On Saturday I spent the day in Tomkin Square park watching the Howl Festival. It was a tribute to Allen Ginsburg who's famous poem "Howl" made him the spokesman for the beat generation. (Like everyone else, my personal favorites are "Kaddish" and "Howl". Much of his other stuff is real junk.) The festival was odd. There were tons of drag queens and people of various sexual persuasions all just hanging out. Some of the people on stage were amusing, as was some of the music. As can be expected, much of the art was political, and much of it was pretty bad. There were a few pieces which displayed a bit of talent. There were your usual share of lunatics and Hare Krishnas there as well. I got to do a bit of reading on the grass, so the afternoon was not a total waste.
Sunday I went to the Jewish museum. It was OK. It basically had a bit of everything you would expect in a Jewish museum. Some historical stuff, and some stuff about Jewish rituals. There was also a good exhibit about Jews on stage. Mostly some old Yiddish movies and some tributes to people like Barbra Strisand and Jerry Sinefeld. It was mostly uninteresting, though I did learn some interesting stuff. For example I did not know that Betty Boop was created as a Jewish character who originally was created to represent the daughter of an immigrant attempting to assimilate in to the American world of early 20th century flapperdom. (I really schepped some good Yiddishe nachas there.)
Monday, August 25, 2003
Friday, August 22, 2003
Pretzles from Drug Stores
I eat a lot of pretzles. I really am a pretzle junkie. I mostly eat the Herrs, Rold Gold, or Utz pretzles. They are all OK. I generally am a traditionalist about them, and I eat the pretzle-shaped ones. Ocassionally I will eat the really big Dutch style ones. So I frequently find myself purchasing pretzles. I buy them in all sorts of places. Therefore I say this on great authority: Do not buy pretzles from a drug-store. Whenever I buy Pretzles in CVS or Rite Aid (any one), the pretzles are stale and old. It is horrible. It always happens. I have no idea why. I need to call the drug stores and find out why this happens - and why it is invariant regardless of the drug-store chain.
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
Religious Jewish Teens at risk in Flatbush, Brooklyn
A couple of nights ago I was having a talk with my dad about something known to the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn as Project Chazon. I am not sure how he had heard about it or what his relationship to it was, but he seemed pretty aware of what it did, especially considering that he has no children of age to be involved in that. Basically it is an organization whose function is to help adolesents who are somehow "at risk" to avoid becoming "casualties", and to spread some generic Kiruv cheer to the rest of the mainstream yeshiva and Beis Yaakov boys and girls.
It is interesting how the Jewish community has responded to the problem that it really started to face in the 60's. There have always been religious Jewish children at risk for many reasons. Many do what their non-Jewish peers do - they just "drop out" (to employ a 60'sism). They left their religion as well as their rather conservative way of life. The baal teshuva movement was a response to this, though it took a place like Aish Hatorah forever and a week to become accepted as mainstream (and I am still not sure that they really are now). But Aish and the rest of the Baal Teshuva places (and there are many) have hardly stemmed the tide of people leaving religion. And remember there we are just talking about people who just drifted away, or who are the children of people who just drifted away from religious practice.
Today the problems are different. Now we are addressing people who are radically distanced from their traditional lives. In some sense these are people who are just "experimenting" in high school with all sorts of things, from not keeping shabbos, "fraternizing" with people of the opposite sex, to becoming alcoholics, herion addicts, or just experimenting with "E". These are a nice mixture of religious kids who have a whole slew of problems ranging in scope from just not likeing Yeshiva, becoming prostitutes (of all sorts), becoming junkies, sexual abuse. . . You name it. It is now in the Yeshica world and out in the open.
These young people are mostly from Flatbush, but plenty of Boro Parkers show up too. These students are from the most religious of families and many of them are starting to show problems as early as the age of 12.
The project involves opening 3 pool-halls/work out spaces for the teens to hang out in. One is for the boys, one for the girls, and a third is for both. In the last one, there is a mandatory AA session that you are required to participate in. In general the atmosphere seems safe, there is free food, and things to do. There are adults to talk to. . .
While I did not see any of this for myself, I am told that it is a well done set-up.
(Also, from what I heard, the people who make decisions behind the scenes are idiots, but that is another matter.)
