The Accidental Anarchist (or, This Way to the Firing Squad)

Book Review: Rasputin & the Jews--A Reversal of History

2012-01-19T14:19:00.000-08:00

It takes a special kind of person to undertake the task of changing deeply held perceptions of a historical character when there is no prospect of personal gain, yet that’s what Delin Colón has done with Rasputin & the Jews: A Reversal of History.

To most people who know little about him, the name, Rasputin, conjures up an image of someone disheveled, evil and debauched. If they know a little more, they may be aware of his reputation for having supernatural powers which he used to exert mind control over Czarina Alexandra, as well as his proximity to Czar Nicholas II to advance his own purposes. The stories of the many attempts to murder him -- he was stabbed, poisoned, shot 3 times, bound and thrown into the river before he finally died, though it was never clear which of these actions ultimately did him in -- only built upon the legend of his dark powers as well as the need, by so many, to get rid of him. Although no one denies that Rasputin was unkempt-looking, he was, in reality, a monk with what seemed like an ability to predict the future (though it was often just common sense), and a deep concern for the downtrodden.

Inspired by the published memoir of her great-uncle, Aron Simanovich, who was Rasputin’s Jewish secretary, as well as biographies written by Rasputin’s daughters, and memoirs from the Czar’s court, Colón demonstrates that Rasputin was maligned in history because he supported proper treatment of the Jews, much to the disdain of the Russian nobility and the Czar’s officers who were fervent anti-Semites and who jockeyed amongst themselves for the Czar’s favor.

Nicholas II, the last Czar of Russia, the last of the Romanov dynasty, blamed the Jews for all of Russia’s and their own problems, so it was quite surprising to learn that Rasputin was an ardent supporter and defender of the Jews. He sought to get Nicholas to call off planned pogroms, and helped get Jewish youths into Universities once the quota had been filled. He also advised Nicholas not to launch the Russo-Japanese War, the loss of which resulted in Russia losing its superpower status. Despite his many efforts and privileged access to Czarina Alexandra (she begged him to use his mystical powers to heal the crown price of hemophilia), Rasputin was never able to change Czar Nicholas’ thinking about the Jews. He did, however, dissuade Nicholas from conducting a few pogroms, and used his position and high-level connections to help get Jews into Universities, without benefitting, himself. But this didn’t calm the paranoia within the Czar’s court. Rasputin’s support wasn’t out of any special connection or obligation to the Jewish people, but simply because he was concerned for all oppressed individuals, and no one at the time was more oppressed than the Jews.

Colón draws a vivid picture of what life was like for Jews during Nicholas II’s reign over the Russian-occupied territories to show the environment in which Rasputin operated. Among the many way the Czar persecuted the Jews (beyond the pogroms) were many laws that made ordinary survival very difficult. For example, in order for a Jew to get into an institution of higher learning, his family needed to pay tuition for multiple Christian students. If a Jew was allowed to practice his profession, he was allowed to do only that, so “if an apothecary’s assistant, unable to find work, opened a druggist’s shop, for which his training qualified him,” this was considered a “change of occupation, leading to the forfeiture of his residence.” While Rasputin knew he was beating his head against a brick wall when it came to trying to talk to Nicholas about fair or equal treatment for the Jews, who had already, 100 years earlier, been banished to the Pale of Settlement by Catherine the Great, yet he never stopped to worry about his own welfare when he was looking out for people who needed a defender.

Simanovich, Rasputin’s Jewish secretary who witnessed his boss’ selfless acts of kindness, wrote his memoir to document the actions of a man who, during his lifetime, had been repeatedly maligned by those who feared the loss of their position or privileged status, and by history. Yet where Simanovich failed, Colón succeeded by drawing on multiple resources. And like Rasputin’s selfless acts of kindness, Colón, too, was only motivated by doing what was morally correct.

Rasputin & the Jews: A Reversal of History is a work of scholarship that urges us to rethink acquired prejudices. And what it points out is that Rasputin was as much a victim of anti-Semitism as was the Jewish population whom he sought to defend.

Che Cafe Fundraiser a Success (they said it; not me)

2012-01-10T13:02:00.000-08:00

Effort raises about $17,000 to cover insurance, back-taxes and other debts

By Peter Holslin (San Diego CityBEAT)

XBXRX

The Ché Café has been saved.

As we reported last week, friends of the cash-strapped venue have been leading an effort to raise $12,000 in funds needed to cover insurance fees, which are due in March. If they couldn't come through with the cash, the Ché would've had to stop putting on shows.

The fundraising effort culminated this weekend with I Promise, a three-day benefit festival that featured a cross-section of bands that are near-and-dear to the venue. Jesse Kranzler, one of the fest's organizers, says it brought in about $8,000. The venue had previously raised about $9,000 through donations to a benefit website and other efforts, bringing the total donations to around $17,000. The surplus will help cover back-taxes and other debts, Kranzler says.

The sold-out indie-rock showcase on Saturday night, featuring noise-rock heavies No Age and Crystal Antlers, was the Ché's highest-grossing concert of all time, Kranzler says, bringing in about $4,000. I went on Sunday night for the experimental-noise show and the turnout was pretty big that night, too.

One of the highlights on Sunday was Realization Orchestra, a new band featuring members of Ty Segall and Weatherbox. They looked like DEVO in their purple jumpsuits, but their extremely weird, yet technically proficient, sound had more to do with iconoclasts like John Zorn and Captain Beefheart. They were clearly having tons of fun, which made their unpredictable compositions all the more enjoyable.

I was also happy to see L.A. spazz-rock legends XBXRX. The last time I saw them at the Ché, back in the early '00s, their singer jumped around the space like a freaky sprite, climbing the rafters and bringing everyone together in an epic group hug in a thoroughly chaotic 15-minute set that ended when one of the members broke his nose. They've grown sludgier and more metal in the decade since, but they still wrought absolute mayhem on Sunday, climbing the rafters, detuning their guitars and even stepping offstage to do push-ups and sit-ups amid the crowd. All the while, a guy in a wheelchair gamely held his own in the mosh pit. Awesome!

The big draw, however, was Health, a noise-rock band that emerged out of The Smell, an all-ages club in L.A. Their thrilling set featured a mix of spastic noise jams and nightclub-ready electro-rock anthems; masters of contrast, they let out jarring bursts of noise over sing-song vocals and pummeling drums. My God, what a sight to see they were. Their bassist whipped around his long hair like some kind of rock 'n' roll angel. Their savage drummer, with his big build and curly hair, had the look of an ancient warrior.

Towards the end of Health's set, Kranzler stepped onstage to let everybody know that the fundraiser was a success, tossing a handful of confetti at the crowd. After the show, people behind the fundraising effort were all smiles. The fundraiser didn't just save this all-volunteer, all-ages venue, they said. It reinvigorated it.

TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE FOR CHE CAFE BENEFIT, JAN. 6-8, 2012

2012-01-04T22:09:00.000-08:00

Reprinted from http://checafebenefit.tumblr.com/

Long Overdue Update!

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the silence on this blog, most of the action has been going on over on Facebook &, with details constantly changing with this festival, it’s been hard to keep everything up to date. BUT ANYWAYS, the festival is this weekend!

We are so excited to have such awesome lineups for each day and have had the best group of people helping out. Big thanks go out to Scott Sanders for coordinating this whole festival with me & booking a majority of the bands you guys will see this weekend, Heather Brosche for creating all of the artwork &, along with Bobby Bray, printing all materials & creating all of the Internet events for the weekend. Special thanks also go out to Greg Prout & everyone else at the Che for helping us every step of the way and allowing us to put on such an overwhelming event, & to George Pritzker for his help in starting all of the fundraising work for the Che and helping with this blog & festival details throughout the process.

A lot of you have been asking when & where you may get tickets for this festival. Well, I finally have an answer for you. Tickets will be available at the Che starting at 3 PM on Friday, January 6th and will be available throughout the fest. But you don’t want to wait on line, do you?

Well, here’s all the info you need to get your tickets at will call (fancy right?):

Send an email to thechecafe@gmail.com with “WILL CALL” as the subject.
in the body of the email list:

NAME:
# of TICKETS:
DATE OF SHOW:

Then wait for a reply back with a confirmation and amount owed.

If you do not get your tickets will call, remember to ARRIVE EARLY. The Che has a strict 200 person capacity and we want to get as many people in as possible.

We have printed a limited number of posters for each day as well as for the full festival. These will be for sale at all of the shows!

Below are the links for the Facebook event pages for each day. RSVP & invite your friends!
Day 1 (1/6): http://www.facebook.com/events/271366366251444/
Day 2 (1/7): http://www.facebook.com/events/210376055713749/
Day 3 (1/8): http://www.facebook.com/events/151310851644300/
All days: http://www.facebook.com/events/297863113567458/

See all of you this weekend,
Jesse

My Mother Recalls a Lesson She Learned from Her Father, Jacob Marateck

2012-01-02T11:56:00.000-08:00

My mother has been recording her memories in a series of essays. This is excerpted from one she wrote about her father's impact on her life.

Leviticus 19:16 "Do not stand aside while your fellow's blood is shed"

"...I was a student at Hunter College, taking classes at night. I had planned to attend a lecture after class at the Young Israel Adult Institute in lower Manhattan, and one of my fellow students expressed interest in coming with me.

"We took the subway downtown. The subway car was half empty. We were sitting and chatting when, suddenly, the door connected the cars burst open and an agitated, almost incoherent man staggered in. He cried, 'Ayudame, ayudame!' Fortunately, I was studying Spanish at the time and, though never a great language student, I knew it meant, 'Help me, help me!' People started to get up when they saw him and I assumed they were coming to his aid. Instead, every single one of them fled to the other end of the subway car. Without stopping to think, I ran to help him in whatever way I could, trying to calm the man and getting him to sit down to catch his breath. The young man I was with kept insisting, 'Get away from him! Don't be so stupid! We're getting off at the next stop!' He kept tugging at my coat sleeve, trying to get me to come with him. By this time, agitated myself, I yanked his arm off and yelled, 'If you're not going to help, leave me alone!' He finally did, and as soon as the train stopped at the next station, he got off and so did most of the other passengers. The ones who remained pretended to be oblivious, reading their newspapers or faking dozing.

I put my arm around the poor man and helped him out of the train at the next station. To my dismay, the platform was totally deserted. There were no cell phones then, no guards on the trains. I realized that there had to be a ticket booth where people could buy subway token. There was, and a woman was in the booth. By this time, the man had told me that he had been stabbed. I asked her to please, please call the police and get him help as he was wounded. She took her sweet time, and, looking at the victim with contempt, muttered something nasty under her breath. I had to threaten to report her to her supervisor before she deigned to pick up the phone.

"After what seemed like hours, a police officer finally showed up. He also was in no hurry to administer first aid and get the man to an emergency room. Finally, he agreed, and took the man up the steps to the street. What happened to that poor man after that, I had no way of knowing.

"It was pretty late by then (I never did get to that lecture) so I went home. I found my parents drinking tea in the kitchen. Not wanting to arm them, I said, "I just had an interesting experience.'

"I can see,' my father replied. 'You have blood on your coat.'

"Once they saw that I was not injured, I was able to tell them what had happened, knowing that I would not be criticized for my impulsive behavior. For we were raised to do what we knew in our heart was right, even if it did not make us popular. Looking back at it today, I realize my parents gave us a great gift."

How to Self-Promote -- Without Being Sleazy (Advice for Self-Published Authors)

2011-12-28T13:07:00.000-08:00

From Inc. Magazine

Self-promotion is a necessary evil for anyone starting a business. Here's how to do it so you don't seem like you've sold out.

By Tara Hunt | @missrogue | Dec 28, 2011

iStock

The biggest obstacle I had to overcome as a first-time start-up founder was the discomfort I felt about brazenly promoting my own business. And I’m not the only one. I’ve talked with quite a few other founders who feel the same. But in a world full of businesses trying to get attention, you need to get the word out there.
Of course it is ideal to have non-related parties evangelizing your product, but there are a plethora of great products launched daily and few of them break through the noise. Many products well-established today spent much of their early days tooting their own horn.
First of all, I understand why many people find self-promotion difficult:

It feels skeevy. Nobody likes a braggart. I was told as a young girl, “Let your accomplishments speak for themselves.”
You’ll lose followers. Related to the first point, many people find self-promotion to be in bad taste.
It seems unauthentic. If you’re so great, why isn’t everybody talking about you?

This is deeply rooted in the human psyche. According to Psychology Today, “research has demonstrated that there is a clear trade-off to being seen as more competent and being liked.” Those that sit back and wait for others to speak up for them are seen as less competent. The article also highlights that friends are more likely to feel uncomfortable with your self-promotion than strangers.
But why would your friends be uncomfortable with your success? Alain de Botton says it best in Status Anxiety:

It is the feeling that we might be something other than what we are—a feeling transmitted by the superior achievements of those we take to be our equals—that generates anxiety and resentment.”

When the success of your peers exceeds your own, you naturally compare yourself and feel envy. Of course, it’s not up to you to protect your friends’ feelings—you have a business to build. But when faced with the choice between making accomplishments known or keeping friends, most would feel heartless if they chose to brag a bit. But there are ways to toot your own horn tastefully (and keep your friends):

Tell the story of the struggle behind the success. Great! You won an award or got funding or the like. Show how hard you worked and the obstacles you needed to overcome to achieve this milestone. It’ll soften the blow for those who are still in the middle of a struggle.
Be excited, but be humbled. It pays to throw an ‘aw shucks’ into a news broadcast. I’ve watched many peers do this brilliantly. “We just launched our beta. It’s really rough, but I’d love your feedback.”
Give credit where credit is due. When you are promoting, it helps to acknowledge the support and advice of people you are close with. “If it weren’t for those late-night chats, I would have never gotten through the rough parts.”
Enlist the help of your friends to get the word out. Maybe your friends are tired of hearing you talk incessantly about your start-up, but have you ever sat down with them to get them on board? Asking for help shows your friends that you need them.

Whether you are announcing a milestone achieved or just trying to get the word out about your product, it is your job to promote your company in the early days. Make sure you do it well.

Ingredients of a Revolution

2011-12-15T20:11:00.000-08:00

Take decades to centuries of autocratic rule by an individual, family, political party or religious group.

Add suppression of political dissent

Mix with unemployment levels ranging from 15-70%

Turn up the heat even the slightest bit, and you have the political, social and economic circumstances that make a country ripe for revolution.

It happened in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and Libya, and led to the Arab Spring we all witnessed. Journalists have started to take note of the conditions that prime a country for revolt -- basically, when life gets cheap enough that deciding to risk or sacrifice one's life becomes a reasonable choice -- and have begun discussing which country will be next: Angola? Morocco? Jordan? Why don't the dictators ever notice (although Syria's Assad certainly seems to be aware, though he's raising rather than lowering the temperature) that they've created the elements of the perfect storm?

Meanwhile, the U.S. makes the mistake of moving in to help countries become 'democratic' when what we really need to do is let these countries overthrow their own dictators by themselves, and provide economic support for the rebuilding rather than the destruction. As Simon Winchester pointed out in Krakatoa, after the volcano destroyed much of Indonesia, it was the Muslims who came in to help the population rebuild. And what country has the largest Muslim population in the world? I'm just saying.

The Wisdom of a Teenager with Cancer

2011-11-30T10:30:00.000-08:00

This morning, I went for my annual exam at Scripps Clinic, and while I was having my blood drawn to check my cholesterol, I turned my head away from the needle to read a poem that was posted on the wall. It was written by a teenager with cancer.

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round?

Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun into the fading light?

You better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Do you run through each day on the fly?

When you ask 'how are you?' do you hear a reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in bed with the next hundred chores running through your head?

You better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Ever told your child 'we'll do it tomorrow'?

And in your haste not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die, cause you never had time to call up and say 'Hi'

You better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,

You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,

It is like an unopened gift thrown away.

Life is not a race,

Do take it slower.

Hear the music,

Before the song is over.

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY, JESSE!

2011-11-26T21:12:00.000-08:00

He had to be forced out of the womb and into the world, and for much of his life I didn't think Jesse would ever want to leave home. As a young teen, he had planned to attend UCSD for college, live at home, skateboard to school and come home for lunch every day.

Then music took over, and he couldn't help but fulfill fans wishes to have the band, Witt, tour internationally. He started planning the tour when he was 17 (but his bandmates' moms didn't let their sons travel at that age; not that he asked our permission -- he just told us what he had planned). It was another year before they could go, but for 3 weeks over the winter of 2010-2011, Jesse, Henry & Evan took Witt on the road, touring throughout Germany (where they're progressive in their musical tastes, surprising considering they like David Hasselhoff and are now planning a Rocky musical), Poland, France, the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland and maybe a few other countries, too. Once Jesse came back (and he had booked all the venues, coordinated publicity, figured out how they were going to get from one venue to another -- each was a 4-5 hour drive away from the previous one), he expressed his desire to live in Germany for 6 months. And in January he's going to Kenya to teach music (but that'll be the subject of another post).

For now, enjoy this slide show of photos of my little boy, from birth to age 21, a little boys whose birth had to be induced because he was late and his father couldn't stick around indefinitely, but once he found his legs, he hasn't stopped running....

He is one amazing dude

I Don't Know How He Does It

2011-11-22T11:05:00.000-08:00

People who know me know that I'm exceedingly proud of bothy of my boys, and the remarkable young men they are becoming. Today I have the opportunity to crow about something that my younger son, Jesse, is doing for a very good cause: The Che Cafe Benefit, which is planned to save the under-21 music venue on the University of California, San Diego, campus. The venue is the rare community space where kids under the age of 21 can perform and gather to listen to music. Many successful San Diego bands got their start here, but the Cafe needs to raise $12,000 to make an insurance premium payment that will allow it to stay open.

Jesse isn't the only person who has organized this benefit, or others that have taken place, but this will be the largest benefit concert -- to take place over 3 days: January 6-8, 2012. Just yesterday, the lineup began to be introduced. Go to http://checafebenefit.tumblr.com/ to watch the lineup be revealed and, if you feel like it, donate to the cause.

Without intending to, Jesse is living the spirit of his great-grandfather, Jacob Marateck, aka "The Accidental Anarchist," in that he has the strength of his convictions and the courage to stand up for them.

Jews in Hollywood

2011-11-15T14:44:00.000-08:00

Last week, I read an article in Heeb Magazine about Elliott Gould, Brooklyn Boy, Hollywood Legend,
who said, in the context of discussing "Hollywood's Jew Wave" in late 1960s and early 1970s, "I think it’s difficult enough to be a Jew in this world and it always has been.” It prompted thoughts of my late father, Shimon Wincelberg, the first Orthodox writer in Hollywood. He used to tell a story about his first experience in Hollywood, which could also have been his last. And it echoes what Mr. Gould says about it not being easy to be a Jew, despite the fact that many people think that Hollywood is 'run' by Jews.

My father was summoned to meet with Darryl Zanuck, the legendary producer — on a Friday night. My father told Zanuck’s disconcerted assistant that he couldn’t meet on Friday night because it was the Sabbath. She didn’t want to bring the news to Mr. Zanuck, to whom no one said ‘no.’

After hanging up the phone, my father turned to my mother and said, “We might as well stop unpacking and move back to NY. I’ve just ended my career in Hollywood.”

But surprisingly, the phone rang a few minutes later; it was Zanuck’s secretary, this time asking, “Would it be ‘convenient’ for you to meet with Mr. Zanuck on Sunday?” My father’s point was that people respected others who had the strength of their convictions and didn’t complain about the fact that their religion ‘prevented’ them from doing something they wanted to do.

My father once got a call from an actor who was required to film a scene on the Sabbath, and didn’t know what to do. My father asked, “How much would it cost to film on Sunday, instead.” The actor replied, “$10,000.” My father said, “Then tell them you’ll pay $10,000 to film on Sunday, instead.” The director realized the actor was serious about not being able to film on Saturday, and changed the filming schedule.
Of course, my father occasionally liked to go out of his way to emphasize his ‘Jewishness.’ Also early in his career, when someone (an agent?) recommended that he change his first name because Simon sounded “too Jewish.” He agreed, and changed it to ‘Shimon.’

In spite of this, Mr. Gould is also right that there are plenty of people who would be happy to see Jews gone from Hollywood, just as many would like us to see us gone from Wall Street, medicine and law (all professions that Jews wound up in because they were prevented from being in the metalworking and woodworking guilds back in the 1600s). It's one reason some people don't believe, and resent Jews referring to themselves as "2% of the U.S. population." How can that be when we seem to be overrepresented in certain fields (but not only the top fields; apparently more than 2% of U.S. Federal prison inmates are Jewish). What must be true is a statement attributed to Jackie Mason: "Jews are like everyone else -- only more so."

My Nephew, Eliyahu, the Fire Eater!

2011-11-10T04:45:00.000-08:00

Don't try this at home!

