Moonrise Kingdom, Yes I Love Wes Anderson

My writing skills and ability to express myself could never, ever give proper way to a discussion of Moonrise Kingdom.  They say it's not good to start in the negative.  So let me start over.

The newest film by Director Wes Anderson is yet again a perfect world of great design, conversation, sound, music, placement.

Just watch the  trailer!

 


This is good.  This is very, very good.  I love you, Wes Anderson.  Well, not really you as a person.  I don't know you.  But I love Wes Anderson.  I love him, yes I do.  But I don't know you.

I love your movies.  I love them a lot.  I love them like all of your disciples love them.  The style.  The music.  The dialogue.  The message.  The story-line.  The clothing.  The imagery.

I love it/you like the way I love wide wale corduroy on men who listen to the Kinks.

And Charles and Ray Eames.

But I really love my husband who is accompanying me to Mountain Jam this weekend since I really want to go.  This will be such a good thing for our whole family.

Heading to the Mountain

While all of my observant Jewish friends are still popping their Lactaid pills after last week's dairy-laden Shavuot holiday, I am packing for the next adventure.  We reenacted going up to that humblest of mountains, Mount Sinai, where we received our holy Torah thousands of years ago.  All the while eating a lot of blintzes.

The journey to another mountain continues, this time to Mountain Jam at Hunter Mountian, New York.  My family which as you know include my husband Stango and our children Concealed Light, The Wolfman, and the Wolfman's Brother, has been long-looking forward to this weekend-long music festival.  So much so that we temporarily suspending cleaning help to save funds for tickets.

I'll be experiencing first-hand a music festival with three children under the age of 10 in tow.  We are camping on the grounds and shlepping everything up the mountain by Radio-Flyer cart.  Stango and I have never camped at a music festival together, so this is all new territory.  But since live music is the one thing we simply love to experience together, what could be better as a family outing?  The kids want us to take them to music that we like, but the shows all run too late and aren't kid-friendly.  Mountain Jam is different.   Lucky for us that we also have an extended network of friends to enjoy the weekend with.  The Nunever is coming, and he has graciously offered to wear my new Whole Phamily t-shirt.  Delights such as Awareness Village, Karma Wash and an entire area dedicated to family activities await.

Hopefully my experience as a mama bringing her children to their first music festival will not only be recorded here.  Time will only tell.

See you on the mountain!

Just One Word: Proteins. There's a Great Allergenic Future in Proteins

We are all scratching our heads...why are there so many more allergies among kids today than there were when we were little?

Remember when Dustin Hoffman is told, in the movie The Graduate, the one word, the future in business is  PLASTICS?

Well, my dear friend, I bring you the future of today, and when it comes to food allergies, it is the one.  The only:

PROTEINS

Check out self-described type-A personality, former food industry Wall Street analyst Robyn O'Brien's brilliant talk at last year's TedX Austin.

 

Her organization, Allergy Kids Foundation, is making great strides to help protect American families from the additives in our food supply.

Even Erin Brockovitch is cheering her on.

If it takes a polished, professional, educated, smart, savvy, communicative, organized, type-A personality woman to get the message across to our country's citizens (rather than a grassrootsy type...ahem, in the words of Miss Piggy, moí?), so be it.





Shhh...nuf said.

That's a deal.

Mama's Night Out

Stango and I got to hear some music over the weekend.  A local Connecticut band, the Juicy Grapes, were playing at the Acoustic Cafe in Bridgeport, Connecticut.  Back in high school I didn't get out to this type of activity, so it was like I was having the night I never had in 1989.  Lots of fun.  In between sets my kind of music was playing on the speakers, and it was all good.

This was a set list for a different band

Love the smart logos...though the other women there didn't know about Lululemon.  I guess this could be a generic omega and not a rip on the famous yoga clothing brand logo

A running music-head rabbit with a guitar.

Does this mean I can't display the cute logo from the cafe table (bunny rabbit above) on my blog? 

When I'm 64...Happy B-Day Israel!

Am I really the only person out there who thought of this?  Happy Birthday to Israel, who turns 64 today.  Happy Israel Independence Day!





Would love to get back there.  It has been since 1997 for me.

What's that?  Did I hear that Phish is playing their first shows there this year on December 8, 2012?  Before you get all over your Phantasy Tour with that, I will take credit for all the out-there reasons I came up with.  Just please remember to add me to the crew.

Mama's gotta dream.  Isn't there something about vision boards and affirmations that people are all into?

Yom Ha'Atzmaut Sameach, people.

Loving the Early Childhood drop off

It is so easy to forget how sweet and innocent the 4s and 5s are.  Just now at drop off, I reminded my youngest, The Wolfman's Brother, to enjoy his day in preschool as a four year old.  He looked at me with that creeping 5 year old just around the corner look of, "c'mon, mama, don't embarras me now." How does he know that already?

The early years slip away too fast.  Like Ferris said, if we don't stop to look around every once in a while, we could miss it.

My 4 year old will soon be 5, and that babyness (yep, he is the youngest, which compounds this burst of sentimentality) is quickly melting away.  It is so bittersweet.  What could be better than a morning of duplos followed by starting a school garden?

Gotta eat it up while I can.

The Pity Post

There comes a time in every mom bloggers blog-of-a-life where she is granted the opportunity to bitch and moan*.  In honor of my 188th post, I hereby grant you a peak at some of my current grievances.  Keep in mind I haven't bitched much here at all.  The whole point of the Whole Phamily is to seek out the good.  But I felt it high time to let out a barbaric yawp, bloggy-style.

I think it all boils down to a few (ahem, um, I meant 20)  key points, which are, in no particular order:

1. lack of focus.
2. more fun to procrastinate.
3. my writing sucks balls.
4. I go on and freakin' on.  And on and on and on.  Point well taken:  there are too many bullet points here for any reader to follow.
5. Other Women have it better.  Who are these Other Women?  Mom bloggers who know more than me, successful women, ivy-educated women who market themselves well, community college grads who market themselves well, 13 year olds who market themselves well (oh, wait, that is a boy), socialites who haven't dipped into the bowl of botox yet, self-proclaimed type A personality women.
6. Along the lines of #5, I am neither a hard worker nor come from money.  I'm so screwed.
7. Making lemonade out of the proverbial lemon is too hard.
8. I have good things to say and I think no one will ever listen (aside from you, dear reader who is one of my 20 or so loyal ones).  
9. I'd rather be dancing at a Phish show.
10. I'd rather be dancing at a Dead show (oh, wait, Jerry is dead).  Still, no one is comping my tix or putting me on any guest lists for any shows that I know of.
11. I'd rather be dancing.  Thank you, Capezio.
12. I want it now (along the lines of Veruca Salt, but I don't want to go down as a bad egg).
13. Easier to live vicariously through other people (similar to #5).
14. Too hard to create my own, but...
15. ...I'm too opinionated to keep my mouth shut.
16. Want someone else to do the work for me.
17. Still not a Skinny Bitch.  You thought I wasn't a bitch?  My nickname at age 6 was crab, but I hide the shell and claws well.
18. Still not just plain ole' skinny.  Don't give me any of that "well, you don't want to be too skinny" bullshit because what I'm talking about is just being thin, not anorexic, okay?  And just fitting comfortably into clothing.  No, I'm not a plus size.
19. Everything is too itchy.  I like cotton and stretch but not too much stretch because that irritates my skin.  No silk.  No wool.  Only some synthentics.  Is my best case scenario relegated to a life clad in Eileen Fisher?
20. As of yet, still not a  fag hag.  Derek Blasberg and Jonathan Adler, we can still be buddies.  But since #17 and #18 exist, I doubt I fit the bill.

And yet, I have a lot to be grateful for:

Kids
Husband
Health
Parents living
College degree
Masters Degree
Not being able to outsource one of my favorite activities:  sleeping
First crack at working in 8+ years.

Maybe I should actually get to work to try to make some bucks so we can rehire the cleaning help.   More on my decision to temporarily let go of our cleaning help for about 3 months so we could save $ to afford Mountain Jam coming your way, soon!

More about my new venture another time...If Jamie did it in DC, then I can do it in Philadelphia!






Thanks to Liz Gumbinner for that lift.


*this is based on no scientific data.  I just made that up cuz I wanted to bitch and moan.  Time to go back and fluff the pillows.

Call Me Maybe

Yep, trusty spin class keeps me honest.  I actually really, really like this new tune which debuted nearly 2 months ago and has gone viral to over 30 MM (that's million, for you non Wall Street types.)

Carly Rae Jepsen, or at least her stylists, did good by me with the sweet placement of the VW Jetta.




Seems like I have a new tune I can listen to with Concealed Light and maybe be the cool mom I think I am.

God knows she is sick and tired of listening to Bob Marley, Phish and the Grateful Dead.

Maybe.

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day

And you thought I didn't know my hip hop.  Here, from the 1998 album Swarm, is "Never Again," performed by the  Wu-Tang Killa Bees, an affiliate of Wu Tang Clan.  They should be showing this video to kids in Hebrew schools.  Sure beats my experience with this disturbing photos that they showed me in Hebrew day school.  The pictures of course are powerful, but listening to a group rap about it at the same time brings it to another level.




Always remembering.

My thoughts in Amsterdam more than ten years ago?  Anne Frank:  mein shvester, mein freund.

Raging Diaspora

File this one under original beta-test "hippy charedi"  (since this term was just revealed to us by the Nunever recently):

Check out The Diaspora Yeshiva Band from performing "Pitchu Li" in a 1979 sound check - they are rocking it out!

Banjo player (is that Avraham Rosenblum, because we really don't know!) is rocking it out, and of course the fashion is totally the rage.


 

Where can we get an old-school kibbutznik hat like the chaver on the right?

Caine's Arcade

All because a 9 year old boy took some initiative.
built a cardboard arcade.
his dad let him do what he wanted during summer vacation.
a filmmaker/creative DIY guy driving a 1996 Toyota Corolla needed a spare part drove past the arcade Caine built in his dad's auto parts shop,



I love that I am the 127th  person to be "talking" about Interconnected on Facebook.

Loving that man named Nirvan who put this together has a company called Interconnected.

Didn't ya know that I love the number 127?

No, folks, this wasn't by chance.

Kudos to all the folks involved.

Caine is  GOING TO COLLEGE!  (well, alone, today they have raised $44,000)
A little boy with a family auto parts store in East LA now has a college fund.

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!

Once In A While You Shown The Light

In the strangest places if you look at it right.  I have a touch of the blues, but when I heard Sublime's "Scarlet Begonias" this morning, my mood was lifted.  I wasn't a 90s garage band fan, but when Jerry's energy comes through with this tune how can things be bad?



I'm gonna be happy with the rings on my fingers and maybe I'll put some bells on my shoes, at least figuratively.  But not the rings.  They are real.  Love rocks are a girl's best friend, didn't you know?  And I will be happy to light Shabbat candles tonight and see the light in a very cozy place:  my home.  With my very own daughter Concealed Light.

Love Your Children, Pay Attention to Them

That was the message of Eva Sandler last week, who lost her husband and two children in a recent terrorist attack in Toulouse, France.  May we only know happiness and joy going forward.  The irony of this blog post is that currently I am ignoring my children while they eat their supper to watch the media coverage from last week's funeral.

May the victims' memories be a blessing.





I know it isn't the Jewish tradition to play music or give flowers when a person dies, but I still can't help but think towards CSN.

Rachel Dratch: Too Jewish For the Prairie

Check out this interview with Rachel Dratch and Amy Poehler based on Rachel's new autobiography.  So glad I caught her in the late 90s at Upright Citizen's Brigade.

Check out this interview from a few years ago.   Note:  if I could have uploaded her famous Debbie Downer episode where the whole crew is at Disney and is simply laughing away, I would have.  I guess folks want to protect that Intellectual Property.  Is that you, Lorne?  Cuz Rob Reiner has done the same thing when it comes to YouTube videos of "This is Spinal Tap", and it really does a disservice to the bourgeois of the world!




Of course, I like her because she shares the same first name as me.
And spells it the same.

And has the same last name as one of my favorite Judaic studies teachers as a child, Rabbi Mark Dratch.  I learned Baba Metziah using Cabbage Patch Kids as the examples.