It is good to see that there is now an organized response to this, and the community is facing the fact that there is little sense in trying to cover up the problems. 10 years ago there was no acknowledgement of the problem and many of these children just got screwed up. Some died, some recovered, some got help, and some changed religions. (I know people in all of these categories.) Today there is some way that that community can retain the membership of the members it was loosing over this, and it is dedicating the resources to do it. Apparently the numbers aren't too clear but the (low) estimates of the participants in the programs are well over 1100 children. Considering the amount of children studying in Religious Jewish High Schools in Brooklyn, this is a staggering number for one community. (I would estimate about 5%.) This number is WAY up from what it used to be. I think there was always one kid in every school (about 1%-2%).
But I see a good side to this. The fact that the number is up might suggest that whatever latent problems are out there are being dealt with early on, before the child becomes a problem adult, say a cheating wife-beater, which everyone knows exists in abundance in the Jewish community. On the other hand it might just reflect the changing demographics and social patterns and economic opportunities that define the religious communities in Brooklyn, and the world.
While I really do not care about whether these kids end up putting on tefilin for the rest of their lives, I do worry about their safety and their general well being. I was one of those kids once, although I ended up getting really lucky here and there, and my life is not all that bad. Many of my friends did not fare as well and some are still paying for it. So I wish the program luck, and I hope that at least some of their goals are successful.
It is interesting how the Jewish community has responded to the problem that it really started to face in the 60's. There have always been religious Jewish children at risk for many reasons. Many do what their non-Jewish peers do - they just "drop out" (to employ a 60'sism). They left their religion as well as their rather conservative way of life. The baal teshuva movement was a response to this, though it took a place like Aish Hatorah forever and a week to become accepted as mainstream (and I am still not sure that they really are now). But Aish and the rest of the Baal Teshuva places (and there are many) have hardly stemmed the tide of people leaving religion. And remember there we are just talking about people who just drifted away, or who are the children of people who just drifted away from religious practice.
Today the problems are different. Now we are addressing people who are radically distanced from their traditional lives. In some sense these are people who are just "experimenting" in high school with all sorts of things, from not keeping shabbos, "fraternizing" with people of the opposite sex, to becoming alcoholics, herion addicts, or just experimenting with "E". These are a nice mixture of religious kids who have a whole slew of problems ranging in scope from just not likeing Yeshiva, becoming prostitutes (of all sorts), becoming junkies, sexual abuse. . . You name it. It is now in the Yeshica world and out in the open.
These young people are mostly from Flatbush, but plenty of Boro Parkers show up too. These students are from the most religious of families and many of them are starting to show problems as early as the age of 12.
The project involves opening 3 pool-halls/work out spaces for the teens to hang out in. One is for the boys, one for the girls, and a third is for both. In the last one, there is a mandatory AA session that you are required to participate in. In general the atmosphere seems safe, there is free food, and things to do. There are adults to talk to. . .
While I did not see any of this for myself, I am told that it is a well done set-up.
(Also, from what I heard, the people who make decisions behind the scenes are idiots, but that is another matter.)
It is good to see that there is now an organized response to this, and the community is facing the fact that there is little sense in trying to cover up the problems. 10 years ago there was no acknowledgement of the problem and many of these children just got screwed up. Some died, some recovered, some got help, and some changed religions. (I know people in all of these categories.) Today there is some way that that community can retain the membership of the members it was loosing over this, and it is dedicating the resources to do it. Apparently the numbers aren't too clear but the (low) estimates of the participants in the programs are well over 1100 children. Considering the amount of children studying in Religious Jewish High Schools in Brooklyn, this is a staggering number for one community. (I would estimate about 5%.) This number is WAY up from what it used to be. I think there was always one kid in every school (about 1%-2%).
But I see a good side to this. The fact that the number is up might suggest that whatever latent problems are out there are being dealt with early on, before the child becomes a problem adult, say a cheating wife-beater, which everyone knows exists in abundance in the Jewish community. On the other hand it might just reflect the changing demographics and social patterns and economic opportunities that define the religious communities in Brooklyn, and the world.
