the muse's pics

NEWS! NEWS! NEWS!

Big news!!

yes!

VERY BIG NEWS!

My pictures

and there are lots of news ones

Can now be found on....

me-ander!!!

yes, that means that

I won't be

posting to

this blog

at least

until

further notice

A variety of recent pictures

These were taken by me with my new Canon 620.

Havel Havelim #62, Specially for You!

HAVELIM #62
Post-Purim Edition
There's supposed to be a picture here, but blogger isn't cooperating, must be in kahoots with Haman, so if at a later date it gets "done," you'll, see it, but in the meantime...

“Havel Havelim,” ”Vanity of Vanities” is the Jewish-Israeli blogging carnival consisting of posts from blogs all over the world. It’s hosted by a different blogger each week and coordinated by Soccer Dad. The term “Havel Havelim” is from Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, which was written by King Solomon, who built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and later on got all bogged down in materialism and other “excesses” and finally realized that it was nothing but norishkeit, “havel” or in English “vanities.”

You're only seeing this edition of HAVEL HAVELIM, now that it's finished, but for me this is a rushed one, since it's already Wednesday, Shushan Purim and I'm only beginning. It usually takes me a full week. I've already heard three out of four Megillah readings, one of the advantages/disadvantages of living in Shiloh, and I've had enough sugar and other diet "no no's" to ice a wedding cake for a thousand.

Posts are pouring in, thank G-d, and yes, some bloggers are multiply represented. I'd rather include all the posts than have the thankless task of choosing "the best from each," since it's like choosing which of your children you love the most. I remember reading an interview with one of Israel's greatest song writers, the late Naomi Shemer, in which she was asked which was her favorite song, and she answered that she always loved her most recent one the most. I'm not presumptuous enough to consider my varied posts as having the artistic merits of Naomi Shemer's songs, but I'm certain that I'm not alone in feeling, undoubtedly more than once a week, that I've written something that should be included in Havel Havelim.

Obviously, I'll start with Purim posts…

Instead of Havel Havelim,
It's

Bavel Bavelim!!

The Muqata is the place to be
For innumerable Purim Parodies!
Decide which is best in your eyes
Then vote for the CRIB First Prize!

And if you want to know what to sing
Click Yitz's Purim niggunim!

Just not too loud
Or I won't join the crowd.

Yaakov hates firecrackers;
I can't stand the noise,
But for some "boys will be boys."

Purim by the bloggers
Like a bunch of groggers

From Ya'aqov Ben Yehuda
Sing this louder than a tuba

Have we forgotten
What happened in ancient Shushan?

And if you want to feel better
Read the Purim Arutz 7

Here are some wise sayings
From Chavie Willig Levy

And the Sin of Expulsion
Asks Howdy Doody's help
In deciding the election

This rabbi may be velveteen,
But she sure knows about Purim.

Listen to this
Monkey speaking Yiddish!

Menorah—News and Views
All about Purim, "venahafoch hu!"

About that perfect Purim poster
Not Quite Perfect's confidence needs a bolster

This is no Purim spiel;
It's actually for real.

From a Balloon Twister's Aliya Saga
A first Purim which sounds rather gaga

All about Adar
From Miri, who lives afar

The Cos' returns only to announce
His plans to drink every ounce
Whether he did,
or whether he didn't
Next morning he threw everyone out of bed
To hear the Megillah!

See psychotoddler's Purim
It's great photo-journalism

A Simple Jew and a Space Cadet
Oy Gevelt!

From the Pillage Idiot, good news
For Irish Jews
Though not written for Purim,
It's a good'n

YUTOPIA's about
Purim, no doubt.

Thinking of Haman inspires Irina to tell a moving a moving story about a small resistance cell against the Nazis.

LIFE IN ISRAEL
Treppenwitz reminds us that the Jewish heart and values can't be judged by the external, or more simply put, that there's strong Jewish feeling in many Israelis who don't appear "religious." And he later explains the background to the Jericho army operation.

Carl sees the Jericho Operation this way. And he also writes about the inflated PA demographics.

Look at the beautiful, early spring flowers from Elms in the Yard.

Katif.net is still reporting and updating, but now the Arabs are attacking the Negev.

It's hard to tell if my husband's taxi story is uniquely Israeli, or is it the type of thing that happens wherever there are taxi drivers.

Over six months after Disengagement, the condition of the refugees no longer gets its own heading. There's more in The Sin of Expulsion.

My Ober Dicta writes about the importance of Mishpat Ivri, Judaic Law.

The olah chadash From French Hill tells us why she's so tired, and it's not from cooking.

Moze knits across Greece. OK, it doesn't really belong in this section, but she did say that Greeks are like Israelis.

