Azerbaijani Jews sing “Coco Jamboo.” (Video)

Despite its popularity in the 1990s, I may not have heard the original English version of the song “Coco Jamboo” until it was played at the East Elmhurst gay night club Scape while I was there for my friend Ernesto’s birthday party on the tenth.

Hard-Boiled Eggs.

Photograph by Elyaqim Mosheh Adam. Hard-boiled eggs. New Grand Buffet, 34-45 48th Street, Long Island City, 4 March 2010.

These are surprisingly hard to find in my own neighborhood. I have gone to virtually all of our many supermarkets and not one offers whole or halved hard-boiled eggs. See more of my pictures of this particular trip to Long Island City, as well as of other things.

Previously

• “Religious Experience at the Ambassador Program,” 17 March 2010.

Related (updated 4 July 2011)

• stars_unlimited, apparently a.k.a. スターズ笠間 (stars_kasama), “Hot Rod Custom Show 2010,” Stars!, 5 October 2010. Use of my photograph without attribution. (Reproduced at webcitation.org/5zwSDE3hk.)

• Last modified 31 March 2012.
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Cake-off chitchat.

For those of you who asked, here is the surreptitious video of my telling friends about the Passover pastries. The conversation took place at an event called the “cake-off” in the Woodside apartment of a friend from the Ambassador Program and Jackson Heights Food Group. I was about as stereotypically Jewish as I can imagine being: discussing Jewish cuisine while coincidentally wearing a Hadassah (ההסתדרות הציונית הדסה) t-shirt.

Video by judibean. “Cake-off” at Stella’s place, Woodside, 17 April 2010.

Previously

• “Passover sweets,” 6 May 2010.
• “From Facebook Wall to Surface Web, April 2009,” 19 May 2009.

Related

• Sara Markel‐González, “Eating Our Way Through The Menu at Red Ribbon Bakeshop,” Serious Eats, 26 April 2010.

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Passover sweets.

Photograph by Elyaqim Mosheh Adam. The best Passover pastries I’d ever had in my life. Community Passover seder (ליל הסדר של פסח), the Jewish Center of Jackson Heights, 37-06 77th Street, Jackson Heights, 29 March 2010.

As I was later captured on video telling friends, these and others consumed that night were probably the best Passover pastries I’d ever had in my life. See more of my pictures of the community Passover seder at the Jewish Center of Jackson Heights.

Previously

• “From Facebook Wall to Surface Web, Apr. 2009,” 19 May 2009. Passover content.

Related

• Chap James Day, Twitter, 29 Mar. 2010; Google Buzz, 30 Mar. 2010.
• My pictures on Facebook.

• Last modified 28 March 2012.
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Standard and Sea.

Photograph by Elyaqim Mosheh Adam. Standard and Sea. Sea, 835 Washington Street, and Standard Hôtel, 848 Washington Street, Greenwich Village/Meatpacking District, 21 April 2010.

My dear, old friend Derek had plans to celebrate his birthday in both of these venues, and my attempt to capture them in one picture turned out pretty well. Later I would speculate on Facebook: Because the Thai language has no śr consonant cluster, the word ศรี is not pronounced śrī as it is in Sanskrit (श्री) but instead as sī. I would think this is more likely the reason the restaurant is named “Sea” than because of any connection to the sea.

See more of my pictures of that night celebrating Derek’s birthday.

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The Blizzard Is Now Only a Memory.

❅ Elyaqim Mosheh Adam is surprisingly eager to play in the snow. —26 February { }

━━━━━━━━━

Photograph by Elyaqim Mosheh Adam.Snow on and hanging from every surface. 72nd Street between 35th and 37th avenues, Jackson Heights, 27 February 2010.

Is it safe to come out now? Spring is finally here after some nasty New York snowstorms. See more of my pictures of the 26 February blizzard that hit Jackson Heights between Taʻănît Estēr (תענית אסתר‎) and Pûrîm (פורים).

Previously

• “From Facebook Wall to Surface Web, 20–26 December 2009,” 9 January 2010.
• “Fifth and final week in Egypt, 1–7 March 2004,” 7 March 2004.

