BB rehab

No flickering red light for 20 days. Starting soon.
It’s good for the brain waves. Like the ocean.


Summer is here. vacation wise. As far as the season, it’s been bipolar so far.
yesterday, however, smelled like summer all day.










Picture of Emily and I by the river on Grand
(taken with the bb)

and also, La Superior.










guacamole chips, fish tacos and Corona. It's good to be free.

an interactive platform

The Commuter from Dana Rapoport on Vimeo.

Paging Congresswoman Velazquez

Two things happened this week. They weren't really aware of each other's existence, but they had a mutual impact. Something like spring and allergies.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus under Congresswoman Nydia M. Velazquez announced its priorities for the Health and Environment Task Force in the 111^th Congress.

And a mildly ill - non-Hispanic resident of the 12^th District, paid a visit to the Williamsburg Health Center in Brooklyn.

Being sick sucks. No matter what your ethnicity is.

On a warm spring Tuesday, she schlepped her sweatpants-influenza-ish- self all the way to the closest clinic. “It’s better to be on the safe side,” her mother always said. Even if that side is on the South Side of the neighborhood, 16 blocks away.

The CHC’s announcement came just in time, the recent visit to the doctor shows.

In the heart of the Hassidic neighborhood, signs in both Yiddish and Spanish advise on hygiene and health rules. The Orthodox woman at the reception desk, tried to be efficient and sympathetic. It wasn’t easy as she was alternating signing in patients and answering a constant stream of phone calls.

The waiting area that only minutes earlier was filled with nothing but Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s voice, talking about beets and cholesterol on the health channel, soon became crowded with real people and coughs.

One floor higher and 40 minutes later it was already a zoo.

A nurse - THE nurse - was hidden under a pile of files, medical records, manually filling out the paper work.
When the door opened the nurse mumbled, “They’re trying to make us quit our job,” an answer to one’s question – why are you here by yourself?

Then, she put an ad-hock sign on the door: Please knock once and take a sit.

There were no sits available.

About a dozen chairs were occupied (plus few kids running around). Young parents, babies, an elderly women – all Spanish speaking. Hispanics were on the other side as well, along with Afro-American, Asian, Jewish, and Indian doctors and nurses. A real hospital melting bed pan.

By the end of your visit you wished you had gone to work.

The lack of IT or manpower at health facilities is what the CHC Task Force will try to cure this year.
Here are selected examples of what The Health and the Environment Task Force priorities include:

Community Health Centers: Latinos comprise 34.8% of health center users. We support the development and expansion of community and migrant health centers and increasing funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers.

Health IT. We support access to appropriate incentives to enable health care providers in low-income and medically underserved communities to move forward in adopting HIT.

Expansion of the Primary Health Care Workforce. We support short term programs and policies to address immediate primary care and nursing workforce needs.

Congresswoman Velazquez should care. Not only as the chair of the CHC but also because the health industry is keeping her in good shape.

“Health Professionals” is the leading industry in donating to her 2010 campaign with $33,500, according to Opensecrets.com (Dentists $7,5000, Orthodontist with $5,000 and optometrists $5,000).

Although a very energetic supporter of Health Care, Nydia Velazquez’s legislative charts show that health issues were ill treated in the last decade.

With no major legislation record, some efforts can be traced, but not many. A million dollar program here, $500,000 health initiative there, Velazquez targeted AIDS, asthma and Obesity in Brooklyn’s Hispanic community. But no significant breakthrough on file.

Velazquez should follow the wise maternal advice and not neglect her health initiatives - because even just a minor inconvenience can lead to a more serious ailment – if not treated with care.

Precious

Life Is Precious in the Bronx from Dana Rapoport on Vimeo.

local patriotism II

There's good Karma in the air.
Lost and found
my red purse in Grand Central on a day
I really couldn't fit losing it
in my schedule

New York -- not what you thought

snowday or: how I stopped worrying and started liking the snow

It was a little girl and a pointandshoot


finally, I found someone I can identify with. she was probably 4.
of course.
dressed in pink.
(of course)
She was just sitting on her sled, carried like a princess.
...

I think we felt the same about this whole snow business.

pink girl from Dana Rapoport on Vimeo.

America. socialism and patriotism in one ticket

In the summer of 2003 I spent six weeks in Firenze.
I remember how in one of my many strolls around the city, when the Ponte Vecchio was revealed to me for the first time. I asked Hanna; do the people who live here wake up every morningwith astonishment? how could they not?
I couldn't imagine someone becoming indifferent to this sight, making coffee in the macchinetta, without feeling the luckiest girl in the world.

