HAPPY YEAR OF THE DOG | Good Luck Year, But Not for Trump

Happy Chinese New Year!

It will be the Year of the Dog in the zodiac calendar. It is the Year of the Earth Dog. (The twelve years of the zodiac cycle within a larger 48-year cycle governed by the four ancient elements, fire, water, earth, air, similar to the length of the Kondratiev cycle.)

This can be a lucky year, because the dog is loyal. But it is an unlucky year for those born in a prior Year of the Dog.

Donald Trump was born in such a prior year, 1946 (he, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were born within three months of each other).

Those who take the feng shui of the zodiac calendar seriously are predicting that Trump will have bad luck in this year, from February 16, 2018 through the beginning of the next year in February 2019, which will start the year of the pig.

FOOD BIZ | Randolph Hotel, Oxford

L to R: John Tepper Marlin and Brigid Marlin.

It was a nice idea, going back to the MacDonald Randolph Hotel with my sister Brigid for lunch. 

The Randolph is right across from the Ashmolean Museum, which has been renovated and is a popular destination–except on Mondays, when it is closed.

Martyrs' Memorial from the Dining Room,

The Randolph dining room has a terrific view of the Martyrs' Memorial in St. Giles.

I was surprised to find the restaurant empty at noon and even at 12:30. We left at 1:30 pm and still there were few people at lunch.

My sister Brigid bearing up.

The service was attentive at all times, so the problem is not that the hotel does not want to please its customers.

My sister and I think that the reason there are few diners is that the food doesn't keep pace with the location.

I had a disappointing minestrone soup and an avocado salad with too much inferior salad dressing. Diners expect more than that nowadays.

However, an Oxford friend says I should consider this a lapse of the Randolph most likely caused by the lingering aftermath of a fire at the Randolph on April 20, 2015 caused by too much cognac in the flambéed beef stroganoff. 

So we won't go on about the poor quality of the meal.