CROSSWALK PRESS LAUNCHES ITS SECOND BOOK

2011-11-09T19:57:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday was the launch for my publishing company, Crosswalk Press's, second book. Cook the Part was created by Karin Eastham, former CFO of The Burnham Institute. Her book is a new type of cookbook that focuses on "team cooking," that is dinner parties prepared by groups of 8-12 people. Gather a group of friends and cook together, or schedule a team-building event focused on cooperation in the kitchen. The event was held at the Fairbanks Ranch Clubhouse.

In keeping with the theme of the book, many of us prepared dishes from the cookbooks for all the guests to enjoy. I made chocolate chipotle brownies from Cook the Part. The brownies are sweet, contain beer-soaked raisins, and have a slight hint of spiciness. Left, Patty Mekita with Cook the Part apple struesel cake. Yum.

Karin spoke about making the transition from the Boardroom to the Kitchen sooner than the 10 year plan she had announced in 2008. Here she is welcoming her guests, flanked by her husband, Gary, the great man behind the great woman.

The unique artwork created for the book was done by Salt Lake City artist Traci O'Very Covey, who flew in for the event.

And a good time was had by all!

Crosswalk Press' next book will be The Bitch and the Glass Ceiling: Shattering Through with Respect-Centric Leadership, by Rhonda F. Rhyne. Coming in 2012. Here, below, are my 2 partners in Crosswalk Press: Rhonda Rhyne (left), and Karin Eastham.

Stay tuned for Rhonda's book launch in 2012.

Photos by Patty Mekita

Report from the Symposium on Moral Courage

2011-11-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I attended the Initiative for MoralCourage’s first Symposium at SDSU. It opened with “The Rescuers,” a photographic exhibit with statements from people who assisted targets of the Nazis, and the genocides of Rwanda, Bosnia and Cambodia. Leora Kahn, a Fellow in the Genocide Studies Center at Yale University who organized the exhibit, discussed the criteria for being identified as a “Rescuer.” The exhibit and the program use the same standards as those used at Yad Vashem, a “living memorial to the Holocaust,” located in Jerusalem. To be considered a Rescuer, the individual cannot have gained from his actions, received any money, or have killed anyone while protecting the persecuted. There was also a discussion of What constitutes Moral Courage? whether it involves standing up to academic fraud, military rule, or the expectations of the establishment. It is a matter of not asking permission to do the right thing.

The following day, investigative author Edwin Black, author of the “The War Against the Weak,” (he also wrote “IBM and the Holocaust”), revealed that the eugenics movement that Hitler institutionalized in Nazi Germany was developed in the U.S. with the support of Harvard, Stanford, Yale, the American Medical Association, etc. The ‘plan’ for this program was to eliminate the bottom 10% of the population (based on a biased test of intelligence) to create a better society. In this program, poverty was considered a genetic trait that needed to be eliminated through forced sterilization and even plans for a gas chamber. Not only chilling, but frightening that this fact is so little known.

Black’s talk was followed by one about the Armenian Genocide, given by Dr. Richard Houvannisian at UCLA. He noted that the Holocaust is the only genocide that has entered into human (as opposed to ethnic) history, and history books, while that of the Armenians by the Turks is little known. It is still a crime in Turkey to talk about the Armenian genocide.

As I listened to each of these talks, which was followed by one about the African Genocides, and the talk of “Rescuers,” I realized that when my father’s family escaped from Germany in 1938, they, too, had been hidden by their neighbors for about 6 weeks, and I had never asked about who those people were. My father passed away 7 years ago, but his two younger sisters are still living, so I emailed one of them to ask if she knew the names of those neighbors. Although I have not yet heard back, I expect that she was too young to know their names. If, by chance, she or my other aunt remember any of the people who had protected them, I want to track down their descendents to thank them. I can’t believe that it never occurred to me to ask.

Are there people who protected some one in your family in a similar way? Ask, and let’s find those people who, at their own risk, did what they felt was right and just, without any expectation of return, not even acknowledgement, but shouldn’t we recognize those individuals who had the Moral Courage to do what was right?

"The Rescuers" exhibit will be open for public viewing until November 24 at SDSU's Love Library.

Stuff Your Face -- and Feed Someone Else's Belly, Too

2011-10-27T18:09:00.000-07:00

In my spare time, I work to promote Mama's Kitchen, a San Diego non-profit organization that prepares and delivers nutritious meals for critically ill San Diegans who are physically, emotionally, or financially, unable to provide for themselves. The need for this service became apparent when Mama’s Kitchen predecessor, the AIDS Assistance Fund, observed that immuno-compromised patients were dying of malnutrition before their immune systems failed.

Since 1990, Mama’s Kitchen has provided three meals a day, three hundred and sixty five days a year, to clients who have been referred by their case managers or physicians, and has now delivered over 5 million meals. The program not only provides balanced nutrition -- for some AIDS and cancer patients, the volunteers who deliver their meals may be the only human interaction.

Mama's Kitchen relies on volunteers and contributions, and one of its most popular programs is the annual Pie-in-the-Sky fundraiser. Over 20 local restaurants, hotels and caterers are donating hundreds of pumpkin, pecan, apple and sugar-free apple pies for Mama's Kitchen to sell for $20 each for Thanksgiving. The pies, which must be ordered in advance, will be available for pickup at 20 convenient pickup sites around San Diego county the day before Thanksgiving. That $20 is enough to provide 6 meals to those individuals who depend upon Mama's Kitchen for their sustenance.

If getting a delicious pie baked by one of San Diego's fine bakers -- including The French Gourmet, the San Diego Culinary Institute, Jenny Wenny Cakes, Twiggs Bakery and Coffeehouse, JRDN and the Andaz hotel among others -- and supporting Mama's Kitchen weren't enough, this year, if you order your pie by November 1, you'll also automatically be entered to win a set of Sam the Cooking Guy's cookbooks, which he will personalize for you.

Make your, or your host's, Thanksgiving a little easier and more delicious with a pie from one of Mama's Kitchen generous bakers by ordering at http://mamaspies.org/index.cfm. And while you feast, someone who otherwise wouldn't have food will be able to eat, too.

The Initiative for Moral Courage

2011-10-19T13:37:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to sit down with Jackie Gmach, a dynamic woman with a passion for education that can change lives and possibly change the world. This native of Tunisia, where the Arab Spring began, founded the San Diego Jewish Book Fair, now one of the largest Jewish Book Fairs in the country.

She 'retired' last year, but in name, only, as she has now brought an even greater vision to life in a new program, The Initiative forMoral Courage (IMC), which is holding its first Symposium from October 24-November 2, 2011 in San Diego. Most of the events of the Symposium are free, and open to the public.

Gmach has assembled an International Advisory Board whose names and affiliations point to the recognized importance of identifying, acknowledging and celebrating the actions of individuals who uphold moral and ethical standards, even at risk to their own lives. Their examples could inspire others to take a stand, too.

The Initiative, whose home is at San Diego State University, includes among its partners SDSU's Jewish Studies Program and Department of Religious Studies, which is offering an Honors program on Moral Courage in what may become a new course of study.

The idea grew out a model at Yad Vashem in Israel, the world center for the documentation, research, education and commemoration of the Holocaust. Since 1962, Yad Vashem has recognized the actions of non-Jews who, at great personal risk, saved the lives of European Jews. They are honored with the title “Righteous Among the Nations”.

The Initiative for Moral Courage focuses on “The New Righteous”, those who, in the recent past as well as today, saved the lives of the oppressed out of the strength of their convictions and moral courage. Modern history has presented several such opportunities, including the genocides in Armenia, Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Cambodia, some of which will be discussed during the Symposium. “It is important for society to recognize those righteous individuals who emerge,” said Gmach, “as their efforts ensure that incidents like the Holocaust can never occur, again.” The Initiative will examine a range of issues related to the subject of moral courage under the broader rubric of contemporary global ethics.

The objective of the Initiative for Moral Courage is both modest and ambitious: "If just one person who attends the Symposium or studies moral courage has the strength to stand up for what is moral and just, whatever the cause, then we will have achieved our goal," said Gmach. Is that intention too humble? No, because a single righteous individual has the power to save many times his own number, as well as inspire others to do the same. At a time in our history when suffering is all around us and we may feel helpless to change the status quo, it is important to recognize those individuals who have the moral courage to take a stand.

The Symposium opens October 24 with an exhibition of The Rescuers, a photographic exhibit that will be on display on the main floor of the SDSU library throughout the Symposium. The exhibit consists of extraordinary stories about ordinary heroes "who resisted overwhelming tides of prejudice and violence to risk their lives saving members from enemy groups. It helps to understand the presence of rescue behavior during genocide or mass violence.” Wednesday, October 26, will feature a musical program: Music and Resistance, based upon melodies from a 1931 cantor's book that was found in an abandoned synagogue in Romania. The Rescuers exhibit will be available for viewing through November 2.

The main event, The Symposium on Genocides, Past and Present, will take place on Sunday, October 30, from 1:00-5:15 p.m., and will feature speakers on the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, and the African Genocide. It will conclude with reflections on the Symposium by Leora Kahn, Fellow at the
Center for Genocide Studies at Yale University, and Dr. Stephen Smith, Director of the Shoah Foundation at the University of Southern California.

The Symposium is FREE and open to the public. For further information, please contact: Jackie Gmach, Community Outreach Director, jgmach@projects.sdsu.edu, 858-382-3254, or visit http://moralcourage.sdsu.edu/preliminaryproposal.html for detailed information.

Yom Kipper Reflections

2011-10-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

Today was Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement, a day on which we conclude 10 days of repentance for our sins of the previous year . It is also a day on which we particularly remember our lost loved one through the prayer, Yizkor.

When I was a kid, parents always shooed their children out of the Synagogue when it was time to recite the prayer because it was deemed frightening for children to see adults cry. And for most of my adult life it was not a prayer I said. This year, in addition to remembering my father who passed away 7 years ago, I remembered my nephew, Ilan Tokayer, who was taken from us this part March, at the age of 25. Although I had shed many tears over him when I learned he had passed away and since then, a poem I read today in the prayerbook brought back the loss that his family and friends still feel:

We Remember Them, by Sylvan Kamens and Rabbi Jack Riemer,
At the rising of the sun and at its going down
We remember them.
At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter
We remember them.
At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring
We remember them....

When people have real influence in life, their memory never leaves us, unlike the way we sometimes realize that we don't know if certain celebrities who once glowed brightly are dead or alive. But Ilan made a difference in his short life, which was easy to discern by the fact that 1000 people came to his funeral in New Jersey, and another 1000 people came to his burial in Israel.

What made me think about Ilan's legacy was the recent death of Steve Jobs, whose influence everyone has been commemorating over the past few days. The words I heard used most frequently used to describe him were "visionary" and "relentless," and his effect on society is undeniable. Although there were exceptions, few people talked about Jobs' impact as a human being, as a husband, father, or close friend. I don't point this out to detract anything from the famously private Jobs; I only mention it to highlight that the gentle soul who was Ilan left a different king of lasting influence.

Much as Steve Jobs' frequently quoted speech to the graduates of Stanford exhorts us to consider, at every moment, whether we are doing what we want to be doing with our lives, the memory of Ilan exhorts me, and the many people he touched, to ask ourselves Are we living the life of the kind of human being we can be proud to be? Ilan touched many peoples' lives, but he touched them all individually, and on different levels -- emotional, spiritual, creative, and many others. And I suspect that the people who were privileged to know him will keep asking ourselves the question of whether we're living up to the model he exemplified of what a human being can become, and how he changed the world.

In remembering Ilan, I'd like to cite one more poem, this from Hannah Senesh: "There are stars whose light reaches the earth only after they themselves have disintegrated. And there are individuals whose memory lights the world after they have passed from it. These lights shine in the darkest night and illumine for us the path."

SPECIAL PROMOTION IN HONOR OF THE JEWISH NEW YEAR

2011-09-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

From now through the Jewish Holidays, buy a copy of The Accidental Anarchist from my website and get a coupon with instructions to download the ebook FREE. Give a signed copy of the book as a gift and keep the ebook for yourself, or keep both!

Order at http://tinyurl.com/GetFreeAADownload

I Don't Know How He Does It

2011-09-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

I don't find enough time to finish all the things that I need to do, so how is it that my son, Jesse, can accomplish everything that needs to be done -- and then some? In addition to being a full-time student at NYU Tisch's @CliveDavisInst of Recorded Music (and he doesn't miss class), and a full-time musician (composer, performer, arranger, orchestrator, band manager and business manager for multiple bands; see http://www.jessekranzler.com/), he also found time to organize a fundraiser for UCSD's Che Cafe, a performance venue in San Diego that Jesse calls a "creativity inspiring space," where a lot of bands get their start. http://sandiegouniontribune.ca.newsmemory.com/publink.php?shareid=674c58e33.

Che Cafe is on the verge of being shut down unless it can raise $12,000 by March to pay its insurance premium, so Jesse has arranged for a 3-night music festival, with a different genre of music to be performed each night, to beheld January 6-8, 2011. To make a donation, go to checafebenefit at tumbler.com.

A Modern Application of String Theory

2011-09-18T20:46:00.000-07:00

My kids always accused me of circumlocution, of talking around a point before getting to the point, and I'm about to prove them correct again.

This weekend, I attended Tedx La Jolla, during which one speaker described the 'strings' of string theory as tiny particles that vibrate, and through those vibrations connect to each other. That led me into a conversation with someone about 'energy,' and how one can feel that energy in certain circumstances and know that it will affect the outcome. On a very plebian level, I can tell you that I felt it on the occasion of my son's last high school football game. When the team ran out onto the field, I didn't feel a confident energy, an energy that would have led them to win, and they didn't.

Not long after Tedx, I received an email about a Prayer Circle, or Healing Service to be held tonight for a friend, Jan, with glioblastoma (GBM), who will undergo her 2nd brain surgery tomorrow morning. This Healing Service called for women to come together to pray for our friend's health, safety and ultimate recovery with the goal of transmitting that energy, filled with positive thoughts and wishes, to Jan.

My intellectual energy was there, and my emotional energy was there, but I didn't have the spiritual energy that many other people in attendance had, but I hope that the prayers, hopes and wishes of over 100 women, some of whom don't even know Jan (including the woman I was talking to at Tedx about energy and string theory) will help her through tomorrow's surgery and her recovery over the weeks, months and hopefully years to come.

Kensington Library Talk

2011-09-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

I had a great time speaking at the Kensington Library in San Diego this past weekend. It wasn't a large audience, but a very well-read one (as you might expect) with a particular interest in history. They enjoyed hearing about my grandfather being an "eyewitness to history."

Having One of Those Intensely Frustrating Days When Everything Goes Wrong

2011-09-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

The last straw was a call for which I needed to look up my account number. No problem. Except that I had so many damn windows open on my computer that it was running ungodly slowly. And the more I tried to shut down programs to free up memory, the more it got locked up.

The kicker was that just as I got the website to open, Verizon dropped my call!

Times like these I know I should just call it a day and go for a walk, but now I'm further behind in everything I was trying to do.

My sympathies to everyone who has experienced the same.

Catching Up

2011-08-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

I've been away for a few weeks, so I've been remiss in updating the blog. But the first thing I want to report on is my niece's wedding in Florida, which I attended a little over a week ago. She's the daughter of my youngest brother, an ultra-orthodox rabbi and teacher in Miami, and is the oldest daughter of 5 kids (her younger brother just had his bar mitzvah about a month ago). Naturally, I had to try hard to fit in, wearing a longish (below the knees) dress with a sweater because it was sleeveless). I more or less got by, but no one there made me feel out of place; in fact, they seemed quite happy that I attended, even people whom I hadn't met before (but many of whom recognized me from my picture on the back of the book. I was surprised that so many people attending the wedding had read it, especially since my mother had considered it too "sexy" to be read by my nieces (who don't show the slightest indication of having been corrupted by reading it).

It was about 23 years ago that I attended my brother's wedding in Florida in much the same setting. At the time, my oldest son was only 9 months old, and I hadn't yet had a full night's sleep since he'd been born. I remember taking him into the bathroom in the synagogue to change his diaper (he had been wearing a very cute, red white and blue knit sailor suit, with a beret that had a pom-pom on top, for some reason) and a woman who walked in began to kvell (Yiddish word for 'delight') when she saw him. And she immediately asked when I was going to have the next one. I told her I couldn't imagine having another one any time soon because the first was so hard. She agreed, and said, "I know; I have 13. And yes, the first 6 were hard." (Her point being that after 6 children, the kids raised each other).

Fascinating Analysis of the Brain on Musical Improvision

2011-08-13T18:32:00.000-07:00

Scenes for my talk to the Beth Jacob Sisterhood in Beverly Hills

2011-07-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

Carmageddon -- A Traffic Jam in Search of Motorists

2011-07-17T17:17:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness it was all for naught. Either all the dire warnings (stay in your home! Don't come anywhere near LA this weekend -- We're closed!) worked, or ... actually, I'm not sure what else it could be as on a 'normal' day, LA traffic is a white-knuckle nightmare.

But instead of this:

We had this:

(Take a good look, since you'll never see an LA freeway look like that again).

So it seem I spent the weekend in Culver City for nothing...

Well, That Was Dumb!

2011-07-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

Last week I was in Florida to attend my nephew's bar mitzvah. I was there, but didn't make it.

Foolish me: I decided that I didn't want to miss my daily workout, and not having access to a gym, I figured that a walk would be a good alternative. I didn't walk fast, but long -- 1-1/2 hours. Unfortunately, I did this at the hottest time of day, though I didn't realize it was a problem at the time. But during this walk, I drank 3 bottles of water. When I returned to the house, I drank another bottle of water. I felt fine.

About 3-4 hours later, shortly before I needed to get dressed for the bar mitzvah, I stopped in at Best Buy in Aventura to buy a new power cord for my laptop, as my power cord was failing, and I knew I wouldn't make it home with access to my computer without it.

Suddenly, I felt very dizzy. It didn't help that the sales person I asked for assistance just pointed toward a wall and said "Over there." I headed for customer service, and by then I was ready to pass out. They weren't particularly interested, but one girl found a bottle of cold water and gave it to me. I drank it, but felt no better.

It was about an hour before I felt it was safe to stand up. During this time, I called my son, who was just leaving a job interview, to come get me. He drove up with food (that he made me eat even though I told him I had eaten and wasn't hungry) and a few more bottles of fluids. (He's very protective).

I was fine the next day, but I did miss the bar mitzvah... However I get to go back again next month for my niece's wedding, and I will NOT exert myself except under air-conditioned conditions!

A Ten Questions-Interview Appears in Today's La Jolla Light

2011-07-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

Bryna Kranzler Returns to Her Writing Career with Book on Her Grandad

Thank you to everyone who came to my book signing today

2011-07-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

A Review from Last Year that I Never Knew About

2011-07-08T15:42:00.000-07:00

So much for Google Alerts!

Read the review in the San Diego Jewish World

Amazon Has Caught Up with the Temporary Discount

2011-07-07T14:59:00.000-07:00

The price of The Accidental Anarchist ebook has been reduced to $1.99 for one week only, ending July 10. All ebook formats are available, either at Amazon.com, Smashwords.com or my website.

Continuing in the Spirit of Freedom

2011-07-05T09:28:00.000-07:00

July 4 over too soon for your tastes? Mine too. So I'm offering a discounted price of only $1.99 on the ebook of The Accidental Anarchist until July 10, only.

The paperback version of the book is always available at a 15% discount through my Facebook store.

I Am a Leading Adopter of Computer Viruses

2011-06-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

When it comes to catching the latest computer virus, I am a leading adopter. Just caught the new javascript bug that's going around. Even the guys who know about it and can remove it (SohoTech in San Diego) don't know exactly on which ordinary activity/website it is a stowaway just waiting to be activated again.

But I've got a great idea for something that these obviously talented virus creators should be doing instead of complicating our lives: Cripple Al-Qaeda. Then their efforts would warrant a Congressional Medal of Honor instead of jail time.

Yale Closes One Program on Anti-Semitism; Opens Another

2011-06-27T16:46:00.000-07:00

Yale University launches new program on anti-Semitism

By JORDANA HORN JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT
06/22/2011 03:12

The school is "not willing to engage in a comprehensive examination of the current crisis facing living Jews," says head of scrapped program.

NEW YORK – After summarily closing the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism (YIISA) earlier this month, Yale University has announced the creation of the Yale Program for the Study of Anti-Semitism (YPSA), a program devoted to “serious scholarly discourse and research” on anti-Semitism and its manifestations.

The new program was announced by a letter from Yale University Provost Peter Salovey this week. “I am hopeful that this program will produce major scholarship on the vitally important subject of anti-Semitism,” Salovey wrote.

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Reactions to the announcement varied. Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham Foxman released a statement saying the ADL is “satisfied that Yale University understood the critical importance for continuing an institute for the study and research of anti-Semitism.”

