By Bonnie Fishman For those of you who plant a garden each spring, you are faced with the dilemma: What should I plant this season? Tomatoes are a MUST, because there is nothing like homegrown. Yes, I know you’ll be giving them away by the truckload, but they are a necessity. Where you go from tomatoes is up to you. Back in Michigan, my husband, Bob, always planted (on my request) poblano and jalapeño peppers. We would have Japanese eggplant, string beans, and lots of basil and other herbs. When thinking about your garden in the spring, you forget that you were inundated with zucchini. So you go and plant them again. Just like having a baby: you forget how much it hurt to birth that baby but you go and do it again. Zucchini is the same way. Inundated may be an understatement. I often wonder myself why would anyone plant these guys? In truth, unlike a garden-fresh tomato, I frankly don’t see the difference between a homegrown and a store-bought zucchini. Plus you have the added aggravation of unloading these suckers. This year, while we were back in Michigan packing up our house to move permanently out to California, our generous contractor, Vince, built us a large irrigated redwood raised garden as a gift. He planted it with corn, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, herbs, and yes, that zucchini thing. It is a gorgeous plant with huge leaves and lots of large vibrant yellow flowers. Nice, huh? Each of those flowers produces a, you guessed it, zucchini. Lots of zucchini.. Herein lies the problem: the leaves are so large that you can’t see what’s growing underneath lurking on the garden bed. Literally. Last week, my sweet five- and seven-year-old grandsons were visiting. One morning, on the edge of the garden box, we happened on a ginormous (their word) zucchini weighing in at 4 pounds, 14 ounces. We were amazed. Until a few days later, when Bob went scouring the garden and came to the house with an 8 pounder! Now what? I already gave the first one to Vince. I offered him this one but he said he was still working on the 4 pounder. Who wants this? Should I leave it by the side of the road or is that cruel? Over dinner last night with my sisters and niece, we discussed the possibilities. There’s the usual zucchini bread, ratatouille, grilled zucchini, sautéed in pasta sauces, eggs, vegetable medley and so on. We were looking outside the box. Bob chimes in “Let’s get the mandolin out and slice it thin to make lasagna. I liked that idea. How about slicing it thin crosswise and making rollatinis with stuffed cabbage filling? I’ve seen recipes where you “spiralize” them and treat them like pasta noodles. Can you freeze zucchini? Probably too watery when defrosted. I have a recipe for a zucchini dish that I got from Vince. I, of course, put my own spin on it. He uses a larger zucchini (not the ginormous one) as a cradle to bake meatloaf in. How clever. I took the ball and ran with it. I created a Greek-style meat stuffing using my fresh tomatoes, mint, peppers, and oregano. Add some feta cheese–terrific! Feel free to use ground beef, chicken, or turkey to substitute for the lamb. You can also change the flavor profile by swapping out the mint for cilantro and adding chili powder. Change the cheese to sharp cheddar and you have a dish with Mexican flare. Calling all zucchini gardeners: What do YOU do with your excess crop? Please share your experience (but not your zucchini) with The Insider! Stuffed Zucchini Boats Yield: 4-6 servings Filling: 2 Tbs. olive oil 1 1/4 c. finely diced onions 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, finely diced 2 lg. or 3 med. ripe tomatoes, peeled, and chopped fine 1 tsp. crushed fennel seeds 1 tsp. crushed coriander seeds 1 tsp. dried oregano leaves 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes 1 lb. ground lamb (or beef, turkey, chicken) 1 tsp. salt or to taste 1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper 2 lg. eggs, beaten 4 oz. crumbled feta cheese 1/4 c. fresh chopped mint 1/4 c. fresh chopped oregano 2-3 lb. lg. zucchini 2 Tbs. olive oil 1 Tbs. panko crumbs In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the onion, garlic and red pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the seasonings. Cook for 2 minutes more. Add the ground meat. Sauté, breaking up the meat into small pieces. When there is no more pink, add the chopped tomatoes. Turn heat down to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring often. Pour contents into a bowl. When the mixture has cooled to room temperature, stir in remaining ingredients. While the filling is cooking, prepare the zucchini boats. Depending on the size of the zucchini, cut them crosswise into 4-6” sections. The goal is to be able to stuff with one generous cup of filling. Cut each zucchini section in half lengthwise. Shave off a bit from the green side so when the boat is sitting on your plate, it won’t wobble. Using a sharp paring knife, make a V-cut lengthwise down the center of the boat. Remove the seeds. Hollow out some of the zucchini flesh so that you have a 1/2” bottom and walls. How many boats you will need depends on the zucchini size and making sure you have enough filling for each. Pour the olive oil in a shallow casserole. Place the boats in cut side up. Brush the insides with oil and ensure the bottoms are oiled. Season with coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper. Grill boats over medium-high heat for 5 minutes a side, or until the zucchini has grill marks and is barely tender. Place the boats back in the casserole, cut side up. Stuff the zucchini. Sprinkle with panko crumbs. Cover with foil. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake 20 minutes more. If you make and assemble these ahead, keep refrigerated. Take out to room temperature for at least an hour before baking. Bonnie Fishman attended the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London. Later, she owned and operated Bonnie’s Patisserie in Southfield, Mich. and Bonnie’s Kitchen and Catering in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. She has taught cooking for over 35 years and created hundreds of recipes. She is now living in Northern California.

