. Happy New Year to you and Peet!

>100 connie53: Happy New Year to you too, Barbara!

103kidzdoc
Dic 31, 2019, 4:42 pm

Assuming that I don't get any hospital admissions in the next 20 minutes I'll leave on time. I went to the grocery store yesterday, but after a hectic and thoroughly unpleasant day on service yesterday I realized after I got home that I forgot to get numerous items that I'll need to make enchiladas tomorrow, so I have to go to the supermarket again this afternoon and make them tonight after dinner. I doubt that I'll have time to post anything else today, so this will be my last post in this thread for 2019. See y'all next year!

104johnsimpson
Dic 31, 2019, 5:52 pm

Hi Darryl mate, wishing you a very Happy New Year from both of us dear friend.

105Berly
Dic 31, 2019, 5:53 pm



Wishing you 12 months of success
52 weeks of laughter
366 days of fun (leap year!)
8,784 hours of joy
527,040 minutes of good luck
and 31,622,400 seconds of happiness!!

106tangledthread
Ene 2, 2020, 8:46 am

Daryl...Happy New Year! Been looking for your 2020 thread and haven't found it yet?

107jnwelch
Ene 2, 2020, 3:44 pm

Happy New Year, Darryl!

I'm another one looking forward to your 2020 thread. I should look for you in Club Read, too.

108kidzdoc
Ene 4, 2020, 2:24 pm

(Belated) Happy New Year, John, Kim, tangledthread and Joe! I just finished a torturous week on service, so I finally have time to participate in LT.

I just took a look at the 2020 version of 75 Books: yikes. I think I'll wait to join the party until next weekend, when I'll start a week off from work. In the meantime I created my first Club Read 2020 thread this morning:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/315145