While describing the ADL as “disappointed” that YIISA’s director, Dr. Charles Small, would not be involved in YPSA, Foxman said the ADL is “confident that the study program will continue to strengthen its status, importance and significance in combating global anti-Semitism.”

“We hope that the decision to close the Yale Interdisciplinary Initiative was only a blip, and that in the long run this reconfigured approach will help to stabilize and strengthen the study of anti- Semitism at Yale,” Foxman’s statement read.

Others were more skeptical. YIISA’s former executive director and founder Charles Small said the announcement of the new program “underscores [his] greatest concern about the university’s vision for the study of this subject,” which is that Yale has chosen to examine past, rather than present and future, anti-Semitism.

“Anti-Semitism is a 21st-century relevant issue,” Small said in a statement.

“To focus on its roots and history, glosses over issues scholars must address today, especially when it comes to the threat of contemporary radical Islamist anti-Semitism.”

Emphasis on Yale’s library and archival resources, Small said, only “underlines its inability to engage its focus on contemporary forms of genocidal anti-Semitism which is an urgent threat, not only to the Jewish people, but to democratic values and principles.

“It appears that Yale, unlike YIISA, is not willing to engage in a comprehensive examination of the current crisis facing living Jews, but instead is comfortable with reexamining the plight of Jews who perished at the hands of anti-Semites,” Small’s statement read. “The role of a true scholar and intellectual is to shed light where there is darkness, which is why we at YIISA are committed to critically engaged scholarship with a broader approach to the complex, and at times controversial context of contemporary global anti-Semitism.”

The conference “Global Anti-Semitism: A Crisis of Modernity,” held by YIISA at Yale’s campus in New Haven, Connecticut, in August 2010, exemplifies this ethos – but also may have brought the ax down on the program, as many sources who preferred to remain anonymous conjectured that the conference’s condemnation of anti-Semitism in Muslim nations may have alienated prospective Yale donors, to Yale’s chagrin.

Similar points were made about YIISA’s research on Iranian Holocaust denial.

Kenneth Marcus, director of the Anti- Semitism Initiative at the Institute for Jewish and Community Research in San Francisco, told The Jerusalem Post he was concerned that “Yale may be killing a forward-looking, critically engaged institution and replacing it with a quieter, more historically-minded center.

“This would not be a problem if anti- Semitism were a mere historical problem. Given the recent resurgence of global anti-Semitism, a more active scholarly response is necessary.”

“YIISA is in conversation with several academic institutions that understand the importance of our mission and they have expressed interest in YIISA becoming part of their academic community,” Small said in his press release. “I wish YPSA success in their efforts, we are all colleagues on a subject matter with profound implications.”

Delta's New Alliance with Saudi Arabian Airlines Expected to Result in Ban on Jewish Passengers

2011-06-24T10:59:00.000-07:00

Reprinted from The Jewish Week, June 24, 2011

Outrage Over Delta Saudi 'No Jews' Flights

A partnership between Delta Air Lines and Saudi Arabian Airlines will lead to what critics are calling “Jew-free flights,” with Delta barring passengers who openly identify themselves as Jews or have passports stamped with an Israeli entrance or exit visa.

The two carriers became partners in January, when the government-owned Saudi airline joined SkyTeam, the global alliance that includes Delta and more than a dozen other companies. But the story broke this week on a right-wing blog and has spread to other, more mainstream publications, igniting a controversy and putting Delta officials on the defensive.

Although Jews have traveled to Saudi Arabia for business, anecdotal evidence suggests that the kingdom has withheld visas from travelers with Jewish-sounding names. The country also bans anyone with an Israeli stamp in their passport and, in accordance with strict Islamic law, requires women entering the kingdom to be dressed modestly. In addition, say critics of the partnerships, religious articles unrelated to Islam are banned from Saudi Arabia.

For Delta’s part, a spokesman for the airline said the carrier doesn’t discriminate, nor does it condone discrimination against anyone on the basis of race, nationality, religion or gender. At the same time, international airlines “are required to comply with all applicable laws governing entry into every country” they serve, according to the spokesman, Trebor Banstetter. He also noted that those requirements are dictated by the country’s government, not by the airlines, saying, in effect, that such matters are beyond Delta’s control.
But Jeffrey Lovitky, a Washington attorney who has contacted Delta officials and board members to protest the agreement, told The Jewish Week Thursday that their decision to form an alliance with Saudi Arabian Airlines was “purely voluntary” and something they could control.

A flight to Saudi Arabia “is essentially a Jew-free flight,” Lovitky said, adding that his assertion is “common knowledge” among professionals in the travel industry. “No individual can admit to being Jewish and still be permitted on that flight.” It’s inconceivable that Delta wasn’t aware of that discrimination, he said, and it’s even more astounding that the company’s officials “thought it prudent to enter an alliance with a carrier that practices such policies.”

Questions remain about what the alliance would entail. Lovitky, for instance, said that such partnerships involve “co-shared” flights, in which each flight would carry a Delta number and a number from the other airline, and the pooling of certain services, including reservations. Defenders of Delta, however, say the airline won’t be sharing flights with Saudi Arabian Airlines or operating flights to or from the kingdom.
Neither Delta nor any other American carrier currently has flights to Saudi Arabia, although United, American and Continental are all parts of alliances with European carriers, such as British Airways and Lufthansa, that do. Noting that, some people have said that singling out Delta is unfair.

But Lovitky differs, saying that “part of the problem” is the Saudi airline itself. British Airways and Lufthansa “don’t have discriminatory hiring practices,” he added, but he’s sure that the Saudi carrier wouldn’t hire Jewish crew members.
- - -
If the U.S. bans discriminatory practices, should an American company be allowed to partner with one that actively 'discriminates'? What do you think?

A Glorious Opportunity to Play a Stereotypical Jewish Mother

2011-06-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

Last week, my youngest son, Jesse, came home to handle some "business" and begin his West Coast tour with his and another band. For the first few days, it was only Jesse with his bandmates from Town Hall (folk music; quite a distance from Jesse's previous main band - Witt - which played "Math Rock"), and on Friday the second band, The Relatives, arrived. Almost all of them attend NYU together, which is where they hooked up.

It was so great having a full house of such nice kids who are so easy to talk to. They didn't treat me like I was from another generation or another planet, and I really enjoyed their company.

And I got to be a stereotypical Jewish mother (except that I don't dispense guilt) for a few days, constantly feeding them, which college kids on a budget really like. As they are all vegetarian, we had pancakes, french toast, waffles, bagels and fruit for breakfast; quinoa-black bean salad, lentil salad, tomato-mozzarella salad and sourdough baguette for lunch. One night I took them out to dinner at a fantastic San Diego vegetarian restaurant -- Spread -- which we all enjoyed a lot; another night they went out on their own; and the final night I made Jesse's favorite pasta dish, which went over well with everyone: Penne, feta and broccoli, with an herb salad, garlic bread, and any extra tomato-mozzarella salad. I would have made pots de creme for dessert but my stove broke the first morning everyone was here, which eliminated pancakes and french toast but allowed for waffles.

As I kept bringing out platter after platter of food, they all said that I didn't need to do so much for them, that any one dish would have made a great meal, but Jesse explained that he and his brother didn't eat breakfast or let me cook for them once they had their drivers' licenses, so this was all the pent-up cooking I had wanted to do for several years (he knows me well).

When they finally had to leave to continue their tour , which began in San Diego (with the special, surprise appearance of Witt), I was prepared with cases of water, Pellegrino water with orange and lemon, and Squirt (a future corporate sponsor of the band); a case of granola bars, a case of fruit cups, dehydrated fruit, cheezits (which was by special request), pop chips, red licorice, and several more things I can't remember. Jesse can't asking me to stop because the cars were so full, what with having to accommodate people, luggage, and band gear, but a few of the kids helped me fit more stuff into each crevice of the car. A few cans of Squirt remain at home for Jesse's stopover at the end of the tour before he returns to NY.

Once they left, I was still on a high from having them, but the exhaustion also caught up with me. Thank goodness my dishwasher, which never in its life ran 4 loads a day, held up.

I hope they come back through San Diego again. I'm already planning meals for their next visit.

Which is the Greater Indignity of Aging: Wrinkles, or Falling Behind on Technology?

2011-06-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

I swore it would never happen to me, I would never become part of the 'older generation' who couldn't get the hang of that new-fangled technology. I can open up my PC and add or replace boards or memory; I can run (if not understand) computer diagnostic tests and fix my own computer, and I perform regular maintenance on it so as not to fall behind. I certainly don't shy away from new things.

But I began to worry that I was becoming like 'them' when it became necessary for me to begin using Twitter. It wasn't a problem of 'How,' but rather of 'Why.' Part of the problem was that I resisted it but for the good reason that I did not need another distraction, which all of social networking is likely to be for someone like me who gets distracted easily.

It wasn't, however, until this week that I finally met my match. I had prepared a direct mail campaign that was going to be sent out to a small, targeted email list. The gentleman who runs the email company was kind enough to advise me that, instead of sending out a letter, I should design my pitch for maximum visual content, ie, create a web page. OK; I hadn't done that before but I knew that people did it all the time. I could learn. And I quickly found a site called Wix.com which purported to have easy tools for creating web pages. Great. It wasn't exactly 'easy,' but I finally accomplished it. Only to learn that all I could do with the page was upload it for hosting by Wix. No way to transfer it, copy it or do anything else with it. And I couldn't find or figure out any other way to create an HTML page to give to the mailing company.

I was at a loss, so I asked each of my kids for advice. (Of course, I didn't really understand it). But, fingers crossed, between the two of them I 'might' just be able to accomplish what I want. Just in case, does anyone have a suggestion for me on where/how I can create a standalone web page that I can transfer to someone else?

I await the advice of the younger and more experienced among you.

Learning the Hard Way

2011-05-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

Who knew? Without a driver's license, you might as well not exist.

I made the mistake of misplacing/losing my purse the day before I left for New York. I was positive it was in the house, but no one could find it. I retraced my steps the day it went missing, and called each one but no one had seen it. So I grabbed my passport for ID and headed to the airport. Good enough, right?

Not if you want to rent a car, apparently. I only realized as I was on my way -- literally in the air -- to Ft. Lauderdale to speak at the Women's Conference for Conservative Judaism.

I suspected that not having a driver's license would be a problem. But I had my passport. And even better, I knew my driver's license number! (I know that's weird, but I also still remember the phone number of the first house I ever lived in, from age 3 on, xx years ago, and yes, it was already a 10 digit phone number back then). I thought I'd save the rental agency some trouble by going directly to the California DMV website and try to pull up my license, but there's no such option. So I kept my fingers crossed, waited in line for half an hour, smiled brightly at the representative who was free -- who told me very kindly that there was no way that anyone would rent me a car without my license, knowing the license number notwithstanding. In fact, even if someone else rented a car for me, the car rental police would never let me out of the rental garage without my license.

Now my purse had turned up by then -- in San Diego -- but I was in NY at the time, making do with a Ziploc bag as a wall; there nothing I could do about it then, so I agreed to leave it in the safekeeping of the manager's locker until I returned (I had forgotten that we ran out to dinner at 5 Guys the night of the "Day the Purse Went Missing"). But I hadn't realized the urgency of having my license until too late. But surely having the license number... I seem to recall once getting stopped by a cop when I didn't have my license on me -- maybe we were going to the beach (and if it's the time I'm thinking of, that's a story unto itself!) -- but knowing my driver's license number back then was good enough. But it wasn't good enough for Budget Rent-a-Car (not that I blame them)..

I'll spare you the rigmarole of seeing if I could borrow my in-laws' car while they were out of town; I could -- except that I had no way of getting to their apartment (and would have been an exorbitant cab ride). I ended up having to ask my sister-in-law if she would rent the car for me and add me as an additional driver. Worked out fine -- once we found each other at the airport rental counter; it hadn't occurred to me that she, as a Florida resident, had never needed to rent a car at the airport before, and the Ft. Lauderdale airport has an entire, 4-story building that you have to take a bus to, and which she'd never had reason to know about before. But once we found each other, she got through almost all the paperwork BUT still needed my driver's license to add me as an additional driver...

Back to square one. I was embarrassed to do so, but had no choice other than to ask her if she would rent the car for herself (with me paying for it, of course) so I could borrow her car, and that's what we ended up doing. My sister-in-law was so gracious about it all; I'm just plain exhausted. I ought to get some sleep before I speak tomorrow. And it would be nice if my throat didn't hurt in the morning like it did today, but I don't expect to get everything I want. Wish me luck.

Speaking Tonight at the Museum of Tolerance in NY

2011-05-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

The Museum is located at 226 East 42nd Street between 2nd and 3rd avenues. If you're in town, come join us. I speak at 6:30 p.m.

Will We Never Learn?

2011-05-09T15:31:00.000-07:00

We've heard it so many times that it has become 'white noise,' but if there were ever a time to learn that History Repeats Itself, and those who don't learn its lessons are condemned to repeat it, it is now. The same political, social and economic conditions that led to the Russian Revolutions of 1905 (unsuccessful) and 1917 (successful) exist in the African countries currently undergoing revolution. It's so formulaic that it's predictable:

Political: Dominance of an individual, family or party for decades to centuries +Social: Suppression of political dissent + Economic: High unemployment = Revolution for change.

Take a look at Libya where Qadaffi has ruled for 41 years. The unemployment rate is 30% (and that's only because 10-20% of the population works in surveillance for the government. In Egypt, 90% of the population, which is Muslim, has been prevented from having political influence, despite their obvious majority. Similarly, Bahrain's government is Suni while 70% of the population is Shia, and the ruling family has been in power for around 200 years. Yemen has been under autocratic rule for 32 years, living conditions are poor, and a large percentage of the population is uneducated or illiterate. And in Tunisia a street vendor set himself on fire to draw attention to the fact that the government wasn't allowing him to make a living.

There have been demonstrations, possible precursors to revolution, in Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Morocco, and people are talking about Angola being the next country to have a revolution. And now the uprisings in Syria are becoming more violent (http://tinyurl.com/43ajop5).Why don't "we" (the countries that assume some responsibility for restoring 'order' and 'democratic' rule, get involved earlier, when there may be opportunity for change instead of bloodshed? (I know; it's easy to say, but as world leaders watch governments fall, they might be more receptive to preemptive change).

I'll have more to say about this topic in upcoming posts. (And to think, someone once told me that I was wishy-washy, and needed to form some strong opinions!)

I Have Been Guilty of Stereotyping, Too

2011-05-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago when I wrote about my late nephew, I remarked on how unusual it was for his parents, who are Orthodox, to have let their son pursue the non-traditional (for a nice Jewish boy) career as a winemaker. It wasn't as if he left Torah behind, though. He had studied in Yeshiva in Israel in conjunction with being in the army, and maintained all the Orthodox practices (that was a given). But what it took me a while to realize (and even longer to get down to writing about) was that I had completely forgotten that my own brother, an ultra-Orthodox rabbi, and his wife, have children who, even if they aren't pursuing non-traditional careers, certainly have excelled in non-traditional extra curricular areas. My 3 nieces, now aged 15, 17 & 19, had, by 2 years ago, each earned her black belt in karate. Definitely not something I saw while I was growing up. I don't know how long it takes to earn a black belt, but the sisters started on the process together and reached the same level of achievement together. There is no way you would guess from looking at these young women, modestly dressed with long sleeves and long skirts, had hands that could be used as lethal weapons. And their older brother, now 21, is quite accomplished as a magician, not just in performing sleights of hand but even inventing new tricks. When I went to see them about 2 weeks ago when they were visiting my mother, my nephew showed me a publication for magicians (I didn't take much note of the title because I knew I wouldn't remember it) in which his trick had been published.

So whereas I had operated from the assumption that everyone Orthodox followed a straight, or conventional, (which is actually the meaning of 'orthodox') path -- toward law, medicine or Talmudic study, for boys, and teaching for girls) there is a wider range of practices and opportunities that some families provide for their kids. And it isn't to the exclusion of being religiously observant; rather it is on the side, an opportunity to do things that a lot of kids take for granted as being available to them, and have applied the same diligence to their hobbies as they have to their studies, and excel there, too.

My youngest nephew, only 12, hasn't defined his unusual calling, but once he does, I have no doubt that he will excel at it, too.

Just Noticed This

2011-04-20T22:19:00.000-07:00

The Accidental Anarchist

#3 Top Rated in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > History > Russia
#7 Top Rated in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > History > Asia > Japan

I Haven't Been Keeping This Site Sufficiently Up To Date

2011-04-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, of course, I'm busy; we all are. But if you can find time to read this blog, I owe you the courtesy of updating it more regularly. And it's not as if there aren't relevant things to share, but sometimes I don't allow the blog post to rise high enough in my daily priority list.

But while I mull over the contents of another entry that I've been contemplating, I want to share a wonderful experience I had last night at a friend's dinner party.

This was no ordinary "dinner party." It was goal-oriented as my friend, Karin Eastham, is in the process of writing a cookbook ("Cook the Part") that is designed for people who enjoy (even if they have never tried) making dinner with friends. Rather than being faced with the question, "What can I do to help?" she composed a series of menus and organizes all the steps of the dinner so that every one (or every 'team,' as we did it last night), has a specific objective or responsibility, which is laid out clearly.

In this case, the objective was to prepare a Tuscan Farmhouse Dinner that we would all enjoy that same evening. There were 4 teams, each with specific responsibilities. My team was responsible for preparing the marinade for the chicken that another team would prepare. We also made a tomato/mozzarella (burata) salad (a variation from the planned menu because our hostess found amazing heirloom tomatoes), and sliced and seasoned zucchini for grilling. Other teams were responsible for flattening and grilling the boneless chicken breasts and grilling the zucchini; making the Tuscan white beans; and preparing the fallen chocolate souffle.

The food was great, but the best part was meeting a group of highly accomplished women who didn't feel the need to talk about work to define themselves, but about living life. that was why, even though it was a "school night," we didn't break to go home until after 11 p.m. Had it been a weekend, we might have continued through the night (or at least until the wine ran out).

In Case You Missed the Interview on Monday Night...

2011-03-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

You can now hear it now at:

http://tinyurl.com/UnconventionalWisdom1 and

http://tinyurl.com/UnconventionalWisdom2

My interview begins about 50 minutes into the first hour, and continues for another 10 minutes or so into the second how.

But how bad was it that a phone that NEVER rings interrupted the interview, not once, but TWICE! Let me know what you think.

I'm Going to be a Guest on "Unconventional Wisdom" Tonight

2011-03-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be interviewed about The Accidental Anarchist tonight on Larry Shiller's radio show, "Unconventional Wisdom." Tune in at www.wstcwnlk.com tonight from 8:00-10:00 p.m. (My interview is scheduled to be around 8:45 p.m.) If you miss tonight's show, go to the same weblink another day, select Archives, and look for the 3/28 show.

For Author Appearances, contact Hallema@HallemasWorld.com

Happy Purim ! (And Starbucks: Get Out of Mecca)

2011-03-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, an Egyptian cleric claimed that the Starbucks mermaid logo is actually a depiction of Queen Esther, and that Starbucks should be banned from this Islamic world, not just the Mecca -- yes, there is even one, probably more than one now, in Mecca. You have to see this video to believe it:
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2048.htm).

In Honor of Purim: My Favorite Fantasy

2011-03-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

No, it's not 'that' kind of fantasy, but it's one that has recurred regularly since I was a teenager. I'm sharing this on the eve of Purim, a holiday that commemorates yet another occasion on which the Jewish people weren't annihilated. (Joke: The Entirely of Jewish History can be Summed Up in Ten Words: "They tried to kill us all; they failed, let's eat.")

Our story begins in the court of King Ahasuerus (aka Xerxes) of Persia, who summoned his wife, Queen Vashti (the Biblical version of the Trophy Wife), to display her beauty to the guests he was entertaining, but she refused. Fearing that women throughout his kingdom would interpret this as permission to defy their own husbands if he didn't make an example of Vashti, Ahasuerus removed (executed?) her from her position as Queen. Before the sheets even cooled, the King summoned all beautiful maidens in the kingdom to present themselves as candidates for her replacement.

As it happened, a young Jewish woman named Esther was determined to be the fairest of them all and became Ahasuerus' new bride. Around this time, her cousin, Mordechai, overheard of a plot to assassinate the King. He reported the plot through Esther, thus saving the King's life. (Don't worry if you have no idea how any of this plays into my fantasy, but hang in there).

Also around this time-- a busy week in Persia -- Haman was promoted to be the King's Vizier, his right-hand man. Incensed that one man, Mordechai, a Jew, didn't bow down to him as he felt befitted his station, Haman told the King that the Jews didn't obey the King's laws, and therefore they should all be destroyed. The King agreed, and issued the decree to annihilate all the Jews of Persia on the date that Haman had chosen.

('Purim' comes from the Hebrew word for 'lottery' as Haman drew lots to determine the date on which to wipe out the Jews of Persia.)

I'll finish the story briefly because, after a long buildup, this where my fantasy comes in (and it has nothing to do with wanting to be Queen or dancing in harem pants).

