Hamilton parody

 

If you enjoyed the last video, I thought I would go ahead and provide the “Hamilton” song parodies I mentioned in that post.. 

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

 

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/2020/10/28/opinion/us-coronavirus-response-asia.html?smid=em-share

Love,

Rebecca

 

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

 

 

Civility

 

At the end of an OpEd piece in The New York Times this morning appeared the following question:

 

What are you voting for?

Top of Form

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

 

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:

 

Rosh Hashanah/Sukkot/Shmini Atzeret	Yom Kippur
Monday and Tuesday	Wednesday
Tuesday and Wednesday	Thursday
Thursday & Friday	Saturday
Saturday and Sunday (this year)	Monday

 But the following configurations cannot happen.

 

Rosh Hashanah/Sukkot/Shmini Atzeret	Yom Kippur
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

 

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