Sands in the hourglass......

Some days I think that I was meant to be pagan.

I love the spectacle, you see. I love the idea that firespinning can be part of worship, that the song below can be a prayer. I wish that the ritual I grew up with was as homegrown and wild and beautiful. That I could make a Labyrinth for myself, and walk it with a friend to find solace and meaning. A style of worship where no one has to find the answers to make women powerful and full members of the community. Where I can be who I am. A life where sex is magic and magic is real. Where everyone is celebrated. A place where drums call the dawn down.

Instead I have the stilted words of men who did not understand what it was to be a woman. Men who lived so long ago that today's world would be as though they landed on a foreign planet. The prayers of women come from a time where women were still considered less-than, still so profoundly othered.

I grew up feeling a second class citizen in my own religion, and inherited a profound discontent with a religion in which I do my utmost to find what meaning I can. I still believe in the rules, you see. I am bound by rules. there are many aspects of my life when rules make things better. Sometimes I just wish I had had a hand in the writing of them.

That's when I listen to s00j's neo-pagan stuff. When I think that those are the songs I was meant to be singing as a child, rather than rote prayers that still make little sense. And the wild pagan goddess creature in me dances and rejoices. I'm not really going to be showing up to any pagan worship anytime soon, or anytime ever. I'll keep carving out a space in the religion that God put me into that can really be mine. But one day, when I am old enough that no one can condemn me for my needs, I will spin fire. I will make beauty. I will knit prayers and love into blankets for babies, and sing songs of wild promise for all around me to hear. My daughters and sons will know that any path that brings them hope and light and happiness is a path to God. I will hope that by then, my own religion will have figured itself out enough that there is beauty and fire and wildness and hope.

Until then, I give you "Firebird's Child."

I love my friends (and they love me, but that's not actually the direction this post is going). We are mostly the same breed of rather amusing crazy.

Last night, as often happens on a Saturday night, we all found ourselves at mbarr's apartment, eating pizza and sitting around chatting. The conversation wove around through the myriad topics we all find interesting. At some point, the following comment was made: "Rav Yochanan was a very pretty man." shirei_shibolim compared Reish Lakish to a particular comic panel, and cynara_linnaea and I made fun of R’ Yochanan’s presumed hair tossing. levana_b chimed in with the thought that he should be voiced by Rupert Everett (a la Prince Charming in Shrek). shirei_shibolim determined that the laws of Hollywood would only permit the casting of Orlando Bloom (in the Legolas wig). The downward spiral simply ensued.

What follows is as thorough a fancasting of the major Talmudic players as we could manage. Like 1776, there are few female roles, so we had to propose multiple women for the same part. The major pairs are put together, a list of assorted voices follows that, and some amusing single appearance characters follow them. If you get this, and would like to add characters or suggest a casting change, please feel free. The fact that the actor is dead should prove no obstacle. We understand that this movie could (and probably should) never actually be made.

"The League of Extraordinary Rabbis"

Hillel - Tom Hanks
Shammai - Alan Rickman

R’ Yochanan - Orlando Bloom
Reish Lakish - Hugh Jackman

Rabban Gamliel - Sean Bean
R’ Yehoshua - Liam Neeson

Abbaye - Jim Carrey
Rava - John Rhys Davies

Rav - Kirk Douglas
Shmuel - Robert Redford

Rav Ashi - Christopher Eccelston
Ravina - David Tennent

Bar Kochba - David Carradine
Tavi - Hank Azaria
R’ Akiva - Robin Williams
Rachel - Laura Linney
R’ Meir - Colin Firth/Steve Carrel
Bruria - Natalie Portman/Morena Baccarin/Reese Witherspoon
Elazar Ben Azaryah - Ian McKellan
R’ Eliezer - James Marsters
R’ Yochana ben Zakkai - Patrick Stewart
Raba - Anthony Stewart Head
Shimon Bar Yochai - Christopher Walken
Eliezer Bar Shimon - Hayden Christenson
R’ Zeira - Neil Patrick Harris
R’ Yehuda - Peter O’ Toole
R’ Shimon - Nathan Fillion
R’ Elazar ben Durdai - Richard Gere
Elijah - Michael Gambon
Elisha ben Abuyah - Johnny Depp

