The Gatekeepers

So I rented this movie about the heads of Shin-Bet a few weeks ago and it left me thinking a lot of different things. Watch the preview first, then read the notes that I took along with my still jumbled thoughts.

-Ami Ayalon talked about seeing another Israel throughout the conflicts. He said "I wasn't aware of the intensity of the chasm and hatred, of the rifts that exist between us." That is such a profound thought. Especially when later there's a discussion about the radicalism within Israel. The rabbis have no reason to learn lessons, oen of them said, and it's sometimes hard to figure out who the true enemy is. Is Israel's enemy the PLO/Hamas or is it the extremist rabbis who seem even more against peace.

-A quote that is found in the previews is from Yuval Diskin is "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." This happens on both sides and this is the crux of the issue. Add this the idea that in terrorism, there are no morals. Who sets the moral code? Do terrorists have their own set of moral codes? And they must, if a terrorist is also a freedom fighter. One is seen as a hero and the other is seen as a murderer or a killer. Who determines the labels that are given and who determines what is right and what is wrong?

-Another quote that really stuck with me was another Ami Ayalon statement where he said "the tragedy of Israeli security is that we win every battle but we lose the war." Where does this end? At what point does one side stop and say that it's time to talk but as Avraham Shalom said, everyone always votes to keep talking since there is no alternative. But talking hasn't seem to work. It works and then something happens and then everything deteriorates. And then the talking starts up again, somethings happens and it's this vicious, vicious cycle. Again, where does it end? How does it end?

-"Victory is simply the creation of a better reality." Is it? Whose reality? Isn't that just like saying one man's reality is another man's nightmare?

-Retaliation is a dangerous game. The status quo in Israel and that entire region is seems like is retaliation back and forth for things that happen. But again, where does it stop? If there isn't retribution for something that happens to a group, is that a signal that change is on the way or is that the opportunity for the first group to try something bigger. And in that case, where does that stop? Where is the balance between pacifism and fighting?

-Something that I appreciated is that these men, who had to make difficult, life-changing, unenviable decisions as the heads of Shin-Bet, didn't apologize for their decisions. One point-blank said that if the press hadn't gotten a hold of an incident, he never would have told anybody about the details. Do I necessarily agree with that? In light of Wiki-Leaks, Brendan Manning, and Edward Snowden, public discourse right now is all about what the general public should know and what is kept hidden. I know that there are a lot of opinions on this but I'm of the opinion that there are some things the public doesn't need to know about. And maybe this is just being naive or putting my head into the sand but if it's for the good of the larger group, then maybe somethings need to happen that we don't know about.

Sigh. I don't know. I'm now all turned around. I don't know what to think. Just thinking about the whole situation is still so frustrating and I wish there was peace on the horizon but ever day I seem to get less and less optimistic. Double sigh. 

30B430

Jon and I were talking a few weeks ago and we decided that since we're only a few months apart (5) and we're on the younger side of our friends group, we wanted to make a Dirty Thirty list of things we wanted to do before we turn 30. It took a bit of time but I think I'v finally come up with a list of things that I want to do. My stipulations were that they had to be things I had never done before and were all things that were possible (nothing crazy like inventing something). I think I have a good balance of big things and little, easily accomplished things, which is important. I also plan to document these things on my blog so stay tuned.

Without further ado, my Dirty Thirty list:

1. Go Stand Up Paddlboarding
2. Ride a motorcycle (I don't have to drive it, I just have to ride on it)
3. Visit a new state
4. Finish reading the whole Bible
5. Go shooting or fishing
6. Do another 1/2 marathon
7. Go to a paint and wine class
8. Go white-water rafting
9. 30 for 30 yoga challenge
10. Visit a new country
11. Run a 10 minute mile
12. Go hot yoga at least once
13. Take a dance class
14. Host a dinner party for at least 8 people
15. Float the river
16. Go ziplining
17. Go to a Haunted Cornmaze
18. Marathon all 6 Star Wars movies
19. Visit 5 new places in Idaho
20. Read over 80% of the BBC Best Loved Books
21. Learn to crochet
22. Hike Lucky Peak
23. Get my masters
24. Complete a FitnessBlender.com 1000 calorie workout
25. Attend a bar-tending class
26. Go to a professional sporting event (NOT the Galaxy)
27. Make a t-shirt quilt
28. Bake bread from scratch
29. Go to Mardi Gras
30. Complete at least 50% of a Sunday Times crossword puzzle

Pictures from the Summer (and a few stories)

At times, summer felt like it blew by and I never had the time to download pictures and write about what I did so here it is in one fell swoop!

