RISHON LEZION, Israel — Red Band is a hilarious, Israeli comedy about an aging, hippie, drugged-out, American rock band that comes back to Israel after a tour in the late sixties. But here’s the catch: The band is played by puppets! The band meets famous Israeli musicians, makes fun of them, and then ends each show performing a song with them. The above clip is a medley of American rock songs performed with the Nehama Girls. Here is the lead singer smashing the guitar of Shalom Hanoch. Here is a Doors cover with Aviv Geffin. Here is the first part of the first episode of the series. The show is half in English and half in Hebrew, so people on both sides of the pond can appreciate it.
Note: There is profanity, drug references, and puppets making sexual jokes.
Nearly every image of women that people see in advertisements, movies, and photography — and sometimes even television shows and broadcast news — is distorted. This short video shows how.
LONDON and JERUSALEM — The Daily Mail reports on efforts to change British drinking habits (and includes, of course, several tabloid-worthy pictures):
Such scenes are not uncommon, which is why Cardiff – one of the country’s worst cities for binge drinking – has just banned boozing on the streets.
The crackdown is aimed at late night revellers, targeting rowdy hen and stag parties and generally trying to make the streets safer after dark.
Police can use the new powers to confiscate alcohol or arrest anyone who defies them.
The ban has been a success in trials in small areas but will spread across the entire city in time for Christmas and the New Year.
Yesterday it was hailed as a big step towards ‘reclaiming the streets’ from drunken yobs.
Cardiff Central MP Jenny Willott said: ‘Late night alcohol-fuelled crime and anti-social behaviour is a huge problem on the streets.
‘People deserve to have a night out without the fear of intimidation or facing violence as a result of excessive alcohol consumption.
‘This ban should help the law-abiding and responsible majority to reclaim the streets.’
When I lived in London in 2001 and worked as a bartender at the Zetland Arms, I observed that British people drink a lot — a lot more than your average American. But it was still within reasonable limits. Every night, the regulars — a friendly-but-sad bunch — would arrive after work and drink pint after pint while watching sports. Then they would leave for home late at night and return the next evening.
Later in the evening, the young people would arrive. Since pubs had to close at 12:30 a.m., they would drink a lot and then move to a club or hang out on the streets. (It is legal to drink outside in counties including Britain and Israel.) But I rarely saw any problems. The closest I ever got was when I took the drink out of the hand of a drunken Scotsman because I was angry and he refused to leave at closing time. Luckily, the manager came over and calmed him down. (One lesson of bartending in London: If you want to befriend a Scotsman, mention the film “Braveheart” in a positive way.)
…the proportion of women who binge-drink almost doubled between 1998 and 2006 and is now at 15% (men who binge-drink increased by 1% to 23%). However, the proportion of 16- to 24-year-old men binge-drinking decreased by 9% since 2000. Researchers also found that whilstfewer children are drinking, those that do drink are drinking much more than they did in the past.
Violent crime by youths is also an increasing problem. If the reports are credible (I have not been to Britain since 2001), then English cities are dealing with mobs of drunken, violent youths every night.
If you want to see the future of a country, look at its young people. Great Britain, once known as the economic, cultural, and fashion capital of the world, seems to be crumbling. I first realized this when former British Prime Minister Tony Blair started giving speeches several years ago defending the very idea of the country itself.
The still-unanswered question facing Blair in the 1990s was: What does it mean to be “British” as opposed to “English,” “Welsh,” or “Scottish”? The United Kingdom is a political entity created through conquest that has rarely, if ever, had a collective sense of identity. Blair tried, unsuccessfully, to brand the country as “Cool Britannia.”
The British Empire collapsed after World War II, and the British people never quite recovered subconsciously as the United States, a former colony, became the new leader of the free world. Decades leader, the British people viewed Blair as George W. Bush’s lap dog in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. (In geopolitical terms, Blair could do little else.) It was a confirmation of the global humiliation that the British people have been feeling after centuries of power and influence had disappeared.
In recent years, Scotland and Wales formed their regional parliaments and became more autonomous. The current prime minister, Gordon Brown, is a Scot and now deeply unpopular. It is indeed possible that Great Britain will cease to exist in the coming years. As the country devolves, it might also lose sovereignty to the European Union and the euro.
