If you enjoyed the last video, I thought I would go ahead and provide the “Hamilton” song parodies I mentioned in that post..
30 October 2020
Dumpster fire
For many months now I
have been amused by the song parodies of Kim and Penn Holderness. They have
done some truly creative and amusing takes on a variety of popular songs. The one
I recall hooking me in as a fan used a number of tunes from the Broadway show “Hamilton.”
At some point I signed up to receive updates from them, and today they sent
along this parody of a classic Billy Joel song.
We definitely need to keep our sense of humor here, right?
Stay safe and well!
Love,
Rebecca
28 October 2020
How America Helped Defeat the Coronavirus (just not in the United States)
This is a very interesting watch, well worth your time.
How America Helped Defeat the Coronavirus*
*Just not in the United States.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/
Love,
Rebecca
25 October 2020
Vote!
On last week’s
edition of “CBS Sunday Morning,” there was an interesting piece about rock
musician David Lee Roth. Unbeknownst to us, he has had a rich life outside of
his music with the band Van Halen and as a solo artist. For a period of time he
did a stint as an emergency medical technician in The Bronx! But in recent
years he has been spending his time creating artwork using sumi-e, the Japanese
art of ink painting. You can watch the CBS piece here:
Of course, David Lee Roth is not to be confused with our friend, singer/songwriter David Roth, who has written a song about the upcoming election.
Hearing this made me wonder how many other singer/songwriters have been inspired by current events, and I found quite a few. Here are just a few I enjoyed.
If you have not already voted, make sure you have plan. And if you have not yet made a plan, make one now!
Love,
Rebecca
16 October 2020
Civility
At the end of an OpEd piece in The New York Times this
morning appeared the following question:
What are you voting for?
Your mother's prescription drug costs? Taxes on a
partner's small business? Racial inequality? The home you may lose to a
wildfire or hurricane? Tell us the single biggest issue driving you to vote in
this election, and why it's so important to you. *
Here’s what I wrote:
Civility: formal politeness and courtesy in behavior and
speech. In the absence of civility, little can be accomplished to address our
differences and improve our lives.
I am just so tired of all the arguments and accusations. Of course, we have differing opinions on a wide variety of topics. But we do not have even the slightest chance of addressing all our problems if we cannot treat each other with at least a modicum of decency. I just hope the winners of all the elections, their supporters and their opponents, will take a deep breath and recognize this.
Have a safe and healthy weekend.
Love,
Rebecca
12 October 2020
Better know a calendar
As I thought about what to call this post, I was reminded of a recurring sketch on the old Colbert Report, called “Better Know a District.” Each segment offered a humorous examination of a different United States Congressional district and generally included an interview with that district's member of Congress. So, I thought I would call this “Better Know a Calendar.”
We have just
completed the busy fall season of Jewish Holidays. Just to put this in perspective,
over the past four weeks there have been four major holidays, three of which
are traditionally celebrated for two days outside of Israel: Rosh Hashana
(New Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Sukkot (Feast of
Tabernacles), and Shemini Atzeret (Eighth Day of Assembly). There are
four possible configurations of the fall holidays. This year, the three two-day
holidays fell on Saturday/Sunday, which meant they coincided with the Jewish
Sabbath. Here are all the possible configurations:
|
Monday and Tuesday |
Wednesday |
|
Tuesday and Wednesday |
Thursday |
|
Thursday & Friday |
Saturday |
|
Saturday and Sunday (this year) |
Monday |
|
Wednesday and
Thursday |
Friday |
|
Friday and
Saturday |
Sunday |
|
Sunday and
Monday |
Tuesday |
I have often wondered exactly why this is the case, so I did a little reading today. If Yom Kippur falls on a Friday or a Sunday, there would be two consecutive days (the Shabbat either just after or just before Yom Kippur) when preparing food is prohibited, and if Sukkot falls on Sunday and Monday, then Hoshanah Rabba (seventh day of Sukkot, which includes the custom of taking willows) would occur on Shabbat, on which that custom would be prohibited.