Related

• Tony Crespo, “Was just leaving my pad to go to work and what do I see?,” NYC Gay Cop, 26 February 2010.
• Enzo Martínez, “Shooting a Snow Storm,” Enzo, Martinez, Jackson Heights, Photography, Images, Ideas, 7 March 2010.
• Laura Picallo’s picture on Facebook, 26 February 2010.
• Tweets by Joel Cortes, Queens Pride House, Jackson Heights Life, 26 February 2010.
• Wikipedia, s.v. “Third North American blizzard of 2010.”

Jewish Papercutting Critical of Religious Tenets.

Jacqueline Nicholls: The Art of Paper-Cutting from Jewish Forward.

British artist Jacqueline Nicholls is described as Orthodox, but her traditional Jewish papercutting can certainly have resonance to secular and atheist Jews as well.

Related

• Nadja Spiegelman, “Audio Slideshow: Challenging Rabbinic Misogyny—With Paper Cuts,” The Sisterhood, The Jewish Daily Forward, 23 March 2010.
• Jacqueline Nicholls, Jacqueline Nicholls.

Nasty and Nice in Jackson Heights.

Two examples of heterosexism.

In addition to the recent disgusting anti-gay electioneering of Hiram Monserrate, including his appeals to local religious communities with the knowledge religious people tend to be at least as intolerant and hateful as he is, here are two examples found on the Internet of heterosexism in Jackson Heights, one of which is admittedly related to Monserrate’s failed campaign.

• Gay Jackson Heights resident David Maddux described an altercation with a Monserrate worker at local eatery Espresso 77, 35-57 77^th Street:

While sitting outside in the glorious sun, a person with a fistful of Monserrate flyers approached us and offered one. We declined, saying, “Never!” and “He’s a bigot!” I don’t understand Spanish well, but know enough to comprehend when a mouthful of gay slurs is levied at me. There was no mistaking her vehemence. And her hatred. First time that’s happened in decades. (David Maddux, “Re: Special Election to replace Monserrate,” post on Jackson Heights Life, 16 March 2010.)

• And a micro-’blogger published this bit of hatred presumably after visiting the neighborhood: “Deres a lot of transvestites in jackson heights its disgustin.” (Anthony García, MrR0ttenApple micro-’blog, 8 March 2010.)

Polyglot Chhaya.

Speaking of 77^th Street, local community development corporation Chhaya, 37-43 77^th Street, has a sign with their name written in five scripts:

• chhaya
• ছায়া
• छाया
• چھایا
• ਛਾਯਾ

The definition of the word, according to my dictionaries:

• ছায়া n. shadow; image; shade. [Bengali]
• छाया (nf) shade; shadow; … [Hindi]
• ‎چھایا chhayá, H. n. f. Darkness; shade. [Urdu]

See the picture of it that accompanies the article Seema Agnani, “Bringing Basements to Code,” Urban Omnibus, 10 March 2010.

Religious Experience at the Ambassador Program.

Photograph by Elyaqim Mosheh Adam.Pansit (便食) palabok. Ambassador Program at Tito Rad’s, 49-12 Queens Boulevard, Sunnyside, 2 March 2010.

The Ambassador Program’s visit to Tito Rad’s turned into a transcendent experience when the Flying Spaghetti Monster revealed himself in an otherwise ordinary bowl of pansit palabok. (See my other pictures of that event in my Facebook photo album.)

Update, 14:00: In an odd coincidence, another openly gay, non-Filipino Jackson Heights resident posted a ’blog article this month consisting of a picture of pansit palabok shot in a different Queens neighborhood: Tony Crespo, “At Red Ribbons in Woodside having Palabok and Mango cake,” NYC Gay Cop, 8 March.

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Caja Musical Under Construction.

Photograph by Elyaqim Mosheh Adam. Drag performer imitating Lady Gaga with an immense wig. Tony’s birthday at Caja Musical, 40-08 74th Street, Elmhurst, 7 March 2010.

See my pictures of Tony’s birthday, the culmination of “Under Construction Week” at Caja Musical, Elmhurst.

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From Facebook Wall to Surface Web, 10–30 January 2010.