Confused Moshe - Charlton Heston
Obnoxious question poser (among other things, the man who asks to be taught the Torah while standing on one foot) - William Shatner
Ashmodai (Demon King) - Robert De Niro
Stama (Narrative Voice) - Morgan Freeman
Bat Kol (Heavenly Voice) - James Earl Jones
Greek Chorus of Sages - Statler and Waldorf
Angel of Death - DEATH

We are proposing a series of interlinked films (Marvel Universe style) based on the wackiest stories in the Talmud we can find. These should culminate in one final film: "The Redaction" (sort of like "The Avengers").

Screenplays by Neil Gaiman with funny bits by Terry Pratchett (especially the bits by the Angel of Death)
Directed, of course, by Joss Whedon



This insanity has been brought to you by: crewgrrl, mbarr, taylweaver, cynara_linnaea, masteraleph, mollygrue, levana_b and shirei_shibolim. Have a good laugh.

Bill Nye helps Rachel Maddow take all those people who deny climate change to task. Also he kind of tears them a scientific new one.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

It's hard to sum up how I feel about the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. My family doesn't have breast cancer in our medical histories. I have a friend whose mom is a survivor, but that's the sum total of my personal connections to the disease.

And yet I was overwhelmed this year by a flood of feelings, as I was last year. To see survivors who completed the race faster than I did. To see pink placards proclaiming that this person was running in memorial for her mother, or her aunt, or her sister. Looking up and down Central Park West and the race route through the park and seeing runners and walkers of all ages, races and both genders filling my field of vision. All of these things filled me with hope and inspiration and pride.

Because today I did my part to eradicate a disease that by all rights should no longer be here. There is no reason that we can't beat this.

So, while I try not to use this space to stand on a soapbox or shill for a cause, I'm going to ask you one thing. Next year, even if you can't run, support the race. Sponsor a runner. Sleep in for the cure (they actually send you a race number and everything). If you can, walk. Turn the memorial placards into celebration placards. Get us to the point where we still run to remember the bad old days when this disease claimed lives and changed our loved ones. Help run breast cancer out of town.


I find it very amusing that this entry replaces the entry from last year's run in my 20 most recent entries. I have been a bad blogger.

When your last 20 entries span almost a year, you are neglecting your blog.

Now, it's not all my fault. I've been incredibly busy with school, work, and pretending that I have this thing we call a social life. I had three weddings in one month (there went nearly every Sunday in June) I spent a month co-planning both a bachelor and a bachelorette party (both halves of the same couple), planning an inordinate amount of wedding shtick (partly my own work and partly by committee), stressing out over a dress for the above wedding (it showed up half an hour before I had to be at the hall for pictures).

And that was just June!

I forgot to mention the 8 am summer classes that started a week after spring classes had ended, that only ended last week. So there went most of my energy in July. I've also been working a lot, trying to get as many hours as I can before I become a gallivanting traveler for about 2 weeks. Then school again! My life is exhausting just reading about it.

I promise to have more insightful things to say in the future. In the meantime, check my twitter feed (same username) for amusing work stories and my sheer boredom capacity!

After reading a few blog con wrap ups, I feel like it's time to post mine.

For a first con, this was absolutely perfect. I mostly got to attend the panels I wanted to, played some great games, and got sucked into techno fandom. The Shabbat aspect was interesting, but as it was in the Rye Town Hilton, which doubles as a Pesach hotel, all the rooms had real keys. I met some great people, mostly all staff and tech crew. I was "technically" on the crew, my official job being "take care of the tech director" (mbarr). Making sure he ate, slept and had alcohol at all the right times. I suppose it was a good way to make friends with the important people. Getting a staff ribbon did mean I got an employee discount, so I bought a stiletto knife for my costume. I bought some amusing buttons, and commissioned a pencil sketch portrait of myself.

