In my original post about malaprops, I indicated that Betsy is one of the more frequent contributors to keeping such things alive. This morning she came up with a new one. Regarding a discussion on whether we wanted to involve the kids in the decision as to what color to paint their room, she meant to ask if I wanted to open that can of worms. Instead, however, she asked if I wanted to open that kettle of fish.
I suppose there is a linkage there. If you wanted to catch a kettle of fish, you might open a can of worms . . .
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Friday, December 05, 2008
Coming Home to the Catskills
Okay, so most of you know that I'm on the board of directors of a non-profit called Limmud NY. We are an organization that fosters Jewish life and learning, primarily through a 4-day conference held every MLK weekend in the Catskills that is a festival celebrating all things Jewish.
I was asked to write a piece for use on the website, and was given some sample topics. The one that screamed out to me was about coming home to the Catskills. I have been thinking about writing just such a piece for a number of years and finally had a good excuse to do so. I thought you might enjoy it as well. Thanks for reading.
Coming Home to the Catskills
By Matthew Grob
I am old enough to remember the Catskills when it was still the Borscht Belt – a country getaway destination in the mountains for Jews from the New York City area with headliners making their rounds from hotel to hotel. I’m not old enough to remember it in the days portrayed in “Dirty Dancing” though not much changed between then and my visits in the early 1970’s to places like Grossingers, the Concord, Brown’s, the Fallsview and yes – the Nevele. We even had a bungalow one summer at Kutshers.
When my good friend and Limmud NY founding board member came back from an exploratory trip to Limmud UK to determine if it could be replicated in New York, the first thing he said that got me excited was, “It’s like youth group for adults!” Having grown up in and formed my own Jewish identity through NFTY, the Reform youth movement, I was thrilled. What he said next was almost as exciting – that it would be held in the Catskills.
A hotel filled with Jews of all ages, lots of food, tons of activities, and a sense of community. All in the snow-covered mountains a mere 90 minutes from home. Did I just describe my youth or the past four Martin Luther King weekends at Limmud NY? Both.
As I sit here getting excited about the upcoming fifth Limmud NY to be held at the Nevele, I think about the comparisons between my younger days at these hotels and Limmud NY. Some things have changed, some have not.
Back then, kippers were on the breakfast menu. Today, soy milk is an option. In the 1970’s we rushed to Simon Sez sessions with Lou Goldstein, one of the best known “tummlers” from the heyday of the Borscht Belt. Mornings at Limmud NY we get up early for yoga. In my youth, there was a seemingly unlimited number of activities from which to choose, morning through night. Limmud NY offers over 300 sessions from dawn ‘til the wee hours, sometimes 15 at a time.
Entertainment was always one of the big draws to the Borscht Belt. Even in my day, members of the “Rat Pack” still made their rounds when not performing in Vegas. Cha-cha lessons during the day could be put into practice during dance parties at night. When I was a precocious eleven, my parents allowed me to see the late comedy show – the “blue” show, so named because it featured adult themes. In the 1970’s, blue didn’t mean what it does today. Back then it meant Jackie Eagle doing shtick about the fact that the word “fart” means “to travel” in Yiddish, leading to such statements as “I farted on a bus in Brooklyn yesterday,” and “Last summer we farted through the Alps.” At Limmud NY there are no such blue shows, but we find ourselves laughing at the likes of Yisrael Campbell and Aaron Freeman. The Rat Pack has been replaced by Coolooloosh and Israeli dancing is more prevalent than the cha-cha.
The adage “the more things change, the more they stay the same” holds here as well. We still come to Limmud NY in the Catskills for the same reason. To leave our day-to-day lives behind; to ensconce ourselves in an environment that is both different yet eerily familiar; to spend Shabbat with hundreds of people, many of whom may observe it somewhat differently than we do but all unified in recognition that it is something special. We go to bed tired yet satisfied, and wake up excited and energized for the full day ahead. Oh yeah – and more food than you would normally eat.
The glory days of the Borscht Belt are a memory, but the faint flicker of hope that the region will return to its once former self is kept alive not just by rumors of gambling coming to the area, but also by almost 1,000 Jews descending upon a Catskills hotel for 4 days every year. The peak of the Borscht Belt was arguably the 1960’s. That means we’ve been wandering away for 40 years. Isn’t it time that you came home too?
Matthew Grob has been a Limmud NY volunteer, Steering Committee member, and is now Secretary of the Limmud NY Board of Directors. He has attended every Limmud NY. As a youth, Matthew ate 2 desserts at every meal in the Catskills and still does the same at Limmud NY.
I was asked to write a piece for use on the website, and was given some sample topics. The one that screamed out to me was about coming home to the Catskills. I have been thinking about writing just such a piece for a number of years and finally had a good excuse to do so. I thought you might enjoy it as well. Thanks for reading.
Coming Home to the Catskills
By Matthew Grob
I am old enough to remember the Catskills when it was still the Borscht Belt – a country getaway destination in the mountains for Jews from the New York City area with headliners making their rounds from hotel to hotel. I’m not old enough to remember it in the days portrayed in “Dirty Dancing” though not much changed between then and my visits in the early 1970’s to places like Grossingers, the Concord, Brown’s, the Fallsview and yes – the Nevele. We even had a bungalow one summer at Kutshers.