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

I like this...




The world needs more rainbows...

Orthodox and Single? Miami Plastic Surgeon Will Work Pro Bono!

This one spread like wildfire this week.  As if frum Jews have the time to think about this a week before Passover.

In response to Yitta Halberstam's article that single girls get plastic surgery to help land a husband, Dr. Michael Salzhauer has offered it for free to them in Miami.  One caveat:  you have to come recommended through your matchmaker or Rabbi.

Sounds pretty bezerk to me.  Gila Manolson offers her opinion, more eloquently written than mine, here.

Maybe instead of undergoing surgery, they could learn fashion tips from the Hot Chani's of the world (it goes without saying that a subscription to W and V are helpful if you can get past the rampant untznius images...but a personal stylist can't hurt, either).  A lot of people take offense to that term coined by Heshy Fried, but I think it's pretty funny.  Doubt that Gila would like it.  But I like Gila.  She was a teacher of mine a long time ago, and I don't mean to offend.

Personally, I could use some fashion advice.

Even though I am out of the shidduch market, I still like to look good.  And tie-dyes don't always fly.




Now, get back to cleaning!

From one queen (the Jewish woman, referenced above), to another (the witty parody of Freddy Mercury's tune, below)

Jerusalem City of Gold: It Is For the Best

"Just nod if you can hear me"  -Pink Floyd

Click to 23:51 on the below video or even this link   for a 1994 Phish performance of Yerushalayim Shel Zahav.  Phish mavens really ate up that one in the 90s whenever they played this old school Israeli song written by Naomi Shemer.  Those days are over, but we can always listen and remember.  And think towards what could be in the future.




Thank you to Phish.net for debuting this video this week.  Quite an intricate jam, though I don't expect most of you to listen to the whole thing.

As far as I know, Phish has never played a show in Israel.  I think they should.

This child might be grown, but the dream is never gone.




"If you will it, it is no dream."  -Theodor Herzl

I try to maintain optimism, but if a show in Israel never happens, I will keep in mind the following:

"When a person knows that everything that happens to him is for the best, this is a taste of the world to come."  -R' Nachman of Breslov

Love Rocks Are A Girl's Best Friend

Spring is in the air, and you know what that means.  Weddings and engagements.  Browsing for rings in Tiffany, a la Holly Golightly, is usually in order.  But savvy consumers go straight to 47th street for the purchase.  In my world, no matter the size of the stone you are looking for, you go to someone via referral through friends or family.  Usually that someone is a man.  Miss Marmelstein, why pay retail when I Can Get It For You Wholesale?  Unfortunately, speaking from personal experience, the boys-club vibe that thrives among the diamond dealers isn't always welcoming to women.

Enter Limor Senker of Love Rocks New York.

Let me disclose that Limor is a family friend.  Since I know her personally, I know that her professional manner is genuine.  Limor's Love Rocks is a line of fine contemporary jewelry that has received great press - from People to WWD to Glamour.  She uses ethically-sourced pave diamonds and embeds them in 14K gold and platinum to make earrings, bracelets, and more.

If diamonds are a girl's best friend, wouldn't you want your friend to design your jewelry?




Limor has vast experience in the diamond business.  She also custom-designs diamond jewelry:  no more dark-paneled offices with middle-aged men who think they know better than the little miss.  Limor's understanding of style and design, coupled with her personal demeanor make you feel like you're chatting with a friend who also happens to be a diamond jewelry designer.

Recently, Limor and I worked together to customize an anniversary band.  I couldn't be happier with my ring.  She was so accessible during the whole process.  It was lots of fun, too!  Limor uses computer technology to create a rendering of the piece, so nothing is created without full satisfaction or left up to the imagination.  Before she makes the jewelry, you see exactly what it will look like.  How great is that!

Not a New Yorker?  No need to worry.  She will talk with you over the phone, email, Skype, gchat or Facebook.  All packages she sends are fully insured.  Best of all, she works with all budgets.  Working with Limor is such a pleasure, and I urge you to give her a call if you're in the market.  If it's your fiance who is taking care of things, tell him you will be happy that he called Limor.

Love Rocks NY
646.415.8770
info@loverocksny.com

And to think, I had no cultural context for "Material Girl" when it came out in 1985.

Hot Dogs and Led Zeppelin

My first grader, aka The Wolfman's Brother, came home last week talking about how the boys in class have a special nickname for each other, but that it's private and he couldn't tell me more.  I managed to listen carefully enough to learn that boys are called hot dogs and girls are called hamburgers.  When asked the reasoning behind these nicknames, in all the sweet innocence he is, The Wolfman's Brother just said, "I don't know." Awww.

Also last week, my brother, Uncle Goalie, recommended Led Zeppelin's "Hot Dog" from In Through the Out Door as a good idea for spin class.  The Goalie is right...Kashmir might not have enough BPMs.  Yes, I know what BPMs are*.  Do you?

Now that spring is here, it's almost summer, which means hot dog season.






Just don't eat too many.
Nitrates and nitrites are no good for any of us.
Even if it says all natural on the package, just remember they are fooling you.

*of course I didn't until it was pointed out to me!  Now that I do, naturally I feel pretty ignorant since I claim to like music.

Stevie Wonder on My Mind Today...I Wonder Why?

The only recording I had from Stevie Wonder was a 45 record of "Ebony and Ivory," from my cousin's bat mitzvah.  It was just eh.  If only I heard his 1975 funk song "Boogie On Reggae Woman," I might have seen more of this Rock-n-Roll Hall of famer's greatness earlier on in the game.





I do sometimes harbor suspicions for reasons unbeknownst to me, and all I have to say at this time is that I hope that Stevie is doing ok.

Moms Need Nationwide Emergency Child Care Service

Now that you can find Bubbie's Pickles on every Whole Foods refrigerator shelf and eat at Bubbys* comfort-food restaurants in either Tribeca or Dumbo, the word bubby appears fit for mass consumption.  In case you missed the memo, a bubby or bubbie is a Jewish grandmother.  Today's bubby is not limited to the black orthopaedic shoe-wearing stereotype (but if she wore them, you can bet her hip would feel pretty good).  In addition to making kraut and smoking meat, she can be found at the yoga studio, as a docent at the art museum, or working the counter at your local hardware store.  She doesn't even have to be Jewish, and she doesn't have to be.   She might have jumped onto the eco-friendly bandwagon.  Meet Ruth Feldman,  the Green Bubbie, for more on that.

