Her sister died of a drug overdose last week.
I email her: "How are you holding up?"
She replies: "THINGS R NOT HOLDING UP, ITS ALL GOOD."
Luke: "What do you mean not holding up?"
She replies: "just not. my life isa disaster, my sister picked a great time to pull this off. at east one of us is at peace now though."
You can email Leah: [email protected]
I made friends through my chat room with a music composer. I asked him to write an ode for me, an "Ode to the Moral Leader."
He did:
I received this ode via email while I was reading a book by Susan Casey: "The Devil’s Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America’s Great White Sharks"
As biologist Edward O. Wilson wrote: "In a deeply tribal way, we love our monsters."
My mom emails: "You can play it at your wedding!"
A friend emails: "I like it. It’s trendy, new age, unpretentious, and evocative of the great and timeless wisdom and moral guidance from our great master. Is there a disco version? Do you think you can get Air Supply to do a cover version? "
Anybody who wants to have a quiet chat in a beautiful place, free, in mid-town Manhattan can use the lobby of the Galleria on 57th Street. It has Mendy’s, a kosher sandwhich and soda place, and a Mendy’s white-tablecloth place, right there. It is an artily designed, airconditioned, little-used lobby, with greenery and a little waterfall, and places to sit. Free. You don’t have to buy anything to sit. The Galleria also has a little, out-door, waterfall vestpocket park. Free. The Galleria is not far from the Borders bookstore on 57th and Park, but the Borders coffee shop is not kosher. You can have the kosher sandwich at the Galleria, and then wander West to Borders, and talk about the books. If you feel like chatting under the trees, free, in the enclosed, public, street level Bamboo Forest at the IBM building at 56th and Madison, nobody is going to stop you either. If you can manage to go there before 12 noon or after 2, it will not be crowded. All these things are near every possible subway and bus, if you need to end the conversation, and go on your way. You can get a job near there too, to pay for the sandwich. $1600 a month or so will get you a small studio apartment nearby, if it works out.
Let us see a whole lot of dark-eyed beauties whispering to nice young men in the shadows of the palms inside the Galleria on 57th between, I think, Lexington and Park, on the uptown side of the street. Wear some black and put your hair up, honey. Wear a nice sandal, no track shoes allowed.
Joan was hit by a car on PCH Friday night.
She’s at UCLA medical hospital.
About 20 of her friends gathered last night in Pico-Robertson to recite Psalms on her behalf.
I ran into a couple of them at Jeff’s Gourmet afterwards (Gary Wexler, David Brandes).
Here’s the latest on Joan’s condition from carepages.com:
The doctors came down this morning and met with Nancy, Joan’s sister.
Joan’s vital signs are very good. She continues to be in stable condition which is exactly what we were hoping for. Now that Joan has been stable for the past 24 hours, the doctors are looking to lowering her sedation level to see how she responds. If that response is ok and
indicates that Joan can tolerate movement, the doctors will likely proceed to obtain another CAT scan with a view to determining what needs to be addressed next. All of the above is neither good nor bad. What is
good is that we avoided emergencies for the last 24 hours and are seeking
to build upon that.
I’ve written about Clothes Heaven (www.clothesheaven.com) multiple times, for a reason: the store, located in Pasadena at 111 East Union Street, is an oasis of style and amazing bargains. Brands like Gucci, Prada, Jil Sander, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Versace — all these acclaimed designer names fill the store, along with equally beautiful accessories like shoes and sunglasses that complete an outfit. The store is worth your attention because of the value it offers consumers – I know of no other boutique with such a diverse selection of merchandise – and the knowledgeable staff who are never intrusive or demanding.
Also, as the economy softens and as workers scramble to find affordable attire, Clothes Heaven is a must-see destination. The store’s owner, Larayne Brannon, has an eye for fashion: she has relationships with some of the most stylish people in Los Angeles, connections that no department store can match. Even better, Clothes Heaven is in the heart of Old Town Pasadena, a great area for shopping and dining. Pay the store a visit. Tell them I sent you. Go there now!
He blogs about his flight to the Jewish bloggers conference in Jerusalem tomorrow:
FADE IN:
INT. VIRGIN AMERICA PLANE – NIGHT
“So what do you?”
I’m on my L.A. to N.Y. flight and I’ve been pecking away at my computer working on a script. There’s a young woman sitting next to me, and she’s so obviously an actress I feel embarrassed labeling her so quickly. But hey, twenty-five years in Hollywood and you kinda recognize the profile.
I go: “I’m a screenwriter.”
“Yeah, what are your credits? Anything big?”
This is the part I really hate. Everyone—from taxi drivers to your local plumber—feels they have a G-d given right to your credits.
So I have this neat comeback: “You first.”
A real conversation stopper.
She fixes me with her baby blues and decides I’m a hostile screenwriter. I’m not, I just don’t want to hear about her journey from Kansas to Hollywood and how haaaard it is breaking in and by the way, is there a part for her in my next film.
Anyway, she jams in her i-Pod buds and grooves away.
I finish the scene, decide it stinks, and delete it.
Pop Ambien.
FADE TO BLACK.
There is one man at the Beijing Olympic village who is not officially classified as an athlete, but runs as many kilometers as the competitors. He too began preparing for the Olympics many years ago and he too has put forth a lot of effort. He’s running a "relay race" which he has not yet completed. "It was more than worth it," the man who was appointed "Beijing’s Olympic rabbi" told Haaretz on Monday.
Rabbi Shimon Freundlich could be worthy of a gold medal considering the trials and tribulations the Chabad representative faced before he was officially appointed and allowed to operate a synagogue within the Olympic village.
China is a secular communist county that recognizes five religions (Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism.) "The Chinese knew that according to Olympics bylaws they are required to provide a synagogue and kosher food, and they knew there would be a rabbi, but since Judaism is not one of the religions recognized by the Chinese, they didn’t really know how to operate," Freundlich said.
"Only after I made it clear to them that I understood my appointment was not an official government appointment did the Chinese agree to meet with me," he added.
After much goading, the Chinese ultimately offered their assistance. They provided security around the Chabad house and the Chinese religions minister made an exception to the country’s laws and allowed Chabad to bring prayer books into China.
When it came to the food, things were a little more difficult. The athletes were given vegetarian airplane meals prepared in accordance with Muslim dietary laws.
A school principal in a West Bank settlement has been arrested on charges of indecent assault against dozens of his students, aged 12-14, Ynet has learned.
Married and in his late 40s, the man was brought before the Kfar Saba Magistrates’ Court on Monday, where he was remanded for three additional days.
According to the police, the suspect repeatedly denied all the allegations in his interrogation: "There was nothing of the sort, I’m being framed," he said.
The investigation began following a tip-off regarding acts the suspect allegedly forced upon eight of his students. A covert investigation was immediately launched, but began to build up speed after an official complaint was filed last week by a resident of the settlement where the incidents allegedly took place – a psychologist who said she was contacted by a family claiming the school principal molested their son.
The principal in court (Photo: Ido Erez)
Chief-Superintendent Mark Amiel told Ynet that investigators sought the testimonies of two youths following the complaint. Amiel said that since the boys were both under the age of 14, their questioning was conducted by specially trained officers and welfare officials.
