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Below are the most recent 25 friends' journal entries.
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| Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 |
diplobrat
|
3:02a |
|
marlowe1
|
4:37a |
Ah shit
Besides the fact that I had a couple of jobs and I woke up at 10 after a Sudafed sleep and drank coffee at 7pm, there was really no reason to stay up until 4:30 in the morning. Now I'm going to miss the time for the shmai. So much easier in the summer when the sun would be rising around this time and I could daven shacharis and go to sleep until noon or so. Now I have to hope that I wake up before noon so I can at least say shacharis. I know I'm going to miss the window for the shmai. At least I'm not staying up because I'm going out drinking with the actor roommate. That was a fun summer. |
| Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 |
marlowe1
|
10:15p |
The Saturday Wife by Naomi Ragen - some thoughts
I'm two thirds of the way through the book and I think I've hit a wall. Actually I think that Naomi Ragen has hit a wall. The first two thirds are wicked and vicious satire that justifies the Madame Bovary inspiration. Some parts at the beginning where her main character is in Stern (or whatever) make me feel like I'm at an uncomfortable Shabbos meal where all of my cultural references are going to fall flat and someone is going to get bent out of shape when I say my cat is gay. And I love the part where she pretty much kills her husband's grandfather by shocking him so much that he has a stroke. When informed of the stroke, her reaction is "major or minor". However, two thirds into the book where she meets the really wealthy character promised on the back cover, it just feels like Ragen is treading water. First off, there's way too much "tell don't show" exposition, especially in regard to the problems of being a rabbi's wife in a wealthy neighborhood. I think the problem here can be found in the acknowledgements. Ragen thanks all these people for giving her stories about the difficulties of being a rabbi in a Modern Orthodox neighborhood. Unfortunately, she seems to want to include ALL of them in a few pages. So suddenly our protagonist who is already a gold digger, is beset by multiple problems that she should know about like people wanting her to give classes, trying to find the right charity, strangers asking her to set them up with shidduchim, people grabbing her in grocery stores to interrogate her and period-stained panties in the mailbox. Many of these shouldn't be surprising to the main character. Worse is the fact that Ragen feels the need to explain everything. Does she really have to tell her audience that the Kiddush Club is the group of (usually old) men who leave the shul during Haftorah in order to drink in the basement? Couldn't she just say that they were angry at the rabbi for shutting down the kiddush club? I know that would be confusing to the goyim but it wouldn't stop everything short and make the majority of her audience go "Yeah. I knew that. I'm not three." I guess I have to agree with Salman Rushdie who said that he peppers his books with Hindi and Urdu phrases without explaining them and trusting the reader to figure out what he's talking about. And that he was inspired by Philip Roth who does the same thing with Yiddish. And what the hell does Ragen have against blonds? I remember an AV Club "I Watched This on Purpose" about that Beyonce/Stringer Bell/chick from Heroes movie where the writer said that "Everyone hates attractive tall blonds except for those who worship them." And that seems to be at work here. Of course, this is the part where I have to pull the Minnesota card and express utter confusion at that. I really don't see how tall blonds are considered exotic. Maybe it's a cultural thing since I've grown up among tall blondes. Hell, I was so thrilled when I started converting to Judaism and going to shul all the time and discovering that I was actually TALL - well compartively speaking (and really, there is no such thing as tall or short on its own - it's always in comparison to something else - thank you Plato) |
marlowe1
|
10:00p |
Crazy Cat Lady query
Ok. Let's say you have a platonic friend whom you are quite fond of but for various reasons (most known only to her) it just doesn't work out as anything other than a friendship. Ok, let's say that this friendship occassionally goes through times of tension where for various reasons you just aren't talking. Maybe you've said the wrong thing and made her uncomfortable. Maybe you called her on her bullshit and informed that YES, she really WAS flirting with you, damnit. Maybe, she has arbitrarily decided that something that you've been doing for awhile (writing emails to vent, giving gifts, calling on a very sporadic basis) is "crossing the line" (because she moved it). NOW, let's say you have a cat. You might have three cats, but two of the cats are so sweet and affectionate (and let's be honest here - emotionally needy) that you can't even call them cats. People who hate cats would love these cats. But then you have a third cat who is a real cat. Very territorial. Bitchy. Affectionate when she wants to be affectionate. Standoffish when she doesn't want to be. And forget about picking her up because she will scratch the living shit out of you (even though she's declawed, those back claws are fucking sharp). Now let's say in a pique of passive-aggressivity, you rename that cat after the platonic friend. Is that cute or pathetic? |
marlowe1
|
9:27p |
Run Fatboy Run - how could that much talent make a movie that sucks so much?
