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Friday, January 13, 2012

Flowers for our Shabbat Table...DIY style!

A Shabbat custom is to have flowers on your table.  It is a nice one.  We don't do it a lot for various reasons, but I love having flowers.  Our shabbes guests brought us tulips on Friday afternoon.

Here is my arrangement:



The Schweppes Bitter lemon came from my trip to Berlin.  The Gold's Horseradish is a way of turning zayde's favorite condiment into something hip, and the San Pellegrino is one of my favorite "fancy" sodas that is more readily available here in the states.  All are glass bottles.

We got a 2nd bunch of tulips.  My mom gave us this cool disposable Made in Israel vase that comes folded up, called the Vazu.


It is throwaway, which isn't my inclination, but it was pretty handy!


Shabbat shalom!

Shtuff girls say

A few weeks ago, actress Juliette Lewis was in a YouTube viral video (wow, it is over 10 million hits!) , entitled Sh*t Girls Say.  Really funny stuff.  Not quite kosher, but I found it great.





There are a few episodes. Love them all...

Circulating today in the Jewish blogosphere, just before shabbes, is Sh*t Frum Girls Say.  Listen for the Canadian accent, as it reminds me of Kids In The Hall.  Haha "koisel"...




I gotta say, coming from a frum perspective that is good SHTUFF!  (Though I do think the "baruch hashem" could  have flowed better from the tongue.)

Lest you think Frum (observant) Jews are the epicenter of the world, they are not.

Jews are so small in numbers.  Frum Jews?  Even smaller.

The Black girls and Asian girls also have parodies.






.

Mama Tip #2: Become a Creature of Habit With Room to Wiggle

Early this morning, I found myself 10 minutes late to spin class.  Normally I sit in the same area, but I saw a friend with an open seat in her vicinity and was tempted to sit next to her.  I am glad I didn't.  I have my reasons:  it is near the windows, I like to be up front in the mirrors, and it offers more privacy.  It is my makom kavua, or dedicated space, that I return to day after day.

If I succumbed to impulse just to be social, I would have lost out.  Don't get me wrong:  I love to mix it up.  But I would have given up the reasons why I am there in the first place.  And one of those is not to catch up with my girlfriends.  (actually, we did get a chance to chat, but it was after the class, which is the appropriate time and place).   

When it comes to children, routines are essential.  They enable them to thrive and yet getting them to stick to the routine is challenging.  One area where I have been successful due to sticking to consistency with my kinderlach is in clearing the table.  We use the Hebrew word  toranut to refer to clean-up.  When the Wolfman leaves the table with his breakfast dishes still there, I will say simply, "Did you do your toranut?"  Repetition of this question has instilled that he knows it is his responsibility.  When he acts like he doesn't want to do this job, I will ask probing questions such as:  "Is there something you need help with?  Are the dishes too heavy?"  Often, this helps.

There is a time and a place for everything, and routines help us get there.

Pete Seeger captured this  Jewish concept in "Turn, Turn, Turn," a song popularized by the Byrds.  It is based on the Book of Ecclesiastes (which appears in the Old Testament or Tanach).  It is called  Kohelet in Hebrew and is read in synagogue during the holiday of Sukkot, a harvest festival all about changes of the seasons.  As creatures of habit, every year our sukkah has the same look and feel, but the people who come to it bring variety of all stripes.  

I like that.





Mama Tip #1: Let Your Children Pour Their Own Beverages


The Wolfman's Brother is eating his oatmeal with strawberries, a bit of maple syrup and a chocolate syrup drizzle as I type.



If there is one thing that I learned while teaching early childhood with the lovely Original PurpleGirl, it is to use small pitchers for the children so they can pour their own.  Here, we have an Arcoroc glass pitcher you can pick up at Crate and Barrel.

This is the perfect size for small hands, and even my older two (The Wolfman is 6 and Concealed Light is 8) find it useful.

Easier than trying to get them to pour from a gallon container.

And empowering.

Finding the Good Stuff in Lake Placid While on Break from Andover (or Hotchkiss)

My sister, Reba, is confused as to what type of blog this is.

It is a me blog.

And a big part of me is seeking out the good stuff.

I am posting stuff here that I like and hopefully it will all make sense.

We have spent a day in Lake Placid the past couple of years en route to our Adirondack Mountain vacation.  I love the ADKs, having gone to summer camp there.