Who of us saw the 1982 film The Electric Grandmother?






What happens when us moms get sick?  Totally out of commission?  Whether you work full time, part time, or fully stay home with your kids, you will need to call someone.  Most of the time, you manage.  But, has this stomach flu thing hit your house yet?  It is really going around, and I hope for you that you don't get it.  You will be wholly debilitated and need help.

If you are lucky enough to live close to family, or really good friends, you call someone.  Ideally it is your own mother who will come to help out.  Not all of us are fortunate to have that option.  Not all of us have Maureen Stapleton in the form of the above-mentioned Electric Grandmother.  And if your friends have children of their own, they aren't going to be in the house at 7:45am to help the littles with getting out the door in the morning.

The solution?

We need a National Bubbie Service!  One where desparate moms can call in the troops at any time of day to take over.  There isn't too much out there along these lines:

• New York City has a service On Call Sitters, but we don't know if they are reliable.  Bubby is reliable, doesn't need a background check, and will bring over chicken soup. 

•  Do a Google search for emergency babysitter NYC and the top link that comes up is a New York magazine article from 2005! 

People, welcome to the '90s (this is my cultural reference to the 90s remake of Father of the Bride which is to say get with the times)!  It is 2012 and there isn't much out there.



The answer for now is to stay healthy.
Wash your hands with warm water and soap.

And at least take a look at this clip where Martin Short was Academy-award worthy:

(Go to 3:40 for a reminder of where "welcome to the 90s" comes from):










*albeit fully treif (not Kosher)

Kony 2012. Tikkun Olam at the Core.

Mark your calendar for 4/20.  No, not for that.  For something actually meaningful that will help change the lives of millions of people.  And the world.

Until I saw this video, I didn't know who Joseph Kony was.

Now I do, and I urge you to watch along with the 80 million others who have viewed it this past week.

Even Stango, who said he didn't have 27 minutes to watch it, did get captivated for 12 minutes.

That says a lot.

Jason Russell's film is so well-made...he got creative and got the message across that the world's top war criminal Joseph Kony needs to be captured by the United States military this year.


It's called "Cover the Night," and it's a poster campaign on April 20, 2012.
Reminds me of "Take Back the Night," but a different issue and one that is so timely there is no time to waste.

Unfortunately it's on Shabbes, but we're still gonna do our part now.


Spread the word.

Nobody Puts This Baby in Any Corner, Not Even Usher!

Why is it that when I want to use the iconic 1987 film "Dirty Dancing" as a point of illustration, all the good videos have disabled embedding, which means that I can not easily include the video as a linkable image here?





 I fully believe in protecting Intellectual Property, but it only works against Lions Gate Films, the distributor of "Dirty Dancing."

 Oh well, that's not the point of this post...

 Here are some links to some clips of the great movie.

 Nobody puts baby in a corner:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28A9Jgo92GQ

 The final dance scene:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpmILPAcRQo


My point is, again thanks to trusty spin class that keeps me on my toes with new music, I get to hear a most atrocious tune entitled "Dirty Dancer" by Enrique Iglesias and Usher.  The only good thing about hearing this song that hit all sorts of charts in 2010 and 2011 is that it reminded me of the aforementioned 80s movie, produced on a skeleton budget and yet a blockbuster nonetheless.

Honestly?  Am I *that* old fashioned that I think this is awful and an embarrassment to the way popular culture has journeyed?  I was embarrassed when I saw the original "Dirty Dancing" with my mom in the movie theater, and obviously that level of bumping and grinding was peanuts compared to the near-porn that appears in the video below.  I present this video again only for pure illustration purposes (as in my previous post) and do not recommend watching it if you want to stay positive. I watched just a few seconds of the pole dancers to know that I'd had enough, but I guess it gives me pause to realize that in a couple of years when my children have free reign of their computer time they will be able to watch everything and anything.

Smartening up your children before they get to this narrishkeit and educating them as to what is good and what is not good to view is the key.




Check out Jennifer Grey's father, Joel.  Now, that's entertainment!

Know Your Zosos from Your Ziljians

Everyone from Bob Lefsetz to your brother has lamented how bad the new music is today.  It doesn't take a rock star to come to this realization.

Ah, spin class, the trusty go-to for exposure to new music.  Spinning today to LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem," which hit #1 on charts last year throughout Europe, the UK, the US, New Zealand and Australia, got me wondering:

What the heck is up this dreck?

The lyrics:  empty, offensive and below fraternity house antics.
The electronic beat:   catchy but gets annoying.
And the chutzpah to make a Zeppelin reference.
Where, exactly, is the skilled musicianship?
Nary a drum kit to be heard.
Oh, right, that is the definition of electronica.
And, shouldn't everyone in this tune be doing the Hollywood Shuffle instead?  Now, that is quality shufflin'.
The part that bothers me is the thought of the millions of kids listening to this as their early exposure to music.
Oy.


I don't even want to watch this video.
But for pure illustration purposes, here it is.




Ok, I do like to focus on the positive.  I appreciate the club kid influence as evident in some of the outfits in the video and the dude with the big fro's huge white glasses, reminiscent of Laura Biogottis from the 80s.  I like the acting in the beginning.  And, nice fancy steps at the end of the video.   That's about it.

Still, I continue to lobby for real music like Kashmir in spin class.
Robert Plant.  Now there's a rock star.




Then I can envision myself as Jennifer Jason Leigh in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and rock it out on the spin bike like it's 1982.

(they cut out at 2:00 when Kashmir comes on the scene.)
This scene is the reason why I bought Led Zeppelin IV on tape, one of my earliest music purchases.

And we all know that Kashmir ain't to be found on that album!
Oh, Cameron Crowe, the film's screenwriter, is a genius culture maker of my generation.




Good thing the Allmans let him tag along as a teenager.

It sounds so cliche to think it was all better when you were a teenager, but I do think that when it comes to music and popular culture, I was better off without the acronym and certainly the band LMFAO.