The thing about Run Fatboy Run is not that it sucks. It sucks. Nor is it that it boasts a screenwriting and acting team that's full of talent that I admire and enjoy. It does (Michael Ian Black, Simon Pegg, Hank Azaria). It's that it sucks to the point where I must reevaluate everyone that made it and wonder what the hell happened there. I mean I can't simply blame David Schwimmer and Thandie Newton as the two members of the production team whom I know and merely tolerate. But the problem with the movie is the fact it takes the same old plot of the arrested developed manchild who needs to grow up and goes and makes him into the MOST REPULSIVE arrested developed manchild who needs to grow up. Simon Pegg's character goes well beyond the lazy but loveable douchebag that inhabits the characters played by Adam Sandler, Seth Rogan and even Simon Pegg and turns out a character who is simply a lazy and hostile douchebag. Much akin to the two assholes on Two and a Half Men. But even worse. I wonder if there was a movie that never got made where Simon Pegg is a horrible and nasty douchebag who just fucks everything up and dies in the end. Instead, he's a horrible and nasty douchebag who just fucks everything up that the audience is supposed to relate to. When Hank Azaria is on the screen you are supposed to boo him even though he's a successful and sincere businessman who genuinely wants to make the girl and the son character happy. When Hank Azaria and Newton get engaged you are supposed to feel Pegg's pain even though Pegg is a nasty douchebag who left Newton at the altar and has no sense of responsibility. When Hank Azaria yells at the brat and is shown as having tripped Pegg at the race, you are supposed to be happy that Newton is going back to Pegg even though Azaria made a couple of mistakes and Pegg is a toxic asshole nasty douchebag who fucks everything up. And when Pegg is NOT training to run the big race that's supposed to get Newton back, you are supposed to find the fact that he's fucking up his life with total laziness as funny and cute and charming. I really wonder if there was a version where you are supposed to hate the fucking douchebag asshole loser who is Simon Pegg's main character in Run Fatboy Run. Because I sure to hate that character. Makes me slightly more respectful of How I Met Your Mother, not just because it's awesome but because EVERY character has a job. And it's a pretty good job too. In a world full of comedies about arrested develop manchildren, it's nice to see at least ONE show where the 30something characters actually WORK for a living. |
marlowe1
|
9:14p |
Interesting thing about shyness
I remember reading an article in Psychology Today about how one of the symptoms of shyness is to give way too much information in social setting. Like, "Hi, I'm Tim. I lost my virginity when I was 18 with a girl whom I never saw again. She kept biting my lip and that hurt and what's worse I was trying to be a musician at the time and I also used to be a Wiccan. But I realized I couldn't really get laid as a Wiccan and I hate hippies, so I stopped that crap. So what's your name?" Up until I read that article, I thought that was an aspect of my personality that was in opposition to my shyness. However, it makes perfect sense as an aspect of shyness, since I always have this monologue going in my head and I'm always thinking of things to say and stories to tell. But most of the time, I don't have an outlet. So when I find someone that is willing to listen or who just seems mildly sympathetic enough to listen for awhile, the volcano of stories erupts. Of course, this also explains why my livejournal persona has been described as "hilarious", "abrasive", "a fucking asshole" and "way too crass" whilst my real life persona usually tends to be described as "nice" and "not nearly the asshole we thought you would be." It takes a few meetings to be described as weird. |
marlowe1
|
8:20p |
Well all right then
