Solitary Confinement

     I always hate when rabbis try to come up with reasons tragedies occur because it always seems so random to me and yet as I sit alone in my apartment it is making me ponder the purpose of this stay at home during  a pandemic world.
     There is something comforting about slowing down and spending a lot of time at home. It gives time to reflect and do some of the things one can't when one is running and running during one's normal life. Then again, I really miss spending time with people and not having to be 6 feet away from them.
        Having to sit or stand 6 feet away from another human makes one respect their personal space, but in NYC  even during a pandemic its hard to expect .I do think that its a good ideal.
       After all of the lamenting of the modern society and its technology it has turned into a blessing. A person can be alone in one's home during a pandemic and be able to communicate with others in a group as never before. Telephones have been around for ages, but the internet and smartphones gives one the ability to see the person one is chatting with . One can message friends across the world and chat with them real time on whattsapp or online. I remember the days when I wrote letters to friends in Israel on an aerogram and it would take weeks to get to them and weeks to get a response back.
I do not think that we are being punished for our technology because our technology is our lifeline right now. Some are even able to work from home which would never have happened without the internet.
           Maybe this pandemic is trying to teach us that each one of us is important, that its not only the collective that is important. Its important to do one's part and not rely on the group to take care of things. Its giving us time to think about what is important to us in life . Its giving everyone a little time out before we get to be with others. As nice as it is to have time to one's self, the world is about being able to be with others without evil viruses getting in the way. Literally....

Jew in the City Presents "The Sound of Silence" feat. The Maccabeats

  I wasn't sure I was going to like this, but I did. Technology is really taking over and its nice to have Shabbos when we take a break from it all and go back to the old days before smart phones. Heck I have always loved the fact that Shabbos is a phone free zone. 

The Olden Days.

     When I was a kid I used to think of when my parents grew up as the "olden days".  I even used to ask them to tell me stories about said olden days. It really is funny because when I used to do  this my parents were in their early thirties. As a kid I thought parents were old by virtue of the fact they were parents. As and adult I am glad that I grew up in those olden days. Things were not as innocent as most like to pretend , but whatever lack of technology we had then make us the better people we are today. 

Goodnight iPad, Ann Droyd - 9780399158568

    This is really cute and really sad. Its not even relaxing to watch. I love technology, but there is something to be said about the good old days before there was so much of it. 

Technology and Change

     I have recently updated my internet service. You would think that this would make  me happy. Yes I am pleased that I have updated,  The speed is amazing. This time around it has been a major overhaul. Its kind of like how years ago every time I bought a new radio I would have to figure out how to use it. Oh the anxiety. Thankfully I have people to help me along with things. Updating is not easy for someone like me who enjoys when things don't have to always change so much. 

Beaming

      I often wonder what would happen if someone had an evil plot and decided to beam subliminal messages to people's cell phones or tablets. Or perhaps someone already is and we don't even realize it. People are that connected to technology they may not even realize they were being brainwashed.
       If you watch this you tube video it almost looks like the brainwashing has transpired. People are communing with their phones more than with humans. Thank goodness for Shabbos and Yom Tov when I am forced to disconnect from technology and reconnect with humans.

Technology

     What an amazing world we live in. Not so many years ago communicating with those out of the country was an ordeal. Either you had to write via snail mail on an aero gram or you got someone to mail your letter when they flew to that country. Now there is e-mail and Skype . Suddenly the world is so much smaller. My friend in Israel just posted pictures from her daughter's bat mitzvah a few minutes ago  on Facebook and I just sent her my good wishes. When I was a kid these small things were unimaginable. I wonder what advancements the next 20 years will bring.

the demise of the bookstore

one of the most sad events in current history is borders bookstore filing for chapter eleven. a lot of borders bookstores in manhattan are closing including one branch that was/is  near where i work. i am despondent. i loved their book events. i loved being able to run there for a seven o'clock book event on nights i worked late and still be able to get their on time because it was so close by . i loved browsing the books during my lunch break from work.
alas, i too am the owner of an e-reader. so even sad as i am about the bookstore closures i am part of the reason bookstores are closing. i don't buy as many print books as i used to.
another reason bookstores are closing is due to the internet. many of us are buying books online. its usually cheaper to buy a book online even if its from a website that has a physical bookstore.
of course now that everyone is buying almost everything online what are we all doing in all of our free time??
libraries are still open. i like libraries, but i've always liked bookstores better because bookstores always have the new releases quicker than the library does.
i recently attended a book event at barnes and noble . it was incredible. the place was filled with swarms of people. im sure that there were  many people who bought the book, but it seemed like there were less people who bought the book at this event then at events years ago. the event that i was at recently was for the younger crowd. the younger crowd is much more tech savvy so they might not be as likely to buy print books than the older crowd.  perhaps more bookstores should have book events that target the older crowd that  is more technologically phobic and more likely to buy a print book.
p.s. the above photos were taken at the borders at columbus circle which actually is still open. i just didnt have any photos of any other borders bookstores.

hallmark

one low tech item that i wish i would see more of these days is the greeting card. there is nothing like opening up a non-virtual card and holding it in one's hands. e-cards are fun, but  they are as intangible as the wind. i still have paper cards i have received from grandparents , aunts and uncles who are long deceased, but i am still able to see their  love written on the greeting cards that they had sent me. who knows what new technology looms in the future. the computer could one day go the way of the record player or the vcr. low tech as it is you can always hold a paper greeting in your hands and read it provided the ink on the card hasn't faded.
i don't own stock in hallmark. i just miss the  golden age of the greeting card. whenever technology advances there are always pros and cons in new vs. old. the cd is more compact than a cassette tape, but a cd can warp like a record used to. a dvd is more compact than a video, but when you don't watch a whole movie at once on a video its easier to pick up where you left off. the video stays stopped at the part of movie you paused. with a dvd you have to remember to write down the name of the scene  and chapter you paused your dvd on  and then go through the whole rigmarole before you find the place where you left off when you want to continue watching.
i know that the clocks of change can never be turned backward, but i sure do miss those hallmark moments.