On Mirror Lake Drive, the main drag in Lake Placid, you are sure to find touristy shops and restaurants.  I believe I found the best one of all, and even on the outside of the store which is called "ADK Outlet" you will not know the goodness unless you go inside.
photo courtesy of the ADK outlet's Facebook page

Awesome oversized patch from ADK Outlet, 2472 Mirror Lake Drive, Lake Placid, NY  12946







There is nothing touristy-cheesy about the ADK Outlet.

Last summer we finally met the proprietor of ADK Outlet.  His name is Tom Dalton.  He played guitar in the store with my children.  He currently has no web site but produces a lot of preppy-inspired reproductions.  Rugbies, felt college banners, vintage-looking college shirts for Syracuse, Michigan and other popular schools.  He himself exudes the prep-school boy ski bum image, though he is well past the school years and is from Upstate New York.  You feel like he is Ralph Lauren (nee Lifshitz)'s long-lost brother. He is doing preppy for cheaper.

Tom lives in China half of the year where his quality goods are produced.  Last summer I purchased some jersey-knit knee-length skirts that I have not found anywhere else.  The quality is is superb.  He embroiders the skirts right on-site.  For those frum readers among you, these are the best comfy "sweatshirt" A-line skirts you will ever find.  They are elastic waist with drawstrings.  They are really the perfect skirt I have been looking for years for.  Colors include:  cobalt blue, black, hunter green, gray.  I sniff a business idea.  Not.

His shop is decorated beautifully with a plethora of vintage collegiate memorabilia including felt pennants, sporting equipment, and Adirondack hiking gear.  If someone blindfolded you and brought you into his store, you would think it was Ralph Lauren.  

This all reminds me that I have never heard "Prep School Hippie" and there isn't even a YouTube since Phish no longer plays it, but here are the lyrics:

Prep school hippie
Or hip school preppie
I can't decide
Should I spend my adolescent days wearing tie dyes or Vuarnets
I can't decide
Big ten kegger at the frat
Or watching Jerry shake his fat

Prep school hippie
Or hip school preppie
I can't decide

I can't wait till I'm 21


Doesn't this give you the hankering to get back to Oak Bluffs?

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Cleaning house

Further to my recent entry on Feng Shui, I am finally able to part with some items from 1st and 2nd grade (late 1970s).




The first are the remnants of my Hello Kitty address book.

My childhood friends in 2nd or 3rd grade.  I only hope that Concealed Light will have really great friends, too. 



My brother's work.  Let's just call him The Goalie





In 2nd grade we did an imaginary trip to Australia with Mrs. Burn.  

We made Koalas stuffed with popcorn kernels.  We cut out the fabric and sewed the koalas.  I remember looking through the travel brochures about Australia and all the kids laughing when we got to the photos of the nude tribal people.  Things were looser back then.









Koala Feeding Instructions





The Koala just hanging out in its box





Here is the Koala, whom I have had since 1980.


Now it's time to say goodbye to my Koala.  He's had a good run.




This is all about tossing away the stuff you don't need in the end, keeping what's important and knowing who is your friend   (go to 2:52)


Purge!

Bat Mitzvah Necklaces

My sister is a phenomonal jewelry designer using semi-precious stones.   These would make great Bat Mitzvah necklaces.  Contact here here at her Etsy store.




Jazzed about Saucony and How to Properly Pronounce that Awesome Sneaker Company Name




These are the Saucony Grid Lightspeed gym shoes which I purchased yesterday at DSW.   Alas, a quick Google search just now doesn't reveal this most awesome color combo anywhere on the Internet.  Just goes to show ya, the Internet isn't the end all be all.

I recently blogged about Nike, and I think they're a great company.  I initially bought, at DSW, a pair of their pretty well-known shoes from their "Free" line, which look similar to the pair above.

I got sucked in to following the herd (since all the cool kids at the gym wear Frees, I wanted a pair, too and also their ad that I linked to in the recent blog entry where talked a bit about Nike, I am confident will agree it is a great advertisement) and not trusting my instinct.  I was a product of being marketed at!

Over the years I have had numerous pairs of Saucony Jazz.  Black, red, navy, green and yellow, etc.  They are, without a doubt, the most comfortable but cool (some can say hipster, that is fine with me) fun sneaker out there.

Anyway, I got home, put on the Nikes and They.Didn't.Feel.Comfortable.