Whether or not it was the decision to annihilate an entire race, the King couldn't sleep -- "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown" (Shakespeare, "Henry IV"), as well it should be for someone in a position to destroy an entire nation. He called for his favorite reading material, a chronicle of past events in his Kingdom, and discovered that the man who had saved his life, Mordechai, was never rewarded for doing so.

Mordechai told Esther of Haman's plot and implored her to beg the King for a reprieve for the Jews. Skipping more details to get to the point, Esther did so, thus saving the lives of her people. And at the King's insistence, she revealed that it was none other than Haman who had wanted to destroy the Jews. Being no fool (this time), the King had Haman and his 10 sons executed.

So what does this have to do with me? When I was a teenager, I had an idea for an episode of Star Trek (the original -- that's how long ago I was a teen) that would be loosely based on the story of "Hamlet." I wrote it up and mailed it to Gene Roddenberry, though I knew his assistant would merely toss the script outline into the slush pile.

But in my fantasy, Roddenberry can't sleep, and since no one has been writing a history of Star Trek (at that time), he reaches for -- you guessed it -- the slush pile, reads my story idea, thinks it's brilliant, and the rest is history. Or rather, the rest is a version of history that never happened. But every so often, when I submit an article, a manuscript, an idea, etc., especially one with high reward potential, his fantasy returns but now it's an editor/actor/producer/etc. who reads my tossed-aside submission, and you know the rest. I don't think this fantasy is unique; every writer probably harbors some version of it, even ones who don't know the story of Purim.

So the joke from the beginning of this piece ends with eating three-cornered pastries filled with fruit that are called Hamantashen, symbolizing Haman's favored, tri-corned headgear.

I hope this wasn't too much of a let-down from the build-up, but the following definitely is: While checking certain details of the Purim story, I came across new information that I had not learned in Hebrew School. In January of this year, the Iranian government downgraded the status of Mordechai and Esther's tomb (not a World Heritage Site but a pilgrimage destination for Jews and Muslims), which is located in the somewhat ironically named city of Hamedan. This was because 250 militant students threatened to destroy the tomb in retaliation for Israeli archaeological excavation beneath the Al-Aksa Mosque. The Mosque, an Islamic Holy Site, is located in the Old City of Jerusalem (adjacent to the Western, or Wailing, Wall) where archaeological digs have been going on for many years.

But the consequences of removing the sign that identifies the tomb are greater than confounding pilgrims. Fars, an Iranian news agency, is promoting the idea of Purim as a day of mourning for Muslims, blaming Mordechai and Esther for calling for the massacre of 75,000 Persians on the date when all Persian Jews were supposed to have been destroyed.

In my recollection, the Book of Esther that tells the events of Purim ends not long after Haman and his sons were executed. But what I read about the 'Purim Massacre' is this: Ahasuerus agreed to spare the Jewish people at Esther's request. Unfortunately, the King was not permitted to reverse a royal decree, even his own, so he gave his signet ring to Mordechai, who declared that the Jews of Persia should defend themselves from their pending destruction. Even this doesn't sound so terrible, but it goes further: Mordechai didn't merely tell Jews to defend themselves -- he told them to massacre the Persians who would have killed them. Purim, then, in Iran, is known as the "Iranian Holocaust," and there are calls to make it a day of mourning.

An excellent article in The Guardian traced the source of the story to a 1934 article "imitating German anti-semitism, fabricated sensational reports of Jewish plots." The explanation of how this led to the declaration of the "Iranian Holocause" is described far better in The Guardian article than I could summarize it here, so I suggest reading it.

What these events show is that racism is, as we know, alive and well, it also demonstrates that hatred can always find a 'reliable' basis. It's sad to see that in a time and place in which there is already enough persecution, there are people actively looking to stir the pot of hatred until it is roiling.

Happy Purim, and please pledge to be tolerant even of those who hate us.

(Dedicated to Rachelle Pachtman)

Back in NY Too Soon

2011-03-07T10:07:00.001-08:00

Usually I look forward to being in New York, even returning so soon after I just left, but this time it was for an unhappy reason: My 25 year old nephew died suddenly on Thursday, and the funeral was in NJ yesterday, prior to the family bringing his body to Israel to bury him today.

For days we all wondered about the cause of death. Ilan Tokayer was a wonderful young man with a passion for lots of things, and a remarkable ability to connect with a wide range of people. His sister, who spoke at his funeral, said that he was her best friend from the day she was born. And his best friend spoke about how they were both ushers in a wedding last week, and Ariel told Ilan to "Slow down, you're leaving me behind." Which he did with a lot of us.

About 1000 people turned out for his funeral, and it was remarkable how much there was to say about a young man who, theoretically, would just have been starting to live, but Ilan had already done a lot. He was, as of the day he died, in the oenology program at University of California at Davis, studying the science and techniques of wine making, a field in which he had been working in New York, Israel and New Zealand. His plan had been to open a winery in Israel.

At the time he developed his passion for (kosher) wine, he was already an accomplished cook, having pioneered a technique of poaching salmon in the dishwasher (seriously!) He had also spent a year and a half in the Israeli army, as he felt it was his responsibility to do so as a Jew, and as someone who had both lived in Israel and planned to return there permanently.

Even as I was hearing his (accurate) qualities lauded, though, I was thinking about his mother, my sister-in-law Reva. There can be nothing worse than losing a child (one reason why I was so struck by the book and the message in "I Will Not Hate."), and hearing and seeing my sister-in-law's justified tears made my heart ache.

Yet, during the funeral, she managed to get up to speak to, and about, her son that, even through her tears, showed a lot of poise, and was quite loving and moving. I thought to myself, "I'd never be able to do that under comparable circumstances."

Since getting the news Thursday night, I kept reminding myself to put my own challenges in perspective, but even with my grandfather's, and my sister-in-law's, examples, I still find that hard to do. Are certain people better equipped to handle difficulties that would destroy someone else? Does it matter that some people have support systems that are outside themselves whereas others have to find it all from within? It's hard to assign a degree of difficulty to an experience the way sporting events are graded.One thing that is clear is that Ilan made a difference in the world. That's clear, not just because 1000 people showed up for his funeral in NJ, and another 1000 to the funeral/burial in Israel, but because the speakers were able to celebrate his short life, and not only that he was taken from us too soon. He was like an angel who was only on loan to us for a short time, not only to bring joy into our lives, but to demonstrate how to live fully, passionately, and to leave an impact. That's my personal definition of The Meaning of Life: To leave everyone you touch a little better off, and Ilan left his touch on many people.

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Recent Talks

2011-03-02T19:25:00.000-08:00

It was a rare, warm(ish) day in NY on the day I went to speak in Princeton. The library, whose list of speakers I had always admired, was under half a mile from the train station (one takes a very short train called the "dinky" from Princeton Junction to Princeton) and it was a lovely walk. The town, which is dominated (at least along the route that I followed) by Princeton University, was beautiful with Gothic buildings (the sun set as I walked from one end of the campus to the other, and I watched as the old buildings began glowing from the inside), flanked by old (in terms of age but not upkeep) New England-style homes. I stopped for frozen yogurt and thought it would be prudent to ask if it was safe to walk back to the train station later that night; the young guy laughed, and said that there hadn't been a crime in Princeton for 43 years (which was well beyond his lifetime of experience). And I realized that the group in attendance asked the highest number of questions per capita.

Following my presentation in Princeton, I went to South Florida for two more speaking opportunities (and to visit my son, Mike). The first was organized by my sister-in-law, Chani, who spent all day baking, despite not knowing how many people would show up on a "school night." But a nice sized crowd flowed in, listened attentively and asked questions, and then quickly grabbed something to eat and headed h ome to make sure their kids finished their homework, bathed, etc. I was quite impressed with the turnout, as I know I never had that much energy late (8:30 p.m.) on a school night.

The following morning, I spoke at a synagogue in Boca Raton to a surprisingly large audience -- about 200 people. In contrast to the Princeton audience, this group asked the fewest questions per capita, but many of them came over to me afterwards to tell me about their own personal connection to my grandfather's story -- one woman's father had been born the same year as my grandfather, another one had had a relative who was in the same war, though he knew nothing about it; I even met someone who had been at my parents' wedding.

I'm starting to get enough experience to know which jokes work with which audience, and even though I regularly get laughs, my kids still insist that I'm "not funny." I'll just keep messing with their heads by letting them know what other people think.

What a Difference a Day (and a few degrees of latitude) Makes

2011-02-22T19:08:00.000-08:00

New York: Yesterday

Ft. Lauderdale: Today

Swab Your Cheek; Save a Life

2011-02-20T13:26:00.000-08:00

A one year-old girl needs a bone marrow transplant, and we can all help.

All it takes is a cheek swab to be placed in the bone marrow registry. It's quick and painless to register; it is, however, a commitment. But imagine, for a moment, how you would feel if you were in Ayelet's parents' place. Wouldn't you want everyone you've ever met, as well as everyone they've ever met, to see if they're a perfect match?

Here are the details: (ALTHOUGH THIS INFORMATION PERTAINS TO NYC, YOU CAN PARTICIPATE REGARDLESS OF WHERE YOU'RE LOCATED. SEE BELOW)

"Ayelet, our lovable one year old daughter, was recently diagnosed with a rare bone marrow failure disorder and will need a bone marrow transplant. We're searching for a perfect match and need your help.

"Here are some ways you can help us out:

   1. You and everyone you know can get your cheeks swabbed at the bone marrow drive taking place at the YU Seforim Sale this week (details below)
   2. If you think you are already in the registry, double check here: https://www.giftoflife.org/Public/quickcheck/default.aspx
      http://www.giftoflife.org/dc/Ayelet-Galena/blog.aspx
   3. If you banked your child's chord blood and would consider donating it in the event that it is match- please be in touch with us
   4. Forward this email to everyone you know.

"BONE MARROW DRIVE DETAILS
Yeshiva University - Seforim Sale
Belfer Hall, Weissberg Commons
2945 Amsterdam Ave

# Sunday, Feb. 20, till 9:00 PM
# Saturday, Feb. 26, 9:00 PM to 12:00 AM
Sunday, Feb. 27, 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM

In addition, the following drives will be held:

Tuesday, February 22
9:=0 AM to 9:00 PM
Stern College, Stern Lobby
245 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY

Wednesday, February 23
9:00 AM to 9:00AM
Yeshiva University, Rubin Hall
2501 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY"

*Even if you don't live in NY, there are other ways to participate. Go to http://www.marrow.org/index.html, and find out where a bone marrow drive is being held near you. Even if there are no convenient drives, you can sign up online, and the Marrow Registry will send will ship to you a cheek swab kit for you to mail back and be included in the registry.

When they make it this easy, there's no excuse not to do it. Please forward this information to all of your caring and compassionate friends so that, hopefully, one of us will be a perfect match for Ayelet, or others like her.

Setting Up Speaking Opportunities

2011-02-13T09:41:00.000-08:00

This week (Wednesday), I'll be speaking at the Princeton Library, which has always had a stellar line-up of speakers, good enough to make me wish (except on really cold days) that I lived a lot closer to it.

I'm still preparing my speech, and need to figure out where to add my new audio/visual portion of the presentation -- it's the animation from my website (if you haven't checked this out, please do so; it's very cool) -- and need to get the names of everyone to thank for inviting me and setting this up.

At the same time, it's a little intimidating. While I love speaking about the book, it's still hard to get up in front of a room full or people, even knowing that they wish you well, but it's something I'll get used to.

I'm currently putting together a list of other organizations to contact (I just got onto the tail end of the speaking tour in South Florida at the Jewish retirement communities, which are hungry to hear about and read interesting new books. Apparently I'm to expect an audience of about 150 people in Boca Raton next week). I guess I'll be spending a lot of time there next winter -- no great hardship! (and will get to see more of my son, as well as my brother and sister-in-law and their family, and my sister-in-law and her husband and family.

I need to start direct marketing to conservative synagogues that arrange for speakers, Jewish book stores, retirement communities, and so on, and would be delighted to receive suggestions of other categories or groups to contact, as well as specific, individual suggestions. I look forward to hearing from anyone with recommendations or referrals.

Meanwhile,I hope you saw the review of The Accidental Anarchist on Blogcritics.com. It was picked up by The Huffington Post and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (online), as well as a number of other publications that surprised me, such as a technology website (WhattheTech.org) and one in Romania. All I can say is Thank you to everyone who has tweeted out the review, or emailed it to friends, or sent personal recommendations to others to read the book, for helping me get the word out.

Please Read this Remarkable Article from The New York Times

2011-01-25T21:12:00.000-08:00

Could any of us be this open-minded and open-hearted?

Believing in Peace, Even After the Unthinkable

By JOSEPH BERGER

Working as the lone Palestinian gynecologist at an Israeli hospital had its fraught moments for Izzeldin Abuelaish.

The husband of a Jewish patient angrily accused him of jeopardizing his wife’s pregnancy because he was an Arab. Palestinian neighbors scorned him for delivering babies who would grow into the “soldiers who bomb us and shoot us.”

Each time Dr. Abuelaish comforted himself with the conviction that he could overcome fear by building personal bridges between two distrustful cultures. But that belief was sorely tested two years ago during the three-week Gaza war, when Israeli tank shells slammed into his apartment, killing three of his daughters and costing another her sight in one eye.

Now Dr. Abuelaish has written a memoir that reaffirms his belief that the decades-long conflict will only be transformed when individual Palestinians and Israelis recognize their shared, precarious humanity. As he often does, he turns to medical metaphors.

“We are like conjoined twins with one heart and one brain,” Dr. Abuelaish said in a telephone interview from Canada, where he is now an associate professor in women’s health at the University of Toronto. “Any harm to one will affect the other.”

The memoir, published by Walker & Company and with a blurb by Elie Wiesel, is called “I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity.” A reviewer for The Globe & Mail in Toronto said the book was “one of the most affecting I have read on the subject of Israel and Palestine.”
The anguishing deaths of his daughters — Bessan, 20; Mayar, 15; and Aya, 14 — “immunized me against any more suffering,” said Dr. Abuelaish, an earnest man of 55. He came to recognize that suffering is caused not by God but by individuals, and “you as a human being with your potential and your ability can challenge the human beings who are making the suffering.”

Rather than questioning the legitimacy of a Palestinian nation, Dr. Abuelaish argues, Jews — “because they were burned by the fires of suffering” in the Holocaust — must focus on improving the wretched living conditions of many Palestinians.

And Palestinians must realize that firing rockets into Israel incites retribution. “The antidote for revenge is not revenge,” he said. “If I want to get revenge, it will not return my daughters. The innocence of those girls must not be spoiled by revenge. I can keep their memory living with good deeds.” He has set up a foundation called Daughters for Life to memorialize his children and to provide scholarships for young women in the Middle East.

In an interview Mr. Wiesel, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, said that he could not explain why people like Dr. Abuelaish can overcome their impulse for vengeance and others cannot, but he imagines that Dr. Abuelaish has recognized that “hate hates both the victim and the hater.”

“One must not forget, but not use memory against other innocent people,” Mr. Wiesel said.

Dr. Abuelaish rejects those who dwell in the morass of historical arguments, who accuse Palestinians of inciting the conflict by rejecting the 1947 United Nations plan to partition British Palestine, or who blame Israelis for injustices as occupiers. You cannot correct history, he maintains.

“Being a medical doctor helped me a lot because you are focused on living people,” he said. “When patients are dead, it’s a waste of time.”

Still, the book bristles with that tormented history. Dr. Abuelaish grew up the son of refugees in the Gazan city of Jabalia, but his family originated in the Negev region. He possesses that property deed, though the land is now owned by Ariel Sharon, the former prime minister of Israel.

“To be pushed out,” Dr. Abuelaish writes, “is to be marked with the scar of expulsion for the rest of your life.”

He describes the squalor of the Gaza camps — fetid latrines, no running water or electricity — both under Egyptian and Israeli control. After the two intifadas, Israeli soldiers made crossing the border especially difficult, even for an infertility specialist at an Israeli hospital. Yet Israeli doctors saved the legs of his nephew Mohammed, who had been shot in the knee and ankle by Hamas gunmen in 2007.

The most excruciating crossing occurred in 2008 when his wife, Nadia, was lying in an Israeli hospital with leukemia, and he was in Europe. He had to fly to Amman rather than to Israel’s main airport; take a taxi to the Allenby Bridge, which connects Jordan to the West Bank; then endure hours of waiting at checkpoints. By the time he arrived, his wife was unconscious. She died a few days later.

Still, Dr. Abuelaish said he had worked hard not to equate a rude guard with all Israelis, just as he would not want Israelis to equate all Palestinians with suicide bombers. What helped was his friendships with Israelis: as a teenager working with a farming family and then with doctors, one of whom, Dr. Marek Glezerman, wrote the book’s introduction.

True, Dr. Abuelaish moved to Toronto in 2009. But that is because he no longer wanted the problems of crossing checkpoints to separate him from his five remaining children.

He has formed a relationship with the Israeli novelist David Grossman, who lost a son in the closing hours of the 2006 Lebanon War. When they meet, Dr. Abuelaish said, they discuss their children. And it is the future of children, he said, that should spur both sides toward peace. As he writes: “If I could know that my daughters were the last sacrifice on the road to peace between Palestinians and Israelis, then I would accept their loss.”

I Don't Know What You'd Call This Kind of Coincidence

2011-01-21T16:55:00.000-08:00

I've written about my rock star son who was on a 3 week-long European tour. All went smoothly -- they're practically national heroes in Germany, in particular -- until the last day. They had a free day in Prague, having canceled their Vienna show because their flight back was due to leave 11 hours after their show and it was a 9 hour drive to Berlin (good call).

But when they got up Tuesday morning, they discovered that their van had been broken into, and that one of the amps had been stolen. OK; bad enough to have to drive back to Berlin without a back window and have to deal with the rental car agency, but about 12 hours later, Tuesday in San Diego, I got home from my morning workout to discover that the back window of our van, which my son uses for touring, had been broken into, and the only thing stolen was his amp. How weird is that?

Above is a poster that was plastered all around Erfurt or Dresen when they arrived. (For some reason, their genre, which here is called "math rock," is called "fricklepop" in Germany. If anyone knows what that means, please post a message; I'd love to know).

Alas, my son's band, Witt, is giving its final performance this Saturday night* at their former high school, where the boys met. It's not for love of the music or lack of love for each other, but simply that two of them are in college in CA and my son's in college in NY, and they can't compose together over that distance.

But at least my son has 10 other bands (all different genres) and an upcoming off-off-Broadway musical to keep him busy. This kid amazes me.

*If you're interested in attending the final performance, contact me and I'll let you know where it will be

Are we Approaching a 'Tipping Point'?

2011-01-17T15:37:00.000-08:00

I'm not known as the World's Greatest optimist (but at least I'm not the WG pessimist, either), though I have recently had reason to be hopeful. And Martin Luther King Day seems the appropriate time to share these thoughts.

You're all familiar with the term, "The Tipping Point" from Malcolm Gladwell's book of the same name. In it, he explains why change happens slowly, then all at once, kind of equivalent to YouTube videos "going viral." I suppose it's the same reason why there are no earthquake movies for years, then all of a sudden there are two opening the same weekend. I hope that the few small things I've seen are, similarly, indications that we're heading toward a period of increased tolerance.

A few months ago, I attended a staged reading of a play, "Imagining Heschel" by Colin Greer, which deals with issues of faith and forgiveness. The "Heschel" of the title was a real person; Rabbi Abraham Heschel was a prominent theologian in the 1950s and 60s. He escaped from Europe at the beginning of the Holocaust but lost members of his family. His grief for them, and other victims of Nazism, anti-Semitism and hatred of all kinds, led him into social action. Not only did he 'talk the talk' but 'walked the walk' of his beliefs by marching with the Reverend Martin Luther King in Selma.

But the play focused on a different aspect of Heschel's life: His invitation to meet with the Vatican to help them repair the relationship between the church and the Jews. This was during the time of Vatican II, one of the results of which was the declaration that the Jews were not to blame for the death of Jesus Christ (the basis for anti-Semitism).

For some reason, though, this message never 'took.' Although it is the official policy of the Church, many people still blame the Jews for killing Christ. Change comes slowly. Similarly, it took till about 1960 before the Jim Crow laws emphasizing racial segregation and anti-miscegenation (jut like the Nazis, BTW) were finally off the books. Unfortunately, that attitude has not gone away either; it's almost as if it's gotten into our collective DNA.

There have been other recent example of (usually) artists trying to convey messages of peace and tolerance by painting murals, such as one that was done in the occupied territories disputed by Israel and the Palestinians. This mural showed a Priest, an Imam, a Rabbi, and a Swami. My first thought was, "How quickly will this be defaced?" But surprisingly, it was not vandalized, and I believe it remained untouched until the artist painted over it (as he had planned; each artwork is temporary). (I wish I could remember the name of the artist; if anyone knows, would you please post it?)