Then, I asked Luigi, who lived in Firenze for seven years (but was originally from a tiny village in the tip of the heel) if he looks up every day, when he goes to work, to look at the beautiful bridge and colorful houses.
He said there are too many tourists, they're blocking the view.

And now I'm in New York.
And my school is in Times Square.

It's been a while, maybe a year, since I experienced my "firsts" - first time I saw the skyline on a ride on the Williamsburg bridge at night, the first time I saw snow, or covering the presidential elections (and going out to the street in my pajamas to celebrate with all the hipsters at midnight). Since then, I managed to forget how fortunate I am.

Last week I saw 'The Sleeping Beauty', and this feeling was awaken once again.
The New York City Ballet, at Lincoln Center, left me speechless for a change.

It wasn't only the live orchestra playing Tchaikovsky, or the technique of Princes Aurora (Megan Fairchild of Salt Lake City) but also the fact that the front seat tickets to the two hour fantasy were bought at the price of $26. Socialism in America.

You may not have health coverage, you can be a struggling student who can't afford to breath the city's polluted air, but nights like these remind you why it's probably the best city in the world.

And then you walk out, to a windy 10 degree cold night (minus something in Celsius) and wait 15 minutes for the train, to hear the announcement that the downtown 1 train will not be running on the downtown track. It won't be another hour before you'll get to the other side of the bridge.

p.s. ballet teacher Peter Schabel disagreed on the quality and interpretation of the NYCB's sleeping beauty. "It's not like the Russians'". Well, the socialism is not quite the same either.

[This is a different sleeping beauty. The beautiful Sofiane Sylve, according to youtubers.]

Two advils for two peoples.

“... and I accept responsibility for nothing else. If people want to have headaches among the overtones, let them. And provide their own aspirin.”

Just like Samuel Beckett's famous answer to a theater critic - last Friday in East Jerusalem, the four hour tour was free - but aspirin was not included. Sadly, it was not a play. Reality's absurd exhibition.

On the super sunny- mid January - desert morning, a bus with people from China, Germany, USA, Holland and Israel, left the heart of the hectic 2,000 years- old capital, to see for themselves what is really going on along the "Jerusalem envelope".

Just 40 minutes away, there's a beautiful beach. What are they doing on a gorgeous day like this, looking at an nine meter cement wall?

The non for profit, non partisan (City of Peoples) Ir - Amim organization tour along the security barrier, wall, fence or however you wish to call it, was too short to cover the long and complicated issue, the political and social situation of the two peoples living in one big mess.

I though I saw the big picture, a big picture. But there are many more bigger and smaller pictures I never saw before that Friday.
I lived in Jerusalem as a child, I lived a quarter of a century in Israel. I voted, I religiously follow the news, but I didn't get around to see the significant difference of the way those buildings look like. I didn't see the streets, the kids, the neglected streets and wild west caos of construction in East Jerusalem. The Jewish Democratic city.

What did the Chinese tourist on the bus got out of the "study tour"? Did any of the foreigners understand how divided and in-dividable this city is?
And what would I have done if someone had built a wall in the middle of my sacred beach?

Two peoples build, one on top of another, trying to mark as much territory as fast as possible, before the other side gets there first, making more babies, building as many balconies.

One last stop before we went back home; overlooking Judea desert, it was such a clear day, you could see down town Amman. This how small the Middle East is.

By the end of the four hour field trip, a tour packed with information, facts stats and commentary, with no time to eat, drink - you knew a little bit more, and understood much less.
Past and present were very obvious. Future - not as much.

Knowledge IS power, but when you stare at the mountains of illegal construction, hills of refugee camps, and valleys of poverty and chaos, you don't feel neither wiser nor stronger. Just a big headache.

Even though no solution makes sense, it doesn't mean there's nothing we can do.
If you don't like Ir Amim's style, if you don't want to wake up at 7 am on your day off, you can still go there, with or without the narration, just go - the images speak for themselves.

winterbreak

WHERE'S WALDO?

Friday Afternoon State of Mind

Some things are a part of you, but most of the time, you don't remember they exist.
Like your kidney.

Like Friday afternoon.

