Mr. Senor’s talk was not about the book. It was about the recent developments in the Middle East – the toppling of the Tunisian and Egyptian governments, the uprisings in Syria, Yemen, Lybia etc.
Ken Herman at Momentum
This guy knows what he’s talking about and it was an extremely interesting and engaging talk. If you attended, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
This afternoon the 5th Annual Kosher Chili Cook-off was held at the JCAA. This is a probably the only kosher chili contest in the world – blending Texan and Jewish culture together (although I’d prefer a kosher BBQ cook-off).
I promised last year to enter for 2010, but due to unforeseen reasons, I did not. Most of the chilies I tried were not very spicy, but there were some good things out there. I’m warming up to the idea of vegetarian chili. What’s wrong with me? Well, perhaps I will enter in 2011.
I didn’t stick around until they announced the winner, so please comment if you know. In the meantime, a few photos after the break.
Last Saturday I attended a performance by The Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour. This is a group of four stand up comedians, three of them Jewish and one Palestinian. The show was at the JCAA so the vast majority of the audience was Jewish. Interesting timing with Operation Cast Lead in Gaza serving as background.
The show lasted a little under two hours. They opened with a short sketch and then each of the comedians did a stand up routine. They were very funny and I recommend the show. By far the funniest was Ray Hanania, also a journalist and the sole Palestininan in the group; and the only one who covered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a more direct manner. The rest did a more generic Jewish/Israeli routine – lots of it centered around Israeli driving habits and circumsicion.
While The Israeli Palestinian Comedy Tour does a great job of exposing the views and voice of a moderate but less vocal majority in the conflict using humor, it’s disappointing when you take a closer look: None of the members were actually born in Israel or Palestine. Two of the three Jews in the group are recent converts. No muslims either. I couldn’t say they are exactly perfect insiders to the issues at hand nor the best demographical representation one could have hoped for.