One of my favorite things to do during the warm summer nights is to sit outside and read. I ventured down to the library one afternoon and picked up a whole slew of books and read them quite quickly. It was so hot during the day that I spent most of it indoors but the evenings were perfect for sitting on the Adirondack chair and reading some lovely books and enjoying some lovely characters.

Rebecca came into town and I was lucky enough to get some time with her! It was so wonderful catching up with her- not only had I not seen her since graduation but we had started college ten years ago. We wandered around campus and popped into buildings and dredged up a lot of memories about our four years of college. And of course, we had to take a picture outside of Voorhees, where our friendship began.

My first night back at the Godwins, I spend the afternoon with Bailie and then the evening with Kevin and Brooke. We had steak and king crab for dinner with salad and bread and then spent the night in from of the fire catching up. Love my second family and love these types of nights!

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Well, I finally did it. I went to the rodeo. This was the first year I had been in town during the rodeo since living in Caldwell so after listening to the hullabaloo down the street for two nights, I finally decided to see what the fuss was about. I got dinner with Katie, Jake, Ben, KC, and Sam beforehand and then we met up with Caitlin. I had no idea what to think. There were some people VERY MUCH into the rodeo. I was just fascinated at the different roping techniques and trying to figure out how to score things. The rodeo clown situation is bizarre and it was crazy how if you messed up once, that was it (a lot rides on 8 seconds in the rodeo, no pun intended!). I'm not sure I'll ever go back but now at least I can say I spent an evening at the rodeo!

I've missed playing the cello in the Meridian Symphony this past year because I either had class or small group on Monday nights so when an email went out about playing in a jazz-ish concert, I signed up. It was nothing like I expected (and the names of the songs were odd- lots of puns) but it ended up being so much fun. The music was up-beat and almost a melding of jazz, blues, Celtic, latin, and classical music. My one complaint is that it was a bit long but definitely something I would do again. And Tom, our conductor/leader is maybe the nicest person ever. Plus, we didn't have to wear concert black! Always a plus in my book :)

I spent a weekend house/kid/pet sitting at the Godwins while they were at a wedding in Eastern Idaho/Wyoming.

That same weekend, I met up with Steve and Joanna to watch the Tour de Fat bike tour (TOTALLY doing this next year!) and then met up with Katie and Chris to wander around the event. I loved the different types of bikes they had (one had sneakers for wheels and one had three bikes melded together to ride in circles). Katie, Joanna, and I ended up manning the water station for about an hour and a half since the taps were low and the lines were long but it got us a sweet t-shirt (it's soooo comfy!) and some free beer tokens. We also ran into Drew and Stacey and Greg and Aly and all of them were planning to come to the Godwins later to enjoy the pool. After a day of drinking beer and spending time in the hot sun, it was so nice to share food and listen to good music and relax in the poor and around the fire for most of the night. Such great friends (and generous friends!)

I dealt with some ear issues. I tried to deal with the wax issue on my own but they ended up getting so plugged that I was practically deaf for a day. Luckily the doctor I usually saw at the Caldwell Primary Health clinic was working out in Boise now and I was able to see her before my meeting with Dr. Klein at BSU. My ears still really hurt after they were cleaned out so she gave me some drops and I spend a few nights with cotton in my ears. I'm pretty cool....

There was a very long day spent at Faculty Retreat but I had the best table and we had some good discussions. There was a long session listening to the future planning of the college but the best part was the delicious dinner and then convocation! Greg did a great job speaking and Aly and I grabbed a cake pop for dessert afterwards.

This year was my McCall-iversary, as it had been ten years since I was a freshmen up there. A lot had changed and yet, a lot was the same. I drove Caitlin, Juliette (the new Chinese professor) and Cynthia and Lindsay (counselors) up to McCall and there was a lot of great conversation on the drive up. Plus, the views are always beautiful. There were so many freshmen but they seemed quite well behaved and intentioned, which was great. It was a bit chilly but I took a group out on a hike and got a chance to talk one-on-one with a few students and get to know others while playing Apples to Apples with Brent. During our free time, I hitched a canoe ride with Kirsten and Brent and overheard some Mormon-based conversation which was fascinating. The campfire and gift exchange was hysterical as usual and I came away with a large double-frame. Not sure what to use it for yet but it was pretty than a random lamp! The next morning it was pouring rain but held off enough for us to do our morning events. Cynthia and I oversaw the play in a minute activity and some of the groups were fantastic! I definitely want to do this next year. And even in the rain, McCall is gorgeous.

My reward for getting through the first day of school was to go see Ghostbusters at the Botanical Gardens with Aly. I had seen Casablanca there a few years ago but this was the first movie this season. We grabbed some dinner at Boise Fry Company beforehand and watched the sun go down while waiting for the movie. It was much colder than we had expected but nothing could ruin the amazing-ness that is the classic Ghostbusters. Who ya gonna call??

