ONCE YOU TURN 30 (OR thereabouts), no one calls you an “old soul.”
Author: Neal Ross Attinson
Neal Ross Attinson is one of those writing-compulsives who feels naked without a keyboard, or at least a a pad and pencil. He is unafraid of adverbs, and lives with an animal companion and eclectic library in Sonoma, California.
#oldpunksneverdie
Never thought I’d hear Safeway’s in-house music channel play “London Calling” this morning. But I sang along with it anyway.
Vive La Difference
From Josee Wolff, The Torah: A Women’s Commentary: “…The pessimist observes a situation, generalizes about the bad aspects, and interprets them as a permanent and constant feature. In contrast, the optimist observes the same situation and sees the bad aspects,…
Lamed-Vavniks, Unite!
Are you a Lamed-Vavnik? According to Jewish tradition, there are 36 exceptionally righteous (read: supermensch-like) people in the world in each generation, and without whom the world would cease to exist. (In Hebrew counting, 36 is “lamed vav” (lamed =…
My Letter to the Mayor of London
Here is what I said to Mayor Sadiq Khan via his website. You may want to write your own. Dear Sir, Please accept my humble condolences and healing prayers for those injured and killed in the recent terror attack; I…
Confronting Evil
(From a friend, for Yom Hashoah/Holocaust Remembrance Day.) April 15, 1965 יוסף דוב סולוביצ’יק JOSEPH SOLOVEITCHIK Dear Dr. Vogel: I received your letter. Of course, you may quote me. The gist of my discourse was that Judaism did not approach…
Midrash Mishpatim: Do, Be. Do, Be, Do
Which comes first: the doing or the understanding? That’s the issue posed by Exodus 24:7, the Israelites’ reply to Moses’ reading of the record of the Covenant, or Ten Commandments (which we learned about in last week’s portion): “All that…
5 Thoughts: Resist!
I DON’T USUALLY GET POLITICAL. But this is no time for silence. I did not vote for the current President*. I find him arrogant, cruel, and stupid, with an inability (or unwillingness) to tell the truth. His policies, appointments, and…
KCBS: Stop the Banter!
(Sent today via email.) To whom it may concern, As a KCBS listener for more than 20 years (and a former radio reporter/announcer at KSRO in Santa Rosa), I’m writing to comment on your (apparently) new policy of having hosts…
Midrash Beshallach
WORF: These are our stories. They tell us who we are. BA’EL: …Are they true? WORF: I have studied them all of my life, and find new truths in them every time. — “Birthright,” Star Trek: The Next Generation Here’s…
Haiku for Uncertain Weather
Slate-thin clouds cover shoulders that lately knew sun. Make up your mind, God.
Apprentice Question
“WHAT CAN I DO, RIGHT now, to better myself?”