Davy Jones, Goodbye, Let's Meet the Walrus

Listening to Soundcheck with John Schaefer on NPR right now, and I can't believe that I missed the news from last week that Davy Jones passed away at age 66.  I must have been raging the Purim festivities too much which kept me out of the loop.  As a great contributor to 60s popular music, he will be missed.  Not that I watched the Monkees when it first came out.  I was too young.

I also can't believe that Stango doesn't recall this episode of the Brady Bunch with Davy Jones.  It was always one of my favorites.

Here is where Marcia tries to bust into the recording studio to confirm that Davy will perform at her prom, only to be turned away.




Here is where Davy comes to the Brady house and meets her, finally, and satisfying every rock star's dream.




All thanks to the Beatles, the Monkees were a cultivated, made-for-TV band inspired by the Beatles that actually turned into something.

Speaking of which, I played one of my favorites, "I am the Walrus," for the kinderlach today.  When I asked their feedback, Concealed Light replied, "He said I am the egg man."  We all agreed it is weird and different.

When I asked about the line "sitting on a cornflake," I lost them.




Finally,  you should watch this pretty awesome animated interview with John Lennon called "I Met the Walrus" which is actually the reel-to-reel interview done by Jerry Levitan as a 14 year old when he snuck into Lennon's Toronto hotel room in 1969.

A Rangers and Flyers Fan All at the Same Time

Growing up, we were Rangers fans. My dad had season tickets in the yellow section of Madison Square Garden.  My grandparents lived on the same street as one of the Rangers and had a neighborly friendship with him.  My dad also had a college friend from Canada, a country where hockey is practically a birthright and is called Hockey Night in Canada.  Let's say it was ingrained from early on.

My brother, the Rangers fan and hockey player himself , with my sister Reba.  Early 1980s.

I went to two games during my childhood since my dad only had two seats and the "real" hockey fan (i.e. my brother) in the family had priority on the extra.  Those were good games.  Thanks for bringing me, dad!

Thank you to my brother who saved this stub my from dad's yellow seats.  It was a tie, Rangers Islanders 2-2 in overtime

Early on I learned the French-Canadian hockey phrase "slap de puck" and the Rangers' cheer "Potvin Sucks."  This not-so-nice taunt originated when Islander Denis Potvin collided with Ranger Ulf Nilsson in a 1979 game, causing a broken ankle and shortening of Nilsson's hockey career.  This incident occurred around the same time Potvin's wife came forward with allegations of abuse, so the rowdy, obnoxious Rangers fans really ate it up whether or not it was proven in court.  It is interesting that the previously-referenced NY Times article alludes to "Potvin Sucks" as an "uglier version" without getting into the discussion if it was true.  I do not know the truth and have no access to court documents.  Yet, the cheer is  a part of Rangers history and is worth knowing about, even if it is considered to be very rude to chant it at the Garden, or really anywhere for that matter.







Keep in mind I don't watch hockey anymore.  It was more of an osmosis experience:  it was on tv as a young girl, so I watched it.  No turning the channel the shows I wanted.

Now I live in Philadephia, and I want to be a Flyers fan without giving up my Rangers connection.
There is no way we will start rooting for the Phillies or Eagles, so at least we can go with hockey and develop some local loyalty.

Here are the things I know about hockey:

I have heard of Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux and Brian Leetch and of course Wayne Gretzky.
For a while, I had a Bobby Orr hockey card in my dresser (that's what ya get for having an older brother who played and loved hockey).
I know about power plays.
I know about the penalty box.
I know about slap shots.
I know that Rangers fans love the fights.  Isn't that part of the game?
I know that 1 and 30 are traditional goalie numbers.
I know about the Bauer hockey gear company.
I know that NHL players prior to 1980something didn't have to wear helmets.

But I don't really know about hockey.

Here are the things I now know about the Flyers:


I learned that there is Rangers-Flyers rivalry.  (And all these years I thought it was just with the Islanders!)
I learned about the Winter Classic.
In the mid-90s I saw a Phish concert in the Philly Spectrum, where the Flyers played.
That's about all the Flyers knowledge I have.

And yet,

I have long been attracted to the Flyers logo.
How could this be if we were Rangers fans?
Maybe because black and orange were my high school colors.
Maybe because it is aesthetically pleasing, and good design speaks to me.
Maybe because, compared with the newer hockey teams, it is old school and I remember seeing it as a young girl and liking it.

My friend Adam at a Flyers game this season

Can't I be fans of both?

A couple of years ago I noticed people at Phish concerts at Madison Square Garden wearing Flyers gear, more so than Islanders or Rangers, which would be more appropriate for being in a New York venue.  I thought, "Wow, these music fans not only have the same great taste in current rock-n-roll as me but they like the same great NHL logo, too!  What are the chances!"  Oh, Rachel how innocent and uneducated you were!

My sister Reba told me that Trey, the lead guitarist, is a Flyers fan, and there has been a lot of talk in the past about his connection to the team. A lot of those folks were wearing it in allegiance to Trey's preference.  Poseurs!






Stanley Cup playoffs begin in about a month.
It's time to slap de puck.

That's What I Said...Booby Traps

How can I resist!


 
Phish Summer Tour 2012 Announcement from Phish on Vimeo.


Jonathan Fishman, you are the one and only.


And in case you had a jonesing due to the blog title post...

Music in Preschool

If you haven't yet caught Portlandia, here is your chance, you music lovers with young children!




Fine, it's a lot of punk references (and as you might know I am into classic rock and jam bands), but it is too funny to hide from you.

Did you catch the recent profile of Carrie Brownstein in The New Yorker a few weeks ago?

Jan Berenstain, 88, Co-Creator of Berenstain Bears, Passes Away

The wife of the husband-wife duo that created the beloved childrens book series The Berenstain Bears, which teach about ethics and morals, has passed away at the age of 88.

Further to my discussion of the Berenstains a few weeks ago, research revealed that the Berenstains were secular and the books they wrote for most of their career were based on their secular ethical values.  Jan was a Christian and Stan was a secular Jew.  Their son Mike became closer to his Christianity and, in 2008, signed a deal with a publisher of Christian books for spiritual and faith-based books.  So, that explains what I saw in the supermarket that day.  I was pleased to know there was no hidden message (since, well, I am Jewish) in the books my sister had as a little girl.

