Bea Arthur RIP

A little late on this one, but nevertheless sad and grateful. I need to listen to my CD of her one woman show this weekend. Check it out, she is cool. I was particularly excited to hear about her time in the Broadway cast of the Threepenny Opera, the cast including Lotte Lenya! (Regular viewers of the ravaj will know her great love for that musical piece)

Wiki
Hallmark Channel tribute
Surviving Golden Girls in People
Guardian obit
LA Times Appreciation
NY Times
Telegraph obit
Times obituary
Variety obit

the ravaj is definitely back

Sorry for the break in communication, but the ravaj was in Europe, with minimal computer access. Many new Piglet pics, and a few shots from London, Berlin and Prague to come. One of the more amusing things about Prague was its lack of decent translators for public signs. It began from the very moment we got embroiled in the organism that is the public transportation system:
although I would have to say that one of my favourites is this menu from the trout restaurant to which zina took us:

Poznan, Where the Elephants are Gay

Reuters has reported the news of a gay elephant in a polish zoo:

"WARSAW (Reuters) - A Polish politician has criticized his local zoo for acquiring a "gay" elephant named Ninio who prefers male companions and will probably not procreate, local media reported on Friday. We didn't pay 37 million zlotys ($11 million) for the largest elephant house in Europe to have a gay elephant live there," Michal Grzes, a conservative councilor in the city of Poznan in western Poland, was quoted as saying. "We were supposed to have a herd, but as Ninio prefers male friends over females how will he produce offspring?" said Grzes, who is from the right-wing opposition Law and Justice party.

The head of the Poznan zoo said 10-year-old Ninio may be too young to decide whether he prefers males or females as elephants only reach sexual maturity at 14."

My grandfather was born in Chodziez, not far from Poznan. Is it my fault?

First Ladies

Thank you Dorothy Snarker for this:
Not content with the sleepless nights you have evoked through your tank-top Tuesday photos, now you've really done it! How am I ever supposed to sleep again?

Springtime for Pretzels

'The Producers' is about to be produced in Berlin. The trouble is that it is illegal to show a swastika in, I believe, just about any situation in Germany. Thus the hooked cross symbol has been replaced in the production by ... a pretzel. Thanks to the mother of ravaj for pointing this story out to her this morning!

Personally, I think Charlie Chaplin did it better:

A Passover Striptease

I see in the Jewish Chronicle this week the following story of Talmudic logic:

"by Keren David

Scrubbing brushes and vacuum cleaners are the recognised weapons in the annual war against all things leavened. But one religious man has found a novel use for the humble sock. Arieh Yerushalmi, 28, of Bat Yam was so angry about the sale of chametz during Pesach that he stripped naked in a local supermarket — save for the strategically placed sock. Yerushalmi had been incensed by a court ruling allowing the sale of leavened goods in supermarkets because they are not designated as public places, unlike open air markets. In protest, the yeshivah student stripped off his regular Charedi clothes to reveal the message “This isn’t public?” in large writing on his abdomen. He told reporters that he had deployed the sock because of his religious principles, but “the shame is not mine”.

Yerushalmi argued that he should not be prosecuted because he had not stripped in a public place. The police are expected to ask Rishon Le-Zion Magistrates’ Court to seek a psychiatric report. He also stripped off for a Pesach protest last year and police fear it may become an annual ritual. For now, he is worried about the reaction of family and friends: “I guess they don’t see things like I do.”"

Latest from London

One of my average 12 readers recently told me that he had been enjoying this blog, even though the last post was not as witty as a previous one. The ravaj will try not to let the pressure crush her. Meanwhile, there has been little posting because for ten days she has been away from her computer having a life. Easter is approaching, so normal service should be resumed asap.

This is a difficult time of year, with many religionists thinking a lot about suffering and hoping for renewal and redemption. I am dealing with it by going to Berlin and getting a hug from the niece of ravaj. I can think of nothing more healing, and wish for you all to find something that works for you.

Newsweek Names Their Top 50 Rabbis in the USA

One of those lists that usually appears near the end of the year, Newsweek magazine is looking forward and naming the rabbis they think are the top 50 now and will continue to be for the rest of 2009. The whole list is here. Have a look and see if it matches your personal favourites. Of note to the ravaj: the top woman at number 18 (chai, noch) is Ellen Weinberg Dreyfus, old friend to the ravaj and recently elevated to head of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR). I wonder how she feels about this honour?

NB the ravaj was once the only girl on the West London Under-11 Chess team that won the league. She got a medal and was very proud.

You Gotta Hand it to Michelle

As part of the G20 summit in London, the great and the gracious have been doing a bit of networking. The big question about which people, well, some people are up in arms is: should Michelle Obama have touched the Queen? British and Commonwealth protocol, which goes back to the days when monarchs were believed to have a magic touch that could heal, says no. However, those ole republicans who started anew in 1776 said that no American has to bow to any queen or king. Also, if the queen touched Michelle first, that may be considered as an invitation to respond. I am just happy that they are all becoming such good friends, and think it is just jealousy, since everyone wants a piece of those sleeveless biceps at the moment :-) .

The Odd One Out?

1. Everton Weekes
2. Dwight Washington
3. Mahendra Nagamootoo
4. Kennedy Brighton
5. Berkeley Gaskin

These are names of West Indian cricketers. One of these names is not like the others. That is because it it not real. Which do you think is the odd one out?

Answer in the comment section later today ...