Saucony always, always, always did right by me, so I persuaded DSW to let me use a $5 birthday coupon which I didn't even have with me but didn't use this year.

Oh, and how to pronounce?

SOCK-A-KNEE


Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The Purple Phanatic


With all this recent purple discussion, it was funny to see the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team mascot all decked out in Superhero purple on this children's book I saw at my local 5 and 10 Mapes Store, a real gem and relic if you ask me.  Go there for toys, party supplies, office stuff (not bulk, though, but for hard-to-find items they have it!)




Good thing I didn't buy this book, though, since it cost  $6.31!

I guess that is where licensed products get ya...more pricey.  Call it brand recognition.  Though from this cover you pretty much don't see any Phillies logo branding...

Anyway, that price of $6.31 is cool because if you reverse the last two digits you get $6.13 which is the number of mitzvot there exist in the Torah.

Talk about finding numerology stuff at a 5 and dime store.   Now, that is fitting!

A Mom's Cleanup is a Neverending Story

Just now as I was tucking in the kinderlach, I finally got around to weeding out some of the summer and fall clothes that I inevitably leave lingering in the drawers just in case we get one of those random warm nights in the winter.  Or for that one time we go to the JCC pool, I have not just one but two bathing suits in the drawers.  And rash guards.  Like they're gonna get sunburns indoors in December.  At least I don't have swim diapers hanging around anymore.  Guests who need a diaper because they forgot one?  Sh*t outta luck, pun intended.

All of my mama friends agree that with children, the clothing situation is never-ending.  The switch of seasons.  The new shoes.  The growing kids.  The mismatched socks.  The laundry to be done.  The laundry to be put away.  The missing slipper that you just located behind the other child's bed.  The raincoat.  The winter coat.  The fleece.  The hoody that is too tight.  The dress that bubbe bought that Concealed Light insists on wearing despite being a size too big.  The hangers falling off the closet rod because she is too lazy to get a stepstool to reach.  The ponytail holders that end up all over the house.  And, of course, the clothing left behind on the floor.

But this is all for good reason.

Thank God, my children are healthy.  That is truly the part that matters the most, and I should feel blessed that I have such things to deal with.  I have three healthy children who are fun, engaging, musical, and avid readers.  I need to remind myself that these are all good things and the clothing pile-up is something that all families (usually the moms) need to conquer.

And now, one of Reba Magdalene's favorites.  This was on cable ad naseum and is apropos to this message.


 

 And now I have to get up to the attic to put away the old stuff.

Baby, Let me Follow You Down in the Green Pastures of Harvard University

Read the 4th ad down from the most recent issue of Harvard Magazine.




Dear Livinginthepast 1990:

I hope you find a shidduch for your daughter.

From,
Loony

Dear Reader,

Listen to the Bob Dylan album on which "Baby Let me Follow You Down" appears, including its preface:

"I first heard this from Ric von Schnidt.  He lives in Cambridge.
Ric is a blues guitarplayer.  I met him one day on
the green pastures of the Harvard University."

Those Green pastures now have people placing ads in the Crimson Classifieds for shidduchim.

And now, a Widespread Panic cover of this song.









From,
Loony

Attention Yoganistas, Whatever Happened to Feng Shui?

Back in the 90s, feng shui was all the rage. Riding the subway, I often heard women talking about tossing away the stuff they didn't need in the end. They only kept what was important since this would lead to ultimate streamlining of their space. They knew who was their friend: the perpetual giveaway bag. Feng shui took it to a higher level, and for that I have great respect. Leave it to the Eastern traditions to bring us great wisdom.

 And I ask you why if you open a magazine today, you see nary a reference to feng shui. It is all about the yoga this, the yoga that. Did you know that the great late Shel Silverstein practiced yoga daily? 

Back in the 2002, Stango and I took a monumental trip to Amsterdam.  (1 year anniversary and 30th birthday...so many things went down there that we just don't understand... watch a youthful Jerry looking really great here for some of that good stuff. interestingly the quotation I am looking for is not included in that video, but historic it was so I decided to post it. better look here at Jackie Greene's version, more up-to-date oy, can't find it in that one, either! wow, he looks so much like Dylan! ok, last try with the studio version jump to 1:33 ...and yet everything happens for a reason and therefore things like the Ninja Rebbe, Marc Chagall's fiddler wearing lots of purple and our Anne Frank Haus visit are become more clear now...I do pray to take a monumental trip to Israel for the 10 year follow-up to that).