While I really do not care about whether these kids end up putting on tefilin for the rest of their lives, I do worry about their safety and their general well being. I was one of those kids once, although I ended up getting really lucky here and there, and my life is not all that bad. Many of my friends did not fare as well and some are still paying for it. So I wish the program luck, and I hope that at least some of their goals are successful.
The Holy Land
Last night I saw The Holy Land. It is one of those indy films, that play in places like the Angelika here in New York. It was a rather interesting movie, though it is hard to say what I came out with.
(Spoiler follows)
The movie is about Mendy, a yeshiva student from Bnei Berak, a Russian prostitute, a American barowner, and some other characters. Basically the story goes as follows: The yeshiva boy is given some odd advice - visit a prostitute to get rid of some of those nasty sexual urges, and come back to yeshiva all relaxed and ready to resume the very sexually repressed world of the yeshiva. (Nathan Englander's short story that names the book "For the relief of unbearbale urges" should come to mind here".) But it didn't quite work that way. He goes, gets a hand job, and falls in love with the prostitute. Later on that night he meets Mike, from Mike's place (a place where anyone in Yeshiva in Israel in the last 10 years has spent time). Eventually he drops out of yeshva, works in the bar and moves in with the hooker (in a very sexually-frustrating way). Now, the movie gets worse. There is a subplot about a mysterious package that Mike and the Arab have throughout the movie which makes for a really disturbing end, as well as a pointless subplot about a crazy settler. Execpt for naive Mendy, no one is who they appear.
The movie is actually pretty good at the end. All the scenes were pretty authentic. Everything is filmed in Israel, and looks about as real as it is. All the characters seeme authentic. If they don't, it simply means that you are not vary familiar with Israelis in Jerusalem.
There is nothing feel-good about this movie. It is a love story, but there is no happy ending. It is not about a typical experience in Israel, but rather one that goes about as bad as it can. If you know Jerusalem, then there will be a lot here that looks familiar. (I recognized a band-member who shall remain nameless, but I remember from when I was there.)
There is a sort of Calablancaesque quality to the film - but without the charm. Even in Israel I assumed that "Mike's Place" really resembled "Rick's Place" a bit too much. There was a whole medly of people (like that bar on Star Wars whose name escapes me at the moment). It is owned by a good hearted ex-pat who takes in all sorts of strays without much concern for his own fiscal or physical well-being, while still looking really cool. There is a twisted love interest. There are all sorts of shady characters in this strange foreign setting. . . But here there is a very bothersome twist, and all is not well at the end.
See the movie if it is in your neighborhood (but don't feel too bad if you miss it).
(Spoiler follows)
The movie is about Mendy, a yeshiva student from Bnei Berak, a Russian prostitute, a American barowner, and some other characters. Basically the story goes as follows: The yeshiva boy is given some odd advice - visit a prostitute to get rid of some of those nasty sexual urges, and come back to yeshiva all relaxed and ready to resume the very sexually repressed world of the yeshiva. (Nathan Englander's short story that names the book "For the relief of unbearbale urges" should come to mind here".) But it didn't quite work that way. He goes, gets a hand job, and falls in love with the prostitute. Later on that night he meets Mike, from Mike's place (a place where anyone in Yeshiva in Israel in the last 10 years has spent time). Eventually he drops out of yeshva, works in the bar and moves in with the hooker (in a very sexually-frustrating way). Now, the movie gets worse. There is a subplot about a mysterious package that Mike and the Arab have throughout the movie which makes for a really disturbing end, as well as a pointless subplot about a crazy settler. Execpt for naive Mendy, no one is who they appear.
The movie is actually pretty good at the end. All the scenes were pretty authentic. Everything is filmed in Israel, and looks about as real as it is. All the characters seeme authentic. If they don't, it simply means that you are not vary familiar with Israelis in Jerusalem.
There is nothing feel-good about this movie. It is a love story, but there is no happy ending. It is not about a typical experience in Israel, but rather one that goes about as bad as it can. If you know Jerusalem, then there will be a lot here that looks familiar. (I recognized a band-member who shall remain nameless, but I remember from when I was there.)