All in all, it was quite a nice weekend. I got an insane amount of mileage out of my bodice (Threads of Time, standard cloth reversible, Tribal Blade embroidery), and walked around thinking "these are my people." Saw knitters among the fen and chatted about Ravelry. I need to start wearing a Ravelry button with my user ID to places like this, so people can find me again. The crew kept begging me to come to Arisia, but I probably won't be able to afford hotel space, let alone be able to negotiate the time off. But I will see everyone again at next Lunacon!

This was originally going to be a "Bad blogger, no cookie" type post, but I'm over the need for self-flagellation in this respect.

I'm finishing things. Knitted things that were left by the wayside when I moved back in with my mom, projects that were boring, things that didn't exactly bore me but got dropped when something more interesting came along, and things that just had that last little bit to finish.

To date, these items include:
~ A feather and fan lace scarf knit out of 100% alpaca
~ My purple coat, which will be the perfect late winter early spring coat and is just too pretty for words
~ The pieces of my Booga Bag, which still need to be felted
~ My felted clogs, where I still need to finish 1 more outer sole and join it to the rest of the clog (also will need to be felted)
~ My blue and purple ribbed cardigan, where I am almost done with the back and have one front left to knit, plus putting it together and doing a button band

So there is definitely a felting party in my future, as I also knit up the Satchel pattern from Knitty. I had a TON of leftover worsted weight feltable wool and wanted to make a bag that I could use with my new knitted coat. As many of you have seen, I live out of messenger bags. I need a bag that can hold my MacBook, my iPod, my cell phone, my wallet, often a pair of shoes, and at least one small knitting project. I also like having a small inner pocket where I keep said wallet, keys, and small things that I don't want to have to root around in the bottom of the bag for. Lately, you may find a pack of cigarettes in there as well, but you will have to forgive me my coping mechanisms. Speaking of coping mechanisms, chocolate from Australia is a wonderful mood elevator. A big bag also helps keep me from traveling like a Bedouin and stick to my 2 bag limit when I go anywhere.

I am also slogging along on a mistake rib scarf that was meant to be given as a thank you gift quite some time ago. And, of course, there is the wedding afghift. Due to the crazy that exploded in my brain last week, I haven't worked on it since then, as it is in one of its insanely complicated phases right now.

So there it is, my long overdue knitting update. Yes, I'm still knitting. Yes, I'm still enjoying it, even as it frustrates me. And of course it still makes me feel way proud to say "I made it myself."

Ok, now who's laughing at 8, 7, and 6?

"Live in Teaneck, make money, send money, feel guilty." - Menachem Leibtag (attributed)

The above question was an answer given to a student who asked his teacher what he should do if he didn't feel that he could hack it in Israel. But it seems like anyone can make it there these days. Providing, of course, that they don't really live there.

My brother coined a new phrase - "Aliyah lite." (For those unfamiliar with the Hebrew, Aliyah means immigrating to Israel.) He plans to do this one day himself. He want to move to Israel, live in an American (or just Anglo) community, visit America every summer (to make money), and avoid most of Israeli society. He wants his children to speak Hebrew, to spend shekels instead of dollars, but god forbid they should actually be Israeli. God forbid they join the army (especially the girls).

I can't decide which is worse - people like this or Americans who leave the best Jerusalem real estate vacant 80% of the year. Those are people who buy big expensive apartments in very nice neighborhoods, visit them three times a year, and leave them vacant the rest of the time. They drive up the cost of real estate so that native Israelis are having difficulty getting apartments.

What do we see Israel as? A nice vacation spot, but I wouldn't want to live there? Someplace to take advantage of when it suits us and leave behind when it doesn't? Or do we see it as a country, with it's own society, ethics and values. A country like any other. And when you pick up and move to another country, you LIVE there. You're not just visiting.


/rant

Today I helped women all over the world.

Today I helped save second base.

Today I ran and walked.

Today I raced for a cure.

Today I learned that disease has no racial prejudices and doesn't care how rich you are.

Today I looked ahead and behind me and saw hope, as far as I could see.

Next year, I hope you can say the same thing.