Why You Treat Me Like a Dog?: February 2006

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Saturday, February 25, 2006

The Bat Mitzvah Dancers

Bella's Mom and I went to a bat mitzvah party last night. It was the daughter of a friend of my parents, who happens to be a physician and has thrown me a couple of bones (patients) to help get my practice going. I guess he thought he'd invite us to his daughter's bat mitzvah as well. They came to our wedding, and to our son's bris (circumcision ceremony).

It was held in the penthouse ballroom of a decent local hotel. There was an open bar, passed hors d'oeuvres and a DJ. There were about 125-150 people there. The dinner options were chicken or fish.

Anywhoooo.

This is all pretty standard I guess. They are a very secular, Israeli family. My parents were there too. Apparently this was the extent of the Bat Mitzvah. My mother told me that there was no religious ceremony, there was no announcement at their synagogue (they don't go to one) and that she didn't think the bat mitzvah girl even knew how to read Hebrew. The girl did make a speech about how today was the day she took on the responsibility of a "member of Jewish society" and how it was important to live by "Jewish ethics". She thanked her parents, grandparents, and everyone for coming. They lits some candles for some reason.

Then the dancing started. All of a sudden, these four scantily clad young women emerge from a side door. The DJ cajoles everyone to join in dancing. The four women are wearing, I kid you not, tight royal blue leggings and a halter top shaped like a royal blue Star of David, with their cleavage, midriffs and belly buttons showing. They pranced around the room and grabbed people by the elbow and pulled them onto the dance floor. Mind you that Bella's Mom and I are not the least bit shy or prude, but we just looked at each other and our mouths dropped.

As the evening progressed, the Bat Mitzvah Dancers, as we dubbed them, had several costume changes. Always including tight leggings, always showing off their belly buttons, and always prancing around the room, they were apparently charged with getting the party going. They then did a strange performance dance to the tune of the Gipsy Kings' "Volare". What did this have to do with reaching the age of mitzvot or even the transition from childhood to womanhood? Dissonance.

Now ok - I've heard of over-the-top bar and bat mitzvah celebrations, but this was a little too much... Our son is only about six months old, and his bar mitzvah is very far off. It will not be like this. Sure we may change our minds several times between now and then, sure he may pressure us to do some things we may not think are appropriate (or maybe he won't), but he will be called to the Torah, there will not be the Bat Mitzvah Dancers and I really don't envision a Saturday night party at a hotel penthouse ballroom.

I have read elsewhere and also personally experienced the degeneration of the bar/bat mitzvah from a religious rite of passage to an over the top and ostentatious party. I know this is an issue that comes up for many Jewish families as the bar/bat mitzvah stage approaches. My impression is that it seems to be more of an problem in secular families, or perhaps in Reform, or even some Conservative families. While I sometimes hesitate to fully affiliate ourselves with the Modern Orthodox congregation to which we belong, this is one situation where I have no hesitation whatsoever.

To me, these ostentatious celebrations are not at all about the transition from being a child to becoming a Jewish adult with the responsibilities of mitzvot and community. They are repugnant and morally bankrupt displays of gluttony that should not in any way be associated with a religious or ethical rite of passage. I feel like I am coming across strong here, and I may look back on these words sheepishly down the line (or maybe 12 1/2 years down the line), but I think I would have enjoyed myself much more if this was just a nice birthday party, rather than being done under the guise of an important religious life cycle landmark event. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the fact that they invited us, they are a lovely family and I wish them the best. As I said, I don't think that they are particularly unique - I just lament the fact that this is where much of American Jewry is at these days and don't know where we're headed. The Bat Mitzvah Dancers just seem like the wrong direction.

- posted by wanderer @ 10:43 PM 11 comments

Saturday Night Movie III

For this one I will tell you very little. Look at the picture below. The actor who plays the child as an adult is also the director of the film. The film is a classic, one of my all time favorites. What is going on in this scene? Where are they?

Good luck.

The universe is expanding...

Previous Saturday Night Flicks:

Saturday Night I
Saturday Night II

- posted by wanderer @ 10:24 PM 3 comments

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Nerd, Geek or Dork

This afternoon, one of the nurses I work with pointed out to me that he was a geek because the first page he opened the newspaper to was an ad for Fry's, a gadget and electronics store. I told him I actually thought that made him a nerd, and we began a discussion about what the difference was. We really couldn't arrive at a decision, so I decided to look it up when I got home.

From Wikipedia, a nerd is someone "who is perceived to have above-average intelligence and whose interests (often in science and mathematics) are not shared by mainstream society." Whereas a "geek is essentially a person who is fascinated, perhaps obsessively, by obscure or very specific areas of knowledge and imagination." The lines dividing a geek from a nerd seem blurry and difficult to me. Furthermore, in this day and age, does an interest in gadgetry and electronics make someone any different from the mainstream? Perhaps, when carried to an extreme.

In my research, of course, I came across a test that I hoped would help distinguish for myself at least whether or not I was a geek or a nerd. To make matters more complicated, the test I found also included dork as an option. Dork is defined as a person who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. My results:

Pure Nerd
69 % Nerd, 47% Geek, 47% Dork

So there you have it. For some reason, I always saw myself as more of a geek. Maybe that's because that's what they told me I was in high school. It turns out that nerdiness, geekiness and dorkiness can all coexist. It is possible to be a little of all three. If this post wasn't enough to prove it, I now have proof documented by rigorous testing that my nerdiness predominates. I trust that nerdy traits would predominate in most bloggers, as the act of blogging is in and of itself a nerdy trait. Funny thing is, after re-reading this post, I feel most like a dork. Go figure.