By Victoria Rolfe As we are in the midst of picking and eating and preserving this year’s bounty, it is also time to start looking forward to next year’s garden. Here’s another thing you can be doing now: let some of your vegetable and flower plants go to seed! If you just let them continue to grow, many of your crops will go on to produce seeds for next year. They will usually do this by bolting (growing tall) and then blossoming into some very pretty little flowers. (I will discuss what to do with these flowering plants in my next column.) This will happen if you just stop picking your leaf and root crops such as lettuce and other greens, radishes, beets, broccoli, and some herbs, such as dill and basil. This requires nothing more on your part than leaving the plant alone and letting the magic happen. It is actually quite fascinating to see what they will develop into. Yes, you can also save seeds from your fruiting crops (peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, etc.). This is best done when they are nearing the end of their productive life, so you need to let the fruit (vegetable) grow to an extra-ripe stage to develop mature viable seeds. If you do this during peak growing season, you run the risk of “turning off” the plant, When it senses that it has produced mature seeds (its life mission) it will send a signal to the plant that it is done and it is time to close up shop. Seed saving is best done with your heirloom (or non-hybrid) varieties, as second-generation hybrid seeds may not grow true to their parent plants and thus may lose some of the qualities for which they were hybridized. To save your pod vegetables, such as string beans or snow peas, just stop picking them when the plants are nearing the end of their production and let the remaining beans grow “beany” and dry out on the plant. Even if you don’t harvest the seeds, as long as you let the plants go to seed out there, without being so quick to pull your plants and clean up your garden, Mother Nature will often do the work for you. She will just go ahead and plant the seeds and you can delight in surprise “volunteer” veggies and flowers for next year. I very rarely plant lettuce anymore. I just let my lettuce plants go to seed and have a new crop growing all over my garden the following spring. This is another very busy and productive month in our garden season, but don’t be overwhelmed. After this, things will begin to wind down. Just enjoy and delight in those lovely warm end-of-summer days and your rich garden bounty. Victoria Rolfe has had a love of gardening all her life, from the time she was a tiny child coveting the daffodils growing in her neighbor’s yard (and wondering why she couldn’t have them in her own), to her teenage years when she took her pot experimentation in a different direction by growing the seeds she extracted from the bag into a beautiful marijuana plant on her bedroom windowsill. She went on in her adult years to feed her family by growing a huge and bountiful vegetable garden, as well as beautifying her three-acre property with an array of ornamental trees, bushes and flowers in the magnificent Hudson Valley region of New York. Victoria learned a great deal in the process of all this plant experimentation. She then added to that knowledge by taking courses with the Cornell Cooperative Extension to become a Master Gardener Volunteer. In her volunteer capacity, she helps to educate the public on gardening through classes and information booths, most notably at the Dutchess County N.Y. Fair each August. Throughout the summer months, Victoria is most likely to be found among the weeds, either in her own garden or those of others who actually pay her to play in their dirt and do the thing she loves best, delight in the magical world of gardening. Victoria is not only a gardening aficionado; she is also passionate about helping people live a better life on less money. Visit her website and blog at brightfuture2budget4.weebly.com, or email her at brightfuture2budget4@gmail.com.

By Jeffrey D. Sachs | bostonglobe.com Decisions taken by the US government and the rest of the world during the remainder of 2021 will be among the most important of our generation. August 10, 2021 A boy walked through a dried-up agricultural field in the Saadiya area, north of Diyala in eastern Iraq on June 24. As Iraq bakes under a blistering summer heat wave, its hard-scrabble farmers and herders are battling severe water shortages that are killing their animals, fields, and way of life. The oil-rich country, scarred by four decades of war, is also one of the world's most vulnerable to the climate crisis and struggles with a host of other environmental challenges.AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES The new report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change summarizes the current state of scientific knowledge regarding the global climate crisis, including the urgent steps needed to keep global warming below 1.5°C — a threshold the report said the planet is likely to hit or exceed within 20 years if no steps are taken. Together with other recent reports, it provides a critical basis for policymaking in the crucial months ahead. Decisions taken by the US government and the rest of the world during the remainder of 2021 will be among the most important of our generation. Even as the world grapples with the Delta variant of COVID-19, climate crises are exposing our fragility. Floods, droughts, heatwaves, extreme storms, and mega-fires are ravaging the planet. The IPCC report explains that these events reflect a climate system profoundly destabilized by the rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide caused by fossil fuels. Only rapid decarbonization — the shift to wind, solar, and other zero-emission energy technologies — can save us from intensifying disasters. Yet this is not all. Last month’s report ”The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World,” issued by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and partner institutions, documented the dire state of food insecurity. No fewer than 3 billion people on the planet, 40 percent of the global population, cannot afford a healthy diet. Climate change threatens to worsen the food crisis. The IPCC report shows that much of the world faces the prospect of intensifying agricultural and ecological droughts as a result of climate change. A farmer walked back to his car between two barren fields on July 23 in California's drought-stricken Central Valley. Before the drought the fields were sown with hemp or garlic crops, but as a result of California's water restrictions the farmer decided not to plant.ROBYN BECK/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES Yet another recent report — ”Biodiversity and Climate Change,” co-sponsored by the IPCC and the Intergovernmental Science-PolicyPlatform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services — documents the profound decline of biodiversity and the risks that climate change poses to biodiversity. The collapse of biodiversity in turn further threatens global food supplies and countless other ecosystem functions on which we utterly depend. Thus, even as hopelessly puerile and demagogic politicians such as Republican Governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida waste our time and squander the lives of their citizens with cruel rants regarding face masks and vaccines, the real work of rescuing the world from human folly has become more urgent than ever. There is a way out of the current morass — and even a diplomatic and political timetable in the coming months. The solutions to our growing crises lie in two overriding transformations — the first to sustainable energy and land use, and the second to a fairer society. In the spring, the International Energy Agency published an