Everything happens for a reason. A cultural commentary with a lotta rock-n-roll, semitism, and parenting. See our Etsy Shop! Buy HeadyBands, Hoodies and more at www.wholephamily.etsy.com
For all you fellow music-loving fans, NYE means only one thing: a great show of live music. Just seeing those three letters together in allcaps gets the salivating glands working. Before I got into the scene, New Year's Eve was nothing special. I'd watch the ball drop or go to a party. But when it turned into NYE I was hooked. No video does it justice but if you want a glimmer of a glimpse, see if you can gain some experience here: Most music shows would end it right there.. But after that huge display of fun and festivity there is a whole.other.set.of.music that gets played. What can I say? Phish is just beyond beyond beyond amazeballs. I love them. But it's actually a New Year's right now! It is the Hebrew date of the 20th of Kislev, and just yesterday was what was called Yud Tes Kislev (Yud tet), or the 19th of Kislev. It is marked as the New Year or birth of... Chassidus. Chassidic thought is said to been born on this date - released to the world that is -- in 1772. I might be confusing some things here, so I immediately direct you to read more about it at Chabad.org On that date is when the Baal Shem Tov (the founder of Chassidus...he went out and sang about being Jewish from a soulful place and was joyful and also travelled from town to town at a time when there was great poverty in the shtetls. He taught that just being Jewish is the essence and you need not be scholarly to be relavent and valid and make a difference in the world) 's disciple the Maggid of Mezritch (Rabbi DovBer) was, as they say "returned to his maker." 26 years later it is the same date when the founder of Chabad Chassidus, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, was freed from his imprisonment in Russia. So glad this is not a term paper. My writing needs some buffing and brushing. But you guys get my drift? It's a really big day. A holiday. A yomtov. My friend said she dressed her children up today in their fancy yomtov clothes. How fun. I went to a Fabrengen tonight for women. I learned that the time in between the 19th and 20th of Kislev is exactly when the most recent Lubavitcher Rebbe also did his fabrengen. Part of the connectivity here on a personal level is my birthday is at the end of Kislev as well as my wedding anniversary. It's a time when we are able to give each other blessings that hold lots of power and strength. So I bless you all that you should get everything you need in life. Kislev is the month of light. At a time when the month is darkest. Go to 9:27 here and you will see a great performance of the song Light. It is just so so so beautiful. I know you think if you're not a Phish person you don't get it. But this is just a gorgeous song. It's a teaching in and of itself. Who needs this blog when you have Phish lyrics?
Obstacles are stepping-stones That guide us to our goals Fences are filters That purify our souls It is Chanukah soon after all!!
The best antidote to pretty much anything is seeing the bright side of things. As you all know, I have taken a hiatus from this blog to focus on the commercial side of Whole Phamily. Gotta pay the bills, ya know?
We have sold many headybands over the past few months. Remember those?
For the Deadheads:
For the Cactusheads:
For the Fishmandonutheads:
Some toddler hoodies, too, that my sweetest most talented tween rager whips up in a jiffy.
And we have been working on our Fishman Donut kippot.
So when some folks on Instagram, when they saw the photo of samples for the kippot, had negative things to say about them, I insisted on keeping it positive. One person said "Stolen idea." Another said "damn guys...late to the party...this has been done." Even when I showed the haters the photo of my prototypes from last year, before their friend sold out their version of Phish kippot (which were the large satin temple-style yarmulkas) over Labor Day weekend, I was still received with negativity.
Social media can really bite!
Still, positive energy prevails. My styles are different, anyway. There is space for all types in this very small world. And my friends who I am selling the samples to are all very positive and think it's great what I have done.
My friend Josh (there are so many good Josh's out there) said just keep on doing what I am doing and ignore the haters.
I don't really think I will be venturing past the samples, anyway.
Life is too busy with other stuff.
Like catching up on all the Phish I missed. Lately I have been listening to shows from 1994.
This is a great watch
Admittedly, this is all pretty light stuff. I am so grateful for all that I have. I am blessed. Healthy children, bh, food on the table, and probably too much food at that, bills paid, bh, first time homeowners, we give tzedakah, all the basic life needs are taken care of, children have the blessing of Jewish day school and afterschools, college loans are paid off, we get to go out and do fun things together, we see live music, and life is good.
"Let your life proceed at its own design." This is a great idea, mantra, whatever you want to call it.
No, Phish did not say that. Remember, this is *not* just a Phish blog!
Rather than looking in the past and wishing things could have been different (like I should have gone to see the Dead in 1988 and Phish in 1989 when I saw kids wearing their t-shirts in my high school parking lot, or back in 1996 when I kept thinking I should have gone to yeshiva high school), just live in the present and enjoy what you have.
Everyone has their own journey. We all come to things when we're ready for them. I believe that everything happens for a reason. There is a grand master plan for each of us in our own lives. We can create our present and plan for the future. But regretting what we did or didn't do in the past isn't really all that helpful. That's part of staying positive.
Your comments and replies are welcome. Part of the reason I am not here so often is I don't hear back from many of you. Also, because I gotta earn some bucks with my heady merch.
First and foremost: We are now selling the original HeadyBand. $15 plus shipping. Buy yours now from our Etsy shop! There's even a coupon code for 10% off down below. Gotta keep reading!