I haven't had a Friday afternoon in a while. The Friday afternoon magic hour doesn't translate, I wonder if it exists anywhere else in the world.
You had to be there to understand.
It's not like Saturday afternoon.

In Jerusalem, where I grew up there's a siren, that tells people Shabat is coming.
Ironically the same happens in Brooklyn, where I live now. Somehow, it doesn't have quite the same effect.

I wish I could pack it - to go. Friday afternoon with a side of 75F sun.

Who ever thought about it was a genius.

New Year, Old Magic

It's a new year,
It's a new decade,


but it still feels like time froze

Black and White

The magic hour before the slush.


The silent Killer

Calorific

Holiday Special - Jelly Donut aka Sufganiyah from Dana Rapoport on Vimeo.

Stay warm
Eat doughnuts
Be Happy

Strolling

A short one.

It's almost the end of fall 09'


Starting to clear the table. or the desktop.

Thanks Giving For All

Holidays and sports events are the best way to get a better understanding of a foreign culture, to immerse in a new territory.
In this case, the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas are Americanism in a nutshell. The worlds biggest and most boiling melting pots, seams to be as unified as the People’s Republic of China around the holiday season.

This break, this pause from routine, provides the foreigner with the perfect opportunity to get a clear look at the hectic society she lives in, commute with and consume every other day of the year.
But how willing should and can American - orthodox- Jews be, to fully unify with their country's holidays?

Different seasons, different traditions, same values.

Where I come from, the holiday season is in still- summery- September, and since it’s Judaism, and it's Israel, there’s not a whole lot of “jolly and merry”-ness going on. But, overall, a Holiday is a Holiday is a Holiday.

In both there’s family (for better or worse), more food than a human can eat, and the tradition of caring for the other, inviting those who don’t have, or can’t afford, a warm meaty, holiday dinner.

There’s a special scent, an extra strong – almost poetic- sense of distinction between the native and the by-standard on the eve, and morning- of, of any holiday, in any country.


Hallmark holidays, the American way

People rushing with groceries, gifts buying, wrapping, exchanging, decorating, commute mayhem, hustle and bustle – and then – silence. Empty streets, dead coffee shops, locked businesses. That’s the real sound of a holiday.
In Israel, it’s the Yom Kippur experience. When you walk on the road, because there are no cars driving.

But how should newcomers, or old comers from different religions, celebrate Thanksgiving? After all, this is an American, non-religious holiday. There shouldn't be a conflict. Or should there?
In Brooklyn’s large orthodox community, the question of celebrating Thanksgiving is less obvious than it appears.
Can Orthodox Jews be American and Thankful without disobeying any Jewish laws? Can they be observant of a turkey in a kosher way?

"For God's Sake", a blog on religion and politics, provides an answer, or rather, expends on the question of whether Thanksgiving and the Jewish religion conflict or not.

Thanksgiving offers an interesting example precisely because those who think that traditional Jews should not celebrate the holiday are the ones who appreciate more accurately the historical origins of the holiday.

From the dawn of history, Jewish people have dealt with the tension between trying to adapt to the culture in the country they are living in. Language and outfits on the one hand, and the insular life of living in a ghetto on the other.
Borough Park, like many other communities, possibly like ‘China town’ and other nation’s towns, is homogeneous and religiously preserving its faith and tradition. The spoken language, and the one on most signs and newspapers is Yiddish. Outfits, values and facilities reflect the Jewish orthodox tradition, similarly to the way it was decades and decades ago.

Although businesses are closed during Shabbat (Saturday), and the fact that most of their issues are distinct to their community, Borough Park is are very politically involved, city and state wise. And pizza, shopping and SUV’s are just as part of the busy 13th avenue strip scenery.

Some values are translatable and universal and therefore open to all religions, especially to those who are enjoying the social, commercial and political liberties, such as the community of Borough Park.

Rabbi Hirschfield from the blog quoted above, sums the post on"Why Jews should celebrate Thanksgiving" -

Thanksgiving is sacred to America and should be sacred to Jews who are among the primary beneficiaries of all that this nation has to offer.

Things are not Jewish because only Jews do them, and things should not be forbidden or threatening to Jews because non-Jews embrace them. If a holiday, practice, or tradition reflects our values, then it should be embraced. If not, not.

Needless to say, that if you are a native-native American, the question of how and if to celebrate Thanksgiving maybe more complicated.

My home, my beat, and whatever's in between

Israel and Brooklyn may have a lot in common, but Tel Aviv and Borough Park could not be more culturally distinct.