Cultural divisions and economic conditions are also tearing the country apart. Decades of mass immigration have caused many Brits to feel that their country is no longer “British.” The most-popular, national food is now seen as chicken tikka masala rather than fish ‘n’ chips. (One former coworker here in Israel moved here even though he is not a Jew because he said that his country no longer exists.) Radical Muslims in Britain condemn democracy, want to impose Shari’a law, and have plotted terrorist attacks. Anti-Semitism is skyrocketing (see here and here). Young men are becoming more apathetic and willing to live with their parents as well as on the dole.
The most significant example of the negative feelings held by Britons was the recent inclusion of Nick Griffin, the leader of the far-right British National Party, on the political, panel-discussion show “Question Time.” Both journalism and the free-market are perfect bellwethers of cultural trends. Companies, even media ones, must tailor their products, services, and marketing pitches to pre-existing trends in society. Journalists, who ideally have their fingers on the pulses of people, decide which views are relevant to a the discussion of a given topic. When the BBC, the standard-bearer of British journalism, decides that a person like Griffin is suited to a serious political discussion, that is a clear indicator of what a significant segment of society is feeling.
In the theory of Alexander Fraser Tytler, Great Britain may be nearing towards the end of the life-cycle of all nations and empires as a result of all of these trends and feelings. With all of these cultural, political, and social problems in the subconscious minds of young people, is it any wonder that they seem to have lost hope in the future? Without any optimism, they turn to alcohol and violence out of nihilistic despair.
One of my favorite 1970s-era bands is the Moody Blues, and I think their following pop-rock song from 2000 is an apt description of British malaise:
We’re on a runaway train, rolling down the track / And where it’s take us to, who knows where it’s at / But if we hold together, we can make it back / For an English sunset
And I’ve decided I can live with humility / And the sad decay / ‘Cause that’s the English way
We keep the faith alive in every thing we do / And at the end of the line, we still keep coming through / And though it’s sad and sorry, what else can we do / It’s an English sunset
And I’ve decided they can wait for the requiem / And take it day by day / ‘Cause that’s the English way
As someone who has loved British culture since he was a child, I write this post with extreme sadness. Still, I fear that the same attitudes are affecting behavior in Israel, specifically in Jerusalem. As Jerusalem Post editor David Horovitz notes:
Anyone with more than passing knowledge of the atmosphere in central Jerusalem will be aware that the heart of our capital city is rapidly becoming a late night no-go zone.
Clusters of violent youth rule and roam the streets, armed with knives and with the beer and vodka bottles they’ve emptied, picking fights with unsuspecting victims.
Of course, the police are not solely to blame for the deepening climate of intimidation and violence. As [Public Security Minister Yitzhak] Aharonovitch and Israel Police Insp.-Gen. Dudi Cohen have frequently observed, ours is becoming an increasingly violent society, more and more kids are now carrying knives, and the response needs to be found, at least in part, in better parenting and better educational values.
I travel to Jerusalem several times a week, and I will likely be returning to live there soon. I was walking on the way to a pub with my girlfriend, a born-and-raised Jerusalemite, and we were speaking in English. A man on the street walked up and tried to convince us to come to his bar. (There are dozens of such people in the city center’s streets who try to get English-speaking tourists to visit their restaurant or bar.)
I waved him away and said, “We don’t need [your flier]” in Hebrew. His response? “Your accent sucks!” he yelled in English. I was about to walk over and return the favor when my girlfriend stopped me and said, “Do NOT talk like that here!” Unfortunately, people have been assaulted there for less.
As I have written in my Letters from Israel series, the Jewish state is rife with political, religious, and social divisions that many fear will tear the country apart. This has led to increased anti-social behavior and the possible destruction of the civil society that had developed since the refounding of Israel in 1948. Perhaps young Israelis have developed the same pessimism regarding the future that British youths now have.
As a result of the geographic isolation of the United States — it is separated from the world by two, gigantic oceans — the country is usually the last to receive cultural trends from Europe (as well as technological innovations from eastern Asia). Since young people there are increasing angry and frustrated over their economic and social conditions, I wonder whether the same anti-social behavior will occur in America soon.
