Remembering Sept. 11th ...on Its' 11th Anniversary

Today, we remember the 2,977 people who died on Sept. 11th. We have decided to include an image of a Hassidic Jew and Arsalan Iftikhar aka 'The Muslim Guy,' 35, who is a leading progressive Muslim advocate in the United States, to show that as cliched as it may seem America's greatest strength is its diversity, and even the atrocities of 9-11 have not changed that.


http://www.jewishtimes.com

http://www.themuslimguy.com

http://www.911memorial.org

http://www.nyc.gov/nypd

http://www.flight93crash.com

50 Beers Around the World (#41- Goldstar from Israel)

Though it might be hard to find an open bar tomorrow in Salt Lake City, Utah, one can be rest assured that finding a beer in Jerusalem should be a bit easier. And, a patron at that bar would probably find a Goldstar Beer, one of the most popular brands in Israel.

Goldstar Beer is a five percent pale lager which has been produced since the 1950s. It is also marked as a 'dark lager beer' though it is pale in appearance, according to Wikipedia.

Of course, it is also certified kosher!

And, the beer was mentioned in the 1981 Duran Duran song "Tel Aviv."

We could not find out if the beer is available in America, and if so how widely available it would be.

As for those of you looking for open bars tomorrow, we learned that The Blue Banana on Georgia Avenue in Washington, DC, will be serving up brew starting at 8:00 p.m.

Right now, I'm listening to a blues song that's about Santa Claus drinking beer from the legendary Lightin'Hopkins!

Drink responsibly....!

Happy Chanukah from Karagoz and Hacivat

It is possible that some arch conservative Jews may take exception to me posting an image of the beloved Turkish shadow puppet characters Karagoz and Hacivat (Karagoz is the one with the long beard), but Bursa, Turkey, the city where the Ottoman-era plays are a major tourist attraction once had a very large Jewish community. But, in recent years, the major Jewish communities in Turkey are prodominantly in Istanbul, which is four hours north of Bursa (mainly because of traffic rather than actual mileage).

The Greek version of Karagoz and Hacivat is Karagiozis and Hadjavatis. The main nuanced difference between Karagoz and his Greek counterpart is that Karagiozis is a hunchbacked figure.

Karagoz and Hacivat remained a popular form of entertainment up until the advent of modern technology, but they remain the most popular Turkish children's entertainment figures to this day. The plays were first performed for Sultan Selim the Grim (1512-1520 was his reign) in Egypt. Karagoz represents the Turkish peasant class and Hacivat symbolizes secularism and intellectualism. It is perhaps for those why it is NOT ironic that the two characters typically never get along.

The Turkish version of the shadow puppets are often made from camel leather, which probably doesn't go over too well with the Istanbul chapter of PETA (there may actually be such an organization, perhaps!).

As for Bursa, which is Turkey's fourth largest city, it is also known for Iskender Kebap, a dish made from lamb meat covered with tomato sauce and yogurt over pide bread.

Iskender kebap can be found at several restaurants in Bursa, including Kebapci Iskender as well as Turkish restaurants here in the United States, including (we believe) Carolina Kebap in Charlotte, NC.

As for Hannukah/Chanukah, there will be a candle-ligthing locally at Chabad Greensboro starting at 4:47 p.m. today.

And, though it's not holiday-related (our presumption) Ashmatic Kitty Records artist (singer Sufjan Stevens's label) Juliana Barwick will perform at the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue in Washington, DC, on Dec. 6th and 7th.

Top 10 Worst Ways to Break-Up

We are being tres lazy today, so we are going to use this Top 10 Worst Ways to Break-Up with Someone list from shine.yahoo.com

I would say from personal experience that one shouldn't take someone out to The Olive Garden and then tell them: "It's Over." Yeah, that sorta sucks.

1. By Cheating- Amazingly enough, Warren Beatty has not done this to Anette Benning!

2. By Doing Nothing- Whatever that means.

3. On Valentine's Day- Ouuuuch!

4. In Bed- Hmmm....we'll skip the commentary on this one.

5. At Your 'Special Place'- which is hopefully NOT the Olive Garden or that truck stop restaurant off I-81 in Toms Brook, Va. (two hours south of Washington, DC)

6. At a Wedding- Yeah, that would be bad and rude!

7. Around the Family- especially if it's a mafia family!

8. On Facebook- I left you for a guy in Mumbai....hmm, yeah I would really hate that. Amazingly enough, it hasn't happened to me....yet!

9. In a Text Message- I know someone in Greensboro, NC, who had this actually happen to them!

10. On Vacation- Hope the hurricane hits you while you're in Cancun!

SIDEBAR: Meredith Fineman, 23, of Washington, DC, recently told "The Washington Post" about her more pleasant experiences dating. Before taking a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, she decided to sign up for the Jewish dating service JDate.

She then decided after having some strange and unique experiences to post them on a blog called FiftyFirst-JDates.com (site was down at press time).

Fineman told the WP that she simply wanted other Jewish singles to know what might be in store for them:

"There are just so many little awkward intricacies of the site and the way it works," Fineman said in the story.

The last time I checked her blog, she said she was getting responses from as far away as Israel. And, Fineman told the WP that she isn't sure if she will actually get to 50 Dates or not. But, at least, she does not live in Welch, West Virginia, where we assume it would be a bit hard to find a 20-something Jewish single.

Alas, I am not Jewish (though as a Turkish-American, I'm most certainly ethnic!) and I am 17 years younger than Fineman. And, unfortunately, I do live in a place like Welch, West Virginia!

Perhaps, we should start a Turkish-American dating site, but then again, the pool would be rather slim....

NOTE: Since there was a glitch with a post on my other blog, today is "No Tag" day, but you can file this entry under Jewish, dating, Turkish-Americans, The Olive Garden, and.....?! Well, maybe we'll see if this works after all....

UPDATE: Hey, the tags did work after all!