Got an email from a certain non-profit, a Jewish non-profit. Maybe even a Yeshiva. They have wrote the check. They will mail it to me. They offered to let me pick it up. I don't like bullying clients into paying me, but it does work. I filtered all the entries about this non-profit organization. |
marlowe1
|
3:30p |
Fascinating
I actually wanted to keep the guy's email address off this but since he is trying to promote himself, his email is marcelproust38-at-yahoo - however, if you are reading this livejournal, you should hire me first. But I found this Writing ad rather intriguing. I'm taking a break from Las Vegas magic and conferring with Elvis and levitating elephants over the Mojave Desert. And because I love people everywhere I shall continue to offer my magic to you via the written word and a scribe's creative spirit! In fact, a magic wand is what I am holding for you this very moment. Such magical words beyond your wildest imagination! For I write the things that other writers can't or won't. Need a wedding or funeral poem? A dating profile or sales letter or marketing brochure or professional resume? Or a poison pen letter written to tell off that slimy boss or betraying friend? How about a eulogy or speech or website press release or party toast? You name it, and I probably can write it for you. As long as you want something good and creative and profound and unforgettable. That includes many kinds of journalism, radio and film scripts, book editing, playwriting, SEO website copywriting and editing. And of course also magazine articles and just about any kind of verse you can imagine! I also provide online and in-person tutoring in English grammar and composition, and can perhaps write symphonic music for you if you have a piano!
By the way, I charge reasonable rates and even handle divorces! Like to see my credentials and proof of my skills and abilities? Drop me a line and I'll give you a gander. And even edit your novel if you can pay slightly better than peanuts and have a nicer attitude than Hemingway. That would be Ernest. But you can call me earnest!
Patrick The Poet
Now I write similar ads with my background (professional, Masters degree, Dybbuk Press) and then give a bullet list of things that I will do for the client - pretty much everything writing related. But I've never offered to write a eulogy. I HAVE written never talk to me again letters. Followed by "glad we're talking again because at least you're not a sociopath like your roommate" letters to the same guy. But never a funeral oration. Should I start? |
marlowe1
|
1:33p |
Yay
Finally watching The ShieldFirst season. Awesome! I think that's really the last of the television shows that I've been meaning to watch because all of my friends have been pushing them. I'm rather happy that I waited until now. Means I can watch all the shows at once. Although that's more theoretical since I'm checking them out from the library and there are a lot of people putting these DVD's on hold. And now time for personal statements. I like personal statements. Personal statements are cool. I sent a client a rough draft of a personal statement that I'm not entirely happy with (since he LOVES philosophy, particularly political anti-laissez faire philosophy like "veil of ignorance" and the like. Darnit. I just wrote the personal statement too. Who is that philosopher. He died in 2002. There's another philosopher that disputed him almost immediately. He is heavily influenced by Kant. Basically, he says that if no one knows anything about anyone else they can create a social order which has the most equitable system for everyone involved. And that social inequality is ok but it shouldn't be to the disadvantage of the least privileged. Darn. I did a paper on this guy. But writing a personal statement for a guy who really likes this guy is much harder because it means that I have to convince my client and the board that he knows the guy intimately). Anyhow, I turned in that personal statement and promised to revise it and the client said it was great. I will still revise it. Personal statements are so cool. The clients pay right away. They want to pay right away. Which is nice because I really have nothing to hold over their heads. I mean what do I do for them? I take their words and make them sound a little more eloquent (sic?) than they actually are. Although my friend in shul told me that a woman quoted him a $2500 price for six essays. Damn. Makes me feel like K Mart since I know that that job would take me 20 hours. Tops. $500. I really hope he hires me. At least for the revision. |
diplobrat
|
3:02a |
|
mark_argent
|
3:03a |
The Fuhrer is That Guy
10:18:02 PM QuestionerXX: Also, RPG.net is usually terrible 10:18:10 PM QuestionerXX: but it's not blocked by work's firewall 10:18:28 PM QuestionerXX: and the "Real weapons that look like they're designed by PC's" is amazing for me, as a weapons nerd 10:18:39 PM Mark Argent: link me 10:18:56 PM Mark Argent: speaking of rpg.net, Christmas eve I was so bored I went back to Tangency 10:19:10 PM QuestionerXX: http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=47902210:19:47 PM QuestionerXX: speaking of depression, Christmas eve I was so bored I went back to drinking 10:19:56 PM Mark Argent: I think yours was less harmful 10:20:11 PM QuestionerXX: just wanted to inject some perspective 10:21:21 PM Mark Argent: this thread is AMAZING 10:21:31 PM Mark Argent: the HWACHA 10:21:42 PM QuestionerXX: I just love it because, god damn, if you think about these items in that context 10:21:51 PM QuestionerXX: they go from chortle funny to laugh out loud funny 10:22:29 PM QuestionerXX: and I picture an engineer who was approached with a set of blue prints 10:22:39 PM QuestionerXX: making exactly the same face as your DM 10:23:07 PM Mark Argent: hahahah 10:23:11 PM QuestionerXX: but, what The Fuhrer wants The Fuhrer gets 10:23:20 PM Mark Argent: right 10:23:28 PM Mark Argent: god, the axeguns and cleaver guns 10:23:39 PM Mark Argent: and the knife made of knives 10:23:43 PM QuestionerXX: So, I guess I'm saying that The Fuhrer can add "being that guy in your Shadowrun game" to his list of crimes against humanity Current Music: The Shop Assistants - Big E Power | Powered by Last.fm |
dwarkin
|
1:37a |
Котлер отдыхает
Две истории про гениальный маркетинг, без комментариев: Раз: Президент МТС Михаил Шамолин в своем интервью "Уолл Стрит Джорнал" назвал iPhone "дорогим
наркотиком". Подготовку соглашения между МТС и корпорацией Apple о продаже этих телефонов
в России Шамолин характеризовал как "переговоры между наркоманом и драгдиллером" Два: Михаил Чернышев, директор по маркетинговым коммуникациям, ТЕЛЕ2 Россия представил кейс -
падение метеорита в Латвии, которое, как потом оказалось было инсценировкой Теле2.
Теле2 потратило на выкоп кратера и заваливание его алюминевой стружкой и серой 7000 евро.
Вызвало пожарных - а уже те, увидев плавящуюся землю в воронке с температурой 2000 градусов,
сами вызвали прессу, ученых и проч. Теле2 потом выплатили пожарным компенсацию в 6000 евро
за ложный вызов.
В итоге Теле2 получило выходов статей на более чем 20 млн евро, затратив всего 13000 евро.
Мало того, помимо PR-эффекта – Теле2 сразу же развил вирусный эффект в продуктовой линейке.
Был выпущен тариф «Метеорит» - за которым первый раз за историю Теле2 выстраивались очереди.Источники: 1 и 2И безо всякой связи с вышеуказанным, если кто-то из знакомых летит 29го вечером или 30го утром из Тель-Авива в Нерезиновую - дайте знать плз, понадобится мелкое одолжение моему другу. |
| Monday, December 28th, 2009 |
cos
|
4:36p |
Sherlock Holmes (almost completely non-spoilery)
Fun action mystery with a lot of good lines and satisfying scenes. Fits in pretty well with the canon Sherlock Holmes (a lot better than the Star Wars prequels fit in with the original trilogy, for example). Clever. Not amazing, but a good time. Previews made it seem very violent. While it did have about as much fighting as the previews had led me to expect, the movie as a whole was a lot less focused on the fighting than I had expected. |
dwarkin
|
4:14p |
Революция fair price
