no power in the 'verse

"And one way or another, they told me a thing that was difficult to articulate: that there was..."

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 22:14:00 -0500

“And one way or another, they told me a thing that was difficult to articulate: that there was something about the work that sustained itself, that acknowledged death and injustice and love thwarted and hope extinguished and potential squandered without accepting them as facts preeminent over life and justice and love triumphant and hope eternal and potential fulfilled.”

- Pediatric oncologist Chris Adrian, on conducting research into doctors’ roles in pastoral care, in “The Question,” New England Journal of Medicine.

"The human soul is the lamp of God (Proverbs 20:27) – for the human being was created in order to..."

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:34:37 -0500

“The human soul is the lamp of God (Proverbs 20:27) – for the human being was created in order to bring light into this world. The People of Israel light the menorah [because] they themselves are vessels that receive divine light… and today, the commandment to light the Chanukah candles reminds us that we bring light through our deeds.”

- S’fat Emet (Rabbi Yehudah Leib Alter of Ger), 1847-1905

"Even for the same reader the same book changes, for we change; we are the river of Heraclitus, who..."

Sun, 02 Dec 2012 22:28:59 -0500

“Even for the same reader the same book changes, for we change; we are the river of Heraclitus, who said that the [wo]man of yesterday is not the [wo]man of today, who will not be the [wo]man of tomorrow. We change incessantly, and each reading of a book, each rereading, each memory of that reading, reinvents the text. The text, too, is the changing river of Heraclitus.”

- Jorge Luis Borges, Seven Nights

This Is Not Jewish: How to Support Israel Without Being Racist

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 18:02:50 -0500

This Is Not Jewish: How to Support Israel Without Being Racist:

As my friend Rachel said, this is awesome. The need for it existence is the opposite of awesome.

this-is-not-jewish:

Please note up front that I am not Palestinian, or Arab, or Muslim. I am an American Jew. So any list I draw up with this title is doomed to be incomplete, because there are a lot of facets of the Palestinian experience that I just don’t see.

"We must keep asking the Torah to speak to us in human language, this crude jargon studded with..."

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 22:01:48 -0400

“

We must keep asking the Torah to speak to us in human language, this crude jargon studded with constraints and distortions, silences and brutalities, that is our only vessel for holiness and truth and peace. We must keep teaching each other, we and our study partner the Torah, all that it means to be human. Human is not whole. Human is full of holes. Human bleeds. Human births its worlds in agonies of blood and bellyaches. Human owns no perfect, timeless texts because human inhabits no perfect, timeless contexts. Human knows that what it weds needs not be perfect to be infinitely dear.

Sacred need not mean inerrant; it is enough for the sacred to be inexhaustible. In the depths of Your Torah, I seek You out Eheyeh, creator of a world of blood. I tear Your Torah verse from verse, until it is broken and bleeding just like me. Over and over I find You in the bloody fragments. Beneath even the woman-hating words of Ezekiel I hear You breathing, “In your blood, live.”

”

- Rachel Adler, “‘In your Blood, Live’: Re-Visions of a Theology of Purity”

"An old Jewish tradition likens the tongue to an arrow. What not another weapon — a sword, for..."

Sat, 27 Oct 2012 13:24:56 -0400

“An old Jewish tradition likens the tongue to an arrow. What not another weapon — a sword, for example? Because, we are told, if a person unsheathes his sword to kill another, the man can be mollified, change his mind and return the sword to its scabbard. However, once an arrow is shot, the archer cannot return it to the bow no matter how much the sender wishes it. Words can inflict devastating and irrevocable harm; therefore, cruel words are compared in the Jewish tradition to weapons that can wound or even kill.”

- Ethics of Speech

and hell followed with himIt’s time to play catch-up with my...

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 12:23:20 -0400

and hell followed with him

It’s time to play catch-up with my book reviews, even though I haven’t read as much as usual and…

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"Gangbang Interviews" and "Bikini Shots": Silicon Valley’s Brogrammer Problem

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:08:24 -0400

"Gangbang Interviews" and "Bikini Shots": Silicon Valley’s Brogrammer Problem

a trademarked beard

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:53:07 -0400

a trademarked beard:

This is hilarious on so many levels.

This gave me chills: “[I]mage of President Obama seated in...

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:40:08 -0400

This gave me chills: “[I]mage of President Obama seated in the bus where Rosa Parks initiated her quest for civil rights.”

Photo

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:35:26 -0400

h/t: manifestfreedom: sarahlee310: How Many Minimum Wage Hours...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:38:50 -0400

h/t: manifestfreedom:

sarahlee310:

How Many Minimum Wage Hours Does It Take To Afford A Two-Bedroom Apartment In Your State?

Washington DC: $1500.00 (is average).

