Difference between revisions of "Blog/August 2009/Aug 14th"

Latest revision as of 15:45, 21 August 2009

Aug 14th (See this week's devar torah)
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Hi again!

This week we attended the wedding of my third-cousin-once-removed, whose parents (also my cousins, of course) live on the other side of Jerusalem from us. The groom's mother is one of the "long lost relatives" I met when I first came to Israel, in the 1980s -- and we've kept in touch to varying degrees since then.

In any case, the wedding was held in a place called Gan Hapekan (the Pecan Garden), which is almost an hour and a half drive from where we live. So we go there and the first people we see at the place are our next-door neighbors from Maale Adummim! Turns out, they are close friends of the bride's family.

Besides meeting my neighbors, we also met up with quite a few of my various and sundry cousins -- some from Israel and some from the US. I really enjoyed catching up with the family, and hope to stay in a bit closer contact than before.

And speaking of that "various and sundry", one of my cousins (from the other side of my family) was contacted by a previously unknown second-cousin of his, who had a bunch of information on our (common) family. So now I have that information, and I'll be incorporating it into the mostly moribund family-tree project.

This is Grampa Victor's last shabbat here with us this time around, so we're pulling out all the stops. Kibbeh, stuffed artichokes, challah, matbucha, roasted chicken, Hummus, techina and hilbe. Plus a fruit cobbler for dessert. All homemade, of course. And that's just for tonight... mmm, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

This is also Daniela's penultimate shabbat with us this time. So I made "fish-n-chips" last night per her request, and I have to make "pad thai" sometime this week to fulfill my fatherly obligation to spoil her before she slips out of my reach again.

Sarah is starting her summer job on Sunday. I think she's looking forward to making some money. I'm taking Sunday and Monday off from work so I can spend time with Grampa Victor and Daniela before they escape our clutches. We'll see just what we end up doing.

American pressure on Israel to not build "in the disputed territories" has reached new heights of stupidity. Here in Maale Adummim, the mayor is protesting that he can't build in the industrial park -- which is part of Maaleh Adummim, not an expansion of anything. Nobody ever lived there. Nobody lives there. Nobody wants to live there. But due to Uncle Sugar's pressure, our faithless government is not permitting us to build where we already have the legal right and presence to do so.

This is, of course, supposed to encourage our "peace partners" to stop attempting to murder us and rather, grudgingly, permit us to live. On an even smaller plot of land than we already have, but then we should be simply grateful to be alive, no? Sadly, those same "partners for peace" have now officially decided only recalcitrant terrorists need apply for their government. These aren't street goons, these are the government of the so-called "PA". Well ok, they are street goons - but they get paid by the "PA". Actually, they get paid by the UN and other well-meaning but increasingly irrelevant suckers of the Western World. Schmucks.

Until next week,
Shabbat shalom!

