Letter to Seattle Times Editor...

In his recent editorial, Bruce Ramsey arrives at two conclusions regarding the future of Seattle’s Waterfront. First, there should not be a new elevated freeway and second, that a tunnel is out of Seattle’s price range. Our government “leaders” say that rebuilding the viaduct or building a tunnel are the only options, and they might have been in 1953. But with a push for urban density, new mass transit systems, and the skyrocketing price of crude oil, why should we expect people to keep driving their cars as often as they do now?

Instead of using a 50 year old, off-the-shelf product, we should do something simple, elegant, and cost-effective. Just tear down the viaduct and do not replace it. Increase road capacity by making improvements to I-5 and the surface streets. Install “Freight-only” lanes to keep our historic and wealth-producing maritime and manufacturing industries moving. Encouraging new ideas in urban design will not only increase the standard of living and property values, but the number of jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities within the city. If people insist on driving their cars everywhere they wish to go, they can move to Bellevue. Or back to California.

Rebekah’s Graduation...

Alright, so it’s been over a month (fine, six weeks) and I’m only now getting some of my pictures from Rebekah’s graduation online. But here they are, in full color and black and white glory.

Rebekah did a fine job planning her graduation celebrations. She let the family know at the start of the school year, made reservations for the Chinese and Italian restaurants (very tasty Italian place) in February, and had some local entertainment plans ready to go. Basically, she is a much more accomplished host then at the start of her junior year when I first visited. At the time, I sniffed at her, thinking “I am much better host then she is”. And I was. But I realized soon after I left, that she was on par with my own junior-year hosting skills, and I figured she would improve with time. I’m glad to say she has proved me correct. Now if only I could convince her to buy good beer for me when I visit...

A note regarding black and white photography:
For the longest time (up until about 10 months ago), I couldn’t figure out why anyone bothered with black and white pictures. Color conveyed so much information on the setting, environment, feel of the actual event and beauty, that black and white film seemed a wasted opportunity. But as I have been exploring the shallow end of the photography with my year-old digital camera, I’ve discovered the beauty of black and white.

Simply put, it’s about information display. My intention and desire when taking color pictures is to display the warmth of the moment, the contrast of colors, or the sheer beauty of a blue sky. Black and white pictures remove this information and focuses the viewer’s attention on the content of the picture. The brain is not required to process the enormous amount of information conveyed by the color palette and is allowed to focus on the shapes, lines, shadows, and subtleties captured by the photograph.

My eyes are drawn in this picture, to Rebekah’s face, her hands, her bare feet. I am able to then notice the pattern of the wall hanging. But in a similar color picture, the yellow of the honor cord and the strong color of the wall hanging compete for attention with Rebekah. Therefore, when I want to focus on the content, I enjoy using (if I remember) black and white.

Disclaimer: This is all my own rambling, as I have yet to discuss photography with anyone more knowledgeable than I (yes, I know this is a problem).

Pride...

I hope it’s okay to tell this story. I think it’s sweet, but I have a questionable opinion. Anyways:

So while I was growing up, my Aunt Susan was the “fun” aunt. As a kid, I didn’t realize that. She was just Aunt Susan. She was younger then my dad, rode a motorcycle, had a big sheep dog named Buddy, and had roommates. On of the things that had always bothered me about my father’s sibling though, was that they weren’t producing any cousins for me to play with. Uncle Scott was married to Aunt Patty, but no kids, and they lived in New York anyways. Aunt Sheri and Aunt Susan were not married, and so no cousins. Other then that, I loved my aunts and uncles without question.

As I, and my aunts, grew older, the odds of having cousins were decreasing, and I knew this. Luckily, Aunt Sheri got married, and soon came Corey. Aunt Susan on the other hand, still just had her roommates. Something I associated with college and younger adults. Queries to my parents on the matter yield nebulous answers.

Then, the summer before my freshman year of high school (summer ’94) my Aunt celebrated her, well, her, um...it was a significant birthday. So Sally, my aunt’s roommate at the time, threw a big surprise birthday for Aunt Susan. She was surprised, there were lots of people, good food, plenty to drink, a pool to swim in, the hole nine yards. My extended family, and some of my aunt’s old roommates whom I had grown up knowing, where there. And while I realized there were a lot of women with short or different haircuts, I didn’t think much of it. I was almost 14, and disappointed there weren’t more cute girls my age to look out.

