Baruch Dayan HaEmet
31 Oct 2010 1 Comment
RivkA from Coffee and Chemo has passed away. I only knew her from the blog -although I did meet her in person twice. The first time was at the Blogger’s convention last year, and the second time was at my niece’s wedding a few months ago. Needless to say I am saddened by her death.
Baila writes well about RivkA here. Baila describes a bit about these “weird” friendships that we bloggers have, and she hits the nail on the head. The people you know through blogging are not strangers, not acquaintances, but somehow good friends – in an unconventional sense. The sharing that people do with this tool makes connections that are hard to describe. We need to come up with another word for this relationship.
BakaDiary comes out of blogger “exile” and writes movingly about her feelings. Rutimizrachi also writes, and makes a statement about saying tehillim that has got me thinking too.
Nostalgia
28 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
in Musings
I started thinking of what I used to watch on tv when I was a kid, and the first thing that popped into my mind was the Waltons. When I went onto Youtube to find it, I was surprised to learn that it was based on a movie (which of course was based on a book). I looked at the movie, which had a few edges not on the regular tv show.
I loved that show. Looking at it now as a parent, I am jealous that my kids don’t have something similar today - good content, clean language, and real values. For those of you who want to walk down memory lane, take a look (sorry, just the theme song here):
We’ll See Who Laughs Last
21 Oct 2010 3 Comments
With less than two weeks until the mid-term elections in America, the race is tightening in many places over the country between the Democratic and Republican candidates. Even in very left-wing liberal states, where the Democrats usually have an easy time winning the election, candidates are now still neck and neck.
Who would have believed that in liberal California and Massachusettes the Republican candidates have a chance to win?
There are many reasons for this, but one large one is the elitism and condescending attitude by the left-wing. They keep trying to accuse the right wing candidates of being stupid (conveniently ignoring some of Joe Biden’s bloopers). They have gone so far as to plan a rally with comedians known for their sharp put-downs of Tea Party candidates for the night before the elections.
Besides being incredibly arrogant, I can’t think of anything more self-destructive. Tell me, if someone made fun of your candidate, would that make you more or less likely to go out and vote the next day? The enthusiasm gap is already wide – in favor of the Republicans.
I think the Republicans are going to take control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives (besides the givens, I think the Senate races in California and Washington are going to go Republican too).
Lights, Camera, Action!
18 Oct 2010 1 Comment
in Humor, Media matters
The latest from Latma – Pallywood exposed. Check out the reporter’s name…in English it is pretty tame, but those of you who understand Yiddish and some of the saltier words in Hebrew….
Enough With The Heat!!!!!
14 Oct 2010 4 Comments
in Musings
Today is the 7th of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, and according to our prayerbooks, it is officially the time to start to pray for rain. (Yes, we already say Mashiv HaRuach u’Morid HaGeshem, but now we say this AND Ten Tal u’Matar L’bracha).
We wait to say the second prayer for a few weeks after the holiday of Sukkot, because we want to give the pilgrims to Jerusalem time to get home safely before it rains. (Traveling by donkey and cart took a lot longer than by car, even with traffic jams…)
So this is why I am extremely frustrated with the heat wave we are having again.
It must be in my blood. I grew up in Upstate New York, where winter is ALWAYS around the corner. Take a look at this picture, of snow in central New York on Mother’s Day (May 10, 2010!) and you may understand.
I also pine for the changing leaves in the fall (this is the ONLY thing I miss about America). If you share my longing, here is a great site with breathtaking pictures.
Wake Up America
11 Oct 2010 1 Comment
in Terror
Barry Rubin points out another red flag in the long-term war on terror – this time for America.
I Love It…
10 Oct 2010 1 Comment
in Good News, Tzalash l'Tzahal
I love it when the IDF gets the terrorists.
I love it even more when they use means that keep the soldiers safe (bulldozers, in this case). Kol HaKavod l’tzahal!
Remembering High School
05 Oct 2010 3 Comments
in Family Stuff, Musings
My youngest son started high school this fall (gosh, I am old!). It got me thinking about my old high school days (very different from my kids – public high school versus religious yeshiva, America versus Israel).
You know how your kids always complain about learning (fill in the blank), and they say that they will not remember it years from now and it is a waste of time? Well I tried to think back to what I learned in high school – and I couldn’t come up with much! I remember learning the word “ethnocentric” (oh, those liberal 70′s social studies teachers!) and how that was bad. I remember a discussion in my biology class about evolution, and my teacher saying that those who did not believe in it were exhibiting hubris. (I remember thinking to myself, “lady, I am not a descendent of an ape”, and this was before I became an observant Jew.)
Although the content of what I learned all those years ago is fuzzy at best, I do remember quite well the idiosyncrasies of my teachers.
My chemistry teacher had a wonderfully cultured English accent, until she got angry. Then her southern roots showed up plainly. The boys in the class would act up on purpose just to hear it (and I don’t think she ever caught on to this…) I had an American Indian woman for a social studies teacher. She was physically tiny but commanded so much respect that she had the football players shaking in their boots. She insisted on treating us with respect, though, and used “Mr.” or “Miss” when addressing us. She said that it wasn’t fair that students had to use a title when speaking to teachers but teachers could use students’ first names – so she didn’t.
My most unpleasant teacher was my French teacher in 12th grade. I had started to be observant, so I told him in advance that I would be missing school for the Jewish holidays. He was fine with Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, but he hit the roof when I told him about Sukkot. He called me a liar when I insisted that there really was a holiday, and when I insisted he told me to bring him a letter from my Rabbi. I did, and I made sure to make up the work and study very hard for the first test. When he saw my good grade on the exam he didn’t bother me again for the rest of the year.
My favorite was my English teacher. She had very high expectations for us and we came through for her. One morning she stormed into the classroom, yelling and screaming and announcing a lot of very strange rules for behavior in the class. She shouted down a few of the braver students who objected, and then in an instant completely changed her mood and said that the rules she just announced were cancelled. She used this excercise as a way to introduce Mutiny on the Bounty. I don’t remember much about the book, but I remember that morning very well! I took a class with her called Individualized Reading. She would assign books to you, and you would read in class, and periodically she would take students out into the hall to sit down and discuss what you read. She had me reading Thomas Mann and James Joyce (in 11th grade, mind you). This was probably my most enjoyable class in high school.
What do you remember from this time of your life?
