Thursday, November 19, 2009
BLIND DATE
There is no such thing anymore as a "Blind Date"!
Let me tell you about a modern blind date. A good friend called me and asked if I were willing to meet a new man. What a question. Of course I was. She told me his name - he is someone quite well known in Israel - although I couldn't remember what he looked like. And - he said himself that he wanted to meet someone. (That's a good sign already, no?)
Aha! - I said to myself. I'll Google him - see what he looks like - learn a bit about him - be a bit prepared. And so I did.
When I arrived at the restaurant I recognized him immediately - remember, I Googled him - and walked over to greet him. "Hello", I said. "I recognized you because I Googled you". ( I thought that was a good beginning. Let him know that I was clever and computer literate.)
"Hello", he replied. "I didn't know what you looked like because you have no picture on Google - but I Googled you, too, and already know a lot about you".
Was that a good thing or a bad thing? He had read some of my blogs - about 15 or 20 of them - so he had a fair idea of where I stand politically, what I do in my spare time, what I read, my opinions on a lot of issues - you get the idea....you read my blogs.
And - he had already made up his mind that we weren't going to "work" together. How do I know? He told me so! The first thing he said to me was that we weren't on the same page politically - so we wouldn't discuss politics. Ooookaaay. Mind you, I didn't mind that we have opposing political views. (I already knew that - I read it on Google.) It makes life more interesting - I know what I think - I'd like to know what someone else thinks.
Then he told me that he noticed that I was a foodie and he was, too, and that I shouldn't think for a minute that he doesn't know how to cook. That was great with me. I love having company when I cook.
He continued by saying that he read that I have a lot of friends with whom I spend a great deal of time. He does not particularly like to be with people and I should understand that if we were to be together I would have to live a "split" life. My life with him and just with him - and my outgoing social life with my friends, without him. I should understand that if I invited him for dinner he would probably refuse the invitation. (I don't think so.)
I have a great life. The only reason I would consider adding someone to my life is to enhance it.
The truth is we ate and drank and talked for three hours. And we got on well together. Maybe if we'd had a chance to meet without Google getting in the way we might have decided we liked each other "in spite of.....".
As it was, Google had made up his mind for him. So - I'm not sure whether to say "Thank you Google for saving me a lot of time in a relationship that was not going to go anywhere." - or - "Damn you Google for putting the kibosh on a relationship before it ever had a chance to begin".
Was the old kind of blind date better? Her friend said she was gorgeous and funny and his friend said he was gorgeous and rich - now go knock yourselves out.
OK friends - keep looking - I'm still available.
Yalla, Bye.
Let me tell you about a modern blind date. A good friend called me and asked if I were willing to meet a new man. What a question. Of course I was. She told me his name - he is someone quite well known in Israel - although I couldn't remember what he looked like. And - he said himself that he wanted to meet someone. (That's a good sign already, no?)
Aha! - I said to myself. I'll Google him - see what he looks like - learn a bit about him - be a bit prepared. And so I did.
When I arrived at the restaurant I recognized him immediately - remember, I Googled him - and walked over to greet him. "Hello", I said. "I recognized you because I Googled you". ( I thought that was a good beginning. Let him know that I was clever and computer literate.)
"Hello", he replied. "I didn't know what you looked like because you have no picture on Google - but I Googled you, too, and already know a lot about you".
Was that a good thing or a bad thing? He had read some of my blogs - about 15 or 20 of them - so he had a fair idea of where I stand politically, what I do in my spare time, what I read, my opinions on a lot of issues - you get the idea....you read my blogs.
And - he had already made up his mind that we weren't going to "work" together. How do I know? He told me so! The first thing he said to me was that we weren't on the same page politically - so we wouldn't discuss politics. Ooookaaay. Mind you, I didn't mind that we have opposing political views. (I already knew that - I read it on Google.) It makes life more interesting - I know what I think - I'd like to know what someone else thinks.
Then he told me that he noticed that I was a foodie and he was, too, and that I shouldn't think for a minute that he doesn't know how to cook. That was great with me. I love having company when I cook.
He continued by saying that he read that I have a lot of friends with whom I spend a great deal of time. He does not particularly like to be with people and I should understand that if we were to be together I would have to live a "split" life. My life with him and just with him - and my outgoing social life with my friends, without him. I should understand that if I invited him for dinner he would probably refuse the invitation. (I don't think so.)
I have a great life. The only reason I would consider adding someone to my life is to enhance it.
The truth is we ate and drank and talked for three hours. And we got on well together. Maybe if we'd had a chance to meet without Google getting in the way we might have decided we liked each other "in spite of.....".
As it was, Google had made up his mind for him. So - I'm not sure whether to say "Thank you Google for saving me a lot of time in a relationship that was not going to go anywhere." - or - "Damn you Google for putting the kibosh on a relationship before it ever had a chance to begin".
Was the old kind of blind date better? Her friend said she was gorgeous and funny and his friend said he was gorgeous and rich - now go knock yourselves out.
OK friends - keep looking - I'm still available.
Yalla, Bye.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
GIMMEE A BREAK
The other day I got up early - as is my wont - pulled in my newspapers - sat down with my cigarettes (yeah, yeah I know) and cup of morning chai masala - and on the front page of the International Herald Tribune - below the fold but on the front page nevertheless - read the headline "Love and politics in the White House".
And what did the article have to say - a long article continuing onto page -2- and taking up most of the page at that? Michelle and Barack Hussein Obama are bemoaning the fact that their "date nights" are very difficult to organize and are no longer private. Puleeeze.
Michelle pointed out that until last November they had not lived together full-time under one roof since 1996 due to the exigencies of business and politics. Today they spend more time together than ever before - they have time to send their kids off to school - together, exercise together - and "do not begin their public schedules until 9 or even 10 AM". Really? How many working couples can claim that they have time to do just that? Gimmee a break!
What the hell did he expect when he ran for President of the United States? Life to go on just as before? He is not a private citizen any more. He can't simply nip into his favorite bistro when he feels the need for an order of moules frites (mussels and french fries) or pick up two tickets at the TKTS booth in Times Square when he wants to see a Broadway show.
He's supposed to be the leader of the free world - or is that too much to ask? But perhaps it's better for us that he's busy fighting with FOXNews and bemoaning his loss of privacy to the New York Times (that's the parent company of the International Herald Tribune). Perhaps it's better for the world that he has time to run to Copenhagen to plead for the Olympics to come to Chicago. Perhaps it's better for the world that he spends so much time playing golf. That way he has less time to cause more serious damage.
Certainly a lot better than that terrible health care bill he wants to foist on the American public. Well - the truth is that I don't know exactly how terrible the health care bill really is - but neither does anyone else since no one has seen it - let alone read it.
Nevermind - I'm sick and tired of Obama and Obamacare. I shudder to think that I could still be living in New York and having to deal with the health care in the States. It's enough that I have to worry about what he's going "to do" about Israel & Iran & Guantanamo & Iraq & Afghanistan and and and and.......
So now I'll begin to get ready for Thanksgiving - it's in 2 1/2 weeks - much to do. Follow this space.
Yalla, Bye.
And what did the article have to say - a long article continuing onto page -2- and taking up most of the page at that? Michelle and Barack Hussein Obama are bemoaning the fact that their "date nights" are very difficult to organize and are no longer private. Puleeeze.
Michelle pointed out that until last November they had not lived together full-time under one roof since 1996 due to the exigencies of business and politics. Today they spend more time together than ever before - they have time to send their kids off to school - together, exercise together - and "do not begin their public schedules until 9 or even 10 AM". Really? How many working couples can claim that they have time to do just that? Gimmee a break!