But soon I overheard my grandfather make a comment about “all the couples” at the party. I immediately though “but there are mostly women here”. Then, I looked around, noticed all the women standing strangely close to other women, noticed the short haircuts on these women, and added in my newly found cultural awareness from the early ’90. And it was then, that I realized that Aunt Susan’s “roommates” were more then just roommates :-)

Now I love this story for two reasons. The first, is how absolutely oblivious I can be to something that, perhaps to other people, is completely obvious. Much more importantly, it illustrates how open minded and accepting children are. You tell them “roommate” or “good friend” and a child will say, “Okay” and the child’s world is expanded. You tell a child “sinner” or “diseased person” and the child’s world is closed off, surrounded my fear and ignorance.

That is a horrific thing to do to a child. That is horrific thing to teach a child about other human beings. The spreading of fear and ignorance is blight upon the world.

So, to honor my aunts, my older sister, friends I grew up with, a former housemate, numerous people I know, and a very dear friend of mine, I finally attended a Pride event. Nearly ten years after realizing how close I was to this community I finally made it a priority to openly support them. It was a blast.

Tony, my former housemate, took me to a couple of gay bars, bought me some gin with a splash of tonic, and showed me the madness of Volunteer Park during Pride weekend. It was great. Check out the pictures.

Imminent Jewish World Takeover...

This is great. I was checking my websites on StatCounter and I noticed someone from England found my site from a Google search. Most of the searches that find my site involve the words "newman" and "trading", which makes sense. Why someone randomly searches from this combination of words is beyond me, but okay. This chap or lassie however, used the above phrase, with capitalization, to find my site. See for yourself. I come up ninth. Ninth on an anti-Semitic search, and I wasn’t even trying. Mom would be so proud.

In other Jewish Conspiracy news, I attended the huge Seattle Pride Parade and festivities today. Pictures and stories to follow.

Wrong...

I am sorry to report that the Jerusalem City Council has decided against allowing the annual Gay Pride Parade, due to fears that the event would offend many of the religiously conservative residents of Israel’s largest the city.

There is hope that the Israeli court system will overturn this decision. Thanks to numerous lawsuits to prevent house demolitions, the route of the Separation Barrier, and Israeli army tactics, Israeli courts are accustomed to delivering rapid and complex ruling. Nevertheless, things must change in the religious community. Far too often, Orthodox Jews, many who are warm and caring people in other situations, place strict observance of one mitzvah over observing other mitzvot with less historical support.

Natural & Organic...

Oh my G-d, fresh raspberries are a gift to the world. I am mopping the drool off my keyboard as I type. Oh, for shame. I have just eaten an entire little green basket of them. And the strawberries I got as well are delicious. This was my first visit to the Columbia City Farmers Market, and what a trip it was. Amazing berries, crusty artisan bread, crisp Fuji apples, and plump sweet peas. I will be eating well for a few days. In the past I would visit the U-District Farmers market, but it is on Saturdays, and I’ve decided that I will no longer spend money on Shabbat. So, to the Wednesday Columbia City market I go.

First thing I do, is strike up conversation with a cherry farmer. In past years, I recall the price of cherries being about $2.50 a pound. But two weeks ago, when I visited the market, they were $4 a pound and today, $3.50. So I asked him why the increase in price. Steph Savino and I had speculated that perhaps the dry winter resulted in a small crop this summer. But the farmer made it very clear that diesel prices had gone through the roof. And everything a modern farm, even the organic one like he is running, depends on petrol. The tractor to mow the grass (where the bugs live). The chain saw to trim the trees. The truck to deliver produce to market. All of these depend on diesel. And while I buy my gasoline at Chevron and have only seen a 33% increase since last summer, diesel, which used to be super cheap, has more then doubled in price.

This bothers me. Here is a small, family farm that grows declious, healthy, natural products, disproportionately dealing with the strain of a tight oil market. And yet, I can’t help but hope that the rising price of oil will hasten this country’s pace towards an energy policy and energy market primarily composed of renewable energy sources, particularly solar and hydrogen. Wind and tidal are nice, but I expect the land and capitol costs to become an obstacle towards their dominance. Solar energy, and the hydrogen that might be produced by it, is poured onto the Earth in an unending supply. Think of those hot summer days when you avoid the sunshine. Have you ever been on a hot roof in the summertime? What are we doing with those empty roofs that heat our buildings that we then cool down with energy-sucking air conditioning? I say, tile our roofs with solar panels and make use of the sun. I mean, in another 5 billion or so years, we won’t have it.

