Wednesday, October 30, 2019

The Hot Sardines

Train to Forest Hills: If, like Abq Jew, you like hot jazz - and how could you not? - then you should watch this video by The Hot Sardines. Especially if you like American Yiddish music - and how could you not?


In case you (like Abq Jew) didn't know, Wikipedia tells us -
The Hot Sardines are an American jazz band formed in New York City in 2007 by artistic director, singer and writer Elizabeth Bougerol and artistic director, actor and pianist Evan Palazzo. 
Although hailed as "the charismatic front-runners of vintage jazz," the Sardines paradoxically emphasize both authenticity and irreverence in their performances. 
According to Palazzo, the Sardines do not treat jazz music "with kid gloves, or place it on a pedestal to preserve and adore" and instead play "as if these songs were written this morning, for today's generation." 
Over time, the Sardines have assembled a unique repertoire with "a sound and a style that are distinctly their own."Their distinctive style has been described by music critics as "wartime Paris by way of New Orleans" while firmly rooted in the "here and now."
Oh - and they're on tour now! Supporting their newest album, Welcome Home, Bon Voyage, the Sardines'll be in Denver on November 20 ... and (חבל) that's about as close as they'll come to the Land of Enchantment.


Bei Mir Bistu Shein is, of course, "the world's best-known and longest-reigning Yiddish theater song of all time."
Bei Mir Bistu Shein" (Yiddish: בײַ מיר ביסטו שיין‎, [ˌbaj ˈmir ˌbistu ˈʃejn], "To Me You're Beautiful") is a popular Yiddish song written by Jacob Jacobs (lyricist) and Sholom Secunda (composer) for a 1932 Yiddish language comedy musical, I Would If I Could (in Yiddish, Men Ken Lebn Nor Men Lost Nisht, "You could live, but they don't let you"), which closed after one season (at the Parkway Theatre in Brooklyn, New York City). 
The score for the song transcribed the Yiddish title as "Bay Mir Bistu Sheyn". The original Yiddish version of the song (in C minor) is a dialogue between two lovers. Five years after its 1932 composition, the song became a worldwide hit when recorded under a Germanized title as "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön" by The Andrews Sisters in November 1937. 
Click here to learn more about the F Train than you ever wanted or needed to know. Alas, Mr & Mrs Abq Jew didn't get a chance to ride the F Train during their recent Long Island visit - they stayed on Long Island.


But The Hot Sardines made their video
while riding the old-time F Train's ancestor!




Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Another Memorial by the Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge Elephant Stampede: Yes, Abq Jew reminds you, it was only three years ago that the Chicago Cubs, on Rosh Hodesh MarHeshvan (the "bitter" holiday-free month of Heshvan), won the 2016 World Series.


Oh, those were happy days
(unless you were a Cleveland fan).

We celebrated Chicago's victory over The Fates along with native son President Barack Obama and his bright, good-looking, and virtuous family.

And we looked forward to the upcoming elections, as we prepared to deliver the White House (and the Capitol!) to one of the smartest, most experienced, and most capable candidates in our nation's history.

As we all know -

It's been straight downhill since then.


Before we get to Thanksgiving - when we are obligated to be thankful for the many blessings we have, as Americans, indeed received, present circumstances notwithstanding - we pause in our time-travels to memorialize two events that occurred on October 29, 1929.

The first event - those of a certain age (and perhaps, their children and grandchildren) will never forget.

The second event - those of a certain age (and certainly, their children and grandchildren) may not even remember, since its tragedy was trampled in the tragedy of the first event.

Abq Jew speaks, of course, of

The Brooklyn Bridge Elephant Stampede

Don't remember? Here is the story:
Since the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge in May of 1883, elephants have crossed into lower Manhattan. 
It was a hallowed and wholesome tradition, started by world-famous showman, P.T. Barnum. That is, until the laughter and cheers of yesteryear were supplanted with screams of horror and the sounds of bones crunching under elephant foot. 
October 29th, 1929, to some, is known as Black Friday … the day of the great stock market crash. To others, it is known as 
the Brooklyn Bridge Elephant Stampede … one of the most horrific land mammal tragedies in our nation’s history.