Why was I even registering the Berenstains a few weeks ago, and why did I blog about them?

May Jan and Stan Berenstain now enjoy life together in Gan Eden (garden of eden).  Baruch dayan emet (blessed is the truthful ruler).

From the LA Times obituary:  Jan Berenstain displays a copy of the first book, left, that she and her husband, Stan Berenstain, created and their second book, which was the first to actually call the characters Berenstain Bears. (Mel Evans/Associated Press/January 25, 2011)

Paradise Isn't That Home Across the Road

Always being thankful looking for the good I have in my own life is something I am constantly striving towards.  And worrying about my own daled amot (life's sphere).  I heard this idea reflected in a tune this morning at the gym.

"Well, the moral of the story
The moral of the song
Is simply that one should never be
Where one does not belong
So when you see your neighbor carryin' somethin'
Help him with his load
And don't go mistaking Paradise
For that home across the road."

-Bob Dylan, "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest."



Thanks for the reminder, Bob, Jerry and Dave.

Vitamin H...Kind of Like an Amp Goes to 11, But It Works!

You've heard about Vitamin C, Vitamin B, Vitamin E...

but Vitamin H???

I bought this duty free in Tegel Airport duty free a few years ago

My nails are feeling a little brittle.  Cuticles are peeling.  I broke out my shmancy Bio-H-Tin Nail Cream (nagelcreme) that I bought in Germany a few years ago, and my cuticles have relief.  What exactly is Vitamin H, anyway?

It is actually called Biotin, and is a complex B vitamin.  According to this online medical dictionary, it no longer goes by the name Vitamin H.  It is a "colorless, crystalline, water-soluble B complex vitamin that acts as a coenzyme in fatty acid production and in the oxidation of fatty acids and carbohydrates...Rich sources are egg yolk, beef liver, kidney, unpolished rice, brewer's yeast, peanuts, cauliflower, and mushrooms." 

The University of Maryland states  "very weak evidence suggests that biotin supplements may improve thin, splitting, or brittle toe and fingernails," but I applied the cream directly to the cuticle, and I feel a difference already.  So, if you want to just chalk it up to psychological effects, so be it.  Anyway, there are a whole host of things that exist in nature, help people get better, and yet have no scientific evidence to back up the proof.  If it works, I use it. Sorry, Terps, you guys can't convince me.  Or German skin care professionals, evidently.

When I heard about Vitamin H, of course I thought, wait, this is going like to the next level, but in a good way.  Sure, I have heard of Vitamin K, but only for its controversial use in newborns.

And going to the next level is classic Spinal Tap.

Obviously Rob Reiner and Christopher Guest don't want folks to embed this clip, since every single clip of the Amp scene that goes to 11 on YouTube of this scene is disabled, so I ask you, dear reader, to click any of these links and you will see the awesome scene.  C'mon, Rob, why are you being such a meathead?

Vitamin H not only goes to 11 but if you take out the little horizontal line in the letter, it actually IS ELEVEN!!!  You do know that I love the 11:11 phenomenon, right?

Since I referenced the Maryland Terps, which is an abbreviation for their mascot the Terrapins, at least I can leave you with a classic Terrapin Station by The Grateful Dead.  Jerry and his friends haven't disabled any embedding, and that plays to the spirit of the band, which always was about sharing.





And, Rob Reiner, I apologize for relying too obviously on your past by calling you a meathead for not allowing video embedding by the little folk like me who take time out of their busy schedules to write their blogs.  I am sure you are a great guy.  Maybe you will enjoy this Meatstick from last year as a peace offering.  And for any of you who kept reading to the end of this lengthy blog (make yourself known with a comment below!), I reiterate that I am not writing a Phish blog

Winter is Almost Gone, But Not Snowglobes

With winter almost gone, and all this talk about Austria, Christopher Plummer and The Sound of Music, there is no time like the present to talk about a beloved object of many that never goes out of style:

The Snow Globe.

The New Yorker had a funny article a couple of months ago about school cancellations in the winter.  It was accompanied by this illustration, which got me thinking it is about time I talked about snow globes and what I learned about them on a trip to Vienna a few years ago.

 They are called schneekugeln in Austrian.

That might look foreign to you, dear English speaker, but think about it:

Schnee:  snow
Kugeln:  mixed up

Like, a kugel you might eat be it noodle, potato, apple, is a mixture of a lot of ingredients.  When the snow gets shaken inside a snow globe, it gets all mixed up.  See, German isn't so hard!

According to its Wiki entry, snow globes were founded in France around the turn of the last century.  I find that hard to believe, after having visited what is purported to be the original snow globe factory, owned by Edwin Perzy III, in Vienna.

Mr. Perzy showed me around his factory and showroom, and told me that it is because of Vienna's high quality water that the snow globes produced there work so well.  This is a family business, and they have special-made snow globes for big events like President Clinton's inauguration.  The little figurines inside get outsourced to small home-based artisans.  Mostly everything used in the snow globe's production is Austrian-produced (I forget to be sure, but I believe is either the glass globe or the black base that is produced in Belgium)

I bought one for my daughter based on an Austrian fairy tale.  A poor girl goes out to the mountains and everything she touches turns to gold.  So, in this snow globe, the snow is gold flakes.  I have yet to find out the name of the fairy tale.  Mr. Perzy told me but I didn't write it down.  Austria is a small place so it's not like this story is a Barnes & Noble best seller.

This is the one I brought back for my daughter.  Unfortunately, the other two I brought back were used as baseballs by my then-2 year old, and he smashed them to the floor.

I wonder why the Wikipedia entry doesn't mention the Austrian connection.  I imagine that the Perzy family is hard-working and they don't have the time or interest to correct the Wiki entry.  I do know that if you look at any well-made snow globe these days and flip it over and see it is Made in Austria, you will know you are getting an original.

The Snow Globe selection was immense!

Why does any of this matter, you ask?

 Because I seek out truth and knowledge, and I feel good knowing that I was where it all started!  And now you know one more piece of trivia.  Who knows, if you meet Bill Clinton one day, you can ask him all about his schneekugel.

