Posts

U is for Unicorn

-
Image
  Unicorns are very frou frou these days, cute and fun, like rainbows and stars and magic. So sparkly. It wasn’t always the case.  Once they were majestic creatures, extensively used in medieval tapestry as a symbol of purity, often used in heraldry.  You can see this tapestry at The cloisters in NYC. Unicorns appear in the Coat of Arms of Scotland. It was said their horns could purify poisoned water, could provide all sorts of healing power. The  King James Version  of the Old Testament contains nine references to unicorns, thanks to a mistranslation of the Hebrew word  re’em . The original word was likely the Assyrian  rimu  (auroch), an extinct species of wild ox. But then again...  Numbers 4:25 describes a covering of animal skins made to drape over the  mishkan , the portable sanctuary that the Israelites built for the duration of their wandering in the wilderness: “They shall bear the curtains of the Tabernacle, and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, and the covering of tahash th
3 comments
Read more

T is for Tiger

-
Image
  The Tyger   BY  WILLIAM BLAKE Tyger Tyger, burning bright,  In the forests of the night;  What immortal hand or eye,  Could frame thy fearful symmetry? In what distant deeps or skies.  Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand, dare seize the fire? And what shoulder, & what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat. What dread hand? & what dread feet? What the hammer? what the chain, In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? what dread grasp. Dare its deadly terrors clasp? When the stars threw down their spears  And water'd heaven with their tears: Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee? Tyger Tyger burning bright, In the forests of the night: What immortal hand or eye, Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
3 comments
Read more

Mourning and rejoicing

-
 Passover, when we celebrate our freedom, our redemption from bondage.  Passover, when we recall the Exodus. During the Seder there comes a moment when we remember that freedom comes at a price.  As we recite the Ten Plagues we diminish the wine in our cups to acknowledge the suffering of the Egyptians.   A lesson for our times. Last night we talked about October 7, about the hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas.  We asked that they be freed from bondage just as our ancestors were freed in Biblical times.   To support Israel does not mean you cannot recognize and regret the suffering of the people living in Gaza.   May the hostages be released, may all suffering in Gaza cease, and may peace come to the region.
1 comment
Read more

S is for Stegosaurus

-
Image
 A slow moving dinosaur, an armored herbivore, say hi to the stegosaurus, a creature of the Late Jurassic period.    Fossils were found in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. Plates on its back, spikes on its tail.  The length of a bus, it weighed about 14,000 pounds.  But it had a brain the size of a walnut, which is why it was called ‘the dumbest dinosaur”.
4 comments
Read more

Music Monday

-
Image
 There’s a theme today, but I’m not going to follow it. Instead let’s talk about Passover. Just as the Crucifixion and the Resurrection are the core elements of Christian belief, the Exodus from Egypt and the Giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai are the core of Jewish identity.  At Passover it is incumbent upon Jews to retell the story of the Exodus, to reenact it. Scripture tells us that if G-d had not redeemed our ancestors, surely we and our children and our children's children would still be slaves.   And, unlike most Jewish holidays, Passover is centered on home rituals: holding  a Seder, reading the Haggadah, eating the prescribed foods and drinking the required four cups of wine. The holiday begins at sundown tonight.  Drew and I will be hosting a Seder in our home.   We will gather around our table with friends and loved ones and tell the ancient story of our liberation from bondage in Egypt.   So, in honor of the holiday, a few musical selections. This song defines what a Jewish
5 comments
Read more

R is for Rabbit

-
Image
 Bet you thought I was going to talk about robins 😉 😂😇 These guys were on my lawn last spring. Aren’t they cute?
4 comments
Read more

Saturday 9

-
Image
  Only Love Can Hurt Like This Welcome to  Saturday: 9 . What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to  answer the questions, however, and here is today's questions! Saturday 9: Only Love Can Hurt Like This (2014) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) In this week's song, Paloma Faith sings that she thought she wouldn't care if her lover left but now she's begging him to stay. Can you think of something you were surprised you missed when it was gone or over? Most of my career I worked at offices located in NYC.  Which meant I had a horrendous commute from Long Island.  Now my office is on Long Island a
4 comments
Read more