RISHON LEZION, Israel — In the United States, employers typically give cash bonuses during the holiday season. In Israel, they give gift certificates that are valid at a few dozen types of stores. The holidays stretched this year from Rosh Hashanah on September 18 to the end of Sukkot tomorrow.
At my job, we received NIS 400 — roughly $100. I used my certificates today to purchase these books — some light reading for the next several Shabbats!
RISHON LEZION, Israel — Benji Lovitt of the humorous blog “What War Zone?” takes a trip through the streets of Tel Aviv to interview Israelis on what they think of the Jewish New Year.
But do not be misled by the lightness of Lovitt’s video. As Israelis and Jews move into the year 5770, they are increasingly frustrated and anxious over recent events. Here are some headlines from just this past weekend:
Iran reportedly has the ability to produce a nuclear bomb and is on the way to making a missile system that could deliver it.
The Israeli government urgently warned Israelis in India that Islamic extremists are planning additional attacks there soon.
Britain’s Trade Union Congress is calling for a boycott of Israeli goods.
The Jerusalem Post remembers Capt. Assaf Ramon, who died recently in a military plane crash. His father was the first Israeli astronaut, and he died in the Columbia space shuttle explosion.
IDF Brigadier General Avichai Mandelblit talks to the Post about defending Israel from international, legal criticism of the military’s conduct during the recent war in Gaza. The United States has said that a UN report on the issue was “unbalanced.”
A United Nations conference condemned Israel’s atomic program.
Jewish celebrities including Natalie Portman, Sacha Baron Cohen, Lisa Kudrow and Jerry Seinfeld are defending the Toronto Film Festival’s decision to spotlight Tel Aviv.
There is still rioting in Jerusalem over the opening of a parking lot on the Sabbath.
But not all of the news is bad. (Besides, many Jews at Rosh Hashanah dinners over the holiday likely told the centuries-old joke with a shrug: “They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat!”) Here is a collection of optimistic, inspiring, or light-hearted tidbits from the weekend papers.
Israel and the United States are working together to prepare for “every possible scenario.”
Amotz Asa-El commends Bank of Israeli Governor Stanley Fischer for saving Israeli from the worst of the worldwide recession and making the country one of the first to bounce back.
The Jerusalem Post profiles twelve young Israelis for their contributions in areas ranging from the arts to sports to government to music.
Herb Keinon interviews soldiers like Isabella Fhima, a 21-year-old, Moroccan Jew, who came to Israel by herself to join the army because she believes in the country. I know many lone soliders from all over the world, and each one deserves a feature in a national newspaper.
As for me, I’ve been listening to a recent pop song by the Israeli artist Sarit Hadad (in English) to get away from the headlines:
Although I generally hate pop music, I have to admit that this song is infectious and sunny. As non-Hebrew speakers can probably understand the video, the words are about running away from life’s stress for a short while and running to the beach. The summer is on its way out here, so we only have a few weeks left to do that.
The Jerusalem Post has an interesting feature on the effect that ultra-Orthodox Jews have on neighborhoods when they move into them. In an effort to combat assimilation among American Jews, the Israeli government and Jewish Agency are airing television commercials encouraging Israelis to convice friends and family there to take extended trips to Israel. Caroline Glick argues that Iran is months away from having nuclear weapons. Madonna ends her world tour in Tel Aviv, meets Israeli politicians, is nice to a Jerusalem waitress, wraps an Israeli flag around herself on stage, and faces criticism from Palestinians. Bradley Burston hopes that the Jewish New Year will bring an end to extremist, unrealistic idealism on the far left and right. Sarah Honig argues that the main conflict in the peace process is not Israeli settlements but the refusal of Arabs and Palestinians to recognize the right of the Jewish state to exist. Amotz Asa-El wonders whether the United States is truly in decline. The White House criticized Israel for building additional settlements before a negotiated freeze begins.
RISHON LEZION, Israel — The cable channel HOT here is showing a new drama named “חצויה (Halved)” about a 15-year-old girl who meets a hunky, teenage vampire, discovers that she is half-vampire, and now has to help save the world. (English here.)
After “Buffy,” “Angel,” “Twilight,” and now “Halved,” I must ask: Why are teenage girls obsessed with vampires?