When my good friend and Limmud NY founding board member came back from an exploratory trip to Limmud UK to determine if it could be replicated in New York, the first thing he said that got me excited was, “It’s like youth group for adults!” Having grown up in and formed my own Jewish identity through NFTY, the Reform youth movement, I was thrilled. What he said next was almost as exciting – that it would be held in the Catskills.
A hotel filled with Jews of all ages, lots of food, tons of activities, and a sense of community. All in the snow-covered mountains a mere 90 minutes from home. Did I just describe my youth or the past four Martin Luther King weekends at Limmud NY? Both.
As I sit here getting excited about the upcoming fifth Limmud NY to be held at the Nevele, I think about the comparisons between my younger days at these hotels and Limmud NY. Some things have changed, some have not.
Back then, kippers were on the breakfast menu. Today, soy milk is an option. In the 1970’s we rushed to Simon Sez sessions with Lou Goldstein, one of the best known “tummlers” from the heyday of the Borscht Belt. Mornings at Limmud NY we get up early for yoga. In my youth, there was a seemingly unlimited number of activities from which to choose, morning through night. Limmud NY offers over 300 sessions from dawn ‘til the wee hours, sometimes 15 at a time.
Entertainment was always one of the big draws to the Borscht Belt. Even in my day, members of the “Rat Pack” still made their rounds when not performing in Vegas. Cha-cha lessons during the day could be put into practice during dance parties at night. When I was a precocious eleven, my parents allowed me to see the late comedy show – the “blue” show, so named because it featured adult themes. In the 1970’s, blue didn’t mean what it does today. Back then it meant Jackie Eagle doing shtick about the fact that the word “fart” means “to travel” in Yiddish, leading to such statements as “I farted on a bus in Brooklyn yesterday,” and “Last summer we farted through the Alps.” At Limmud NY there are no such blue shows, but we find ourselves laughing at the likes of Yisrael Campbell and Aaron Freeman. The Rat Pack has been replaced by Coolooloosh and Israeli dancing is more prevalent than the cha-cha.
The adage “the more things change, the more they stay the same” holds here as well. We still come to Limmud NY in the Catskills for the same reason. To leave our day-to-day lives behind; to ensconce ourselves in an environment that is both different yet eerily familiar; to spend Shabbat with hundreds of people, many of whom may observe it somewhat differently than we do but all unified in recognition that it is something special. We go to bed tired yet satisfied, and wake up excited and energized for the full day ahead. Oh yeah – and more food than you would normally eat.
The glory days of the Borscht Belt are a memory, but the faint flicker of hope that the region will return to its once former self is kept alive not just by rumors of gambling coming to the area, but also by almost 1,000 Jews descending upon a Catskills hotel for 4 days every year. The peak of the Borscht Belt was arguably the 1960’s. That means we’ve been wandering away for 40 years. Isn’t it time that you came home too?
Matthew Grob has been a Limmud NY volunteer, Steering Committee member, and is now Secretary of the Limmud NY Board of Directors. He has attended every Limmud NY. As a youth, Matthew ate 2 desserts at every meal in the Catskills and still does the same at Limmud NY.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
House of Saddam
A few months ago I participated in a market research panel that was shown HBO's upcoming "House of Saddam." We only saw parts 1 and 2, but the entire group concurred that it was a fascinating and extremely well-done mini-series. It reminded many of us of The Godfather both in terms of quality (production and acting) and subject matter. It starts this Sunday on HBO and I highly recommend it. You won't be sorry.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
You're Looking Rather Dawnzerly
A couple of weeks ago, I was speaking with Sam about mis-heard song lyrics (see fun link on the right to Kiss This Guy - a great site for such things). I was telling him that there are a number of people who think that our national anthem starts "Jose, can you see?" Sam then remembered a passage from a Ramona book he had read a few years ago in which Ramona asks what "dawnzerly" means. I myself was confused as to why Sam was bringing this up. He told me that after inquiring as to Jose's view in the first lyric, some people then hear the next line of the anthem as "By the dawnzerly light."
We have now adapted this adjective into our day-to-day language, most often by paying the compliment, "You're looking rather dawnzerly today."
We have now adapted this adjective into our day-to-day language, most often by paying the compliment, "You're looking rather dawnzerly today."
Benny Lava
Every so often, one comes across something so funny that it must be shared with the world.
In keeping with my recently added list of YouTube vids that my kids have turned me on to, last night friends of theirs were over and showed them what we are now calling the Benny Lava song. With almost 10 million hits on YouTube, we're obviously not alone in finding this hysterical.
This video is brilliantly funny from two perspectives. First is what the author did with the transliterated text as he heard it (watch the video - especially the introduction - and that last sentence will make sense), but second is that this Indian music video stands on its own merit in an '80's flashback sort of way. Watch the choreography. Fosse, it ain't.
