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Below are the 18 most recent journal entries.

	2009.05.06  17.38 My latest composition to arise from my participation in the Jewish Young Adult Writers' Forum. When Worlds Collide Posted using ShareThis

	2008.11.15  23.36 Camp vs. Kitsch What's better than watching horrendously ill-conceived performances on YouTube? Voting on them! Ladies and gentlement, I proudly present Camp vs. Kitsch.

	2008.11.11  15.24 Stereophonics Rebooted as Idelsohn Society I have re-entered the blogosphere, as a contributor to jewschool.com. And what better way to make my splash than with a post that talks about, among other things, the Barry Sisters? Stereophonics Rebooted as Idelsohn Society Posted using ShareThis

	2008.07.03  23.47 new, original muppet content!

	2008.04.22  19.18 Earth Day I'm not sure if it's the zeitgeist or living in Jamaica Plain or reading books like The Omnivore's Dilemma or simply getting older and feeling more responsible, but I'm noticing changes in the way I think about the environment. Or rather, The Environment. For example, since moving to JP, I've started taking recycling much more seriously. Sure, I have curbside recycling, so it's easy, but I even wash out jars so I can recycle them. And I'm not just talking about things like applesauce that take a minute to wash out. I'm talking peanut butter. I can't think of the last time I bought a water bottle (although I still drink more canned soda than I should). I have a nalgene on my desk at work and another in my car and I'm doing much better at reducing that kind of waste. Today I even bought my very first reusable shopping bag. At the Harvest Co-op. Which I had walked to. In order to buy some organic produce. And now that gas is hovering around $3.50/gallon, I really think I should buy a bike. I've wanted a bike for a while, but I'm nervous about riding in the city. Will I get hit by a car? Will I sweat too much to make it a feasible way to get to work? Can I afford a bike? If I take it seriously, what I save in gas should pay for the bike in a month or two. And I'm pretty sure there are bike-safety classes in JP. And for heavens' sake, I don't live in Cambridge any more, so there must be safe routes for biking to work. (Is there a mapquest-for-bicycles? That would be excellent.) So as I ponder this potential purchase, if anyone out there has suggestions about bike-riding and bike-owning in the city, please share your insights. (I already know I need to keep it indoors - one of my neighbors has already had her bike stolen from off our back porch.)

	2008.03.19  21.17 Telling Old Stories Anew One of the most formative influences on my Jewish identity is, for good and for ill, the years I spent (and continue to spend) involved with USY. In the New England Region, we have a tradition that whenever the region spends Shabbat together, the regional president tells a Jewish story before mincha. Through my years as a USYer, I heard dozens of Jewish folktales. (I have since learned that some of these stories even have authors, and original versions! But at the time, I never connected their tellings and retellings to Peretz and Singer and the rest. Thank goodness for graduate school. But I digress.) As regional president, it fell to me to tell the stories, so I devoured collections of Yiddish tales and Chasidic tales and listened carefully when rabbis and friends told stories that I might adapt. In the years since, there have been many opportunities for me to hear successive generations of USY presidents tell stories, and on more than one occasion the current president has asked me to tell him or her a story in case I might have one that's usable. One story that seemed to continually resurface in USY went something like this: There was a town that had a group of holy men, and every year they would go out to the secret, appointed place with their secret, special implements to perform their secret, specific ceremony involving the secret, precise way to light a fire and the changing of a secret and beautiful prayer, and God was happy. As generations passed, the group of holy men dwindled until there was only one holy man left who knew the location of the secret place, the way to make the secret implements, the order of the secret ceremony, the procedure for lighting the secret fire, and the words to the secret prayer. But he faithfully enacted the ceremony every year and God was happy. When he passed away it fell to his son, who could not find the secret place, so ohe took the implements to a new place where performed the secret ceremony, lit the secret fire and chanted the secret poem. And God was happy. When he passed away, his son no longer knew how to make the implements, so... you get the idea. Until we come to today, where there's no one left who even knows whether God is happy or not. The story is a very effective precautionary tale against assimilation, reinforcing the importance of teaching our traditions to successive generations. But today, the story seems all wrong to me. There's a piece missing. If a generation has lost their way to a holy place, perhaps the holiness of that place did not resonate with them. But instead telling the story that they compromised by doing their ceremony any place, shouldn't we celebrate their ingenuity at finding a new place that holds meaning for them? And instead of despairing that a later generation forgot the poem or the melody or the fire, why not celebrate that generation's yearning to approach God with their own words, with new music, with a different, personal ritual? In my story, that's exactly what happens. And next time I have the opportunity to share a Jewish story, I know exactly what story I'm going to tell.

	2007.12.21  18.11 Being like Ephraim and Manasseh This week Jews around the world conclude the reading of the book of Genesis in the annual Torah reading cycle. From this part of the Torah, we receive the tradition of blessing our children in the names of Ephraim and Manasseh. But what does that mean? I explore this topic in an essay for Jewish Mosaic's Torah Queeries, a weekly queer look at the Torah... Click here to read it...

	2007.11.17  09.49 collecting latkes I'm collecting recipes for latkes (and variations thereof) to use at the upcoming Keshet 20s/30s Latkes & Liquors party at my house. So far, I've got Mark Bittman's Beet Roesti with Rosemary from How To Cook Everything, as well as Tex Mex Latkes and Celeriac-Scallion Latkes with Red Pepper Sauce, both from Jim Dixon's Real Good Food (by way of Amy). Plus, I will probably come up with some sort of Sweet Potato Latkes, although I like the frozen ones so much I might just stock up. Anyway, if you have suggestions of other variations on the theme of latkes, please send them along!