There is a sort of Calablancaesque quality to the film - but without the charm. Even in Israel I assumed that "Mike's Place" really resembled "Rick's Place" a bit too much. There was a whole medly of people (like that bar on Star Wars whose name escapes me at the moment). It is owned by a good hearted ex-pat who takes in all sorts of strays without much concern for his own fiscal or physical well-being, while still looking really cool. There is a twisted love interest. There are all sorts of shady characters in this strange foreign setting. . . But here there is a very bothersome twist, and all is not well at the end.
See the movie if it is in your neighborhood (but don't feel too bad if you miss it).
Sunday, August 17, 2003
Hi - to the Arab world
A few people (like CNN and the Washington Post)are talking about the new "Hi" magazine that is coming out. Mainly it is a vehicle for the US to introduce ourselves to the Arab world. It only costs the taxpayers about US 4 millon a year, so it is a worthwhile experiment, but it seems doomed to failure. There is little about Britany Spears that your average Arab does not know. Moreover there is little about Britany Spears that will make the average Arab like us more. I do agree with
Young's reasons for thinking that in the Arab world one can love Madonna hate everything about her and want to kill everyone else who listens to her. I also agree with his assesment that the ones who are shelling out the equivelant of US 2, are not the ones who need our propoganda - they are already on the net checking out Eminem for themselves. I do not agree with his last suggestion for the same reason he gives that the magazine will not work. There is little chance that some Dahe resident/Amal supporter will find himself taking advantage of that Arab scholarship to Penn State in the near future. There are plenty of Arabs who do make it to the US and there is no indication that they are getting anything out of it more then an education. They are generally the ones who come from families that are sufficiently western so as to send their children to the US or England. While here (or there) they are also the ones who participate in the anti-America bitchfests that are a staple of US college education. The education thing used to sound like a good idea until we realized that an Arab can love our education and still hate us, just liek they can do with our music. It was a very good idea when it came to communists, but no so with Arabs.
But what should be done is still a good question. I still stand by my "beer and porn" idea. Get as much US (or German or whatever) beer and porn in to Arab countries and see how long the clerics will be able to really stop it. Erode the antiquated morals of the Arab world and the rest will fall. Make them decadent, like us, and they will work hard to protect their freedom to stay that way.
There may be a more realistic and serious solution, but not an easy one. Ideas?
Young's reasons for thinking that in the Arab world one can love Madonna hate everything about her and want to kill everyone else who listens to her. I also agree with his assesment that the ones who are shelling out the equivelant of US 2, are not the ones who need our propoganda - they are already on the net checking out Eminem for themselves. I do not agree with his last suggestion for the same reason he gives that the magazine will not work. There is little chance that some Dahe resident/Amal supporter will find himself taking advantage of that Arab scholarship to Penn State in the near future. There are plenty of Arabs who do make it to the US and there is no indication that they are getting anything out of it more then an education. They are generally the ones who come from families that are sufficiently western so as to send their children to the US or England. While here (or there) they are also the ones who participate in the anti-America bitchfests that are a staple of US college education. The education thing used to sound like a good idea until we realized that an Arab can love our education and still hate us, just liek they can do with our music. It was a very good idea when it came to communists, but no so with Arabs.
But what should be done is still a good question. I still stand by my "beer and porn" idea. Get as much US (or German or whatever) beer and porn in to Arab countries and see how long the clerics will be able to really stop it. Erode the antiquated morals of the Arab world and the rest will fall. Make them decadent, like us, and they will work hard to protect their freedom to stay that way.
There may be a more realistic and serious solution, but not an easy one. Ideas?
The Obligatory blackout comment
So the big news is of course the blackout that we had. I am sure I have little that would shed any light on the whole situation (no pun intended). By sheer coincidence I was in a lecture where we were warned a week in advance of routine electrical work that would disrupt all our electrical systems at around 4PM on Thursday. So I was not surprised when all the lights went out. I was rather surprised when I discovered that they were out over the whole northeast.
I ended up staying in Manhattan on Thursday night. It was hot, but we made it. New Yorkers have been learning to deal with the unexpected, and we did fine.
I spent the weekend on Long Island (Cedarhurst) because I had planned this a week in advanvce. I spent some time with some family. They also had power before my part of Manhattan. They were only down for a few hours.