- posted by wanderer @ 10:35 PM 9 comments

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Saturday Night At The Movies

This week's film is in my opinion the greatest Vietnam movie ever made. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, the cinematography is phenomenal, and the sniper scene at the end is one of the most gripping, suspenseful sequences ever filmed.

See the image, and for extra credit identify who the actor is and what he has been doing more recently.

- posted by wanderer @ 9:25 PM 8 comments

Fire in the Hole

The L.A. Fire Department visited us this evening...

We had noticed this burning smell around our house late this afternoon. I went outside and "sniffed around" and couldn't identify where it was coming from. It kinda smelled like burning plastic, or what I thought was electrical insulation.

I took Bella for a walk and sniffed around the neighborhood. The smell was definitely strongest around our house. I got out my high power flashlight and shined it around the perimeter of our house and saw nothing. I went down into the crawl space under the house, where the furnace is and smelled nothing.

After consulting with Bella's Mom, we decided we had to call someone. But who? This wasn't an emergency, so I didn't want to call 911. I looked in the yellow pages for the non-emergency number and found that in the City of Los Angeles, you're supposed to dial 311 for non-emergencies.

I dialed.

"Hello, this is Antonio Villaraigosa, mayor of the City of Los Angeles..."

What, I got the mayor?

"...if this is a life threatening emergency, hang up and call 911. Hola, esta Antonio Villaraigosa, el alcalde de Ciudad de Los Angeles. Si es un emergencia, marcar nuevo uno uno..."

I stayed on the line for ingles. The woman who came on was very nice, and connected me to my local fire station, station 58. The firefighter who came on the line was also very nice, and listened to my story and my fears.

"Why don't you call 911 so they can direct the correct resources to your house."

"But it's not an emergency," I said.

"Just tell them its not an emergency."

"OK."

So, again after consulting with Bella's Mom, I dialed.

"911, what's your emergency."

"It's not an emergency," I said.

I told her my story.

"Hold on, while I connect you to the police operator."

Police? But its just a burnt smell.

I tell them my story.

"Hold on, while I connect you to the fire department."

Wait, I already talked to them, they told me to call you.

"Station 58, what's your emergency?" Voice sounds kinda familiar.

I tell him my story.

It's a different guy. "Fire department will be right there!"

2 minutes go by. A siren in the distance. Bella's Mom looks at me. We sigh.

Engine 58 pulls up in front of Casa de Wanderer, lights flashing. Neighbors are peaking out through their windows. 5 firefighters in full battle gear step off.

"What's the problem?"

I tell them my story.

We walk around the perimeter of our house.

"Smells like candles. Have you been burning candles?"

"Umm, no...."

"Is your heater on?"

"mmmm....yes. But it never smells liike this."

"OK"

Then they bring out the coolest thing. An infrared fire detector!

They scan every wall of my house. They find nothing.

"Sir, we don't think there is anything to worry about. Your house is not burning down."

"So what do you think the smell was?"

"It's a mystery."

Huh? That's it? A mystery. Hmmm. OK.

"Well, thanks for coming out then. Sorry to trouble you. I told them it wasn't an emergency."

"Sure." And they left.

Boy do I feel dumb. If I don't post for a few days, it might be because my house burnt down and I was too embarassed to call... Hasta luego...

- posted by wanderer @ 8:48 PM 3 comments

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Tevye Has Left Anatevka

And ended up somewhere else:

http://www.toho.co.jp/stage/yane2005/asx/yane_r1_low.asx

This is a hoot! I watched this a few times and found myself mesmerized. It's amazing how when you know the story, you don't have to understand a word of the script. If you think about it, I guess that's kinda what opera is all about...

- posted by wanderer @ 5:23 PM 6 comments

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Iranian Paper Plans Holocaust Cartoons

So does this mean we have to go torch the Iranian embassy? Is there an Iranian embassy in the United States for us to torch? How about all the Persian rug places here in L.A.? Should we boycott them?

A prominent Iranian newspaper said Tuesday it would hold a competition
for cartoons on the Holocaust to test whether the West extends the principle of
freedom of expression to the Nazi genocide as it did to the caricatures of the
Prophet Muhammad.

Does the West extend freedom of expression to the crimes committed by
the United States and Israel, or an event such as the Holocaust? Or is its
freedom only for insulting religious sanctities?" Hamshahri wrote, referring to
the Prophet Muhammad cartoons.

And this competition is occurring now because they haven't published garbage like that before? The difference is we don't riot when they publish this garbage. Puhleez....

- posted by wanderer @ 5:46 PM 4 comments

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Capitol police apologize to activist Sheehan

Whether one supports the War in Iraq or not, what happened to Cindy Sheehan at the State of the Union address is a travesty and should be an embarassment to all Americans. Ms. Sheehan had her constitutionally guaranteed right to freely express herself violated, and her rights were further violated by false imprisonement. And this for non-violently and silently wearing a t-shirt with an anti-war slogan. The fact that the wife of a Republican Congressman was also told to leave the chamber for wearing a T-shirt supporting our troops is similarly inexcusable. One wonders why she wasn't arrested, however.

An "apology" by the Capitol police does not suffice. The arresting officers should be disciplined, and an investigation mounted to determine exactly where the order to arrest her came from.

This is a woman who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country - she lost her son - in order to preserve the very freedoms that were violated by her arrest. Shame on the Capitol police, and shame on whomever ordered them to arrest her.

- posted by wanderer @ 7:41 PM 8 comments

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