Category: Uncategorized
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Memorial Day, for real
My connection to Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s memorial day, is well-established. I was born into its communal observance in Israel, I have observed it personally since the loss of two friends from my battalion, and I have been bringing the communal and personal together in San Diego for 15 years as the MC of the community…
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Uber Night #2: Weddings, drinking, and casual racism
Not in equal parts, mind you… Long story short, I had a couple of fares tonight that were attending weddings in SD, a bunch of folks who were partying (very typical Uber crowd, that), and… The fare that turned out to be my last of the night, though, was something special. In the Gaslamp District,…
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Faith in government (and thus, humanity)
My faith in government (and thus, in humanity) is routinely and repeatedly crushed and restored, but rarely does that cycle run its full course within an hour, let alone a few moments. Tonight, I was pointed to this post by Lawrence Lessig, alerting me to the existence, now snuffed out, of Aaron Swartz. As the…
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Inspiration, long lost, rediscovered
My last couple of years of high school I participated and competed in Speech & Debate (also known as Forensics). I did some humorous interpretation (HI), some dramatic interp (DI), some original oratory (OO – are you getting the hang of the initials now?), and even dabbled in the Debate part (not my preferred event;…
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Figuring out IFTTT
I finally got in and fixed my IFTTT recipe for mirroring my blog posts to Facebook. So, please go read my last post, about the Israeli ad campaign that includes this gem of a banner ad:
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No Sacred Cows
Israelis will make light or fun of pretty much anything, and not just behind closed doors. There’s a radio ad campaign on Israeli Broadcasting Authority stations right now promoting the election coverage on the news station. In the first ad I heard, which was amusing, Michelle Obama is heard trying to get Barack Obama’s attention,…
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Figuring out humor/comedy/what’s funny with my kids
This morning we all enjoyed this bit from Sesame Street, one of the greatest examples of entertainment ever put to media – educational, and with humor that appeals to everyone from preschoolers to centegenerians: Ricky Gervais sings Elmo a lullaby Recently, too, on the heels of a sarcastic comment from her mother at the dinner…
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Remembering Marla
I didn’t know Marla Bennett personally, but I’ve gotten to know her mother Linda quite well over my years in San Diego. When the Gilad Shalit deal unfolded, and the “mastermind” of the Hebrew U bombing that killed Marla was said to be included in the list of prisoners to be released, I felt a…
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Public speaking & published writing
My mom recently found my bar-mitzvah speech, written and delivered by my 13-year-old self, Oct. 17, 1982. I’m transcribing it here exactly the way it appears on the yellowed copy I used on the bimah: HONORED RABBIS, GUESTS, FAMILY, AND FRIENDS. In the beginning of the year my mother asked me if I wanted to…
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The Sound of Silence
Can you imagine every radio station in the country going silent for 24 hours? It’s hard, huh? But that is exactly what’s going on in Israel right now, on Yom Kippur. Every frequency, every format, every transmitter – silent. I believe TV is off, too. Really lends itself to making it a meaningfully introspective day,…