It was there that I saw a Nike bus stop billboard ad featuring a woman in a yoga position.  The series was entitled "Yoganista."  We saw nary an ad like that back in the states.

(this isn't the same ad campaign, but from another genius product line Nike has out)

Let's not forget about feng shui. I am not going to. This blog will help me clear out some of the childhood relics I can't seem to part with. I am going to keep this one that Grandma Martha framed in 1978 or so, but at least I can share it here:
Want to upload photos of the Koala I made in 2nd grade. Will do soon. Recently, the Coach referenced the PurpleGirl and Cute Indian Girl in this Yoga video. Pretty funny. And here is the song I inferred in the first sentence of this entry : jump to 2:58 for a quick fix of "Theme from the Bottom" oh, one more thing. Didn't feng shui always remind you of Wang Chung? What memories, what memories. PurpleGirl, I doubt you are gonna read thus far, but DIG THE DUDE'S SWEETEST PURPLE TAILS!!! Shaweet, I say!

Is Suzy Greenberg a Cultural Stereotype?

 Suzy Greenberg is the name of a ficticious girl and the title of a classic old-school Phish song.  Without a doubt, she is Jewish.  I think many Phish heads aren't particularly into it because they have heard it so many times or perhaps they aren't impressed with its musicianship.  However, from the moment I first heard this tune, I couldn't help but make the direct connection to Carole Kane's character in Annie Hall.

 It is almost as if the songwriter had this clip in mind when writing Suzy:

please advance to :48



(thank you, Mr. Woody Allen, for creating such iconic Americana on the silver screen)


Here is an old performance of the song:






Some reflections on the lyrics:
  •  Growing up, I was sometimes called "Loony bin"
  • I am not a sociologist, rather an American Studies major (at Brandeis, like Woody Allen's cultural stereotype)
  •  "She's out of her mind and she's not of this earth."  Hmm...I have been told this blog is too Loony.
  • "An artist she may be, but a genius she is not."    I am not an artist, but my sister Reba is. Most definitely not a genius.
  • I might walk the streets like I'm the "queen of the town" only because my Jewish/Hebrew middle name is Malka which means queen. 


Tuesday, January 10, 2012

My family's link to the Joyva folks

My paternal grandparents, Martha and Al, ran a business called Almar Paper and Twine in Brooklyn and then later out of Island Park, NY from the mid '40s until 1972.  Growing up and visiting them in Long Beach in my own youth from the late 70s until his passing in the 90s, my Grandpa Al loved telling me what claimed was the story of how the company came to be called Joyva.

But first, some background.



this image belongs to Joyva and I am putting it here simply for some cultural context.



Grandpa Al grew up with the Radutzky brothers in Brooklyn.  As boys, they played handball and stickball.  When I spoke with my father today to ask how my Grandpa came to barter with them, he said simply,  "they were boyhood friends."  It doesn't get much more clear as that.

Almar supplied Joyva with kraft paper, gum tape, boxes, and other various packing supplies.  In exchange, the Radutzkys told Grandpa Al to take what he'd like:  Halva, sesame candies, and, large 50 gallon bags of popcorn produced for wholesale distribution.   At the beginning of my parents' marriage, my mother recalls  seeing the signature round cylinders of halva in her in-laws fridge in Long Beach

Grandpa Al claimed that the name Joyva came from the heavyness of that huge block of halva.  When lifting it, the Radutzkys would say, "Oy-vey" and repeat it over and over until it morphed into Joyva.  I mean, who in their right mind would buy a candy whose brand was Oy-vey?  Saychel, (intellect, in Yiddish) they had!

Me with Grandma Martha and Grandpa Al, Proprietors of Almar Paper & Twine, Spring 1973


As I was a Journalism student at  Brandeis University at the time, I was skeptical about the truth of this story.  I had a tremendous thirst for consumer knowledge at that time and was in the habit of writing letters of both praise and criticism to companies whose products I used.  I interned in consumer reporting, opened the mail for Joan Hamburg at WOR Radio and covered various consumer stories for Susan Wornick at WCVB-TV in Boston.   I wrote a letter to Joyva requesting clarification.

