Perfect Description

I've been reading The Thurber Album, which is a collection of stories about people by James Thurber. This morning, I discovered, in his essay about his favorite English teacher, that He nry James actually has some merit. Thurber quotes him:

"When she touches a thing the ugliness, God knows how, goes out of it."

When I came to this line, I thought of my love, because this is such a perfect description of her.

The URJ and RJC

Yesterday, the New York Times ran a full page add by the Republican Jewish Committee stating that the Union for Reform Judaism does not speak for them regarding the War in Iraq. This is fine, the two organizations are independent bodies and therefore do not have to agree. However, the add is misleading to the point of absurdity. It states in large type "Freedom is Worth Fighting For" which the URJ absolutely agrees to. The URJ's resolution focused on encouraging a clear exit strategy in a way that maintains and strengthens the peace and stability in the region. Furthermore, it makes it seem like no Jew opposes the war, which is false. (In poles, about 2/3 of American Jews oppose the war.) The add also states "We support our troops," insinuating that the Union does not. However, the resolution passed explicitly mentions that the Union supports the troops and funding should be used to provide troops with the maximum security possible. The add also states that the RJC supports the War on Terrorism. The War in Iraq as part of the War on Terror is based on false information at best, and manipulation at worst. In fact, the URJ supported the invasion of Afghanistan as a response to September 11th. Furthermore, resolutions passed by a specific body do not necessarily reflect the opinions of all of its members, let alone non-members. This is commonly understood. Take as an example bills that congress passes.

Another Reason to Hate My Hometown

I hate South Bend for numerous reasons, but I want to focus on the latest one in this entry.

During February the past two years, Notre Dame has hosted a Queer Film Festival. The Festival is scheduled for its third iteration in February. Last year (or earlier this year, if you don't think in terms of an academic schedule), the Festival made national news because of its suprising location. So, this year, the newly inaugurated President John Jenkins, C.S.C., appointed a committee to consider the fate of the Festival. Currently, the spoken objection is simply that the word Festival conjures up a support for a certain side of a debate, not an exercise in academic freedom. The identity of members of the committee is being kept secret, and in the end, Father Jenkins can do what he wants. However, the ranking of Notre Dame as the No. 1 place for unqueerfriendliness will only be solidified if the Festival is eliminated.

Late Night Blog Reading Yields Results

The Lotus And The Mishpocheh:
The Principles of Jewish Buddhism

1. Let your mind be as a floating cloud.
Let your stillness be as the wooded glen.
And sit up straight.
You'll never meet the Buddha with such round shoulders.

2. There is no escaping karma.
In a previous life, you never called,
you never wrote, you never visited.
And whose fault was that?

3. Wherever you go, there you are.
Your luggage is another story.

4. To practice Zen and the art of Jewish
motorcycle maintenance, do the following:
Get rid of the motorcycle.
What were you thinking?

5. Be aware of your body.
Be aware of your perceptions.
Keep in mind that not every physical sensation
is a symptom of a terminal illness.

6. If there is no self, whose arthritis is this?

7. The Tao has no expectations.
The Tao demands nothing of others.
The Tao does not speak.
The Tao does not blame.
The Tao does not take sides.
The Tao is not Jewish.

8. Drink tea and nourish life.
With the first sip, joy.
With the second, satisfaction.
With the third, Danish.

9. The Buddha taught that one should practice
loving kindness to all sentient beings.
Still, would it kill you to find a nice sentient being
Who happens to be Jewish?

10. To Find the Buddha, look within.
Deep inside you are ten thousand flowers.
Each flower blossoms ten thousand times.
Each blossom has ten thousand petals.
You might want to see a specialist.

11. Be here now. Be someplace else later.
Is that so complicated?

12. Zen is not easy.
It takes effort to attain nothingness.
And then what do you have?
Bupkes.

Characters

I love how characters come alive as you write. Last night, I was enjoying a bit of whiskey with a friend and I read him part of my novel. From one paragraph, he surmised that my narrator was a late twenties to early thirties college educated male in the upper middle class from somewhere other than the East Coast. Either he's scary or there's something good about the writing I've done so far, because he was absolutely right.