im vs telephone

when i finally got a computer 7 years ago, i was introduced to the wonderful world of IM . its great, you can talk to someone and multi-task at the same time in a way not possible while chatting on the phone. i have found that more males IM than females. females tend to stick to the more old fashioned form of communication, namely the telephone. i being female love IM and wish more of my female friends would get in to IM. if my friends who call me late at night would only IM me instead it would be so much bettter. somehow i can unwind faster after a late night IM much better than a much too late night phone call. i really need to suggest it to them. the only thing is that some of my female friends are so technologically inept that it would be hard to get them to IM more. oh well....

life without call waiting

i remember when i was first introduced to call waiting. it was was in college when i shared a phone with my roommate in the days of yore before cell phones. call waiting could have been around for a long time before i was in college. i do not know. call waiting is just one of those frills that my parents never had and still dont have. i would say that they dont know what it is , but because i have it and so does my sister and my brother who is married probably has it, i know that they have heard of it.
in truth, we managed with 7 people not to have call waiting. we survived. im not sure how . but we did. after sharing a college phone with a not so talkative roommate and even with just my not so- phone loving self, i still am not sure how we managed. but we did. sometimes when i call my parents there is a busy signal. this of course is unusual this day in age. not only can we contact people when they are anywhere we can also always get through to them or at least get through to their voicemail and leave a message. i think that when someones friend or family does not have call waiting we strengthen the midah of patience. in new york this trait can be in short supply. not a bad idea to work on it. i of course have no choice but to work on it. my parents have just 2 in their household these days because all of my siblings and i live on our own now. if they didnt have call waiting when i was growing up why start now? on the flip side i have to be grateful that they do have an answering machine!

kindle

ever since the kindle has been invented i have considered buying one. not being one to make snap decisions i still have not purchased one. one reason i havent purchased one yet is because you cant use a kindle on shabbos. of course i usually read magazines on shabbos . but this is besides the point. a kindle is certainly lighter to carry around than a book. you dont need a computer to upload the books either, they can be put directly onto the kindle itself. now there are also some cool kindle covers that are even in my favorite color purple.
im not sure how i feel about viewing book pictures on a kindle. its a different experience. looking at a print of a photo is totally different than viewing a digital photo on the camera itself. i think it might be hard to get used to . with a kindle you can buy a book and even store it on the kindle or on your computer for reading at different juncture. you own the book, but just virtually. its not exactly the same thing. then again, i am still one of the few who borrow books from the public library. the books on loan from the library are never really mine either and it doesnt bother me all that much.
travel would be easier with a kindle . i wouldnt have to buy as many books pre-vacation. i would still need to bring some books if i was to go a away for a long yom tov. a kindle would still lighten my luggage.
eventually i will break down and get one. too bad im so technologically reluctant.

so much for technology....

i remember eight years ago one of my brothers was really excited about the conversion of analog to digital tv. come to think of it my 96 year old great uncle was also looking forward to it. as for me... ive been dreading it. a year ago i got the darn government issue $40 coupon so i bought the $65 gadget for $25. i had tried to hook it up at the time, but it was more complicated than i had anticipated. i was able to hook it up to my tv but not my vcr. yes i know im living in the dark ages. i dont have cable or tivo. i do have a dvd player.
anyway, today i decided to suck it up and try to hook up the tv/digital converter/vcr. what a debacle. it took me several hours to do so. finally i looked in my low tech circa 2004 vcr manual which told me how to record with a vcr if you have a cable box. success! i did a test run and was able to record. yes i know i can watch missed shows online , but its much more fun to watch tv on an actual tv.
i was perfectly happy with my analog tv. ive always had a good antenna on my tv.sometimes the upgrades of technology arent really better. i like the fact dvds are smaller than videos, but i like how you can pause a video and come back to it a few days later without the hassle of a dvd. i prefer the reception of a landline phone over a cell phone and books over the kindle. i do admit that i like reserving and renewing library books online. to me it is just on e of life's little pleasures. i cant imagine typing with an old fashioned manual typewriter instead of a computer.
well, i think im safe technologically for a little while now.... until they think of something new EVERYONE just has to have.

musical moments

for awhile i wasnt listening to the radio or any of the many cds i own. not consciously. i just wasnt. last week i made a conscious effort to get back in to it. and i actually bought a new mp3 player, a sansa fuze to be exact. its definitely the bee's knees. i love it. the sound is incredible. my soul is uplifted. being a little technologically disabled, i still have a few kinks to iron out before i can fully enjoy all of the features of my new purchase. im confident that im up for the challenge. meanwhile i already have 210 songs on my new mp3 player. life is good.

old fashioned voting booths

when i was a kid i used to go to the polls with my mother when she voted. i remembered really digging those old fashioned voting booths with the curtains . by the time i registered to vote they got rid of them where i grew up and replaced them with the punch cards with the chads etc...
when i finally registered to vote in nyc , i was able to live out my childhood dream of voting in the old fashioned voting booths of my youth. in new york they still have the old fashioned voting booths with the privacy curtain. when voting in the old fashioned booths you push a lever which puts an x by the candidate's name and if you accidentally x'd the wrong candidate you can un-ex your selection, and later x the one you really wanted all before moving the voting lever to the left to place your vote.
after the election in 2000 we learned that technology isnt always better. long lived the dinosaur voting booths in nyc!!!