essential roadmap, Net Zero by 2050, showing how the global energy system can be converted to net-zero CO2 emissions with technologies already in hand or within reach. Solar and wind power, electric vehicles, green hydrogen (produced from water with zero-carbon electricity), and other technologies can support a rapid, low-cost energy transformation by mid-century. Ventilation fan units beside the hydrogen electrolysis plant at the Wesseling green hydrogen refinery, operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc, in Wesseling, Germany. Europe is pinning its green hopes on hydrogen in an unprecedented economic overhaul that aims for the region to reach climate neutrality by 2050. ALEX KRAUS/BLOOMBERG The path to a fairer society is also within reach. The key is more taxes on corporations and the super-rich, to enable governments to ensure health care, nutrition, education, and other basic needs to every citizen. This too is not complicated. Many societies (notably in Northern Europe) already achieve this kind of basic fairness. The United States could as well by adopting basic tax reforms. President Biden and the Democrats in Congress have the opportunity to pass historic legislation outlined in a proposed budget resolution to the FY2022 Budget Reconciliation bill that Senate Democrats launched Monday. The legislation targets environmental sustainability and a fairer society paid for with higher taxes on corporations and the rich. The Democratic proposals are strongly backed by public opinion. The real political battle is not with the public but with the corporate lobbies and the mega-rich campaign donors who still fight for their tax breaks and protection against IRS audits. Key votes will take place in September and October. The US political drama will unfold against a backdrop of unprecedented global diplomacy, a make-or-break period for the world as a whole to set a course toward sustainability and fairness after the shocking dislocations of the pandemic. No less than four major diplomatic events are on the calendar, a series of meetings that can redirect the world toward sanity and safety. First, at the UN in September, leaders will meet in a UN Food Systems Summit to chart a path toward food security. In mid-October, the world’s nations will hold a UN Biodiversity Conference in Kunming, China, with the goal of setting urgent new guardrails against the collapse of biodiversity and ecosystems. In late October, the world’s leaders will meet at the G20 in Rome, where they can agree on global tax reform and a revamp of global finances needed to direct more resources to low-income countries. In November, all 193 UN member states will convene in Glasgow, Scotland, for the UN Climate Change Conference. That should be the occasion for all nations to commit to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, and to do so cooperatively. The most basic challenge for global survival and well-being is to turn our knowledge into action. The world’s scientists are clear on the dangers. The technologists are clear on the solutions. The challenges are therefore political and ethical, to use our knowledge wisely, for the common good. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, and the International Energy Agency have done their part to inform us of what needs to be done. The challenge is now ours and our governments to act for the common good. Jeffrey D. Sachs is university professor at Columbia University, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, and president of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/08/10/opinion/climate-crisis-challenge-belongs-all-us/

By Andy Borowitz August 5, 2021 TALLAHASSEE (The Borowitz Report)—In his most scathing assignment of blame to date, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis blasted the other forty-nine states for conspiring to make his own look bad. “Our COVID numbers wouldn’t seem so terrible if other states’ numbers weren’t better,” he said. “You don’t have to be a detective to figure out who stands to benefit from this scenario.” “Nice try, other forty-nine states,” he bellowed. “I’m onto you!” DeSantis’s remarks drew a strong rebuke from a fellow Republican governor, Greg Abbott of Texas. “If you look at our COVID numbers, you’ll find that Texas has been doing everything in our power to make Florida look good,” he said. “Ron DeSantis’s comments are very hurtful.” Immediately following Abbott’s statement, DeSantis issued a heartfelt apology. “I appreciate everything Texas has done to make Florida look good,” he said. “But the other forty-eight states still suck.” Andy Borowitz is a Times best-selling author and a comedian who has written for The New Yorker since 1998. He writes The Borowitz Report, a satirical column on the news.

FRED PLOTKIN is one of America’s foremost experts on opera and has distinguished himself in many fields as a writer, speaker, consultant and as a compelling teacher. He is an expert on everything Italian, the person other so-called Italy experts turn to for definitive information.  Fred discovered the concept of "The Renaissance Man" as a small child and has devoted himself to pursuing that ideal as the central role of his life. In a “Public Lives” profile in The New York Times on August 30, 2002, Plotkin was described as "one of those New York word-of-mouth legends, known by the cognoscenti for his renaissance mastery of two seemingly separate disciplines: music and the food of Italy." In the same publication, on May 11, 2006, it was written that "Fred is a New Yorker, but has the soul of an Italian."

Opinion by Jeffrey D. Sachs | CNN.com August 9, 2021 Editor's Note: Jeffrey Sachs is a professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and president of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. His most recent book is "The Ages of Globalization" (Columbia University Press, 2020). The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author; view more opinion on CNN (CNN) - The bipartisan infrastructure bill is making its way through the US Senate. This past weekend, 67 senators -- including 18 Republicans -- voted to cut off debate on the massive package, clearing the way for a final vote early this week. This kind of bipartisanship is heartening -- and will lead to important investments in roads, bridges, rail, broadband internet and the electric grid. Yet the bill also thoroughly exposes the glaring problem with the Republican Party's opposition to additional taxes on corporations and the wealthy. The bill is designed to satisfy the GOP's steadfast opposition to new taxes. To do so, the bipartisan group has exaggerated the new investments in the bill -- as well as the revenues to pay for those investments. Let us unpack this numbers game, starting with America's investment needs. Our infrastructure is failing in three ways. First, much of it is old. Second, because of climate change, it is increasingly vulnerable to rising sea levels, storm surges, floods, droughts, heat waves, forest fires, extreme storms and other events. Third, it is outmoded. We need green (low-carbon) and digital infrastructure for climate safety and economic competitiveness in the 21st century. This kind of infrastructure upgrade will cost trillions of dollars over the next decade. At the start of the year, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) estimated that cumulative US investment needs into 2029 are $6.1 trillion, but there is currently only $3.5 trillion in existing funds allocated for future spending -- creating a shortfall of $2.6 trillion over a decade, or $260 billion per year. So far, that financing gap is translating into a deep and chronic shortfall of investment spending. The federal government therefore has to increase the flow of investments -- and find a way to pay for the increased outlays. While some