Hidden Lake Peak...

Ryan and I went on an incredible hike last Sunday up to the Hidden Lake Peak Lookout, an old fire lookout that is kept up by a volunteer group, the Friends of Hidden Lake peak Lookout (no website I could find). We passed a couple and their infant who had camped in the pass the night before. We hiked through a significant amount of snow, but were able to slide down it on our asses during the descent, a word I just realized I spelled incorrectly in the picture captions. But the best part of the hike was sliding down the last bit of avalanche snow in the meadow, with the mountains above and the river valley below. Simply incredible.

X & Y...

Listening to the new Coldplay album for the first time...

It’s beautiful.

But after hearing a few of the newer singles (What if and Fix You), I knew it would be. That is one consitent element of their albums, poignant lyrics and beautiful music. They are not revolutionary, nothing cutting edge, and if anything, they can have a little too much “pop” in their music. And honestly, what the fuck is it with album inserts that are grainy little pictures of the band recording/playing music? Include the lyrics, or political rants, or personal stories, or something handwritten on the insert, or else make the insert a front and back and don’t worry about it.

Alas, despite my criticism, I still am loving the new album. Coldplay maybe everything I just said, but they simply make excellent, beautiful music, and that is all that matters.

Favorite lyrics at this moment, and yeah, I know it’s sad, but screw you, I’ve been sad lately:

What if you should decide,
that you don't want me there by your side.
That you don't want me there in your life.

Kol HaKavod...

If any of you are wondering why I keep mentioning JConnect, the 20- and early 30-somethings Jewish program run out of Hillel at the UW, it’s because the director, Josh Miller, has done an amazing job hosting excellent events and getting people involved. But don’t take my word for it, read this email from him regarding the recent, one week fund raising campaign.

Dear Friends,

With every gift tallied from our second ever Jconnect Seattle email fundraising campaign, it is with huge excitement that I announce to you all that we more than tripled our $10,000 goal this year. In just one week, we raised $16,422 from your donations, and every dollar of this amount is being matched by our generous Jconnect challenge donors, bringing the grand total to $32,844!

On behalf of everyone who has been touched by Jconnect Seattle this year, I thank you all for your incredible generosity in making gifts of all sizes to support this dynamic program. The willingness of so many participants to contribute to the campaign this year is the truest testament to the impact we are having on Jewish life here in Seattle.

We look forward to using these funds to continue to serve you in the coming year with even more wonderful opportunities to build community, celebrate, learn and take action together!

Thank you again,

Josh Miller
Jconnect Director
josh@jconnectseattle.org

PS- Didn't get a chance to make a gift this week but want to be counted in our grand total? It's not too late! Click here to donate!

Josh, JConnect, and Hillel UW must be doing something right if the community they serve is willing to more then triple the fund raising goal. Kol HaKavod, Josh!

Big Creek and Otter Falls...

On Sunday, I lead the first JConnect hike of the summer. The goal was to hit Big Creek Falls, and maybe Otter Creek Falls if the group was up to it. Now, most JConnect hikes I’m aware of have attracted between 15 and 30 people. And while it’s certainly not necessary to RSVP for a hike, I had only heard from four people before Sunday. Luckily, Jen Bencic, a co-worker of mine at the J, decided to attend and bring her wonderful dog Kaya (Kai-ah). Anyways, including Jen, only six of us hit the trail. And the three people who drove with me all fell asleep or closed their eyes on the way up to the trail. Things were not looking good.

But never underestimate the power of an unpaved Forest Service road to brighten my sprits. Bill, my car, was a champ and rallied to avoid many of the large, water-filled holes in the road. I’m a very safe driver in the city and on the highway, and I’m actually very safe on these unpaved roads. Nevertheless, I love driving a little faster then I should and weaving my way around the holes. It took us 40 minutes to go a measly 15 miles, but as the driver the time just flies by.

The weather was spotty but the trail is in good shape and rather level, so we made good time. Unfortunately, it started raining immediately after we made it to Big Creek Falls, so everyone ate a quick lunch (Jason, who brought neither lunch nor snack nor decent night sleep, took a nap), and we quickly got moving again. Luckily, the weather cleared up and four of us took the detour and checked out Otter Creek Falls, which was very well worth it. I did a little scramble and sat up on the side of the falls, and from there, I realized that Lipsy Lake is rather deep, even if you can’t tell from any of the pictures.

