30 December 2009

C. Aswath, 1938–2009.

I learned from Wikipedia that Indian composer and singer C. Aswath (ಸಿ. ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥ) died yesterday, and I had never even heard of him. I don’t understand the Kannada language, but this song composed by Upendra Kumar from the 1983 movie musical Kamana Billu (ಕಾಮನ ಬಿಲ್ಲು) is obviously about life in the big city.

• A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5mPzXLN7Y.
• Additional comments on this article may be available on FriendFeed, Facebook (and FriendFeed), and Jaiku (and FriendFeed).

From Facebook Wall to Surface Web, 11–17 October 2009.

▴ …had almost forgotten about this video. —17 October (VIDEOBLAST on Dailymotion, Facebook|FriendFeed|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …wants to offer an egg roll to Mr. Goldstone. Mr. Goldstone, we love you. —16 October (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ Pop singer Ayan is a Mountain Jewess from Azərbaycan, and she is singing here about “Abşeronun üzümü,” grapes from the Abşeron area of the country. I wish I had found this adorable video in the spring as it’s in celebration of the Novruz Bayramı, the new year’s celebration on the Persian calendar. (Note the dish on the table with the eggs, sprouts, desserts etc.) —16 October (Samir Babakishiyev on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed)

Zohar Argov {זהר ארגוב‎} was a tragic figure from his rise to stardom in the field of Mizrahi music to his drug use, arrest on rape charges and subsequent suicide. —16 October (REVIVOMAN on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed)

▴ The remainder and majority of my pictures of the Jackson Heights Merchants Association Diwali Mela (دیوالی میلہ), Jackson Heights. —14 October (Facebook, Jackson Heights Life|FriendFeed)

▴ …thinks the daughters of gay people can help get the movement’s priorities in order. (Thanks to the group I Still Think Marriage is the Wrong Goal.) —13 October (Queer Kids of Queer Parents Against Gay Marriage!, Facebook|FriendFeed|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

—12 October (RT on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed)

—12 October (mabuse74 on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed)

▴ The first installment of my pictures of the Jackson Heights Merchants Association Diwali Mela (دیوالی میلہ), Jackson Heights. —12 October (Facebook, Jackson Heights Life|FriendFeed)

▴ …took 280 pictures yesterday. —12 October (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …daily states he’s gay in his Facebook profile and came out before National Coming Out Day existed, but will nevertheless commemorate it. —11 October (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

• A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5mPjX7ntR.
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Atheism as opposed to cognitive dissonance.

Photo: Elyaqim Mosheh Adam.Making reasonable choices is an essential part of life.
(Trade Fair, 75-07 37th Avenue, Jackson Heights, 14 August 2009.)
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Atheism as opposed to cognitive dissonance.
Is atheism a choice? … I’m inclined to say no. While it’s a conscious effort that leads us to seek out the truth through study and reflection, we can’t decide ahead of time what the evidence will say. Evaluating evidence is in the domain of our subconscious. … In my conception of belief—confidence that something is true—it’s very difficult to argue that my atheism is a choice. … ¶ Theists often seem quite capable of talking themselves into belief without evidence. I find this to be delusional. But it explains why religious believers often think that our atheism is a choice: if they put evidence aside to believe, they assume we can, too. …[T]his is begging the question—in essence, I’m simply asserting that I’m incapable of accepting something as true without evidence.
—Jesse Galef, “Is Atheism a Choice?,” Friendly Atheist, 2 December 2009.

• A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5mOvM1XmV.
• Additional comments on this article may be available on FriendFeed, Jaiku and Jaiku (and FriendFeed).

29 December 2009

From Facebook Wall to Surface Web, 18–24 October 2009.