POLITICS and MEDIA
My Eye tells us why Israel is not a democracy.
Adloyada gives us the scoop on the media.

Westbankmama brings up some interesting points about democracy and voting.

Don's "On the Contrary…" discusses Bibi's failed attempt to form a coalition, pre-elections.

"It's Almost Supernatural" has a series of posts defending Israel, which was accused of being an apartheid state.

Daled Amos explains the importance of Jewish blogging.

Ze'ev's perspective about Israeli Arabs is very clear.

Outside Esther tells us what she thinks of the raid on Jericho.
Robin writes of virtual mishloach manot.

Meryl Yourish complains of A.P. media bias, though I was reasonably pleased with the A.P. article I was interviewed for.

Here's an excellent, comprehensive article about media bias from Soccer Dad.

Shaister wrote that MK Naomi Blumental's jail sentence is justified. Personally I think that it's out of proportion to the punishments given to much more serious offenders. It's sort of like the income tax paid by multi-millionaire business men, who write off "business failures" and hardly pay any tax.

Read Daled Amos' post about the Jericho Operation.

Some of the Israeli bloggers are not just observing the political scene; they're actively involved, like The Path to the Knesset, which is supporting Yisrael Beitenu.

Many of the NU-NRP supporters are disappointed in the campaign ads. Read what my husband wrote about them.

The Sin of Expulsion reminds Israelis to vote.

And soon we'll know, are the vegetablepundits right in their election prediction?

Barak of IRIS Blog explains that the Dubai Port Capitulation Likely Fraudulent.

Rachel Ann has a very clear idea of what a hero is. And she also writes about how the nearby Arab kids are being "educated."

Dry Bones gives us more in a small cartoon than most op-ed writers find to fill a full page.

Blog Free! presents: The Campaign Speech That We Didn’t Hear by Israel Zwick.

What's a monitor? Israpundit explains.

And Smooth tells us what's an Islamaphobe.

The police brutality in Amona is still strongly affecting us. My husband's blog offers a link to one of the better videos shot there.

PARSHAT SHAVUA
Thoughts about Parah Adumah, the Red Heffer… and its opposite.

And more about that ruste taurus from Reb Chaim HaQoton.

PESACH'S APPROACHING
Sarah's hosting the pre-Passover Kosher Cooking Carnival! Send in your recipes, menus, food stories and traditions, "anything kosher!"

MISCELANEOUS
Elie's Expositions announces: A Tzedaka Fund for Aaron.

Irina writes about the role of women and race from her very special perspective.

A Simple Jew fits a piece in a "puzzle." And he also posts some beautiful paintings.

Different River describes a strange kind of "art."

On Cross-Currents, there's an article about easing conversion to Judaism.

Who remembers John Falotico?
May he RIP.

AbbaGav presents his very own: Hollywood Squares!

This post on Judeopundit reminds me why I'm happy to live in Israel.

From the Aliya Blog we learn about kosher toilet paper, which reminds me of the old "crepe toilet paper" which could be used to scrub pots.

Read all about the YU Alumni Shabbaton.

Irina tells us what she misses about her grandmother.

Here's the Canonist's view
Of Matisyahu.

Ben's in love;
MAZAL TOV!

The clown picture is one of Fred's; thanks, Fred! (I hope that I get blogger to load it.)

Send your links for the next edition of Havel Havelim via Conservative Cat’s handy form or the blog carnival one, and at the same time you may discover other “carnivals” to visit and enter. You can also use those forms to send kosher recipes and other kosher food posts to the Kosher Cooking Carnival.

Thanks to Soccer Dad for his hard work keeping this going, and if you want to host, please let him know at dhgerstman at hotmail dot com.

This appears in the UberCarnival.
Please put up a blurb on your site alerting readers to Havel Havelim

This will be cross-posted to my other blogs; each has different templates and different "viewing pleasures." I guess at some point I'm going to have to repair the templates or switch, so if anyone can help....

Pray for Yechiam ben Rachel

Refuah Shleimah to Yechiam ben Rachel
He was beaten by the police at Amona, and now is fighting for his life.

Ir Ha'emuna, pictures

Ir Ha'Emunah, the refugees of Atzmona, removed from their homes twice. Once by Menachem Begin's Camp David, when they were a new community, and just this summer by Ariel Sharon.

kitchen and kiddies
and I can't figure out why the pictures don't enlarge

JIB?

Jewish Israeli Blogs

I'm afraid of deja vu. Last year all of my blogs came in dead last in every category nominated in the JIB Awards. So, as you may expect, I'm sort of ambivalent about it all.

Will I be embarrassed again? Maybe I should just ignore the entire business? Or just not take it seriously. Well, if I'm nominated, please let me know, but...