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Sunday, September 27
can't eat the soul pancake tonight
in honor of yom kippur
today i am going to have a royal pig out (no pun intended)
and then fast till tomorrow
or rather do the rossi fast
which means i let myself drink but not eat
hey i admit i'm strong enough to give up food for 24 hours
but not water
ok
last year the strawberry and banana smoothie was streching it
i admit
tonight is congregation beth simchat torah's annual
take-over of the javitts center for kol nidre
the first night of yom kippur
and 6,000 gay straight and in between jews and those who love them
join for just a gorgeous ceremony
to open up our hearts and my minds to really and truly
giving up the things in ourselves that are negative
and opening our souls to a positive good flow
forgiving and seek forgiveness is a huge past of it
which is hard when they ask you to forgive those you really hate
woof
i'm trying honey's but there are a few folks who reallly make me reach
while on the 8 hour bus ride from provincetown (OY)
i listened to opra's soul show on pod cast
and her guest Rainn Wilson
he plays Dwight on the office
and starred in the rocker (WHICH I LOVED BY THE WAY WHO CARES IF NOBODY ELSE DID) and is starting a web site called soul pancake
that sounds awesome
way to go dude!
asked a few questions that stuck with me
i'm not sure if i recall them
OPRA if you are reading
or you know just want to chat or hang out
maybe let me know if i got this right
but essentially
the questions are
what do you miss about when you were five year's old?
what does your soul look like
if you could ask god a question what would it be
phew
ok
well i think the best way to answer these
is to go fast
first thing that pops into your mind
before you start thinking too much
for the first question- my answer- being fearless
second question- right now- soft gray, white and beige like clouds with small flecks of bright red trying to break in (back off red!)
third- why do you make life so hard for so many?
tomorrow i will food-fast and pray in my own rossi way
which is to meditate and try to remember how to read hebrew at the same time
tomorrow night as the sun goes down and 6000 stomachs rumble
i will close my eyes and wait
perhaps i will get the answer to my third question
or perhaps i will be find the answer on my own
or perhaps i am simply to try and make life less hard for as many as i can
myself included
so take a moment if you will to answer these questions yourself
i'd love to hear the answer
good yentov!
Wednesday, September 23
joy
hey kids i took a break from nyc, cooking and the usual biz, to run outa town
perfect timing as this week
between rosh hashanah and yom kippur
is the days of awe
as we of the 12 tribes call it
and what better time to have a souful retreat
so i'm out here with the seagulls on cape cod once again
only it's my first september on the cape in many years
and oh dears i must say
it is just so lovely
still warm enough to sit on the beach
with a light jacket
the restaurants are still open
far, far less people
far, far more tranquility
i was invited to a bonfire on the beach
by the divine s and d
and i must say
damn that was fun
all night long while chomping on extra crispy hebrew national 97% fat free hot dogs
i felt a funny tingling in my solar plexus
is it gas?? i wondered
is it bronchitis??
no
dears
in fact it was joy
yep
joy
and it occurs to me how rarely
in life we simply sit with a full blast of JOY
so in the days of awe
i have decided to try and remember
to take time out
no matter how busy
to find, feel and embrace joy and to share it with as many as i can
because without joy
what's the point
feel the joy my dears
and please.. pass it on
Friday, September 18
The Grand Franklin
had an amazing evening last night
i had the pleasure of seeing Miss Aretha Franklin at Radio City Music Hall
oh my dears
i was truly in the awe of the royal diva
i mean hey this is Aretha
and I now I can check off another notch on my
"world class Divas I must see live before they croak or retire list"
so far
ive seen bette midler
tina turner
liza minelli
ertha kitt
ella fitzgerald
and in december J is taking me to see CHER!!
oh the sadness in my heart that I did not get to see Nina Simone before she passed
and have not seen my numero uno fave La Barbara! Streisand of course
but Aretha now that was special
and yes she's gained a couple hundred pounds over the years
and can't stretch a note the way she used to
but she could still belt out a song that dwarfed
a 34 piece band
for some reason the diva
had it in her heart that she was going to buy and give out a couple hundred white castle hamburgers
and they never showed up
this prompted her to inform her back- up crew
and 6,000 fans
that someone's pink slip was waiting in their envelope
do not cross THE QUEEN OF SOUL!
