|
Sunday, October 30
The Jew Hate Rises Again
there was a very interesting post
from Oceanguy today (linkie love list dears far too lazy to type in the code)
about the outrageous comment from the Iranian president about wanting to wipe Israel off the map and Europe's complete non response
you know..of course you can not generalize
but on my last two trips to europe i felt more anti-semitism than id ever felt in my life
especially in Spain
i remember walking the streets of
Madrid and seeing a large swastika (is that how you spell it)
painted on a public wall
i assumed
like i would here in nyc
that the next time i passed that wall
the horrifying graffiti would be painted over
but no
5 days later i passed by
it was still there
and worse yet
i watched as all the Spaniards walking by
did not even slow their pace
it didn't upset them or faze them in the least
reading the newspapers
while i was in Ibiza
all i saw were anti-Israel propaganda
news so clearly slanted against Israel
that i thought it was a comedy
until i realized no
in fact these were real papers
that people were accepting as real journalism
i felt so frightened to my core
scratch the surface in much of Europe
and you will find a surge of anti-semitism
that yes
may have been sizzling under the surface since
the Holocaust
by people afraid to say it out loud
because it was not acceptable
after Hitler
but now
with the scape-goat of Israel
in defense of the Palestinians
a people that few outside their own
really care about
except as a tool to
scape-goat israel
the anti-semitism rises again
when i first heard the horrendous
statement
no jews dies on september 11th
i thought it was a bad joke
by a racist
anti-semite
it would blow over quickly
but now
it permeates
adds to the many horrifying
lies that have enabled
people throughout history to murder and opress jews
like the spaniards
who did nothing to stop the inquistion
because jews eat christian babies
and who is the very last person on earth
that really would eat human flesh
someone who keeps kosher of course
and yet
jews were executed in spain
tortured
cast out
as demons
because of lies like this one
the inquisition
the holocaust
and here we are again
one can so easily see
this happening all over again
as my mother harriet once wrote to me
has mankind learned nothing?
Wednesday, October 26
bush dump
well i hate to kick a guy (or gal) when hes down
but in the case of the baby bush Ill make an exception
seems like folks generally agree that that bush mans
second term is off to a terrential pile of crapola
not that his first term was any grand
success either
unless you're a holy roller marching on the anti abortion trail
hes done lots to slow down abortion
there was that horrific screw up with hurricane Katrina
gas prices thru the roof
the death toll in Iraq rising above the 2,000 point
a whole lot of concern over his nomination of Harriet Miers
and theres that whole
bushies leaking the CIA identity thang too
oh so only now
basically cause
the death toll had exceeded what the public can tolerate
cause you know
1500 deaths was like not that bad
and only now cause folks cant afford to fill their gas tanks
are they realizing that the man
in office is maybe
oh not so very good for the country
jeez
ya know
after he (stole) the election the first time
i thought
this country just voted republican
they didnt know what they were doing
didnt know much about the baby bush
except he had bad genes
but the second time?
then i said
the idiots in this country pretty much deserve what theyre gonna get
war
poverty
loss of rights
and now
hey its happening
so now id like to say
ok
his approval ratings
are at all time lows
does this mean you're gonna wake up and smell the coffee
or does this mean
you're gonna go back to the polls
and blindly vote for who-ever the bush camp endorces
maybe hey
jeb bush will be next
at that point
id have to say
kiss your ass and your country good-bye
cause neither of you will be around for long
Monday, October 24
floods, heat and bride-zillas
It was shocking to me the first time
When one of my clients
Told me they had googled me and found Rossi Rant..
Oh my god my professional catering life
Crashing head on into my personal NOT PC web site
My life was over
I would have to go in the closet
Pretend to be a virgin
Wear pastel colors instead of black
But no
Honey
Its just too big
A burden to pretend to be something other then what I really am
So if there are some clients out there who go elsewhere
Because they read my site
And im not a straight, republican, proper, oh so dainty lady
Then all I can say is
Go to fucking hell motherfuckers!