Democrats would welcome offsetting cuts in military spending, the Republicans heatedly object. And while Republicans have tried repeatedly to cut social programs, most Democrats and the public want more, not less, social spending. That leaves two ways to pay for the needed investments. One is deficit financing -- or increasing the public debt. The problem here is that the budget deficit is already quite high, and the public debt has reached 100% of gross domestic product, the highest debt-GDP ratio since World War II. The other way to finance infrastructure spending is by increasing taxes. Fortunately, with the stock market booming, corporations earning sky-high profits and the wealthiest Americans enjoying unprecedented wealth, the richest companies and Americans can carry much of the load. In addition, according to the Biden administration, with tax evasion running at an astounding $600 billion or more per year, tax enforcement can also help enormously. Now we can see the problems with the bipartisan bill. First, the bipartisan bill addresses only a small part of our investment needs. And, second, it doesn't even pay for those investments through offsetting budget cuts or tax increases. A new report by the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office exposes these facts. The legislation is portrayed as investing $1.2 trillion over the coming decade, or roughly $120 billion per year. Yet according to the CBO, the actual new discretionary investment spending is only $415 billion over 10 years. The rest is investment that was already on track to happen. In other words, the new spending falls far short of the investment gap identified by the ASCE. The bipartisan group that negotiated the package claims the costs of the infrastructure package would be paid for by a combination of spending cuts and additional revenues. Yet, according to the CBO, the offsetting spending cuts are roughly $109 billion and the new revenues are only $50 billion, leaving $256 billion in increased deficits over the coming decade. The size of the deficits, by itself, is not too worrisome: $256 billion over 10 years amounts to less than 0.1% of GDP over the 10-year period, according CBO projections. This is not a huge amount of borrowing. And yet Republicans are so allergic to any kind of taxation on the rich and powerful that they would not agree even to cover the very modest amount of new investment spending with increased taxes. The GOP is trapped by a vacuous philosophy that corporations and the rich should never face tax increases. As such, it is against forcing companies to pay even a minimum tax to cover necessary updates to our infrastructure. It is against forcing the megabillionaires to pay even a minimal increase on their unimaginable wealth. And it is against even funding the IRS to crack down on tax frauds. But without more tax revenues, public investments will continue to be a tiny shadow of what is needed. So, the Democrats need to pass a real investment package -- by reconciliation, along a party-line vote, this fall. And this package should be financed by tax increases on corporations and the rich. Let's reflect on the following. Federal tax revenues today are 17% of GDP, about the same level of receipts as 40 years ago despite the burgeoning costs of health care, higher education and housing; a rising environmental catastrophe; an aging population with higher Social Security outlays; old and outmoded infrastructure and tough international competition. The Republicans have repeatedly handed massive tax cuts to corporations and the rich despite the crying need for new federal revenues. Either we raise taxes on the rich and powerful, or we will drown in public debt with an outmoded infrastructure unfit for the 21st century. The upcoming reconciliation bill, not the bipartisan legislation, is our real hope. https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/09/opinions/bipartisan-infrastructure-bill-falls-short-sachs/index.html

By Naomi Serviss I’m a little anxious about Broadway. We all need some hocus-pocus in our lives. Especially now. Theater is magic, whether you witness the disappearance of Lady Liberty, or are blown away by Steve Cohen, “The Millionaire’s Magician,” in a fancy parlor at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel. Cohen’s Chamber Magic is a finely tuned Victorian entertainment. Suitable for the well-mannered and properly attired. A gentleman’s gentleman, Cohen is dressed to thrill with a boyish mien and mischief in his eyes. He summons an ornate living room of a wealthy patron eager to impress guests. Cohen succeeds on every level, from his card misdirection to his sophisticated conjuring. The program details his chicanery. “Think a Drink” confounded and wowed! Audience members scrawled a favorite beverage on provided paper and pen. These were collected and passed to the maestro. He read a few out loud. Then, he nonchalantly poured those four different beverages from one large kettle! Impossible! Cohen’s final card trick was “Total Coincidence,” described in the program as: “An enigma of the highest order Demonstrated with two regulation packs of cards.” It was and he did! We were delightfully baffled and highly amused. Audiences are small, masks and vaccination proof required. It was a splendid first foray into live theater. But am I ready to step foot in a Broadway venue? This new Delta variant isn’t helping. Beetlejuice was the last pre-pandemic musical I attended. I have the beverage cup to prove it! It’s been 16 months since the last play ran on Broadway. The new mandates issued by theater owners and operators are reassuringly pragmatic. Based on science and safety protocols. Attendees must mask-up and show proof of vaccination. I feel better already. But wait, there’s more! The mandate also applies to performers, backstage crew and theater staff. The rules will be in place through October for all 41 Broadway theaters, according to the Broadway League. After that, your guess is as good as mine. More than two dozen shows, including beloved blockbusters, are slated to open in September and October. Broadway will open at full capacity, with no social distancing. Soon you’ll be fighting over the arm rest like in the good old days! Pass Over was the first play to open. Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s drama is the first by a Black playwright to be performed at the August Wilson Theater. It’s one of seven plays by a Black artist to open on Broadway this year. The theater’s name honors the iconic storyteller of 20th century Black life. This incendiary three-person drama’s focus is on young Black men in a violent city. It’s a rage-against-the-machinery of white privilege in a racist society. Think Waiting for Godot without a net. Splashy, razzle-dazzle musicals pick up the pace on September 2nd with Waitress and Hadestown. Hamilton, Wicked, Chicago and The Lion King roar back on September 14th. Six previewed in Boston last spring, prepping for its Broadway debut March 12th. Never happened, the city was in lockdown. Too bad my tickets were for March 13th. Some 65% of Broadway’s audiences are tourists. A good chunk comes from the tri-state area. Will enough tourists return to sustain a struggling show? Musicals traditionally do better than dramatic plays. But with tourism down and new mandates up, will local audiences be too reticent to return? Broadway theaters range from 600 to 1,900 seats. Filling them under normal circumstances has always been dicey. But during an evolving virus? After a year-plus in quasi-hibernation, I’m game for more close-up magic. https://chambermagic.com/ Naomi Serviss is a New York-based award-winning journalist whose work has been published in The New York Times, Newsday, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Highroads (AAA magazine), in-flight publications, spa and travel magazines and websites, including BroadwayWorld.com