This year was more even more publicized than most as the circus advertised the arrival of its new star: Jumbo! The thirteen-foot-tall African elephant was to lead other elephants across the bridge and crowds came from miles around to see Jumbo in all of his massive glory as he led the greatest show on earth into the greatest city on earth.

However, before Jumbo and the other elephants could complete their journey, something upset the animals and a slow and deliberate cross suddenly became a deadly stampede to freedom for Jumbo and a pair of elephant crusaders. 
The elephants bulldozed anyone and anything in their path. Bones were crushed. Bodies impaled upon tusks. Helpless citizens dragged through the streets like rag dolls. 
Then it was down Broadway to Wall Street where more chaos unfolded. While the distressed leaders of the financial sector descended into panic, many taking their own lives, 
the Brooklyn Bridge Elephant Stampede would go down in history as the greatest single animal-driven disaster of the modern era.

When all was said and done, two of the elephants lay dead in the city street. The third, Jumbo himself, was last seen running to freedom through the Holland Tunnel. 
While no firm evidence exists either way, rumor has it he survived and lived out his days in an elephant sanctuary. 
The Brooklyn Bridge Elephant Stampede Monument is dedicated to the triumph of the will of these elephants … and the poor souls that stood in their way.
Artist Joe Reginella has taken it upon himself - as he did for the Staten Island Ferry Octopus Disaster - to spread awareness of this pachydermal tragedy - via a website, a Facebook page, a documentary, and the Brooklyn Bridge Elephant Stampede Walking Tour.


One of the most horrific land mammal tragedies
in our nation's history. Dedicated to the triumph
of the will of these elephants and
the poor souls who stood in their way.


You can learn more about the Brooklyn Bridge Elephant Stampede here and here.To learn more about New York City's most compelling mysteries and forgotten tragedies, click here.

Let us never forget.


Enjoy this blog post?


Sunday, October 13, 2019

Abq JCC 2019 Book Fest

Ariel Burger and More: The Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque is proud to present our New Mexico Jewish community’s annual celebration of the written word.


Again this year, the  Abq JCC Book Fest & Visiting Author Series is bringing new authors of high quality and importance to the Albuquerque community.


This year (did you remember to write '5780' on your checks?) our Abq JCC will present six excellent authors. You can check the Abq Jewish Event Calendar or the JCC website to see when each will be appearing.


They're all at the top of their game; they're all worthy of your attention. But Abq Jew must (really; he must) call your attention to one author in particular: Ariel Burger, author of Witness: Lessons from Elie Wiesel's Classroom.

Surely you recall that Abq Jew offered a Word of Torah from the book in his August blog post Discovering Albany. But there's more - much, much more.
From Ariel Burger's website:
The world remembers Elie Wiesel—Nobel laureate, activist, and author of more than forty books, including Oprah’s Book Club selection Night—as a great humanist. He passed away in July 2016. Ariel Burger first met Elie Wiesel at age fifteen. They studied and taught together. Witness chronicles the intimate conversations between these two men over decades, as Burger sought counsel on matters of intellect, spirituality, and faith, while navigating his own personal journey from boyhood to manhood, from student and assistant to rabbi and, in time, teacher. 
In this profoundly hopeful, thought-provoking, and inspiring book, Burger takes us into Elie Wiesel’s classroom, where the art of listening and storytelling conspire to keep memory alive. As Wiesel’s teaching assistant, Burger gives us a front-row seat witnessing these remarkable exchanges in and out of the classroom. The act of listening, of sharing these stories, makes of us, the readers, witnesses.
About the significance of the title; Ariel Burger tells us:
At the center of the book is Elie Wiesel’s teaching that “listening to a witness makes you a witness”. That is one reason for the title, and it has a specific and universal meaning. 
Specifically, this is the response to the difficult question of what will happen when the last Holocaust survivor is gone: who will tell the story?  
Although no one who was not there can truly imagine the experience, we can absorb, integrate, and act as witnesses to their stories. 
In this way, as long as there are children and students willing to listen with sincerity and attentiveness, the reality of the Holocaust will never be lost.
Elie Wiesel and (להבחל"ח) Ariel Burger