The New York Times reports that the children who grew up reading the “Harry Potter” books are now graduating college and entering the workforce:
Indie rock bands have sprung up inspired by their obsession, with names like Harry and the Potters, the Half Bloods, and Voldie and the Wiz Kidz, playing songs inspired by Potter lore.
Last fall, teams from Princeton, Vassar, Boston University [my alma mater!] and a dozen other schools competed in the Quidditch World Cup, in which students play a real-life version of the soccer-like contact sport featured in the books and films. (They can’t fly, but still compete with brooms between their legs.)
The continuing pull of all things Potter is a testament to the franchise’s enduring sway. But it also seems like something else: the advent of Generation Y nostalgia.
Chronologically, I am sandwiched between Generations X and Y since I was born in 1980. As a result, I came to “Harry Potter” later than most people. I was living in London and interning for a magazine in the summer of 2001, and I decided to pick up the first book to see what all the fuss was about. I never looked back. (I discovered later that the American books had been changed slightly — “mum” became “mom” and “lorries” became “trucks.” I guess the publisher decided that children are too stupid to learn words from other countries.) I am excited that the latest film adaptation should be coming to Israel soon.
Still, the Times notes an interesting aspect behind Pottermania:
Even though nostalgia hits every generation, it seems awfully early for 28-year-olds to be looking back. One possible explanation, say authors who focus on generational identity, is the impact of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The political and economic climate of the late ’90s had been as soothing as a Backstreet Boys ballad: no wars, unemployment as low as 4 percent, a $120 billion federal surplus.
Neil Howe, an author of several books on what he calls the Millennials (another term for Gen Y), draws a parallel between this nostalgic wave and the one boomers embraced with the film “American Graffiti” in 1973. That movie depicted the recent past, the early ’60s, which seemed to have vanished forever.
“It’s instant nostalgia before a huge change in the nation’s mood,” Mr. Howe said. “ ‘American Graffiti’ was nostalgia for the boomers for a world before everything changed after J.F.K.’s assassination.
“Millennials see the world before Sept. 11 as a period of innocence. Our biggest worry was the Y2K bug. That all seems a world away now.”
I completely understand. An uncle of mine always told me that college would be the best years of my life, and I am afraid that he might have been correct. I entered college in 1998 — close to the height of the dot-com craze and the Nasdaq. The world looked to be my generation’s digital oyster.
And then, September 11 occurred four months before I graduated in January 2002. I entered the journalism world after the dot-com bubble had burst and newspapers were starting their downward trajectories. Along with everyone else my age, I was burdened by crushing debt from student loans and credit cards at a time when decent job prospects looked — and still look — incredibly remote. And then came the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the re-election of one of the worst presidents in modern times, the housing-bubble collapse, and the current financial meltdown.
I could use a nice game of Quidditch. “Harry Potter” was the last pop-culture sensation that I experienced before my college-student dreams and optimistic outlook were shattered.
Rick Reilly posts the top ten sporting events that people should see in person. I’ve seen the Boston Red Sox play at Fenway Park (though not against the New York Yankees) during the nine years that I lived in Boston, and I went to Wimbledon when I lived in London in 2001. But I have yet to see the rest.
Still, I am skeptical of some of his choices. Golf, at least to me, is boring enough on television. Is it any better live? And how can Reilly not include the World Cup? International soccer is essentially warfare by other means.
The death of the King of Pop has provided fodder for a lot of social commentary. Comedian Bill Mahar (see below at 1:45) says the public has always been fascinated by the artist because “Michael Jackson is America.” Maher says that Jackson, like the United States, was “fragile, over-indulgent, childish, in debt, on drugs, and over the hill.”
The public’s grief was unfeigned and profound, for Jackson embodied the desire of a generation, that is, never to grow up…
The eternal adolescence that Michael Jackson so ably represented in fantasy turned into the foundation for the great investing wave of the 1990s. The best minds America could train worked hundred-hour-weeks in pizza-box-strewn lofts to launch the next site for web-based greeting cards or virtual-reality sex. Stock analysts valued new issues in proportion to their “burn rate”, assuming that the more money they lost, the more they were worth. The sort of things the world really needed – hardier seeds, safer nuclear energy, more efficient electrical batteries – never turned up on the radar screen…
The Peter Pan syndrome continued to afflict the American economy. Rather than save, as aging people should, they borrowed more to acquire bigger houses. The housing bubble prolonged America’s collective adolescence for a few more years, for it allowed Americans to spend money on toys rather than saving for the retirement that came rushing at the baby boomers like an oncoming express train.