▴ My video of my friend Peter’s birthday celebration at Caja Musical, Elmhurst. —24 October (I on YouTube, Facebook and Facebook, Facebook|FriendFeed)

▴ My pictures of my friend Peter’s birthday celebration at Caja Musical, Elmhurst. —24 October (Facebook)

▴ …isn’t usually concerned with the world of sport, but…. —23 October (explosm.net, Facebook|FriendFeed|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ My pictures of the Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee happy hour at Bar los Recuerdos, Jackson Heights, and subsequent socializing at Friends’ Tavern, Jackson Heights, and Caja Musical, Elmhurst. —23 October (Facebook)

—22 October (Ecomukti on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed)

▴ More of my pictures of autumn in New York City. —22 October (Facebook)

▴ Sexy Jew. Thanks, Chap. —22 October (SexyManFan on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed)

▴ Hear the endangered Cypriot Maronite variety of Arabic in this two-part documentary in Greek (with English subtitles). Look for the link to part two when part one is over, and please excuse the religious content. —21 October (gskordis on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed) {Already embedded in a prior article.}

▴ …has a pre-existing condition. —21 October (OK Go!, Facebook|FriendFeed|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

—20 October (davey wavey on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed)

—20 October (ErialC on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed)

▴ My video of the Jackson Heights Merchants Association Diwali Mela (دیوالی میلہ), Jackson Heights. —19 October (I on YouTube and Facebook, Facebook|FriendFeed)

• A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5mO3WQFNI.
• Additional comments on this article may be available on FriendFeed.

19 December 2009

From Facebook Wall to Surface Web, November 2009.

▴ My pictures of the vigil, Hudson River Park Pier 45, and “optional mass,” the Church of St. Luke in the Fields, in memory of Jorge Steven López Mercado, Greenwich Village, 22 November 2009. —28 November (Facebook)

▴ …thanks Glenn for a sensational meal last night with such traditional Thanksgiving foods as gumbo and kašk u bâdenjân (کشک و بادنجان‎). —27 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …is too old to know or care about the distinctions between the “Pokémon,” “Digimon” and “Kakimon” (קאַק אים אָן‎). —26 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …came to the conclusion, after insufficient research, that the Czech word kavka (jackdaw) is not related to a name for the Caucasus, Kavkaz. —21 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ Pictures of the Jackson Heights Food Group at 친구네분식 ★ 포차 Friend’s Restaurant and the Cuckoo’s Nest, Woodside. —21 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …wonders which animal you are. —19 November (The Onion, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

☠ And another violent attack on a gay youth…. —19 November (khou.com, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

☠ Another outspoken and non-conforming gay youth has been brutally murdered. We’re fighting for our lives here, people. —18 November (The Baltimore Sun, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ Pictures of “The Fur Ball” at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center, Greenwich Village. —17 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …finds this song cute but annoyingly repetitive. But who cares? Look at the wigs in the video instead. (Thanks to Bunny’s ’blog.) —17 November (greymanfilms on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …thinks the logo for this snow cone (“gola” گولا) company looks a bit familiar. —16 November (Go·gola India, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ Pictures of Jeff’s (and Laura’s and Chet’s) birthday at Best Fuzhou Restaurant 松柏園福州小吃, Chinatown. —14 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …is glad a télévision series like Nova can teach him about Homo erectus. —14 November (Nova on PBS Video, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …appreciates photography and videography all the more because some art is inherently ephemeral. —13 November (xogml69 on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ This is my kind of bar: lots of food and puns available. —12 November (English Whirled Wide on Facebook, Facebook)

▴ My pictures of the premier meeting of the LGBT Equality Coalition of Queens, Bayanihan Filipino Community Center/Philippine Forum, Woodside. —10 November (Facebook)

▴ …envisions a reworking of last year’s hit song into an acoustic Central European–style version called “Polka Face.” —9 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …commemorates the victims of Kristallnacht and thinks something similar could probably happen even nowadays. —9 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …wonders how many of his friends noticed the egregious grammatical errors he made in his last two posts. —7 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …thinks this article has some inaccuracies but nevertheless exemplifies some key reasons I [sic] moved to the neighborhood. —7 November (New York Globe, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …dreamed he had a cat painfully clinging to each of his feet that would scratch and claw all the more if their removal was [sic] attempted. —6 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …sometimes just needs some fun pop music. —6 November (seeme96 on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ My pictures of New York Bear Den at the Diversity Center of Queens, Alliance Building, Jackson Heights. —4 November (Facebook)

▴ …finds it ironic that brown boobies have white chests. —4 November (Wikipedia, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ My pictures of Halloween at View Bar, Chelsea, as well as some other costumed folk en route. —2 November (Facebook)

▴ My one hundred ninety-one pictures of signs of autumn in Jackson Heights. —2 November (Facebook)

• A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5m93okSuT.
• Additional comments on this article may be available on FriendFeed.