In order to afford this monthly rent in District of Columbia, you need to make at least $28.85 per hour, or $60,000 per year. This calculation assumes you will spend no more than 30% of your income on rent (the generally accepted standard of affordability). If you earn the minimum wage in this state ($8.25), then you will have to work 140 hours per week to have an income high enough to afford this rent. ”In no state can a minimum wage worker afford a two-bedroom unit at Fair Market Rent, working a standard 40-hour work week.”

In the District of Columbia, a minimum wage worker earns an hourly wage of $8.25. In order to afford the FMR for a two-bedroom apartment, a minimum wage earner must work 140 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. Or a household must include 3.5 minimum wage earners working 40 hours per week year-round in order to make the two-bedroom FMR affordable.

This doesn’t even consider neighborhood, (some are more expensive), cost of food, health insurance, vacation, sick leave (which hourly workers may not even be eligible for).

90s TV

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:21:01 -0400

I’m home sick today, and I’ve just realized that both Saved by the Bell and Melrose Place are now on Netflix streaming. So, yeah, that’s what I’ll be doing today in between naps.

A Passover treat: chocolate and caramel covered matzah! Recipe...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 03:51:26 -0400

A Passover treat: chocolate and caramel covered matzah! Recipe from Emily Goodstein.

e=mc²: A Brief List and Analysis of White Savior Films

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:19:44 -0500

e=mc²: A Brief List and Analysis of White Savior Films:

iamabutchsolo:

A White Savior Film (WSF) is a movie that features a white person coming into the lives of a person or people of color (POCs) who are often low-income, troubled, and/or severely oppressed. The troubled times that the people of color are in can be a product of oppression from…

Photo

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:14:00 -0500

"Pinkwashing, as it’s known, is big, big business, and it’s getting bigger every year. It generates..."

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:43:19 -0500

“Pinkwashing, as it’s known, is big, big business, and it’s getting bigger every year. It generates substantial corporate profits at the same time that it’s a superb public relations move. Companies believed to be involved in social causes enjoy a better reputation among members of the public, encourage people to think of them as socially responsible. It’s a great two for one deal, for companies interested in increasing their bottom line and expanding their market base.

There’s also a deeply sinister twist to a lot of ‘awareness’ actions around breast cancer; for one thing, they focus almost exclusively on cis women, excluding other sectors of the population at risk for the disease. For another, many are deeply dehumanising. They’re centred around subjects like ‘saving second base.’ Breast preservation is often core to these catchy little mottos around breast cancer; ‘save the boobies,’ ‘save the ta-tas,’ etc. There’s no mention of the bodies under those breasts, just the breasts. And some breast cancer marketing goes beyond dehumanising and into exploitative. ‘Grope for the cause.’ ‘You check them or I will.’ […]

‘It’s all for a cause’ and ‘it’s for your own good’ are two claims that are often repeated to justify harmful actions. In ‘breast cancer awareness’ where such campaigns don’t appear to actively contribute to anything meaningful, it’s a slap in the face to people who dare to voice opposition to the framing or handling of such campaigns when they’re told that they should sit down and shut up. Despite valid concerns not just about how the campaigns are conducted, but what they actually do, they’re steamrollered by people who suggest they’re somehow pro-cancer if they have a problem with cause marketing and objectification that don’t appear, in any concrete way, to benefit the very cause under discussion. Does posting your bra colour contribute in some way to support for breast cancer prevention and treatment?

Breast cancer has transitioned from an underfunded, neglected disease to a juggernaut, and in the process, campaigns around the condition have warped from their original purpose. It’s become a popular cause for all the wrong reasons, like the idea that it’s important because breast cancer might cause people to lose their breasts, and that would be terrible indeed. Breast cancer also causes people to lose their lives. People. Not just cis women, but people.”

- s.e. smith, It’s All For A Cause, You Know: Breast Cancer, Pinkwashing, and Objectification (via splatterdick)
Finally putting into words the discomfort I’ve felt around the breast cancer awareness behemoth for some time.

"The only thing that anyone can diagnose, with any certainty, by looking at a fat person, is their..."

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 08:56:15 -0500

“The only thing that anyone can diagnose, with any certainty, by looking at a fat person, is their own level of stereotype and prejudice toward fat people.”

- Marilyn Wann, “Fat Studies: An Invitation to Revolution”

"Hi everyone, I am officially retired! (Yes) FYI: I do not check my e-mails very often any more..."

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:37:27 -0500

“

Hi everyone,

I am officially retired! (Yes)

FYI: I do not check my e-mails very often any more (oops). Therefore, if you have important information for me that needs a response prior to say… three weeks from the day you are sending me your original e-mail please give me a phone call and leave a message on my voice mail instead of only contacting me via e-mail.

Again, thank you for recycling and using recycled materials!

”

- Enjoyable auto-response from someone who perhaps does not understand how email works.

Salon on gentrification

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:07:27 -0500

Salon on gentrification:

A great article exploring the upsides and downsides of urban gentrification, using Washington, D.C., as an example.