What the hell did he expect when he ran for President of the United States? Life to go on just as before? He is not a private citizen any more. He can't simply nip into his favorite bistro when he feels the need for an order of moules frites (mussels and french fries) or pick up two tickets at the TKTS booth in Times Square when he wants to see a Broadway show.
He's supposed to be the leader of the free world - or is that too much to ask? But perhaps it's better for us that he's busy fighting with FOXNews and bemoaning his loss of privacy to the New York Times (that's the parent company of the International Herald Tribune). Perhaps it's better for the world that he has time to run to Copenhagen to plead for the Olympics to come to Chicago. Perhaps it's better for the world that he spends so much time playing golf. That way he has less time to cause more serious damage.
Certainly a lot better than that terrible health care bill he wants to foist on the American public. Well - the truth is that I don't know exactly how terrible the health care bill really is - but neither does anyone else since no one has seen it - let alone read it.
Nevermind - I'm sick and tired of Obama and Obamacare. I shudder to think that I could still be living in New York and having to deal with the health care in the States. It's enough that I have to worry about what he's going "to do" about Israel & Iran & Guantanamo & Iraq & Afghanistan and and and and.......
So now I'll begin to get ready for Thanksgiving - it's in 2 1/2 weeks - much to do. Follow this space.
Yalla, Bye.
Friday, October 30, 2009
PUZZLE ME THIS
It really takes so little to make me happy. Delicious food - great friends - a beautiful home - a trip abroad every so often - nice clothes - something always available to read - my car - well, not so little, actually, now that I think of it.
One of the things that really makes me happy is doing crossword puzzles. Not just any puzzle, mind you - the New York Times puzzle, the puzzle in New York Magazine when I can get it, the puzzles constructed by my cousin Steven which occasionally appear in USA Today - and, because I live in Jerusalem, the weekend puzzle in the Jerusalem Post.
Have you any idea how frustrating it is to settle down to do a puzzle - cigarettes (yeah yeah I know - I really should stop smoking) and coffee at the ready - pencil sharpened - and no puzzle.
The Jerusalem Post seems to have a gremlin living in their offices. More often than not there is something not quite right with the puzzle - but usually something quite small that one can work around. Last week and this week, however, the gremlin seems to have been working overtime.
Last week's puzzle was missing almost half if its DOWN clues. So this week there was a "corrected" version along with the new puzzle for this week. What happened? The "corrected" version was, once again, missing half of its DOWN clues - and the new puzzle was also missing half of its DOWN clues.
What gives Jerusalem Post???
I know, I know - in the whole scheme of things this seems quite trivial. After all, I have to worry about Afghanistan - will he or won't he send more troops? The medical coverage brouhaha in the States - will he or won't he get the bill pushed through somehow? Who will come out better in the U.S. elections - Republicans or Democrats?
Will Iran or won't Iran.........? Will Hezbollah or won't Hezbollah........? Will the Light Rail Line in Jerusalem ever be finished?
But dear gremlins - I can do the puzzle and worry at the same time - please go home and let the three puzzles appear correctly in the paper next weekend.
Yalla, Bye
One of the things that really makes me happy is doing crossword puzzles. Not just any puzzle, mind you - the New York Times puzzle, the puzzle in New York Magazine when I can get it, the puzzles constructed by my cousin Steven which occasionally appear in USA Today - and, because I live in Jerusalem, the weekend puzzle in the Jerusalem Post.
Have you any idea how frustrating it is to settle down to do a puzzle - cigarettes (yeah yeah I know - I really should stop smoking) and coffee at the ready - pencil sharpened - and no puzzle.
The Jerusalem Post seems to have a gremlin living in their offices. More often than not there is something not quite right with the puzzle - but usually something quite small that one can work around. Last week and this week, however, the gremlin seems to have been working overtime.
Last week's puzzle was missing almost half if its DOWN clues. So this week there was a "corrected" version along with the new puzzle for this week. What happened? The "corrected" version was, once again, missing half of its DOWN clues - and the new puzzle was also missing half of its DOWN clues.
What gives Jerusalem Post???
I know, I know - in the whole scheme of things this seems quite trivial. After all, I have to worry about Afghanistan - will he or won't he send more troops? The medical coverage brouhaha in the States - will he or won't he get the bill pushed through somehow? Who will come out better in the U.S. elections - Republicans or Democrats?
Will Iran or won't Iran.........? Will Hezbollah or won't Hezbollah........? Will the Light Rail Line in Jerusalem ever be finished?
But dear gremlins - I can do the puzzle and worry at the same time - please go home and let the three puzzles appear correctly in the paper next weekend.
Yalla, Bye
Monday, October 19, 2009
YET MORE THIS 'N' THAT
Just a lot of little things I've been meaning to tell you......
- Have you seen the film "Julie and Julia"? See it! An absolutely adorable film - Meryl Streep has Julia Child down pat. I laughed and I cried - and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
I always looked forward to watching Julia on the television. I've never forgotten her "disasters" in the kitchen - food falling on the floor - her potato cake breaking apart as she tried to flip it. I follow her philosophy to this day - what happens in your kitchen stays there. If you don't tell - no one will ever know. For instance - my flourless chocolate cake fell on the counter - NOT THE FLOOR - as I was transferring it to the serving plate - and broke apart. What did I do? I rolled the cake into little balls and served it as chocolate truffles!
- I will read the back of cereal boxes if there is nothing else around - and for a while I seem to have been reading a lot of cereal boxes - so to speak. But -- I just recently read three books that I have to tell you about - really good and enjoyable -- I think you might like them.
"The Little Book" by Selden Edwards. I'm not crazy about "time travel" books - but on the recommendation - nay, nay, the insistence - of my friend, Marallyn, I read this. It is beautifully written - Mr. Edwards took about 25 years or so to write it - and each word he uses is the absolutely perfect word for what he wants to say. I loved the book - both the style and the story.
"Cathedral of the Sea" by Idelfonso Falcones. Much in the style of "Sarum" or Pillars of the Earth" - a sweeping historical saga taking place in Barcelona. A bit draggy in spots - just skip those bits - but fascinating - much that I didn't know.
"Six Suspects" by Vikas Swarup. Did you see "Slumdog Millionaire" or read the book from which it was adapted - "Q & A"? I did both - and enjoyed both equally. This book proves that Mr. Swarup is not just a one-book phenomenon - this book is excellent. I was so sorry when I came to the end - it was just that good and I wanted to go on reading.
- What do you think of the "Goldstone Report" damning us for our actions in Gaza during "Cast Lead"? We killed Palestinians? Sure - that's one of the prices of war. Nevermind that we warned the Gazans that were were going to bomb and to get the women and children out of the way. Nevermind that during the "war" we sent in humanitarian supplies to Gaza. But why should I be surprised? Israel is blamed for everything - whether it's our fault or not. So why should Mr. Goldstone be any different - or any fairer than anyone else? Between him and Barack Hussein Obama the Arab world believes it has a free pass - blame the Jews - blame Israel. Am I paranoid? Probably.
- The restaurant scene in Jerusalem is getting better and better. A new place opened in the shuk (our outdoor market called Machane Yehuda). The restaurant is called "Machneyuda" - written as one word - but as I've never seen the name written in English I'm sort of guessing at the spelling from the Hebrew.
The place is non-kosher - the food is delicious - the service is lovely and caring and friendly - and they have some of my favorite things on the menu. Moach (brains) - shkeday egel (sweetbreads) - slavim (quails) and netzach ketzavim (butcher's cut). Very hard to get a reservation - just keep trying.
- And now off to do some cooking of my own. Some friends are showing up on Wednesday from the States - actually they're already in Israel and are doing a bit of touring and visiting up north. I'm doing a Shabbat dinner in their honor - I'll let you know how it went.
Yalla, Bye.