В последнее время все чаще сталкиваюсь с очень интересным явлением, рискну назвать его революцией Fair Price, то есть "справедливой цены". Интересно, что впервые я обратил внимание на этот тренд в рабочем контексте, и об этом еще напишу чуточку позже, но простой потребительский момент получается гораздо более наглядным. Если постараться сформулировать все в одной фразе, то сегодня людям гораздо проще получить максимально подробно информацию об интересующем их предмете, и купить его онлайн, или просто сравнить цены в десятке интернет-магазинов. Дальше в ход идут следующие параметры - как срочно мне хочется эту цацку, есть ли шансы, что родная налоговая захочет свои 15-20% от цены за сам факт ввоза, сильно-ли нужна местная гарантия - и т.д. и т.п. И все-таки факт остается фактом - если вещь нужна не кровь из носу еще вчера, ее цена сколько-нибудь существенна, а милый израильский импортер накручивает себе 100% от ее стоимости - то лучше рискнуть онлайн-покупкой у какого-нибудь гонконговского китайца, чем дарить свои деньги нахальному Мошику, который считает себя пупом земли, целиком контролирует рынок, и думает, что может выставлять на свою продукцию цены "с потолка". И это, конечно, касается не только мелких промтоваров - телеком-рынок мы еще обсудим отдельно, но к этому же тренду относится израильский феномен "групп закупки", когда собирается компания совершенно незнакомых между собой людей, совместно покупает землю, а уж потом нанимает строительных подрядчиков и девелоперов. Сегодня, кстати, слышал, что собираются подобную штуку устроить и с лисинговыми машинами - то есть собирается группа людей, нанимает какое-то колличество наемных работников, и по принципу "fair price" обеспечивает всем желающим тот уровень сервиса, который они привыкли получать от лизинговой компании. Краегольными камнями революции fair price являются, на мой взгляд, три вещи - социальные сети (то есть легкая возможность найти себе единомышленников для любой затеи, даже совершенно непопулярной), trusted third party (то есть максимально обьективный арбитр,которому каждая из сторон может доверять), ну и конечно-же легкая возможность добытьв интернете практически любую интересующую тебя информацию за несколько минут - от кулинарных рецептов, до сравнительного сравнения разных рамок пылесосов или телевизоров. На сегодня все :) Позже напишу пару строчек про современный телеком-контент рынок, и дам пару советов израильтянам покупающим на ebay ;) |
diplobrat
|
3:02a |
|
| Sunday, December 27th, 2009 |
batshua
|
9:30p |
Arm Update.
I slept as much of this weekend as I could, because when I'm sleeping or dozing, the arm doesn't act up as much. This gave my poor shoulder a chance to relax some, which is good, because it's got the world's most ginormous knot in it. I hit myself in the head five times yesterday, but the arm is slowly starting to do better. I didn't sleep so well last night because my not-cold finally blew up into a monster cold last night. I spent every hour or so getting up to clear out my lungs and nose and all that. Lots of coughing and wheezing, the whole nine yards. EW. Really, truly, gross and upsetting. Tonight I'm taking a cough suppressant and a decongestant, and since I'm seeing my regular doctor tomorrow anyway, I'll see if he can give me something to make the symptoms die. This week is my last week of work, but I don't want to slack off. |
unblinkable
|
2:36p |
Mother Necessity
The closet in our new bedroom is kinda big... not quite a walk-in, but deeper than normal. Anyway... since we don't have any clothes rods or shelving yet, it's now become Fin's nursery. Haha! :D |
unblinkable
|
2:17p |
Christmas 2009
It was SUCH a great day... Christmas, that is. Probably my favorite one so far. Maybe because our family is truly complete. It just felt different. But also, we hit the nail on the head, gift wise... and the looks on the kids' faces was just priceless. Parker: Cahone (Latin drum)
Stick bag (for drum sticks)
The Oath (Frank Peretti book)
Peyton:
Piano (we bartered for it!!)
