Those who do not Learn from History are Doomed to Repeat it.

So today, we enter another armistice agreement. It is not a peace treaty. It is a temporary cessation of hostilities, at best. The two IDF soldiers who were kidnapped - the immediate cause of this war - have not been returned. The Hezbolla has not been disarmed, nor have they in any way intimated that the complete destruction of Israel and all Jews is off of the top of their priority list.

And now, Ehud Olmert will begin the appeasement process again, as soon as he possibly can. Appeasing a bloodthirsty enemy is always the best way. Looking at the most recent UN actions, we can easily tell who Kofi Annan looks up to.

Kofi Annan declares "Peace in Our Time"

Play Dead! (or More on Misreporting)

Some dogs just can't learn how to play dead.
Apparently some people have the same problem too.
See below:

War is Hell

I really meant to write more about the EJC. It was such an amazing experience that I can't imagine relegating it to memory without some more writing, but then...

The thing is that in the middle of my honeymoon, the news started to pour in. We heard that two soldiers had been snatched by Hizbolla, and we heard that missiles were falling in Nahariya.

By the time we got back from our trip, we were coming back into a war zone. And it's so strange. I'm glued to the news now, wondering what will happen, what can happen. It's very surreal. There are missiles falling in Haifa, a city where I've spent a good amount of time. Here, there's quiet.

The mood here is very subdued. We go about our daily lives, and we do what we can to help the refugees from the north. We don't call them refugees. We call them guests, but the fact remains - they are here because their lives would be in danger if they were home.

The world screams and shouts about the fifty reported dead. well, give or take 49 or so. It was a huge massacre, except for the part where only one person died. And in Qana, the sixty or so were also less than 30 when the final count came in. Plus you can't forget that whatever the news, Reuters, at least, isn't above distorting it.

Turns out, now that the cat's out of the bag, Mr. Hajj - a freelance photographer from Lebanon, is being found guilty of more and more fraud daily.

Power Line is showing two pictures taken at the same scene, of the same bombed buildings. That would be okay, except that Mr. Hajj claimed that they were taken over a week apart. Let's face it. Most of us don't remember which building was destroyed. We see two pictures of destruction on two different days, and we believe that two different things were destroyed.

This poor lady apparently had her house destroyed twice, two weeks apart.

Too bad Israel is forced to stick with facts, and we're a little too sensitive to parade our dead around.

At any rate, life in Israel continues, weirdly, but steadily.

Hat Trick (or What I did on my Summer Vacation)

It's been a while since I last posted, but I have a good excuse.
I spent most of the last two weeks on my honeymoon, in Ireland. (With the Leprechauns) There's so much to tell about my trip. We left Israel on a Sunday morning at 5:30am, which meant that we had to get to the airport at 2:30am. So we got there at 2:30, and then we waited in line, checked in, and did all that airport stuff. I checked out the airport, because this was my first time flying out of the country in 6 years, and this airport hadn't been built yet.

When we landed in Zurich (yes, Zurich, Switzerland!), we discovered two other people on our flight who we knew (sort of). They were a kid named Yaron and his father. Yaron and his father, like us, were on their way to Ireland, to the itty bitty town of Millstreet in County Cork.


Now you may wonder what would bring a whole bunch of Israelis to the scenic town of Millstreet at the same time. Probably the last time any Israelis got to Millstreet was the 1993 Eurovision.

But this time, there was no simple song contest bringing us to Millstreet. Fully 2000 people from around the world came to the tiny town of Millstreet (population 1500). And I still haven't told you why! EJC 2006 was held at the Green Glens Arena in Millstreet Town.

What is EJC? EJC is the European Juggling Convention. Each year, the EJA (European Juggling Association) holds the EJC in a different country in Europe. For example, in 2005, the convention was held in Slovenia.