- Have you seen the film "Julie and Julia"? See it! An absolutely adorable film - Meryl Streep has Julia Child down pat. I laughed and I cried - and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
I always looked forward to watching Julia on the television. I've never forgotten her "disasters" in the kitchen - food falling on the floor - her potato cake breaking apart as she tried to flip it. I follow her philosophy to this day - what happens in your kitchen stays there. If you don't tell - no one will ever know. For instance - my flourless chocolate cake fell on the counter - NOT THE FLOOR - as I was transferring it to the serving plate - and broke apart. What did I do? I rolled the cake into little balls and served it as chocolate truffles!
- I will read the back of cereal boxes if there is nothing else around - and for a while I seem to have been reading a lot of cereal boxes - so to speak. But -- I just recently read three books that I have to tell you about - really good and enjoyable -- I think you might like them.
"The Little Book" by Selden Edwards. I'm not crazy about "time travel" books - but on the recommendation - nay, nay, the insistence - of my friend, Marallyn, I read this. It is beautifully written - Mr. Edwards took about 25 years or so to write it - and each word he uses is the absolutely perfect word for what he wants to say. I loved the book - both the style and the story.
"Cathedral of the Sea" by Idelfonso Falcones. Much in the style of "Sarum" or Pillars of the Earth" - a sweeping historical saga taking place in Barcelona. A bit draggy in spots - just skip those bits - but fascinating - much that I didn't know.
"Six Suspects" by Vikas Swarup. Did you see "Slumdog Millionaire" or read the book from which it was adapted - "Q & A"? I did both - and enjoyed both equally. This book proves that Mr. Swarup is not just a one-book phenomenon - this book is excellent. I was so sorry when I came to the end - it was just that good and I wanted to go on reading.
- What do you think of the "Goldstone Report" damning us for our actions in Gaza during "Cast Lead"? We killed Palestinians? Sure - that's one of the prices of war. Nevermind that we warned the Gazans that were were going to bomb and to get the women and children out of the way. Nevermind that during the "war" we sent in humanitarian supplies to Gaza. But why should I be surprised? Israel is blamed for everything - whether it's our fault or not. So why should Mr. Goldstone be any different - or any fairer than anyone else? Between him and Barack Hussein Obama the Arab world believes it has a free pass - blame the Jews - blame Israel. Am I paranoid? Probably.
- The restaurant scene in Jerusalem is getting better and better. A new place opened in the shuk (our outdoor market called Machane Yehuda). The restaurant is called "Machneyuda" - written as one word - but as I've never seen the name written in English I'm sort of guessing at the spelling from the Hebrew.
The place is non-kosher - the food is delicious - the service is lovely and caring and friendly - and they have some of my favorite things on the menu. Moach (brains) - shkeday egel (sweetbreads) - slavim (quails) and netzach ketzavim (butcher's cut). Very hard to get a reservation - just keep trying.
- And now off to do some cooking of my own. Some friends are showing up on Wednesday from the States - actually they're already in Israel and are doing a bit of touring and visiting up north. I'm doing a Shabbat dinner in their honor - I'll let you know how it went.
Yalla, Bye.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE - Feh Feh Feh
What was the Nobel Committee thinking? They have just cheapened the prize for every deserving person who has ever won it or will ever win it.
'Splain me Lucy - just exactly what has Barack Obama accomplished? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
He is waffling about what to do in Afghanistan - why should we be surprised? He took four months to choose a dog.
He has put the United Stated trillions of dollars in debt. I guess that was an "accomplishment".
As a senator he voted "present" more than 130 times. What does "present" mean? It means he had his tushie on a chair at the time the vote was taken - he didn't vote "yes" - he didn't vote "no". I suppose that was a good idea. That way he couldn't be accused of having an opinion.
When he made his little speech on the White House lawn he said he was "humbled" - as well he should have been - he has much to be humble about.
He said he "doesn't believe he deserves the prize". Right on - he doesn't.
When Yassir Arafat won the PEACE Prize I thought the world was in trouble. Now that Obama has been awarded the prize - I know we are in trouble.
If Barack Hussein Obama was really humble he should have thanked the Nobel Committee for the honor - but refused to accept the prize until he has done something tangible to deserve it.
Alfred Nobel must be flipping around in his grave.
Yalla, Bye.
'Splain me Lucy - just exactly what has Barack Obama accomplished? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
He is waffling about what to do in Afghanistan - why should we be surprised? He took four months to choose a dog.
He has put the United Stated trillions of dollars in debt. I guess that was an "accomplishment".
As a senator he voted "present" more than 130 times. What does "present" mean? It means he had his tushie on a chair at the time the vote was taken - he didn't vote "yes" - he didn't vote "no". I suppose that was a good idea. That way he couldn't be accused of having an opinion.
When he made his little speech on the White House lawn he said he was "humbled" - as well he should have been - he has much to be humble about.
He said he "doesn't believe he deserves the prize". Right on - he doesn't.
When Yassir Arafat won the PEACE Prize I thought the world was in trouble. Now that Obama has been awarded the prize - I know we are in trouble.
If Barack Hussein Obama was really humble he should have thanked the Nobel Committee for the honor - but refused to accept the prize until he has done something tangible to deserve it.
Alfred Nobel must be flipping around in his grave.
Yalla, Bye.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
DANCE ME TO THE END OF LOVE
"Dance Me To The End Of Love" - that's my favorite Leonard Cohen song and the one with which he opened his concert at the Ramat Gan Stadium last Thursday evening - and Marallyn and I were actually there!
Don't ask about the excitement - of getting there - of being there - of being a part of that magical, electric, exciting, smashing evening.
The short version is that Marallyn has a friend - whom she hasn't seen in about fifty years - who remembered that she lives in Israel - who has a son who was coming to do the sound for the Leonard Cohen concert - who offered to get her two complimentary VIP tickets - who got the tickets - and there we were.
Can you imagine - she didn't even consider asking her kids to go with her - I was the lucky invitee. Another "don't even ask" - you all know that I have the chush kivoon (sense of direction) of a toaster oven - with my apologies to toaster ovens - they probably have a better sense of direction than I have. (That we arrived there and back home in the same century was a miracle.)
Anyway - off we went. The concert was due to begin at 7:45 PM - and L.C. always begins his concerts on time. So we left Jerusalem at 3:00 PM - and none too soon, I might add. Marallyn called people for directions. I called people for directions. We looked on the internet. And had it not been for a very nice lady who took pity on us when we didn't know where we were and led us directly to the street we needed - I'd still be driving around. It only took us two hours to get to the stadium - mind you, the immediate world was going there - or at least 49,998 other people. Yes - 50,000 people were there.
And there was not nearly enough parking space. The spaces we did see were being "guarded" by people with cell phones who were directing their husbands / wives / friends to the spaces they were holding. So we drove up one aisle, down another aisle, up another aisle etc etc etc. Until suddenly - well, those of you who know Marallyn know she doesn't move too quickly - she doesn't run, doesn't sprint, doesn't hurry - Marallyn was no longer sitting beside me. She had seen someone going towards a car - she jumped out of my car - ran to the soon-to-be-available-spot - and stood there guarding it until I was able to get in. OK - so the space wasn't exactly legal - a bit on the grass - a bit on the sidewalk - who cared - it was a place to leave the car.
Forget all the rest of it - going to kupa 1 (box office 1), going to the trailer, going back to kupa 1, going back to the trailer, finally getting our tickets, walking halfway around the stadium to our entrance gate, walking up a million stairs, walking down a million stairs, finding ourselves in the wrong section and walking back up and down the other million stairs - we were there.
And then the magic began. No half naked dancers, no pyrotechnics, no dry-ice smoke - just Leonard Cohen - a 75 year old man wearing an Armani suit and a black hat - and singing his heart out for us. We all loved him. He loved us back. After all - we belonged to him and he belonged to us. He was a Jew coming home. He spoke to us a bit in Hebrew - he introduced his enormously talented back-up singers and musicians - and at the end he gave the priestly blessing (Birkat Cohanim) that only a Cohen (priest) can give - and he is Leonard Cohen after all.