My final example is Mosab Hassad Yousef, the eldest son and heir apparent to Hamas leader, Sheikh Hassan Yousef. He had been raised to hate Israelis and to become a terrorist. But during his time in an Israeli prison, he saw how the Muslims treated each other, and began to wonder why it was necessary to hate. This author of the book, "Son of Hamas," later converted to Christianity, and speaks about tolerance to audiences everywhere. The sad truth, which Yousef echoed, was that changing hearts and minds only happens one person at a time.

All of these experiences took place between September or October, and November of last year, creating, in my mind, a pattern, a suggestion that the world might be ready for a change. But after yet another shooting (Tucson) last week, which might have been due to ideological differences (but most likely mental illness), I have a hard time believing even my own rhetoric; it's such an uphill battle to change deeply ingrained thoughts and 'principles.'

What keeps coming back to me is the immortal words of Rodney king: "Can't we all just get along?" A thought for Martin Luther King Day.

If you agree with this message, please spread the word. That will be doing your part in trying to reach everyone, one person at a time.

See also today's list on The Daily Beast of the 20 most tolerant states: See http://tinyurl.com/4l8j96t. Is your state on it?

Another Reason to Crow

2011-01-13T15:27:00.000-08:00

My younger son, Jesse, is currently on a 3-week European tour with one of his bands. They're being treated like rock stars, put up in hotels that belong to the venues or in apartments with 4 BR and bath (more than any of them have in their dorms or apartments) and a fully stocked fridge, AND an unlimited tab at a nearby restaurant. (I would say, 'Though they're not old enough to drink," but then I remembered that in parts of Europe, the drinking age is 11.) I had urged Jesse to take a sleeping bag because I had pictured them being put up in youth hostels, or the like, and even advised him to eat a lot at the free breakfast so they wouldn't have to buy lunch. Instead, in about 2 weeks, he's spent only 70 euros.

Meanwhile, when Witt plays in the U.S. at 21-and-up clubs, the boys, who are all below that age, have to stand in the parking lot waiting until their set, and then are ushered out immediately afterwards. And when they tour in the U.S., they don't make sleeping arrangements -- they call whomever they know in a particular city (and Jesse seems to know someone everywhere he goes apparently, surprisingly, even in Poland) and ask if they can crash on the floor. Otherwise they planned to sleep in the car/van but we suggested that Motel 6 for $69 was a worthwhile investment for the night. Conveniently, though, our goddaughter lives in Switzerland, and they've spent 2 nights there -- on the way from Germany to Italy, and back from Italy to France. She made them an 'authentic' Swiss fondue. (I need to ask Jesse about something he said when he was much younger. We were in Switzerland, and though we hadn't ordered the cheese fondue, other people had. He wrinkled his nose and said, "Smells like old people." I've never quite made the connection).

And since I've already embarrassed Mike with the picture of him in the last blog entry (how bad could it be if I got away with using that picture as part of a yearbook ad when he graduated?), it's Jesse's turn, though his photo, which he knows quite well, is edited for the purpose of using it here. He knows what's missing.

A Reason to Crow

2011-01-10T16:16:00.000-08:00

When something good happens for my children, I want to share it with the world, so occasionally I use this blog as my platform.

My son, Mike, who has been helping me with the development of marketing materials and my social media outreach (since I can't get my head around Twitter) has just been named Director of the Social Media Division of OMG National, a South Florida company that assists companies establish an online presence and develop branding messages. I consider this a huge deal for someone only 1-1/2 years out of college (during which time he interned for multiple organizations, including the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee). Nothing makes me happier than seeing him succeed at something he has worked hard to achieve.

I'll share my pride in my other son in a separate blog entry on another day, but since I've heaped such praise on Mike, it's appropriate that I do the other things that mothers are prone to do -- namely, embarrass their children. Having given myself permission to do so, I'd like to share with you one of my favorite pictures of my son as a baby.

For Descendents of Jewish Soldiers Who Fought in the Russo-Japanese War

2011-01-05T11:42:00.000-08:00

Several times, over the past year and a half, I've read on other websites of people who wanted information about an ancestor who fought in the Russo-Japanese War. Of course, now that I have some useful information, I can't remember where I read it, so I thought it would be a good idea to post the information here.

On a section of a website, bfcollection.net/fast/rjmain.html, there is a discussion of a Database of Russian Army Jewish soldiers injured, killed, or missing in action in the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905. As Boris Feldblyum (the "bf" on the web address above) wrote (in 1998, so I don't know why it took me until now to find it): "Many thousands of Jews, less known or totally unknown in the big world, fought, were injured, killed, or missing in the Russo-Japanese war. In the tradition of the times, many Russian papers printed the names of the soldiers killed or missing in action. The compilation of nearly three thousand Jewish names was prepared and translated into English from notices that first appeared in the Russkij Invalid newspaper in 1904-1905. The records provide information of considerable genealogical value to those with roots in the Russian Empire, as the examples show." Josh Feldblyum (relationship to Boris not specified) compiled a computerized database of these records, for which we are grateful.

Records, for which there is a fee of $18 per record, can be ordered from FAST Genealogy Service, using an order form that can be found on Boris' page, where there is also information on how to search the site. (I looked for my grandfather, but since he was not injured, killed, or missing in action during the war, he isn't on the list, however I plan to look for several people whom Jacob Marateck identified in his diaries).

This is a new way to solve the problem of the "aguna," the "tied woman," whose dilemma is discussed in Chapter 15.

More information can be found at: http://www.bfcollection.net/fast/fast.html.

Maybe, one day, we'll turn up information on Jewish soldiers who fought in this war, or Jews sent to Siberian forced labor camps. There's still so much that is not known, and it's wonderful that someone/some people are still looking for it. Thank you, Boris & Josh Feldblyum.

An Interview with Me is Posted on the Jewish Literary Review Website

2011-01-03T14:41:00.000-08:00

I'm pleased to share this review, which was just posted today: http://www.jewishliteraryreview.com/

Off Topic

2010-12-29T18:44:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, my youngest son, Jesse, left on a European tour with his band. 21 cities in 23 days. This is what a rock band looks like before they leave for Europe (many of them for the first time):

Those of you who notice my name on the vertical between Jesse (3rd from left) and Chris (right), that's because Jesse dedicated his guitar case to me (Aww!) and to his friend, Henry's (left) mother, but some of the letters of her name fell off.

So the boys are off on their European adventure, and as I was looking for his tour dates, I came across a video of their show last night in Dresden at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSyEbfLZsFM

I don't know anything about music, but I'm told that their Math Rock is incredibly complex; it's music for musicians (and Europeans, who seem to be more progressive in their tastes than Americans).

If you happen to be in Europe, you can find their tour dates here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discorporate-Records/55803806486?v=wall#!/pages/Witt/11512449775
(And listen to some of their music in the left hand column).

I'm just a proud Mama!

Mystery Solved!

2010-12-22T17:32:00.000-08:00

As I started hearing from relatives whom I had never known about, a mystery arose. I was eager to find the descendants of Mordechai and Avrohom, who featured prominently in my grandfather's life, and in the book. I was excited when I spoke to the first 'new' cousin, Dr. Sam Marateck, a professor of computer science and winner of multiple best teacher awards at NYU. his grandfather had been Chayim, the Talmudic scholar whom Jacob followed to the yeshiva (and from which he ran away in under a week). The next time we saw Chayim was after Jacob returned from the war and visited him in Lodz. Chayim became a shochet (a kosher butcher) in Shenandoah, PA once he moved to the U.S.

I confess to being a little disappointed, though, when I learned Sam's grandfather had been Chayim because I was eager to share the book, and their grandfather's roles in it, with Avrohom and Mordechai's descendants.

Then I heard from another relative I hadn't know about either. Now, at last, I had surely found one of Avrohom or Mordechai's descendants. But I became confused when I talked to David Marateck, a lawyer in Coal, PA (which I assume is in the general vicinity of Shenandoah) and his father, Sanford, a retired lawyer. Sanford's grandfather had been Berel Marateck. Berel? I had never heard of Berel, although he was mentioned in the earlier book, The Samurai of Vishigrod. And neither David, nor Sanford, nor Sam, before them, had ever heard of Mordechai, or my grandfather's sister, Malkah. All that anyone was certain about was that there had been 4 Marateck boys. I was now more confused.

While still trying to figure this out, David was kind enough to send me two family photos, which are pasted below. The first is of Berel and Avrohom -- yes, that Avrohom, on the left -- standing in front of "B. Marateck Haberdashery" in Shenandoah, PA (which you can faintly see on the window of the store). What I realized, from seeing this picture, is that Berel must have been the oldest in the family, and had already left home and established his own life by the time about which my grandfather wrote. Jacob must not have grown up with him. (In fact, checking death records, I learned that Berel, or 'Barney,' as he was known in the U.S., had been born in 1866 whereas Jacob had been born in 1883. I deeply apologize to David and Sanford, et al., for not having known about Berel, but I will update the book to include him.)

This photo is Berel, his wife Dora, and their children, George and Abraham, in a family portrait.

But why had no one ever heard of Mordechai? I asked my mother, and my Aunt, Rose, if they knew of an uncle named Berel, or anything about Mordechai or Avrohom. My mother then told me stories about Avrohom visiting her family in th Bronx, and how her father and uncle would laugh together. In particular, she remembered giving up her room whenever Avrohom and his wife came to visit, which she didn't resent even a bit because it was so much fun to have him around. But once again, neither my mother nor my aunt remembered Berel and couldn't remember ever hearing the name Mordechai. I couldn't imagine that my grandfather would not have remained close to Mordechai, who had saved his life so many times in the book. But this is what I think I have figured out, though it may take looking through more graveyard records to come to a definitive conclusion.

There must have been 5 Marateck boys, born in this order: Berel, Mordechai, Chayim, Jacob and Avrohom. I don't know where in the birth order Malkah had been born, though I know she was older than Jacob. Berel moved to the U.S., first, where he set up a successful haberdashery (at least it was successful until the Depression). Some time later, Chayim followed Berel to the U.S., and Jacob and Avrohom did, too, though I don't know at what time. We can only conclude that neither Mordechai.nor Malkah left Poland,and must not have survived the Holocaust. Alas, the database of Polish Jewry is no longer online, and I don't know if there is any way to access it short of going to Poland. But you can bet I'm going to keep looking for information about each of these family members. Now I'm just waiting for one of Avrohom's grandchildren to get in touch with me... In the meantime, I am enjoying discovering family members that I never knew about.

Latest Endorsement

2010-12-15T09:41:00.000-08:00

"A splendid, highly-recommended companion piece for secondary- and college-level students confronting the late-19th and early-20th century pivotal point in modern world history. This book will captivate students, drawing them well away from their ordinary preoccupations, and the fluff of comfortable living. It is an extension of the heart of ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, the soul of searing Gulag writings, and the pathos and futility of CATCH-22--suffused at every turn with the grit and wit of mendicant Judaism."

Herman Mast III, Emeritus, Department of History, University of Connecticut

Hollywood, Are You Listening?

2010-12-10T16:45:00.000-08:00

Check out the latest reviews for the book on Amazon:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Accidental Anarchist, December 10, 2010

ESTHER S. (Beverly Hills) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Accidental Anarchist (Paperback)

The Accidental Anarchist
Bryna Kranzler

"The Accidental Anarchist" reads like a house-a-fire, full of everything that makes a great book-truth, passion, wit, optimism as well as the absolutely incredible adventures of a most remarkable man. It feels like a classic already, a book to be read and reread and shared with others. Television should be looking to do a mini-series here-an eloquent and spellbinding testament of the power of faith in the Jewish people.

Richard and Esther Shapiro
Creators of "Dynasty"
And former senior vice president mini-series ABC (Esther)

A riveting read about one of the truly unique characters and stories of history, December 3, 2010

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Accidental Anarchist (Paperback)

In a time between many wars and the falls of empires, "The Accidental Anarchist" tells the story of Jacob Marateck, an unusual rogue Jew who found himself leading Russian armies that hated him, into failed coups against the Czar, and taking long trips home. A story of the chaotic times of Eastern Europe in the early 1900s, "The Accidental Anarchist" is a riveting read about one of the truly unique characters and stories of history that is not often heard about.

BREAKING NEWS!

2010-12-09T09:26:00.000-08:00

The Accidental Anarchist has hit the big time

As of 11:00 last night,
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #80,625 (out of 8 million, or
top 1%) in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

#99 in Books; Biographies & Memoirs; Ethnic & National; Jewish

Just Back from New York

2010-12-06T12:28:00.000-08:00

...where I had several interviews with a wide range of publications. There were some interesting highlights to the trip, which I plan to do every few months to increase awareness of and enthusiasm for the book.

1) At one interview, which took place in a Starbucks during one of those east coast rainstorms in which it rains sideways (so that there's no way to dress or hold an umbrella to avoid getting soaked) , a gentleman gave up his comfy chair so that three of us could sit together and talk more easily. He stood nearby, which I didn't realize until he asked, "What book are you talking about?" I told him, and he said, "I've heard of that." (I gave him a promotional postcard I had printed up and he promised to order it on Amazon.) That was the second time that I or someone else mentioned the name of the book and someone else had heard of it, which is pretty cool considering that it's been out for less than 6 weeks. (If any of you have had the experience of someone recognizing the name of the book when you've talked about it, let me know! I love this kind of thing.

2) At another interview, a suggestion that I hadn't heard before came up: It was to create an edited version of the book (minus the provocative scenes) so that the text could be used in Middle Schools. I definitely have plans to propose the use of the book as supplementary material for course on Asian History, Russian History, Jewish History, Military History, etc., but I had never thought about Middle School or High School as an audience.

3) I saw a Concert Reading (though I don't know how this differs from a Stage Reading), of a play by Colin Greer: "Imagining Heschel." It was about Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a prominent Jewish theologian and human rights activist (he marched in Selma with Dr. Martin Luther King), who, in 1968, had been invited to 'educate' the Pope and the Vatican Council so that it would stop blaming the Jews for killing Christ, which is at the heart of antisemitism. I found a number of similarities between Rabbi Heschel's goals and those of my grandfather, who held the same attitude and pursued some of the same objectives through less ... 'proper,' shall we say, means. The play provoked thoughtful meditation on the nature of beliefs and the ability to forgive. I hope the brief run that the play had at the Cherry Lane Theater will return in a more expanded, theatrical form so that more people will have the opportunity to see it and begin thinking about some of the issues it raises. (I will have a lot more to say about this play, and the experience of watching it, in an upcoming blog entry).

4) I learned from my experience talking with reporters that I need to narrow down how I talk about my book because there are so many themes that it makes it difficult for reporters to decide which angle to pursue. It's my job to make their job easier, which I'm working on, but then it's only experiences like these that teach me what I still need to learn.

Thanks to a Follower

2010-11-27T14:08:00.000-08:00

I subscribe to Google alerts for a number of reasons -- to see when my son has a song on the radio that he doesn't tell me about; to read articles that my other son has written, and to see who's talking about The Accidental Anarchist.

Yesterday I had a delightful surprise when Google alerted me the another blog included the book as a recommended Christmas present for people interested in genealogy. As if that weren't enough, I recognized the author of the blog as someone who has been a follower of this blog since close to the very beginning. I'm happy to share with you her blog: The Turning of Generations.

Reading Michelle's bio, I also learned that she's a serious genealogist, working on an advanced certificate in methodology at the National Institute of Genealogical Studies -- a serious means of finding the roots of one's family tree. Good luck, Michelle, and thanks for the recommendation!

Attended My Niece's Wedding

2010-11-22T10:59:00.000-08:00

Last night, my niece got married in the Bronx, the first of my 19 (or have I lost count) nieces and nephews to do so. I loved seeing how bride and groom looking at each other with so much love and adoration in their eyes. And I discovered that I had known the parents of the groom (whose last name I didn't even know until yesterday) in high school -- though it took me quite a while to stretch my mind that far back, and part of my mind didn't want to go there. Saw many relatives, including some I really like.

But what was also interesting is that I started getting incredible compliments on the book, and not only from family members (who can do either way -- either you can do no wrong in their eyes, or they know you too well to be impressed by anything you do). My sister-in-law, who had offered to host a book signing event for me in the Miami area, told me that she started reading it "out of obligation," (not even out of interest, or curiosity?) but that once she did she got hooked, and loved it. My grandfather's 'voice' and his adventures has that effect on a lot of people.

I also met the son of a good friend whom I haven't seen in many years, though we recently connected on Facebook. This friend's son, who was a friend of my niece's, came over to introduce himself, very quickly adding that, "My father read your book and loved it!"

I admit to being pleased by the compliments, though still somewhat surprised by the amount of passion that the book stirs up in people. But that wasn't where my focus was, which, as usual centered around how proud I am of my own kids, the younger one, already a rock star, who attended the wedding with us -- until 'business' obligations called the 19-year-old away, and the older one, who arrives tomorrow night for Thanksgiving, who just landed a terrific new job with a company that's smart enough to recognize his talents, motivation, creativity and incredible work ethic. Seeing their successes, and happiness, is still the most important source of joy in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. No lectures on what to be thankful for; just enjoy -- whether it's being with family, friends, or just having a long weekend.

Today is International Tolerance Day

2010-11-16T07:47:00.000-08:00

Did you know that such a day existed? It was founded only in 1996 by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

This makes it a convenient occasion to point you to an article (http://www.iranian.com/main/2010/nov/run-out-here-and-left-out-there) written by a dear friend of mine, Zoe Ghahremani, who attended a lecture with me at the Jewish Book Fair in San Diego last week. Upon hearing Angella Nazarian talk about her family's flight from Iran, and the assistance provided by the many Jewish organizations that existed to help Jewish refugees, she thought back to the time before she left from Iran, and since then, and noted that the Jews seemed to be the only group that had organized itself to provide so many forms of support for Jews in the United States and in other countries. And my friend, who is not a Muslim, points out in this poignant article that Iranian Muslims, who have also suffered under the current and previous regimes, had no organizations to go to for assistance.

We Jews are fortunate that we have established a history of helping one another, But Zoe's point should be understood and heeded: The not all oppressed minorities have organizations established that are effective in providing assistance to their brethren. I know -- it's easier said than done.

How do you think such a change could be brought about?

I Spoke Today at the San Diego Jewish Book Fair

2010-11-09T19:45:00.000-08:00

...and had a very nice turnout. A number of my friends showed up to support me, which was wonderful, but about 2/3 of the audience were people I didn't know, many of whom had relatives who came from areas near where my grandfather was born (Vishigrod), and whose parents or grandparents had escaped to the U.S. before they could be conscripted into the Russian army. The only option that was open to my grandfather was more extreme.

As I read today from the book: "Thus, every home rang with heated family conferences, all dedicated to the search for some means by which an innocent child could be preserved from the fatal clutches of Vanya’s* army.

For the rich, there was no problem: they bought their way out. For the poor, however, there was only one avenue of escape: self-mutilation. And since there were any number of equally frightful possibilities to choose
from, long evenings of consultation took place. My Aunt Tzivia strongly recommended a man who would draw out all my teeth. Feibush, the bath attendant, held that the surest remedy would be for me to blind myself in my right eye, without which one cannot aim a rifle. And my Uncle Yonah, never at a loss, knew a man skilled in the art of severing a tendon at the knee. Had I accepted even half the suggestions offered to me, I should not only have escaped military service, but would have ended up a cripple such as the world had never seen."

* A nickname for ‘Ivan’ used as a general term referring to all Russians

It was quite a lot of fun, and afterwards a number of women from Hadassah asked, if their book club read The Accidental Anarchist, would I come and speak to them. Of course. I love speaking about the book and my grandfather's crazy ways.

Two More Counties Heard From

2010-11-06T17:11:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I caught an article whose title, I thought, was "Justice Stevens Urges Tolerance." Today, as I looked for the article to post it here, every reprint of the article had the title "Justice Stevens Voices Support for NYC Mosque" (http://www.signon.mobi/sdut/db_260622/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=zjbFE5SN&src=cat). It's the same article reprinted everywhere, but it seems as if the headline has changed to emphasize the controversial nature of the topic. But it's also possible that I remember the headline incorrectly.

But what got me thinking about this article again was attending the opening night presentation of the San Diego Jewish Book Fair (at which I will be speaking next week). The featured speaker was Mosad Hassan Yousef, speaking on what I had hoped would be a very enlightening subject: How he, the son of the man who founded Hamas, which has repeated done everything possible to derail any progress toward Middle East peace, had been raised to be a terrorist, but had a change of heart. He was with us to be interviewed about what led to his change of heart, and what his life has been like since then. (Sorry to report that it wasn't a very enlightening interview -- it didn't get to the meaty questions, but perhaps that was a matter of the speaker not being fully fluent in English or able to express himself as eloquently as I had hoped).

