Happy Halloween

I'm moving!

Yes, this will be my fifth home in 2½ years in Manhattan, and my 17th since graduating high school. It will not be the last. But I am leaving the poodles and museums of the Upper East Side back the Queens for the very multicultural community of Elmhurst. Keep up: my new address, as of this weekend, will be

88-35 Elmhurst Ave. Apt. 1L
Elmhurst, NY, 11373

Finding a place was not fun, but the hell has just begun! Finding help and moving truck, packing all my stuff. What luck. Oh what fun it will be as I abandon the City.

So-so

TORTURE UPDATE: Legislation to require the U.S. to obey the rules against inhumane treatment of detainees, that is being pushed by Senator McCain and which President Bush has threatened to veto, has passed the Senate, and reportedly Cheney has been trying to negotiate an exemption for the CIA, explicitly permitting them to torture people, which apparently they're doing now. The CIA refuses to allow the Red Cross to check on its prisoners, or even to acknowledge that the prisoners exist, and has refused to cooperate with any investigations of prisoner abuse as has been going on in the army. This president truly makes me ashamed to be an American.

On a lighter note, am I the only one who thinks that whoever does their marketing has put together terrible trailers for movies like The Weather Man and Prime?

For fun, the English expression "so-so" sounds funny in lots of languages, with its babytalk-like repetition. My favorites are Romanian and Chinese.

English: so-so
French: komSI-komSA (comme ci comme ça)
Italian: koZI-koZI (cosí cosí)
Spanish: aSI-aSI (así así)
Portugese: asing-asing (assim assim)
Romanian: aSHAshyasha (aşa şi aşa)
Serbian: tahko-tahko (tako tako)
Greek: etsi-ketsi (έτσι και έτσι)
Icelandic: shvona-shvona (svona svona)
Turkish: shoyleh-boyleh (şöyle böyle)
Azerbaijani: eLAbela (елә белə)
Hebrew: kacha-kacha (ככה ככה)
Yiddish: aZOY-aZOY (אזוי אזוי)
Hindi: teek-tahk (ठीक-ठाक)
Chinese: mama-HUHU (馬馬虎虎)

Clif Notes

You may remember (if not sympathize with) my Luna Bar saga, that delectable food of the gods (delicious and nutritious!), which was ruined by their new low-sugar formula, forcing me to nourrish myself on the inferior but passable (and manlier) Clif Bar. It's worth mentioning that there are some new Luna Bar flavors, still low-sugar but much better tasting: Iced Oatmeal Raisin, Cookies ‘n Cream Delight, and Peanut Butter Cookie.

But my real discovery today is Builder's Bars! I bought them because they have 20g of protein each, but they are GREAT! Best of the lot. My new hero! With bars like these, who needs "exercise"?

Go Vegan Radio

I was interviewed on Go Vegan Radio with Bob Linden regarding my global warming report, which can be listened to on their website.

Jeepers!

This bird flu is scary stuff!

Incidentally, it comes from chickens, a direct result of animal agriculture (i.e., you eating meat).

[Update: look what I wrote on this subject for PETA.]

Racism? Sexism? Or what?

If you're wondering why I haven't posted lately, it's because I haven't been getting comments on my posts. (Except for Shirley, but I could just email her.) Without that positive reinforcement, it hardly seems worthwhile... so, if you want to enjoy more noamic wisdom and entertainment, please provide the requisite pats on the back and scratches behind the ears.

Anyway, something just occured to me.


I was watching a commercial, and the black woman was very light-skinned, while her hustband was very dark-skinned, and it suddenly occured to me that every black family sit-com I've ever seen the husband was darker than the wife. Why is that? What does that mean? What's going on? That's not how things are in real life...?!

Please explain!

Good enough

This weekend I called up a friend from a cafe and she suggested going to a movie. So we hung up and I was getting ready to go meet her, when my phone rang again:

Her: Actually, maybe I don’t want to go. What are you wearing?
Me: What?
Her: I don’t want to be with people who aren’t wearing fashionable clothes.
Me: Are you saying that if my clothes aren’t fashionable enough, you don’t want to see a movie?
Her: Yes. I hate it when people don’t wear fashionable clothes.
Me: Er, I’m wearing jeans and a black button-up shirt. Is that good enough?
Her: Which shirt?
Me: It’s a long-sleeved shirt made of soft material.
Her: The one you bought in Columbia?
Me: You know it?
Her: Yes. I guess that’s ok. You can come.
Me: I do have my computer with me.
Her: In that computer bag? No. It looks dorky.
Me: So you don’t want to go?
Her: Not with that bag.
Me: I can leave it in your apartment.
Her: And then come all the way back afterwards to pick it up?
Me: Yes.
Her: Ok.

You've got to be illin' to be in this posse.

Shana Tova

Went home to my family for nearly a week for Rosh Hashana. Played catch with the kids, gave presents to many, and went for a hike in the mountains. Took a few pictures, though it was dark so they didn't come out great, but here they are: