A thought hit me this weekend and I promptly shared it with my wife. I told her that while I could not really see myself hiring a woman of the evening for sexual relations, I could easily see myself, a happily married man, hiring a woman to sit across a table from me, look deeply into my eyes with great sincerity, and just tell me, over and over for a half an hour:

You're right. I was so wrong. I just didn't look at it the way you did. You were so right. I should have listened to you. I'm sorry.

Every married man I know harbors this secret, deep fantasy. If they don't, they're not being honest with themselves. It isn't wrong, is it, to contemplate paying a woman for this kind of illicit rendevous? How could it be wrong if it felt so right, so good?

And by the way, my wife laughed very hard. But she never said I was right about this, either.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 11:01 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I just picked up my re-strung squash racquet. I bet it is going to feel like a totally new racquet tonight when I attend this bi-monthly squash clinic that is so hard on me that I actually will lose 3-4 pounds between now and tomorrow morning. I am thinking that the ball is going to jump off these shiny new strings like it was shot from a gun. I am, in short, way more excited about this than I have any right to be. It is pathetic. I kept twirling it around in my hand the whole way back from the store. I am itching to pick it up now to see how it feels all the while knowing it will feel almost precisely how it felt when I walked it over to the store this morning.

One nice thing was the wear pattern on the old strings. The old strings had started to unravel and fray. Where? All in the sweet spot, baby, and no where else. Meaning? I was striking most every ball right in the middle of the racquet (or else I was dinging the other shots off the frame). Nice.

Like I said, pathetic. I am going to be 40 this year and here I am gushing like a kid over a new car.

Still, I am so looking forward to banging a ball around tonight for a couple of hours.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 02:46 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Mark, at Irish Elk, has kindly nominated me for a "Thinking Blogger Award", not for any particular post (see rule 3 below), I gather, but for general thinkingness. Or something. I am terribly grateful. Thank you, Mark.

The rules:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote...

Here are five thoughtful blogs (in no particular order) that may not have been tagged yet, and deserve to be:

1. The Llama Butchers: A great read on a daily basis ranging from bad movies to good literature and the ocassional and always well received Naval Geekery post.

2. La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo Blog: Like it sounds. Daily pictures from one of favorite places in the whole world.

3. Everyday Stranger: If Helen doesn't make you think, or at least feel, give up right now.

4. Simon World: Simon is wicked smart, writes well, and writes about Asia. It is usually important. More so than my blog, that is for certain.

5. Critical Mass: Erin writes beautifully and fluently and fights the good fight for academic freedom. You should know about her if you don't.

Happy reading! And thank you, again, Mark!

Posted by: Random Penseur at 02:49 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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I read an article in the NY Times this morning about a strange revival of Jewish culture and life in Poland. At one time, prior to the Second World War, Poland was home to the largest Jewish population in Europe. Those few Jews who survived the Concentration Camps (remember, please, Auschwitz was on Polish soil), were further thinned out by State sanctioned pogroms and other anti-Semitic actions. When it came to anti-Semitism, it would appear that we have found something that the Poles absolutely excelled at.

Now, however, the Poles are in the process of rediscovering the contributions made by the Jews to Polish culture -- food, music, literature, architecture, language, art, and science. There is a veritable revival. The NY Times thinks this is great and seems to think it is kind of amusing that the Poles are managing to do it without the Jews. The tone of the article, I feel, is ironic amusement.

There is nothing ironic about it, from my perspective. Jewish culture without the Jews who live it and practice it, Jewish culture divorced from the religious observances which gave rise to such culture and around which such culture revolves, Jewish culture there is not Jewish culture. Klezmer music played by Polish, non-Jewish, musicians, to Polish, non-Jewish, diners eating "kosher" Polish, Jewish food (I have to think it is simulated "kosher" or kosher style food because where would they find the appropriate authorities to certify it?) is NOT Jewish culture. It is a simulacrum of Jewish culture.

It is also at once both an appropriation of Jewish culture and perhaps the ultimate example of Polish anti-Semitism. First, Jewish culture divorced from the religious calendar has little meaning. It is simply the Disneyification of Jewish life, celebrated by those for whom a connection to Jewish life is purely theoretical. It is, I suppose, a living museum. It is, in this regard, deeply offensive. Jewish culture is not here for the Poles' amusement and attempting to live it cannot be left for them to feel better about having wiped out their Polish Jews. I understand that they feel a void in Polish culture. It is understandable considering the contributions of Jews to Polish culture. But this way is wrong. Jewish culture is being lived by Jews all over the world in places other than Poland. It is lived every time a Jew celebrates the Sabbath or observes, with joy, a holiday (holy-day, right?). It is not ready for a museum.

Secondly, as I said above, it is the height of the expression of Polish anti-Semitism. After all, what could be better, from the Polish perspective, than taking the best of Jewish culture and enjoying it, all without having to be inconvenienced by the presence of a Jew?

Jewish culture without the Jew. Welcome to Poland. Be real careful getting on a train, you never know what the next stop will be.

Indeed, what better proves my point about how strange this all is than this photo (note the Crucifix, please):

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:41 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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1 As the old saying goes, a picture says a thousand words. Sadly, and I'm really fighting the urge to make Pollock jokes, is that they may think the Crucifix is key to the Jewish religion too. I mean, Jesus is one of the most popular Jews ever, so why wouldn't the crucifix be the central part of Jewish religion?

Posted by: phin at July 12, 2007 09:40 AM (CQcil)

2 I mean, Jesus is one of the most popular Jews ever, so why wouldn't the crucifix be the central part of Jewish religion? Because crucifixion was a Roman punishment administered by the Roman government. And although Jesus was a Palestenian Jew, he was rejected by them - hence the outreach to the Gentiles.

Posted by: Emily at July 12, 2007 10:49 AM (MqOYm)

3 Well, Emily, I am not sure I agree with your second sentence. First, "Palestine" is a loaded political term and was not used by the Romans until Hadrian, some 134 years after the death of Jesus. Thus, Jesus could not be as you described him. Second, the use of the term gentile is another anachronism. Third, Jesus had great success preaching to Jews. All of his initial disciples were originally Jewish. Finally, crucifixion was not a punishment created by the Romans, although it was used by them. It was created by Carthage and used by the Persians, Seleucids, Jews, Carthaginians, and Romans.

Posted by: rp at July 12, 2007 12:13 PM (op1yW)

4 Also, going back to Phin's comment for a moment, I am pretty sure he was being ironic. Phin's like that, you see.

Posted by: rp at July 12, 2007 12:15 PM (op1yW)

5 To quote a bumper sticker, Jesus was a Jewish liberal. That's true, actually. The reason he was shunned by some of his Jewish brethren is because he was too progressive. I like your point about Disneyification. I think that is an outstanding take on it. The only thing they're not doing is making money on it...yet.

Posted by: Linda at July 13, 2007 08:43 AM (Aq93h)

6 My apologies for being imprecise. Not being familiar with Phin's brand of irony, I dashed off a reply to his comment and then went to read the NYT article. I would like to point out, however, that I did not allude to the history of crucifixion, and was referring specifically to the crucifixion of Jesus. To dissect crucifixion and its users would have been outside the bounds of Phin's comment.

Posted by: Emily at July 13, 2007 03:40 PM (MqOYm)

7 I think you might be taking it a little too personally, RP. For instance, if I want to attend an Italian festival to celebrate their contributions to American culture by eating baked ziti and playing a round of bocci, must I first convert to Roman Catholicism? Can't I celebrate the influence of the Chinese by blowing off fireworks and chowing down on some good kung pao without chanting the little red book? Now, granted, the Polish situation is different because they, under control of the Nazis, killed off their Jews. But, would rather have them not celebrate Jewish contributions to Polish culture at all? Must they roast an egg and a lamb shank and observe Passover before they sing Hava Nagila? While all cultures are defined heabily by their religious life, must all heuristic nuance be included in order to make the honoring of that culture's contributions "real"? That photo's pretty funny, though. I promise, they don't mean to offend you, but to honor your long gone kinsmen. I dunno.

Posted by: Tuning Spork at July 14, 2007 08:34 PM (RFWDk)

8 heabily = heavily. Although I might substitute it with "profoundly". And I have no idea what "hava nagila" means, so in case the answer to my question is "yes", nevermind.

Posted by: Tuning Spork at July 14, 2007 08:38 PM (RFWDk)

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I have just learned, as I sit here, that nothing helps you contemplate your own mortality more easily that a 12 page letter from your own lawyer that begins:

In accordance with your request, we enclose for your review proposed new Wills, Revocable Trusts, Health Care Proxy, Declaration and Organ/Tissue Donation Forms, Durable Powers of Attorney and Deeds of Gift. In order to assist you in your reading and understanding of the drafts, I have briefly summarized their provisions.

If a summary is 12 single spaced pages, it is hardly brief.

Just the same, it is kind of humbling to think that your entire life, and the arrangements to tidy it up, can be so neatly summed up.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 09:33 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 I know how you feel. I had my attorney work on my will, etc. It's also amazing to realize how little I have to give away.

Posted by: Howard at July 11, 2007 04:42 PM (u2JaN)

2 We soooo need to do this. The main reason is that our children we have chosen to go to two friends instead of family and that would definitely need to be spelled out in legal documents. I'm so happy that you have all that set up for your family. It's important.

Posted by: Linda at July 13, 2007 08:33 AM (Aq93h)

3 ...it is kind of humbling to think that your entire life, and the arrangements to tidy it up, can be so neatly summed up. That's precisely why I refuse to deal with life.

Posted by: Tuning Spork at July 14, 2007 08:46 PM (RFWDk)

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I have once again returned to my native shores, y'all. I will post, in dribs and drabs, updates and recaps of our two week excursion to Norway. In the meantime, I will lead off with the most negative and pessimistic recap I can possibly conceive of, one I shared with my wife already (who, by the way, I told at some point during the trip that my next wife was going to not only be a local girl but an orphan to boot).

The trip can be summed up as follows:

I told the driver who was coming to pick us up to take us to the airport to begin our voyage to basically fuck off after he called 5 minutes before we were supposed to leave and told me, after I asked, that he was more like an hour away.

I told one of my brothers-in-law to go fuck himself as we were saying goodbye the night before leaving to come back to the States (more on why later). I assured him that I meant it in the nicest possible way, though, as I shook his hand goodbye.

In between those two events, it rained and I gained 8-10 pounds.

Sounds idyllic, doesn't it?

Well, there were some nice moments, but I will blog about those later.

Nice, sooooooo nice, to be home.

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