Ohh that felt so good
Ahh yes
Cause for the folks who remain
Who don’t care that I sometimes where orange plastic clogs
And look like a rock and roll biker bitch turned chef
For those lucky folks
The reward is the best ^&%%#^&**(((#(# food
This side of the mason Dixon line
Im soooooooooo humble
Also in my busy season
Which takes away all humility
But let me tell you about my last few days
So you’ll know why im ready to bite nails
After catering oh
Hmm
3 to 4 weddings a weekend for the last several weekends
with no end in sight
after the 7 days of rain
flooded my basement and destroyed my ceiling
and my landlord doesn’t think its his responsibility cause
you know it costs money to fix
after the dishwasher broke the gate
and now its so broken
im either gonna have to replace it or
just put a sign in the window that reads
take my stuff please
after one two many employees with a sense of entitlement
that would make the queen of England gasp
like the one who walked into the kitchen
one hour after arrival and asked where staff meal was
after bride-zillas so self absorbed they think that there is nothing
in my life besides them
after all this
I discover that my lovely
And expensive
Dry goods and freezer room has this pesky pipe
That my contruction company
Nor my landlord mentioned
Would once the heat was turned on for the residential building above
Reach a temperature of 120 degrees
And burn out my freezers and heat my dry goods
To an unsafe level
So that today I have to have a crew
Either knock down the wall
Or cut holes in it to let the air out
So all I can say is
AAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
Now then
To all the brides who are not bride-zillas
And are nice lovely
Ladies and Gentlemen of course
I say this
Be nice to your caterer
Treat your caterer with respect
And decency
Be kind
Be patient
And in the end
You will get 10 times more then you paid for
Like my bride last night
The lovely and amazing
And charming Vivian
Who I served oh about 10 times the desserts then shed paid for
Hired more chefs then shed paid for
And went all out
For
Cause shes been friggen decent to me
Its just
Common sense for crying out loud
Caterers are ya know people too
Nice in
Gets nice out
Evil in
Gets well
At least another 20 bucks a person on your bill
We in catering land
Call that the aggravation clause
Friday, October 21
Legal Blood
Well so they’re already gunning down the lawyers
Not that as many a bad joke would say
That’s a bad thing
But I do actually know a few nice lawyers
Anyway
The point is
Whether you love saddam
Or hate him
Think hes Hitler
Or the messiah
Gunning down the lawyers takes
Away the chance for folks on both sides
To see justice
Now gunning down a defense lawyer
Is just stupid
Cause hello
Nobody is gonna get this guy off the hook
So all youre doing is giving him more time
And less hanging
But its hard to talk sense into a wacko
Even if you agree with them
All I can say is
We didn’t get to see Hitler swing
Or get a lethal injection
And yes I know saddams death toll
Doesn’t even rate mentioning next to hitlers
But he was still a mass murdererer
And a tyrant
And wed all still like to see this trial thing played out
If for no other reason then to have these things said out loud
In court
But then when its over
Im back to the public cutting of one inch of his flesh per murder
Lethal injection doesn’t seem quite fair
Cause you know its humane
Wednesday, October 19
hail to la matrix and a hearty Fart to my host
Well there’s nothing like being locked out of your own damn site for like a week
Because the &&^%#$$#**** host changes some little glitch
And even the great and powerful and weblicious Jill matrix had a run for her money
Trying to get me back on
Thanks Nancy aka matrix aka jill aka matrixland aka web goddess
Anyway
I’m sorry for my lovely readers
You must have thought I was snobbed out
Too busy
Too blonde
Too bodacious to post
But no alas
I looked at my site every day
And felt like a loud mouthed bitch who was gagged
Which I guess I was
So now that the bitch is back
I just have a few things to say
As to the trial of saddam Hussein
I say
Ok
Have the trial
Cause so many victims need to see his brat ass
Squirm
And then publicly remove
One inch of his flesh for every person he had killed
The trick is to try and keep him alive
For most of it
That’s justice
Anything else
A let down
Unless of course you have him raped by Dick Cheney
hmm touch choice
losing body parts
sex with dick cheney
body parts
cheney
what would you prefer?
