On My Blog

  
  

I haven’t written a review in a while, so these images and links are from the past three weeks.

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

• Westbankmama has a round up of posts for Israel Pride Week. See also Let’s Have a Real Apartheid Education Week by Alan Dershowitz.
• This article on peanut allergies inspired a lot of discussion on Facebook. Why are there so many peanut allergies among Americans and Brits and so few among native-born Israelis? The article only answers why so few among native-born Israelis (early exposure to peanuts). But the explosion of allergies elsewhere in the past ten years is still unanswered.
• One day I will make Ilana-Davita’s butternut squash soup.
• Risa writes the History of Rehovot.
• Jew Wishes reports a new Aharon Appelfeld book (one of my favorite authors).
• On my business blog, I wrote Ease of a Facebook Fan Page.
• Enjoy the new header I created for Cooking Manager. And learn to bake challah.

Upcoming next week: Potato Leek Soup by a friend (recipe suitable for Pesach)

The bell part of this pottery that I made long ago never worked; it is supposed to chime with the wind. But it makes a pretty ornament on my porch.

On My Blog

Thank you to everyone who left comments on my interview with Raritan Air Water Power Service. If you haven’t left a comment yet, feel free to do so.

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

• Ilana-Davita is traveling in Hong Kong, and she explains how the Octopus Card works.
• Snow Photography Tips on the Adorama blog by Mason Resnick
• Memorial service for terror attack victims on Muqata blog
• Mrs. S.’s kids wonder if going to a blogger’s event is like spending an evening with strangers.
• Rachel learns about an eye for an eye.
• Although I usually don’t go the political route on this blog, in some cases I make exceptions. Here is a post by Westbankmama about an anti-Israel week. A good place to start on this topic is Phyllis Chesler’s blog.
• A friend wins fundraiser of the year for an organization that provides legal support and counseling to survivors of domestic 
violence.
• The pilot for my son’s film is online at the Highland Park Public Library site:
  every racers dream is to go to Ruin Rui…

I am leaving with my daughter in the morning on a trip, but I’ll be back by Monday morning. So if I don’t get a chance to visit your blog or respond on this one, that’s why. Have a great weekend everyone.

On My Blog

  
  

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

• The post is called Hermit Crab – see an inspiring, beautiful watercolor by Carol Feldman.
• I am happy to see Batya participating in Ruby Tuesday – be sure to visit her photos with red, too!
• A Texan visits the Dachau Concentration Camp. (hat tip: Louis La Vache)
• Ilana-Davita posted a recipe for chicken with red peppers, which I made on Friday. I grilled it and then baked it a bit in the oven right before Shabbat. Tasty, though I think next time I should add more garlic.
• A disturbing post on Jews Leaving Sweden – talks about Malmo, which I read about in Caldwell’s book (see below).
• A discussion about modesty (tzniut or tznius) on Rachel’s blog.

Book Bits

Books I’m reading: I read most of the stories in The Jew of Home Depot and Other Stories by Max Apple. I would like to write a post on the story called “Stabbing an Elephant.” Can anyone guess what the story about stabbing an elephant is about? Hint: which Jewish holiday?

I started reading My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq by Ariel Sabar, a birthday present from a dear friend (thank you). It is a captivating book; Ariel Sabar tells his story and the story of his father with great flourish and engaging description.

I finished Reflections on the Revolution In Europe: Immigration, Islam, and the West by Christopher Caldwell – I highly recommend it, though the topic is a disturbing one.

On My Blog

  
  

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

• Ilana-Davita asked some good questions about the parsha (which is Bo, about the end of the ten plagues and is quite violent).
• I finally finished reading Laish by Aharon Appelfeld, which is reviewed beautifully here by Jew Wishes. I cannot even begin to imagine being a 15 year old without parents who is raised by this caravan, but in some ways it is similar to Aharon Appelfeld’s story, who also lost his parents quite young.
• Mrs. S. is playing one of my favorite games, Othello. But she seems to be changing the rules.
• Muqata has an eye witness account about the IDF field hospital in Haiti: “A doctor and nurse from Germany came. They heard this is best hospital in Haiti. An emergency room team from Colombia arrived with all their equipment and asked if they could set up next to us to be part of our hospital. England is the enlightened country in Europe, the one which has an academic boycott of Israel; twenty British doctors and nurses asked to work with us.”
• Melissa wrote “It Takes a Community.”

On My Blog

  
 

Please read my post on child sexual abuse: Protect Children from Abuse – thank you to everyone who left comments.

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

• Discovered this week that a fellow Highland Parker, Joel Levy, has a blog called Becoming a Black Belt in Life. I discovered it because he stopped me on the street (I seem to have a reputation as a blogger) and told me about it!
• Jew Wishes has reviews on books by one of my favorite authors, Aharon Appelfeld: Iron Tracks, Badenheim 1939 and Laish.
• I really liked Robin’s photo of Shefayim Beach and Ann’s photo of a male pine grosbeak bird.
• Ilana-Davita talks in this post about books she is reading, so I will tell you that I just ordered three books: Stones by Michael Rockland, The Jew of Home Depot by Max Apple, and Flat Belly Diet by Liz Vaccariello. Flat Belly Diet is actually for my father; he is always interested in healthy diets, and someone must have recommended this book to him. If you meet him, you would say, why does he need to lose weight? He doesn’t. He needs to keep any fat he has and to stay healthy. I’m curious about the book.

Oh, and a brief parsha quiz: Who is Putiel? (and isn’t that a fab name?).
Annual link to the froggy song.

Mrs. S. pointed out that the burning bush, the name of the shrub that the cardinal is hiding in, was also in the parsha yesterday.
Parsha quiz: Who were Shifra and Puah? Give two possible answers.
Update: See Daniel’s post for three answers.

On My Blog

  
  

No Jews or dogs: discussion at the celebration of my father’s 80th birthday

Thank you to everyone who left a comment on 11 Inspiring Kitchen or Food Headers.

*** Upcoming (later today): a post about a talk by an adult survivor of child sexual abuse. – now posted – Protect Children from Abuse ***

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

• Baila responds to colors of bras and offers some real insight about breast cancer.
• What happens when someone uses your post for nefarious purposes? It happened to Ilana-Davita.
• Phyllis posted the blog carnival Haveil Havalim, the Mazel Tov Chavi version.