The entire hike was about 10 miles round trip, and it has been a while since I’ve covered that much distance on foot. The rest of the group felt the same, and even Kaya wasn’t pulling on her leash by the time we got back to the car. Everyone but myself fell fully asleep on the car ride home, but they all said a good time as had.

I’m thinking Mount Pilchuck will be the next JConnect hike.

Adventures in Oregon...

On my way to Rebekah's graduation last month, I took a few days for some hiking with Ryan Oleson, my former college roommate, outdoor adventurer, and all around good buddy. I mentioned these hikes before, but here I am, finally getting around to posting pictures. Although, I must say that Google's Picasa is making that a much easier and more pleasant experience.

We’ll All Float on...

Both of us were trying to catch our breath, choking back more tears, as we said our special lines to one another.

“Bye, Cutie”

and she gave a short, heart-rending sad laugh, “Bye, Sweetie”.

I closed the door, and began to walk down her steps. But I looked back, up through her blinds, and I saw her, holding her bowed head, standing in the middle of her kitchen,

weeping, the same as me.

Smile...

This is just nice. And it makes me feel better that I have stayed up too late, and will not be getting to yoga in the morning.

“A Society of Struggle”...

Outgoing Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff (the highest ranking officer) Moshe Ya’alon has what you might call a less then cheery outlook for Israel’s future. In what seems to be a candid interview with Ha’aretz, he talks about his three years leading the IDF, their successes, failures, and that small, insignificant event that might change the equation of Middle East politics, the Disengagement.

Now, I primarily get my Israeli news from Ha’aretz and the New York Times, both relatively liberal sources of Mainstream Media. This, combined with my own sense of “what Israel should be doing” has lead me over the years to see many of Ya’alon’s actions and choices as being overly aggressive and perhaps counter-productive in creating an environment where peaceful negotiations can take place.

And it turns out that I was right, not because he objects to peace with the Palestinians, but because he still does not believe they are ready for peace with Israel.

“The State of Israel is ready to give the Palestinians an independent Palestinian state, but the Palestinians are not ready to give us an independent Jewish state.”

And I, sadly, must agree.

Since becoming President of the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas has not moved to unarm the terrorist groups, he continues to seriously discuss the right of return, and Palestinians everywhere refer to the creation of Israel as al Naqba, The Catastrophe.

Even now, Palestinians “convicted” of collaborating with Israel security forces are sentences to death, not by mob lynching, but the highest government officials. Abbas has suspended upcoming elections, most likely in order to prevent an election takeover of Gaza by Hamas. Numerous problems scream out from this episode, particularly the authoritarian actions of Abbas, the internal friction this will cause and the subsequent diminishing of Abbas’ credibility, and most frighteningly, the wide Palestinian support of an organization openly committed to the destruction of Israel.

Ya’alon is echoing Golda Mier’s famous statement that, "We will have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us." From his position, he does not see a two-state solution leading to a stable peace. Stating that the West Bank and Gaza do not have the geography or natural economic requirements to become a viable, self-sustaining independent state, he predicts Israel will continue to be a society of struggle with wars in the near future.

And while I do not want to give up on a two-state solution, I must say that I too question the prospects of a peacefully future for Israel. And, in my darkest of moments, I have my doubts regarding Israel’s ability to survive another 50 or 100 years. I will never suggest we, the Jews, leave Israel or compromise on the logic or right for us to have an independent state in the land of Israel, there are existential threats few other countries have to confront.

One last time...

Once again, I was at the Cinerama’s midnight showing of Star Wars.

I took the day off, and got down to the theater at 8:30, parked the car, put out the chair, and hung out for the day. Now, you might be thinking that a movie is the same if you see it at the “first show” or three weeks after the opening, and I would agree with you. The movie is the same. But the experience of the midnight show is far superior to any other showing. Everyone in the crowd is a serious fan and this commonality joins us together. We break into applause at esoteric references, hold our breath during the quite parts, cheer at victory and wince at defeat.

The movie was great, and I wish we had more Episodes to look forward to. But what saddens me most is the lack of good excuses for such a wonderful group of people to gather around and express their joy and solidarity. But it was wonderful while it lasted. Check out the pictures here.