What surprised me, after his inspiring comments about tolerance, were two comments he made: 1) The we should oppose the Mosque near Ground Zero because it is a 'political' mosque, and 2) that the Koran is 'evil.' The latter is not an opinion I have ever heard expressed. I certainly have heard that the translations of the Koran vary, and that some encourage killing Jews, but this is the first time I have heard it referred to as 'evil.'

On the one hand, Mr, Yousef grew up with the Koran whereas I don't believe that anyone else speaking about its content has said so. On the other hand, I wonder whether it might be possible for someone to contend that the Hebrew Bible (aka The Old Testament) is 'evil,' too, because it also proscribes certain actions that, mercifully, we have learned not to obey to the letter -- things like stoning people. But I don't know enough about the Koran to know how accurate Mr. Yousef's statement is.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has some experience or information on this subject.

Yet Another Reminder

2010-11-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

Upon reading today's NY Times' review of "The Scottsboro Boys," which opened last night but which I saw in previews, I was reminded, yet again, of how far we haven't come in race relations, in particular, and tolerance, in general. True, this musical was set in Alabama in 1931, that is -- "a long time ago in a [place] far, far away," but the musical depiction of the hasty incarceration of nine young black men over the false (and later recanted) accusation of raping two white women, shows the process by which such miscarriages of just could easily still occur today. To 'shock' the audience into awareness, as if the denial of due process wasn't enough, a song called "Electric Chair" is probably the toe-tappingest one of the Kander & Ebb (yes; classic) show. Not only worth seeing but also worth contemplating, especially considering the Epilogue-type of revelations that shares with the audience what happened to each of the men who had been falsely accused and imprisoned, "once upon a time."

Best Birthday I Can Remember

2010-10-31T17:16:00.000-07:00

With Jay flying my boy, MIKEY, in. (Jesse had gigs booked and a lot of homework, but was w us in spirit). So it started off really nicely, w dinner Friday night at Market. Yesterday morning, I went w my friend, Barbara, to an excellent program on Books Into Screenplays, and came home to an amazing brunch made by J and Mike: very ambitious & quite delicious--a creamy (in texture but without cream), yellow gazpacho, followed by 3 great salads--'white' salad with fennel, mushrooms and cheese (I think I'm leaving a few things out), brussel sprouts with walmuts and pomegranate seeds, and red and yellow beets with pistachios and blue cheese; a very light mac 'n cheese; and ann amazing dessert--melon with basil granita. You heard right: Basil was the flavor, and I loved it. Will have to experiment with making the ice cream equivalent of granita.

In addition to the wonderful food, Mike hung out w us (not that I would have begrudged him a chance to see his friends; he gets back here so rarely); we watched football together (Vanderbilt -sad; Oregon-yet another amazing game) and he provided commentary, then we took him out to Smashburger, a place he'd never been and one we knew he'd like, given the sweet potato fries -- a taste he picked up in the south. Only after that did he go to visit a friend, but it was after 8:30 so of course the old folks were ready to wind down.

And this morning, after taking him to the airport to return home after a whirlwind 36 hour trip, we went to Whisk'n'Ladle to read the Friday, Saturday and Sunday papers that we hadn't had time for. We're sort of 'regulars' there, you might say; it's always reliably good and interesting food. We had passion fruit mimosas to start, and after a wonderful brunch -- flatbread with light gruyere, artichoke hearts, chilies and figs, and some of their always interesting breakfast pastries and jams -- the kitchen surprised us by sending out a pumpkin bread pudding with butter rum ice cream (J had told the server it was my birthday). I was so full, yet I seemed to manage quite well with the dessert, which was fantastic (I'd never had butter rum before and wouldn't have been interested in trying it, but it was great with the pumpkin -- they always do such a nice, and interesting job.) Good thing we ate early, b/c even with the great leftovers at home, it may be a while before I can eat again (famous last words). Although you can be sure it won't be at the next venue.

Off to the Chargers-Titans game, trying to be mentally prepared for yet another heartbreaking loss. I even noted on Facebook that if they won I would consider it a birthday gift to me. And guess what -- they won in a battle that shouldn't have been as tough as it was -- but don't let me start talking about football or I'll never get back to the main subject.

While I don't normally use my blog or Facebook to share 'personal' stuff, this weekend was too good to keep to myself. I hope whoever reads this can enjoy it vicariously (and I apologize to those who read it in snippets before -- it was the only way I could get info on Facebook -- that I know of -- from my phone).

The hard part will be tomorrow, in the gym, when I need fess up to my new age...

Putting My Money Where My...Rear Window Is

2010-10-29T11:58:00.000-07:00

I Suppose I Should Be Flattered

2010-10-27T16:26:00.001-07:00

Just noticed that 'used' copies of The Accidental Anarchist are being offered in the Amazon Marketplace for more than triple the listed price. It's an honor to see the price go up so high when only a few people have gotten their copies yet, and I know who all those people are. My bet is that what these guys are selling is not the finished/final book but an Advanced Review Copy which is sent out only to revewiers and are marked that they are not to be sold. (But it's well known that reviewers sell them, anyway. What I should have done was written the name of the reviewer to whom I had sent review copies so that if they tried to sell the book, people would know who was committing a no-no.)

Alternatively, a few people saw the rapid sellout the first day as an opportunity for arbitrage, believing that someone is so eager to get their hands on the book that they will pay triple the price. These people will take your order, and wait to fulfill it until they get their regular-priced copy. Nice work if you can get it.

Let the buyer beware: If you're tempted to buy a used copy of my book, check with the seller to make sure it is the final edition, not a preliminary one.

Join us tomorrow to hear Bryna talk about The Accidental Anarchist with the media

2010-10-20T21:50:00.000-07:00

Call in to 605-562-3000 at 11am ET; enter code 888758# and hear the conversation

Free Preview! Chapter 1 of The Accidental Anarchist

2010-10-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here's the first chapter of The Accidental Anarchist for your reading pleasure:

Chapter 1: In The Beginning

The book goes on sale on Friday, and you can order it on Amazon.com. Don't forget to Become a Fan on Facebook for all the latest information, and Follow Me On Twitter as well!

First Publication Review

2010-10-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

From ForeWord Reviews (this will appear in their November/December issue, but I have permission to use it already)

MEMOIR

The Accidental Anarchist

Bryna Kranzler

Crosswalk Press

Softcover $18.00 (332pp)

978-0-9845563-0-4

At thirteen, Jacob Marateck left his home in a small Polish village to seek adventure in Warsaw. At 21, he was conscripted into the Russian army just in time for the Russo-Japanese War of 1904, and over the next few years joined the revolutionaries who worked to overthrow the Czar, was sentenced to death three times, and escaped with Warsaw’s King of Thieves from a Siberian forced labor camp.

Kranzler, Marateck’s granddaughter, is a playwright who received the Helen Prince Award for Excellence in Dramatic Writing and was a finalist in the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center competition for her play Do Hermaphrodites Reproduce Only in the Spring? Her parents, Shimon and Anita Marateck Wincelberg, had previously translated the 28 notebooks that made up Marateck’s diaries and published the first twelve as The Samurai of Vishigrod. After her father passed away, Kranzler inherited the job of editing and publishing the rest of her grandfather’s diaries.

The Accidental Anarchist is told from Jacob’s point of view, and his dry wit is evident throughout, leaving the reader with a sense of optimism even amid war, starvation, and imprisonment. “The seemingly minor decision I made to end my education before the age of thirteen set me on a path from which each subsequent choice flowed logically from the previous foolish one,” Marateck wrote. As a Jewish man in a notoriously anti-Semitic army, he went from fighting with his fellow soldiers to fighting an impossible war against the Japanese in China. Twice he was sentenced to death: once for punching a superior, and once for falling asleep on guard duty. Twice he was surprised to find the sentences overturned. After surviving freezing nights, endless marches without food, and gun battles, he returned to Warsaw to join the revolutionaries, only to be arrested and sentenced to death again. At the last minute he received a reprieve and was shipped instead to a Siberian labor camp. Through all of these adventures, despite being surrounded by death, Marateck’s wit, intelligence, and optimism carried him through.

Readers interested in European or Jewish history, war stories, and just plain action adventure will enjoy this book. Kranzler’s editing creates a smooth style with a quick pace while retaining her grandfather’s unique voice and perspective. The Accidental Anarchist is the true story of a likable hero on an epic journey. (October) Christine Canfield

A Lot is Happening

2010-10-11T18:06:00.000-07:00

It's not that there has been nothing to write about since my last entry, but rather that too much has been going on for me to have the opportunity to provide an update on the status of this project. As I write, the book is not only being printed but converted into multiple e-formats. The release day has been delayed till October 22 to accomodate some interviews that will take place that week.

Meanwhile, I'm sending out personal, direct mail letters to Jewish Book Fair venues (which I tried to contact by email, but about half of the emails listed on the sites bounced back) as well as to Hadassah organizations around the country that have book clubs. At the same time, I'm about to begin seeking blurbs from academics in the fields of Jewish History, Asian History, Russian History, Military History so that I can market it to Universities for use on their reading lists. (I'd particularly like to see places like West Point, The Citadel and Virginia Military Institute incorporate the book into their studies; I think the young and impressionable students who plan a military career ought to know that war isn't pretty and it isn't glamorous, despite the way it's been marketed to the public. (Remember when there was an embargo on photographs of coffins returning from Iraq? As if they thought no one would notice that people were dying as a result of that conflict)?

I'm also trying to gather my thoughts on how to explain what living in my grandfather's words has been like for these past few years. Before I began this project, he was something like a Superhero to me -- not because of amazing feats or strength or anything like that but because he didn't seem real to me. He was just a story while I was growing up, an interesting one but not one with which I felt a particular kinship. It's different now, but I still don't have the words to explain it.

I'm still behind in several other matters that I need to a attend to, notably creating a book trailer, which is like a video TV commercial for the book. I'm not going to try to complete with some of the glitzy book trailers that I've seen -- they've hired actors to play the roles in the book! I don't have a budget like that, so I'm going to have to be creative on a budget. I've had a concept in mind for several months, but just haven't had the time to sit down and write it. (Then I'll have to figure out how to film and edit it, but if I always thought about the next step after one I have yet to take, I'd be afraid to do anything at all). So here's to ignorance! Sometimes its the only reason that things get done.

The Tiger

2010-10-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

I've been reading the book, The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance by John Valliant, a non-fiction book set in far Eastern Siberia, land of the convict gold mines to which my grandfather had been heading. It's a good thing he escaped when he did. His destination was an additional 4-5 months of walking away, whereas the transit camp he escaped from was only 100 miles from the nearest tracks of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The entire away of the gold mines, and more, is forested land known as the taiga -- the world's largest forest, which covers 11% of the earth.

I had thought he was in the taiga when he first escaped because he referred to being in a forest, with no landmarks, etc. "surrounded as we were by trees that were identical in height and girth." In fact the taiga is home to the world's tallest, and hence, I presume, oldest, trees. So when my grandfather described them as being "deep in the bowels of a forest that may not have been touched by human feet since
the Six Days of Creation" he might not have been exaggerating.

Not only does far eastern Siberia have an unforgiving climate (the better to discourage inmates from any thoughts of escaping -- and surviving), but it is also home to the Amur Tiger (aka, the Siberian Tiger), the largest specie of tiger in the world, but also, as the book demonstrates, capable of higher order thinking, particularly when it comes to taking revenge.

Predatory animals don't usually attack humans unless they, themselves, have been or are being attacked, but in one of the incidents described in the book, a hunter stole some meat from an animal that the tiger had killed, which the tiger considered an attack (or at the very least, rude behavior). Not only was this particular tiger pissed off, byut he memorized the particular hunter's scent, and stalked him, camping outside the hunter's cabin for several days, and then returning to the forest to await the hunter whom she knew would return, as if she had some hypnotic power over him. She waited for the hunter (tigers, while having the capability to get very angry, also seem to have a great deal of patience, making them deadlier than even the cattiest <--hmm, wonder why we use that descriptive term? -- high school girl), and when he returned, she attacked and ate him, leaving only the clothing as evidence of his kill and, perhaps, a warning.

So while my grandfather's crazy ideas and occasional charm got him out of a lot of close calls, I'm glad he didn't have to test his charm on a tiger, one with a long memory.

Sky of Red Poppies

2010-09-28T05:58:00.000-07:00

Full disclosure: This is my friend, Zoe's book, however it is unique, and a marvelous read that I highly recommend.

The book takes us inside the lives of people who was struggled to survive under the Shah of Iran's regime (probably not too much different than the current regime, except that Ahmadinejad has PR people who teach how to talk without saying anything at all). The story is about two young girls, best friends who are very much alike, until each makes a seemingly trivial, but fateful, decision: Shireen becomes politically active while Roya does everything possible to not to draw attention to herself. The girls grow up, and they grow apart by virtue of the different paths they pursue, and the reader gets to see the consequences of those decisions, not just upon the girls, but their extended families, as well.

It would be difficult for an American reader to imagine what it would be like to live under an oppressive regime in which it is risky to have, let alone express, an opinion. The Savak (secret police) are everywhere. Much as in Ceauşescu's Romania, one could not be sure who to trust. Friends and family are forced to denounce each other in order to save their own lives, while a relative handful of people assume all the risks, and suffer all the punishments, themselves.

The two primary characters, Roya and Shireen, represent a nation at odds with itself, wondering "whether to take arms against a sea of trouble and by opposing, end them" (Shakespeare), or remain silent and obedient, rationally focusing on their own and their families' lives than those of their countrymen.

In spite of the world it depicts, Sky of Red Poppies (as its optimistic-sounding title suggests) is not a dark book, nor does it have a political agenda. It focuses on the relationships between the girls. Even once they are separated by geography and the very different paths their lives take, Roya doesn't forget Shireen, and struggles to find out whether her friend is dead or alive.

The book opens a window into a world that people from the West never see, not just the lifestyle, but the very real people inhabiting it. They are no different than you or I, but by an accident of birth live under a totalitarian regime. But whether Zoe Gharahmeni writes about the reality of life under the Shah, or describes the friendship between the girls, her words are emotionally evocative, and beautiful.

On the Nature of Prejudice

2010-09-16T10:41:00.000-07:00

The recent discussion about potential Koran burnings scheduled to coincide with the anniversary of 9/11 got me thinking: First, it reminded me that some people are very skilled at coming up with stunts to get publicity for themselves or their causes, but then also about how we, as a society, continue to generalize about and demonize certain groups of people, such as Muslims, according to the actions of a single (or, in this case, 19) individuals.

I found this a particularly stunning example of what a short distance we, as a society, has evolved since the abolishment of slavery, for example, 150 years ago or the Jim Crow laws that were still on the books in certain states as recently as 45 years ago. This point stood out particularly because the news about renewed hostility toward muslims came out while I was editing a certain section of my grandfather’s book

If you recall, anti-Semitism was the official government policy in Russia and its occupied territories in the early 1900s, and plenty of enmity was directed against the Jews (and not just in the form of discrimination, but in active, and brutal pogroms). Yet despite his experiences, I never detected in my grandfather’s words any hostility towards Russians, Poles, Ukrainians or any other ethnic group as a people. In fact, upon the death of one acquaintance, Semyon, he noted that “. . . In all the months of our acquaintance until th[e] moment [of his death], I had never heard him say a bad word against either the Jews or the Czar.” He held up Semyon in contrast to numerous other soldiers who had been schooled in violence and indoctrinated in chauvinism, and expressed their attitudes toward Jews unabashedly. Which suggests that such attitudes were so endemic that my grandfather fully expected and anticipated to be the target of resentment and blame, and was surprised by its absence.

Considering the intimate nature of the thoughts and feelings that my grandfather expressed so openly in his diaries (possibly because he didn’t live long enough to edit out those sentiments), I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him let loose, on occasion, with some unkind words about certain groups of people who tormented him. But he focused his anger exclusively on the one individual most responsible for the deplorable conditions in the army and in the country as a whole – the Czar (which led to yet another death sentence, but you probably could have guessed that).

As the daughter of someone who had escaped from Germany during the rise of Nazism, one might expect me to have heard nothing but negative stories about all Germans while I was growing up. Yet my father remembered his years in Germany with great fondness – the nanny who had a picture of Hitler on her wall, the schoolteacher who wore a swastika armband and required the students to salute Hitler, but still treated the Jews in the class as equals of everyone else. (This open-minded attitude toward Germans got my father into trouble when he spoke, many years ago, to a group of Holocaust survivors, understandably a crowd that did not care to hear about ordinary Germans’ redeeming qualities).

When we find ourselves considering an isolated part of something as representative of the whole, we should remember, as Mark Twain noted, “All generalizations are false – including this one.”

Discussion: As open-minded as I try to be, I know there are situations in which I fall victim to the same type of thinking. I generally think that "all politicians are liars" because in order to get elected, a candidate needs to tell the public what it wants to hear, which usually isn't the truth. Where, in your experience, do you see such deductive reasoning arise?

Blurb Received from Elie Wiesel

2010-08-22T05:40:00.000-07:00

"The Accidental Anarchist is a profound testament to the power of faith, and to the continued survival of the Jewish people."

Calling all Maratecks

2010-08-17T04:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I met my cousin Sam Marateck, a professor of Computer Science at NYU. We compared the stories were had heard growing up, and he told me that what his grandfather had said about my grandfather was that you couldn't be in the same room with him without laughing. We worked on drawing the family tree, and I pulled out a list of both phone records and death records listing Maratecks in the U.S. -- there aren't all that many -- and he was able to tell me who most of them were. It turns out that there is one Marateck still in Shenandoah, PA (but as to my question regarding how in the world the family ended up there, of all places -- and my apologies to anyone who lives in what I understand is a beautiful area -- all he could tell me was that it was a Polish area, but not necessarily populated with Polish Jews). I also learned there is one branch of the family in Ft. Myers, FL (we couldn't figure out from which of my grandfather's brothers that family is descended, so I'm looking forward to calling that cousin) as well as in Marietta, GA.There aren't a lot of us, so I should be able to reach most of them.

So if you happen to know of anyone with the last name of Marateck, there's a good chance it's a close relative, and please ask him or her to contact me.

One final observation: Sam and I were speaking of our grandfathers, and there was so much that we didn't know -- about their siblings, who left Poland and who remained and perished, and so on. That's only two generations. If you have grandparents, ask questions; that information doesn't stick around forever.

Found a Relative!

2010-08-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

One would think that, after asking my mother so many questions about what happened to her father's brother and sister that she might have thought to tell me that we have a couple of cousins, ironically in New York City, where I am now, and one in Florida, where I was before coming to NY.

The relative in Florida is a professor of computer science at NYU, and I'm looking forward to meeting him, giving him an advance copy of the book, and finding out what family history he knows. (Unfortunately, my grandfather didn't write nearly as much about this brother, who was a Torah scholar, so he won't find a lot in the book about his father, but at least there's something).

But neither he, nor the cousin in Florida, is from either of the other two siblings about whom I have not been able to learn anything. I checked the Mormon database, Shenandoah, PA death records, and what little still exists of Jewish records from Poland. I suspect that the sister, Malkah, and the oldest brother, Mordechai, who saved my grandfather's hide so many times, never made it out of Poland. I just don't understand why my mother knows virtually nothing about this aunt and these uncles (she says it wasn't something that was talked about). None of this makes sense to me, but I'm excited to have the chance to connect with these other branches of the family. It's another way of bringing my grandfather's story to life.

The Amateur Researcher, Part II

2010-08-01T18:02:00.000-07:00

Since Czarist Russia wasn’t big on gathering, or sharing, information, I haven’t found any resources that identified the location of these prison camps. Most of the time, the camps didn’t even record the names of the prisoners in their custody – at least not at the transit camps. I guess they figured that identifying them would be easier when there were many fewer who survived the entire journey.

There are a few clues in the book, however, to help us figure out where the transit camp he had escaped from might have been. Our story so far:

1) When my grandfather and his partner (and 19 other convicts) had escaped from the camp, they were told (by the guards– do you think they’re reliable sources?) that it was only a five-day walk to the railroad tracks.

2) Considering that my grandfather had escaped with an older comrade (only in his fifties, but back then that was old) who wasn’t in the best of shape, I assumed that they could only walk about 20 miles a day, which would meant they were about 100 miles from a train station (unless the guards assumed they would cover greater distance in a single day)

3) The camp was either in or near the woods, and they spent the first night deep in the forest. The Taiga? That is the world’s largest forest, so it doesn’t help us narrow down their location.

3) After not having eaten for about four days – their meager half-loaf of bread didn’t make it much past the second day of freedom -- they found an isolated cabin in the woods. The woman who lived there fed them and let them sleep in the barn that night.

5) She described living conditions in this remote area as better than the “real” Siberia, which I interpret, and the information supports this, that she lived in Western Siberia.