One film journalist’s stream-of-consciousness cinematic journey through the pandemic, Part 45 By Laurence Lerman A couple of weeks ago, I engaged in a lively Zoom chat with the actor Eric Roberts on the eve of the release of his latest film to the streaming market: the 2019 the crime-romance-thriller-prison drama mélange Night Walk, written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Aziz Tazi. Actually, Night Walk is just one of Roberts’ many “latest films.” In 2021 alone, the Mississippi-born actor is credited with more than 40 projects in some phase of development, production, post-production or release (this according to the the ever-helpful IMDb). Nearly 30 of them are feature-length films with such genre-infused names as The Poltergeist Diaries, The Rideshare Killer, Alien Vampire Busters, Killer Advice and my favorite title, The Wrong Mr. Right. Several decades have passed since the 65-year-old Roberts first burst on the scene in the Eighties and unleashed his versatile talents in such films as Star 80 (1983), The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), The Coca Cola Kid (1985) and Runaway Train, for which he was nominated for a 1986 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Remarkably, over the course of his 40-plus year career, Roberts has chalked up some 636 acting credits (as of this week, at least), more than two-thirds of them over the past two decades. It’s a staggeringly long list, with the prolific performer appearing in everything from studio movies, independent films, animated voiceover projects to TV shows, shorts and even student films. Though occasionally cast in leading roles, Robert has seamlessly slipped into a vigorous career as a character player whose familiar face has anchored many a lesser known or micro-budgeted commodity. Night Walk is a perfect example. In it, Roberts’ small role finds him portraying a crooked judge whose corrupt ways wreak havoc on the life of leading man Sean Stone, who’s been wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of lady love Sarah Alami. Eric and I talked about Night Walk, as well as his experiences working with neophyte directors, his ever-growing frequent flier miles account and the unique process he employs for choosing his acting roles. It’s a system that has yielded some 50-plus projects for 2022 and beyond. Laurence Lerman: I’m psyched you could find the time to speak with us—you’re a busy guy! Eric Roberts: Of course, of course…when it’s a really good project, we do press. Press is everything, pal. LL: Night Walk was a real change of pace: a prison movie with a splintered chronology where the violence is kept to a minimum and the themes of justice squandered and Islam vs. Christianity are raised. ER: Law enforcement and criminality share a lot of similarities—the kinds of guys who grow up to be gangster are also the ones who grow up to be cops. One has a badge and one doesn’t, but I think they’re both drawn to the kind of adrenaline-pumping lifestyle. What’s fascinating to me is that we act like they’re that much different from each other when they really aren’t. LL: Tell me about working with Night Walk’s writer and director Aziz Tazi, a first-time feature filmmaker. ER: And what a great guy! And I don’t say that often as most directors aren’t great guys. But Aziz is and I hope he calls me again because he’s going to have a great future. LL: I imagine that you’ve worked with a number of first-timers over the past decade, or at least a bunch who aren’t all that experienced. ER: First-time filmmakers are really fun, because they’re really scared or they’re really not—there’s no in between. They’re either really reckless and brave or really scared and careful. So, you hope you get one who has a little spirit and is also careful, because you have to have a little of both. I love first-time directors – it’s like driving a tractor for the first time: you have to get used to it. LL: You seem like a charming guy to me, but you bring years of experience to your profession and you know your way around a set or location, so it must be an intimidating task for a young director to give you direction. ER: I hope they’re not intimidated. I always go out of my way to say to my directors to please tell me what to do! I’m very good as being told what to do—ask my wife. I like to let them laugh and feel they can boss me around. I always do my homework and I’m ready. I arrive with all these colors and I want them to tell me which one they want to see today. LL: And, now I have to ask you about how you pick your projects. You’re such a busy guy, you’re in so many films—both independent and studio projects—and you clearly love to work and take on so many different genres. Can you talk about your process, selection and scheduling of the films in which you appear? ER: Okay, very quickly, here’s the process. I have two readers—one’s a girl, one’s a guy; one reads comedy and one reads drama. They’re both very serious readers and they boss me around a lot. They put stuff on my desk that they like with along with a synopsis. them. I have a stack of them on my desk and I go through them. When I like one, I ask for the script. I get the script and the synopsis and I read them both, and if I like them after that, I say “Yes, I’ll do this project.” It’s a three-step procedure and it works for us! And it’s also fast. I can’t possibly read every script that’s submitted. Depending on the day, I get between 2 and 30 offers. Half of them are financed; the half that aren’t financed, they can usually finance them based on my name, so they need me for their project. Sometimes I do them, but most times, I don’t. I wait until they have their financing so it doesn’t become “An Eric Roberts Film” as opposed to “A Film by So-and-So That Eric Roberts Is In.” The pressure is calmer that way. LL: When you get a call for bigger studio projects—2008’s The Dark Knight, for example, or Inherent Vice in 2014—is that when the real schedule juggling comes into play? When you have opportunity to book a multi-week studio gig? ER: There’s stuff you just cannot say “no” to. I just got a great move, Babylon [directed by La La Land helmer Damien Chazelle and starring Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie], and so we had to do a lot of bouncing and rearranging with the schedule so it could fit. We had to break a couple of hearts, even. But sometimes it happens. LL: With your packed schedule, you must constantly be on the road. ER: I have more miles than you would ever believe. I can fly for free for the rest my life. LL: Is part of your negotiation with independent producers involve having your family accompany you for a long shoot? ER: If it’s a long shoot—more than five days—then I take the wife, because that’s how you stay married. It doesn’t work any other way. One of the great things about being away with [my wife] Eliza is that when I’m with her, they treat me like a human being. When I’m alone, they treat me a little bit like a movie star, like someone that don’t know how to approach. But when I’m with the wife, I’m a normal guy. And I really like that better. Laurence Lerman is a film journalist, former editor of Video Business--Variety's DVD trade publication--and husband to The Insider's own Gwen Cooper. Over the course of his career he has conducted one-on-one interviews with just about every major director working today, including Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, Kathryn Bigelow, Ridley Scott, Walter Hill, Spike Lee, and Werner Herzog, among numerous others. Once James Cameron specifically requested an interview with Laurence by name, which his wife still likes to brag about. Most recently, he is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the online review site DiscDish.com.