What frightens me is that it is only a matter of time before the internet goes down too. While information is very distributed, as is the computing, there must be some routers that are centralized. I frankly know little about the architecture of the net, and I do know that it was designed initially to resist just these kinds of things, I would love some reassurance that this can't happen to the net. Does email still work on the original principles that the ARPANET people envisioned; ie, that in the event of a problem, email would get rerouted via some other nodes? This was particularly unforseen - everything was out. Shouldn't we have had some backup plan, especially for New York?
I ended up staying in Manhattan on Thursday night. It was hot, but we made it. New Yorkers have been learning to deal with the unexpected, and we did fine.
I spent the weekend on Long Island (Cedarhurst) because I had planned this a week in advanvce. I spent some time with some family. They also had power before my part of Manhattan. They were only down for a few hours.
What frightens me is that it is only a matter of time before the internet goes down too. While information is very distributed, as is the computing, there must be some routers that are centralized. I frankly know little about the architecture of the net, and I do know that it was designed initially to resist just these kinds of things, I would love some reassurance that this can't happen to the net. Does email still work on the original principles that the ARPANET people envisioned; ie, that in the event of a problem, email would get rerouted via some other nodes? This was particularly unforseen - everything was out. Shouldn't we have had some backup plan, especially for New York?
Wednesday, August 13, 2003
T"U B'Av -- Jewish <3 Day
Today is T"U B'av. It is one of the more underappreciated holidays in the Jewish calendar. It is a rather understressed part of Jewish education too. It is slightly more appreciated in Israel by those who feel uncomfortable with Valentine's day, but still want to get (and give) flowers and chocolate.
T"U B'av is the Jewish version of Valentine's day. It is much older too. In the times of the temple, today was the day when women danced as men would look on and mates were chosen and matches were made. Today was the day, as tradition has it where it was announced that the tribes were allowed to intermarry amongst each other (ending the squabbling over who would get whose land). It was also the day that the decree was annuled that banned the tribe of Benjamin from marrying outside the tribe after the nasty concubine of Givah incident.
The holiday is full of lore that focuses on love and marraige. It is one of our nicer holidays, if you ask me. I encourage every Jew to start practicing it. There are really few rituals associated with it. Certainly nothing mentioned in Jewish law, so be creative - start your own T"U B'av customs. If they are interesting, let me know what they are.
T"U B'av is the Jewish version of Valentine's day. It is much older too. In the times of the temple, today was the day when women danced as men would look on and mates were chosen and matches were made. Today was the day, as tradition has it where it was announced that the tribes were allowed to intermarry amongst each other (ending the squabbling over who would get whose land). It was also the day that the decree was annuled that banned the tribe of Benjamin from marrying outside the tribe after the nasty concubine of Givah incident.
The holiday is full of lore that focuses on love and marraige. It is one of our nicer holidays, if you ask me. I encourage every Jew to start practicing it. There are really few rituals associated with it. Certainly nothing mentioned in Jewish law, so be creative - start your own T"U B'av customs. If they are interesting, let me know what they are.
T"u B'av
Today is T"U B'av. It is one of the more underappreciated holidays in the Jewish calendar. It was, of course, rather understressed in yeshiva. It is slightly more appreciated in Israel by those who feel uncomfortable with Valentine's day, but still want to get (and give) flowers and chocolate.
T"U B'av is the Jewish version of Valentine's day. It is much older too. In the times of the temple, today was the day when women danced as men would look on and mates were chosen and matches were made. Today was the day, as tradition has it where it was announced that the tribes were allowed to intermarry amongst each other (ending the squabbling over who would get whose land). It was also the day that the decree was annuled that banned the tribe of Benjamin from marrying outside the tribe after the nasty concubine of Givah incident.
The holiday is full of lore that focuses on love and marraige. It is one of our nicer holidays, if you ask me. I encourage every Jew to start practicing it. There are really few rituals associated with it. Certainly nothing mentioned in Jewish law, so be creative - start your own T"U B'av customs. If they are interesting, let me know what they are.
T"U B'av is the Jewish version of Valentine's day. It is much older too. In the times of the temple, today was the day when women danced as men would look on and mates were chosen and matches were made. Today was the day, as tradition has it where it was announced that the tribes were allowed to intermarry amongst each other (ending the squabbling over who would get whose land). It was also the day that the decree was annuled that banned the tribe of Benjamin from marrying outside the tribe after the nasty concubine of Givah incident.