12 December 2009

From Facebook Wall to Surface Web, 2–12 December 2009.

▴ …is again drawn to thinking about oil on this holiday, but in a different context than usual. —12 December (Tigrzeye516 on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …wishes all an oily Ḥanukkâ. חג חנכה שׂמח!‏ ‎—11 December (yogev cohen on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

☠ Another anti-gay assault in Jackson Heights. —10 December (New York Post, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ My pictures of New York Bear Den at the Diversity Center and อรุณี Arunee Thai Cuisine, Jackson Heights, 6 Dec. 2009. —9 December (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …is considering taking this health advice. —9 December (English Whirled Wide on Facebook, Facebook)

▴ My pictures of the Roosevelt Avenue Taco Cart Crawl in Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Corona. —8 December (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …had forgotten how both economical and good a meal at a diner can be: main dish, salad, soda, potato, vegetable and dessert for ten dollars. —8 December (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …didn’t go out dancing tonight because he was still a bit sick, but the pneumonia‐like rales disappeared in time to make him wish he had. —5 December (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …thinks linguistics and affected queenliness are a good combination. —5 December (--- M I S T E R D U N CAN---- IN ENGLAND ---- 2009 --- on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …appreciates the camaraderie of opponents of religious fanaticism. (Thanks to Andrés.) —4 December (Yale Daily News, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …found a photograph of his used without credit (i.e., stolen) in an article about Jackson Heights. —4 December (কিছু বলার নাই, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …appears in some pictures in this article about the Roosevelt Avenue Taco Crawl. —3 December (Interactive Journalism, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ My pictures of my friend’s birthday celebration at Kiku () Sushi, 235 Ninth Avenue, Chelsea, 23 November 2009. —2 December (Facebook)

▴ …had an innocuous mooning photograph (with a bare posterior) removed by Facebook. As he has commonly seen much more revealing and erotic pictures on Facebook, he suspects some “friend” reported it. —2 December (Facebook)

• A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5lyuHCCeo.
• Additional comments on this article may be available on FriendFeed.

28 November 2009

The vigil and mass for Jorge López M.

Photos: Elyaqim Mosheh Adam.

Not surprisingly, I was running late for the vigil here in New York City for Jorge López who was the victim of a ghastly murder in Puerto Rico. His story greatly moved me, but I was nevertheless victim of my own difficulty managing time. While hurrying down Christopher Street toward Pier 45, I encountered a new friend I had met at the most recent Fur Ball who was walking the opposite direction. I didn’t think I was all that late, but his walking companion gave me the impression the whole event might have been over, and my friend informed he himself left because he was bored.

Little of the vigil had elapsed when I arrived. I had missed speeches by some people I know, but I listened to the remaining speakers, many of whom were able to move the crowd to sadness or anger and others who read woodenly from scraps of paper or their mobile devices. I felt a little guilty that I spent so much time socializing with friends I had not seen in a while, but times like these can call for us to reaffirm our bonds of friendship. I felt a lump in my throat when my friend Karlo had difficulty maintaining composure describing how a gay youth activist and volunteer had become a pile of body parts.

One of the things that moved me most was seeing the vigil participants leave together and move en masse down Christopher Street while still holding their lighted candles. The mass afterward at the Church of Saint Luke in the Fields had been clearly marked as “optional” in all the literature, and maybe it would have been best had I not attended. It had its good moments, particularly hearing Dionne McClain‐Freeney, former head of the Center’s Youth Enrichment Services program, performing on the piano, but overall was far too religious for this atheist. I did however encounter some more friends and had some particularly good photo opportunities.

After saying my tearful goodbyes to everyone who seemed to want to rush home, I went to View Bar to join the crowd watching the American Music Awards, but there were only about ten customers present.

Atop this article are my seventeen best pictures, but I took over one hundred fifty. All my pictures of the vigil and mass can be seen in their Facebook photo album. I also found many other pictures on Facebook of the event, and I wish to be informed of any I have missed: See albums by A.G., C.B., C.D., D.D., E.P., E.X., J.McG., J.N., J.N., L.C., M.D., M.D.B. and N.O. Photo sets on Flickr are by David Badash, jasminegrapes, Raymond Perfetti and Vernon W.

