The Bad Mama Jama Looks Up and Sighs

Who is Carl Carlton?  And I always thought this tune was good ole Stevie.

I have waited for the time when I can finally say that this has all been wonderful and now I am on my way back to spin class!  It keeps me culturally-current.  When there is a good playlist, naturally.

Later in spin class, I heard another tune that I thought sounded familiar.  It's a catchy tune, but Ray Charles' "I've Got a Woman" drips misogyny.  It's not like I went to Wellesley or Smith, but I still have a heavy dose of feminist self-respect.   Stango said he never thought much about the lyrics.  Um, really?

Turns out the tune I was listening to in spin was a Kanye one, "Goldigger," which sampled the earlier Charles' tune.  Oy.  Can we say 21st century misogyny.  And even worse!  But at least now I can say I know a Kanye song.  Having read about him for years in all of my publications that keep me up to date, I finally recognize a tune of his.

I love Jamie Foxx the actor (loved Django Unchained) so at least that helps me deal with the fact that I posted a video like that on my blog.

Moving on in spin...

Bet you've never heard of the band called The Time. Neither had I. (well, not you Uncle Goalie I am sure you have).  My guess was they were probably a one-hit wonder.  But you have heard of Prince and he produced this tune.   The Time is close with Prince.  Any kid of the 80s has heard their tune Jungle Love.  Now this would be a fantastic new tune for Phish to cover!  Bring out that funk I tell ya.  And we all know how much Phish phans love Prince.




Enjoy that YouTube while you can.  We all know how private and protective Prince is.  That YouTube won't last long is my guess.

"Ice Cream Castle," the album on which Jungle Love appears, came out right around the time of Prince's "Purple Rain."  And we know how much the Phish world loves that album.  A lot.  It speaks right to that community.

Prince is truly a prince.  Has he met Winterqueen yet?

All Hallow's Eve

Everyone's gearing up for the big night this week on October 31st, and my neighborhood is no exception.  I don't remember this many Halloween decorations when I was growing up, do you?

This blog post documents the variety of decorations in my neighborhood, but I have a deeper question.  Some are cute and some are scary.  I live in a highly Jewish neighborhood, though we have mixed in all types of diversity.  Statement for the record:  I am Jewish and grew up trick or treating.  I loved it.  We never viewed it as a non Jewish thing to do; it's a holiday for all American kids!  How kosher is it to hang Halloween decorations?

I am not the kosher police. I have disdain for authority (save firefighters whom I respect and adore.  Ya gotta love a guy who cooks, saves lives and looks totally gorgeous in those uniforms)  as you may all well know.   But I am grateful that I have learned that Halloween actually isn't a Jewish holiday.  Historically it was a time when pogroms happened and people went out to hunt down the Jews, but I think most American Jews think it is fine to celebrate Halloween.

We're not getting hunted down today here in the suburbs, people argue!  And we love candy!

There are so many holidays on our Jewish calendar that we celebrate.  We aren't lacking for festivities and fun.  And you know Stango and I love partying.  To be in the spirit of our neighborhood we give candy so we can help them celebrate "their" holiday, but we dress up on Purim as "our" dress up holiday.  A lot of our friends do it this way in America, at least our real chevre (group of friends) whom we miss dearly.

Folks love decorating their yards for holidays, and my guess is that the Jewish families have finally found a way to outwardly decorate for a holiday that doesn't seem overtly non Jewish.  No one would put up xmas lights if they affiliate Jewishly in any way, but Halloween?  Seems like an easy pass.

I'm not so sure, but I did have fun this morning while finally out with the jogging stroller and capturing the variety of ways people decorate.

This one is cute and fun

Not scary.  Also fun for kids.

I like the Raggedy Ann & Andy influence.  These are cute and friendly.

Love these pumpkin theme leaf bags which my mom always said were the way Mr. Ben Zinbarg's made a fortune in the 1980s.  He was a successful business man in our town.  His daughter Joyce babysat me when I was very young.

This house goes all out and I've seen their hired help/gardeners putting up their decorations.  When did purple fall into the mix of Halloween colors?

Starting to get scarier with the whole death idea (RIP) and skeletons.  Halloween isn't a cozy holiday!