6) Her home was not far from a military base where her husband, an army colonel who was sympathetic toward the coming revolution, was stationed

7) The colonel and advised my grandfather and his partner to travel east, toward Asia, rather than in the more predictable direction, west, toward Europe and home; in particular, they had been advised to head toward the city of Irkutsk, about a five-day train ride away

8) No fuss was made about it being a long distance to a rail station, so I presume they were pretty close to one of the stops on the TransSiberian Railway, much of whose construction had been completed by this point (1907)

9) Their “guide” put them on a train facing in the wrong direction, so instead of traveling 5 days east, they travelled 2-3 days west, which put them in the city of Chelyabinsk. (Chelyabinsk is not on the current route of the TransSiberian railroad, however it was on the “original” route, the one in use in 1907.)

10) The distance between Chelyabinsk and Irkutsk is 3388km (or 2105 miles). Thus, the city on which they boarded the train was either 2/7 or 3/8 of the way between Chelyabinsk and Irkutsk, or 968 and 1271km, respectively.

The red line on this map reflects the current route of the TransSiberian railroad, whereas the blue line that connects to the red reflects the original route.
Chelyabinsk was the first station on the original TransSiberian railroad.

11) Using the distances from Irikutsk (since Chelyabinsk is no longer on the same rail line), that means we’re looking for a station 2420 or 2217 km from Irikutsk, give or take

12) According to the distances between rail stations shown in Lonely Planet’s The Transsiberian Railway, the stations at which my grandfather and his partner were most likely to have boarded the train were Omsk (2469km from Irkutsk, or 49 miles off our calculation) or Barabinsk (2150km from Irkutsk, 33 miles off our calculation). Both cities had been founded by that time, although Barabinsk was a much younger, and smaller city, having been founded in 1893 when it became a stop on the Transsiberian railroad. According to Wikipedia, Omsk was the administrative center of Western Siberia in the 19th and 20th centuries; currently, it is the second largest city in Siberia (after Novosibirsk). Given that my grandfather and his partner were on the run, I think it’s less likely that they would have boarded a train in a large city, hence, my analysis leads me to conclude that they boarded the train in Barabinsk.

Now it’s just a matter of trying to find a labor camp about 100 miles from Barabinsk, but as I said, the Russians didn’t keep records of those things, and I’ve already spent too much time on this exercise (thought more of what I’ve learned may come up in future posts). I hope you'll forgive me if I don't pursue it further.

A side note: Omsk is where my goddaughter and her family lived—briefly—when her husband, a famous Swiss goalie, was recruited to play for the Russians, but then the NHL went on strike, and with all of the American (including Canadian) players suddenly available, most other foreign players were displaced. We had planned to visit them in Omsk that summer, but they weren’t there long enough.

The Amateur Researcher, Part I

2010-07-22T21:26:00.000-07:00

I had always had the romantic notion that my grandfather escaped from a prison camp in deepest Siberia, but while working on this book, and looking at the map while doing so, I realized that he had never reached his final destination, that he had escaped from one of the interim, or transition, camps.

When I became interested in charting out his various journeys. I looked at maps of Poland and Russia and identified where different incidents took place. My first observation was that people traveled tremendous distances back then (sometimes voluntarily and sometimes involuntarily). My next discovery, when I located on the map the Siberian towns to which my grandfather referred on his flight home, was that he had only gotten as far as Western Siberia, not all the way to the Far East, which I believe was the intended area as that region in rich in gold deposits, and gold mining was the task the prisoners on his chain gang were to perform for the next ten years.

As you can imagine, it isn’t very easy to locate maps of the various forced labor camps (and, by the way, the ones during my grandfather’s era were called katorgas, not gulags); it would probably require searching through the Kremlin archives, not all of which are likely to be accessible by the general public. Even if I knew his precise, ultimate destination, that wouldn’t help me find the interim camps through which the prisoners passed on the long journey to their permanent exile. They might even have been temporary.

But last night I came across a website that provided some information that I hadn’t had, and hadn’t come across anywhere else. The website was one that sells term papers (!); among other hitherto unknown bits of information, it gave a name to the interim camp system: etape – a new word to use in my searches. Suddenly, all sorts of new resources turned up that hadn’t appeared before. The unidentified author of this particular essay, entitled “Siberian Prison System,” also provided information about prisoners traveling on barges to Tomsk, from which they walked the remaining distance, which could be thousands of kilometers.

(to be continued)

First Blurb Received for Book Jacket

2010-07-19T18:04:00.000-07:00

“The Accidental Anarchist” is the memoir of Jacob Marateck, but it reads and feels like a great novel. In fact, as I raced through Jacob's adventures, I realized that no Hollywood screenwriter could ever invent such an extraordinary tale. A soldier in the Russo-Japanese war, Marateck, with a great eye for detail, manages to infuse every image and incident with his own unique optimism and an inspirational Jewish world view.

Robert J. Avrech is an Emmy Award winning Hollywood screenwriter and the author of the prize-winning novel, “The Hebrew Kid and the Apache Maiden.”

No, I Haven't Fallen Off the Face of the Earth

2010-07-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

...though the irregularity of my posts must make it seem that way. The reality is that there are a lot of activities going on related to the book's October release. Among them:

Develop a social media marketing plan: I'm going to need some help here, though I think I've come up with a strategy for using Twitter. It'll take me a long time to set up, but if it works the way I think/hope it does, it should be effective. I'll learn more next week when I go to a Social Media Marketing Workshop. If you want to follow my tweets (and give me your feedback on my strategy), my address is: @xsnerg (there's a link on the blog). If you read a Tweet you like, please forward it to your friends; it takes a lot of forwards to make anything, such as a Tweet, go viral).

By the way, I asked my musician son if he uses Twitter. He replied that, "Twitter is for middle-aged people who think that's what kids do." There's some truth in that...

Social media marketing also means setting up a website, which is in progress. For those of you who have regularly been following my blog, some of the information on the website will be repetitive, but there will also be new components, including an animated map of my grandfather's travels. Last week, I spent time in the UCSD Map Library, trying to figure out where the labor camp that my grandfather escaped from was located: I know it was a five-day walk from Chelyabinsk, which is in Western Siberia, and that he rowed across a lake that was a mile wide somewhere along that route. Unfortunately, Google Earth doesn't have the tools to help me look at the landscape within a 100-mile radius, which is what I figured he and his partner would have covered in five days' time; that feature is only on Google Earth Pro, which costs $400. Which is why I went to the map library. I found the call number of the specific map I wanted to examine but it was missing. Contacting the main reference librarian in the map room to see if he can locate it; he was on vacation when I was in the library last week.

The website will also have a video of my presentation to the Jewish Book Council, which will be part of my online press kit, and the Book Trailer I'm currently writing (think movie trailer, but without the budget). (I asked the same son if he could compose something for the book trailer -- I'm talking less than a minute of music -- but he said he needed 6 months' notice... Well, he is busy. But he recommended several websites from which I can download music free, or 'free' after paying a single licensing fee). If I can finish my part of it by the time he returns home from his West Coast tour, I may ask, again. There will also be an area where readers can write in with comments on the book.

I'm also looking for a publicist, 75% of the need is because I don't have time to do everything that needs to be done, and 25% because there are probably things that I haven't thought of (for example, what the heck is Cloud Management?), or for which I don't have the connections.

If anyone has additional suggestions on what I can do to increase the visibility of my book before its October release, I'd love to hear from you.

If You Had Any Doubts as to the Existence of the Notebooks...

2010-07-01T13:31:00.000-07:00

I just got hold of my grandfather's first notebook, the one he bought in a train station in Harbin, China, to document his adventures. I hope this is, at least, partially legible so you can see the date, 1904, written in the upper right hand corner of the first page on the left.

In truth, my grandfather realized later that it wasn't 1904 but 1905, and not summer but autumn. While you or I can get the date or even the day of week wrong, we would likely only be one day off. Imagine what it would take to be so disoriented that you'd lost an entire year!

BTW, you won't be able to read the text; it's in Yiddish, which, BTW, reads from right to left, like Hebrew.

Prior to getting this, I hadn't realized that there were photos from newspapers pasted in here. This is a photo of Czar Nicholas II taken from a Yiddish newspaper.

And the picture of the Czarina (which also hung in the barracks, and which the soldiers were expected to kiss).

There are several occasions when my grandfather heads off on some dangerous mission (or adventure) and refers to giving his diary to a friend to hold for him, and to give to his parents if he doesn't return. THIS is that book. (It cost a nickel in China in 1905.)

Even though I always knew it was real, it looks different than what I had pictured (I imagined a cardboard cover, like today's black-and-white marblized, composition notebooks, but this is cloth, and it doesn't look too bad for being over 100 years old and going through a war, and then some. I was also surprised to see just how much my grandfather wrote during the war. He labeled up to page 262.

I don't know who this merry band of Russians is, but I can find out what the text says. And on the right-hand side is my grandfather's name which, it appears, he wrote as Jakob Marteck.

An Inside Joke, Just Between Us

2010-06-22T11:34:00.000-07:00

The day after I gave my presentation at the Jewish Book Council's "Meet the Author" event (still waiting to find out to which cities I'll be invited, I attended a conference for independent publishers at which I learned about some of the many things I need to do to promote The Accidental Anarchist before its October launch.I previously discussed the fact that I needed to create a multimedia press kit, and have just completed the first aspect of it.

As I wasn't forward-thinking enough at the time I gave my presentation at the Jewish Book Council, I hadn't asked anyone to record it. So I restaged at home, with a text card indicating that the presentation was made to the Jewish Book Council, etc. That restaging was done in my son's room, as he had the most neutral curtains that I could use as a backdrop. In much the same way I had rehearsed my presentation while walking around New York City for two days before my presentation, I practiced it again in front of the camera (never my favorite place to be). This time, it wasn't to get the words or pace right -- it was to get the look of it right.

I had to create a klugy alternative to a tripod. This involved an upended (empty) garbage can; an empty box of something that had been delivered by Amazon; and a few very thick textbooks borrowed from my son's table. Until I came up with that height, I had tried to work with less and have a steadier place for the camera (even giving the presentation while kneeling, but that still didn't put me in the right position in the view finder. (There was probably an easier way to figure out where, against those anonymous curtains, I needed to stand, but I had to do it over and over to get it right). In the end, I recorded my presentation (dressed as I had been on that day in May), which came out good, but just a wee bit tilted to one side as the empty Amazon box couldn't easily support the textbooks upon it.

In the end, my wonderful friend, Cissy, edited the video, adding the text identifying where the presentation had taken place, and, I think, though I no longer remember, dubbing in some appreciative applause at the end. (That audio file was a little difficult to find, though it was fun looking. The list of available applause audio files, at: http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/soundfx/applause.shtml, includes such specific applause sounds like 'Smattering of Applause,' 'Rock Concert Clap,' and 'Laugh Applause III.'). This will be up on my website as soon as I provide the designer with the remaining content, which is also on my list, and on YouTube, where I have never wanted to be.

But now I must return to the list that tells me what I need to accomplish today, even though it includes rollover tasks from other days.

A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing

2010-06-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

Each time I attend a conference on a topic related to self-publishing, I learn about something else I absolutely MUST do. At the recent conference in New York, it was reiterated that every book must have its own website. Now, I know the difference between a website and a blog, though for months, if people asked me if I had a website I replied that I had a blog; to me they accomplished the same thing. Apparently not. A website is more static while the blog is more dynamic. So, explain to me again why a blog isn't good enough?

I haven't gotten a definitive answer other than, "You just need one." I know that the website is a selling tool, with radio buttons and links to sites at which one can Buy the Book (because for reasons that I don't want to have to understand, it's not a good idea for a publisher/author to take on the responsibility of being a downloading site; better to link to someone else who does it).

Having heard this enough times, I realized that it's something I can't ignore any longer. And even though it will be static (God, I hope I'll be able to update it myself, rather than having to pay every time I change my mind or have a new idea), it naturally takes a lot of start-up time. So I'm currently writing the content for about 7 pages of website. Not that it's difficult; not that I can't use material I've already written and used elsewhere, but it's a separate line item on a To Do list that has become a black hole.

But I'm determined to have a little fun with it. There will be one page named "Just for Fun" in which I will post one son's sports writing and the other son's sports schedule, and basically give this proud Mama a space to brag about my children. I can't take full credit for them turning into the young men that they are; I'm too impressed with them to believe that I could have had too much to do with it.

So, watch this site for the announcement of when the website goes live, and then maybe you can explain to me why it's an all-important selling tool.

"Thank God, I Can't Complain"

2010-06-08T23:30:00.000-07:00

"Besides, Who Would Listen?"

It's a line used by older Jewish men that happens to be very appropriate for my topic tonight, which is whining about how much work I have to do -- or rather, the steps involved in pre-promotion of a book.

When I started this blog, I did it because I had learned in a conference that the first and most important thing that someone who intends to self-publish a book needs to do is start a blog, start a following, develop an audience. So tonight I get to have an audience for my moaning about how much work I have to do while also providing what I hope is some useful and interesting information.

When people asked me if I had a website for the book, I said "sure," and provided the blog address. I know that they are different, but I thought one could substitute for the other. The website (which I have now committed to creating) will be more of a static site; most of the information will remain the same, unless there is 'news,' whereas the blog needs to updated with some regularity. (And I apologize to anyone who finds my entries too 'wordy;' you're absolutely right -- they are -- but you should see my text messages).

So I'm about to create a website. I got my domain name: theaccidentalanarchist.com (don't forget to use "the" when you search for it so as not to get confused with a 10 year-old book with a way too similar title "An" Accidental Anarchist). That was step 1. Step 2 is to lay out all my pages, or what those pages will be when I have all the content. (And as you can tell from my logorrhea (per Merriam-Webster: "excessive and often incoherent talkativeness or wordiness," aka 'diarrhea of the mouth') coming up with content shouldn't be too hard. In hearing talk about website content at the recent conference I attended, it seems that I need an online press kit, which should contain multimedia content. I was already going to post the 2-minute (2:10 if we're being picky) presentation that I gave at the Jewish Book Council, and I've basically conceded that I will have to create a book trailer (about which, more later). And I can write all the publicity materials needed; that's the benefit of having done it for some many other people for many years.

Beyond the home page, which I imagine will have links to where you can buy or download the book (in October), there will be some information about me (either in large type or with a lot of graphics since there isn't a lot I need to say), stuff about my grandfather (almost everything I know about him is in the book -- in fact, that's the only way I know him,although my mother has started recording some of her memories of him; maybe some of that content will go up there. A page about my father, who worked on the book before me,and there's a lot more to say about him; loads of links online, most particularly because he had worked on the original Star Trek, and those fans are loyal. At some point, when I have some speaking engagements lined up, like at the Jewish Book Fairs (I hope many of them will invite me; otherwise, I may offer to pay my own transportation to get to certain cities; I've been wanting to see a friend in Birmingham, AL, for a long time, anyway, and Birmingham has a reasonably sized Jewish community: Jim, if you're reading this, call your local Jewish Community Center (JCC), which probably organizes it, and ask them to invite me as a speaker; in fact, everyone who's reading this -- please contact your local JCC and ask to speak to the Jewish Book Fair coordinator and do the same. If Birmingham, AL can have a Jewish Book Fair, your community probably does, too). I'm in Miami several times a year, anyway, to visit my number one son, and will be in NY much more often where I can visit my number two son. There's someone I'd like to meet in Knoxville, TN, as well as people I want to see again in New Haven and Boston. And might as well connect with a friend in St. Paul, MN, and as long as these events take place in the late fall, it's a nice time of year to visit Arizona.

And I don't know if it's appropriate use of a website, but I'd love to devote a page to my boys -- posting one son's sports writing and event management news, and the other's CD releases and tour dates. Did I mention that I was going to ask the younger one to write the score for my book trailer? The older one designed the logo for my publishing company. (And I can get really loquacious when I talk about how proud I am of these boys).

But the point of this entry was that I wanted to complain about how much I've had to do. So there's the planning of the website, which, as I've described it above, doesn't sound too hard (since someone else will be doing the coding and building in the analytics); creating a book trailer, which, now that I have a killer concept, ought to be fun; and writing the content for each of the pages, which I can draw from so many other things I've written in or about the book. There's also an essay I want to write about the process of writing, editing, completing and publishing the diaries that I'm hoping to publish in something with a wide circulation -- just in time for the book's release. I still need blurbs through the back cover; I have one committed, and someone else in mind. I'm sending out the advanced review copies (ARCs, in book publishing parlance) to various publications. I've read that you need to send out 20 copies; I think I've sent out about 8 so far; I take my time in evaluating the publications to which I send them, and craft a 'hook' unique to the particular editor or publication that I hope will get them to pick my book from among the dozens or more vying for each slot in a review publication. At least one thing I have working in my favor -- I can give them the 4 month lead-time that the publications prefer. Plus I need to hit ones representing difference niches: Biography readers, people interested in history, Jewish readers, people who enjoy humor, libraries, and academics who might consider the book for their curriculum in military history, Russian history, Asian history, Jewish history, etc. -- lots of niches, some of which I won't even begin to market to until 2011.

My point to night is that there is a lot to do in marketing a book. I think of it like a Presidential election. There may be national advertising (well, not for me) but basically a candidate has to earn each vote one at a time.

Thanks for being the audience for tonight's rant. If I don't quit now,I won't be able to get up in a few hours and start the process all over again.

Oh No, Mom; Now is When the Hard Work Really Begins

2010-06-05T00:04:00.000-07:00

My mother thinks that, now that I’ve written the book and spoken at the Jewish Book Council, the hard part is over and I can get back to my writing. But if anything, things only get harder. Now is when I need to do the pre-marketing of the book.

Since I don’t have a huge (read: any) advertising budget, I need to find ways to get free attention for the book to build the buzz and establish an audience before it goes on sale. There are a few ways to do this. As each of these bears lengthy discussion, I’ll address one at a time. Today: Book Reviews:

Book Reviews:
There are the professional reviewers, and then there are the ‘new’ professional reviewers.
Review publications like The New York Times Book Review and Publishers Weekly are the classic, influential reviewers. But they’re not interested in self/independently published books (despite the fact that an independently published book, Tinkers, won this year’s Pulitzer Prize), and woe be it to anyone who tries to slip one past them!

While, historically (and still), there has been no vetting process for self-published books, it is also true that many people who might otherwise submit their books to publishers through agents have decided to sidestep the traditional/old-fashioned process, which involves a lengthy cycle of application-rejection (rinse-repeat). That process can only have gotten more drawn out with half the editors in publishing houses in NY having been laid off during this recession. And if your book doesn’t offer blockbuster promise, then the economics simply don’t work for the publisher. Plus, as even authors with NY publishers behind them have to do all their own publicity and marketing, why not save time and do it yourself? (I’ll give you one reason why: The learning curve is steep; after more than six months of learning how to self-publish effectively, I still get a stiff neck from looking up at what I still need to learn how to do).

But as it happened, my former Writing group, which was on hiatus for several months, was no longer a writing group once we got together again; it had turned into a Publishing group as each of us, independently, decided that self-publishing was the right way to go with our respective projects, each of which has a well-defined niche. Now we meet every few weeks to share what we’ve learned that can help someone else.

Another reason to pursue a non-traditional publishing process is out of concern for time, as was the case in my situation; when your 83 year-old mother says she wants to see this book published “in [her] lifetime,” you don’t want to waste a lot of time. Apparently, once a publisher accepts a manuscript, it can take eighteen months until it is actually published.

Back to the main topic: Before I went to New York, I sent my book out to five review sources, two library review journals (supposedly a good review in one of these publications is a virtual guarantee of an order of 500 to 3000 books), two Jewish book review publications, and one history publication that had expressed interest in reading the book. There’s no guarantee that any of them will review them, but they have the desired four-month lead time to do so, and all I can do is write a compelling cover letter that will encourage them to take a look; the writing will have to speak for itself after that.

At the recent independent publishing conference I attended in New York, I also learned about an online review source; in fact, the reviewer is so prominent, I don’t know why I never heard about it/him before: Jesse Kornbluth, aka Head Butler. He is/has been an author, journalist, and entrepreneur, co-founding bookreporter.com, “the hub of the Internet's most successful non-commercial book network.” He was also Editorial Director of America Online. It was very refreshing to hear him speak, in marked contrast to the traditional reviewer who emphasized the many types of book they didn’t want to see (such as self/independently published books, as stated above). Kornbluth’s answer to what he wanted or didn’t want to see was, “I don’t care. If I like it, I’ll review it.” It was that simple. I wrote to him to see if he was interested in reading The Accidental Anarchist. Now I’m waiting to hear back from him. And from the others. And see what they have to say. And continue to look for other publications that I might be able to interest in reading/reviewing the book.

