Shofar So Good

Yesterday was Holocaust Remembrance Day, about which I don't usually talk because I was scarred as a young teen by being forced by my yeshiva to watch Nazi films featuring the various atrocities they committed against Jews and other undesirables and their pride thereof, and we weren't even allowed to leave the gym (they locked the doors). Ever since then I can't watch anything Holocaust-related, so yeah, I guess the shock treatment worked. It certainly contributed to me leaving that yeshiva and later the religious aspect of Judaism (although I will always carry the cultural aspect). As we live near a number of Jewish neighbors, perhaps I shouldn't have been so surprised Sunday evening when I heard a shofar being blown as the Buffalo Bills scored touchdowns (at least I associated that sound with celebration). No judgment, mind you, but having tried my hand (lips?) at the ol' ram's horn I can attest that It Tastes Terrible, and nobody in their right mind should ever want to put their mouths to it. Anyway, because my employer is NOT one of those idiotic corporations capitulating to the current administration's desire to rid our country of diversity and equity and inclusion, I was able to unburden myself of those tween memories at a meeting of our Jewish Ancestry diversity group (I'm in about six diversity groups at work; once an activist...), during a side convo with ladies at least two generations younger than me. Which is a good thing, because these moments need to be shared and passed on before it all happens again, as appears occasionally imminent. I keep reminding myself of my belief (like Anne Frank's) that people are generally good and need to be pushed or lied to or propagandized to be evil. It's just a bit depressing to think of how much deprogramming will be necessary for some folks.

The Road to the Stupor Bowl

There was English football yesterday and today, lots of figure skating both days as well, and the two NFL semi-finals today. Both games were pretty interesting, but I could have done without the KC Boyfriends' QB thanking his imaginary friend after winning the game. Looks like these next four years are going to be rougher than usual for atheists; even the loyal opposition is doing lots of god-bothering. And really, as if your god helped you win because he hates the other team or something? I don't get it. I need sleep, and for body parts that have been hurting to stop doing so. Maybe the "warming" weather will help...

Silly Site o' the Day

Today was the second day of Family Obligation Weekend, as we ventured into my ancestral spawning grounds of Rockland County to celebrate my uncle's 90th birthday. All his progeny, and their progeny, and THEIR progeny, were there (my uncle's eldest embraced ultra-religious Judaism and had a quiverfull of kids who in turn, well, you get the idea), as well as my godson and various cousins and my bro and sis-in-law, and a grand time was had by all. Even though I could do without the religious aspect of everything, the kosher food wasn't bad and I love love love Rockland County in the autumn, my favorite season in my absolute favorite place. I told my cousin I feel like I'm unstuck in time; when I look at the cousins' grandkids I'm that age, then their now-married children and I'm that age, and of course the age I'm at now, then my uncle and Mom yesterday and I see my future at that age too. But it's a pleasant unstuck-in-time feeling, and being there and then kept me grounded despite my exhaustion. We decided to try our favorite sushi place on the way back, and we now know a shortcut from the Saw Mill Parkway so it was technically not out of our way, but I think the whole last month or so finally caught up with me and my stomach only let me eat about half of what I usually put away there. So glad I'm home now, I'm not fond of night driving any more (for those interested, the car is still purring fine) and the southbound Deegan was slammed at this hour, but we're home now and maybe I'll have my appetite back by tomorrow so I can try some AI-generated potato chip flavors...

Silly Site o' the Day

The long weekend began with a trip to NJ to see Mom in the rehab center, possibly the last time she'll be there as her COVID isolation ends in a few days and it appears her insurance will want her out of there and into a long-term care facility. As far as I'm concerned it cannot come soon enough, as this place doesn't seem to have done her much good. At least in the nursing home she'll be able to establish a new routine. But it was very emotionally draining, even more so as she took advantage of the Jewish holiday to kind of throw things in the face of the family atheist. In any case, I was pretty emotionally drained by the time we got home (passing at least two accidents on the way back, including one on the bridge, so even with the gorgeous foliage that didn't help), and I feel like I'm running on fumes at the moment. Not even the world's greatest mullets can get a smile out of me at the moment.