At least this house isn't pretending:  let's use xmas tinsel balls/ornaments that are marketed in Halloween colors.

Totally scary.  What children really like this?  I don't like the message of scaring kids.  I went into a haunted house at our local Congregational church when I was little and I was really scared.  No thank you.

Can we say totally into it?  At least in our 'hood it still has a tasteful home in the background.  In some neighborhoods where stucco and aluminum siding are standard, this would be the piece de resistance  of tacky.   

Now, here's a nice way to show your autumnal spirit.  Sure, the mums don't last from season to season, but it's friendly and welcoming and all about LIFE not death.  But I guess kids aren't as into it...

Like my mom, I decorate for Thanksgiving. As a native New Englander I get all warm and fuzzy over the changing leaves and the crisp fall air.  It's also my birthday in the fall, so I have even more reason to love the season.  I found this cute Pilgrim boy and Native American child in my local card shop.  We had decorations like this when I was growing up.  

You could get into the whole Native American argument and stealing the land away from them, but that's for another blog post.  There's no argument that this is not a holiday for all people (wait...do native Americans eat turkey?)  Its very roots lie in democracy and freedom for all (wait, the Indians were forced onto reservations!).  "Over the River and Through the Woods" is a Thanksgiving song that I loved learning in 1st grade.  In Jewish Day School, thank you very much.  

There are many observant Jews who make no big deal of Thanksgiving.  I understand where they're coming from:  with Shabbes every week and just recovering from yomtov burnout earlier in the fall, who needs another festive meal?  I know of people who will volunteer their time on Thanksgiving day in a food pantry to infuse meaning into the day (sans festive meal). 

You'd think we were Halloween people with our assortment of pumpkins outside, too.  What can I say?  I took my children over the weekend to our local park's Fall event with pumpkin decorating.  I plan to cut up these sugar pumpkins and cook with them next week.  

All Hallow's Eve is all about the boo and scare and the rotten eggs and the smashed mailboxes.  It's cute to have kids all dressed up, but at its root is darkness and evil.  They even bastardize wicca and take witch imagery and mess it all up.

Valentine's Day, on the other hand...now that's all good candy and roses.  Somehow, Tu B'Av, the Jewish love day, doesn't match up.

And for all of these reasons I look forward to spending a couple of years in Israel with my crew.  Apple cider donuts, hayrides, and fun-sized twix bars will be sorely missed.

BDE Lou Reed RIP: Our Lives Were Saved by Rock n Roll

The rock music world lost one of its icons this weekend.  Lou Reed was 71 and passed away from complications of liver disease.  He was famously the lead singer of the Velvet Underground.  I knew his tune "Walk on the Wild Side" just as much as any other high school kid in the '80s who listened to classic rock radio.  But it was only later in life that one tune of his in particular spoke to me.

Ask any Phish head and they will likely agree that their cover of Reed's "Rock and Roll" is a winner.  My family didn't precisely live out the suburban caricature he depicts in the song, but we were supposed to.  We had one Cadillac car which I never liked.  I didn't turn on the radio when I was 5 years old, but later in life I danced to plenty of rock n roll stations.   When I was five I was dancing in the living room to "A Chorus Line" soundtrack with my friend Julie from up the street.

There is nothing finer than experiencing this tune live, and I'm so grateful for it.

Here's Phish covering the tune at their "It" festival in Limestone, Maine in Summer of 2003

As I told Bob Lefsetz this morning, Lou was also a Yid, so when a Jewish person passes away we say Baruch Dayan haEmet:  blessed is the ruler of truth.   The Jewish way of saying rest in peace.  May his soul journey from this world to the next in the most peaceful and blessed way.  I read that Lou didn't consider himself Jewish, but that rock n roll was his religion.  I hear where he's coming from:  my guess is he never found a way to converge the two worlds.  But that's where we must be headed, folks, because there is no other way than going towards the light.  Gleaning the good from both worlds.  Just ask the Nunever in this year's upcoming Blues for Challah and he can tell you all about it!

Thank you Lou Reed for your words, your music, your soul.

Now, if Phish would only play this again tomorrow night in Reading when I attend my only show of Fall Tour!  Doubtful...