How does the calendar make this work? Because Yom Kippur, which which falls on 10 Tishrei and cannot fall on a Friday or Sunday, the days in the months of Cheshvan and/or Kislev are adjusted so that Rosh Hashanah, which falls on 1 Tishrei, does not fall on a Wednesday or Friday. And, in the case of Hoshana Rabbah, which falls on 21 Tishrei and cannot fall on a Saturday, Rosh Hashanah cannot be on a Sunday.
Wikipedia has a long explanation of the possible
configurations of all the Jewish holidays.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Days_of_week_on_Hebrew_calendar
This was not the most enjoyable of fall holiday seasons. While
the weather throughout Sukkot was especially lovely this year, and I am
grateful that Barry had the energy to put up our Sukkah, we were here
alone for all the meals in it. That is just not the way it is supposed to be.
We hope next year will bring us all back together in good health.
Love,
Rebecca
09 October 2020
Finally on track!
Barry and I mailed our absentee ballots for the upcoming elections as soon as we received them. I then began to keep an eye on the on-line tracking to make sure the ballots were received.
By Monday, here was
Barry’s tracking summary:
Absentee Tracking System
Tracking Status: Ballot Received Valid
Your valid Absentee Ballot was received at the BOE.
I checked mine every
day, but still it was only showing as far as “In Delivery.” I called twice, and
twice (after a long wait for assistance) was told to keep waiting. Still, I felt
nervous. And this morning I checked again and am thrilled to share:
Absentee Tracking System
Tracking Status: Ballot Received
We have received your Ballot.
I am not sure why it does not refer to my “valid Absentee Ballot” the way Barry’s does, since I also see:
|
Date |
Status |
|
|
10/08/2020 |
Ballot Received |
|
|
10/08/2020 |
Ballot Received Valid |
To be fair, we live
in New York so our two little votes won’t really matter. Still, I wanted to
know that I was doing my civic duty. The five-day delay is somewhat puzzling,
but I am happy now.
For those of you who observe, this will be a very strange Simchat Torah, but try to find some simcha on which to focus.
Love,
Rebecca
02 October 2020
addendum to last post
The phone just rang and I could see from the caller ID that it was Desiree Tims, so now knowing who she is, I picked it up. She sounded very nice, and I laughingly told her that she had reached Barry S. Rosenstein, a professor of radiation oncology at Mount Sinai, but that I was quite sure she was trying to reach Barry S. Rosenstein, hedge fund manager. She laughed and thanked me for letting her know. I imagine we could get to know a lot of interesting people through this “connection.”
Wrong Number
Before I get started, our minds are focused on the health of President and Melania Trump following the news overnight that they are both infected with coronavirus. We wish them both a speedy and complete recovery.
During the last
couple of election seasons, we have received quite a few calls from candidates
for office in various cities around the country. At this point we only answer
our phone if we recognize the name on the caller-ID, figuring that if the call
is important, they will leave a message. Earlier this week we received messages
asking for Barry Rosenstein that were clearly not robocalls from Cal
Cunningham, a candidate for the US Senate from North Carolina, and Desiree Tims,
a candidate for the US House of Representatives from Ohio. It seemed unlikely
that either was looking for information on radiation biology. And after a quick
look at Wikipedia, I think I know why they called:
en.wikipedia.org › wiki ›
Barry_Rosenstein
Barry S. Rosenstein (born 1960) is an
American hedge fund manager and former billionaire. He is the founder of JANA
Partners LLC, an activist hedge fund firm. He made $300 million over the merger
of Whole Foods with Amazon in April–July 2017.
Education: Lehigh University; Wharton School
of ...
Net worth: $1.3 billion (2008)
Born: Barry S. Rosenstein; 1959/1960 (age 60...
Notice that he is referred to as a “former billionaire.” Here is the Hampton mansion he recently sold:
Seems to me that our only connection with this Barry Rosenstein, besides the fact that our Barry also has a middle initial “S,” is his connection to Whole Foods, where we do a lot of our shopping these days. They offer many items with kosher supervision, good fresh produce, and reliable delivery.
For those of you who will be observing Sukkot over this next week, have a joyous holiday!
Love,
Rebecca
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