▴ …reminds all to eat fruit and plant trees because sundown begins Ṭû bi-Šəbāṭ {ט״ו בשבט}, the Jewish “new year of the trees.” —29 January (yaacovmaoz on YouTube) { , }

▴ My pictures of Filipino cuisine at Tito Rad’s Grill, Sunnyside, and Japanese cuisine at East 21, Elmhurst. —29 January { }

▴ My photos of Ambassador Program at 美而特青岛人家 M & T Restaurant, Flushing, মল্লিকা ভিডিও Mollika Video, Jackson Heights. —28 January { }

▴ …saw a tote bag on the subway with this “I ☠ YOU” graphic on it. He loves New York. —26 January (David & Goliath Tees) { , }

▴ …had his sunglasses blown from atop his head into the gutter by this morning’s fierce wind, but it also facilitated a neighborly chat. —25 January { }

▴ —24 January (MikeDiamondTube on YouTube) {}

▴ My pictures of Jackson Heights Food Group at Louie’s Pizzeria, Shangri-La Express, Elmhurst, and Lety’s Bakery, JH. —22 January {, , }

▴ Automatically calling criticism of the Israeli government “anti-Semitism” obscures and promotes true anti-Semitism. —21 January (The Alternative Information Center via MuzzleWatch) { , }

▴ —21 January (cha cha cha ! on YouTube) {}

▴ …admits he sometimes wonders if there is a mackerel in the fishnet. —21 January { }

▴ A 2200-year-old temple dedicated to the goddess Bastet {𓎯-𓏏-𓁐} has been found in Alexandria {الإسكندرية 𓂋:𓏤:𓂝-𓀨-𓏏::𓊖}, Egypt. —20 January (The Guardian via Gods and Mythology of Ancient Egypt on Facebook) { , }

▴ —20 January (Rubaru on YouTube) {}

▴ “Jiggling jellyfish! [HQ]” —20 January {}

▴ …warns you of profanity and ethnic stereotype, but this gay, Jewish friend of a friend released a good parody song. —19 January (Creation Nation on YouTube via dannyho on Twitter) { , }

▴ …commemorates the Azerbaijani victims of Qara Yanvar (Black January) 1990, as well as the Armenian victims of the preceding pogroms {погромы, פּאָגראָמען}. ‎—19 January { }

▴ —19 January (cdbpdx on YouTube) { }

▴ …is briefly mentioned (not by name, but as “my friend”) in this article and can be seen in the accompanying picture. —18 January (Queens Tribune Online) { , }

▴ My pictures of Michael {מיכאל}’s birthday, “The Metro” at the Pyramid Club, Stay and Urge Lounge, Lower East Side/East Village, then Barracuda etc., Chelsea. —17 January {}

▴ …now understands it was a maternity clinic, not a bordello. —17 January { }

⌂ A good article about gay Jackson Heights mentioned many friends of mine, but paid too much attention to politicians. —16 January (The New York Times) { , }

▴ …thought the Whitman’s® Sampler® was good, but perhaps not as good as the Ladybug Creamsicle®. —16 January { }

▴ More of my pictures of winter in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst. —15 January {}

▴ —14 January (The Library of Chicago Radio and Children’s TV on YouTube via Broadcasting Ourselves ;)) { }

▴ …has no comment. —13 January (Totally Looks Like…) { }

▴ —13 January (Tales of Mere Existence on YouTube) {}

▴ My pictures of “Evil Ritual Gathering of the Temple Cult,” 金豐大酒楼 Jing Fong Restaurant and 杏福西餐餅店 Hon Café, Chinatown, then New York Bear Den at the Diversity Center of Queens, Alliance Building, followed by dinner at Taquería Coatzingo, Jackson Heights. —12 January {}

▴ …has pared his pictures from Sunday down to the best 145, and is uploading them as we speak (or actually, as he types). —12 January { }

▴ …is really in need of a trip to Shangri-La right about now. —12 January { }

▴ More of my pictures of winter in Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Woodside. —11 January {}

▴ …is excited about the digitization of the Cairo Geniza {גניזת קהיר}, found in the Ben ʻEzra Synagogue {בית הכנסת בן עזרא} he visited in Old Cairo {مصر القديمة}. ‎—10 January (History Compass Exchanges via Languagehat) { , }

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