Temptations come from Motown to Easton
Saw the Temptations tonight at the Avalon Theater in Easton, MD. After 45 years, these guys are still
going strong. Granted, only one of the original gang is still living (Otis Williams is on tour), and the rest are no spring chickens to be sure, but despite all that, these guys still have moves that remind me what a white boy I am. They played all their Motown hits - The Way You Do the Things You Do, My Girl, Aint Too Proud to Beg. It occured to me during the show that their style of music is from a truly different era and one I think our country misses. I’ve decided to start a "bring back Motown" movement. Who’s with me?
Eric Hoffer on Israel from 1968
This comment in 1968 by Eric Hoffer - author of The True Believer - was posted by Michale Ledeen on the National Review blog today. The world has held Israel to a terrible double standard, really since its establishment as a state. This quote from 1968 is as spot on today as it was then. There are numerous possible reasons for this, but the fact that it exists is indesputable from my vantage point. More to come on Israel in the coming days.
The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews.Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem. Russia did it, Poland and Czechoslovakia did it, Turkey threw out a million Greeks, and Algeria a million Frenchman. Indonesia threw out heaven knows how many Chinese-and no one says a word about refugees.
But in the case of Israel the displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees. Everyone insists that Israel
must take back every single Arab. Arnold Toynbee calls the displacement
of the Arabs an atrocity greater than any committed by the Nazis. Other
nations when victorious on the battlefield dictate peace terms. But
when Israel is victorious it must sue for peace .Everyone
expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world. Other
nations when they are defeated survive and recover but should Israel be defeated it would be destroyed. Had Nasser triumphed last June [1967] he would have wiped Israel
off the map, and no one would have lifted a finger to save the Jews. No
commitment to the Jews by any government, including our own, is worth
the paper it is written on .There is a cry of outrage all over the world when people die in Vietnam or when two Blacks are executed in Rhodesia.
But when Hitler slaughtered Jews no one remonstrated with him. The
Swedes, who are ready to break off diplomatic relations with America because of what we do in Vietnam,
did not let out a peep when Hitler was slaughtering Jews. They sent
Hitler choice iron ore, and ball bearings, and serviced his troop
trains to Norway.The Jews are alone in the world. If Israel survives, it will be solely because of Jewish efforts. And Jewish resources. Yet at this moment Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally. We can rely more on Israel than Israel
can rely on us. And one has only to imagine what would have happened
last summer [1967] had the Arabs and their Russian backers won the war
to realize how vital the survival of Israel is to America and the West in general.I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us. Should Israel perish the holocaust will be upon us.
Billboard on 54th and 7th Ave
I have a feeling this is a creative marketing campaign for some new sleezy sitcom (think desperate housewives part 2) about to begin in the fall on one of the major networks. I wish writers would come up with more positive-themed programming and television execs would be more focused on finding them. Its analogous to the stand-up comic who gets laughs by making fun of people. There is a better way…a higher road. Why sensationalize infidelity and filanderous behavior? It only makes it seem more socially acceptable to the masses. Let’s leave that to the tabloids. Television, once a media form held in a higher journalistic regard, often seems indistinguishable from tabloid journalism. I have no doubt that the next generation will be affected in some negative way by this garbage.
Michael Franti releases new album - Yell Fire!
Michael Franti released his latest album, Yell
Fire!, this week. The album is made up of music
inspired by his 2004
trip to Baghdad,
and Palestine
to tour the region and visit the troops, his guitar slung over his shoulder the
entire way. He made a film about the experience entitled I Know I’m Not Alone, which he screened
at small theatres and yoga studios in
and San Francisco.
Having seen the film and Franti discuss it, I expected big things from this
album and was not disappointed.
Michael Franti is one of the most important musicians today. The fact
that he has yet to be discovered by the mainstream only adds to his cache, in
my opinion. His music is soulful and sweet. The arrangements and
production are creative and fun - a blend of hip hop, reggae and funk, making
Franti’s sound completely unique. What really grips you about this album
though is the inspiration that he brings to his music from these
conflict-ridden regions. Franti is a spiritual, practicing yogi (I saw
him perform in a NYC yoga studio) and politically involved. All of this
comes through in his songs, nearly all of which have some element of political
undertone, cultural message or spiritual plea. The entire album grabs
you by the heart and raises you up a couple steps. I’ve uploaded three tracks from the album here. Enjoy!! Download yell_fire_03_i_know_im_not_alone.mp3
Download yell_fire_07_one_step_closer_to_you.mp3
Download yell_fire_06_hello_bonjour.mp3
Great Eleanor Roosevelt quote
My friend, Marcus Oliver, sent me this quote today. It speaks volumes.