Thus far, I have located sixteen videos on YouTube that document the vigil, and they are all on my playlist. There is also at least one video on Facebook.

Related:

• A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5lczOFbpM.
• Additional comments on this article may be available on FriendFeed, Facebook (and FriendFeed), and Jaiku (and FriendFeed).

26 November 2009

Hodgepodge, 2009 November 26.

• The botanical dictionary Plant Names in Yiddish די געװיקסן־װעלט אין ייִדיש (‎2005), by Mordkhe Schæchter (מרדכי שעכטער Mortxe Şexter) is now available online free. (Lorna Sass at Large, Apodion.net, Languagehat)

• My beloved friend Andrew Jónás, whom I mentioned in previous articles, died of a cerebral hemorrhage just prior to Yôm Kippûr. I miss him. ☹ (Cheer New York, Mike Dreyden Blog)

• Importing my Facebook events into Google Calendar was one of my best decisions. (SBDC via Lifehacker)

• My old friend has turned out to be a responsible parent who recognizes poor parenting when she sees it. (The Swamp)
(See also a discussion of a child-choked business in my neighborhood.)

• Today’s right wing is fundamentally different than it was sixty-five years ago. (Daily Kos)

• Sometimes an article just nails it: a great atheistic essay in the form of a point-by-point reaction to another article. ([R]eason [S]cience [M]etal)

Ḥummuṣ is mistakenly perceived to be specifically Islamic rather than generally Near Eastern. (Holy Taco via Robguy 4.0)

• The plight of an ethnic minority of course also affects their music. (Deutsche Welle on YouTube, via Aktiveytor)

• A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5lZlMdAMV.
• Additional comments on this article may be available on FriendFeed, Facebook (and FriendFeed), and Jaiku (and FriendFeed).

22 November 2009

Fragile Jewish Diaspora languages.

Photo: Antropoturista (tomke_lask).View from a window of a synagogue in Quba (Qıbə), Azərbaycan.
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An article (Tom Colls, “The death of language?,” BBC News, 19 October 2009) made me think about the eventual deaths of various Jewish languages. Hebrew as an everyday spoken language is often rightly cited as an example of a triumph in the revival of dying languages, but often overlooked are the Diaspora languages that Hebrew rather intentionally displaced, many of which are now in decline or even seriously endangered. In a comment on the article, M.D. noted
The flip side of the revival of Hebrew…is the probably imminent demise of Yiddish and Ladino (Judaeo‐Spanish), two previously vibrant Jewish languages…. The movement to transform Hebrew…into the national language of Israel had as much to do with 19th‐century Zionist romanticism as anything else. Yiddish and Ladino were considered ghetto languages by Zionist intellectuals, and so not only not worthy of preservation, but deserving of oblivion. [T]he speaking of languages other than Hebrew (but especially Yiddish) was actively discouraged.

My own two ethnic Diaspora languages, Yiddish (ייִדיש) and Juhuri (ז׳אוּהאוּראִ) are both listed in UNESCO’s Interactive Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger as “definitely endangered.” Yiddish is spoken by more than three million people including many children, but is apparently in decline, and the overwhelming majority of Ashkenazim worldwide have no fluency in it. Juhuri has fewer than 100,000 speakers, and while I have no concrete information, I suspect it is gravely endangered outside of insular populations in the Caucasus. Mountain Jewish children and young adults across the globe are probably more likely to speak Russian, Hebrew, Azeri or English than Juhuri. It might even qualify as “severely endangered” were it not considered a dialect of Tati rather than a language unto itself.

Related: Steve Caruso, “The death of language?,” The Aramaic Blog, 21 October 2009.

• A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5lTR3zWI3.
• Additional comments on this article may be available on FriendFeed, Facebook (and FriendFeed), and Jaiku (and FriendFeed).

17 November 2009

From Facebook Wall to Surface Web, 25–31 October 2009.

