Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, is in less than one month. So I started looking at past posts I wrote about the holiday. I have an idea for a new way to present the simanim (symbols) – I plan to post it next week.
Ilana-Davita wrote part one of Jewish History in Hamburg. She also has a fascinating photo of a kosher dining room, where Jewish passengers ate before traveling to America in the early 20th century.
I read Nomad by Ayaan Hirsi Ali – she has led a difficult life, and what she has to say is not easy to hear, but she is a good writer and her story is gripping. I read the book in only two days. I can’t say I agree with her conclusions, but her story of growing up in Somalia, Kenya and Saudi Arabia, then running away to Holland because she doesn’t want to marry the man her father has chosen for her is quite a tale. I amazed that she has made it as far as she has in life (at one point, she was a member of Dutch Parliament; now she is a fellow at American Enterprise Institute).
Tea Set from 1890's at Longstreet Farm in Holmdel, New Jersey
It’s been quite a while since I did a blog review, and I owe a few people links, so I will aim to do them when I can on a Sunday morning instead of a Friday. I have more photos from the Longstreet Farm, but it was such a hot and sunny day that many of the pictures I took came out too bright. I may need to ton them down in Photoshop. The above one is a model of what might have appeared in the Longstreet farmhouse in the 1890’s. The original farmhouse was built in 1775 and more parts were added on in later years.
Ilana-Davita posted an apricot cake recipe, and it inspired me to make a peach cake, though I used an apple cake recipe and modified it.
Mrs. S. recommends the book Don’t Go Near the Water: “This wonderful, lighthearted, and hilariously funny novel focuses on a US naval PR unit based on Tulura (a fictional Pacific island) during World War II.”
On the subject of funny books, Jew Wishes recommends The Frozen Rabbi. But she didn’t like the end. Too bad.
Rudbeckia in foreground and Orange Nasturtium in the back
Busy, crazy week – birthday boom bash for my daughter on Sunday, busy, busy, busy with work, then this morning my daughter wakes up with a fever and a virus! The nerve of her – I hope she gets better soon. She is missing the last two days of school.
Where the Fortress Looms: After discovering the fabled Ruin Rui in Ruins, Patrick finds mutated pins and dead racers everywhere. Bruce is the last rebel left. Or is he?
Elsewhere in the Blogosphere
Ilana-Davita teaches us about the philosophy questions in France. Here are a few: Can a scientific truth be dangerous? Can art exist without rules? Is the role of a historian to judge?
Ima2Seven called this post Health Nuts but of course I think the people who are nuts are the ones eating the junk food. It’s been a big struggle for me to get my family to eat healthier. I told my daughter I wanted to bring apples and carrots for a party (not being totally serious), and she told me the other kids would laugh at her (they seriously would).
Millet recipes (I tried the millet cakes – as a pilaf, it was delicious, but it failed to become cakes. Maybe I’ll cheat and add eggs and a binder like matza meal).
Elsewhere in the Blogosphere
Ilana-Davita reviewed A Year with My Father. We all await the English translation (it’s in French).
Ilana-Davita interviewed Mrs. S. this past week, one of my favorite bloggers. Certainly my favorite Heblish blogger (read her blog to find out more about funny Heblish).
A Mother in Israel wrote about a disturbing topic: Orthodox Girls and Eating Disorders. Unfortunate but very important to discuss. A friend (who struggles with weight and food issues) said any culture that emphasizes food ends up with food issues. I would suggest that the inability to express one’s feelings because there is no safe place to do so adds to the problem.
Bronwyn writes Nuts! – “people who consume the most nuts are the least likely to be overweight” – and more on nuts. I asked my middle son if he would eat nuts, and he replied: “I like do-nuts.” Wise guy.
Carver posted about Melanoma Awareness (a topic that hits too close to home for her).
On a related topic, HaAretz had an article: Skin cancer increasingly likely among Jewish Israeli men
There were some nutrition prevention suggestions on that article:
“Dr. Niva Shapira, a nutrition counselor at the Cancer Association also noted that recent studies have shown a Mediterranean diet rich in fish and olive oil reduces the risk of melanoma.
Food proven to help protect against radiation includes broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, kiwi, grapes, strawberries, oranges, fish, olive oil, avocado, almonds, tea, cacao and spices including rosemary and sage.
In contrast, processed red meat; Omega 6-rich oils like sunflower, corn and soy oil; fried food; celery; parsley and figs all increase skin oxidation and skin cancer risk. “
Upcoming: Why Do Jews Eat Dairy on Shavuot? The standard, the fun, the funny, the historical, the hysterical. Feel free to leave your own funny comments on this topic in this post, if you dare to see your words (name dropped) appear in the upcoming post.
A friend sent a link to this article about a sex abuser in New York. If you read the story, you will note the abuser had himself been abused as a child: Rabbi Sentenced 32 Years For Sexually Abusing Teen – “In a surprise courtroom revelation, the judge read portions of Lebovits’ probation report, where the rabbi confided to authorities that he himself was a victim of sexual abuse, when he was a boy. Lebovits said he was victimized the first time by an uncle in London, when he was just 11-years-old. He said a teenager abused him again, a year later, when he was 12.”
If you take photos of bridges, please participate in the Sunday Bridge meme.