By Jessie Seigel / Washington, D.C. Hallelujah! At long last, there are now Republican governors, including Alabama’s Kay Ivey, West Virginia’s Jim Justice, and Arkansas’s Asa Hutchinson, urging their constituents to get vaccinated. Perhaps they’ve finally noticed that the virus is killing off their Republican vaccine-refusing voters. But don’t get your hopes up that the GOP has come to its senses about Covid-19. At least five other Republican governors— Florida’s Ron DeSantis, Texas’ Greg Abbott, Nebraska’s Pete Ricketts, Iowa’s Kim Reynolds and Arizona’s Doug Ducey—are ferociously opposing even mask mandates. Of these governors, DeSantis is the most flamboyantly defiant, and his obstinance is having real world consequences. Twenty percent of the new cases of Covid in the U.S. are in Florida. Florida hospitals have reported placing emergency room patients in beds in hallways and are again banning visitors and postponing elective surgeries. The patients are getting younger, some in their 20’s; according to Dr. Aharon Sareli, Chief of Critical Care at Memorial Healthcare System, “We’re seeing some of those patients deteriorating and becoming critically ill and into our intensive care unit. Unfortunately, we’re seeing some of those young patients dying in our ICU’s.” And what is Governor DeSantis’s response? To deny and distort, and to pose as the defender of individual freedom and parental choice above all other rights, including the right to live. But his statements and actions are sending the unvaccinated to their deaths. Despite the outcry at the national level and in his own state, DeSantis is unapologetic and unrelenting. The question is: why? The answer: ruthless political ambition. A Deadly Political Gambit? On August 3, President Biden announced that Florida and Texas, both Republican-led states, account for one-third of all new COVID-19 cases in the entire country: "Look, we need leadership from everyone. And if some governors aren't willing to do the right thing to beat this pandemic, they should allow businesses and universities who want to do the right thing to be able to do it." He added the plea: "I say to these governors, ‘please help.’ But if you aren't going to help, at least get out of the way of the people who are trying to do the right thing. Use your power to save lives." DeSantis responded to Biden the next day, naturally on Fox News: "If you're coming after the rights of parents in Florida? I'm standing in your way…. If you're trying to deny kids a proper in-person education, I'm gonna stand in your way and stand up for the kids in Florida. If you're trying to restrict people and impose mandates and ruin their jobs and livelihood, if you are trying to lock people down, I am standing in your way. I am standing for the people of Florida." DeSantis’s belligerent rejoinder said nothing about protecting the people of Florida from the hospitalization and death that Covid and the Delta variant can bring them. Rather, he changed the subject to education, jobs, and personal freedom. In addition, DeSantis tried to counter-attack, saying: "Why don't you get this border secure? And until you do that, I don’t wanna hear a blip about Covid from you, thank you.” He claimed that Biden has “imported more virus from around the world by having a wide-open southern border." But Desantis’s claim about the border is false. Apart from the fact Biden has not created a “wide open border,” the Covid-19 spike is occurring in the states with low vaccination rates, many of them not near our southern border. But the Florida Governor apparently doesn’t care about facts. DeSantis has dismissed the current rise in cases as seasonal, based on people spending more time indoors to avoid Florida’s summer heat. He has maintained that there are still fewer Floridians dying now than last August because of his prior focus on vaccinating seniors and nursing home residents. On CBS Miami, DeSantis maintained: “Even among a lot of positive tests, you are seeing much less mortality that you did year-over-year.” He added, “Would I rather have 5,000 cases among 20-year-olds or 500 cases among seniors? I would rather have the younger.” But whether to protect the young or the old should not be an either-or proposition, and DeSantis was sidestepping the number of young that are now becoming critically ill or dying. Adding injury to insulting excuses, DeSantis has issued an executive order banning school districts from mandating that students and school employees wear masks in school, leaving the decision to individual parents. Districts that do not comply with his order and nevertheless require masks could be denied funding. To the degree DeSantis deigns to address life and death issues, he simply attacks the media for reporting on the record hospitalizations, claiming that such reporting will discourage people having heart attack or stroke symptoms from going to an emergency room. Or he tries to deflect by reinterpreting their questions and attacking them for asking. When at an event at Shark Valley, a reporter asked about seven children in the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital with Covid—two of them in the ICU—DeSantis replied: “You’re blaming the kids, saying they weren’t wearing masks so they’re in the ICU. With all due respect, I find that deplorable to blame a victim who ends up being hospitalized.” Clearly, the reporter was not blaming the kids but the man—DeSantis—who issued state’s anti-mask executive order. This blatantly twisted sophistry is stomach-churning. What Motivates DeSantis’ Actions? When it is so clear that vaccination and masks are the best keys we have to prevent hospitalization and death from Covid and its variants, why would any sane leader not only fail to lead, but deliberately obstruct efforts to stop this dread disease? DeSantis, who graduated with honors from Yale (undergraduate) and Harvard (law school), cannot, as some yahoos might, plead ignorance or stupidity as the reason. Rather, DeSantis has aspirations to the presidency and he has tied his political future to the fascistic goals of the Trumpist wing of his party. In that pursuit, Governor DeSantis has advocated voting restrictions, a law banning “sanctuary cities” that protect undocumented immigrants, a ban on teaching Critical Race Theory, and actions to prevent Twitter and Facebook from censoring politicians who post misinformation. He also signed legislation restricting transgender athletes from participating in girls’ sports. Making masks a political rather than a health issue is one of the more prominent tactics of the nation’s right-wing leaders. In some quarters, this has been working for DeSantis. In June, he beat former President Trump in a straw poll taken at the Western Conservative summit in Denver. Amongst the 31 contenders, 74 percent of participants favored DeSantis, as against 71 percent of votes for Trump. In July, according to Politico, Republican strategist Kevin McLaughlin said, “Voters crave authenticity, and [DeSantis] comes across as very authentic…. While some candidates are busy trying to ‘create’ an image or persona that will resonate with GOP presidential primary voters, DeSantis is just doing his job and letting his actions do all the talking.” Those actions include a reelection campaign for governor that is selling snarky