Israeli audiences are the best - we appreciate the hell out of everything - we react - we show love - we are there with the performer. There were moments you could hear that proverbial pin drop - there were moments when we all sang along with him - you could feel our love for him and his love for us. He sang for 3 1/4 hours - all my favorite songs - and at the end he even had the energy to skip off the stage.
Bank Discount sponsored the concert and on each one of the 50,000 seats was a green and black canvas bag in which was a pillow (to make it a bit easier on our tushies), and a "thingie" - I don't know what it's called but when you bend it the liquid inside lights up and stays lit for several hours. Just imagine the sight of this large stadium - the largest in Israel - with 50,000 people waving these green lights in time to the music - slowly, quickly - but in time - in tune - with Leonard Cohen.
It was magic - it was electric - it was not-to-be-missed - and to my dearest, dearest friend - Marallyn - I can only say simply - Thank You.
Yalla, Bye.
Don't ask about the excitement - of getting there - of being there - of being a part of that magical, electric, exciting, smashing evening.
The short version is that Marallyn has a friend - whom she hasn't seen in about fifty years - who remembered that she lives in Israel - who has a son who was coming to do the sound for the Leonard Cohen concert - who offered to get her two complimentary VIP tickets - who got the tickets - and there we were.
Can you imagine - she didn't even consider asking her kids to go with her - I was the lucky invitee. Another "don't even ask" - you all know that I have the chush kivoon (sense of direction) of a toaster oven - with my apologies to toaster ovens - they probably have a better sense of direction than I have. (That we arrived there and back home in the same century was a miracle.)
Anyway - off we went. The concert was due to begin at 7:45 PM - and L.C. always begins his concerts on time. So we left Jerusalem at 3:00 PM - and none too soon, I might add. Marallyn called people for directions. I called people for directions. We looked on the internet. And had it not been for a very nice lady who took pity on us when we didn't know where we were and led us directly to the street we needed - I'd still be driving around. It only took us two hours to get to the stadium - mind you, the immediate world was going there - or at least 49,998 other people. Yes - 50,000 people were there.
And there was not nearly enough parking space. The spaces we did see were being "guarded" by people with cell phones who were directing their husbands / wives / friends to the spaces they were holding. So we drove up one aisle, down another aisle, up another aisle etc etc etc. Until suddenly - well, those of you who know Marallyn know she doesn't move too quickly - she doesn't run, doesn't sprint, doesn't hurry - Marallyn was no longer sitting beside me. She had seen someone going towards a car - she jumped out of my car - ran to the soon-to-be-available-spot - and stood there guarding it until I was able to get in. OK - so the space wasn't exactly legal - a bit on the grass - a bit on the sidewalk - who cared - it was a place to leave the car.
Forget all the rest of it - going to kupa 1 (box office 1), going to the trailer, going back to kupa 1, going back to the trailer, finally getting our tickets, walking halfway around the stadium to our entrance gate, walking up a million stairs, walking down a million stairs, finding ourselves in the wrong section and walking back up and down the other million stairs - we were there.
And then the magic began. No half naked dancers, no pyrotechnics, no dry-ice smoke - just Leonard Cohen - a 75 year old man wearing an Armani suit and a black hat - and singing his heart out for us. We all loved him. He loved us back. After all - we belonged to him and he belonged to us. He was a Jew coming home. He spoke to us a bit in Hebrew - he introduced his enormously talented back-up singers and musicians - and at the end he gave the priestly blessing (Birkat Cohanim) that only a Cohen (priest) can give - and he is Leonard Cohen after all.
Israeli audiences are the best - we appreciate the hell out of everything - we react - we show love - we are there with the performer. There were moments you could hear that proverbial pin drop - there were moments when we all sang along with him - you could feel our love for him and his love for us. He sang for 3 1/4 hours - all my favorite songs - and at the end he even had the energy to skip off the stage.
Bank Discount sponsored the concert and on each one of the 50,000 seats was a green and black canvas bag in which was a pillow (to make it a bit easier on our tushies), and a "thingie" - I don't know what it's called but when you bend it the liquid inside lights up and stays lit for several hours. Just imagine the sight of this large stadium - the largest in Israel - with 50,000 people waving these green lights in time to the music - slowly, quickly - but in time - in tune - with Leonard Cohen.
It was magic - it was electric - it was not-to-be-missed - and to my dearest, dearest friend - Marallyn - I can only say simply - Thank You.
Yalla, Bye.
Friday, September 18, 2009
MAZAL TOV, C.M.
My C.M. (Computer Mumche) got married the other day. Yes - hard as it is to believe - he has another life aside from baby-sitting my computer. And so it was that my friend, Evelyn - who sent him to me - blessings and more blessings on her head - and I were invited to the wedding.
This is Israel, don't forget. Everyone is family. You belong to everyone and they belong to you. And so when there is a simcha (a happy event) - you are included in the celebrations. I ask you - would I be invited to my C.M.'s wedding in New York? (No, I wasn't, as long as you're asking.)
There seems to be a competition in Israel to find a venue that is the most difficult place in the land to get to. Whoever finds the place that is the furthest away from your home or the most impossible to reach - or, better yet - someplace that neither you nor anybody else have never heard of - wins!! I thought I had been to every almost-inaccessible wedding spot in Israel - not at all. This week Evelyn and I almost drove off the end of the world.
As you all know by now - I have the chush kivoon (sense of direction) of a toaster-oven - no offense meant to toaster-ovens. So Evelyn drove. Was I glad. I didn't have any idea of where I was for even one minute of the trip. Okay, I just lied a bit - we went down kvish mispar 1 (road number 1) - I actually knew where I was for a very short time. Then we turned left somewhere, then we drove straight ahead for a while, then we made a hairpin U-turn onto a parallel road, then we made a right turn - and then we drove - and we drove - and we drove - and the road turned to gravel and then the road turned to dirt - and there were no lights - and when we couldn't drive any more - there we were.
It was a lovely wedding. Very modern. The groom was walked down the aisle by his Mom, his Dad, and his Mom's partner - whose name also appeared on the invitation. So different to the divorces I know - including mine from my practice husband - where everyone hates everyone else. Nice people at our table - including a journalist from Montreal who shares the same taste in jazz and blues as mine. We both gave our ages away by reminiscing about Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson and the MJQ - not to mention Chuck and Gap Mangione. But, interestingly, he had never heard of Nelly Lutcher, Rosemary (ChiChi) Murphy or Alberta Hunter.
Also at the table were three people from Ra'anana or Kfar Saba - or someplace like that along the coast - who drove around for one-and-a half-hours after they reached the vicinity of the wedding before they actually found the place!!! Evelyn didn't make one wrong tune, may I tell you. She even led those same people back to the highway after the wedding in the dark - pitch black darkness - without a misstep.
So - my C.M. is now married - for the second time. His wife is absolutely lovely.(But what do I know - I liked his first wife, too.) I wish them all the happiness there is to be had in the world - what a wonderful start to a New Year.
Of course you understand that I need him here - now. I need to scan something and the little message on my printer is telling me that I can't - and I don't know why. Do you think he'd interrupt his honeymoon for me?
And to all of you a Shana Tova Umetuka. G'mar Hatima Tova.
Yalla, Bye.
This is Israel, don't forget. Everyone is family. You belong to everyone and they belong to you. And so when there is a simcha (a happy event) - you are included in the celebrations. I ask you - would I be invited to my C.M.'s wedding in New York? (No, I wasn't, as long as you're asking.)
