Category: travel

  • Has the day come?

    For the second time in about a week, I’m sharing something written by my friend and teacher, Rabbi Daniel Gordis, which pretty perfectly encapsulates and captures my feelings and reaction to the current political and social climate in the United States and beyond. It bears mentioning that I have had no illusions about our situation…

  • Starting the new year with a surprise

    Now that the surprise has been sprung, I can reveal the details and dispense with the mystery. This morning I posted a new year’s greeting on Facebook from “an undisclosed location,” predictably prompting some of my friends to make veiled (or not-so-veiled) Dick Cheney jokes, which is what I expected. I couldn’t be more specific,…

  • Hope for humanity

    I refuse to admit that I’m overstating things when I say this makes me feel better about the human race, at least for four and a half minutes: Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo. Spotted in the comments: my son died in iraq 7 weeks ago, and this video allowed…

  • A Day In Israel: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 – 13th of Tamuz, 5768

    0830 We got up and started getting ready for our day. This included a light breakfast for us and Hadarya. 0900 My friend, roommate, and rabbi Scott, called to tell me that Channel 10 News was covering the prisoner exchange in the north, in case I was interested. I was, of course, so I turned…

  • Earth Israeli Girls are Easy?

    I don’t know whether to be proud or ashamed “courtesy” of Reuters Oddly Enough, emphasis added: Wolf whistle works, woman strips WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Road workers in a small New Zealand town got their wish granted when a woman stripped saying she was fed up with their wolf-whistles. The Israeli tourist was about to use…

  • I’m smitten

    With Twitter, and with Wil Wheaton. I got a Twitter account a few weeks ago, and started following some friends and strangers and sending my own updates when I remember (not often enough). After I met Wil at a reading & signing at Mysterious Galaxy last weekend, I started following him, and he’s just as…

  • Shabbat shalom and happy bageling!

    Despite the name of the practice, bageling is a very appropriate Pesach activity. I was introduced to this charmingly named entertainment by a friend of my dad’s, who forwarded me the column below today. Happily, unlike in the case of many such forwards, this one still had the author’s byline, and a little Googling turned…

  • It-could-be-worse news from Israel

    But seriously, folks, why, in 2007, are there not native English-speakers looking at this stuff? JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s national passport office could have done with a good spellchecker. First it stamped “Ministry of the Intrerior” in English in new batches of passports. Then it advised Israelis of the misspelling in a jumbled newspaper advertisement…

  • 10 Years? Felt like 10 minutes!

    Just had a fabulous dinner (at Bahama Breeze, in case you’re keeping track; excellent jerk-painted tilapia and terrific chocolate desserts) with Cousins Marc & Lynn and their boys who, conveniently enough for us this weekend, live in Orlando. Last time I saw M&L was at least a decade ago, before they had any offspring, so…

  • Adjusting

    Last time we traveled to the east coast with Hadarya, in March, we kept her pretty much on west coast time, which prevented shifting back when we went home. At that time, naps weren’t as important, and she was sleeping through the night really well, so it worked out great. This time, her schedule is…