Baby gifts galore. Sussudio!

Further to a new baby in the house, I love getting gifts.  There is a reason that the idiom "it's the thought that counts" is long-living.  That someone took the time to set aside something for baby Eddie, no matter the item, touches my emotions.  It shows that they care.  The simple act of giving a gift, whether homemade or Jonathan Adler hippy couture, is the essence.  

People have a lot of gifts to give, and it gets pricey, especially when you live amongst folks who have (k'h), many beautiful communal life cycle events to celebrate.  People can't keep spending money when they have multiple brisses, weddings and bar mitzvahs a month.  So they do what we all know happens in the dark recesses of home offices across the country:  they regift.

No jacket gift receipt required.

I am the first to admit that I regift items, but with baby things another alternative is to make a personalized, handmade gift.  And you don't have to be a Picasso.

I am not a great artist.  But I can hold my own with a glue gun and paint pen.  I realize this isn't for everyone.  And not everyone has the time; who does!  But if you can swing it, most moms I know love something that says their baby's name on it.  Especially when you already have all the baby gear you need.   Who needs  another plastic baby toy? 

Here are some works in progress.  They are personalized plastic storage boxes.  You might know these babies, or better yet, you might be the recipient of one of these gifts.  If so, I hope I didn't ruin the surprise.  These boxes still need some silver accents added. 

Look how cooperative Eddie was!

Oh, and my first concert ever?  Genesis at the Hartford Colosseum.  I sat with Jodi Fisher.  We went with the JCC youth group.

Nostalgia for No Sugar Cereals Under a Curtain

My mom wasn't a health nut growing up but as a general rule she didn't buy sugar cereal save for one memorable incident involving my little sister, Reba, and Rainbow Brite cereal.  Don't get me wrong:  I do have memories of a Cap'n Crunch here and a Cocoa Pebble there but for the most part we had "healthier" options like Special K, Cheerios and Crispix. I put that word in quotes because we all now know those cereals still have plenty of sugar.  I don't buy those cereals for my own children, as they are being reared on organic this and Trader Joe's that.

Still, I am nostalgic.  So when I saw this display of retro cereal packaging in Target this morning it brought me right back to 1979.

Even though we didn't get Count Chocula or Boo Boo Berries in my house, I loved watching the commercials and got all warm and fuzzy when I saw these images.  I had a very happy childhood and please me have no regrets that I didn't get to eat this dreck.  Like my mom, I won't buy these cereals for my children.  That they weren't kosher then nor aren't kosher now is also a reason to avoid purchasing them, but just as important, they are junk for the body and soul.

Lest you think I shun this stuff fully, time to reconsider.  All this chit chat of sugar cereals doesn't preclude my children from eating Whole Foods' brand of sweetened chocolate rice cereal on Sunday mornings.   

And now behind Curtain #1, straight from the baby's mouth...

Meltdown Time...Wolfman Wolverine Spins Light Poi!

We didn't let a little Wolfman's Brother meltdown get us down this past Saturday night.  Fall Tour is upon us and with The Nunever in town and for his first visit ever meeting Eddie, we purchased the webcast for the Saturday night show.  There is no finer melava malka that I can imagine.

I love that the Hampton Coliseum, where the 1st three shows of the tour took place, is known colloquially as "The Mothership."  Because here we were, in our own house, me being totally the mama and in our own mothership (i.e. our unfinished basement).  I have never seen a show at The Mothership, and I look forward to when my brother in law visits (that would be Reba's husband, who I once referred to as Fluffhead here but I don't think Reba liked that so I will just call him Pesach as that is his Jewish name) he will be bringing me his hard drive so I can copy a show that the Dead did in this same venue in 1989 which many people hold in high regard.  (shoulda woulda coulda that was my senior year of high school why didn't I go down to Hampton then and see this seminal under-the-radar show not even performed by The Grateful Dead but a band that billed themselves as Formerly the Warlocks but everyone knew they were the Dead!?!?  Regret vent of the day complete)

Until then, enjoy a sample from our evening on Saturday night.  It's tough to get through the Wolfman Brother's kvetching, but wait till you see the Wolfman  himself, a total wook and awesome poi spinner.  That kid's gonna shine on Shakedown one day.  And when that day comes, I will kvell like only a heimish hippy chick mama can.