So... back to Zurich... We got on the plane and headed for Ireland, landing in Dublin around 11am. We took a bus to Dublin's Heuston Station. At the station, we saw people juggling right away. We soon joined them, taking clubs out of Yaakov's bag. The security guard was unimpressed and told us that "for health and safety reasons" we could not juggle in the terminal.
Since the next train was at 3pm, and it was just after 12:30, we found ourselves terribly bored. I took a club from Yaakov, and rested on one of the suitcases, holding the club. We quickly found our group increasing in size. At 2:30pm, our group was close to a dozen strong, and we boarded the train, discovering that we would need to get off in Mallow. (I was looking for the marshes).

It was hard trying to find space for our luggage, because the train was filled with camping gear, unicycles, hula hoops, juggling clubs, and cigar boxes, as well as several hundred jugglers.

We finally got off the train at Mallow, quickly crossed a bridge, and moved on toward Millstreet. We walked from Millstreet Station to the Green Glens Arena, where the Convention was. We set up our tent with all the other tents.

The nice thing about the EJC, as opposed to the American IJA, is that it's a fairly inexpensive convention. While entrance fees were over 100 Euro per person this year, the vast majority of attendees opted to camp out at the venue, keeping accommodations inexpensive. There were B&Bs available in town for those inclined to sleep indoors, but Yaakov and I camped out. We borrowed Scott's tent, and he borrowed ours, because Scott's tent is quite a bit larger than Yaakov's, and it would have been impractical for us to camp in such a small tent together. As it was, the quarters were close, but, hey, this was our honeymoon!

So after we set up camp, we went to see the first show of the convention. The first evening, we saw the incredible Kris Kremo, as well as the amazing Jay Gilligan with his new partner Matias Salmenaho, with whom he performs these crazy tricks where they're each juggling three balls, but they do insane patterns with their hands so that their balls cross each other's. The two are an excellent team, very dynamic. Scott went to Jay Gilligan's workshop and started to learn the basics of these tricks. He seemed to indicate that they were overall mind-boggling. Kris Kremo, by comparison, does very few difficult tricks, but he does ever trick so neatly, and with such high performance quality that he makes every move look like gold. He does an impressive routine with hats, a few ball tricks, and incredible cigar box tricks, including the nearly impossible double-pirouette (Scott says it was a triple.), with three boxes in the air.

That was Sunday night. I'll be writing about the rest of the week later.

t.c. Goodman

Continuing.

It's hard to write after a post like the last one. Anything I have to say seems trivial when I compare it to the loss of a really special person. On the other hand, this blog isn't intended to be a memorial to Dr. Rudoff (Z"L). And, if I did that, I would know that she was looking down on me from above and absolutely loathing me. She wasn't an attention-hungry person.

So I have to continue. This Shabbat, I finished a book called Round Robin. It's the second in a series. I highly recommend reading The Quilter's Apprentice first. The books talk about life in a small town, but concern a whole plethora of other issues.

The first book begins with Sarah, a young wife who gave up a well-paying but unsatisfying job to follow her husband's career path in a small town. Struggling to get a new job, she accepts a temporary position helping Sylvia, a difficult old lady, prepare her estate to be sold. In exchange, Sylvia helps Sarah learn how to quilt. Through quilting, Sarah and Sylvia start to heal their hurts, including a long-ago rift between Sylvia and the only family she has. Filled with gentle language, real problems, beautiful descriptions, and a few surprises along the way, The Quilter's Apprentice is a really special book.

t.c.

Baruch Dayan HaEmet

Blessed is the true judge - that's what Jews are supposed to say when someone dies.
I'm having a very hard time saying it today.

Dr. Shaindy Rudoff passed away yesterday, Saturday June 10th.

Shaindy was short and bubbly with curly blondish hair. She was in her thirties, and had a doctorate in literature. Her online CV says her research interests were Nineteenth-century American literature and culture, American popular culture, religion, and literature. She started Bar Ilan's Creative Writing Program a few years ago, and managed to make a success of it.