	2007.11.03  03.46 film review in miniature Today I saw Wristcutters: A Love Story, based on the Etgar Keret novella "Kneller's Happy Campers" (which I first read in its comic-book adaptation as "Pizzeria Kamikaze"). I can't believe the director tacked on a happy ending. To me, this supremely misses the point of the story. Even more than making the characters Americans, which also sort of bothered me. (As the film ended, I felt how I imagine Baum fans felt in 1939 when Judy Garland's Dorothy woke up.) The movie wasn't bad - and Tom Waits in particular was great - but of the three versions of the story, it's by far my least favorite.

	2007.08.16  15.01 Folk Concert to benefit Keshet Safe Schools & Supportive Communities (Boston) Hi everyone - For those of you in the Greater Boston area, Keshet is holding a folk concert to benefit the Safe Scholls & Supportive Communities project, which is the branch of our programming that works with Jewish institutions like synagogues, schools, camps, etc. to help them become more GLBT inclusive. I don't know much about folk music, but from what I understand, the acts are all top-notch. The concert features Liz Stahler, with P.J. Shapiro, Mark Lipman, and Rebecca Katz. It's on Thursday evening, August 30, 2007. Doors open at 6:30, concert starts at 7:00 pm, at Ohabei Shalom, 1187 Beacon Street in Brookline. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, $15 for students and low-income. Children under 12 are free. There's also free childcare available for the younger set to those who RSVP by August 22nd (space is limited) to orly@keshetonline.org. Tickets are available online at KeshetOnline.org or by phone - 617.524.9227. To sample some of the music: To sample some of the music, visit: Liz Stahler: http://www.lizstahler.com/ PJ Shapiro: http://www.pjshapiro.com/ Mark Lipman: http://tinyurl.com/2we2zz Rebecca Katz: http://tinyurl.com/3afqze Feel free to distribute the information far and wide, and please come and bring lots of friends! (And if you're curious to learn more about what Keshet's Safe Schools & Supportive Communities project does, or how to bring us to your institution, just ask!)

	2007.03.04  09.10 Happy Purim! Okay, so maybe I went bowling instead of to a megilla reading last night. But! I started baking hamentashen the minute I got home - just after midnight. I used this recipe (although with canned filling) in an attempt to recreate the yeastily delicious "traditional" hamentashen that I love far better than the more common cookie variety. However, my dough didn't rise overnight, so I'm a little nervous about what they're going to taste like. I will hear the megillah this morning, though. One of my friends is hosting a "pyjama reading" (her spelling, not mine) at 10am. Now I just need to make a last-minute gragger.

	2007.02.10  11.35 pardon my phraseology two words I've now incorporated into my lexicon: Manfume - perfume for men. So much description in two little syllables. Shebrew - the more equally gendered language employed by progressive Jews in prayer, particularly at Havurat Shalom in Somerville, MA. (Last night I was complimented by one of thre regulars for my quick mastery of the Shebrew, although she didn't use the word. I guess all those hours of Biblical Hebrew are paying off in some way.)

	2006.10.16  00.00 My life in theatre... or at least my last couple of years I just realized that since I've been writing for Talkin' Broadway, I've reviewed close to 30 shows. In the interest of being able to track these reviews down for later use, here's a quick reference guide: Company Ears on a Beatle The Value of Names Big River (and the Wang Center Family Series) Johnny Guitar The Sound of Music john and jen and blue/orange Homebody/Kabul The Old Man and the Sea The Trojan Whore You Never Know Into the Woods Laughin Wild Frogz Carmen Promises, Promises Brooklyn Boy Talley's Folly Boots on the Ground The Man Who Caroline, or Change Once Upon a Mattress The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told 1776 The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Women

	2006.09.19  22.15 I'm a winner! Hey, it looks like I won the first week of the contest over at blankwhitecards. See if you can guess which card in this week's contest is mine. And now that I've actually used an LJ smart tag I think I need to go visit the mikveh.

	2006.09.14  22.51 1kbwc I know I never ever ever post to lj, but I am submitting stuff for the weekly contest happening in the blankwhitecards community (ha! I don't even know how to do one of those little livejournaly links), so if you're interested in a glimpse into my twisted mind - now with graphics! - go take a peek.

	2006.08.06  15.28 Robin, The Boy Wonder "Robin wasn't skinny. He had the build of a middleweight, the legs of a wrestler. He was obviously an 'A' student, the center of every circle, the one picked for greatness in the crowd -- God, how I hated him. You can imagine how pleased I was when, years later, I heard he was a fag." - Jules Feiffer

	2005.02.22  09.31 Vote for Judd! Why am I posting on the livejournal for the first time in four years? Because my friend Judd Harris is one of the finalists on this season of American Idol. I've known Judd since 1999. Those of you who knew me then might recall a cross-country trip I took with one Sarah Knight. Certain rumors about my relationship with Sarah drifted back to the coast while we were still making our way across cornfields. We planned on remedying those rumors once school started. But in the two weeks in between our arrival and the start of school, she met Judd and everything changed. Judd's a terrific singer and a great guy. He's very generous (I always stay on his couch when I visit New York), and a cutie to boot. He loves New Orleans funk - it's in his blood - but I think America will be blown away when he lets loose a ballad or a pop song, since they haven't heard that side of him yet. The man can do anything. And he looks mighty fine in tight pants. Anyway, voting is over for this week - watch the results show on Wednesday to see what happens. And then next Monday, make sure your dialing finger is ready! Judd Harris for American Idol!!!

	2001.12.20  19.05 browngirl asked for people to tell her their life stories. Mine wouldn't fit in the comment text box, so here goes: If the lady asks for a story, she should get at least one story! ( Here's mine. )