Dear Loyal Readers,
It’s been nearly five years since the big move from first moved domain names from Blogger to YUCS and we’ve had a great run on the ‘ol server. Sadly, the future of YUCS is uncertain at present¹, which meant that I needed to start looking for actual paid hosting to handle both the blog and the Jewish guitar chords archive and then to port everything over.
Today I am very pleased to announce that the transition appears to be complete. Thanks to a great deal of hacking and the good support people at tweakedhosting.com, both the chords and guitar database are up and running at their new homes:
The new site for YUTOPIA is:

www.JoshYuter.com

and the new feed is https://joshyuter.com/atom.xml.
The Jewish guitar chords can be found appropriately enough at:

www.JewishGuitarChords.com

For the time being YUCS is redirecting all traffic to the new site,² but since I don’t know how much longer YUCS will be in operation, I’d like to ask if you could please update your links and feed subscriptions accordingly.
I don’t have metrics just yet, but it does seem the site runs slightly slower and loads a little weirder than before. On the plus side, I’ve sorted out most of the new glitches and thanks to the new system I’ve even added some cool features such as this nifty little new contact form for direct spam-free feedback.
It also seems to be a good time to update the Blogroll on the side. If you’d like to exchange links or if you’re already linking and would appreciate the reciprocity, please let me know.
Thank you all very much for your help and support. It’s been an exciting time lately, and it doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon.³ I hope I’ll be able to continue sharing in the next adventures of my little YUTOPIAN world.

1. And if and when it ever does go down, I’ll write up a history. Tentative title: “From 501 to 404.” (Yes, that’s an obscure but relevant reference).
2. Some pages might not be working due to previous movabletype upgrades. I’ll fix those as they come up.
3. Another big announcement forthcoming, and no I’m not getting engaged.

I know I’ve had one of my extended absences from blogging, and I promise I *will* return with a full explanation and lots of other cool stuff. Just checking in to report that I’ve added the 300th song to the Jewish Guitar Chord Archive. The auspicious song in question is the Dovid Melech camp song, “with the pre-macarena hand motions.”
Keep on playing!

UPDATE: It has come to my attention that the kosher Subway reviewed in this post is no longer. Read on for what was and could be, but making a special trip would be unwarranted.
Those of you up on the latest in Kosher food scene probably heard about the new kosher Subway in the financial district on 28 Water Street. While this is not the first kosher Subway – there are locations in Brooklyn, Queens, and Livingston NJ – this one just happens to be conviniently across the street from my office. Like many Jews in the area, I thought I’d give it a shot on its first day as part of the tribe.

In belatedly commemorating Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s 100’s birthday, the Center for Jewish History bemoans the absence of a contemporary equivalent, asking “Where are the Abraham Heschel’s of today?” For many liberally inclined Jews, Heschel was the Gadol Hador – a prolific, erudite, knowledgeable scholar who synthesized traditional texts, academia, with contemporary sensibilities and ethics of activism. The problem, apparently, is that no one – or at least not enough people – has sufficiently assumed Heschel’s mantle.

One of the most important business commodities, intellectual or material, is the brand name. More than just a logo, a brand name is the symbolic representation of the entire company, implicitly defining the quality and integrity of its products. Building widespread brand name recognition can take several years, let alone correcting a negative impression, but acquiring an established reputable brand name quickly improves a company’s legitimacy in the eyes of the public. For instance, Rupert Murdoch’s purchasing of the Wall Street Journal gives his new business channel instant credibility (at least in theory).

On a smaller scale, brands can be leased to individuals in the form of franchising. In this system, a small business can leverage an existing brand name and benefit from it’s reputation and advertising. However, the corporate office usually dictates uniform policies from products, pricing, and interior design in order to protect its brand and ensure a consistent experience for the consumer.

Religion follows a similar pattern in terms of connecting name recognition to external expectations. We expect Orthodox Jews to keep kosher, observe Shabbat, and follow the laws and ethics defined by Jewish law. The difference is that Orthodox Judaism has no authoritative “home office” to enforce uniform regulations. As such, the religious “franchisees” are left to argue over who has the most authentic characteristics, and in turn discredit and delegitimize their competitors.

Let’s look at three recent examples from the world of Jewish news:

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to attend Yeshivat Chovevei Torah’s fourth Chag Hasemikha and extend best wishes to all the new musmakhim, especially roommate Rabbi Yonah. This was the first time I attended a non-Yeshiva University Chag Hasemikha, and throughout the proceedings we could not help but compare the two ceremonies especially having attended my own Chag Hasemikha just last year. What I found particularly striking was the contrasting emphasis and tone of the ceremony, with YU celebrating the institution and YCT highlighting the individuals.

Given the accurate stereotypes of Jewish dating neuroses, it should not be surprising that JDate started way back in 1997. Since then a few more sites have popped up like Frumster which concentrates more on Orthodox Jews and SawYouAtSinai which combines modern technologies with traditional matchmaking.

Regardless of which site one choses, all dating sites involve somewhat impersonal forms of communication; all dating sites require a profile of some sort and with the exception of SYAS, an initial e-mail or response. Unfortunately, while the profile and e-mail are essential parts of online dating, it is apparent that people have no idea how to use them effectively. Profiles are trite and many initial e-mails are simply worthless.

That’s where we come in. After reading far too many profiles and e-mails from both myself and friends, we’ve decided to provide some simple tips in navigating the online dating world.