Since I was born in 1980, I missed most of the enthusiasm over Michael Jackson when he had been recording his best music. My first memory was watching the live, first airing of the 1991 video for “Black or White” — until my mother shut off the television when Jackson began destroying cars with a crowbar for no apparent reason. (I think that ending of the video was eventually cut.)
As a result, I was not as distraught as some of my friends over Jackson’s death. I don’t remember any of his music after “Black or White” — all I remember hearing at the time were his increasingly bizarre antics, the allegations of child abuse, and the body-modification surgeries. But even I had learned to appreciate his musical genius even though it was well after the fact.
Although Mahar and Spengler’s arguments have some merit, I think the main reason for the emotional responses to Jackson’s death resulted mainly from the fact that even the American public — long known to celebrate vapid, pop music — knew that a legend had passed without ever having the chance to redeem himself spiritually, musically, and psychologically. The early passing of the King of Pop was a tragedy on many levels. Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time” may grace a compilation record of the greatest pop hits of the 1990s someday, but Jackson will be remembered in thirty years like the Beatles are today.
People who barely pay attentioned to the meanings in many of Jackson’s most-popular songs could be forgiven because they were usually clouded by amazing dance movies, falsetto singing, and upbeat tempos. But to truly understand the genius behind a hit like “Billie Jean,” listen to the emotional cover by Chris Cornell below. It is rare that a cover surpasses the original.
RISHON LEZION, Israel — As I have noted in several posts in my Letters from Israel series, people here are frequently brash, politically incorrect, tactless, and traditional in regards to gender roles and stereotypes. This is especially true in advertising.
Cellcom, the country’s leading mobile-phone company, is running a new advertisement (shown above) that is generating some controversy. An army patrol is driving near the separation barrier when something hits their jeep. At first, the soldiers think they are being attacked, but it turns out that it was only an errant soccer ball that Palestinians on the other side of the barrier were using. The soldiers and the unseen Palestinians end up playing with each other. The ad’s voiceover at the end says, “What do we all want? Some fun, that’s all.”
Noam Sheizaf, a journalist for the Ma’ariv newspaper, is disgusted:
The fact that the Palestinians are invisible in this commercial, that the wall the soldiers are playing around was built on their lands – and that Palestinians are killed while protesting against it – the fact that in reality, if a Palestinian comes close to the fence to return a football or to wave a flag he is likely to get shot; the whole reality of the occupation, is something Israelis are refusing to see. Like the voice over at the end of the commercial says (“What do we all want? Some fun, that’s all”), we see ourselves as your usual happy-and-fun-loving-Mediterranean-nation, only in uniform.
Over at Jewlicious, a writer named C.K. says that others view the advertisement as a “harmless and humorous riff on an otherwise difficult issue – something Israelis are particularly well known for.” I lean towards this view. Sheizaf is taking a lighthearted attempt to breathe some levity into a messy situation much too seriously.
Still, from a marketing standpoint, Israeli commercials are very provocative to Western viewers, who tend to become outraged and offended by any insult to their sensibilities. Israelis, on the other hand, will usually just shrug their shoulders and laugh. To them, people should not be so serious all the time.
Here is a collection of famous — or infamous, depending on your point of view — commercials from Israel featuring the Vietnam War; the Titanic; a young boy with two blond, teenage girls; and feminine products that, for some reason, incorporate “69″ and “doggy-style” into the sales pitch.
Update: Here is a video reaction to the Cellcom advertisement. I cannot hear what the people are saying, so I would appreciate if any Hebrew-speakers could let me and my readers know.
RISHON LEZION, Israel — I have never liked television news. It is superficial, prone to sensationalism, and inherently focused on entertainment rather than information. (The failure of the broadcast networks to cover the turmoil in Iran has only intensified my feelings. See here and here.)
However, I was happy to see today that CNN is back on the Israeli cable provider HOT on channel 74. (I don’t know about YES, the country’s satellite network.) If I want to see an American news network, CNN is less bad than Fox News. Still, although I receive most of my daily news online, I usually watch the BBC or Sky News in English when a major news story breaks.