When I asked to cover CD 12- Borough Park, Brooklyn, I had no idea I was about to get acquainted with the largest Hassidic community outside of Israel. I wasn’t aware of the existence of the most distant - closest - community to my roots, in my borough.

The religious community here in New York, and the one in the holy land are substantially distinct from each other, for many different reasons, but secular Jews, here and there, are generally alike wherever they are.

Ironic as it may be, coming to America, to learn about the Jewish orthodox community, turned o

ut to be more educating that I ever expected.

Recently, I had the opportunity to peek into a fascinating window. The realm of the orthodox celebrities, an industry I had no idea of how large it was, or how much money it involved.

I assumed there were politics, and gossip and scandals, like in any other community, but I didn’t know about the Michael Jacksons and Madonnas and paparazzis of Borough Park. Until I met Yossi Percia.

I met Percia, one of the leading photographers with David Fadida, a huge producer of Jewish music, in the neighborhood a few weeks ago.

I was working on a daybook and they were doing “A day in a life” on the local Beyonce. Aka Ohad Moshkovitz.

The night before we met, Moshkovitz, the Israel-based young vocalist performed in front of 3,000 people in New York. The last concert in his tour was sold-out, when some had to pay more than a thousand dollars for a ticket, according to Fadida.

YouTube hits, discs, fans, concerts. All the same. But there’s not a lot of online info, no Facebook or Twitter action either. Oh, and no girls.

Percia, the photographer who chased a gay Israeli TV host, and asked him to pose in a picture together with an Orthodox Hassid, has no problem with putting rabbis in awkward situations as well.

A few weeks ago, he took a picture of a rabbi in a basketball game in Madison Square Garden. The rabbi wasn't happy about it, but the website got a lot of entries. Yossi was pleased.

That’s entertainment, and business.

As the leading photographer for Chabad online, he likes to find the angle no other secular or religious photographers look for, but this isn’t his main agenda.

Percia’s real drive in his rising career is the satisfaction in exposing non-religious “brands”, like the Israeli super model Bar Refaeli, to the religion side. With the growing interest in the “religious-spiritual world”, in Kabala centers on both continents Percia recognized a great niche. Exposing secular Jews (and non-Jews) to religion and vice versa. Both sides benefit, he explained.

Luckily for Percia, Madonna, the real Madonna, the queen mother herself, is already on his side.

Duet of the 'King of Jewish music' MBD, and the prince, Ohad Moshkovitz.

USA TODAY

A weird thing happens to the brain when you overload it with new software. It freezes, reboots.
Language overwrite, to the untrained muscles of the brain, and while one was able to converse in two languages before, just thinking in one becomes a tiring exercise.

Overwhelming like the Union Square passage from the L uptown to the NQRW Monday morning. Adaptation happens whether we make room for it or not. It's the three month review.

Everything serves to further said my fortune cookie today, and I don't mess with anything that comes from China Town

Sleep is the BEST
thing for your immunization system.
And water for your skin.
It's the same cycle, the second year. beginnings, new setting, same self
And like it or not, it will soon snow.

BUT

It's really not a big deal.
Just a fact.
“Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you,” Rashi. This is how the new Cohen Brother's movie opens.
Dark, heavy and bizarre. It looked like a Hopper painting.


A picture from the land of the free, and the borough of Kings

End of Summer

My First "Time of My Life"

I will never forget the first time I saw 'Dirty Dancing'. Or at least a part of it. It was in the late 80’, I was in fifth grade or sixth. I walked in, late at night (must have been past 8 pm) to our next door neighbors’ apartment. We lived in Neve- Amirim, in Hertzelia and a new couple just moved across us. South-African woman, Israeli guy and a blond curly baby, named guy.

I only remember I loved hanging out at their place, can't really tell why. They were cool and showing affection. I came to their apartment that night, probably with my mom, just for a few minutes, I think they had friends over. It was dark and they were watching a movie.

The next moment I am looking at the screen and seeing baby walking on a long tree log bridging a huge river. Or was it a lake? a puddle? And after the log, they were in the water, with their cloths and Johnny catches her in the air, like the prince in a classical ballet fairytale. That was all I saw. I wanted to stay longer but we had to leave. I will never forget the darkness, and the excitement, and the lift in the lake.

A few years later I would see the whole movie. Over and over again.

Another hero, another classic is gone, but these memories are as vivid as ever.