There seems to be a competition in Israel to find a venue that is the most difficult place in the land to get to. Whoever finds the place that is the furthest away from your home or the most impossible to reach - or, better yet - someplace that neither you nor anybody else have never heard of - wins!! I thought I had been to every almost-inaccessible wedding spot in Israel - not at all. This week Evelyn and I almost drove off the end of the world.
As you all know by now - I have the chush kivoon (sense of direction) of a toaster-oven - no offense meant to toaster-ovens. So Evelyn drove. Was I glad. I didn't have any idea of where I was for even one minute of the trip. Okay, I just lied a bit - we went down kvish mispar 1 (road number 1) - I actually knew where I was for a very short time. Then we turned left somewhere, then we drove straight ahead for a while, then we made a hairpin U-turn onto a parallel road, then we made a right turn - and then we drove - and we drove - and we drove - and the road turned to gravel and then the road turned to dirt - and there were no lights - and when we couldn't drive any more - there we were.
It was a lovely wedding. Very modern. The groom was walked down the aisle by his Mom, his Dad, and his Mom's partner - whose name also appeared on the invitation. So different to the divorces I know - including mine from my practice husband - where everyone hates everyone else. Nice people at our table - including a journalist from Montreal who shares the same taste in jazz and blues as mine. We both gave our ages away by reminiscing about Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson and the MJQ - not to mention Chuck and Gap Mangione. But, interestingly, he had never heard of Nelly Lutcher, Rosemary (ChiChi) Murphy or Alberta Hunter.
Also at the table were three people from Ra'anana or Kfar Saba - or someplace like that along the coast - who drove around for one-and-a half-hours after they reached the vicinity of the wedding before they actually found the place!!! Evelyn didn't make one wrong tune, may I tell you. She even led those same people back to the highway after the wedding in the dark - pitch black darkness - without a misstep.
So - my C.M. is now married - for the second time. His wife is absolutely lovely.(But what do I know - I liked his first wife, too.) I wish them all the happiness there is to be had in the world - what a wonderful start to a New Year.
Of course you understand that I need him here - now. I need to scan something and the little message on my printer is telling me that I can't - and I don't know why. Do you think he'd interrupt his honeymoon for me?
And to all of you a Shana Tova Umetuka. G'mar Hatima Tova.
Yalla, Bye.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
REQUIEM FOR A SPARE RIB
About a year ago or so I wrote a REQUIEM FOR A CHICKEN WING when our favorite restaurant for grilled chicken wings (nu - what else?) closed.
Today it's a REQUIEM FOR A SPARE RIB. You can tell I've been here for a long time because I judge everything by what "used to be there". For instance - there used to be a restaurant just off the Jerusalem - Tel Aviv highway called PUNDAK MOTZA (Motza Inn). It was there for what seemed forever - had great stuffed chicken by the way - and then closed.
Then there opened the BLACK STEER - a restaurant which served (notice the past tense?) steaks, burgers, chicken and fabulous spare ribs. Not lamb spare ribs, not veal spare ribs - but real pork spare ribs. Juicy, succulent, tasty pork spare ribs. The portions were so large that Marallyn (my partner in crime) and I used to share a one-half portion - and walk away stuffed. We always started with a roquefort salad, then the ribs which came with either chips (french fries) or baked potatoes (with sour cream!) and the most gorgeous onion rings you can imagine.
I know, I know - meat and dairy at the same meal. Not kosher at all. But if you think about it this way - two negatives make a positive. Pork is forbidden - meat and dairy together are forbidden - both negatives. Ergo - two negatives make a positive. Logical no?
We've been there for lunch, for dinner - have tried almost everything on the menu at one time or another - and now it's gone. We went there to celebrate, to commiserate - or just because.
Would you believe that there isn't another restaurant in Jerusalem serving such fabulous spare ribs on the bone? ( Well - there is another one but the ribs are a different cut and much too fatty.) So now the BLACK STEER is only a memory. Does this mean we have to eat kosher from now on?
Yalla, Bye.
Today it's a REQUIEM FOR A SPARE RIB. You can tell I've been here for a long time because I judge everything by what "used to be there". For instance - there used to be a restaurant just off the Jerusalem - Tel Aviv highway called PUNDAK MOTZA (Motza Inn). It was there for what seemed forever - had great stuffed chicken by the way - and then closed.
Then there opened the BLACK STEER - a restaurant which served (notice the past tense?) steaks, burgers, chicken and fabulous spare ribs. Not lamb spare ribs, not veal spare ribs - but real pork spare ribs. Juicy, succulent, tasty pork spare ribs. The portions were so large that Marallyn (my partner in crime) and I used to share a one-half portion - and walk away stuffed. We always started with a roquefort salad, then the ribs which came with either chips (french fries) or baked potatoes (with sour cream!) and the most gorgeous onion rings you can imagine.
I know, I know - meat and dairy at the same meal. Not kosher at all. But if you think about it this way - two negatives make a positive. Pork is forbidden - meat and dairy together are forbidden - both negatives. Ergo - two negatives make a positive. Logical no?
We've been there for lunch, for dinner - have tried almost everything on the menu at one time or another - and now it's gone. We went there to celebrate, to commiserate - or just because.
Would you believe that there isn't another restaurant in Jerusalem serving such fabulous spare ribs on the bone? ( Well - there is another one but the ribs are a different cut and much too fatty.) So now the BLACK STEER is only a memory. Does this mean we have to eat kosher from now on?
Yalla, Bye.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
VA'AD BAYIT - the end
Last night was the end of an era - I am no longer Rosh Va'ad (head of the Building Committee)!
Actually - that's not strictly accurate. Darla and I resigned about three weeks ago and last night was just the icing on the cake.
We had an assifa clali (a general meeting) to decide on a Management Company to run the building. Can you imagine - a whole Management Company to take the place of the two of us. Dun't esk!!
The Company which was chosen wrote a contract - a fabulous contract - all on their behalf. We had almost no rights at all. We had to hire them for a whole year - with no exit clause. They would decide what had to be done for the building - which we would have to pay for in addition to our monthly payments to them. It was as if someone came to me and said: "Rena, I want to manage your money. Turn over all your assets to me - I'll do as I wish - you won't know how much your management fees will be until the end of the year - you have no right to look at the books during the year - you can't leave me until the year is over - and that's it".
Not to mention that "we" did due diligence and came up with several black marks against the Company - and "they" still wanted to go ahead and sign the contract! Hellloo!
What - you didn't hear the screaming? The yelling? The accusations? The vicious personal remarks? All this directed randomly at everyone and anyone who was there. I'm surprised they didn't hear the yelling in Tel Aviv. Someone called someone else a liar. Someone - a lawyer, an immigrant from England - who should know better - called an Israeli "such an Israeli" in the most derogatory tone imaginable. And this lawyer negotiates contracts for big businesses, yet. (I wonder if her boss knows how she operates?)
By the way - this same Israeli told me - in very admiring tones - that I have become "very Israeli" - and I was very complimented.
Listen my friends - I'm here to tell you that right will prevail. Fight for what you believe in. The proposal to hire the Company failed - we still don't have a Management Company - Darla and I have left for good - that's famous last words as I resigned two previous times "for good". I'll keep you posted.
Yalla, Bye.
Actually - that's not strictly accurate. Darla and I resigned about three weeks ago and last night was just the icing on the cake.
We had an assifa clali (a general meeting) to decide on a Management Company to run the building. Can you imagine - a whole Management Company to take the place of the two of us. Dun't esk!!
The Company which was chosen wrote a contract - a fabulous contract - all on their behalf. We had almost no rights at all. We had to hire them for a whole year - with no exit clause. They would decide what had to be done for the building - which we would have to pay for in addition to our monthly payments to them. It was as if someone came to me and said: "Rena, I want to manage your money. Turn over all your assets to me - I'll do as I wish - you won't know how much your management fees will be until the end of the year - you have no right to look at the books during the year - you can't leave me until the year is over - and that's it".