Super Smash Bro. (video game)
Mastermind (board game)
Mabry:
Doll House
Mini Van (for doll house)
EZ Bake Oven
Fin:
Pacifiers
Burp cloths
Mylicon drops Peyton was the most shocked about the piano... and rightly so! He's been taking lessons for three years now and is really committed to it. He'd always practiced on Jeff's keyboard... but every so often he would say, "There's just nothing like the sound of a real piano". We explained a long time ago that pianos are expensive and a keyboard would have to do. Then, a few months ago, a friend of mine put on Facebook that they were wanting to get rid of an antique upright that they had gotten for their daughters years ago. And I jumped on it! Luckily, they needed family pictures and the mom was more than willing to trade the piano for them!! The delivered it to our house on Christmas Eve and we hid it in the dining room until the next morning... the most PERFECT surprise!! |
dwarkin
|
5:42p |
Про Пусю и Мусю
В моей семье - прибавление. Можно было бы конечно сбацать сейчас пару страниц в жанре саспенса о том, как я долго мечтал наконец-то ее увидеть, как приходилось довольствовался невнятными фотографиями, как наконец смог взять ее на руки, и какое удовольствие доставило увидеть ее ползающей по квартире и издающей смешные звуки. Но,хватит держать читателей в напряжении ... ( читаем дальше? ) |
diplobrat
|
3:03a |
|
mark_argent
|
5:02a |
fontographer at the gates of hell
12:58:47 AM Mark Argent: do you think that if you printed an entire edition of the Bible in comic sans, you'd go to Hell? 12:59:32 AM Mark Argent: like, there are some things that God can't countenance in his name 12:59:39 AM QuestionerXX: Hey, some of the earliest texts were copied onto Papyrus so why not? 12:59:44 AM QuestionerXX: *rimshot* 1:00:03 AM Mark Argent: wah wah waaaaaah 1:00:08 AM QuestionerXX: old testament? Hell 1:00:35 AM Mark Argent: like, I saw this big sticker across some dude's windshield today 1:00:37 AM Mark Argent: GOD IS GREAT 1:00:41 AM QuestionerXX: New Testament, more laid back 1:00:43 AM Mark Argent: in this ridiculous cartoon bubble font 1:00:47 AM Mark Argent: and I'm thinking 1:00:54 AM Mark Argent: maybe God wouldn't be okay with cartoon bubble fonts 1:01:00 AM Mark Argent: like, I know God is love and all that 1:01:09 AM Mark Argent: but God's love stops abruptly at Comic Sans 1:01:12 AM QuestionerXX: But it's like "Don't push it" 1:01:44 AM QuestionerXX: Really, the only way to know for sure is to print it and see if the page sets fire or not 1:01:56 AM QuestionerXX: maybe not scientific as all that, but I think it's a solid theory as any 1:03:03 AM Mark Argent: like, it doesn't matter how close to the word of God it is 1:03:08 AM Mark Argent: closest translation ever 1:03:28 AM Mark Argent: most tolerant and accepting and loving and truest version of the Bible ever 1:03:32 AM Mark Argent: Comic Sans? go to hell. 1:03:54 AM Mark Argent: Saint Peter all shaking his head at you as you're cast into the Pit 1:04:19 AM Mark Argent: Satan going a little easy on you the first couple days because he knows what you're in for 1:04:39 AM QuestionerXX: You answer "What are you in for?" and the whole room gasps and then goes silent 1:04:49 AM QuestionerXX: Hitler suddenly can't think of anything to say 1:05:35 AM Mark Argent: the great tyrants of history all turn their back on you as one 1:06:28 AM QuestionerXX: The guy who invented comic sans offers a cheerful hello before he's tossed back into the hell of being consumed my maggots 1:06:29 AM QuestionerXX: by 1:06:57 AM QuestionerXX: even he is pretty much skating his way through hell at this point, however 1:09:14 AM Mark Argent: you show up at the gates of hell and say what you're in for, and there's a sound of a needle scratching a record like a thousand iron talons scraping across a field of slate |
weirddave
|
4:18a |
Can I talk about my son Matthew for a minute?