What I received in response to my letter was a very wonderful, friendly phone call from the senior Radutzky family member who was running the business at the time.  I do not have the original letter nor his response (my mistake for not being a better archivist)  No, he didn't know my Grandpa, didn't recall the family name or business name at all, and no, the company wasn't called Joyva for the reasons I had been told.  (This is not surprising).  The Joyva name camed from a blend of two names of family members (again, I am forgetting what those names were...perhaps Joy and Valeria?  No, surely it was something else.)

Mr. Radutzky was fully entertained by my letter and very appreciative that I reached out.  And the swag.  Oh the swag.  Not only did I get ring jells, but sesame candies, marshmallow twists, and more.  What a mentsch this man is, let me tell you!

You would think the story is over, but it is fully alive and has taken on a new chapter.

While at the Phish shows a couple of weeks ago (when will I move past it?  Oh no, I will never move past Phish, the best in the music business!), I had a full day in the city alone.  Sans children.  Just me, myself and I.  Naturally, Economy Candy was on my list of places to hit up, in addition to lunch at B & H Dairy and Vegetarian Restaurant located at 127 2nd Avenue (if you have been reading carefully in the last week or so you can see why it was meant to be that I attended that restaurant...the location address of 127 being a very special number for me).

Here is the excellent split pea soup I ate:




I lamented how there exists no longer the most amazing Peppermint Park, which was an ice cream parlor with various locations in Manhattan, including one in front of Madison Square Garden where a Chase Bank currently is located.  It is there, before Rangers games, where we would get Joyva ring jells and other candies.

And Gem Spa's prices for ring jells, according to my sister Reba Magdelene, were up to 35 cents a piece!  I hoofed it down to Economy Candy to get my beloved candy (which I tried pushing on PurpleGirl, since they were "purplish" in the middle.  Instead, I picked up a bag of razzles for her since she was looking for a New Year's outfit that day with a lot of dazzle), which ended up costing an average of .18 cents a piece. 
Earlier in the day I was chatting with my jeweler (Stango is buying me a gorgeous ring for our 10th anniversary which just passed) who told me that she is an owner of an Economy Candy t-shirt.  I questioned where she might wear said shirt, and she couldn't quite give an answer.

Somewhere along the way, I wondered if anyone would wear a Joyva t-shirt.  To my knowledge, they don't exist.  Reba said it would be a tight market.  I would only do it with permission, after all, they do own the Trademark design.  I even mentioned a Joyva t shirt idea to Jerry at Economy, and even though he was so busy with the Xmas week crowd, all he had to say a full shrug off of my idea, "but I have an Economy Candy t-shirt."  Like, why would *anyone* want to buy a Joyva shirt?


Because of the iconic image of the Turkish Man With a Moustache!   Everyone but everyone knows this image.  Iconic for us Jews (and non Jews, too, I would imagine, but really for the Jews, us small numbers we are and yet for whatever reason, call it saychel if you want, we manage time and again to churn out the big time).

But, actually, I am not looking to make a Joyva t-shirt. 
Which leads me to putting on my list of things to do:  contact Joyva with my proposal which I have not revealed here because I am not putting out my proprietary ideas on the Internet, despite only having 5 followers and therefore I should think no one is going to see this, and yet I still like to keep my ideas close to the vest.

(note to self:  this is QUITE the good timing...

Talk to us about hosting 100 Years of Joyva!



The NY Food Museum celebrates a century of Brooklyn’s own halvah and candy manufacturer, still family-owned and run after four generations. See giant pillows of sesame honey crunch, perfect oh’s of chocolate coated jellies, and the magical ways of tahini! Tell us your candy stories.


212-966-0191
e: nyfoodmuse@gmail.com )


Might I put in yet another plug for Jade, which is that on 12/31 she was wearing her Turkish hamsa evil eye (which is fully from the Jewish tradition) which looks like this:


you can purchase this at http://www.lakshmicircle.com.au/

Connected on yet another level to the Turkish segula for me that exists in this Joyva story, as I have a business idea that stems from this, and I hope that this will give me the hizuk to see it through


Anyway, I hope you liked my Oy vey story. Big shout out to Elmont, NY where Beth David Cemetery is located along with Grandpa Al and Grandma Martha buried there with about half of New York's grandparents and ancestors.




Is it strange that I recently shared a shabbat dinner table with a Gutterman? (he is dating my sister-in-law's cousin). No, it isn't a strange design because everything happens for a reason..




Monday, January 9, 2012

Tu B'Shevat is coming to Philly

From our melava malka on Saturday night (with Stango and Concealed Light and, if you listen closely, the Wolfman or his brother on percussion which was a plastic bottle):






Here is our Concealed Light yesterday afternoon.