In their review of Witness, the Jewish Journal said:
Burger, a compassionate heart, fiery soul, and sharp religious mind in his own right, presents a personal side of Wiesel that we normally didn’t see. This is the humane Wiesel, the Wiesel who nurtured students and who shook the foundations to demand more decency in society…. 
We all know Wiesel the Activist who spent his life working for people suffering everywhere to protest injustice and oppression and to bear ‘witness,’ but there are other more personal dimensions to this story as well. Now we can see Wiesel the Soul. 
May we continue to be inspired by the life and teachings of Elie Wiesel. We owe Rabbi Dr. Ariel Burger our gratitude for this special opportunity.
To which the Jewish Book Council added:
Burger’s book hon­ors Elie Wiesel’s truth that ​“lis­ten­ing to a wit­ness makes you a wit­ness,” and when read­ing these words, you, the read­er, will become a wit­ness, too.
In case you were wondering ....


Here is a video of Ariel Burger is in conversation with Sarah Hurwitz, head speechwriter for Michelle Obama from 2008 to 2017, who was appointed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council by Barack Obama after he left the White House.

BTW - Sarah Hurwitz also has a new book out ... but she is not coming to our Land of Enchantment for the 2019 Abq JCC Book Fest. Maybe next time.



And in the meantime -


Sunday, October 6, 2019

When Christians Break Bad

Bonnie Weinstein Wrote (Another) Book: From the seven-time Nobel Peace Prize nominated Military Religious Freedom Foundation's official archives

When Christians Break Bad:
Letters from the Insane, Inane, and Profane
by Bonnie Weinstein

comes this second jaw-dropping collection of hate mail, threats, and criticisms of the MRFF's efforts to ensure that all members of the United States Armed Forces fully receive the Constitutional guarantees of religious freedom to which they and all Americans are entitled by virtue of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
As you, Abq Jew's loyal readers, must surely know, Abq Jew has long (see On Selecting Haberdashery and Onward, Christian Soldiers!, et al) been a big fan of Mikey and Bonnie Weinstein and their organization, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.


At least since Abq Jew's own January 2017 run-in with the haters (see You've Got Hate Mail!) - and even before.

Well. Bonnie Weinstein has just published a second collection of ... Responsa ... as we say in Classical Rabbinic Lit circles. And it is, as we also say in such circles, a Doozy.

Here is one example of the types of questions the MRFF is called upon to respond to. (And yes, Abq Jew here inserts **asterisks** and an image, so it's relatively unsearchable. Other sites have no such qualms.)


Here is an example of the types of responses the MRFF provides.
Thanks for your insightful and thought-provoking observations. The time that you took to articulate your position was well-spent, as it makes clear the depth of your intellect and the effort that you've extended to understand the complex issues in which the MRFF engages. 
However, I feel compelled to point out that the activity in which you've asked Mikey to engage is physically impossible; therefore, he will not be complying with your request. 
But feel free, as you deem appropriate, to continue with your own experimentation.

As always, Mrs Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian (TM), provides her own entertaining and informative review (OK ... outright promotion) of Bonnie Weinstein's latest opus.


If you would like - and you know you would! - your own, personal, hand-signed-by-Bonnie-Weinstein copy of When Christians Break Bad, Abq Jew strongly encourages you to attend -

Congregation Albert's
Hoshana Rabbah Brotherhood Brunch

Which brings us to the latest episodes in the life of

Michael Joseph Farrell Jr (born February 6, 1939)

Yes, that Mike Farrell. The guy who played Captain B J Hunnicutt on M*A*S*H (1975-83). Who is now a
dedicated human rights activist and Chair of the Board of Death Penalty Focus, Good Will Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and Co-Chair Emeritus of the California Committee of Human Rights Watch.
Mike is also on the Military Religious Freedom Foundation Advisory Board. And therefore, to MRFF questioners' consternation - but to our delight - gets to provide some (but alas, not all; there's just too much incoming) responses.