First of all, he's an idiot. He's almost 16 years old, being an idiot is endemic with him. Hell, *I* was an idiot at his age. He drives me up a wall trying to deal with him. But....but....he constantly surprises me with how good a kid he is. I adopted him 5 years ago, I made him my son on par with my other son Jimmy, and even though I may sometimes dote on Jimmy (because it's easy to do so, Jimmy is five and I am his world) at Matthew's expense, I can never forget how great Matthew is. Tonight was a perfect case in point. Our car broke hundreds of miles from home. Matthew was expected to be stuffed into the back of a rental so we could get home. He did it with not one word of complaint. He spent almost 4 hours stuffed into the hatch of a Chevy Equinox, amongst boxes of stuff from our broken car. He was crammed into a space I wouldn't keep a dog in and he voiced not one word of complaint. I can't tell you how much he impressed me in doing so. I love the kid so much, even though I see him making same of the same mistakes I made when I was his age. That's no matter, tonight, he stepped up and did what needed to be done. I give him all kinds of hell. That's my job as a father. Tonight he exceeded my expectations. I am a very lucky man to have a teenage son who did what he did tonight. Most kids his age would be whining, but Matthew uttered not a peep, he even helped keep track of his much younger brother beside the highway while we were waiting for a taxi. I love my son Matthew, in everything except academic achievement he makes me proud of him. I'll say it for the record: Matthew, I love you and I am proud, very proud, that you're my son. |
| Saturday, December 26th, 2009 |
marlowe1
|
6:55p |
Yeshiva Univesrity Event - "Being Gay in the Orthodox World" reaction
So after blogging about the YU event and saying too much about too many things, a friend tells me that he's read the blog and he's read a lot of blogs because he was googling this event and he wants to hear other perspectives. He was very moved and touched by the event (I almost said blown away but that sounds too much like a bad pun) and for those who were raised in sheltered frum life, it was a revalatory experience. So I should cut them a little slack. Anyhow. I got to the event late. I had to push through people to get to the soft drinks. Then I had to push through people to get to the cookies. And then I had to push through people to get out becasue I was a little bored. On the stage were four guys who had all but one told their stories. Rabbi Blau was moderating the event. I only heard the last one who was a Republican who liked women just fine and then had to realize that he liked to hang out with women as if they were accessories. Similar to earrings. Or tacky belts. Depending. Ok I'm extapolating. And after he graduated, he came out of the closet to himself and then to others. And he kept coming out to people on individual levels and coming out to the people who were the least likely to be accepting and they were all accepting. And he's still working in Finance and voting Republican. There were some questions. Mostly along the lines of "what's it like being gay?" and Rabbi Blau was asked how he could run the event. Some words were given concerning halacha and how tehre are several halachic difficulties. Everyone clapped and cheered at their bravery. And some words were given to why there are Pride Parades (because not everyone looks good dancing with his shirt off?) My reaction is still what it was before. I was bored. It also reminded me of being 17 and nominally non-homophobic but also uncomfortable around gay people. Like gay people should get rights and all that but it's an unfortunate condition like cancer or mullets that is best left undiscussed unless it's needed. That might be a Minnesota thing. Anyhow, that's how I felt when I was a teenager. And that seems to be the way a lot of people at the event felt and even something as safe and as blandly positive as this kind of event would pose a revelation to them. So good for them. Ironically, I had just read the scene in The Saturday Wife where the main character's friends from Stern (or whatever she is calling Stern in the book) shows up at her Shabbos table with her non-Jewish girlfriend all excited with the invite and hoping for some Orthodox representation at her gay wedding. It was really a false note. I like this particular Naomi Ragen book but that scene was over the top. It did have the purpose of making the protagonist uncomfortable; however, it was patently false. The two characters were over the top for regular secular meals - and for an Orthodox Shabbos meal, completely ridiculous. At least the Shabbos meals I've been to with gay couples, there's a very restrained behavior. Not that they are in the closet but there's a very large gradation between in the closet and making out at the table. Naomi Ragen depicted her characters as the latter. There was also my friend back in SLP who came out after I left. My reaction which was not conveyed to her was an "Are you sure?" because she's old enough to have been at Woodstock and one thinks that someone would come out a long long time before she did. But the interesting thing about that was that the MOdern Orthodox rabbi told her friends not to talk to her. The Agudah rabbi told her that she was welcome in shul because it was just one sin among many and if anyone had a problem with her being a lesbian and belonging to the shul then they should talk to him. But that might be less to do with the movements and more to do with the character of the rabbis. I respect the agudah rabbi. I have no respect for the MO rabbi of SLP and neither did his congregation who finally gave up on firing him and finally just broke off and formed their own shul. |
diplobrat
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3:02a |
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| Friday, December 25th, 2009 |
mamadeb
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3:14p |
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