My Sweetest Little Boogie

Thank god mothers have instilled in them the maternal instinct. We love our babies so much no matter what.  This afternoon I wanted to get supper prepped meanwhile Eddie was kvetching away.  He just fell asleep in my arms after waking up from a 8 minute nap in the crib.  I hope this means a good nap at home.

And I gotta say I love his tiny boogies.  Just love 'em.  And I can see one right now from my vantage point.  Unfortunately my finger isn't small enough to fit into his tiny nostril to get it out and play with it like a little toy from Woolworth (ok I have entered the 21st Century.  Target.  Ya happy now?).  Not even my pinkie works. But ahh the satisfaction of getting out that boogie is bar none. 

Is this not the cutest boogie? Ok ok I admit I am the mother and if anyone is gonna think this is cute, it is me. I remember seeing a photo of my brother Uncle Goalie from around this age (10 weeks) and thinking he wasn't all that cute.  But I will bet my mom thought he was.

Recently people have been mistaking Eddie for a girl. I'm good with that. Maybe it is his luscious lashes. Here is a more flattering photo that features this ocular accent. 

What a blessing to have this sweet angel of a sleeping baby!  Now maybe I will prep my shirt for the upcoming Hazon Philly Food Festival on Sunday. Forget about prepping supper.

Introducing my Baby...Eddie

For the first time ever, I introduce to you my baby Eddie*.  Here he is, about 10 1/2 weeks old.  We arrived home yesterday to Stango playing guitar out on the front stoop.  And supper was all warmed up, too!  Made it a lot easier getting home at 6pm.  Thanks, Stango!




(yes I gotta take the videos horizontal not vertical:  I keep forgetting!)

*Eddie's name has been changed to protect his identity.  Short little story on how he got this name:  My sister Reba thought he looks a little bit Filipino.  So, Concealed Light quickly looked up what Filipino children  looked like in her book of International families called Children Just Like Me, complete with photos of the families (it's a great Unicef/DK Publishing collaboration of a book).  She quickly surmised he was definitely not as dark as the brothers featured with the family.  But there could be a resemblance.  The boys names are Edgar and Edwin.  So I said let's call him Eddie for Whole Phamily.

Purge mode

Part of why I love this blog is that it helps me be ok with purging sentimental items. I just found this pillow my Grandma Martha made for me somewhere around 1980 or so.  It was all smooshed inside my closet. Not like I was using it   I even asked Reba if she wanted it.  Her reply was , "aw too bad it has a hole in it."  

I value my sister's opinion about stuff like this.

And I am not even putting it in a giveaway bag.

Straight into the garbage it shall go.

Thanks Grandma Martha, I really loved making my bed with the heart pillow right in the middle!

Got Brothers? I've Got Chills!

You're thinking I'm all spoofin' the Got Milk? campaign.

Nope.

More like the Gat Brothers.  Arye and Gil Gat to be specific.  The guys who I spotted, like many others, back in the spring, and was searching for them to resurface.

The Nunever, praised be he and thank you for the kesher as always, sent me the link to the other day's post referencing the Gat's recent Jerusalem street performances of Pink Floyd's "Shine on you Crazy Diamond" and Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven."

And now we see then surface on the Israel reality tv show "Rising Star" ("Kochav haBa") which I guess must be similar to American Idol, just a few days ago.  Currently this YouTube video is at 20,404 hits.




My prediction?

The Gats go Viral.

However my other prediction didn't come true so I don't think I would trust my predictions.  I'm kinda like The Mighty Wind of predictions.  Meaning it's not coming true.  Shoot, this whole blog could be a Christopher Guest/Harry Shearer mockublog.  Not.  Best In Show this is not.

Remember!  Like 'em?  Email 'em at BreslevBrothers@gmail.com

My girl friend here I will for all intents and purposes call Blondie (not her real name, but it really fits for so many reasons) saw the link of the Gats and she told me she had "chills." upon watching it.  I consider her opinion highly because she knows good music.

And so I thought of Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in a seminal movie from my childhood.