 And then a coupla minutes later she picks up our new melodica.


 
Tune written by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach z'l


Recently, I had the greatest honor to meet the acquaintance of Nigel Savage, founder of Hazon.  He has transformed Jewish philanthropy through his organization.  Hazon wants you to help "create healthier and more sustainable communities in the Jewish world and beyond."  Sue, a new friend of mine who was introduced to the organization through its trademark bike ride, told me that involvement with Hazon has transformed her life.  She recently celebrated her Bat Mitzvah, having previously only a minimal knowledge of the alef-beit.  I met her last summer through the Hazon CSA, thinking it would be a good way to connect with the Jewish community here in Philadelphia.

I invite you to join us for a shmooze at "Taste of Hazon"

(it is a Tu B'Shevat benefit, and by invite I mean you register for yourself.  One day we would love to sponsor a table.  We'll get there.)

February 7, 2012
cocktails at 5:45pm
program and dinner at 6:45pm
National Museum of Jewish History Gala Ballroom
101 South Independent Mall East, Philadelphia



Sunday, January 8, 2012

Loony's prediction and Wedding Shtick with some Phish Shtick

At our shabbes lunch table yesterday, our guests brought up the subject of predictions.  They spoke of all the talk in the air regarding various doomsday theories, that people are talking about the stars and planets aligning, and of one individual who was "nutty and weird" but able to predict occurances on specific dates.

I decided to speak up.

No, things aren't doomed, things are going to bloom!

I decided to throw out the number about which I have recently blogged:  127.

So, I thought, how could I get a date out of 127?  So, I did it like this (in the American date system):  1/27.  I said "January 27th!"  And the guests somewhat got freaked out, "no, please not then, that is our son's bar mitzvah!"

Still, I got the date right on the mark.  And I was saying that my number would point towards a good thing, not a doomsday thing.  But perhaps there was miscommunication.

So I then reworked the date.  How about 12/7.  Something significant will happen on that date.

And this leads me to my Phish prediction.

Let me preface this by stating I never very much got into the statistics element of the Phish scene.  In my newbie years I glanced at various different charts, but I often viewed this hobby more of a guy thing, sort of like how a Fantasy sports afficianado would be interested in statistics.

And here is where my reliance on a combination of actual life experience, gematria (Jewish numerology), being open, and intuition gets me to the date of December 7, 2012.

This date on the Jewish calendar is a Friday.   Nope, my prediction won't happen on a Friday night.  So, in way, you might say, ok, Loony, you are wrong.

Here is where gematria, which is Jewish numerology, comes into the scene.

Just add the number one to that date and you get to December 8, 2012.

That date is my prediction for when Phish will play a gig in the State of Israel.

Perhaps I should end there, but I would like to take this opportunity to offer some background and why I think they will play in Israel.

You should know about the "Stango-Loony Affair," which is Stango's reference to our courtship and marriage, and still applies to this day.

We were married on the 1st night of Chanukah on December 9, 2001.  This holiday is also called the Festival of Lights.  It occurs during the darkest period of the year and each night with each additional candle, greater light is brought into the world.  That we were married on the first night is significant.  I also learned recently that I was born on the day before Chanukah (24 Kislev 5733), which ties into our connection to the light.

This year December 8th is the first night of Chanukah (which as stated above is my Jewish anniversary).

It will our 11th anniversary.

Remember, there is an extra 1 from 127 to 128  (12/7, or December 7th , and 12/8, December 8th)?

Phish is not my religion.  Judaism is.  I am what Stango calls an "ultra unorthodox" Jew.  For all intents and purposes, though, I am pretty well connected to practicing and living traditional Judaism.  I observe shabbat, eat kosher food, and follow laws of Jewish family purity just to start.  I also love the band Phish.  I admire their "remarkable musicianship" which is how Jon Pareles described their talent in last week's NY Times Sunday Arts section.

They are the it band when it comes to rock-n-roll.  Among others, I have seen The Who, The Stones, Robert Plant, and Billy Joel.  Phish is light years ahead.  You just can 't compare.  I happen to really like the jamband vibe.  I recognize that not everyone does.  I feel that Phish plays music amazingly.  I like that they are under the radar, and not highly played on the radio.  They are fun and upbeat.  The music is great.

