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| Yes those are unripe wild persimmons |
Sunday, September 30, 2012
This year's Sukkoth pic
End of Shabbos and Erev Sukkot
Well, that was an interesting end to Shabbat. Rain dripping just hard enough to soak the adventurous, hying to synagogue to pray with a quorum. The sisters chanting the name of an ancient, fictional Russian prostitute, just for laughs. "Babba".... "Alla"..... "BABBA".... "Alla"... A sound somewhat primeval and filled with the boredom of two people addicted to their phones and instant connectivity, suffering classic withdrawal symptoms for the 25 hours of the Sabbath, afraid to be by themselves for even a few moments.
Baba Alla stems from a video, bits of which have been floating around the 'net for years, ostensibly made by a Yaacov Levi, featuring an old Russian prostitute on the beach, or standing next to a dumpster offering discounts for kids. If it was really made by a Jew then it's as bad as a Jew making the "Innocence of Muslims" video, except that this one does not insult a major world religion. I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to find the full six minute video (hint: it's Russian with subtitles, and very unsafe for all environments).
In other news, it's the eve of Sukkot, where Jews build booths outside and eat their meals en plein air. Also my favorite holiday. We'll be eating bharta made from the following eggplants, the plants of which put on a burst of growth come the slight cool-down of late September.
The above picture is from 2007, as evidenced by a young citron tree to the right of the cozy setting.
Baba Alla stems from a video, bits of which have been floating around the 'net for years, ostensibly made by a Yaacov Levi, featuring an old Russian prostitute on the beach, or standing next to a dumpster offering discounts for kids. If it was really made by a Jew then it's as bad as a Jew making the "Innocence of Muslims" video, except that this one does not insult a major world religion. I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to find the full six minute video (hint: it's Russian with subtitles, and very unsafe for all environments).
In other news, it's the eve of Sukkot, where Jews build booths outside and eat their meals en plein air. Also my favorite holiday. We'll be eating bharta made from the following eggplants, the plants of which put on a burst of growth come the slight cool-down of late September.
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| One bush on the left, another on the right |
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| The eve of Sukkot |
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
A bit of politics
"While President Morsi has made some lukewarm statements about the responsibility of the Egyptian government to protect diplomatic missions, he has issued much stronger words denouncing the film.
Indeed, he has demanded the United States take "all possible legal action" against the producers of the movie, an indication he does not fully understand our First Amendment. "
From this: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/12/opinion/coleman-egypt-libya/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn
Normally I wouldn't stick the usual inflammatory politics in this blog, but why is it that Muslims worldwide protest so much when someone somewhere insults Muhammad? Is Allah not all-powerful that he can not punish the perpetrator himself? Why must Muhammad and thus Allah be defended by the puny people on Earth?
If someone creates a video lampooning God, Abraham, or Moses, that's their problem. A chillul Hashem, certainly, but not something I should protest by disturbing others. God the Omnipotent can surely deal with this. Why, oh why is Allah any different?
Indeed, he has demanded the United States take "all possible legal action" against the producers of the movie, an indication he does not fully understand our First Amendment. "
From this: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/12/opinion/coleman-egypt-libya/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn
Normally I wouldn't stick the usual inflammatory politics in this blog, but why is it that Muslims worldwide protest so much when someone somewhere insults Muhammad? Is Allah not all-powerful that he can not punish the perpetrator himself? Why must Muhammad and thus Allah be defended by the puny people on Earth?
If someone creates a video lampooning God, Abraham, or Moses, that's their problem. A chillul Hashem, certainly, but not something I should protest by disturbing others. God the Omnipotent can surely deal with this. Why, oh why is Allah any different?
Monday, September 10, 2012
Houston - the town of smog
Houston's smog season runs from March through October or November. Here are two pictures, on two successive days in August, of the sunset as viewed from the seventh-story floor of an office building. They were both taken at about 5 minutes to sunset.
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