It's hard to imagine someone so alive not being alive anymore. I know she was sick for a long time, but I never saw a moment of weakness. I never saw her sad or down. I didn't know her very well. I'm sure her close friends saw her weakness, but what she showed the world... there was always a smile, always a bounce.

So today, although I say those words, Baruch Dayan HaEmet, in the Jewish tradition, I can't help but ask why? Why do you take away a person who does so much for so many people? Why?

And I know the answer.

Lev 10:1 And Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the L-rd, which He commanded them not.
Lev 10:2 And there went out fire from the L-rd, and devoured them, and they died before the L-rd.
Lev 10:3 Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it which the L-rd said, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.

There it is I will be sanctified in them that come near me. B'krovai Akadesh. G-d takes the best back to Himself.

Goodbye Shaindy. And thank you.

Some More on the Conference.

I seem to take absolutely forever to blog anything new about this conference.
Today, I'll tell you a bit about Sophie Judah, the latest thing on the writing scene. Her Jwalangar Stories will be coming out in spring of 2007. So, even before she becomes famous, I'll tell you that I knew her when....

Okay... I didn't know her when she was that young. When I met her, her daughters looked like that.

Sophie grew up in India, and is part of the Bnei Yisrael Jewish community. Sophie writes about life in India, and about the place of the Jewish community. Sophie's stories mix the triumphs of children, their failings, familial love, and familial infighting, all with the beautiful flavor of the rich Indian culture and the spirituality of the Bnei Yisrael community. While her stories are so richly tied to the atmosphere they describe, the messages apply to every one of us, regardless of our own roots.

I can't wait to read her book. I've heard a lot of her stories, and Sophie is an incredible story teller.

t.c. Goodman

Editing Test Weirdness

I got an email from my friend, saying that I didn't pass her company's editing test.
I think that's really strange. The only thing I can guess is that there were some strange conventions that they followed through the entire piece, and since they were valid by some standard, I let them remain there. Either that or they expected more fact-checking. I don't know. It's very odd to me.

Anyway, that job really would have taken up too much of my time, so it's probably just as well.

(That isn't sour grapes, really. I was pondering whether or not I had the time and energy for it, and basically came to the conclusion that they'd have to offer me a mind-boggling amount of money for it to be worthwhile.)

The truth is, it's much more important for me to be writing, so I should probably get to that right now and stop pondering some annoying editing test.

t.c. Goodman

Give a dog a blog.

My sister and I decided that really my dog needs his own blog.
No, I'm serious. Here it is... Give a Dog a Blog
So that's one of my new projects.

In addition, I'm getting closer to having all the necessary materials for my NY driver's license, so that I can get that thing renewed. My parents lost my social security card. how much does that stink? harumph!

Plus, I was asked to take a test for an editing job. I'm reasonably confident that I'll pass the test. The question is whether they can offer me enough money for me to want to take the job.

In other news, I'm planning on launching a new website soon. It's still a secret, but I'll be announcing it soon enough!

Today's big news is that I managed to swim for the first time in...forever. yay! And, more importantly, I did the full kilometer.

Anyway, I'm going to go get myself something to eat... cya.

t.c. Goodman.

Yaakov-and-Leah.com has been updated

It's been completely revamped, but there isn't so much going on there yet... I hope to change that soon.

t.c. Goodman


* this post was sponsored by Two Left Feet LLC, Virginia's best dance school for couples.

More on the Creative Writing/Literature Conference

So I wanted to report more about the Bar Ilan English Literature Department's Creative Writing conference.

But first, before I get all literary on you guys, I'll tell you what's happening in triLcatLand.

Today was Yaakov's Hebrew birthday (the one he celebrates), so I tried to make a sort of party for him, but nobody managed to make it except Scott the Juggler, who was in Modiin doing a show. I did, however, make Yaakov some kick-tush strawberry ice cream, with lots of real strawberry goodness.