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-{{bheader|Aug 7th|Devar/5769/Ekev}}
+{{bheader|Aug 14th|Devar/5769/Reeh}}
 Hi again!
-This week we went to the wedding of a family member of a family friend of my father-in-law's.  Confused?  OK - the bride is the granddaughter of my father-in-law's friend.  The groom is studying at the famous {{wiki|Merkaz HaRav}}.  Both are Mexican (though the bride's family is from Argentina, hence the connection to Esther etc.)  There were a lot of people there, mostly from Mexico -- I think we might have had the entirety of the orthodox community of Mexico there.  The ''chuppa'' was nice, though the rabbi talked too long -- I'm used to short-and-sweet ''chuppot''.  Next week we have another ''chuppa'' to go to, this time my cousin's... we'll update you B"H next week on that one.
+This week we attended the wedding of my third-cousin-once-removed, whose parents (also my cousins, of course) live on the other side of Jerusalem from us.  The groom's mother is one of the "long lost relatives" I met when I first came to Israel, in the 1980s -- and we've kept in touch to varying degrees since then.
-The next day (yesterday) was my father-in-law Victor's birthday - so we took him to the [http://www.jerusalem.com/discover/item_1663/Israeli-Wine-Tasting-Festival Israeli Wine Tasting Festival], held at the [http://www.english.imjnet.org.il/htmls/Home.aspx Israel Museum] in Jerusalem.  Interestingly, we met up with several people we knew from Maale Adummim, and also met the daughter of a long-time acquaintance from the US, who made aliyah a year or so ago.  Daniela also met a couple friends of hers.  And we got to try wines we might not otherwise have tried.  Afterwards, we took him to dinner at [http://www.english.imjnet.org.il/htmls/Ticho_House3.aspx?c0=13392&bsp=12940 Ticho House] which I just found out is also associated with the Israel Museum.  I think he had a good time; I know we did.
+In any case, the wedding was held in a place called [http://www.pekangarden.co.il/ Gan Hapekan] (the Pecan Garden), which is almost an hour and a half drive from where we live.  So we go there and the first people we see at the place are our next-door neighbors from Maale Adummim!  Turns out, they are close friends of the bride's family.
-Esther, Daniela and Sarah went to the beach (at Rishon Letsion) one day.  Esther enjoyed the beautiful Mediterranean, Sarah enjoyed the sun, and Daniela enjoyed the shade.  Something for everyone.  That day, Victor was visiting one of his friends, so they didn't have to worry about what to do with him at a women-only beach.
+Besides meeting my neighbors, we also met up with quite a few of my various and sundry cousins -- some from Israel and some from the US.  I really enjoyed catching up with the family, and hope to stay in a bit closer contact than before.
-Over the past weeks there has been a lot of discussion in the international media about "East Jerusalem" and how those evil Jews (oops, I mean "Israelis") are oppressing, cheating, and otherwise maltreating the innocent heroes of the West, the "Palestinians".  I invite you to read an interesting article about how [http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=105779 misleading media about Jerusalem] are.   I have already mentioned elsewhere that those same heroic "Palestinians" (or as we call them by their correct name, "Arabs") are persona-non-grata in every Arab country.  Where is the Western outrage at (for just one example) Kuwait, who doesn't permit Pallys to acquire Kuwaiti citizenship?  Ah, well, it's an old story by now, isn't it?
+And speaking of that "various and sundry", one of my cousins (from the other side of my family) was contacted by a previously unknown second-cousin of his, who had a bunch of information on our (common) family.  So now I have that information, and I'll be incorporating it into the mostly moribund family-tree project.
-''Aliyah'' from the US is proceeding apace; this week another NBN flight arrived with 238 hopeful new immigrants from the ''goldene medina''.  According to Prime Minister Netanyahu (who met the new immigrants at the airport), soon the [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249275687846&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Jewish population of Israel will be greater than that in ''galut''].  I'm not sure how he's counting, but regardless of ''aliyah'' he's correct.  For the Jewish people in our Land are quite prolific; whereas those who remain outcast among the nations have a dwindling birthrate (and skyrocketing rates of intermarriage and assimilation).
+This is Grampa Victor's last shabbat here with us this time around, so we're pulling out all the stops.  {{wiki|Kibbeh}}, stuffed artichokes, {{wiki|challah}}, {{wiki|matbucha}}, roasted chicken, [[Recipes/Hummus|Hummus]], [[Recipes/Techina|techina]] and [[Recipes/Green Hilbe|hilbe]].  Plus a fruit cobbler for dessert. All homemade, of course.  And that's just for tonight... mmm, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!
-Geek stuff (or, "and now for something completely different"):
+This is also Daniela's penultimate shabbat with us this time.  So I made "fish-n-chips" last night per her request, and I have to make "pad thai" sometime this week to fulfill my fatherly obligation to spoil her before she slips out of my reach again.
-I have a long term, [http://xkcd.com/619/ love and hate] relationship going on with Linux.  I use that free and stable OS for all my private work (and even for paid work, now).  But I get smacked in the face from time to time by things that still don't work.  For example: this past week we were trying to set up my upstairs computer with [http://www.skype.com Skype] so that my father-in-law could "phone home".  Skype works "ok" on Linux, though not as well as on Windows -- because the development of the Linux version lags ''two'' major versions behind the Windows version.  Whatever; I accept that.  But Skype also can do "video" calls, and for that it needs a web-cam.  We have three web-cams in the house, but not one of them works well with Linux.  So finally, I did some research and got my hands on a very nice camera (which works splendidly on Linux), the [http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/webcam_communications/webcams/devices/3057&cl=us,en Logitech QuickCam Communicate Deluxe].  The integrated microphone even works excellently, so now my mother is happy she can see me when I call!
+Sarah is starting her summer job on Sunday. I think she's looking forward to making some money.  I'm taking Sunday and Monday off from work so I can spend time with Grampa Victor and Daniela before they escape our clutches.  We'll see just what we end up doing.
-In further geek news, my [http://ronware.org/reva Reva Forth] project is now working very nicely under Mac, Windows and Linux.  It's free, small, fast and fun.  Next stop: making a "universal GUI" library for it which runs "out of the box" on all three OSes.  Not an easy task.
+American pressure on Israel to not build "in the disputed territories" has reached new heights of stupidity.  Here in Maale Adummim, the mayor is protesting that [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418591255&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull he can't build in the industrial park] -- which is part of Maaleh Adummim, not an expansion of anything.  Nobody ever lived there.  Nobody lives there.  Nobody wants to live there.  But due to Uncle Sugar's pressure, our faithless government is not permitting us to build where we already have the legal right and presence to do so.
+This is, of course, supposed to encourage our "peace partners" to stop attempting to murder us and rather, grudgingly, permit us to live.  On an even smaller plot of land than we already have, but then we should be simply grateful to be alive, no?  Sadly, those same "partners for peace" have now officially decided [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418582678&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull only recalcitrant terrorists need apply] for their government.  These aren't street goons, these are the government of the so-called "PA".  Well ok, they ''are'' street goons - but they get paid by the "PA".  Actually, they get paid by the UN and other well-meaning but increasingly irrelevant suckers of the Western World. Schmucks.
 Until next week,<br>
 Shabbat shalom!
-{{nav|Blog|Blog|Blog/July 2009/Jul 24th|Jul 31st||}}
+{{nav|Blog|Blog|Blog/August 2009/Aug 7th|Aug 7th|Blog/August 2009/Aug 21st|Aug 21st}}

Difference between revisions of "Blog/August 2009/Aug 14th"

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Latest revision as of 15:45, 21 August 2009