Not to mention that "we" did due diligence and came up with several black marks against the Company - and "they" still wanted to go ahead and sign the contract! Hellloo!
What - you didn't hear the screaming? The yelling? The accusations? The vicious personal remarks? All this directed randomly at everyone and anyone who was there. I'm surprised they didn't hear the yelling in Tel Aviv. Someone called someone else a liar. Someone - a lawyer, an immigrant from England - who should know better - called an Israeli "such an Israeli" in the most derogatory tone imaginable. And this lawyer negotiates contracts for big businesses, yet. (I wonder if her boss knows how she operates?)
By the way - this same Israeli told me - in very admiring tones - that I have become "very Israeli" - and I was very complimented.
Listen my friends - I'm here to tell you that right will prevail. Fight for what you believe in. The proposal to hire the Company failed - we still don't have a Management Company - Darla and I have left for good - that's famous last words as I resigned two previous times "for good". I'll keep you posted.
Yalla, Bye.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
NOW ---WHERE WAS I?????
Oh yes - the last time I wrote was in December 2008 - a very long time ago in blogger years.
This has been a terrible year - Queen Elizabeth call it an annus horribilus - a year I don't care to repeat.
First - I developed shingles. If you don't know what that is - Google it. If you know what it is you'll know just how enervating and debilitating it is to have it. Got over that - took weeks - nay, months - with no lasting ill effects. Then - Marallyn's Mom - Bubbie Chana - was ill for a long time - and she passed away - and we had to deal with that. I really miss her - she was a grand old gal.
Then - I slipped during a rare - very rare - sleet storm in Jerusalem - and got all banged up - nothing broken - no permanent damage - but in absolute agony for weeks with bruised ribs.
And a first for me - I haven't had a dinner party in ages - no energy - no appetite - no strength to do much of anything. Not to think that I haven't been in my kitchen at all - have been doing some cooking and baking for friends - but that's about it.
Through all that I was still Rosh Va'ad (head of the Building Committee). Lots of work - lots of nudgy neighbors to deal with - lots of building problems - but - FINALLY - a light bulb went on. I don't have to be Rosh Va'ad if I don't want to. And so I resigned a few weeks ago. After years and years of running the building - ees no' my yob any more. I'm finally a private citizen. They are now looking for a management company to replace me - can you imagine that?
Anyway - there is much more to write about than the past year. It's gone - and all the attendant troubles that were so tiresome to deal with. I had a "pity party" for a while - well, who wouldn't. But with the help of my fabulous friends - I've always said I was so lucky to have my friends - who fed me and cooked for me and shlepped me to the doctor and commiserated with me - all is well now and we can go on to bigger and better things.
So much to write about - politics - Obama - the state (and State) of Israel - Obama - my life - recipes - Obama ------you get the message.
Watch this space. I promise - I'll write again soon. Glad to be back.
Yalla, Bye.
This has been a terrible year - Queen Elizabeth call it an annus horribilus - a year I don't care to repeat.
First - I developed shingles. If you don't know what that is - Google it. If you know what it is you'll know just how enervating and debilitating it is to have it. Got over that - took weeks - nay, months - with no lasting ill effects. Then - Marallyn's Mom - Bubbie Chana - was ill for a long time - and she passed away - and we had to deal with that. I really miss her - she was a grand old gal.
Then - I slipped during a rare - very rare - sleet storm in Jerusalem - and got all banged up - nothing broken - no permanent damage - but in absolute agony for weeks with bruised ribs.
And a first for me - I haven't had a dinner party in ages - no energy - no appetite - no strength to do much of anything. Not to think that I haven't been in my kitchen at all - have been doing some cooking and baking for friends - but that's about it.
Through all that I was still Rosh Va'ad (head of the Building Committee). Lots of work - lots of nudgy neighbors to deal with - lots of building problems - but - FINALLY - a light bulb went on. I don't have to be Rosh Va'ad if I don't want to. And so I resigned a few weeks ago. After years and years of running the building - ees no' my yob any more. I'm finally a private citizen. They are now looking for a management company to replace me - can you imagine that?
Anyway - there is much more to write about than the past year. It's gone - and all the attendant troubles that were so tiresome to deal with. I had a "pity party" for a while - well, who wouldn't. But with the help of my fabulous friends - I've always said I was so lucky to have my friends - who fed me and cooked for me and shlepped me to the doctor and commiserated with me - all is well now and we can go on to bigger and better things.
So much to write about - politics - Obama - the state (and State) of Israel - Obama - my life - recipes - Obama ------you get the message.
Watch this space. I promise - I'll write again soon. Glad to be back.
Yalla, Bye.
Monday, December 01, 2008
MY BEAUTIFUL MUMBAI
For those of you who read this blog regularly - you'll remember just how much I love India - and especially Mumbai. I think I've spent more time there than any other place in India.
I've been to India four times in the past five years - and just last week I said to Myra (my trusty India traveling companion) that I was ready to go again - I haven't been there in a while and am beginning to need my Indian "fix".
There has been much said and written about the horror that took place in Mumbai last week. All those unnecessary deaths - innocent bystanders - the young couple who were running the Chabad House - police - the head of the anti-terror unit.
For me - as for everyone else I am sure - it was an experience happily to have been missed. But for me - and I'm sure for everyone who has ever been to India - it took on a personal dimension. There was hardly a place that was attacked that I didn't relate to.
We stayed at a lovely little boutique hotel just behind the Taj Mahal - although I'd been to the hotel several times. It was a magical, beautiful, elegant hotel. And the Oberoi was just across the street from my travel agent's (later to become our friend) - Mumbai office. The Oberoi was also lovely and elegant - although much newer and more modern looking - and when Myra and I were staying with her cousin Guy we used to go to the little deli there to shop - and eat of course...as we did in several other of their restaurants.
Leopold's Bar and Cafe? It was a hangout for foreigners, tourists and Indians right on the Colaba - and as far as Myra and I were concerned a place that served the absolutely best tandoori chicken we had ever eaten. And for me - a big bowl of incredible egg-rolls. Yes, a bowl - of I don't know how many egg rolls to an order - cut into pieces and served with delicious sauce. And where I always drank lemon juice and soda - with the "sweet" on the side.
The train station - a horror to see with the bodies lying all around. A station once so beautiful - so bustling - so full of life.
I saw images on the television of the Colaba with all the shops closed down - a street that was always busy and teeming with people - a street where there was hardly place to move - a street where we went often....to shop or just to browse.
Of course we were at the Gateway to India opposite the Taj Mahal Hotel - and we went on a boat to Elephantina Island from that area - from probably right where the terrorists landed.
I've been in toch with my Indian friends who are now living in Delhi - although they have friends and family in Mumbai who - miracle of miracles - are all fine.
I am so sad...for my beautiful city - for all those who lost their lives - for all those who are injured - for my wake-up call to reality when it finally hit home that India - and the West - and Jews - and everyone, actually, who doesn't agree with Muslim ideology - are all expendable when terror abounds.
I've been to India four times in the past five years - and just last week I said to Myra (my trusty India traveling companion) that I was ready to go again - I haven't been there in a while and am beginning to need my Indian "fix".
There has been much said and written about the horror that took place in Mumbai last week. All those unnecessary deaths - innocent bystanders - the young couple who were running the Chabad House - police - the head of the anti-terror unit.
For me - as for everyone else I am sure - it was an experience happily to have been missed. But for me - and I'm sure for everyone who has ever been to India - it took on a personal dimension. There was hardly a place that was attacked that I didn't relate to.