Jonah and the Whale in Haifa Port
Eugene Abeshaus (USSR and Israel, 1939–2008)

Here - as we approach Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement - is an example of the types of responses Mike Farrell provides. The question? It really doesn't matter, does it? Let your imagination run wild.
Cowardice and self-hatred are always clear in the anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic rants we see here, but I think you’ve done an amazing job of demonstrating why people like you wear hoods to hide your faces. 
Such incredible emptiness has to be painful beyond understanding for most normal people, so it stands to reason that you, feeling so miserable and hopeless, have trouble looking in a mirror, let alone allowing rational folks to see the ugliness that is written all over you. 
I’m sorry you’ve allowed yourself to sink to these depths, but we like to think there’s hope for everyone, so, hard as it may be, take a good look at yourself, weep for a while, and try to find something positive to do. It’ll be hard, I know. 
It’s a long road back, but it’s worth the effort.
For all of us who are on our own roads back ...

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Brian Colón, A Force of Nature

Our State Auditor: The New Mexico Office of the State Auditor is a constitutionally established executive office with an elected State Auditor eligible to serve up to two four-year terms.

The office is currently held by Brian Colón.


But ... you probably knew that.
Brian Colón was elected State Auditor of New Mexico in November 2018 with decisive wins during both the primary and general elections. As State Auditor, Brian is committed to bringing awareness to the important work of the office that uncovers fraud, waste, and abuse in agencies and entities statewide.
And ... you probably knew that, too. In any event ... you can read more of  Brian's official biography here.


To find out more about Brian Colón - especially his proud and unique Jewish story - photojournalist Diane Joy Schmidt (see Asylum Seekers in Albuquerque, et al) recently interviewed him.

Ms Schmidt reported the results in this summer's issue of The New Mexico Jewish Link. Her interview is reprinted here with her (and Mr Colón's) permission.


Brian Colón
A Force of Nature

Article & Photos by Diane Joy Schmidt

There’s a feeling of personal power that radiates from New Mexico State Auditor Brian Colón. Meeting him is something like the rush of taking off on a jet plane. There’s also a sense of bashert, of things happening as they should, when they should, and that sense of active well-being seems to empower those around him.

Colón, who is now in the top tier of New Mexico governance is, in 107 years, the second constitutional official in the state of New Mexico who is Jewish, following Governor Arthur Seligman (1931-1933). He is also of Puerto Rican descent.


What is your affinity for the Jewish community?

My affinity is that I’m Jewish. I went to Hebrew school at B'nai Israel under Rabbi Celnik. My mother was Jewish: my grandfather was a Sephardic Jew, so his lineage goes back to Spain, and my grandmother was Ashkenazi. My connection to Puerto Rico is my father's side of the family.

My parents moved out here from New York essentially under the cover of night. We didn't have any family out here in New Mexico, so we were an island unto ourselves, and I had two parents who were disabled—my father had muscular dystrophy so he was very sick.

My father converted to Judaism after they were married, he was very dedicated and committed. He was born Catholic, and then converted to Judaism. I remember when my father converted—I was just little kid, I remember the rabbi and the mohel—it was the real deal.

My father was disabled and my mother was disabled as well. Before he got very sick he was a chef. When I was about 10 years old my parents bought some land and opened up a flea market in Bosque Farms—40 years later it's still there. I went to Daniel Fernandez Elementary in Las Lunas and ultimately graduated from Los Lunas High School in 1988.

Growing up in Las Lunas, Colón said he was picked on—but not because he was Jewish—

Believe me, I was a heavyset, red-headed freckle-faced kid—I got picked on. But you know what I can say? I never got picked on because I was Jewish. It's interesting—I never thought about it till this very second; I was bullied a lot, but it was always for my weight, my glasses, and my freckles and red hair. But being Jewish was more of a novelty down there, it was the one thing that made me different and kind of cool, because the vast majority of students were Catholic and I was this Jew kid.