But I must remain critical of CNN, which was the best news network until it dumbed itself down to compete with Fox News. (This is one example of why the free market, usually the best economic system, is not always the best for society. But I digress.)
As a former journalist, I know that real reporters are self-sacrificing idealists who do not mind — and usually love — going around official authorities, especially when they are dictatorial tyrants. Undercover reporters have recently filed reports on life in North Korea, and CNN itself once had a reporter — Christian Amanpour, I believe — go undercover in Afghanistan to document life under the Taliban there.
Iran has banned foreign reporters from leaving their offices, or the government has kicked them out entirely. CNN’s anchors have been airing amateur reports and videos while essentially surrendering by stating that they cannot provide current coverage themselves. A reporter just said on the air that “we cannot report from the ground.”
Hogwash. A real news organization would do whatever it takes to get to the story. Hire Iranians as freelancers and get them hidden cameras and microphones. Get journalists who speak Farsi and do not look like Westerners inside the protests. There is always a way. Robert Fisk, correspondent for the Independent newspaper in England, is defying the Iranian government by filing reports like this.
Stop being useless if you want to have any semblance of a reputation left after the turmoil in Iran. Stop airing soft-news crap when there is real news occuring in one of the most important parts of the world.
Update: CNN is airing a promotional report on Larry King hosting a behind-the-scenes report on the Jonas Brothers. The freakin’ Jonas Brothers. Meanwhile, Iran is threatening to execute the leaders of the protesters, and the Guardian Council may be meeting to discuss the fate of supreme leader Ayatollah Khameni. A new, massive rally has started in Tehran. But… the Jonas Brothers!
RISHON LEZION, Israel — Here is the money quote of the day:
“I never thought I’d see a day when news came from regular people and the news organizations were too shallow to care about current events.”
– Fark.com forum user BorgiaGinz on the failure of the mainstream media to cover the ongoing turmoil in Iran over the past two days
All of the news I have heard on Iran has come from individuals reporting on Twitter and the message board on Fark.com. Andrew Sullivan and the Huffington Post are also doing superb jobs.
Here in Israel, I have been watching Fox News, Sky News, and BBC World News. (The country no longer gets CNN.) The British networks are barely mentioning the story, and Fox News is, well, being Fox News. From what I have heard, CNN is also reporting stories that, in the grand scheme of things, are trivial or downright ludicrous.
Here is a sample of stories on U.S. television that I have seen here:
Michael Phelps loses some swimming meet!
Former President George H. W. Bush goes skydiving!
Barack Obama speaks to a group of doctors!
Some state trooper and a paramedic got into a fight — on VIDEO!
It makes me sick. People are dying right now for a free Iran. The entire world would benefit immensely from the removal of the theocratic regime. But does the mainstream, broadcast media care? I guess not.
When the Gulf War broke out, I watched CNN. When 9/11 happened, I watched CNN. While the Iranian people are on the verge of a Second Iranian Revolution, I am reading Twitter and Fark.com.
Bob and Jane are a middle class couple. They have two children. They get an amicable divorce. There is a custody hearing. Both of them are good parents. Both of them want to be the primary custody holder. Who gets the children? Seriously, every single time, unless Jane lights up a crack pipe in the courtroom she will get physical custody. Bob is expected by society to be happy with every other weekend and two weeks in the summer. Don’t believe me? What would you think if you heard that a woman only saw her children every other weekend and a few holidays…
Women can openly talk in the break room about the hot new guy in Receiving. What kind of pigs are the men who talk about the hot new manager who happens to be a woman? If a woman asks a male co-worker out on a date, the worst that can happen is rejection. For a man, the worst that can happen is the loss of his job and a sexual harassment suit…
Women can wander the world and hug every child they see without suspicion. If a woman gathers the neighborhood children together to organize a community garden, she’s a saint. If a man does it, people wonder if he’s a pedophile. Don’t believe me? Imagine you’re in a toy store and a woman shopping alone comments on what a beautiful little girl you have. You are pleased and flattered. You fill in the woman’s story in your head. She’s probably an overworked mother out to buy toys for a birthday or holiday. What about the middle-aged man wandering that same store alone? Wouldn’t it at least cross your mind that he could be a pervert? Of course it would.
