Good morning! On today’s episode of “The Pretend Jew,” our heroine waivers on hosting the Hanukkah open house in her home because her Christmas tree is still up. And who doesn’t love her confused expression every time she’s in synagogue (she doesn’t speak Hebrew!) and has no idea when to sit down! And here’s your…
Dave Barry was always able to just take vacation and run old columns. For me, I’m entering a new world that is based in economic disparity and developmental disabilities–absolutely at the top of the engagement and inclusion/social exclusion list, but new territory that hasn’t quite gelled. So in the meantime, I’m periodically re-running posts that…
The Illinois-Sao Paulo Chapter of Partners of the Americas is proud to present a 10 day exchange with Sao Paulo-based African Dance and Drumming performance artist Fanta Konate’s cultural mission to Chicago December 1-10. Fanta will reach out to 1000’s in the Chicago area with dance and rhythm workshops showcasing Guinean influence on Brazilian music,…
This is a story about pumpkin carving. Or is it really a story about jumping to conclusions and applying generalizations too quickly? The scene was last Friday at a friend’s party. One of the guests, Steve (Causasian) said “hey, let’s bring pumpkins and make Jack-o-lanterns!” “Yeah, let’s do it” I echoed, a fellow (Caucasian) pumpkin…
Where can you hear 13 hours of Jazz for FREE? At the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, Saturday, September 25, 2010. The event runs from 1 pm to 2 am and takes place in 13 landmark and unexpected venues across Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, from the Oriental Institute to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House, to the…
I found out from my Chinese-American friend (my designation-not sure how he self-identifies) on his Facebook update today that he felt misled by what he thought was a traditional Mexican holiday. However, he discovered and shared that: Cinco de Mayo is only a big deal in America. It’s not even a holiday in Mexico…It’s actually a Hallmark Holiday!!!…
When I was growing up, every year on Passover our tradition was that my sisters and I could each invite one non-Jewish friend (aka Gentile) to join us at Seder. It was only in reinstating that practice as an adult, did I realize there might be some angst involved on the part of the guest,…
Have you heard the old joke that plays on the philosophical question about a tree falling in the forest? You know the one… “If you’re in the forest and you say something wrong and your spouse (of course I’m going with the gender neutral version!) doesn’t hear you, are you still wrong?” While seemingly innocuous,…
I’m used to the anthropological idea of cultural equivalence when talking about things like translation or kreplach versus tortellini, but I found the presumably viral listing of 32+ versions of the Jewish prayer song “Adon Olum” that showed up in my in-box today fascinating. For a ‘people’ who were almost eradicated by the Holocaust and who have only had a homeland for 60 years,…
On the Daily Show earlier this week, Senior Black Correspondent (his formal title on the show) Larry Wilmore pointed out Jon Stewart’s implicit assumptions: “So what you’re saying is in these times the new face of criminality is now white.” “I’m glad you’re finally admitting that you thought it was black,” is Wilmore’s response. The…