merchandise saying “Don’t Fauci My Florida.” It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that, in an effort to enhance his presidential chances, DeSantis is determined to see Biden’s efforts against Covid fail, even if his own Republican voters die in the process. Mary Trump, the psychologist niece of the former president, has suggested, that is the position of a “homicidal sociopath, instead of a savvy politician.” However, it is possible that DeSantis’s denigration and obstruction of our available defenses against Covid will turn out to be a miscalculation on his part. A poll by Florida Politics released on August 4, found that 62 percent of Florida voters (84 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of independents, and 39 percent of Republicans) support a mask mandate for schools. When their children start falling ill, perhaps the percentage of Republicans will increase. And while a Florida Chamber of Commerce poll conducted in May showed DeSantis’s approval rating at 55 percent, in a survey conducted by St. Pete Polls (an aggregate by the two pollsters, Real Clear Politics and Five Thirty Eight) on August 2-3, his approval rating had fallen to 43.7 percent. The St. Pete Polls survey found that 45 percent of voters said they would vote for Florida’s Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist for governor in 2022, while only 44 percent said they would vote for DeSantis. Previously a Republican, Christ served as governor from 2007 to 2011. He has been critical of DeSantis’s recent Covid policies. If DeSantis loses his 2022 reelection bid for governor, it will likely destroy his political viability and throw cold water on his chance at a 2024 presidential nomination. But even if it does, there are many other sociopathic contenders ready and willing to take his place. And a number of them, along with DeSantis, are smarter than Donald Trump, and therefore are potentially more effective demagogues. We cannot let down our guard against them. Political columnist Jessie Seigel had a long career as a government attorney in which she honed her analytic skills. She has also twice received an Artist’s Fellowship from the Washington, D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities for her fiction, and has been a finalist for a number of literary awards. In addition, Seigel is an associate editor at the Potomac Review, a reviewer for The Washington Independent Review of Books, and a dabbler in political cartoons at Daily Kos. Of this balance in her work between the analytic and the imaginative, Seigel jokes, “I guess my right and left brains are well-balanced.” More on and from Seigel can be found at The Adventurous Writer, https://www.jessieseigel.com.

By Bonnie Fishman There is nothing, and I mean, nothing like plucking a perfectly ripened apricot off a sun-warmed tree, pulling it open with your fingers (check for worms!), and popping it into your mouth. I never really got the allure of fresh apricots when living in Michigan. Dried ones, yes. Most apricots that I had eaten were, well, lackluster. I didn’t get what the big deal was. Until now. I’m thinking that the ones grown and shipped around the country are picked way before their time (like every other fruit), in hopes that when they arrive at their destination in Iowa, or New Jersey, or the Dakotas, they will have ripened and taste good, okay, decent. That’s what my experience of apricots has been in the past. We have a mature apricot tree right in front of our house that has produced a boatload of fruit. I would estimate at least 100 pounds. Most of it ripened when Bob and I were driving out to California from Michigan. By the time we got here, we were at the tail end of the run. Ha! The finale was amazing! What do you do with all this fruit besides eat it and give it away? My sisters tried just about everything. They made apricot crisp, apricot bars, apricot barbecue sauce, apricot chutney, dehydrated apricots, oven-dried apricots, purées, stews, pitted and frozen apricots for another time. My sister Marcia and I have a yearly tradition that began when we lived in northern Michigan for the summer. Whatever fruit was in season, we would buy it by the box and make jam together. Two things about making jam with someone else. First, if you have two pairs of hands, the process is much easier. We each have our tasks. I purée and measure the fruit, sterilize the jars, and cap them when they are filled. Marcia cooks the jam and fills the jars, using a ladle and a special jam funnel. Second, this is a wonderful project to do when staying at home, whether it’s from the pandemic, bad weather, or just wanting to do something fun and delicious with a friend or your kids. We try to fill small jars so we can share the wealth with more people. Who doesn’t love receiving a gift of wonderfully homemade jam made from a lucious fruit? About the recipe: This is a basic jam recipe. What can be altered is the type of fruit or a combination of fruit, the addition of citrus zest, spices such as cinnamon, lavender, mint, or even fresh grated ginger. What cannot be changed is the procedure or the amount of sugar. Many people freak out when they see how much sugar actually goes in jam. If you’re one of them, buy the low sugar pectin. You will get good results. Another tip: use a large pot to cook the jam because it bubbles up. Also, be scrupulous with your jar boiling, wiping, and handling. Sanitation is of utmost importance when preserving food. One last thing: if you’re inclined to do this project, I suggest making more than one batch. You will already be set up with the boiling water, a funnel, a ladle and a jam buddy. Just go for it! Apricot Jam Yield: About 6 8-oz. jars 4 c. puréed or chopped apricots, very ripe 3 Tbs. lemon juice 4 1/2 Tbs. pectin 5 c. sugar, measured out in a bowl Have the jars and lids ready. Fill a large pot with water, bring it to a boil. Submerge the jars in the water. Boil for 5 minutes. Put the lids in a smaller pot with boiling water. Using tongs, fish out the jars, inverting them on a clean tea towel. Do the same for the lids. Put the fruit and lemon juice in a large pot, about 8 quarts. Gradually stir in the pectin. Bring the fruit to a rolling boil that cannot be stirred down over high heat. Add the sugar all at once, stirring constantly. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, continue stirring. Turn heat off. Skim the foam from the surface. (This is edible but not attractive for the jars. Keep in a dish in the fridge and use as jam.) A good pair of hot pads will be needed to handle the jars. Put a large jam funnel in each jar, ladle in the jam to fill leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the top edges with a clean cloth if needed. Put on the top with lid. Turn jars upside down for 15 minutes. When turned upright, eventually you will hear a popping sound, and you will know the seal is a good one. Pour in the sugar ~ bring to a rolling boil Bonnie Fishman attended the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London. Later, she owned and operated Bonnie’s Patisserie in Southfield, Mich. and Bonnie’s Kitchen and Catering in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. She has taught cooking for over 35 years and created hundreds of recipes. She is now living in Northern California.