"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss
people."
– Eleanor Roosevelt
The joys of a clean home…
After a painstakingly long search, I recently found someone new to clean my home. The last three people I had lined up all fell through the cracks. It just so happens that this person is a slim 5′10" 26-year old Polish blonde woman named Jolanda. I pride myself on being an equal opportunity employer where hiring is done blindly of race, sex and body type. Since Jolanda was hired over the phone, I am confident the federal authorities will let this one pass. Needless to say though, I wasn’t upset when she arrived.
Since my search lasted so long, I was living the life of a bachelor in an apartment that hadn’t been properly cleaned for months. I forgot how nice it is to have a clean, fresh-smelling home. It brightens your entire day. I’ve posted a photo here to illustrate. For those of you who haven’t seen the new do, this photo serves a double purpose….look closely in the mirror.
Aroma comes to Manhattan from Tel Aviv
Aroma espresso bar from Israel opened their first U.S. store last week on Houston St near Wooster.
In a first time for this blog, I’m posting in real time on location. Personally,
I never thought their coffee or simple salads/sandwiches were anything special.
Their frozen blended drink - Ice Aroma - is
okay, but I would have been content
saving these for special occasions while visiting Israel. What makes Aroma nice
- in addition to the red leather swivel chairs, euro-style tunes and sleek
modern design - is the Israeli clientele. There are more people speaking
Hebrew in here right now than English. Looking around, I feel like I’m in
Tel Aviv (not a bad thing). I have a
feeling this place could be serving fried dirt and still be packed. They
also offer free wi-fi, which makes it a more attractive place to…well,
blog. During my visit, the lights
inexplicably dimmed and brightened several times, something burned in the oven
filling the space with a strong odor and some guy walked in insisting on practicing
his Hebrew with the man behind the counter (unfortunately, the guy taking his
order was Asian, one of the few non-Israelis working) – only strengthening the
Israeli feel. And while probably not a
design feature, I think JDate may have some stiff new competition.
Google customizable homepages
Google began offering customizable homepages recently and I think
they are fantastic. They’ve essentially taken what Yahoo did with
myYahoo and improved upon it. You can see snapshot views of your
google calendars, gmail, weather, news photos, popular videos and
hundreds of feeds from popular sources. There are also a bunch of
widgets that you can choose to appear on your homepage such as to-do
list, weather and driving directions. You can move modules simply by
dragging and dropping. I’ve posted a screenshot below, but you can get
your own at - http://www.google.com/ig .
Israel-Middle East situation - weighing in
Friends have been asking me for my opinions on the situation in Israel right now and I haven’t had much of an answer for them. What is there to say? This is a vicious cycle of violence that appears to have
no end in site - though you certainly didn’t need to login here to read that. It’s virtually identical
to the uprising that began in 1982 after a small assassination attempt on an Israeli diplomat in London. The result back then was years of war and the decimation of Beirut, one of the world’s special cities, from which the city, and Lebanon, had just begun to emerge. With at least another week of bombings planned, it appears that Beirut will again be set back. Honestly though, if Lebanon had any inkling of a government, this would have been stopped long ago. Lebanon has been harboring Hezbollah terrorists for decades and is spineless in standing up to them. Now, they have paid the price for their weakness. If they are being blindly led by Syria and Iran, then the same applies. Israel is responding to an “unprovoked attack on its sovereign territory” and in a location surrounded by neigbors who want their destruction, they need to take such attacks seriously. Yes, Syria and Iran are the larger problems, but let’s take one step at a time. As usual, the economist has some of the best and most balanced reporting on this subject, and today’s article entitled The Accidental War paints an informative picture. Also worth watching, the Arab woman on Al-Jazeera earlier this week, who condemns Muslim behavior. Incidentally, a missile landed in my family’s kibbutz – Shaar Haamakim – this week, though thankfully, nobody was injured. Let’s pray that no more innocent lives are lost to this conflict.
Gizmo Project picks up steam
Gizmo Project, AFVOIPO (another f#c*’n VOIP offering),
seems to be picking up steam as documented yesterday by Mashall Kirkpatrick in a
TechCrunch posting. The main differentiator between Gizmo and Skype
is opensource code which enables a bunch of features Skype doesn’t offer.
Fair enough, but is there really any end to VOIP offerings that one-up each
other? Are there any barriers to entry in this market? VOIP calling
seems pretty clearly to be moving free, which will eliminate any price
differentiation for these new entrants. What competitive advantages will be
left? Not to mention that I’ve been a
Vonage customer for two years, and can attest that VOIP is only as good as the
carrier lines it runs on. I switched
from Time Warner to Covad in an effort to improve performance and the difference
was negligible.