Art in the Park is always a great weekend, although at times overwhelming. Lots of booths and too many people. We did Art in the Park right this year. Dustin and I met at the market earlier, since I had a bunch of groceries I wanted to pick up and then we met up with Aly, Greg, and Tessa. We wandered around Art in the Park a bit but mostly just enjoyed a bit of day drinking in the sculpture garden of the BAM. Definitely the preferred way of enjoying a day of art.

Aly and I ran the Fit-One 5K and ran the entire thing! Including the hill up to the Bench! It was really nice to run with someone and of course, we made out with chocolate milk, bagels, some yogurt and string cheese. No gross yogurt this year! The weather was perfect- no sun but not cold and very refreshing. Aly is a great running partner!

A Summer of Shakespeare

Last year, I got season tickets to the Shakespeare Festival but because I wasn't around for two months this summer, I only saw three shows. I missed out on Blithe Spirit and Much Ado About Nothing but even since seeing DT and Catherine Tate perform Much Ado, I could never see see Much Ado again and be fine. 

I did get to see some fantastic shows though with some lovely people. The first show was Sweeney Todd and Bailie and I took a picnic and the dino blanket to enjoy the show. She called me the entire week before singing "Johanna...." and we were both very excited. So excited that we decided to buy a pie to take to the show with us. We felt it was symbolic. The show was phenomenal. This was the first musical I had seen at ISF and they did not disappoint. It helped too that my favorite actress played Mrs. Lovett. They did a great job with a double leveled stage and the costumes and lighting were wonderful. Such a gruesome story but the production still made you laugh and shiver at the same time.

I saw Richard III several days later at an Alumni Event. Caitlin, Greg, Aly and I carpooled out and listened to Dori give a lecture about the history behind Richard III. This production was very different from Sweeney Todd. As you can see, the stage was very sparse. I loved how they hung RIII, EIV, and HVII to represent the reign of each king. It's amazing how the ISF is able to make Shakespeare, which can be so difficult to comprehend, relate-able and understandable. What did confuse me a bit was the costumes. At first, I was sure that the play was being set during the 1930s- however, soon characters had cell phones and so I was a big baffled at what was going on. Also, it didn't help that two of the actors were bald and it was a bit difficult to tell them apart. Richard III was absolutely amazing though. There was also an actress who looked exactly like Helen Mirren. My favorite part though was what they did whenever someone was killed. The Helen-Mirren look-alike would walk on the upper part of the stage and pour a bucket of "blood" down into a bucket on the bottom of the stage. It was a very powerful image. 

Finally, Youval and I saw the Foreigner, which was absolutely hysterical. It was a small cast but the most important thing was how vividly expressive all the actors were. It was a play full of play-on-words, puns, jokes, missed connections and hilarity. The first half was a bit slow but the second half left me breathless because I was laughing so hard. Even with the bits of rain towards the end, I enjoyed every minute of that second half.

 

I can't wait to see what is on the docket for next season!!

Jars love

So the Jars of Clay concert was absolutely awesome. I'm still giddy thinking about how such a small venue was so awesome for being up close and personal with the guys and their music. I'm going to bullet-point out my favorite moments. 

- dinner with Youval at the Ha'Penny before hand in the most perfect weather for outside seating

-FRONT row standing "seats", and right in the center of the rail

-noticing Matt and Charlie standing at the back next to the bar and going over to get pictures and have a quick chat

-standing and listening to Brooke Waggoner perform and then turn around to see Matt standing right behind us enjoying the music as well. Seriously, I love these guys so much. 

-so much cello, you guys, SO MUCH CELLO (and it had a feather at the top.... I love it)

-Charlie coming onto the stage and giving me a nod and grin (warm fuzzies....)

-Literally singing along to a line of "Age of Immature Mistakes" with Steve and exchanging grins (the things you can do in the front row...)

-getting a set list at the end of the show to add to my collection

-a set list that included pretty much all of my current favorites (After the Fight... Skin and Bones... FALL ASLEEP... Like a Child...Frail...)

-getting the most comfy Jars t-shirt that I seriously could wear everyday 

-SO MUCH CELLLLLOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

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Additional Photos from Youval's visit

Youval came to visit last weekend and we went all over the Treasure Valley. We began in Boise with a trip up to the top of Tablerock and then headed back down to downtown Boise for lunch at the Bluebird Cafe. Oh my heavens, this place is the nicest place for lunch down in Boise. It is delicious. Minus the bit of mustard that was on our turkey and brie sandwich, everything we ate was absolutely delicious. The grilled cheese was to die for, especially with the fig jam they put on the sandwich. It got busy just as we took our seats, so our timing was perfect. So glad we got a chance to get some lunch there.