The holiday is full of lore that focuses on love and marraige. It is one of our nicer holidays, if you ask me. I encourage every Jew to start practicing it. There are really few rituals associated with it. Certainly nothing mentioned in Jewish law, so be creative - start your own T"U B'av customs. If they are interesting, let me know what they are.
Sunday, August 10, 2003
Two movies
Last night I saw The Matrix Reloaded in Imax. It was pretty cool, but I have to say that given my anticipation I was disappointed. It was pretty anti-climactic. There were cooler effects, but the storyline was somewhat thin. There was also no satisfying ending. I am actually not in the mood to write about it, as it was not all that worth writing about in the end.
But tonight I saw Pirates of the Carribean. It was really good. I highly recommend it. Johnny Depp is really a versatile actor. The whole movie was ultimately a love story, but it was an excellent story, and well told. It was a tale of suspense and horror, and there were pirates and great sword-fights. It was also, by the way, a comedy, and had some great lines. See it.
But tonight I saw Pirates of the Carribean. It was really good. I highly recommend it. Johnny Depp is really a versatile actor. The whole movie was ultimately a love story, but it was an excellent story, and well told. It was a tale of suspense and horror, and there were pirates and great sword-fights. It was also, by the way, a comedy, and had some great lines. See it.
Thursday, August 07, 2003
Jewish Clothing
Judaism really does place a rather large emphasis on clothing. Hassidim are the obvious examples, but the commandmant to wear Tzitzit is clothing related. And a Kippah can be seen as clothing, though the nitpickers among you may claim it as an accessory. There are also a bunch of customs about Jewish women and their clothing, and anyone who spent as many years in yeshiva as I did can tell you that there are few things that people there worry about more than clothing.
Ethnic clothing is nothing new, especially for Jews. I remember some ten years ago there was some fashion designer who modeled his 1992 line of clothing after traditional hassidic garb. I can't remember the designer, but it was rather short-lived.
There are also a few places where you can buy clothing that have cutsy Jewish stuff on them, like chaiwear.com.
But now there is something that looks like it might have a bit more shelf lifeand a bit more stlye. First is jew.lo,a Brooklynite (a landsman!) no less, promoting these nifty Ts, and some philosophy or other. I think that everyone who can fit in to one of these ought to be wearing one.
We also have something a bit more deemure, but infused with an equal amount of pride at jewishjeans. Again, there is some philosophy or other attached to their clothing, but if you are like me and can't handle all that deep stuff, just wear the shirt. It's good for you.
Ethnic clothing is nothing new, especially for Jews. I remember some ten years ago there was some fashion designer who modeled his 1992 line of clothing after traditional hassidic garb. I can't remember the designer, but it was rather short-lived.
There are also a few places where you can buy clothing that have cutsy Jewish stuff on them, like chaiwear.com.
But now there is something that looks like it might have a bit more shelf lifeand a bit more stlye. First is jew.lo,a Brooklynite (a landsman!) no less, promoting these nifty Ts, and some philosophy or other. I think that everyone who can fit in to one of these ought to be wearing one.
We also have something a bit more deemure, but infused with an equal amount of pride at jewishjeans. Again, there is some philosophy or other attached to their clothing, but if you are like me and can't handle all that deep stuff, just wear the shirt. It's good for you.
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
The Bus System in New York
Today I went running up the East River. It was a pretty good running day. But anyway, when I am at the point when I was about to turn around and head back, I stop for a quick stretch and this guy starts talking to me. It turns out that his job is to monitor the city busses. Now I never realized that the busses in New York were monitored by people on the ground. I always thought that there was someone who made sure that the drivers started on time, or the drivers were self-regulated. But it turns out that there is a fairly complicated system in place for making sure that the busses run smoothly on the route and that the spacing is kept reasonable .
As it turns out, I use the bus system often. And usually it is pretty good. The only thing is . . . that from time to time they really screw up. For example it may be a Sunday and there is no bus for a hour, or a driver late at night doesn't bother to stop to pick me up. These things leave such bad feelings that I often really hate the MTA.
