Category: Commentary
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Elective inspiration
Yeah, it’s specific to one candidate, but the message is so universal, and so beautifully produced, that it’s well worth sharing: a song, based on Barack Obama’s speech after the New Hampshire primary, produced by the Black Eyes Peas’ will.i.am. I especially like the inclusion of the chorus phrase in Hebrew, spoken by actress Maya…
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Baby steps
No, not Hadarya’s.. she’s way beyond that. In terms of podcasting, I’m still a fetus. But I think I’m approaching my delivery date. Consider this a swift kick: my inspiration for getting myself into this beautiful mess, Adam Curry, played my audio comment on his last show (DSC #701, posted Dec. 17 at curry.com). My…
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I find your lack of attribution disturbing
I was happy to catch this interview with Ridley Scott on NPR yesterday afternoon on the way home from work. Today is the release day for Blade Runner: The Final Cut, Scott’s latest (and allegedly last) reworking of his 1982 classic, so he talked to Michelle Norris about the movie and his inspirations for it.…
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Can you tell it’s a slow work day?
Best news about Ann Coulter so far today (hey, the day is young, she could still get run over by a truck, which would eclipse this story): direct lift from the Subversive Cross Stitch blog: Seems that some truly subversive and possibly off-balance soul hand-delivered a card to Ms. Coulter’s mailbox in Florida and, according…
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Equal time, again: Christmas in Fallujah (x2)
My first concert was Billy Joel on (I think) The Bridge tour, so I’ve been a fan for a long time. I went to that concert with my mom, who’s also a big fan. She was kind enough to point me to Billy’s latest social commentary tune (following up on, just off the top of…
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Ignorance fuels violence
Yes, I know this hasn’t gotten physically violent yet, but it easily could. When is this going to stop? A British schoolteacher has been arrested in Sudan accused of insulting Islam’s Prophet, after she allowed her pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad. BBC story. This whole business with images of the Prophet confuses me.…
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On giving back, giving thanks, and not giving up
We got up bright and early this morning to walk 5K in downtown San Diego to raise money for Jewish Family Service and the San Diego Food Bank. Felt good. Ran into many people we know, and saw the power of grassroots passionate politics in action: two Ron Paul supporters I saw walked the entire…
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It feels like Friday
Which means that since it got dark a few hours ago, I’ve felt like it’s Shabbat and I shouldn’t blog until after… but it’s not Shabbat, it’s Erev Thanksgiving, and there’s nothing to prevent me from writing, using the computer, etc. Jenn spent much of the day cooking and baking for Thanksgiving, which we’ll be…
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It’s the Irony, Stupid: Hospitality and Spirituality in the Middle East, Then and Now
When I started writing this (Sunday, July 15 or thereabouts) I didn’t know where it was going, so I didn’t post it. It took about a week for the realization to sink in that the thing that brought these two subjects into relief for me was the irony and sadness over the powerful positive connotations…
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Things that make me sad…
Sad in a cosmic, global way, not a “boo-hoo” way: Evangelical/fundamentalist Christians who co-opt Hebrew, specifically Hebrew sacred texts and liturgy, without understanding or respecting their meanings. I was prompted to post this by an example I ran into today, which itself reminded me of another from a couple of years ago. Today I manned…