It seems that the audition was just a ruse to get me to sign up for the Arts Festival; there is no audition and I’m apparently on the bill. This means that choice 1 with 86% of the vote wins in that I’m playing, as does choice 3 with one vote in that I get to slap the person who suggested it.
The next question is what to do…
I just finished watching the three parts of the video “A Stab In The Heart” and was one of the more powerful things I have seen on the current disengagement (the first part especially, it gets a bit redundant afterwards).
Every Jew ought to watch this video, regardless of your positions of the disengagement or of Israeli politics in general. You may be for or against disengagement. You can think it’s good, bad, or a necessary evil for the country.
And that’s entirely not the point.
This film is an important reminder that even with Eretz Yisrael we are still very much in galut. I cannot think of anything more appropriate to watch during the 9 days.
It looks like the upgrade went off easier than expected. Of the improvements, you should notice faster load times and we now have an atom feed if you’re into that sort of thing.
The downside is that all the links in the archive are changed. I caught most of them and set up a redirect, but it’s likely I missed one or two. If you find any bad links out there or any other bugs, please drop me a line.
I was just asked to audition for the End The Madness! Talent Show on Aug 25. Sure I can play a bit and figure out chords, but I’ve never really considered myself a performer and this isn’t the same as an open mic night or a random talent show.
I could use some help here, especially from people who have heard me play. Whaddaya say?
Keep in mind that if the audition does go well – or at least better than everyone else – I’d probably have to actually perform.
Dear Loyal Readers,
There may be some blog downtime this weekend since we’re going to try the proposed upgrade to MovableType 3. Shaya filled me in on most of the details, known problems, and (hopefully) good ideas for solutions.
You may also notice a design change. I figure that if we’re doing the overhaul on the backend, it may be a good opportunity to update the design as well. I found some interesting templates online with which I can tinker, and we’ll see what I can manage. (I’m open to suggetsions, especially if someone wants to do the redesign). Then again, I may just leave things
At any rate, we’ll see how things go.
Shabbat Shalom,
Josh
SIW e-mails me about a quiz show he’s doing with some other folks and he’s looking for the looking for the funniest Jewish jokes.
You read that right – someone is actually asking me for jokes.
Of course, this meant I drew blanks. While I may contribute to Purim shticks or throw in a few lines in situations, I was never good at coming up with jokes on the fly nor have I memorized the collected works of Henny Youngman. But while I couldn’t help Steven out directly I did start thinking about what constitutes “Jewish” humor.
The obivous angle is that the comedian is Jewish – which seemed to the the basic theme of a Comedy Central special on the new Jewish comedians. This connection isn’t surprising considering that “Jewish” jokes are cultural if not stereotypical and as Sienfeld has taught us, only Jews can get away with these jokes without being considered anti-semetic.
The problem is that as cultures change, the stereotypical references become less significant. The classic Jewish jokes from the Borscht Belt were mostly based on a European “old country” mentality of Jewish culture and Jewish history. But as Jewish life moved out of the shtetle, so too must the humor.
One option is to identify and contemprize the familar themes. For example, topics such as mothers, guilt, and anxiety are are still things relavant to most people. The persecution complex may have to be toned down a bit, but there’s plenty of paranoia to go around. Or you could turn the stereotype dial up to 11 like Hebrew Hammer, which in the style of blaxploitation provided a fresh take on old ideas. Of course, some things would work better than others and through differnt comedic formats.
The other direction would be to satarize the modern societies of Judaism. There are websites and plays dealing with the modern professional Jewish world, and of course, there is no shortage Yeshivish jokes out there. The problem is that while these jokes may reflect the current reality, most of these are far too specialized to be funny for outsiders.
At any rate I’m at a loss for now, but I’m sure some things will be percolating in the back of my head.
For those who didn’t believe…
And no, I’m not that good in photoshop. Were I to make a fake smikha, it would look something like this.
After years of horrible dating experiences, you finally find The One. She’s (or he’s) pretty, funny, smart, a dynamo in the kitchen, and even with your impossibly high standards, she’s (you get the idea) everything you’re ever been looking for in a spouse.
Well … almost.
As it turns out she doesn’t want to make aliyah. Or vice versa, she does and you really don’t. For some reason, this little detail got overlooked by both of you and/or the shadchan never bothered checking. While there are many factors one considers in dating, aliyah is unique. There are significant halakhic, hashkafic, and practical considerations, and there is little room for compromise. You’re not choosing between city and suburban life, but living in Israel or not living in Israel.
At any rate, you’ve now got a choice to make. Do you marry the girl of your dreams and give up aliyah, or go ahead with your life and take a chance with the dating game for however long it might take?
Naturally, there’s not going to be a definitive answer to the question. But for those who are facing this dilemma, perhaps we can help sort through some of the factors to consider.
Lots of stuff going on in the greater YUTOPIA-land area in the next few weeks. Some of the highlights:
Life is…well, busy. Stay tuned for details.
Tomorrow will be quite the eventful day in the Yuter household as the niblings will be making their grand return to the states.
YAY!
It should be loads of fun, and I may even get to spend time with one of them between the grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and whomevers who have been clearing calanders for months.
I may even post some new pics since the kiddies provided enough of an impetous to finally purchase a digital camera. In a story which would make The Juggle Zone proud, we tried getting a Kodak EasyShare DX7440 from Circuit City, only to find that not only could we not pick it up at a local store, but they were out of stock all over. Fortunately, good ‘ol J & R came through again.
C’est la vie.
At any rate, this should be a fun few weeks, impending doom notwithstanding.