We stayed at a lovely little boutique hotel just behind the Taj Mahal - although I'd been to the hotel several times. It was a magical, beautiful, elegant hotel. And the Oberoi was just across the street from my travel agent's (later to become our friend) - Mumbai office. The Oberoi was also lovely and elegant - although much newer and more modern looking - and when Myra and I were staying with her cousin Guy we used to go to the little deli there to shop - and eat of course...as we did in several other of their restaurants.
Leopold's Bar and Cafe? It was a hangout for foreigners, tourists and Indians right on the Colaba - and as far as Myra and I were concerned a place that served the absolutely best tandoori chicken we had ever eaten. And for me - a big bowl of incredible egg-rolls. Yes, a bowl - of I don't know how many egg rolls to an order - cut into pieces and served with delicious sauce. And where I always drank lemon juice and soda - with the "sweet" on the side.
The train station - a horror to see with the bodies lying all around. A station once so beautiful - so bustling - so full of life.
I saw images on the television of the Colaba with all the shops closed down - a street that was always busy and teeming with people - a street where there was hardly place to move - a street where we went often....to shop or just to browse.
Of course we were at the Gateway to India opposite the Taj Mahal Hotel - and we went on a boat to Elephantina Island from that area - from probably right where the terrorists landed.
I've been in toch with my Indian friends who are now living in Delhi - although they have friends and family in Mumbai who - miracle of miracles - are all fine.
I am so sad...for my beautiful city - for all those who lost their lives - for all those who are injured - for my wake-up call to reality when it finally hit home that India - and the West - and Jews - and everyone, actually, who doesn't agree with Muslim ideology - are all expendable when terror abounds.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
A BLACK DAY IN HISTORY
I awoke this morning to find that Obama has been elected President of the United States. As far as I'm concerned - this is a black day in history - absolutely no pun intended.
As long as I live I will never understand the great American public. I voted for McCain - or rather - I voted against Obama. Truth to tell - I wasn't happy with either candidate. I don't believe that either one of them is strong enough to lead America - certainly not strong enough to deal with world problems and world leaders.
And nevermind that I was terrified that Sarah Palin could possibly have become President at some point - she's another one who scares me because she's untried and untested. But then again - Joe Biden as President?
And who is Obama anyway? Does anyone know the first thing about him except for the fact that he surrounds himself with undesirables? Reverend Jeremiah Wright? Louis Farrakhan? The Reverend Pflager? Bill Ayers? Rezko? These are the people Obama counts as friends and mentors? Who is Obama - a Senator who voted "present" more than one hundred times during Senate votes instead of standing up for his principles? What principles? What do we know about him?
I will never believe that he sat in Reverend Wright's church for twenty years - twenty years - and was not aware of what the man was preaching. Did Wright refrain from his diatribes when Obama was in attendance because he knew that somewhere - twenty years down the road - Obama would run for the presidency and could "honestly" say that he didn't know what Reverend Wright stood for? Hogwash!
This is the man who will be the President of the United States - and the leader of the free world. A man who is a follower of Jeremiah Wright - anti-white, anti-Jewish, anti--- everything that is good and decent.
A man whose wife is "proud to be an American for the first time in her adult life"? Why - because her husband was running for President? There is nothing else to be proud about?
Americans want change. Fine. Good. But a change to what? What is he offering us? What is he offering the world? What experience does he have? What is his world view? What is his view on anything? Has anyone noticed that for the past 21 months of his campaign he has said - absolutely nothing?
At this point I see him as only an empty suit with nothing to offer - nothing for me to build any hope on. He has charisma? I don't see it.
For some strange reason he became the media darling....why? What do other people see that I don't? Do you really believe for even one minute that he will deliver - or be able to deliver - on any of his campaign promises? Raise taxes? Now? Get out of Iraq? Now? Speak with Teheran with no pre-conditions? Bring peace to the Middle East? Get a grip.
He frightens me more than I can tell you. My only real hope is that he proves me wrong. We'll have to wait and see.
As long as I live I will never understand the great American public. I voted for McCain - or rather - I voted against Obama. Truth to tell - I wasn't happy with either candidate. I don't believe that either one of them is strong enough to lead America - certainly not strong enough to deal with world problems and world leaders.
And nevermind that I was terrified that Sarah Palin could possibly have become President at some point - she's another one who scares me because she's untried and untested. But then again - Joe Biden as President?
And who is Obama anyway? Does anyone know the first thing about him except for the fact that he surrounds himself with undesirables? Reverend Jeremiah Wright? Louis Farrakhan? The Reverend Pflager? Bill Ayers? Rezko? These are the people Obama counts as friends and mentors? Who is Obama - a Senator who voted "present" more than one hundred times during Senate votes instead of standing up for his principles? What principles? What do we know about him?
I will never believe that he sat in Reverend Wright's church for twenty years - twenty years - and was not aware of what the man was preaching. Did Wright refrain from his diatribes when Obama was in attendance because he knew that somewhere - twenty years down the road - Obama would run for the presidency and could "honestly" say that he didn't know what Reverend Wright stood for? Hogwash!
This is the man who will be the President of the United States - and the leader of the free world. A man who is a follower of Jeremiah Wright - anti-white, anti-Jewish, anti--- everything that is good and decent.
A man whose wife is "proud to be an American for the first time in her adult life"? Why - because her husband was running for President? There is nothing else to be proud about?
Americans want change. Fine. Good. But a change to what? What is he offering us? What is he offering the world? What experience does he have? What is his world view? What is his view on anything? Has anyone noticed that for the past 21 months of his campaign he has said - absolutely nothing?
At this point I see him as only an empty suit with nothing to offer - nothing for me to build any hope on. He has charisma? I don't see it.
For some strange reason he became the media darling....why? What do other people see that I don't? Do you really believe for even one minute that he will deliver - or be able to deliver - on any of his campaign promises? Raise taxes? Now? Get out of Iraq? Now? Speak with Teheran with no pre-conditions? Bring peace to the Middle East? Get a grip.
He frightens me more than I can tell you. My only real hope is that he proves me wrong. We'll have to wait and see.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
SHIPUTZIM - part 6
Moving right along......the shiputzim saga continues. Some of my cast of characters have changed. Jemal - who began painting - is gone. He was terrible. He was what my Mother called a schmearer. A schmearer was a painter who was a slob - he schmeared the paint all over the walls - and everything else in sight. For those of you from New York - a schmear is what you order on a bagel. Schmear - as opposed to a bagel and a lot of cream cheese. You know - "Give me a bagel with a schmear" - that's a bit of cream cheese spread on the bagel any-which-way - that's the way a schmearer paints. Got it?
So - Jemal is gone. Then we had Ayesh - he was really a good painter - but he only had one day to give us - so he's gone, too. Today we have Munir - also a very good painter - so he's busy painting his way through the rest of the flat. Avi and Yaniv (new to me - one of Avi's workers) have gone out to buy "stuff" - more paint, ruba (grout) for the new bathroom - which is almost - almost - finished - and whatever other "stuff" they need. They've been gone for hours now - I can't imagine what they're buying but it must be important - unless they're just out having a good time.
Now Munir is beginning to paint my hall bathroom and my laundry room - that should be fun as, at the moment, that is the only useable bathroom. Will this never end?
And for the past three days all work came to a standstill. Rosh Hashana. No working on Monday - after all, it was a short day as everyone had to get ready for hag (holiday). Then Tuesday and Wednesday - the hag itself. Today is Thursday - work. Friday - usually a day off. Saturday - shabbat (the sabbath) - no work. If my new bathroom gets done any time in this century I'll be very happy.