Many of my readers asked what happened to my blog. Gone, poof. No more Loony on Whole Phamily. It is true I left no message here regarding my whereabouts, and for that I apologize. However, most of my readers are people I actually know. So, I have had the good fortune of being able, IRL (that's "in real life" for most of the senior citizens reading, however that likely excludes my mother's friend Rachel and my mother in law who are both impressively Internet-savvy and both of whom I think read my blog), to tell you I am alive and well and selling my wares online. At long last, here is the official announcement on the blog.
Last fall I shifted my energies towards the commercial side of Whole Phamily. Together with Concealed Light, I opened our Etsy shop, where we have made a bunch of sales. We started our Instagram presence, where we are proud to have 1,585 followers to date. This is a modest beginning, but it's a start.
While I love writing this blog, I also wanted to earn money while contributing to the music community that I love so much. This blog didn't fill that need.
I already sometimes wore headbands at the gym to keep the wispy hairs out of the way. I owned a 1970s-style Phish terry headband, but my friend Stef said I could not under any circumstance wear that to the gym. Sure, Phil Lesh, the bass player of the Grateful Dead, could pull it off in the 80s, but not a busy mama striving for even a small semblance of contemporary fashion-fowardness.
HeadyBands are moisture-wicking headbands in patterns that fans of this music know and love. I wanted to wear my pride for this subculture at the gym, but not on a t-shirt.
I know. I know. It's a great name. Thanks for the compliment. The whole shebang isn't copyrighted or trademarked. So Sue Me! Yes, I understand the importance of Intellectual Property. Some of my favorite former clients are Intellectual Property attorneys. Catch my drift?
The name of what this is - pretty good. But you think I am actually gonna break the bank with this idea? Kein yeHi Ratzon, as the pious Jews pray. May it be your Will, oh G-d and G-d of my foremothers and forefathers, that these HeadyBands should touch the lives of every single soul who needs them, that they bring much mazal, parnasa, segulah and "all good things in all good time"!
And even though I write a lot of Jewish/Hebrew stuff there, HeadyBands are meant for the masses. This is just my frame of reference: the Jewish thing. So, if you, dear reader, were lost with those Hebrew phrases, fear not. It's all good.
Did you want to hear more about the HeadyBand? Ok!
Since I live a committed Jewish life, some people think that HeadyBands are intended for the observant Jewish woman in the Orthodox style. If you want to think that, be my guest. I was actually inspired by the hippy chicks who love wearing bandanas and headbands at shows. But it would certainly work well with a fall (a half-head wig). Attention heady frum mamas (a very small subset of the observant Jewish world): these headybands are for you!
We're not just about HeadyBands, either.
On our Etsy shop, Concealed Light is making and selling hoodies in similar patterns, as well as in patterns of matryushka dolls and rainbows. At 11 years old, she is a skilled sewer and I am so proud to partner with her. I commend this bright shining tween on all of her hard work. Expect to see absolutely incredible things from her as she grows. We have sold quite a few hoodies for the babies and toddlers in this sphere. Great job, my sweet, talented, skilled, bright firstborn child! (it's my blog and I can give her praise here if I want!)
Whole Phamily infant and toddler hoodies are $25 plus shipping.
In case you haven't heard, the Grateful Dead is performing their very last shows together this summer, their 50th anniversary. Jerry Garcia is long gone in the physical world, but his soul is long remembered . The songs that he and Robert Hunter wrote were truly built to last. Pete Shapiro is a modern-day Bill Graham (both Jewish men, I might add) and promoting these shows in Santa Clara, CA and Chicago. They even got Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio to play the "Jerry part." Not too shabby in my mind.
I believe in conPHergence, unity, setting aside differences and just listening to the good music. Because both the Dead and Phish produce(d) great great great music.
And I am so so so grateful to have been turned on to this music and the scene. I connect to its nuggets of goodness, light, and joy. Like so many others who have come before me, I find deep meaning in the music, lyrics, and greater community.
So, it's a big year for Deadheads. Fare Thee Well, as it were. And I'm not missing the bus stop this time.
A big year for getting out the good products.
And the good product is The HeadyBand!
It took me a while, but I feel truly blessed to have tuned in and turned on. In this regard, I am actually talking about the music of the Dead and Phish (yes, blasphemy to say in one breath according to some!) as well as my rich ancient heritage which is as alive and relevant as ever. My wish is for these worlds to continue to thrive in a positive way to make the world a better place. And rather than dropping out, I will hope to continue to connect and at least try to walk the walk of society. Because being part of community is important.
You've got the Do Rey I've got the Me.
Try throwing that one around a board room table at Goldman Sachs.
Then again, who am I to say it hasn't been done by an erudite, educated, of-the-people chassid in the past.
I feel fortunate that I came up with the HeadyBand, and hope that you'll wish us luck, spread the word, and, heck, even buy one or two from us. I would rather sell out before I hit the Windy City, though it will be fun to push our wares on the streets when we get there. Chicago is going to be overrun with Deadheads. It will be FUN FUN FUN!
If you've read thus far, in our Etsy shop, use the Code RambleOnLoony at checkout for 10% off your total purchase. Thanks in advance for your support!