It’s completely okay, even applauded, when female writers, comediennes, singers, song writers and talk show hosts make sweeping generalizations about ALL men being stupid, sex driven, lazy assholes. How do we feel about men who say that women are all crazy, hormonal, irrational, ditzy, frigid bitches…
One final thought – I was clothes shopping with my almost-12-year-old daughter the other day. We saw t-shirts that said, “Girl Power!” – “Girls Rock!” – “Boys Suck!” – and my personal favorite “Boys Are Great, Every Girl Should Own One!”
I also have an almost-11-year-old boy. If he went to school with a shirt that said “Boy Power!” or “Girls Are Great, Every Boy Should Own One,” how long would he last?
Amen, sister. If you want to read my detailed analysis of why relations between the genders in the modern West have become so complicated and frustrating, see my essay here.
P.S. By the way, Jodi, women do not generally earn less than men because of discriminiation. It is because women are poor negotiators who give in too quickly in order to avoid conflict. See here.
Bruce Springsteen played “Hava Nagila” at a recent concernt. If you want to know why, the story involves White House chief of staff Rham Emanuel and the Secret Service. Bizarre, but cool.
Israel, as you may not know, does not have complete freedom of the press. Any news articles or reports that discuss the Jewish state’s purported nuclear weapons must go through a military censor. The Film Ratings Board also has the power to censor movies.
I told the governor, a man of sincerity and humility, [at a Shabbat dinner] that the consensus among economists is that the American economic collapse came about through greed, reckless spending and reckless borrowing. What better way to remedy it than to give our citizens a day for saving rather than splurging, suffused with peace rather than clogged with traffic, a day to fill our inner emptiness not through impulse buying but through prayer at church, bike-riding with the kids, or lunching with friends…
I believe in the tension of the weekdays. Inner pressure leads to external action and internal unease motivates us to maximize our professional achievement. But I believe equally that if that tension and effort is not balanced by a day of peace and communal sharing, our lives will fall into a state of toxic imbalance. We will lurch from being a country of great wealth to a country staring bankruptcy in the eye. And not just financial bankruptcy, but the far more insidious personal bankruptcy of empty lives, devoid of purpose and meaning.
No wonder then that all work and no play makes Johnnie a dull (and broke) boy.
I never really understood the beauty of the Sabbath until I moved to Israel. From sundown Friday until sundown Saturday or Sunday morning, nearly everything is closed: businesses, banks, (kosher) restaurants, supermarkets, public transportation, government offices, and so on. People like me who observer the strict, religious interpretation of Shabbat also do not turn electrical appliances on or off, cook, watch television, talk on the phone, listen to the radio, drive in cars, or use the computer. We cook the day’s food beforehand so we only reheat meals (on a flameless stove that is on low-heat throughout the day) or eat cold food.
It is impossible to express the beauty of this time in words, but I will try. All around, there is an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. The only noise I hear is that of children playing outside in the park. There is no traffic, no blaring televisions, no loud music, no lights turning on and off — no stress at all. On Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, most people eat Shabbat dinner and lunch at home with their families. People who are religious as well will go to synagogue, read books or the weekend papers, have nice talks with family, go for a long walk, take a nap, or do other, relaxing activities. I never experienced anything like this in the United States because it is hard for religious Jews to shut out the busy world on Friday evenings and Saturdays. But it is different in Israel, particularly in Jerusalem — which seems like a tranquil, ghost town on Shabbat.
I write this not to expound on the virtues of Judaism; rather, my point is that humans need at least one day a week to shut down, relax, and forget about the stress of the week. It is still possible in an Internet-driven world that seems to be moving all day, every day.
Whether someone is Jewish or not — and Christianity and Islam have their versions of the Sabbath as well — I think that he should try to reserve one day a week to do nothing but relax and enjoy the world. I think people would be surprised at how refreshed they will feel. Shabbat just ended here, and I feel wonderful.
RISHON LEZION, Israel — In the United States, employers typically give cash bonuses during the holiday season. In Israel, they give gift certificates that are valid at a few dozen types of stores. The holidays stretched this year from 
RISHON LEZION, Israel — The cable channel HOT here is showing a new drama named “