Monday, October 10
sad earth
the Tsunami
hurricane Katrina
now a killer earthquake that has 30,000 dead in south Asia
its hard to fathom why this planet is lashing out with so much fury
and so much death
certainly I would not pretend to even comprehend what it feels like to lose ones family and home in the water or in a bone crushing earthquake
I certainly would not pretend to come close to understanding the loss of knowing your loved ones are buried just beyond your reach
I can only send my prayers
And my sadness and
Make my donations
And hope that the world starts to heal
Soon
So much loss these days
Seems so much more then usual
I can only hope that the upcoming years
Bring peace, healing, sunshine and new life
Saturday, October 8
Putting It Out There
Well had the opening
It was a bit rained out with the horrible weather
So not quite the turn out I expected
new yorkers have a fear that they will in fact melt in the rain
but the people who did come
Were so fabulous honey they more then made up for it
still im a sensitive gal
And I walked home afterwards in the rain, solo
And somehow the walking home in the rain solo part
did i mention solo?
Paired with the less then perfect turn out
Propelled me into a full scale funk
But it was the goddess Joanna
Who reminded me
That I keep putting it out there no matter what
And you know
She’s right
So ill keep having the openings every three months
And sometimes they’ll be huge smash jams like the first one
And sometimes they’ll be less but still a haven for wonderful people sipping wine and sharing their thoughts
The show itself Crossing Over
Is about leaving one place
Leaving a true love
Leaving home
Leaving comfort
And yes too
Leaving loss
Leaving sadness
Leaving emptiness and anger
And ultimately
Reaching the other side of the cross
But wearing the cross
Keeping the lesson
Emerging hopefully and little wiser
So it rains
And I am reflective
And funky
And somewhat blue
But somewhat proud
And I plop on
Doing as Joanna says
Putting it out there
Friday, October 7
subway terror
Sometimes it’s useful that I’m a jewish American princess
And my greatest vice is not drugs, alcohol or diamonds
But taking taxis
You see my first apartments in NYC were out in the Siberia of Brooklyn
Where I would be stuck riding the 2 train at midnight for oh an hour
I vowed that if I ever could afford to live in Manhattan
And have the extra cash for taxis I would just never ride the train again
And you know what
That and the fact that just about everything I like to do is downtown
Has been mostly keeping me in yellow cabs ever since
Granted the payback is often finding myself un-able to breathe with my head hanging out the window
How the hell can you subject people to sitting in your cab if you refuse to bathe?
But yesterday
When I taxied to Soho, walked back, walked to meet lizita and debbilah at a groovy avenue a joint
I was glad
Because of the subway threat
When my brother called all the way from California to warn me
I laughed
Mat doesn’t know
How Jappy his older sister is
And proud of it
But it was a throw back
To those days of September
And to all the new things we’re now
Already used to
Like armed guards at our bridges and tunnels
the NYC subway
During rush hour
There is no more powerful an energy then the buzz of thousands and thousands of commuters who are convinced that losing say two seconds to tie a shoe or worse yet, miss a train when another one will be a full five minutes away is worse then death..
Try it one day, just a train car opens…attempt to block the path of an old lady..
Honey she will knock you on your ass
But living in city as crowded as this one
I am reminded too
Of what a crowd like that can do when and if they become frightened
It’s a scary time
A crazy time
A time of lost innocence
And I hope it ends soon
Thursday, October 6
rosh hashanah
It’s a funny thing about the high holidays
Going to services
Always leaves me feeling cleansed
I think of it as a bit Jewish, gay alanon meeting
The synagogue I go to
Congregation Beth simchat torah
The largest gay synagogue –maybe in the world
Had been the subject of controversy recently
The associate rabbi
An soft-spoken attractive woman named
Ayella Cohen
Had been in the center of something of a war
You see Ayella is a conservative rabbi
And although the services of Congregation Beth Simchat Torah
Feel conservative, they are considered to be reformed
Well the powers-that-be of Conservative Judaism threatened to revoked
Ayellas rabbinical license if she wouldn’t leave that QUEER synagogue
But she stayed and fought
And the outcry from Conservatives and Non
From Gay and straight in her defense was so great
That the conservative higher ups relented
And she stays
Woo hoo
But honey I was shocked
I knew the Chasidim would not accept a gay synagogue
I knew the Orthodox would not
But the Conservatives?
They don’t even keep kosher?
The shul I grew up going to was Orthodox. The men and women sat separate.