And Rosh Hashana itself? I had a wonderful time. Dinner the first night at Marallyn's son and daughter-in-law's house with the family. Her daughter-in-law really knocked herself out - much too much food - as always - some Ashkenazi some Kurdi - and Marallyn made the absolutely best Oriental (oriental - as in Mizrachi - middle-Eastern - not Chinese) fish ever. And I got to eat the head of the fish - eyes and all. (Okay everybody - all together now - uggghh!) Oriental Jews always have a fish head on the table for Rosh Hashana - a custom the Ashkenazim don't follow.
Tuesday I went to beit knesset (shul, synagogue) then to Riva and David's for dinner. Another great dinner - again lots of food - lots of laughter - great conversation - and home to bed. Wednesday beit knesset again and then on to the annual pot-luck lunch at Sally and Michael's. And again - much much too much food. We always prepare too much food for the holidays - I think it comes with the territory - Jews EAT. Except when we fast - but then we eat a lot before and a lot after to make up for the twenty-five or twenty six hours when we had no nourishment. Poor us.
I'm sure you've all heard the short history of the Jews - "They came to kill us - we won - let's eat". And we've been eating ever since.
So we'll have a few more days of "work" - "no work" and then comes Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement - the holiest day of the Jewish year. When I will fast and try to atone for all my sins.
And if I've offended any of you during this past year - please forgive me.
Yalla, Bye.
So - Jemal is gone. Then we had Ayesh - he was really a good painter - but he only had one day to give us - so he's gone, too. Today we have Munir - also a very good painter - so he's busy painting his way through the rest of the flat. Avi and Yaniv (new to me - one of Avi's workers) have gone out to buy "stuff" - more paint, ruba (grout) for the new bathroom - which is almost - almost - finished - and whatever other "stuff" they need. They've been gone for hours now - I can't imagine what they're buying but it must be important - unless they're just out having a good time.
Now Munir is beginning to paint my hall bathroom and my laundry room - that should be fun as, at the moment, that is the only useable bathroom. Will this never end?
And for the past three days all work came to a standstill. Rosh Hashana. No working on Monday - after all, it was a short day as everyone had to get ready for hag (holiday). Then Tuesday and Wednesday - the hag itself. Today is Thursday - work. Friday - usually a day off. Saturday - shabbat (the sabbath) - no work. If my new bathroom gets done any time in this century I'll be very happy.
And Rosh Hashana itself? I had a wonderful time. Dinner the first night at Marallyn's son and daughter-in-law's house with the family. Her daughter-in-law really knocked herself out - much too much food - as always - some Ashkenazi some Kurdi - and Marallyn made the absolutely best Oriental (oriental - as in Mizrachi - middle-Eastern - not Chinese) fish ever. And I got to eat the head of the fish - eyes and all. (Okay everybody - all together now - uggghh!) Oriental Jews always have a fish head on the table for Rosh Hashana - a custom the Ashkenazim don't follow.
Tuesday I went to beit knesset (shul, synagogue) then to Riva and David's for dinner. Another great dinner - again lots of food - lots of laughter - great conversation - and home to bed. Wednesday beit knesset again and then on to the annual pot-luck lunch at Sally and Michael's. And again - much much too much food. We always prepare too much food for the holidays - I think it comes with the territory - Jews EAT. Except when we fast - but then we eat a lot before and a lot after to make up for the twenty-five or twenty six hours when we had no nourishment. Poor us.
I'm sure you've all heard the short history of the Jews - "They came to kill us - we won - let's eat". And we've been eating ever since.
So we'll have a few more days of "work" - "no work" and then comes Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement - the holiest day of the Jewish year. When I will fast and try to atone for all my sins.
And if I've offended any of you during this past year - please forgive me.
Yalla, Bye.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
SHIPUTZIM - and other traumas - part 5
It's not enough that my whole life has been turned upside down with my shiputzim (renovations) - my computer also chose this time to gepayger (kill, die - Yiddish) itself. I called my trusty CM (computer mumche [expert]) who diagnosed its illness - terminal hard-drive failure. But - it was still under warranty - so my CM took it to the maabada (laboratory) and now all is well. Well - sort of.
Why "sort of"? When it was repaired some of the" thingies" got reconfigured (whatever that means) and everything doesn't look exactly as it did before - which for me is tantamount to disaster. As I don't understand computer theory I don't know how to fix things up. And my CM is in Paris visiting his father - so he is advising me long-distance by email. Somethings I can do - some things I can't. I'll have to live with it until he gets back. He has spent so much time here recently that I'll have to start charging him rent. But he's a good kid and as long as I have homemade cookies for him he's happy....a small price to pay.
As for the shiputzim itself - we're moving right along. The floors are almost all laid down - except for the panelim (baseboards) and some of the ruba (grout). Right now Khaled and Suher are breaking apart my old bathroom so we can put in a new one - you would not believe the dust here - everything is covered in dust. Kahled and Suher you might ask? Two new names to add to my cast of characters - they are the floor and tile men.
As you can tell from their names they are Arabs. And as this is the month of Ramadan (which comes out at a different time each year), and as they are Muslims - several times a day they are on their knees facing Mecca and praying. So - every so often all work stops and they pray to Allah. I'll bet you don't see that too often when you renovate! During Ramadan Muslims fast from sun-up to sun-down - so they don't waste any time drinking coffee or eating - they don't even drink water. It's like Yom Kippur for a whole month.
I just got a phone call from Rachel - the woman who supplied all my flooring and bathroom fittings. She's going off on holiday next week so she wants to bring all the fittings here now - two toilets, faucets, the interputzim (see earlier blog), the shower-head - all are arriving within the hour. And where will we put them? My machsan (storeroom) is filled with all my of own things, all the tiles and flooring for my new bathroom, a bathtub - and, I guess, all the new stuff will have to fit in - somehow.
So now - I have to leave you. Menash (the architect) just arrived. Mousa (the gardner) is coming shortly to advise on where he wants the front watering system replaced on the front mirpesset (blacony) and Rachel is due to show up any minute.
And so it continues.
Yalla, Bye.
Why "sort of"? When it was repaired some of the" thingies" got reconfigured (whatever that means) and everything doesn't look exactly as it did before - which for me is tantamount to disaster. As I don't understand computer theory I don't know how to fix things up. And my CM is in Paris visiting his father - so he is advising me long-distance by email. Somethings I can do - some things I can't. I'll have to live with it until he gets back. He has spent so much time here recently that I'll have to start charging him rent. But he's a good kid and as long as I have homemade cookies for him he's happy....a small price to pay.
As for the shiputzim itself - we're moving right along. The floors are almost all laid down - except for the panelim (baseboards) and some of the ruba (grout). Right now Khaled and Suher are breaking apart my old bathroom so we can put in a new one - you would not believe the dust here - everything is covered in dust. Kahled and Suher you might ask? Two new names to add to my cast of characters - they are the floor and tile men.
As you can tell from their names they are Arabs. And as this is the month of Ramadan (which comes out at a different time each year), and as they are Muslims - several times a day they are on their knees facing Mecca and praying. So - every so often all work stops and they pray to Allah. I'll bet you don't see that too often when you renovate! During Ramadan Muslims fast from sun-up to sun-down - so they don't waste any time drinking coffee or eating - they don't even drink water. It's like Yom Kippur for a whole month.
I just got a phone call from Rachel - the woman who supplied all my flooring and bathroom fittings. She's going off on holiday next week so she wants to bring all the fittings here now - two toilets, faucets, the interputzim (see earlier blog), the shower-head - all are arriving within the hour. And where will we put them? My machsan (storeroom) is filled with all my of own things, all the tiles and flooring for my new bathroom, a bathtub - and, I guess, all the new stuff will have to fit in - somehow.
So now - I have to leave you. Menash (the architect) just arrived. Mousa (the gardner) is coming shortly to advise on where he wants the front watering system replaced on the front mirpesset (blacony) and Rachel is due to show up any minute.
And so it continues.
Yalla, Bye.