ah honeys
sometimes taking a break for life
to see something spectacular is just what the doctor feel good
ordered
Friday, September 11
911 2009
for today
i shall not dwell on small things
on things that will not matter in 10, 20 or 30 years
but on life
on glorious, precious, gift from the universe... life
on sept 11th 2001
8 years ago today
we learned that we can never take a single day of our life
for granted
because it can end in the blink of an eye
for today i am thinking of un-sung heroes
people like Jeff David
who while the crowds of people ran screaming uptown away from the burning world trade center
he ran downtown from his safe home in the west village
to ground zero
and
when the towers fell
he, a civilian, an actor and voice-over artist,
pulled up his sleeves and joined the bucket brigade
digging out, and passing down dirt, rubble and sometimes
parts of people
i don't know this because jeff called me bragging about his heroism
i know only because well after his heroism
he mentioned it, only after i asked where he was that terrible day
i think of the many, many, people i met at ground zero
who just found their way there
the young Indian man who wandered into the dust to try and help
and with nothing else to do, handed out donated socks for weeks on end
the local security guards who ran to the pile every day
just to give cold gatorade to the firemen digging through the smoldering
debree in search, always in search of a miracle
when i think of 911 today
i don't dwell on the sadness, the loss, the horror
but on the kindness, the heroism, the love
that strangers gave to each other
i often wonder
who would i be today
if this terrible day had not happened
and while i wish with all my heart
that i could go back and erase
the pain, loss, death and insanity of that day
i do not want to give back the
kindness and the humanity
it brought out in me and in so many millions of others
so for today
i chose to honor the lost lives
of 911
by sharing goodness
kindness and love
and ask
that you consider doing the same
we are all in this together
Thursday, September 10
Rock On Obama!
I thought Obama kicked friggen tuchas
On his speech to congress last night
And certainly took on the loonies who have been spreading hogwash like obama wants to kill old folks..
“That is a lie. Plain and simple!” he said
rock on!
I also have to say that Rep Joe Wilson did an excellent job of making a fool out of himself.
Hey Joe, whether you like it or not
You don’t heckle the president of the United States!
Guess we'll be seeing Joe on the un-employment line sometime soon...
I think Obama really addressed the issues
on this one
and also invited folks from right and left to weigh in
making a point to honor Mccain
who gave a somewhat meek thumbs up
so listen
regardless of whether you're all the way left
all the way right
smack in the middle
or hovering elsewhere
this is clearly the time
dems and repubs agree
to finally
do something to provide health insurance for all
americans
this is the not the time to stab and jab
for political gain
Tuesday, September 8
life will move on
happy belated labor day ya'all
as for moi
i spent sunday
painting a mural at the annual HOWL festival
it turned out pretty good
i think but then
after the 175 pound great dane i am part time mommy to
jumped on me
i dropped it in a pool of wet blue paint
and not only was it the
end of the mural
but also the end of my shorts
and j and i were quite literally BLUE afterwards
sigh
so much for outside art
maybe im too much of a jap to paint in public
next year
i shall wear something i care to never see again
and bring lots and lots of paper towels
meanwhile i was planning on posting great shots of the mural
but j had camera difficulties
and voila
end of photos of mural too
sheesh it was like a biblical intervention
on other news
i don't know about you all
but i'm starting to feel this uncomfortable vibe of ecomony
blues dragging on too long
pals getting laid off
lots of short tempers
lots and lots and lots of STRESS
so okay
here's what i say
this too shall pass
yeah its old fashioned but it works
THIS TOO SHALL PASS
in a year or two or three
we will all look as this
as the great repression and count our blessings that we pulled thru it
the question is
did we pull thru it and stay true to ourselves and those who love us
the turn up has already begun
and life is starting to point towards the heavens once again
but i guess what i have most learned from this
is that money
really and truly does have a whole lot to do with how happy
we let ourselves be
and that's sad
so for today
let's all try and be happy
regardless of how much moolah we have or have not
let's go out
smell the air
do something joyful
whether its working out
or dancing
or sitting by a river
or walking in the rain
and just let our inner kid come out to play
the economy will be here tomorrow
my mural will still be sitting in a storage bin somewhere
probably still covered in wet blue paint
and life will move on
life always moves on
be happy kids
find a way
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