Wild Week

2010-05-31T20:35:00.000-07:00

Just back from New York, from speaking in front of the Jewish Book Council (quite enjoyable, and I made notes of which other authors' books to buy, based on their presentations), closing on an apartment, and catching up on the theater and restaurants, the former of which included taking in 8 shows in 8 days. Not as exhausting as the Telluride Marathon I participate in every Labor Day -- seeing 15 movies in 3 days, and waiting on line for each of them! -- but it can still wear you out. One trend I noticed is that shows are getting shorter. In Shakespeare's time, plays were five acts and three-and-a-half hours long if the actors spoke quickly. Then we went down to a three-act structure, which included my father's play, Kataki, which was on Broadway in 1958 (for only 42 performances because the New York Times' reviewer, Brooks Atkinson, didn't like it, and that was all that was necessary to close a show in those days). More recent shows have been two acts long, with the occasional one-act play, or more typically, two one-act plays performed together for a satisfying evening of theater.

But as evidenced by my recent experience with Broadway and Off-Broadway Theater, plays, even musicals, are getting shorter so as to match our attention span. Six out of the eight shows had no intermission, which I consider a good thing, unless the show is so horribly painful that you want to feign illness to get out of the theater. (The only show in recent memory that was that bad was the musical based on Bob Dylan's music -- I know; how could you ruin that? -- at San Diego's Old Globe Theater. Too much stuff we see in San Diego is pre-ordained to go to Broadway, which is not a good thing.)

Anyway, most shows lasted 90-100 minutes, which was the correct length of time to tell their particular stories. I particularly loved GOD OF CARNAGE, by Yasmina Reza, a French playwright with remarkably intimate knowledge of life in suburbia for two yuppie couples who take things way too seriously. From the very first line, a recitation of an informal contract that was presumably to be signed by both parties, it was clear that the playwright understood these couples who are of a type we know to exist, even if we don't know them personally. A kinder, gentler VIRGINIA WOOLF, with more alcohol and less sex.

Not proceeding chronologically, the next best were A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE, the latest by Martin McDonough who has a wicked sense of humor that is occasionally too creepy for my taste (THE PILLOWMAN, for example), but A BEHANDING, though a little grisly, was all fun. So, too, was THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY, which was about professional wrestling. The subject alone cues that this will be an over-the-top comedy. Well-acted, and highly entertaining (although this play would have benefited by not having an intermission, and, hence, a second act). Almost everything that needed to be said was in the first act.

Then there were the musicals. THE BURNT PART BOYS, about the reopening of a mine in West Virginia ten years after a disaster killed 4 miners, 3 of whom were parents of the principal actors in the show, was exceptionally well-directed on a barebones stage in which ladders and chairs stood for the mountain, the mine, and individual homes in the town. Oddly, though, this bluegrass musical had no 'heart.' How can you not feel for these kids who lost their fathers at a young age? I don't know, but you didn't. FELA! was based on the life of a man who tried to bring reform to a corrupt Nigeria. The theater was decorated like a nightclub, and offered the novelty of being able to bring drinks to your seat (which certain other theaters allowed for a surcharge -- the cost of a "commemorative" plastic cup for your wine). A Bill T. Jones dance show with Afrobeat music. Maybe it was too warm in the theater, but the second act dragged, for me. AMERICAN IDIOT, based on the album of the same name by Green Day, was a RENT or HAIR pretender, but was really just the album with a lot of flashing lights. Turn the music up loud and listen to it at home. I don't know about you, but I wasn't all that interested in Andrew Jackson, our seventh president, the face on our $20 bill, either before, or after, BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON. Overhyped; inadequate voices, but a nice try. RED, about Mark Rothko. Turns out he had a ego. What a surprise.

IMHO

I Think I ROCKED!

2010-05-24T19:27:00.000-07:00

(I know; it's a daily double; this doesn't happen often).

Just returned from the Jewish Book Fair front, where I gave my very tightly worded 2 minute presentation. Having rehearsed it repeatedly for the past month, but probably 100 times over the past two days that I've been in NY, I felt perfectly comfortable about getting up there to give my pitch -- until I saw my competition: Two stand-up comedians, one comedy screenwriter (who did an impeccable imitation of Woody Allen, who blurbed for him), the son of someone who helped bring down the Nixon administration, several NY Times and Business Week journalists, a couple of authors whose books had been on the New York Times best-sellers lists, (as well as certain authors who were sufficiently well-known that they didn't need to present) -- you know, 'ordinary' people like that, each of whom spoke impeccably, and humorously, during his/her two minutes. In fact, I had the good fortune (if you look at it that way) to be sandwiched between a woman who was a regular on Seinfeld (as a friend of Jerry's parents), and a good-looking former bond-trader-turned-author. I didn't get as many laughs as a lot of the other speakers, but I got some sounds of hearts being warmed by the conclusion of the talk.

So I wasn't really sure how it went, until the reception following the Meet the Author event, when both other authors and the attendees representing the Jewish Book Fairs in other cities told me how much they enjoyed the presentation, and asked me questions about my grandfather, and the process of writing/finishing the book. So I hope to be invited to at least a few of the cities (actually, I hope to be invited to more than a few, but considering that each city can only invite 20 authors, and considering the marque names, that doesn't leave a lot of spaces for people like me. But I did my best. Now I have to wait, and see.

Tomorrow I'm at an independent publishing conference all day. Then, for the rest of the week--9 Broadway and off-Broadway shows; that's my reward.

AFunny Thing Happened on the Way to the Jewish Book Council

2010-05-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

I got to NY yesterday afternoon, and had dinner with a friend at a restaurant about a mile from my hotel. This being NY, naturally I walked. I blended in well with the native New Yorkers because I, too,was murmuring to myself, but in my case, I was rehearsing my presentation for this afternoon, with a stopwatch app running on my phone at the same time. Still coming in at about 2:10 or 2:15, and though I doubt there will be others who don't make the 2:00 limit, I WANT to make the limit. So I dropped a few clauses, turned some multi-syllabic words into monosyllabic ones. If I can remember the new edits, I should make the two minute limit - - with breathing. I followed the same routine walking back to my hotel, with one difference: I popped into a little market to pick up a zero-calorie drink. That was a big mistake.

Somehow, I came out of the market and retraced my steps, ie, I headed in the wrong direction. It was only because Rockefeller Center suddenly looked so familiar (I had taken a different route on the way to dinner) that I realized I was facing the wrong way. At that point, I didn't know which way was East or West, or North or South. I knew the hotel's address: 45 W., and knew that, in Manhattan, "W" refers to west of Fifth Avenue and "E" means east of Fifth Avenue. When I was finally pointed in the right direction -- downtown, I walked from Fifth to Sixth and found 45 W., but it wasn't the hotel. (Insert Twilight Zone sound effect, here). Now I was really confused, and not a little shaken up. But I'm willing to admit my mistake, so I went over to a cab driver, told him that I had 'misplaced' my hotel and could he direct me? He didn't have a clue. I stopped someone going into a high-rise apartment building -- clearly someone who lived there because she had a key, and asked her. No clue. Finally I went into a Holiday Inn, and the woman at the desk directed me to the hotel, which was on the next block. What I still don't understand, though, is why there are two "45 W." on the same block, and why one is on the east side and one on the left.

But I think I just figured out the answer: As I Mapquested the location for the Jewish Book Council presentations, about 3 miles away, I typed the Origin as the name of the hotel, rather than the address, and it was then I discovered it is actually on the East Side. So there's no 'Mystery Spot' in Manhattan, and the world is orderly. It is just I who was confused. I think later I'll find a Compass app. on my phone to keep me pointed in the right direction.

Wish Me Luck!

2010-05-22T09:37:00.000-07:00

I'm in Miami now, visiting my son, on the way up to New York tomorrow to speak at the Jewish Book Council on Monday afternoon. The objective will be to get as many of the coordinators of the Jewish Book Fair coordinators as possible to invite me to their cities to speak and sell books. I've also sent out requests to a few authors to read and provide blurbs for the rear book jacket. But it turns out, and I never would have guessed it, that some agents tell their authors not to give any more quotes if they've already provided a certain number of blurbs. In fact, I got a lovely email to that effect from Gary Shteyngart (The Russian Debutante's Handbook, Absurdistan -- worth reading), and David Benioff's (City of Thieves -- also great) lawyer declined on his behalf because he's busy working on an upcoming HBO series. I have 2 other letters out to authors I respect who write 'Jewish' fiction, and have sent the book out to four publications that might review it. At least, though, I have a commitment from Elie Wiesel to provide a blurb for jacket, but I'm hoping to have a few others. I've also contacted the owners of a few independent bookstores in NY and Miami, whom I hope will read the book and consider carrying it in their stores. So this stage is, surprisingly, a little more difficult than I had expected, but I'm positive that when people read The Accidental Anarchist, they'll love it.

So wish me luck next week, and I'll update the blog afterwards.

Blogging May Be Sporadic for a While

2010-05-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

Things have gotten very hectic preparing for the book launch. I just received my advanced review copies yesterday, and am now sending them out to review publications for quotes. I'd already have half a dozen of them in the mail by now if I weren't having such a hard time writing the promotional back jacket blurb copy,but that's my problem. In the meantime, I'm also identifying independent bookstores who will read independently published books to consider carrying them in their stores. And also contacting authors (whom I don't know) and requesting that they read my book and provide a quote for the back cover. The one thing I have going for me in this last regard is that Elie Wiesel has committed to providing a quote (I sent him my proof copy, which I got about 2 weeks ago). I was planning to wait till I had his quote in hand before contacting the other authors, but my friend, Barbara, suggested that I not wait, because everyone is busy and who knows how long something can take. It may be that I publish in October with fewer quotes, and as more come in I'll update the back cover. That's one advantage of being in charge of the printing, yourself (though it may use up my ISBN numbers more quickly). That's why there is typically a 3 to 4 month lead time between the time a book is "finished" and when it's published -- you need stuff to fill out the back cover. I have a few authors in mind to contact, but if anyone would like to make a suggestion, or has a personal relationship with an author of 'Jewish' books or history books, drop me a note; it may very well help.

Process, Redux

2010-05-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

I'm interrupting this post to add some information that I had forgotten to include yesterday,which is a continuation of last week's post on Process:

1) I attended one day of the Los Angeles book fair. There were readings and panels and signings by ‘name’ authors, few of whom I got to hear since Ticketmaster had screwed up my ticket order (and I didn’t notice until it was too late). I’m not sure what I had expected, but what I learned is that it is not worthwhile to have a booth there to sell my book as there were hundreds (maybe a slight exaggeration) of self-published authors there, and I didn’t see a lot of books flying out of their booths. Plus, I don’t know the quality of these other independent publishers or the quality of their materials, but I don’t think being among them (no offense intended) would serve me well. So knowing that saves me a lot of time. But I got to spend time with the friend with whom I went up to LA, and we got to hear Carol Burnett speak about her book and sign them. My friend, Zoe, was thrilled (so thrilled that she got a signed book for me, too).

2)I’m working on writing a variety of blurbs of different lengths to describe my book: One that a reviewer might want to use when describing the book as succinctly as possible, one that might appear on the Amazon page [NOTE TO SELF: Check on length requirement/limitation].

3)Last Saturday, I received the Proof copy of my book. It was quite cool to see it made up the correct size, and bound. Even if the back is mostly blank. That copy was supposed to be for me to proofread, etc., but instead I used it for another, important purpose: I send it to Elie Wiesel, whom I had contacted earlier and who promised a blurb for the book. Once I have that, I hope it will be easier to invite other authors to contribute quotes.

4)I posted a job on Elance, the site at which I found my book jacket designer and editor/proofreader. I'm hoping to hire someone who knows about driving traffic to a blog, as I knew I would like to have more people discover this blog and participate/comment in it. But I guess the requirements for the job were just too much, as I haven't gotten any applications. I may try to post it at UCSD, where I would imagine I can find someone skilled in this area. But if anyone has any recommendations for someone who knows how to drive target traffic to a blog (and the posting at Elance identifies the markets), please send him/her my way.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled content:
I had a very nice mother's day-- my first as an empty nester. But both boys called me (without prompting, at least by me) and talked at length. And one of them sent flowers, too. Even though we couldn't all be together, being able to talk to them without their being in a hurry to get off the phone -- for good reasons, as they're both busy, made me really happy.

So I'm a little overdue on updating the blog.

Continuing now about the Process of bringing this book to publication:
1) The past few days have been spent on research: which independent bookstores in San Diego, New York and Miami will read and consider carrying an independently published book? I want to write to each of them and schedule a time to go in and meet them and make a pitch for my book. I've also been trying to locate the email addresses of several particular authors from whom I would like to solicit a quote. I've managed to find most of the contact information, but I'm going to wait till I hear back from Elie Wiesel before I approach anyone else. Having a blurb from him will give the book the credibility it needs for me to approach the authors I'm thinking about. Plus I'm researching publications that will review independently published books. Some are more prestigious than others, though most of my focus will be on Jewish publications, as they are my primary/initial market. I may also pursue some academics, leaders in the field of knowledge about the Russo-Japanese War. Professors of Military History, Japanese History, Russian History, Jewish History and several others. I'm going to need to start building a list, and plan to send each of them a chapter (or portion of a chapter) and suggest that they might want to use the book in their classes. There's a chance that they may only want to buy excerpts, but there was a recent discussion in an online Self-Publishing group in which I participate that talks about how to price excerpts.
2) I'm also proofreading, again, the entire book, and have rewritten the opening, which I wasn't happy with, anyway, though now I am. I just have to decide whether it should stand alone as something like a Prologue (though prologues are currently out of fashion. Doesn't bother me too much, especially since I have an Epilogue describing life for my grandfather when he got to the U.S.) One unfortunately thing about proofreading is that I'm a chronic rewriter; I always think something can be said a little better, or with fewer words. Plus, I'm looking forward to getting feedback from my book club when we meet in a little over a week. They're reading my book for this month, and I hope they'll point out areas that don't make sense or are confusing, as well as typos. One friend who finished the book already expressed confusion about one of the characters, and I understand why; it's because in one part of the book my grandfather refers to him, primarily, by his first name, and much later in the book primarily by his last name. That's an easy fix, and a great catch.
3) As soon as I have the text finalized, I'm going to convert the file so that it can be downloaded. I haven't yet decided how many platforms to offer. If anyone is thinking about wanting to buy the download version, let me know what platform you use.
4) I'm working on an essay about getting to know my grandfather through the process of working on this book. I'd love it to be good enough to appear on the back page of the NY Times Sunday magazine, but that's a long shot. On the other hand, I think I have a pretty good sense of the style of article they publish, and am going to try to fit that. It would be awesome if I could get that published before the book comes out, as I need to work on ways to get attention for this book so I can sell it.
5) I need to work on some pre-marketing materials, too, such as descriptions of various lengths that can be used for different purposes, such as the rear jacket of the book (I'm writing a few versions of it, and will take it to booksellers to get their advice on what works), for Amazon to use, and for me to use in letters to booksellers, reviewers, etc. And if you think it's no big deal writing a letter, guess what: it takes forever. Writers obsess over every syllable, which is why we always ask someone else in the family to write a card to a friend. It must be performance anxiety .

So I'm putting together, and following, my (Pre-)Marketing plan, but a big part of it is something I can't do alone, and that's Getting the Word out. So, if you enjoy this blog, or ready an excerpt that you particularly enjoyed, please let other people know. Just as we've seen in even presidential elections, each vote is collected/each book is sold one person at a time.

Thank you for your support.

Process

2010-05-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

Fortunately, I’ve been keeping a diary of everything I do WRT publishing my book. Otherwise, I couldn’t look back to yesterday, let alone to a week or two ago, to recall the different steps involved in publishing this book.

It has been a little over two weeks since my last entry on this subject, and here is what has been happening:

1)    The most exciting thing is that, this week, I was FINALLY able to order 100 Advance Review Copies of my book (ignore the back cover; that's still a work in process) to be sent to the Jewish Book Council in advance of the presentations that will be given at the end of May. (I’ve been assigned to May 24, and hope to provide an update that night or the following day about how it went). [Advance Review Copies are what they sound like – books that are distributed to reviewers. They may not have all the obligatory information, such as the Copyright page or an Index, if relevant, and are usually marked as Not Proofread (even if it has been) because it takes multiple rounds of proofreading, by several people, to catch every typo and grammatical error. Plus, I’m reading the book now as a reader rather than the writer, and that is leading me to make a few text changes)]. Although it hadn’t occurred to me before, this is why books, on the day they are released, always have blurbs on the back cover. Ideally, the author can afford to wait 3 months to get reviews before going to press. I hadn’t planned on having that much ‘down time’ before the October release date, but getting ready for the Jewish Book Council presentation really accelerated things. ARCs, as they’re called, are not supposed to be sold, but it’s apparent that reviewers do sell them as we have, on several occasions, bought books online that were review copies.

2)    As I will be in Miami (one of my sons lives there) prior to going to NY to speak, I researched what independent bookstores exist there. I’m going to contact the owner or buyer, introduce myself and ask him or her to read my book and consider carrying it in the store. One of our highly regarded local independent bookstores has already agreed to read and consider carrying my book, so I’m going to pursue that strategy in every city in which I find myself, including NY. [NOTE TO SELF: Add to tasks ‘contact independent bookstore owners/managers this week].

3)    I am also researching which publications review self-published (or independently published) books. The major publications, like The New York Times Book Review, would not do that, but there are other publications that will, and I need to identify them. Fortunately, I have that 3 month lead time that they say they require.

4)    I wasn’t happy with the opening to the book and I rewrote and rewrote and rewrote it. I think what I finally came up with works.

5)    I applied for a PCIP code. This stands for Publishers Cataloguing-in-Publication. It’s what you need if you want your book to be available to libraries. Large publishers’ books get CIP (stands for the same thing, minus the P) codes, but small publishers are eligible for this alternative code. Not everyone chooses to get a PCIP (of course, you need to pay for this, too), but I think there’s good reason for my book to be represented in libraries. Sooooooo, on or around October 1, I will request that each of you who read or follow my blog contact your local library and ask if they carry The Accidental Anarchist, and encourage them to get it. This is grass-roots marketing, and even if it doesn’t feel completely ‘clean,’ that’s how it’s done. Close to the time that the book becomes available, I’ll also need to register it with Bowkerlink, which is how books get listed in Books in Print. [NOTE TO SELF: Check on lead time before it appears].

6)    I haven’t done a lot of public speaking over the past few years, and I want to do good job at the Jewish Book Council event. ‘A good job’ means that I would get many invitations to participate in the Jewish Book Fairs held in many cities between late October and early December. The Jewish Book Fairs’ attendees are a critical market for me, so it’s important that I do ‘a good job.’ But how good can one be with only two minutes to speak? I wrote out what I wanted to say, the points that I thought were important to highlight, and timed myself. Over 9 minutes. Cut. Down to 7-1/2 minutes. And so on. But I also found a Speech Consultant to help me. (That may seem excessive when it comes to a two-minute speech, but that’s exactly why it’s so important). He restructured (what I thought was) my perfect, two-minute script, but I knew he was right because, when I practiced the speech based on my own script, I had difficulty making certain transitions between points. I still had some difficulty with his script, but a second meeting a week later resulted in something that I felt comfortable with and that met the time constraint (with a little left over). He also gave me a few minutes of coaching on where to pause, which words to accentuate, etc. I thought it was very worthwhile, even though it means I have to do a bit of ‘acting,’ which is not in my nature. But all I have to do is remember why ‘a good job’ is important, and I can do it. I now need to practice the speech every day until May 24 so that it feels natural to me, and so I can do it even when standing nervously in front of 100 people.

I need to stop here for today, even though I’ve only covered the activities of a few days, because I have other work to do! More about the Process of Self-Publishing in a few days.

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TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE FOR CHE CAFE BENEFIT, JAN. 6-8, 2012

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My Mother Recalls a Lesson She Learned from Her Father, Jacob Marateck

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Ingredients of a Revolution

The Wisdom of a Teenager with Cancer

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY, JESSE!

I Don't Know How He Does It

Jews in Hollywood

My Nephew, Eliyahu, the Fire Eater!

CROSSWALK PRESS LAUNCHES ITS SECOND BOOK

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SPECIAL PROMOTION IN HONOR OF THE JEWISH NEW YEAR

I Don't Know How He Does It

A Modern Application of String Theory

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Fascinating Analysis of the Brain on Musical Improvision

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Outrage Over Delta Saudi 'No Jews' Flights

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The Accidental Anarchist

I Haven't Been Keeping This Site Sufficiently Up To Date

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I'm Going to be a Guest on "Unconventional Wisdom" Tonight

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In Honor of Purim: My Favorite *Fantasy*

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Recent Talks

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Setting Up Speaking Opportunities

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Could any of us be this open-minded and open-hearted?

Believing in Peace, Even After the Unthinkable

By JOSEPH BERGER

I Don't Know What You'd Call This Kind of Coincidence

Are we Approaching a 'Tipping Point'?

Another Reason to Crow

A Reason to Crow

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An Interview with Me is Posted on the Jewish Literary Review Website

Off Topic

Mystery Solved!

Latest Endorsement

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BREAKING NEWS!

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Today is International Tolerance Day

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Yet Another Reminder

In Honor of Purim: My Favorite Fantasy