In keeping with my recently added list of YouTube vids that my kids have turned me on to, last night friends of theirs were over and showed them what we are now calling the Benny Lava song. With almost 10 million hits on YouTube, we're obviously not alone in finding this hysterical.
This video is brilliantly funny from two perspectives. First is what the author did with the transliterated text as he heard it (watch the video - especially the introduction - and that last sentence will make sense), but second is that this Indian music video stands on its own merit in an '80's flashback sort of way. Watch the choreography. Fosse, it ain't.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
I Love Amazon
I started using Amazon right after it debuted however many years ago. Being the cheap bastard that I am though, I always opted for the free super saving shipping which could take up to 2 weeks. Sure the prices were good, and I loved that they seemed to "know me" offering recommendations based on what I had previously ordered or viewed, but my need for instantaneous gratification went unfulfilled.
At that time, Amazon carried primarily books, music and movies with some other odds and ends. Being a block and a half from Barnes & Noble and (before it closed) Tower Records, I usually chose to pay a bit more in exchange for the thrill of quick acquisition. It got even better when Barnes & Noble introduced free same-day delivery for Manhattan residents. Order it by 11AM and I'd have it by 7PM via courier. I was thrilled, though secretly ashamed that I wouldn't walk the block and a half to pick it up in person . . .
Then a few years ago, two things happened at Amazon. First, they started carrying just about anything on earth that could be put in a box and shipped by UPS, still at the lowest prices pretty much anywhere. Second, they introduced Amazon Prime. For an annual fee of $79, they will ship anything they carry (i.e. not things that they sell for others through their website) with free two-day shipping. Given how much I tend to rely on internet shopping, this was a phenomenal deal, and assuaged my need for speed.
In the last two days, two more things happened that have caused me to pledge my undying loyalty to Amazon. On Monday night around 8PM I ordered some DVDs from Amazon. Because of the lateness of the hour and Thanksgiving, my order was not scheduled to arrive until Friday. Imagine my surprise when they showed up Tuesday evening, having been delivered by courier.
Then today, I remembered that I needed to get some new windshield wipers for my car. Consumer Reports had just published their ratings and I was going to pick one of their recommended models. If you don't know, there aren't many auto supply shops in Manhattan so I figured I would order them on-line. Just for kicks, I checked first to see if Amazon carried them, assuming that if they did, they would be available through a third party. Imagine my surprise when I found that not only did they have them on the site, but that they were sold by Amazon and eligible for my free 2-day shipping. And like a cherry on top, the price was about 50% lower than Consumer Reports' reported street pricing.
Ooohh, I love my Amazon! Kudos Jeff Bezos!
At that time, Amazon carried primarily books, music and movies with some other odds and ends. Being a block and a half from Barnes & Noble and (before it closed) Tower Records, I usually chose to pay a bit more in exchange for the thrill of quick acquisition. It got even better when Barnes & Noble introduced free same-day delivery for Manhattan residents. Order it by 11AM and I'd have it by 7PM via courier. I was thrilled, though secretly ashamed that I wouldn't walk the block and a half to pick it up in person . . .
Then a few years ago, two things happened at Amazon. First, they started carrying just about anything on earth that could be put in a box and shipped by UPS, still at the lowest prices pretty much anywhere. Second, they introduced Amazon Prime. For an annual fee of $79, they will ship anything they carry (i.e. not things that they sell for others through their website) with free two-day shipping. Given how much I tend to rely on internet shopping, this was a phenomenal deal, and assuaged my need for speed.
In the last two days, two more things happened that have caused me to pledge my undying loyalty to Amazon. On Monday night around 8PM I ordered some DVDs from Amazon. Because of the lateness of the hour and Thanksgiving, my order was not scheduled to arrive until Friday. Imagine my surprise when they showed up Tuesday evening, having been delivered by courier.
Then today, I remembered that I needed to get some new windshield wipers for my car. Consumer Reports had just published their ratings and I was going to pick one of their recommended models. If you don't know, there aren't many auto supply shops in Manhattan so I figured I would order them on-line. Just for kicks, I checked first to see if Amazon carried them, assuming that if they did, they would be available through a third party. Imagine my surprise when I found that not only did they have them on the site, but that they were sold by Amazon and eligible for my free 2-day shipping. And like a cherry on top, the price was about 50% lower than Consumer Reports' reported street pricing.
Ooohh, I love my Amazon! Kudos Jeff Bezos!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Abby is a Rhodes Scholar!
Last week, I wrote about seeing my cousins Jeff and Judy in Charlotte, NC in this post. Judy has three incredibly sweet, smart and sophisticated children - Abby, Harper and Sarah - and Jeff, ever the proud step-dad, was telling me that Abby had applied for a Rhodes scholarship.
Yesterday, I was thrilled to read that Abby is one of the 32 people in the US selected (from 769 applicants) for the prestigious honor and she'll spend the next year at Oxford University.
Way to go Abby!!!!!
Yesterday, I was thrilled to read that Abby is one of the 32 people in the US selected (from 769 applicants) for the prestigious honor and she'll spend the next year at Oxford University.
Way to go Abby!!!!!
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