▴ …likes this video a little too much. Thanks, Shemuʼel (and Elaine, Peter etc.). —26 October (C.O’C. on Facebook; Facebook)
▴ …is compiling a list of people who removed him as Facebook friend and has so far reached 28 (not counting two whom he’d never met, four who later requested to be friends again, and the many who rejected his request in the first place). Many were vital community contacts he had met once or twice; others were friends whom he loved and who he thought loved him. He acknowledges, however, he takes Facebook too seriously. —27 October (Facebook) (Update: As I continue to remember and notice people, there are now forty-one on the list.)
✡ “Just call me ‘Dreydl’ (דרײדל),” said the active partner in the relationship, “because I’m a top!” —27 October (Facebook)
▴ …still loves Mr. Goldstone and wants to give him an egg roll, but not everybody feels that way. —29 October (MuzzleWatch, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)
▴ …loves a gruesome Halloween recipe. —30 October (not martha, Facebook|FriendFeed)
▴ …also enjoys viewing (as opposed to taking) aerial photography. —30 October (instantShift, Facebook|FriendFeed)
▴ …learned what is orange and sounds like a parrot. —31 October (Jokes.com, Facebook|FriendFeed)
▴ …is finally dressing to go out for Halloween. Thank goodness for that extra hour we’ll get. —31 October (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

• A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5lMeVltKW.
• Additional comments on this article may be available on FriendFeed.

13 November 2009

Park(ing) Day came to Jackson Heights.

Photo: Hrag Vartanian.

Had I read at all about the coming of “Park(ing) Day” to my neighborhood on 18 September, I probably dismissed it as not being relevant or interesting. More than likely I confused it with the unfortunately similarly named “It’s My Park Day” which I avoided because of its emphasis on families and children. If I anticipate crowds of screaming, running children, I scream and run the opposite direction. If I expect throngs of babies in strollers, I stroll someplace else.

Photo: Haci Richard.

That day turned out to be a busy one for me anyway. After staying up late at Elevate meeting guys on whom I developed crushes, I probably slept right through Park(ing) Day before marking the Jewish new year by running out to LGBT Night at Asia Society’s Leo Bar. The front door of my apartment building was also barricaded at the time due to construction that necessitated my coming and going via the service entrance. Due to all these poor excuses, I did not attend.

Photo: Hrag Vartanian.

Despite my lack of attendance, a small, temporary park called “Stone Soup Park” was nevertheless assembled across parking spaces in front of our Aqua Clara Laundromat, the location chosen because of the participation of the Laundromat Project who “bring art programs to where our neighbors already are: the local laundromat” and thereby “aim to raise the quality of life in New York City for people whose incomes do not guarantee broad access to mainstream arts and cultural facilities.”

Photo: Hrag Vartanian.

That art program was The Photo Booth Without Borders by local artist Carlos Martínez (site, micro-’blog, Facebook) who was sponsored by the Laundromat Project’s Create Change Public Artist Residency Program to develop artwork specific to the neighborhood, and whose fascinating installation did this by “recording participants’ personal stories and taking photographs of them interacting inside the booth.” (I assume “Create Change” to be a double entendre that also refers to the coin-operated laundry.) Live music was even performed by tango trio Mi, Miha & Me.

In addition to the movie above, Carlos also made one about the creation of the piece, and Hrag uploaded two videos (1, 2) shot at the event.

In retrospect, I wish I had attended, but at least there was one gay, Near Eastern person present enjoying and documenting the event: Hrag Vartanian, whose pictures adorn this article. Pictures and videos by Haci Richard are also online, but they seem to confirm my worst fears that it became an occasion for parents to dominate such a small space by stuffing so many children and strollers into it that childfree adults cannot enjoy themselves.

Photo: Haci Richard.

Updated, 11 December 2009: I found an additional set of photographs by L.M.
Updated, 29 December 2009: And two more by C.C.F. and C.M.

Related:

• A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5lGRAyesX.
• Comments on this article may be available on FriendFeed, Facebook (and FriendFeed), Jaiku (and FriendFeed), and even Jackson Heights Life (and FriendFeed).

06 November 2009

Hodgepodge, 6 November 2009.

