Love Thy Neighbor

         Sometimes I encounter people at work who are a little odd and a lot annoying. They are actually really nice people, but I find them really strange. I have to hold myself back and make sure that I am nice to them. Its a real test . I am not proud to say that I struggle with this issue, but I do. It is hard to uphold, but so rewarding  to achieve.  At the end of the day I do not want to be the one who makes someone cry before they go to sleep at night . I do not want that on my head.
           I work with someone who is a bully . It is so awful to hear those she torments confide how she harasses them. The shame in their faces when they tell over the story makes me resolve  not to bully those who it would be so easy to take advantage of. I like to be able to sleep at night. Having a clear conscious goes a long way.
           Holding my tongue when it could be used sharply against some nerd gets easier with time. After awhile they get less annoying as I get used to them. Life and death are in the power of one's tongue. I would prefer to use my words  for life.

Facebook

     I miss the days when a person could end a friendship by slowing drifting away from them. I miss when ending friendships did not have to be so official. Like the days before facebook. Now when you drift out of friendship from someone you have to wonder when it is okay  to remove them from your facebook friends list. Or is it ever okay? When they defriend you on facebook it feels bad, but you already weren't friends for a long time. So why does it even matter? Before facebook breaking up a friendship did not have to be so official.

The Art of Speigelman

     I saw a documentary about Art Speigelman at the Jewish Film Festival on Monday. I read Maus years ago, and i was intrigued to see a documentary about this author. For better or for worse, this documentary brought Speigelman to life.
     Art Speigelman is the child of holocaust survivors who was born in Sweden after the war. He grew up reading Mad Magazine  and became a comic artist himself. When he wrote Maus , Steven Speilberg's An American Tail  was set to come out. Speigelman was not ready for the whole work to be published but he wanted to publish it before An American Tail. He did not want any confusion between  his book and Speilberg's film.  Speigelman / Speilberg and two Jewish stories about mice. Oy vey.
    When Speigelman is going through something emotionally he expresses it through his art. He wrote a book about 9/11 and the twin towers called In The Shadow of No Towers. 
     Speigelman designed  wacky packs and garbage pail kids cards. He also has drawn a lot of controversial New Yorker magazine covers.
     The Art of Spiegelman was not the most prolific documentary about its subject but it was an enjoyable journey down memory lane.

Ofra Haza - The Wailing Wall (HaKotel)

     This is such a beautiful song. I just had to post it. One of my most favorite lines in the song is 'There are some men who have hearts of stone and there are some stones that have the heart of a person'  Even if you don't understand the words, Ofra Haza has the most beautiful voice so it is worth listening to.

The Power Of a Teacher

     I know of a teacher who recently passed away. He wasn't my teacher, but someone that I knew that  was a teacher and mentor to high school students. I looked online at one of the teacher rating sites and he was given high marks by students and former students. Some of these ratings went back as far as 2006.
     This teacher touched the lives of some kids who did not necessarily have parents or family members who cared. He cared and made an impression on their lives even  after high school.
     A person does not know the impact that they can make, just as one person. If only more would take this to heart.

Half Full

     Like most single people I have had my share of heart ache, but I am able to pick myself up and look for someone new . Though I am single I still have the hope of being part of a couple. I have some friends who feel that it may be better not to want to find a spouse , After all, if you don't have the desire to marry , then you won't be sad when it doesn't happen to you. Perhaps this is true, but this logic is not why the world was created. We may not achieve everything that we want to  but it doesn't mean we shouldn't try . That would be so depressing. I also know quite a few singles who were not so young who have married and are very happy. If they had given up they would still be single. We may want to be on a specific time clock, but G-d has other plans .

"Upper West Side Story" - The Groggers

    This is from 2011, but I just found it on you tube. Its kind of cute so I thought that I would post it. Enjoy.