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NPH adventure book

Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I adored this book, but then I'm a huge Neil Patrick Harris fan and I loved reading "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories with my children in the 1980's. A very clever, and fun, way to tell what is really just another celebrity story. NPH has both a unique voice and a unique concept. I advise readers to not miss a single page, even/especially those that don't have any pages that lead to them.

I read the hardback and for the life of me, I can't image how this could work on an e-reader or as an audio version. You really need to be able to turn to specific pages and jump around between them.



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Lovely Shabbat in NYC

Played the local on this gorgeous spring day in Manhattan. Under bright blue skies, with temps heading up to nearly 80 degrees, I passed on seeing a Broadway show in favor of walking around Museum Mile and picnicking in Central Park. Started out with full breakfast of scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, Belgium waffles, and great coffee at the New Amity Restaurant, an old-time dinner on Madison Ave at 84th.

Then on to the Neue Galerie to see the Klimt exhibit. The place opened at 11 am, and when I got there at 10:30, the line of people waiting to get in was around the corner. But seeing Woman in Gold close-up was absolutely worth it, for I’d never realized how 3-dimensional the painting is, how much texture went into various squares, eyes, and other design elements on her dress.

Next to the Jewish Museum, free on Shabbat, to see their reproductions of the Dura Europos Synagogue frescoes, as well as other exhibits, followed by a picnic lunch in Central Park. Grand finale was at the New York Historical Society Museum, where I saw an excellent and informative exhibit on Lincoln and the Jews

Big fat NY/NJ book tour

I am getting all those last minute chores taken care of before my 6 am flight to JFK tomorrow morning. For those in the vicinity of NYC [i.e. between New City NY and Bensalem PA], next week starts the mother of all book tours, 30 events in just over 3 weeks with the last one right before Mother’s Day. Come hear me speak about Talmudic Rabbis and Jewish Sorceresses – Strange Bedfellows. Check out the schedule below and see which program is closest to you. See my Website Schedule for links.

April 14 - noon lunch & learn. Cong Rodeph Shalom, 7 W 83rd St, New York, NY 10024
April 14 - 7 pm. Temple Emanu-El Skirball Center, One East 65th Street | New York, NY 10065
April 15 - Sisterhood luncheon. JCC of Harrison, 130 Union Ave, Harrison, NY 10528
April 15 - 7 pm. New City Jewish Center, 47 Old Schoolhouse Rd, New City, NY 109565
April 16 - 7:30 pm. Westchester Reform Temple Sisterhood. 255 Mamaroneck Rd, Scarsdale, NY 10583
April 17 - 6 pm. Shabbat Dinner. Manhattan JCC. 334 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10023
April 19 - all day. No New Jersey region Hadassah education day. JCC Metro West, 760 Northfield Ave, West Orange, NJ 07052
April 19 - 7pm. Sisterhood Temple Beth Sholom, Roslyn NY
April 20 - lunch. Long Beach Hadassah. Lido Beach Synagogue, One Fairway Road (corner Lido Blvd), Lido Beach, NY 11561.
April 20 - 8 pm. East Meadow Jewish Center, 1400 Prospect Ave, East Meadow, NY 11554
April 21 - 7:30 pm. Beth El Synagogue, 1324 North Ave, New Rochelle, NY 10804
April 22 - 7 pm. Westchester Jewish Center, 175 Rockland Ave, Mamaroneck, NY 10543
April 23 - Sisterhood lunch. Cong Emanu-El, 2125 Westchester Ave East, Rye, NY 10580
April 23 - 7 pm. Tobay Hadassah. Midway Jewish Center, 330 S Oyster Bay Rd, Syosset, NY
April 24 - 25. Shabbat at Israel Center for Conservative Judaism, 167-11 73rd Avenue Fresh Meadows, NY 11366
April 26 - 10 am. Temple Beth Emeth, 52 Mt Sinai Ave, Mt Sinai, NY 11766
April 26 - 2 pm. Temple Isaiah, 1 Chelsea Pl, Great Neck, NY 11021
April 26 - 7 pm. Temple Beth Ahm. 550 Lloyd Road, Aberdeen NJ
April 27 - lunch. Regency Hadassah. Regency Clubhouse, 530 Buckelew Ave, Monroe Township, NJ 08831
April 27 - 8 pm. Har Zion Temple, 1500 Hagys Ford Rd, Penn Valley, PA 19072
April 28 - 1 pm. Renaissance Hadassah luncheon. Clubhouse, Renaissance Drive off Route 571, Manchester, New Jersey 08759 April 28 - 7:30 pm. Palisades JCC, 411 E Clinton Ave, Tenafly, NJ 07670
April 29 - 7 pm. Sons of Israel Sisterhood, 1666 Pleasantville Rd, Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510
April 30 - 7 pm. Temple Emanuel, 87 Overlook Dr, Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677
May 3 - 10 am. Greenbriar Yiddish Club, Greenbriar @ Whittingham Ballroom, Monroe Township, NJ 08831
May 3 - 7 pm. Cong Tifereth Israel, 2909 Bristol Rd, Bensalem, PA 19020
May 4 - 7:30 pm. Temple Beth El, 1489 Hamilton St, Somerset, NJ 08873
May 5 - brunch. Village Grande Hadassah. Clubhouse at 100 Grande Blvd, W Windsor NJ 08550, between Old Trenton and Village Roads. Contact Joyce Cohen, H:609-371-3469, c:609-578-7276
May 5 - 7:30 pm. Stonebridge Hadassah. Senior Center, 12 Hasley Road, Monroe Tp, NJ., West Windsor NJ 08550
May 6 - 10 am. Cong Ahavat Olam, 106 Windeler Rd, Howell, NJ 07731
May 6 - 7:30 pm. Oheb Shalom Miriam Sisterhood, 170 Scotland Rd, South Orange, NJ 07079

Diverse Passover parody video

I must congratulate the folks at Bnai Shalom of Westborough MA on their excellent new video, a Passover parody called All About Those Plagues based on All About the Bass. I am so tired of these all-male Orthodox groups having a near-monopoly on Jewish holiday videos now that Fountainheads don't seem to be making them any more. This video is not only professionally done, but features a wide diversity of ages, genders, races, and likely even some sexual orientations. That's what Judaism is about [and maybe some plagues too].

In interest of full disclosure, I admit that I spoke at Bnai Shalom in March, almost exactly while they were making this video [how I wish I could have participated too]. They are lovely people and I’m so proud of them for making this inclusive Reform Judaism video.

Passover videos

Passover and Hanukah seem to spawn a large variety of parodies and music videos, followed by Rosh Hashana. Because the popular ones, for example those by the Maccabeats and Fountainheads, make the rounds of Facebook, I usually end up seeing quite a few. Last year’s Passover theme seemed to be turning Frozen’s “Let it Go” into number of disappointing “Let Us Go” or “Let Them Go” versions. The idea was clever, but the a dozen or so I watched either paired a good video [best from Price of Egypt] with lousy singing or vice versa.

Some of the most professional videos seem to be produced by Orthodox Jews; that is, they feature only men. The few female singers appearing in them are children. Surely there are some Jewish girl groups out there, and more mixed groups than The Fountainheads, who unfortunately don’t seem to have produced any new music videos this year.

I know we’re all busy preparing for Pesach this week, but when you have some free time next week, here’s an exhaustive list of a wide variety of Passover videos. I highly recommend the Technion students’ Rube Goldberg Passover Machine, first one for 2015.