I never saw a woman step up the bema unless it was for a fundraiser or to announce
That cookies were being served
I tried going to reformed Shuls
But I missed the traditions of the orthodox
When I found Congregation Beth Simchat Torah I thought they were conservative
A step down in extreme from the orthodox but more traditional then the reformed
I guess the very fact that they are gay makes them reformed
I have always found the High Holiday services to be a lesson in human goodness.
African Americans sit in shul next to me, something I have rarely seen.
Straight people flock to the services as much as gays.
Lesbians hold their babies. Gay men hold their babies.
Men hold each other. Women hold each other. Couples bring their moms and grand moms
Who seem happy and proud to be there.
To find out the conservative movement had attempted to revoke this lovely woman’s license
Was a shock but then they also issued a statement saying they would not perform same sex wedding ceremonies.
I think the whole point for gays joining a conservative shul was to escape that kind of treatment.
I can only hope that losing their gay members which I would imagine are many will force the conservative movement to lighten up.
In the meanwhile I am reminded, yet again, that there is still so much prejudice in the air.
Thank god I had a place to go to worship, to remember, to cleanse and to feel accepted.
All of which are things that as a gay American I feel less and less in this country, in this time.
La Shanah tovah
I wish you all peace, love, harmony and equality.
Sunday, October 2
Days Of Awe
Rosh Hashanah
2001
4 years ago
4 Rosh Hashanahs Ago
this re-defined for me the term
Days of Awe
La shana Tovah
to you all
Thursday, September 20 2001
Rosh Hashanah at Ground Zero
And then there was Rosh Hashanah
On my fourth and last day at ground zero, I opt to skip Rosh Hashanah services and get out to the site early, but I am delivered to a gloomy crew.
The Board of Health has shut down our grills and any food production. We are only allowed to dole out, pre-cooked burgers and sandwiches.
We are given something over a thousand peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to dole out. They're a flattened, flimsy excuse for nourishment. The rescue workers were about as interested in PB&J as we were.
"No more burgers," says a dejected cop, who goes on to show me his hands, raw and beaten. He says he has been digging out nothing but death all day.
"I've been in there with my bare hands, but it's just shit, body parts and dirt."
This day is different than the others have been. There is sense of gloom in the air that is thicker than the dust. Gone is the rush of adrenaline and hope.
Roger, the man who has seemed most like a leader of the delivery crew, chews his cigar in frustration. He wears a hard hat covered in graffiti with an American flag taped to its side.
They just want us to pack up and get out of here!" he says.
I step into the church in search of serving utensils and find a dozen rescue workers scattered on the pews, most of them with tears in their eyes.
After serving the few non-peanut butter sandwiches that we had, mostly turkey, I decide to take my last walk through the hot zone.
I deliver a bag of a hundred PB&J sandwiches to the guards at the pile. We are no longer allowed in to deliver them ourselves.
I find Brian, one of the guys who works for my catering company, sorting through boxes of underwear and t-shirts. He is organizing things to be sent elsewhere, perhaps to the Salvation Army.
He, too, is filled with gloom.
But then, as we are commiserating on how this is the strangest place to spend Rosh Hashanah, an amazing thing happens.
An army soldier with a long, white beard piles up some Styrofoam crates one on top of the other and places a plastic holder used to transport bread on top as a make-shift table. He covers the plastic with a blue velvet cloth on which is embroidered the star of David.
Then he lays down a prayer book for "The Day of Awe" (the High Holy Days) and a shofar.
A group of Jewish soldiers gather around him as he begins to recite the prayers. Brian, myself and some Jewish volunteers who hear the prayers quickly join in.
Then, there in front of the worst vision of death and ruin any of us may ever see, he blows the shofar.
The sweet-sour mournful sound of the ram's horn pierces the dust and the gloom and resonates far off into the distance.
I feel something warm and wet wash over me and wonder if this is what it means to feel soulful.
The women being to cry, and we all kiss each other. "La Shanah Tovah!" we say, holding each other. We are all total strangers. We will probably never see each other again, but we kiss and hug like family.
"Thank you so much!" I say to the man as I notice that he is wearing a tallis made of camoflage.
"Aaaah! It's nothing," he says laughing. I'm in the army. I do this all the time."
| 