I also made mint chocolate chip, which came out okay, but didn't quite freeze correctly, and... the container fell on the floor and shattered... Who knew plastic could shatter?!

I also watched Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. I enjoyed it quite a lot. It's very much a chick-flick, but hey, I'm a chick, ain't I?

Last night, Yaakov and I watched Crash, a movie about crime in Los Angeles. It's one of those sort of artsy suspense films, where you have no clue what anything means until the very end. Apparently, it won some Oscars. I really didn't like it, though I could see redeeming qualities.

Anyway, back to the Literature stuff.

I missed a session or many... The one I went to Wednesday afternoon had a panel of four writers; Allen Hoffman, Shirley Kaufman, Jonathan Wilson, and Rifka Miriam. The panel was headed by Linda Zisquit.

Allen Hoffman teaches at Bar Ilan's Creative Writing Program, and is the author of Kagan's Superfecta: And Other Stories, plus three books from the Small Worlds series; Small Worlds, Big League Dreams, and Two for the Devil. He's working on the fourth book now.

Professor Hoffman (that's how I address him, because he's taught me several classes over the years, both undergraduate and graduate) talked about the trials and tribulations of getting his first book published. It was interesting hearing him talk about how his first story, Kagan's Superfecta, was the wrong length, too long for a magazine, too short for a novel. And that's how it ended up being the primary story in a collection of short stories.

I should really talk about the others, but I'm pretty tired, so I'll cut out for now...

Good night all,

T.C. Goodman

Bar Ilan's Conference.

This week was the Bar Ilan University annual conference of the Creative Writing Program.
As a student in this program, this was my fourth year in a row at the conference.

Being at the conference was really great. The first evening, we heard a reading by David Bezmozgis, the author of Natasha: And Other Stories. The book is a series of short stories about a Russian Jewish family living in Toronto. The stories are told from the point of view of a little boy. He read us the first story, called Tapka. It's a really interesting story about a little boy and a dog, but it's more about the earliest part of assimilation into a new society. I really want to get the book and read the rest of it.

There were a lot of authors there, and I'm really sorry I missed today's sessions. Unfortunately, I had a really bad day. I was really sick. I ran out of milk, and I haven't had the energy to go get more. I think I'm going to go back to lying down. It's amazing how much effort it takes to just be up.

so... more about the conference later.
t.c. Goodman

Yaakov's All Better.

Yaakov's feeling better, which means he's back at work. I miss him. It was nice having him home last week, even if he was asleep most of the time.

I'm trying desperately to accomplish things, and I'm just having a really rough time of it. I finally put up google ads on the blog, which is the first step towards putting up a real site and actually making a living. I really need to figure out what I'm doing...which domain to buy, what concept, and what the business plan is. I have so many ideas, but so little energy.

Today, I was up for about 4 hours before I crashed for 4 hours, and I'm already yawning again, just six hours later. I accomplished so little. I really wanted to at least make a batch of ice cream for my brother-in-law's birthday, which is tomorrow.

Oh, and a shout out to my Aunt Vicki - Happy Birthday!!!!

I did have a minor adventure today, though. I heard this sort of screaming/meowing sound outside. I opened my door to see what was going on, and a cat ran in. Poofy chased it around the apartment, and finally, I separated the two animals to get a look at the cat. I put the cat into a cat carrier (my sister left one in the storeroom downstairs, because it's a spare cat carrier and my whole family shares my storeroom), and tried to get Poofy to be nice. He didn't get the point, so I took the cat, in the carrier, and put it outside while I tried to figure out what to do. It was clearly a house cat, so I didn't want to leave it alone.

I tried to get the dog back into the house and I saw my neighbors peeking in and smiling at the cat. Apparently, my upstairs neighbors have a cat.

Well, Poofy somehow got filthy in this adventure, so he also got a bath tonight.

He smells wonderful, and feels sooo soft.

So I did accomplish SOMETHING today... now I can go to sleep. Good night all.

t.c. Goodman