I took a subway and a street trolley to get to this off-the-beaten track location in Vienna, and boy am I glad that I went!  Next time you are planning to visit Vienna, give them a visit!

Original Vienna Snowglobes
Schummanngasse 87
A-1170 Vienna
Austria
0043(1) 486 43 41-9
snowglobe@aon.at

And remember, folks, I received no payment for this review.  I just wrote it because I wanted to!  But if the Perzy family wants to send me a thank-you with a schneekugel as a token of their appreciation, I won't say no.

Edelweiss Pays Off

Congratulations to Christopher Plummer on his first Academy Award!

I still haven't seen the film The Beginners, but I did blog about a book I received over New Year's based on the film and I am forever grateful for this limited edition art book which I was told was given to me because I knew a thing or two about culture and stuff like that.  I was pretty flattered.

Did you know that Austrians get a real kick out the fact that many Americans think that Edelweiss, which Plummer sang in "The Sound of Music," is a national Austrian folk anthem?   As a child, my friend Rachel's dad Larry used to sing that one at their shabbat dinner table and on long drives up to their family's farm house.  Good times, good times.

One day I will share here some of the other things I learned on a trip to Vienna a few years ago.

Until then...







 And from the Golden Globes about a month or so ago

 

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..

Don't Worry Be Happy

Today is the Rosh Hodesh (New Moon) and the start of the Jewish month of Adar.  Purim is around the corner, which means it's time to get happy!  Easier said than done.  I plan to do that with getting myself to the Nars counter at Saks this morning where they have a special event, makeup artists, blah blah blah.

My friend and teacher Sara Esther Crispe has some good ideas, too.  Probably better ideas than mine.   Sara Esther is an wonderful speaker and very easy to listen to (for someone like me, at least).  She offers up a great lecture on finding the good and finding the joy.

I can't embed the video, but click here, it is worth it.

In the meantime, I will listen to the classic Bobby McFerrin tune.

Boy, I forgot how much I love Bill Irwin and Robin Williams in that video.

Do little kids realize that Mr. Noodle is a comic genius?

Grandpa Norman, Minnie the Moocher and Sabrina

Everyone could use a Grandpa Norman.  No, he wasn't my grandpa, but he was to my friend Aryeh.  Grandpa Norman would have been 100 today and sounds like he was a lovely man.  According to Aryeh, Grandpa Norman was "a lifelong Chicagoan and South Sider and proud Jew who understood, better than anyone I have ever known, the nobility and dignity of honest work."

Call me culturally ignorant, but I never watched the Blues Brothers from start to finish.  Growing up, that was more my brother's department.  Later, I learned that my husband Stango did his own time on stage with his boyhood friend, nicknamed "Famous", as their own Belushi-Akroyd impersonators.  His family's 1977 yellow Volvo station was nicknamed "The Bluesmobile."  I owned the cassette tape, though, and listened to it frequently.

Which is why Grandpa Norman's favorite song by "Minnie the Moocher" Cab Calloway resonated with me.  I know that Calloway is an American icon, and yet I feel quite the uneducated soul to not know too much about him.  Especially since I purport to love music.  It is one of those things my mom would be surprised at, like, "Wow, Rachel, I am surprised that you didn't know that."

So, now I know that Cab Calloway was a huge jazz musician.  

Anyway, here is Cab, Old School:




Here is Cab in 1980





And, back to 1933, Calloway's popular tune "Reefer Man" which appeared in the film International House.
Check out the wonderful tap dancing which I feel personally connected to since I took tap for many years.  Love the beautiful clarinets and the white tails outfits of the band.  It's all too much!  (Note:  this is just another tune by Calloway which I happen to think is quite the entertaining bit, not particularly a Grandpa Norman pick, lest you get the wrong idea about Aryeh's grandpa)







I think I would have liked Grandpa Norman.  He also loved this tune...



...Sabrina should be required viewing for every breathing soul.  Hollywood doesn't get much better than Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart.

If you have gotten this far, I should let you know that my daughter, Concealed Light, has entered the room and told me to stop playing the music.

High Priestess of Soul Singing Land of Milk-n-Honey

Just finished a frozen medjool date as a late-night snack.  So it is appropriate to post this one:

Thank you to my sister's husband's brother-in-law's mother-in-law (by easy logic you should have quickly shortened that confusing connection to this woman is also my sister's mother-in-law) for sharing this. The woman who shared this did go to Woodstock, after all, so it's gotta be good!





 And here is the article in Jewcy from a few years ago that explains it all.

Nina Simone passed away nearly 9 years ago and was known as the "high priestess of soul."

In case you didn't catch the connection with the intro to this blog post about medjool dates, the translation for "Eretz zavat halav u'dvash" is Land of milk and honey.  But the honey isn't bee honey but the honey that comes from the date tree.

Jonathan Adler Isn't Miesian. And That's Okay

The simple excuse for not getting myself until last weekend to the Jonathan Adler store in Old City is that I am new to town.  Just ignore that I moved here more than six months ago.

You would think someone like me who loves Bauhaus minimalism, midcentury design and pines for a Barcelona Chair wouldn't be into all of Jonathan's colors.  Oh no!  I am!  I am!  I am!

Everything that I have read about Jonathan's great style is true from the looks of this fabulous shop.  Jonathan is a design sweetheart.  Sure, he speaks to the current zeitgeist of reclaiming trendy stuff from the 70s (like needlepoint pillows), but I know he will continue to wow the design world when tastes change.  Stango, who is my husband and sometimes a pessimist, said it is all too obvious and wasn't as impressed as me.

Like, when I showed him this awesome wall from the back of the shop, he wasn't too psyched:

I love that quotation!

You know what, Stango?  Take two happy chic pills and get back to me in the morning.

I loved the wallpaper in the junior section downstairs which caters to the younger set.   It reminded me of the wallpaper from my own 1970s room as a baby, but after texting her the image of it from the store, my mom disagreed.  Hopefully I will upload a photo of it here one day and you will see where I was going with that.  At least nice women in the shop gave me a sample.  What was I gonna do with the sample?