We made chicken tacos for dinner that night and watched several episodes of "White Collar", which is a show I just absolutely love. We had to rest up because the next day was slam-packed busy. We began, after breakfast, with a drive out to Jump Creek and then a hike and feet soak in the waterfall pool. It was unexpectedly hotter than usual so the feet soak was much more appreciated than the hike. After a quick shower and change at the house, we packed up our things for the weekend and went downtown to Indian Creek Festival. Last year I got a bunch of veggies for basically pennies but there was only one veggie stand- everything else was crafts and food. We did score big at a new bookstore/antique store (that's connected with Joe's Emporium downtown) and got some great books for cheap. The copy of "The Art Lesson" I got turned out to be signed! Bonus.

We drove out to Emmett to Tyler's Rocky Point Orchard, where I had done some apple picking the year before. There weren't too many apples that were ready but there were plums ripe for the picking (if you had a ladder). I didn't want to buy $12 worth of plums, so we took a few plums and a few apples from the tree and just wandered about for a bit before escaping the heat for a wander through the numerous book and antique stores that Emmett has to offer.

Boise Fry Company fries and burgers, along with cupcakes, carrots, and celery, made up our dinner at the Shakespeare Festival that night. I have more about that in another blog post. The next morning, I took Addy out for a run and then we headed down to Hyde Park. We met up with Jon and Abbey at Java, our usual hangout, for Sunday morning coffee and then Youval and I headed up to the Hyde Park Street Fair. Out of all the fairs in Boise, this is one of the most bizarre, with lots of holistic booths and massage places and non-traditional therapies. And the people watching is always stellar.

We walked downtown and headed over to the Boise Art Museum. They have some great exhibits on show right now and we also got to chat a bit with one of th efeatured artists, Karen Woods. One of the current exhibitions was called Kahn and Selesnick: Mars Revisited. Using photographs from Craters of the Moon National Monument which were then distorted and edited, Kahn and Selesnick recreated their version of what Mars might look like with a civilization. The women in white were a bit unsettling but at the same time, it was difficult to take your eyes away from the photos and installments.

The other exhibition that I really wanted to see was Kehinde Wiley's representations of Africans in Israel. Not only was there was fascinating video about Wiley's process and the interactions with black and brown men in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Wiley melds together black urban men with poses from classical European portrait paintings. He weaves together their individual look with elements of their religions and ethnicities. The portraits are bright, vivid, multi-layers, multi-dimensional and there was the added bonus of a selection of Jewish textiles and works on paper on loan from Ahavath Beth Israel and the Skirball Center. Such an incredible exhibit- go see it if you have the chance.

Sunday ended with dinner at the Ha'Penny since it was right around the corner from the Knitting Factory where we saw Jars of Clay. That requires a completely separate post. The next morning, we slept in since it had been a few nights of late nights. We relaxed at the Godwins for a bit and then headed down to the Flying M and Blue Sky Bagels for breakfast before heading out to the airport. So glad that Youval came out to visit- it gave me an excuse to do some great things in the Treasure Valley!

Thoughts about the Year Thus Far

Well. It's been a week. Partly good, partly frustrating, partly enlightening.

When the semester began, my classes were pretty small. I wasn't sure what to make of this. Was it a good thing? Not a good thing? I don't know. I will say that it gave me the opportunity to try some new things, focus more on discussions and less on lecture, and think about letting the students lead some discussions. The division of my classes was also a new obstacle. My morning class is a division between guys and girls, with a few upper classmen, but my afternoon class was an all-male extravaganza. What a dynamic. My Monday/Wednesday class is very small and at first it was all guys but at the last minute, a girl from India joined, changing the dynamic as well.

One week in, I've had a lot to think about. I think the most interesting discovery has been teaching a class of all guys. On the second day of class, they showed up having not read, not done the homework, overall massively unprepared. And so I laid into them. There was a lot of sarcasm, a lot of awkward conversations about why the reading hadn't been do, maybe a little bit of shaming. But they got it. And that's what I love about this class. They took their metaphorical beating and then they moved on. The rest of the class was great- lots of discussion, participation, making connections. It was awesome.

I was a bit concerned about how the small class was going to go but so far, we've talked the entire class period. I think that because it's such a small class, they know they can't get away with not saying anything. The two football players I have in that class may be the most vocal, which is awesome.

I'm excited to see what this year holds. I know it's going to be different from last year and the year before that but it's nice to know that after this semester I'll have a plan for a big class and a smal class I also will greatly appreciate shorter meeting days, after those days of meeting from 2 am-3:30 pm. But I think that the students have some great potential and I'm excited to see what happens.