Silly Site o' the Day

What a ruckus the last couple of evenings! The family on the other side of the fence strung up lights and were celebrating with a large probably unmasked group very loudly in the evening hours. Apparently they wanted everyone in the neighborhood to her "Shabbat Shalom" sung to the tune of "Hello Goodbye," not that much of a stretch considering Paul McCartney's current wife is Jewish. But still. I have heard "Adon Olam" sung to just about every conceivable tune (the most annoying earworm being "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing") so really, I could have done without it. Plus, it reminded me painfully of how long it's been since I've seen my own extended family and celebrated either indoors or in a fairly private yard not abutting other neighbors who just want to have their windows open now that it's finally cool... where was I? Ah yes, today's humidity meant the ACs were on again, but with any luck we can turn them off again tomorrow, in the hopes there's no big Rosh Hashanah celebration in that yard tomorrow evening. And oy, I haven't even thought about Sukkos yet... Still, I know it's mostly the problem I personally have with noise, so maybe I can stage a polite protest...

Here We Go Again

We must stand together or we will all fall:



Via PZ Myers. An injustice to one is an injustice to all. I grieve for those in Pittsburgh, in Chicago, in Kentucky, in Mexico, and in so many other places.

Silly Site o' the Day

We had a delightful time today with members of the extended family, as the first of a new generation of cousins underwent his bris and didn't cry one bit. My uncle and cousin drove us back, as they live about 10 minutes away, so we only had to deal with public transit one way (but I wanted to as I needed to refill my MetroCard in preparation for going back to work). I'm about as ready as I can be for my return to the office tomorrow, but first of course there's the NY-NY baseball game and the Tony Awards tonight. So yeah, all in all it's been a fun week off. Didn't get out to see any movies, though, so I'll make do with these "honest" movie posters.

Silly Site o' the Day

Since I no longer work for practicing Jews I'll be at the office the next couple of days, but wish all of my Jewish friends and family a very happy New Year. Via my cousin Marc on Facebook, here's where you can find out if today is a Jewish holiday.

Silly Site o' the Day

Lots of stuff-doing today, from wool wash to regular laundry to finances to turning over the calendar pages and, all in all, finding clarity:



Via BoingBoing. I hope my relatives accept the above in lieu of a new year's card...

Silly Site o' the Day

Matthew Inman outlines how to suck at your religion (and how not to!).

The Annual Tradition

Here in New York City, it's a rainy Rosh Hashanah, but it's still never too late to dip your apples in honey! Here's how:



I wonder if that works with my low-glycemic index agave nectar too. Via Mustang Bobby.

Not ready for a blogaround yet...

but, I just need to say, thank you, Dr. Myers. You tell 'em.

Silly Site o' the Day

The earliest internet post I could find for the following is from almost exactly three years ago, so that's where I'll give attribution, but I wanted to repro it in its entirety, just as Mom emailed it to me, because that's the kind of day (or at least evening) I think it's going to be:

Sayings of the Jewish Buddha

If there is no self, whose arthritis is this?

Be here now. Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated?

Drink tea and nourish life; with the first sip, joy; with the second sip, satisfaction; with the third sip, peace; with the fourth, a Danish.

Wherever you go, there you are. Your luggage is another story.

Accept misfortune as a blessing. Do not wish for perfect health, or a life without problems. What would you talk about?

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single Oy.

There is no escaping karma. In a previous life, you never called, you never wrote, you never visited. And whose fault was that?

Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.

The Tao does not speak. The Tao does not blame. The Tao does not take sides. The Tao has no expectations. The Tao demands nothing of others. The Tao is not Jewish.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Forget this and attaining Enlightenment will be the least of your problems.

Let your mind be as a floating cloud. Let your stillness be as a wooded glen. And sit up straight. You'll never meet the Buddha with such rounded shoulders.

Deep inside you are ten thousand flowers.
Each flower blossoms ten thousand times.
Each blossom has ten thousand petals.
You might want to see a specialist.
Be aware of your body. Be aware of your perceptions. Keep in mind that not every physical sensation is a symptom of a terminal illness.

The Torah says, Love your neighbor as yourself.
The Buddha says, There is no self.
So, maybe we're off the hook

While searching for the citation, I also came upon the following:

What the Jewish Buddha Says:

* The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single "Oy".

* If you wish to know the way, don't ask for directions, just argue.

* Take only what is given. Own nothing but your clothes and a begging bowl - unless, of course, you have wardrobe space.

* Let your mind be as a floating cloud. Let your stillness be as a wooded forest. And sit up straight or you'll never meet the Buddha with a posture like that.

* There is no escaping karma. In a previous life, you never visited, you never called and you never wrote. And whose fault was that?

* Wherever you go, there you are. Your luggage, however, is another story.

* Be aware of your body. Be aware of your perceptions. But also be aware that not every physical sensation is a symptom of a terminal illness.

* Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. Forget this and attaining enlightenment will be the least of your problems.