However, meeting this guy really did help restore some of my faith in the MTA. They really do attempt to coordinate the bus system. This guy I met was chatting with me for almost an hour (while doing his job the whole time - I swear he did not miss recording a bus). And he was really friendly. He explained all these complicated things about spacing and routes and scheduling. I was impressed.
As it turns out, I use the bus system often. And usually it is pretty good. The only thing is . . . that from time to time they really screw up. For example it may be a Sunday and there is no bus for a hour, or a driver late at night doesn't bother to stop to pick me up. These things leave such bad feelings that I often really hate the MTA.
However, meeting this guy really did help restore some of my faith in the MTA. They really do attempt to coordinate the bus system. This guy I met was chatting with me for almost an hour (while doing his job the whole time - I swear he did not miss recording a bus). And he was really friendly. He explained all these complicated things about spacing and routes and scheduling. I was impressed.
Monday, August 04, 2003
Religions are like ISPs
I was thinking about what religions are analogous to what ISPs, and here is what I came up with. Christianity is like AOL. It is user friendly, lots of versions, idiot-proof, and it is great for the masses who know nothing about computers but want the internet to chat and look at porn. Islam is like having an ISDN line and a fairly generic service that provides the basics. It is also hard to set up thus discourages users from switching to another service. Judaism is like the old University UNIX accounts. It is the oldest, and least user-friendly. It is designed for geeks, has many commands to memorize, and has few supporters, but many really dedicated ones who will not give up the old ways for anything.
Review of Jacobo Timmerman's The Longest War: Israel in Lebanon
It is clear that Jacobo Timmerman's book The Longest War: Israel in Lebanon was not inspired by any facts about Israel or Lebanon. It is a series of ramblings about how evil Israel was with respect to her intervention in Lebanon. It is clearly the musings and feelings of a dogmatic leftist who did not at all understand the political realities of the middle east and was in the mood for a writing project. Israel, his home at the time, lucked out.
The book just goes on and on about how wrong the whole thing is and how blind people must be, not to see it. What makes the book so awful though is its complete inability to separate reality from the author's perception of it. The solipsism abounds. There is no sense that the author was aware that there was a war going on prior to Israel's involvement, you actually do not get the feeling that the war was bigger than Sharon, Begin, the Israeli right and those who Israel killed. The Lebanon War, like all wars, has a context. Without information about this context, any war is just about who killed whom from the time officially designated "beginning-of-war" till the time designated "end-of war". This is obviously the dumbest way to think about war, but Timmerman does it nonetheless, and this is how Israel's involvement in Lebanon is portrayed. It is sad to see such a narrow book in print.
What is even worse is that I never got the feeling that the author ever really understood the victims he rambles on about so much. For him the Lebanese and Palestinians are simply objects-of-pity rather than real people. They are things he can use to purse an anti-Sharon/anti-Begin agenda. It is quite sad.
Don't bother with this book. I learned nothing except how uninformed people can be about a subject and still write a book about it.
The book just goes on and on about how wrong the whole thing is and how blind people must be, not to see it. What makes the book so awful though is its complete inability to separate reality from the author's perception of it. The solipsism abounds. There is no sense that the author was aware that there was a war going on prior to Israel's involvement, you actually do not get the feeling that the war was bigger than Sharon, Begin, the Israeli right and those who Israel killed. The Lebanon War, like all wars, has a context. Without information about this context, any war is just about who killed whom from the time officially designated "beginning-of-war" till the time designated "end-of war". This is obviously the dumbest way to think about war, but Timmerman does it nonetheless, and this is how Israel's involvement in Lebanon is portrayed. It is sad to see such a narrow book in print.
What is even worse is that I never got the feeling that the author ever really understood the victims he rambles on about so much. For him the Lebanese and Palestinians are simply objects-of-pity rather than real people. They are things he can use to purse an anti-Sharon/anti-Begin agenda. It is quite sad.
Don't bother with this book. I learned nothing except how uninformed people can be about a subject and still write a book about it.
Sunday, August 03, 2003
Back from basic
I finished the US Army Basic Combat Training this past Wednesday and I was in upstate New York for the weekend. I just got in to Brooklyn.