By Andy Borowitz August 4, 2021 ALBANY (The Borowitz Report)—Legislators in New York State are considering a bill that, if enacted into law, would ban males from serving as governor. The bill, which its sponsors are calling Eliot and Andrew’s Law, would bar males from the state’s top job for the next fifty years. “If, at the end of fifty years, we have reason to believe that a male governor could behave in an appropriate manner, then the law would expire,” State Senator Carol Foyler, one of the bill’s sponsors, said. “If, however, it’s determined that New York could not tolerate a male governor at that time, there is a provision to extend the law for an additional fifty years.” Foyler called the fifty-year moratorium on male governors in New York “long overdue.” “It’s time to stop the madness,” she said. Andy Borowitz is a Times best-selling author and a comedian who has written for The New Yorker since 1998. He writes The Borowitz Report, a satirical column on the news.

By John Rolfe Instead of my usual summer job steering a mop at an elementary school, I’m now behind the wheel of a school bus, navigating the confusion of the pandemic. Despite strident claims that kids are being traumatized by Covid restrictions, the only damage I’ve heard about during the last 16 months is to grade point averages. The interrupted school year and the shortcomings of remote learning created a glut of students requiring summer classes to resuscitate their grades. Ordinarily, driving gigs at this time of year are reserved for my district’s most senior pilots, but need was so high that pay had to be upped from $20 an hour to $30 in order to attract enough help. Even then, in a sign of the times when “Now Hiring” notices are ubiquitous, mechanics and office staff had to be pressed into service as chauffeurs. So I am blessed with hauling three blessedly quiet high schoolers, then a dozen or so rambunctious sixth-graders twice a day for four days a week. Besides the usual mayhem (roughhousing, cavorting in the aisle, cussin’), I’ve been dealing with Covid sickness. In other words, absolutely everyone is sick of the virus and its related inconveniences, so getting people to take precautions against the highly contagious Delta variant is a lot like herding demented cats. Unfortunately, a poorly-worded directive from my school district in June created indignation and resistance among some drivers. It said “all unvaccinated students and staff must wear masks while on buses.” What it meant to say was “all staff and unvaccinated students.” As the weather warmed up, parents began raising a mighty stink about their kids having to wear masks on hot buses (the big ones aren’t air conditioned) and they quickly turned Board of Education meetings into circuses of angry objection, much of it typically political. I can understand the frustration of having to mask up again. As the pandemic appeared to wane, it felt good to be freed from mandates or strong recommendations. I’m fully vaccinated but given what most of mankind deals with on a daily basis (grinding poverty, hunger, war, violence, brutal repression and the like), wearing a piece of cloth on my face for 45-minute stretches hardly seems like an ordeal. Many Americans obviously feel otherwise. I’m lucky that my summer bus has air conditioning. As the for the kids on it, they’re a mixed bag. Some wear masks correctly without complaint. Some wear them on their chin. Others ask for them (I keep a supply handy) only to use them as slingshots. As Delta makes its presence felt ,I’ve reminded my precious cargo that we’re not out of the pandemic woods yet, particularly among young people, but they don’t seem worried. Some kids say they are vaccinated (12-year-olds and up are eligible). I don’t ask for proof or lay the law down about mask slippage. So far, so good, though I suppose I should have learned my bitter lesson last summer. While working a custodial gig during a time of few Covid cases in New York State, I and my colleagues got lazy about our masks. No one we knew was sick, so what the heck. We barely wore them. I ended up spending 11 days feeling like the tail end of a misspent life. One of my co-workers was hospitalized. You never know with this virus how it will strike. Its impact on the coming school year remains to be seen but as of this writing New York will follow CDC recommendations that include masks for everyone (kids, staff, teachers, visitors) in buildings and on yellow nuthouses like the ones I drive. Meanwhile, the national uproar continues as the virus surges in areas with low vaccination rates (surprise, surprise). This country is plagued by people who seem to see some kind of virtue in defying common sense and prolonging the misery and costs of the pandemic. These are dangerously mad times in which we live. I often say our society is like my bus, a roiling aggregation of pointless, childish conflict and antics. Unfortunately, we can’t take a mop to it. All any of us can do is roll on and hope for the best. John Rolfe is a former senior editor for Sports Illustrated for Kids, a longtime columnist for the Poughkeepsie Journal/USA Today Network, and author of The Goose in the Bathroom: Stirring Tales of Family Life. His school bus drivin’ blog “Hellions, Mayhem and Brake Failure” is parked on his website Celestialchuckle.com (https://celestialchuckle.com) with the meter running.