* The Tao has no expectations, it demands nothing of others, it doesn't speak, it doesn't blame and doesn't take sides. The Tao is not Jewish.

* Drink green tea and enhance your life. Experience joy with the first sip, satisfaction with the second sip and a Danish with the third sip.

* The Buddha teaches us that we should practice loving kindness to all sentient beings. Still, would it a crime to find a nice sentient being who happens to be Jewish?

* Be patient and you'll achieve all things. Be impatient and you'll achieve all things faster.

* In nature, there is no good or bad, better or worse. The wind may blow or not. The flowering branch grows long or short. Do not judge or prefer. Ask only, "Is it good for the Jews?"

* To find the Buddha, look within yourself. Deep inside you are ten thousand flowers. Each flower blossoms ten thousand times and each blossom has ten thousand petals. Maybe you should see a specialist?

* Let go of pride, ego and opinions. Admit your errors and forgive those of others. Relinquishment will lead to calm and healing in your relationships. If that doesn't work, try small-claims court.

* Though only your skin, sinews and bones remain, though your blood and flesh dry up and wither away, yet shall you meditate and not stir until you have attained full
enlightenment. But first, a little nosh.

* Accept misfortune as a blessing. Don't wish for perfect health or a life without problems. What would you talk about?

* The Torah says, "Love thy neighbor as thyself." The Buddha says, "there is no self". So maybe you're off the hook. If there is no self, whose angina is this?

* My mind not only wanders, sometimes it leaves completely.

* Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bubkes.

That list was dated January 2005, so I have reason to believe it's the "original" (as much as any of these things can be online). It's interesting to see what was slightly amended and what was kept as the list evolved. By the way, there are actual Jewish Buddhists according to Wikipedia, and would the Wiki lie to you, bubbelah? Happy Passover (beginning at sundown this evening)!

Muddled Class Morality

DOOLITTLE: Don't say that, Governor. Don't look at it that way. What am I, Governors both? I ask you, what am I? I'm one of the undeserving poor: that's what I am. Think of what that means to a man. It means that he's up agen middle class morality all the time. If there's anything going, and I put in for a bit of it, it's always the same story: 'You're undeserving; so you can't have it.' But my needs is as great as the most deserving widow's that ever got money out of six different charities in one week for the death of the same husband. I don't need less than a deserving man: I need more. I don't eat less hearty than him; and I drink a lot more. I want a bit of amusement, cause I'm a thinking man. I want cheerfulness and a song and a band when I feel low. Well, they charge me just the same for everything as they charge the deserving. What is middle class morality? Just an excuse for never giving me anything. Therefore, I ask you, as two gentlemen, not to play that game on me. I'm playing straight with you. I ain't pretending to be deserving. I'm undeserving; and I mean to go on being undeserving. I like it; and that's the truth. Will you take advantage of a man's nature to do him out of the price of his own daughter what he's brought up and fed and clothed by the sweat of his brow until she's growed big enough to be interesting to you two gentlemen? Is five pounds unreasonable? I put it to you; and I leave it to you.

Moral arbitration is hard to escape. A lot of people who swear they never do it are probably lying. Heck, I know I do it, I've made my share of catty remarks directed at those crazy kids with their too-tight or too-loose clothing blocking the sidewalks while texting and don't think I don't know they've been on my lawn.

So yeah, we're human, we make moral judgments. But there's a big diff between being all Go Fug in your down-time and making a federal case out of it. Separation of curch (i.e., personal belief) and state and all that, y'know?

Current examples include:

- The C Street Family, consisting of lots of wacko-religious, mostly Republican Congressmen who live together and believe God has chosen them to be above the moral laws they preach should be followed by all those undeserving little people (like their constituents, parishioners and a former President). Tune in to the Rachel Maddow show just about any night to get an earful on these dangerous "do as I say, not as I do" loonies.

- Conservative shill Ralph Peters deciding unilaterally that Taliban captive PFC Bow Bergdahl is a deserter, based on nothing more than what appears to be hearsay. Essentially Peters said something along the lines of "Never mind the facts; it looks to me like he left his post, therefore he doesn't deserve to live."

- Henry Louis Gates-gate, where a distinguished and moderately famous Harvard professor was arrested outside of his home by police investigating a possible break-in. The reaction of the white racists dominating much media discussion of this incident center around how the professor must have done something to deserve his treatment, either having trouble unlocking his door or talking back to the cops. And the cops themselves, say these same racists, deserve the benefit of the doubt and not to have our "militant black" President (if our centrist Commander in Chief is a militant, I'm the queen of Romania) term their actions "stupid." Silly politician, don't you know only one side gets the benefit of the doubt here? (Pam adds another interesting dimension to this when she talks about the Ivy League Effect.)