• An article about Dr. Tina Strobos’ hiding Jews during World War II specifically noted the ethics of atheists. (The New York Times via J.K.G. on Facebook)

“It’s the right thing to do,” she said with nonchalance. “Your conscience tells you to do it. I believe in heroism, and when you’re young, you want to do dangerous things.” ¶But such an outlook has an origin, what Donna Cohen, the Holocaust Center’s executive director, calls “learned behavior.” Dr. Strobos comes from a family of socialist atheists who took in Belgian refugees during World War I and hid German and Austrian refugees before World War II.

• The Coalition of Reason advertises atheism in the New York City subway system, but alas in Manhattan stations only. (City Room via J.B. on Facebook)

• The Institution for the Secularization of Islamic Society (ISIS). (Center for Inquiry)

• Hear the endangered Cypriot Maronite variety of Arabic in this two-part documentary in Greek. (YaLibnanTV and YaLibnanTV on YouTube, via جبل اللغة, via Languagehat, also available at gskordis and gskordis)(Facebook/FriendFeed, Jaiku/FriendFeed)

A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5l5kCWl1K.

11 October 2009

Hodgepodge, 2009 October 11.

• Are senior citizens too old to refer to themselves as “questioning” their sexuality? [JATGAB]

• Macintosh OS X font and keyboard layout for Malayalam. [MM via MM]

• The Yiddish word זעמל zeml (“roll”) is apparently of Semitic origin, as are the English words simnel and semolina, all being cognates with the Aramaic סמידא səmîdâ (presumably *ܣܡܝܕܐ in Syriac script) and Akkadian samidu. [ב״ל via ב״ל via LH]

• Tuesday, 29 September, I ate the lunch buffet at Mehfil (महफ़िल محفل) (site, Y + Wp.) where I saw some of Masterji and an episode of Jugni chali Jalandhar (site, Wp., Fb.), both very silly.

• “I didn’t ask for Poland Spring! I don’t drink Poland Spring!” My articulate friend and former co-worker Laverne Cox on Maurice Runea: The Show. [RC on V, via OLCB]

• This photograph of the Jackson Heights Food Group was taken back in January by our server at Delhi Heights with my camera and posted online by me. (See Facebook.) Months later, the picture wound up on John’s Queens, NY, Blog incorrectly credited to the group founder, Jeff Orlick. Sorry, wrong Jew. (See also JT, JT and JHL.)

A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5kVeJ4Yn9.

19 August 2009

DJ Prince.

I discovered DJ Prince (site, Fb., MS, YT) of Norway, first through his “anatomy” videos on YouTube that dissect and identify the samples used in dance recordings. See for example his video about “Groove Is in the Heart.”


I could only find four of the many sampled songs with Project Playlist, but nevertheless here they are:


He also has a page of music files, and the one I present here of course is one with South Asian music.

“Du What U Du (DJ Prince Bhangra Edit)”


And look, he’s handsome too.

A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5j9XX7cfd.

02 July 2009

Anti-Trans/Anti-Gay Assault in Jackson Heights.

MY POST on my own Facebook wall: Elyaqim was horrified to learn today of a trans-woman beaten in a bias attack a few blocks from his home. When we are still being bludgeoned in the streets, the top issues of the gay movement’s self-appointed leaders (e.g., marriage, children, military) seem less relevant. —1 July, 22:31 (SFBG, Fb.|FF)

The assault on Leslie Mora occurred 19 June in front of 72-11 Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, about three blocks from my building. As is my style, I present a bibliography below of the first articles about it I encountered online. As is also my style, I took it as an opportunity to rail against the highest-profile bourgeois gay organizations that might feel this brutal incident should take a back seat to the Gay Marriage Machine which seeks to ensure that same-sex partners will get benefits at the racquet club.

