More Positive Vibrations

Along the lines of world peace and unity, Rocker T offers a great guitar lesson a number of years ago to friends at the Rainbow Gathering in 2003.

Thanks, Zev, for uploading this beautiful video.

 

Kind of makes you want to read more carefully the side of a Dr. Bronner's bottle of Castille soap.  Just a point of interest that the Bronner family were originally German Jews.  The family name was Heilbronner, and the "Heil' part was dropped as Hitler rose to power.  The reggae connection is for sure there!

We Love You, Iran & Israel & More Rainbows On Earth

I like this...




The world needs more rainbows...

Purple People

This video comes from my friend Pesach, who was recently hired as a Spirit Guide for Spiritual Judaism.  Forget any pretense you might have about what that might mean or look like to you, and just look beyond the barriers because I think this is good stuff.

Two people in my life who I have felt close to both love the color purple.  That would be my friend Mik the Fish and Purple Girl.  I hope they watch this video and like it as much as me.

I love that comparison of am segulah, a whole nation, as a Purple nation, since the Hebrew word for purple is segol.  Pesach is a wise, wise man and I am glad to know him even a little bit.

I also love that my real brother-in-law's name (in Hebrew) is Pesach.

So, what is your take?
Do you think Adam Purple, ultimate squatter gardener, would be into Pesach's message?  I have no idea if he is Jewish, but I don't think that matters.  I think he would like Pesach's vibe and message..

"Blue Sky" Singers Can Reconcile, Embrace the Love and Each Other!

Dickey Betts wrote the song "Blue Sky" for the Allman Brothers Band that is so lovely and sweet, and on this day of love that we don't really celebrate is a good listen.   I used to play this a lot before Stango and I were married, and "borrowed" a CD of his that I had in my possession when we experienced a couple of years' relationship hiatus.

The band just accepted a Lifetime Achievement Grammy award on Sunday without Dickey.   The band fully deserved this award and worked so hard to get there.  Congratulations, Allmans!  It was a true privilege to see you perform at the Beacon Theater.

But the estrangement bothers me. Naturally I speak from the outside.  I know nothing about the interpersonal relationships.  Dickey hasn't played with the Allmans in many years.  Some say Duane was right.  Some say Dickey is right.  I don't know who is right, who is wrong, and maybe everyone is right and everyone is wrong.  Dead or alive (Duane passed away), we can get beyond the differences, no?

Can't the grown men all embrace the love and get past their issues/egos/pride?  Am I too naive to think a bear hug is the cure-all?  Familial estrangement usually runs deep and complicated, but it always hurts me to hear of it.  If we don't start at home, and our own brothers and sisters, our own flesh and blood can't get along, how exactly will we find world peace?

This video is from the good ole' days.
And the music is stellar.



The lyrics, written by Betts:

Walk along the river, sweet lullaby, it just keeps on flowing.
It don't worry 'bout where it's going, no, no.
Don't fly, Mister Blue bird, I'm just walking down the road,
Early morning sunshine tell me all I need to know.

You're my blue sky, you're my sunny day.
Lord, you know it makes me high when you turn your love my way,
Turn your love my way, yeah.

Good old Sunday morning, bells are ringing everywhere.
Going to Carolina, it won't be long and I'll be there.

Wish I could embed the video from Relix that shows the entire acceptance speech, but I can't figure it out so I present instead this news piece covering the event:

 


Time to go embrace the loved ones and give Stango a thank-you hug for introducing this into my sphere back in the day. 

Don't Be Shy If You Want World Unity

I'm getting back onto my Harold and Maude kick lately.  I don't care what is out there about Cat Stevens from the past.  I don't care about the current politics.  What is in a name, anyway.  Break down the barriers and just have lots of love, love, love.  Yusuf Islam still believes the same message:  peace.  We'll get there.


 


There is much to be learned from Ruth Gordon's character in Harold and Maude. And we have Cat to thanks for writing those words.


 


 So, go ahead, do some cartwheels and have lots of fun.

I'm going to the gym.

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.

Me Gustas Tu to Ahava

We just came across this lovely piece by Manu Chao, which we think promotes world unity through love.



If you haven't heard this beautiful Israeli song called Yachad - Shir La'Ahava by Gaya Band & Din Din Aviv, which is a song of love, together, heart to heart, you should.

We think this one is also universal...



Shabbat Shalom to the Ganse Mishpucha!