- Dick Cheney's contention that Scooter Libby "deserved a pardon" for what we can all surmise was essentially covering up for Cheney. If you've committed a high crime of a treasonous nature, like helping to quash a legit investigation into whether a deep-cover CIA's identity was deliberately blown by your boss, I suppose it stands to reason your boss will consider you deserving. And your boss' (nominal) boss won't, because he considers you a liar and therefore he retains the right to moral arbitration of your fate. (And remember, Bush retained this right because, like the C Street fellows, he believed he was chosen by God and therefore not subject to the same moral codes as the little people.)

- The continuing obstructionist debate around healthcare reform which, at its essence, comes down to the deserving-of-profits insurance companies and Big Pharma versus the undeserving underinsured or uninsured just-plain folks. Again, it's not a matter of cost-savings, but of who deserves to keep winning.

- The situation that bothers me the most personally - the face-value opining on whether Dr. Regina Benjamin should be the new Surgeon General because she's not a size 2. Never mind that she's a lot more svelte than many previous porky Presidential picks (wow, that John Hamilton was substantial!). I think Amanda has the right of it here:

I’m not making any health claims about weight. That discussion, while interesting, is beside the point of this post. It’s enough to know that most people strongly associate health and weight. So when disingenuous sexists start to bellyache about the dangers of letting fat women out in public, they get traction, because it’s becoming increasingly acceptable to suggest that not being perfectly healthy is a moral failing that should be punished with social disapproval, shaming, ostracism, and lowered access to society.

Her entire post is well worth reading, and did a lot to inspire this post of mine.

However, even though Amanda chose to set "side the debate about the link between weight and health, even if there is a link," I don't. A couple bloggers I admire who are also outraged over Benjamin's treatment are stating as fact opinions with which I'm reluctant to agree, like Pam's "Obesity is clearly a health risk" and Digby's "Nobody disputes that morbid obesity is dangerous to people's health." I'd dispute this point, which is far from clear. You cannot tell someone's health just by looking at them! You can't know that fat people are automatically unhealthy any more than you can know that thin people are automatically healthy. I've known tons of fat and fit folks (particularly when I was taking exercise classes with them), and a fair number of svelte and sickly ones exist as well (aside from anorexics). You don't know what's going on inside someone's body just by looking at the outside. That's supposed to be what doctors and other health professionals are for. Except, of course, they morally prejudge as well; I've had doctors tell me I need to lose weight without even putting me on the scale, or panic if I've gained a pound or two within the space of a few months. Never mind that stress is far more dangerous to one's overall health than poundage. It's a good thing I have a blog to relieve this stress. Which, after all, I don't deserve.

Silly Site o' the Day

Not really a silly site at all, but I really liked this blog post about a feminist seder plate (via Jill at Feministe). Also via Cara at Feministe, a belated nod on my part to the Guardian's April Fool' Day post.

Silly Site o' the Day

As another season of religious fervor looms upon us, it's incumbent upon us to observe moderation in all things. Lest we forget, there are sites like Fundies Say the Darndest Things, which lets ultra-religious fanatics condemn themselves with their own words. Here's a video they did:



Via Amanda Marcotte.

Silly Site o' the Day

Yes, yes, yes, I know. Another Purim, another year without me completing Megillat Vashti. Another reason for me to keep on living! Here's an online Purim word search game. Enjoy!

Little Baby Mondegreen

Oh, come on now. A babbling baby doll spewing nonsense words that tons of paranoid paraedolic idjits hear as "Islam is the light?" Really? And nobody's naming her Noora?

Silly Site o' the Day

Via Mom in email, I assume everyone's heard of David Bader's 1999 book Haikus for Jews by now. You can click here to get some excerpts. Some of my favorites:

On Passover we
opened the door for Elijah.
Now our dog is gone.

Quietly murmured
at Saturday services,
"Yanks 5, Red Sox 3"

Five thousand years a
wandering people – then we
found the cabanas.

And if you can't get / enough, click here to see The / Torah in Haiku.

Silly Site o' the Day

Right after the first presidential debate I can remember where religion was the central theme, rather than a private matter between a worshipper and his or her deity of choice, I thought it was a good time to pass along a game that PZ recommended called Christian Versus Atheist. Y'all don't mind if I sit this one out in the Jew corner, do you?