• “Transgender Woman Brutally Beaten in Queens Bias Attack - TLDEF Demands Full Investigation into Hate Crime,” Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund Web site, 30 June 2009. Reproduced with minor changes at transgenderlegal.org/​headline_show.php?​id=120. Also reproduced as “Transgender Woman Brutally Beaten in Queens Bias Attack,” The Angels, 30 June 2009.
• Kat Long, “Transgender Woman Attacked in Queens,” New York Blade, 30 June 2009.
• Helen Boyd [Gail Kramer], “TLDEF: Queens (Trans) Woman Beaten in Bias Crime,” en|Gender, 30 June 2009.
• “Why Is One of These Attacks a Hate Crime, While the Other One Isn’t?,” Queerty, 30 June 2009.
• CaitieCat a.k.a twice_immigrant, “Another Sister Attacked,” Shakesville, 30 June 2009.
Miranda, “Read This: Another Sister Attacked,” Women’s Glib, 30 June 2009.
• Justine Nicholas Valinotti, “Leslie Mora and Jackson Heights,” Transwoman Times, 30 June 2009.
• Rachel, “Transgender Woman Attacked in Queens,” The Feminist Agenda, 1 July 2009.
• Mixed Queer, “Trans Woman Attacked in Queens NY,” Mixed Queer (..] |V| [] [} : {] :{] D )…( Q {( U [] :{] :{] R {..), 1 July 2009.
• David Yale Mailloux, “#176: I Just Don’t Understand…,” DYM Sum, 1 July 2009.

(And don’t forget to read the article to which I originally linked: Tommi Avicolli Mecca, “The Price of Normal,” San Francisco Bay Guardian Online, 24 June 2009.)

Photo: Laura Vogel.

A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5kYwAk57c.

17 June 2009

From Facebook Wall to Surface Web, 18–31 May 2009.

Compiled below are my writings on my own and others’ Facebook walls 18–31 May 2009. My comments on other users’ posts are presented here out of context.

☞ Like Facebook but unlike Twitter, FriendFeed and Jaiku allow threads of comments on micro-blog posts. —19 May, 12:17 (MP1, Fb.|FF, Jk.|FF)

✝ Quirky religious music video. (Thanks to Bunny’s ’blog: http://www.ladybunny.net/blog/2009/04/god-will-fuck-you-up.html .) —20 May, 10:15 (YT via LBB2, Fb.|FF, Jk.|FF)

▴ Elyaqim thinks this Jewish birthday party got completely out of control, and is exhausted just having watched the video. —20 May, 17:56 (YT3, Fb.|FF, Jk.|FF)

▴ I had not seen this cartoon in years. I love the way Bea Benaderet screams her head off. This must have been fun in the recording studio. —20 May, 22:36 (YT4, J.O. on Fb.)

✡ While I may not agree with every last point made, an interesting article about the marginalization of Mizraḥim in the absorption of Jewish immigrants to Israel. {Israeli Policies of Immigration and Immigrant Absorption: The Role of the Institutional System in the Social, Economic, and Cultural Integration of the Mizrahim, by Ksenia Polouektova.} —22 May, 11:31 (CEU5, Fb.|FF)

✴ Five words: “Marie’s creamy Italian garlic dressing.” —22 May, 13:34 (Fb.|FF, Jk.|FF)
• I was buying jar after jar of the blue cheese, but Met Food was out of it today, and I noticed the Italian garlic has only one gram of carbohydrates per serving. And green salads have so few Calories compared to almost any side dish or main dish that having a high-calorie dressing almost seems reasonable. —15:34

今日 Anyone else want to go? —24 May, 08:00 (PT on Fb.6, Fb.)

[After a friend commented on my pictures of architectural sculpture in Jackson Heights.]
▴ If you mean the ones in front of the house on 72nd Street, I’m not sure. They could be flower bulbs, cabbages or even acorns. The ones in front of the building on 35th Avenue are gargoyles. —24 May, 21:14 (Fb.)

▴ On my recent trip to the New York Botanical Garden, I had such fun with the word “rotunda.” —25 May, 13:32 (YT7, S.W.S. on Fb.)

▴ We can commandeer a table in a JH restaurant. النعمت has great albeit bland food. ڈیرہ has spicier food, but it’s a little loud. —25 May, 23:44 (Fb.)

▴ Elyaqim Mosheh Adam could have sworn the sign hanging on the bank said “Free chicken” instead of “Free checking.” “Always thinking of something to eat!” —26 May, 13:36 (Fb.|FF, Jk.|FF)

❖ If rendered in Katakana, the slogan of a theoretical airline, “The right way to fly,” would be identical to that of a theoretical cooking oil, “The light way to fry.” —26 May, 18:41 (Fb.|FF)

[After a friend commented on my picture of the Jackson Heights Food Group.]
▴ We all decided to go out for dessert, but by the time we made it to Lety’s, there were only three of us (Karen, Rachel and I). One by one or two by two, everybody else…deserted us. —29 May, 11:18 (Fb.)