There is so much to tell about basic I really do not know where to start. There are so many things that are worth relaying. First, it takes about 10 weeks (9 weeks plus reception). It is difficult . . . very difficult. The mental and physical stress is the most intense that you can really go through. I have never done anything that difficult, nor do I expect to.
You spend a lot of time learning all the basic things that one needs to know for combat. One does a lot of physical stuff and there is a large component of breaking you emotionally. There are drill sergeants, just like in the movies, and you quickly have to adapt to the command structure and get used to the physical and emotional stress. There are all sorts of tasks that you must learn to perform routinely, and there are numerous things that you must learn. You must learn to work as a team and deal with all the people in your platoon. Again, lots of physical tasks (I lost a ton of weight), lots of shooting, and learning to use various pieces of equipotent. There are a hundred classes that you must take and take in. There are tests and more tests. You learn about everything from Vaduz, to first aid, to defense against NBC weapons. There is also a huge sense that you are being deprived of everything except the necessities.
I wish I had the distance to put the whole experience in perspective. There is just so much that happened that I need to take some time to think the whole thing over for a while.
I was the third oldest person there out of my whole company (of about 200). I was also the only Jewish person. Neither of those presented me with any particular problems. To the contrary, they actually seemed advantageous.
I am glad I did this. I might write another post later on really filling out how it was for me. My training is not over, it continues next summer and I will have to go to my reserve post every month, so I will talk more about that later on.
There is so much to tell about basic I really do not know where to start. There are so many things that are worth relaying. First, it takes about 10 weeks (9 weeks plus reception). It is difficult . . . very difficult. The mental and physical stress is the most intense that you can really go through. I have never done anything that difficult, nor do I expect to.
You spend a lot of time learning all the basic things that one needs to know for combat. One does a lot of physical stuff and there is a large component of breaking you emotionally. There are drill sergeants, just like in the movies, and you quickly have to adapt to the command structure and get used to the physical and emotional stress. There are all sorts of tasks that you must learn to perform routinely, and there are numerous things that you must learn. You must learn to work as a team and deal with all the people in your platoon. Again, lots of physical tasks (I lost a ton of weight), lots of shooting, and learning to use various pieces of equipotent. There are a hundred classes that you must take and take in. There are tests and more tests. You learn about everything from Vaduz, to first aid, to defense against NBC weapons. There is also a huge sense that you are being deprived of everything except the necessities.
I wish I had the distance to put the whole experience in perspective. There is just so much that happened that I need to take some time to think the whole thing over for a while.
I was the third oldest person there out of my whole company (of about 200). I was also the only Jewish person. Neither of those presented me with any particular problems. To the contrary, they actually seemed advantageous.
I am glad I did this. I might write another post later on really filling out how it was for me. My training is not over, it continues next summer and I will have to go to my reserve post every month, so I will talk more about that later on.
Thursday, May 22, 2003
Shipping out
Those of you who know me, and those of you who are following my life know that I did something very out of character and joined the US Army Reserves. Because of something or other that I really don't understand, I am being forced to ship out a day earlier than I expected. I will be leaving in about an hour and a half for Fort Knox Kentucky to start basic combat training. This takes about nine or ten weeks.
I managed to finish all my work and get together a lot of the stuff I had to get to ship out. I do not have an address yet, but you can leave messages here, and I'l try to read them as I can.
I have no idea what to expect, as I know no one who was in the army here. But I do know that I like my country and I am prepared to take up my share of the common defense.
So, you can expect to hear from me sporadically for now, but I will resume in earnest come mid-August.
I will probably not have much internet access, and I will not get a chance to write much, but I will be back in mid-August and I will write whenever I can to give you the latest.
I managed to finish all my work and get together a lot of the stuff I had to get to ship out. I do not have an address yet, but you can leave messages here, and I'l try to read them as I can.
I have no idea what to expect, as I know no one who was in the army here. But I do know that I like my country and I am prepared to take up my share of the common defense.
So, you can expect to hear from me sporadically for now, but I will resume in earnest come mid-August.
I will probably not have much internet access, and I will not get a chance to write much, but I will be back in mid-August and I will write whenever I can to give you the latest.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