I recognize communal experience that people love to experience when going to shows, myself included.  I have never met any of the band members, but the symbiotic relationship between them and their fans is quite evident when you observe the scene at a live show.

Back to the gematria, I bring your attention, once again, to the School House Rock tune "Three is a Magic Number."






Here is my original discussion on why I connect to this song.

Ok, so keep in mind that 12/8 is my 11th anniversary.
And it is 1 more than a favorite number 127.
So, go to :46 seconds of the above-listed YouTube.
You will see the Roman numeral for 3 , which is III
And who in the band is a III?   (Trey)
And III is Roman numerals, and in Israel there is a Roman-built amphitheater

Last year, friends of mine who also like Phish went to Israel for a family trip.  I viewed their photos online.  At that point the seed was planted that Phish should play in Israel, and what better place than Caesarea.

More gematria:

Add up 1+2+7, you get 10.
Add that answer, 1+0 you get one.  And that one leads you back to the extra one that got us there in the first place.  And you need that 1 to add to 127 to get to 128 which is the target date I am predicting.  Judasim is based on a One source (and not  a trinity as referred to in the School House Rock song).
Now, take the word "one" and translate it into Hebrew,
you get the word "echad"
take the numeric value of the alef, chet, and daled

alef      1
Chet:  8
Daled:  4

add those up and you get 13.

Which is the age of Bar mitzvah when most American Jew culminate their Jewish education and, unfortunately, miss out on the opportunity to learn about the richness of our heritage.  Don't think standard Hebrew school curriculum includes a unit on gematria.

And there are a lot of those kind of dudes at shows.

There is a famous quotation, "If you will it, it is no dream."

I don't think I am far fetched at all.

When/If Phish plays on the first night of Chanukah such immense light will be distributed there (with the assistance of Chris Kuroda), on a night when in Jewish history light is so powerful and was representative of the saving on the Jewish people from persecution by the Syrian-Greek army.   Stango and I would make every effort to be there, since we take very seriously the implications of getting married on that night.  And since this is a huge dream of mine, that Phish should play in Israel.


Stango dressed up as The Man in the Red Suit at our wedding 1st night of Hanukah  


In a real combination of playfulness and reality and awareness that there is something larger than me working here, I write in complete earnest that this should happen.

Oh, you wanted more wedding photos?
Here ya go!

Stango's got the grooves!
Stango is King of our Wedding, as all Jewish men are at their weddings.  And the brides are the Queens.  It is a beautiful sight to behold, the traditional Jewish wedding.  Learning about it is what inspired me to want to know more about traditional Judaism during college.

After our  chuppah wedding ceremony.  We both broke a glass.  Yep,  Ultra UnOrthodox.
And just 18 months ago, the Ultimate Wedding  Phish Shtick (Reba and Phluffhead/P. Zitty also had a traditional Jewish wedding which many pholks there never saw) with the Nunever in a handmade by Loony frock (I had no clue that people were doing this or that the Phish organization was selling stuff like this), me in Reba's old tour days Care Bears dress that was collecting dust in the attic, and Reba herself being completely entertained, as she well should be at her own wedding.  What a life-long memory!  ~~~Yay yay yay~~~



Lately I have been listening to "New Speedyway Boogie," by the Grateful Dead for which I have Bob Lefsetz to thank for pointing out.    (I think his music analysis is top-notch).

This was very much an under-the-radar song for the Dead, and yet the lyrics ring true in relationship to Phish playing in Israel.

"One way or another, this darkness got to give."

Oh, by the by.  This Uno card was "randomly" in a junk pile in our house this weekend (I have been in a huge organize/clean-up phase).  After the NYE show, PurpleGirl tried pawning off a mini Uno card with the number 8 on it; she was arguing how great it was because it represented infinity.  She's onto something.


Because everything is Uno.


n.b.:  added 1/9/11  I feel compelled to add that when all of these thoughts were happening was last week it was the weekly Torah portion of Vayechi.   I can't go into a full analysis right now, that is what Stango is good for, but in a nutshell:  Jacob (Stango's namesake, actually, no this isn't a joke!) blesses each of his twelve sons which become the 12 tribes, he dies and is brought to the Holy Land, buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron. His son Joseph also dies in Egypt [yes, they both died in Egypt...keep the Dead in Egypt and bring the living fish (the Jewish people) to the Holy Land] but isn't buried in Israel until much later.