With glue and a blank book, in an instant I made a cute notebook.   Yay for utilitarianism!

Finally, at the entrance of the shop, they were selling Simon Doonan's book.  In case you didn't get the memo, Jonathan and Simon are married.  Simon is also a design guy.  He is a big guy at Barney's.  Haven't I already told you somewhere on my blog that I love W Magazine and that's where I get a lot of good info?  But remember to read the articles more than study the fashion.  Don't focus too much on the photos, other than for art's sake.  I'm not joking, BTW.  There's a lot of narishkeit (nonsense) there.

if you go to his website www.simondoonan.net/home you can buy it there!

I guess if it is your own store, you can sell your husband's stuff up front and center.

A Letter to Deborah Feldman

Dear Deborah,

We have a lot more in common than you might initially think.  We are both moms, Jewish and wear funky glasses.  I often drove past the campus of Sarah Lawrence College when I lived in Da Bronx, which was just a stone's throw from your school.  I don't watch much television, so I am grateful to my mother for pointing out your appearance last week on "The View" where you promoted your book Unorthodox:  The Scandalous Rejection of my Hasidic Roots.  Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, I sometimes describe myself as "Ultra Unorthodox" since I have difficulty in labeling my Jewish practice.  I hope to read your book soon.




 First, I commend you on your journey.  I can not fathom the strength you garnered to separate from your upbringing.  Kol hakavod (kudos) and a hearty yasherkoach (your strength should continue) on your accomplishments, as they surely are filled with overcoming tremendous obstacles.  I am fascinated with the "Ex-O" (Ex-Orthodox Jewish) community, and loved attending Chulent gatherings on Thursday nights with my husband, Stango, when I lived in New York City.  We met great people there.

Second, your poise and presence is so impressive.  Knowing a bit about Hasidic life, I would never have pegged you as from Villiamsburg (Williamsburg).  You seem like you could be a college friend who lived in The Towers in Madison (a private dorm where a lot of East Coast Jewish kids live...lest they intermingle with the cheeseheads, or local Wisconsin residents).  Or, you could have been that camp friend who met me in the city for frozen yogurt at 40 Carrots in Bloomies' basement before this ridiculous Pinkberry-inspired froyo craze (alas, if they only made it cholov yisroel, J&J would be doing the community a service!  Who knows...maybe there is something I don't know?).

In other words, you seem smart, contemporary, and with-it.  Your interactions with Barbara Walters were nothing but professional and polished.

You mentioned that you have a lot of cultural catching-up to do.  Feel free to check out my blog for a lot of really good cultural references!  I'm no Jon Stewart, but a lot of friends like what I have to say.

Finally, as a fellow shvester (sister), I hope that you maintain a connection to your Yiddishkeit (Judaism).  I would say the same thing to my real sister, Reba, despite the pain that I knew or didn't know about.  Of course, it is all easier said than done, as the saying goes.  I don't know how much contact you have with people like me, but I offer an invitation to you and your son to spend Shabbes mit mein ganse mishpucha (Shabbat with my whole phamily) here in Philly.

A zei g'zunt (Take care),

Rachel

Chai Lifeline Makes Dreams Reality For Children with Illness

This beautiful performance from a few days ago of Luke Weber, a boy who has been battling cancer for several years, and Matisyahu is not to be missed

 


From the YouTube comments below this video, it seems that Chai Lifeline made this performance happen.  Kol HaKavod (kudos) to this wonderful organization whose mission is to" restore the light of childhood to children whose innocence ended when life-threatening or lifelong illness was diagnosed."

It seems as though these days I keep hearing stories of young children afflicted with serious illness.  More so than ever.  Just the other day I learned of a friend's  1 1/2 year old nephew who was diagnosed with a cancer that is surrounding his spinal chord.

I'm not sure what is happening, but I pray for a complete and speedy recovery for Luke Weber.  And offer a great thanks to Chai Lifeline for all of its efforts to bring happiness back into the lives of countless sweet children.

To life.

Ghetto Love To You, Daniel Son

Leave it to spin class to make me feel old.  I am not talking about knee pain, muscle soreness or not being able to keep up with the peppy 20-something instructors.  As I frequently mention, spin class keeps me in check with new music.  Even if it isn't exactly my speed, it gives me a sense of being down with popular culture.  I am not the hippest of mamas, but I know more music than the average Whole Foods shopper.   So when Karl Wolf's "Ghetto Love," which samples Peter Cetera's "Glory of Love," played on the speakers at this morning's class, I was instantly reminded that my memory is going everywhere but up.

 

As long as you didn't live on some hippy commune or in Satmar Williamsburg, if you came of age in the United States during the 80s, you most likely recognize the familiar refrain "I am the man who will fight for your honor, I'll be the hero that you're dreaming of."  It was in a really popular movie that I saw a lot.  The problem was that I could not recall which one.  Or who sang it.  And I knew that I saw this movie many, many times over.  I kept knocking on my brain and no one answered.  I was sure that I slow-danced to this tune with my first boyfriend at a BBYO Beau-Sweetheart Dance.  I most likely cried many tears to it while listening on a Maxell II-S mix tape entitled "Rachel's Love Songs."  And yet, I.Could.Not.Remember.  Oy, I thought to myself, now I am really turning into my mother.

The thing that really got my goat was that none of the other women in spin class could place it either.  But for a different reason.  Not because their brains have been fried from working, cooking, cleaning, homework-checking, schedule-managing, and all the other stuff that comes along with parenting.  These women were obviously younger than me, and I realized that their lack of recognition was likely because they were still in diapers at the time of the debut of "Glory of Love."

As we were all toweling off at the end of class, one woman Shazamed it and reported that the original song was by the band Chicago.  Ah, this made sense to me.  It did, after all, SOUND like Chicago.  Thank God for Wikipedia to inform me later on that Peter Cetera released this song as a solo shortly after he left Chicago.

To the rescue came a guy who was spinning in the front row and whom I will call Daniel.  He was clearly closer to my generation than the young women I previously asked:

"Karate Kid, all the way," Daniel said.  Phew!  What relief!





But he didn't get it fully on-target.

Daniel Son, it was Karate Kid II.  Time for us Gen Xers to get a brain check.