§ After a friend of mine said he thought the Bukhari Jews were from someplace near Hungary, I wanted to promote the awareness that Buxoro (Bukhara بخارا) is in fact in Uzbekistan, Central Asia. —29 May, 12:31 (Wikipedia8, Fb.|FF)

[After a friend commented on my link.]
▴ There is certainly some rhetoric in that particular article, but not as much as your summary suggests. If you “have never read such hyperbole,” I suspect you’re immune to the outlandish hyperbole coming from the liberal/centrist homophile groups like LLDEF and HRC. Have you seen their gay marriage statements?! They conflate gay marriage with the very survival of our community and its interpersonal relationships. They state gay marriage is our ultimate issue to rationalize the obscene amounts of money being funneled into it when gays are still losing jobs, facing homelessness and drug addiction, and losing our lives. Hyperbole is not just the domain of the left and right. —29 May, 13:53 (LaGAI9, FF)
▴ If it is symbolic and not actual, bourgeois gays need to be told what they’re doing wrong. If they are defining their politics so individualistically as to marginalize huge segments of their own community, they should not make a movement out of it, least of all not one filled with so many lies that are needed to make it smell good. —14:19

◍ My likely destination tonight. Anyone want to come with? —30 May, 19:18 (DHD on Fb.10, Fb.)

▴ Elyaqim Mosheh Adam was nearly busted by the disco police. —31 May, 15:42 (Fb.|FF, Jk.|FF)


1. Steve Rubel, “Friendfeed Is the Next Great Blogging Platform, Here’s Why…,” Micro Persuasion, 23 January 2009.
2. John R. Butler, “The Hand of the Almighty,” Surprise!, self-published, 2003, reproduced as the soundtrack of “God Will Fuck You Up!,” Turpis Haereticum channel of You Tube, 3 September 2007. Thanks to Lady Bunny, “God Will Fuck You Up!,” Lady Bunny Blog, 21 April 2009.
3. Performance by Avrom Tolmasov, Rustam Samarkandi and Yasha Barayev of the song “Sarı köynək,” as “Avram Tolmas, Rustam, Yasha Baraev,” MIKEPRODJ77 channel of YouTube, 11 February 2008.
4. Little Red Riding Rabbit, Warner Bros. Pictures, 1944, reproduced as “Little Red Riding Rabbit Video by Crystal MySpace Video,” gdrobert channel of YouTube, 2 March 2009. Thanks to J.O.’s posting on Facebook.
5. Ksenia Polouektova, Israeli Policies of Immigration and Immigrant Absorption: The Role of the Institutional System in the Social, Economic, and Cultural Integration of the Mizrahim (MA thesis, Jewish Studies Program, Central European University, 2001).
6. Event page for “Passport to Taiwan 2009,” New York, 24 May 2009, created by the group Passport to Taiwan, Facebook. The earliest recorded activity on the page was 20 May 2009. I wound up not attending the event.
7. Radio Free Vestibule, “Bulbous Bouffant,” Sketches Songs and Shoes, Borpo, 1994, reproduced as soundtrack of “Bulbous Bouffant—The Vestibules” with cartoon animation by Spencer James Parks, 2006, spejampar channel of YouTube, 11 September 2007. Thanks to S.W.S.’s posting on Facebook.
8. Wikipedia, s.v. “Bukhara,” 23 May 2009 revision of the article.
9. Kate Raphael and Deeg Gold, “Gay Marriage: Civil Right or Civil Wrong?” (a.k.a. “Gay Marriage Opiate of Masses”), Lesbians and Gays Against Intervention (LaGAI) Web site, April 2004. Reproduced as “Marriage Is Still the Opiate of the Queers,” UltraViolet, April–May 2004.
10. Event page for “Double Headed Disco,” New York, 30–31 May 2009, created by Double Headed Disco, Facebook. The earliest recorded activity on the page was 13 May 2009.

A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5hcFqQPtD.