I was asked to put the Hebrew alphabet on the chalkboard, and to go around to classes and talk about the difference between Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, because I was the only Jew in the school. That's part of who I am, that diversity, having grown up being different—and knowing that that difference is also what makes me special.

Ultimately the doctors thought the altitude in New Mexico was making the disease progress more rapidly, so having watched my father deteriorate before my very eyes, when I graduated from high school they made the tough choice to leave New Mexico. They went to Florida to be at sea level and I made a choice after graduation that I wasn't going with them because I had received an opportunity to go to New Mexico State University.

And my dad's dream was that I'd be the first in my family to go to college and maybe break that cycle of poverty that he had known for so long, and as I sit here today I'm grateful that I was able to do that.

When my family left, when I was at New Mexico State University, I was again an island unto myself. I didn't have a single blood relative in New Mexico at that point. 

But the community filled the gap and supported me on my journey and we were the beneficiaries of every government program you could imagine, whether it was Section 8 housing, commodities, financial aid, Pell grants, student loans, all those things that allowed me to eventually graduate from New Mexico State University.

It would take Colón ten years to complete his undergraduate coursework, being completely on his own, working to pay his way through school. Graduating in 1998 with a degree in finance, he then immediately went on the University of New Mexico School of Law and graduated in 2001.

The best part of my story I think is now that one generation out from that poverty, one such generation out from section 8 housing and commodities, my son is a very proud Albuquerque High Bulldog who graduated and went on to get a presidential scholarship at George Washington University, where he is studying biomedical engineering in Washington D.C., and is on track to graduate next year. That's got to be the best part of my story.

Colon paused in his non-stop delivery and pointed to a small framed photo across from his desk,

There is a picture of my dad and me a couple years before he passed. In terms of poetry, I buried my father when he was 49 years old and, that's exactly the age I was when I took office, entered into public service, so it's been a powerful year for me and a year of real gratitude.

You’ve built bridges between the Jewish community and Hispanic leaders, as well as most recently the office of newly elected U.S. Congresswoman Debra Haaland?

I'm a very, very big fan of Congressman Haaland's and have been a friend of hers for a very long time, and so it was important to me that that she had a good open dialogue with the Jewish community and understood the history and the story of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

I’m a member of AIPAC and participate in the Hispanic leaders group who engage with AIPAC. Recently, we did a combined trip to Puerto Rico with some of the Hispanic leaders that have engaged with AIPAC. A group of us engaged with IsraAID, it's an Israeli-based humanitarian NGO (Non-governmental organization) and it's one of the only NGOs that is still left on the ground since the hurricane hit Puerto Rico in 2017. Other aid groups went in and then left, but IsraAID stayed. We went and worked on a water system and engaged with the community and had some great dialogue.

I stay engaged in Jewish organizations whether it's the brotherhood at B'nai Israel, I still go to their events and breakfasts, whether it’s the Federation, supporting their events, and I’m very engaged and supportive of the work of building the New Mexico Holocaust and Intolerance Museum. I've emcee’d their annual gala and engaged with their exhibits.



They just received a substantial capital outlay from the legislature this year to start working towards a stand-alone museum. Their president, Victor Raigoza, leaned in, a lot of the políticos are familiar with Victor and his advocacy—he and his board did a great job, a lot of people worked hard on that. And, I’m a big fan of Rabbi Citrin, and Rabbi Rosenfeld is one of my spiritual guides. My engagement in terms of the Jewish community is a real source of pride for me.

Colon is well-known for his civic involvement in mentoring hundreds of young people.

I love mentoring young professionals, women and men who like to tell me where they are today and where they want to be tomorrow, and my job is to help them get there. What I do is I share my life experience with them and I try and leverage all my resources for their benefit. There is nothing that makes me happier.

For me this office is really about accountability, transparency and excellence in government.
Waste, fraud and abuse doesn’t have a party affiliation.

By the end of his term as state auditor, he hopes “that we have increased people’s trust in government. That public trust is sacred."

How does he feel about Freedom of Information Act requests?

Love them, love them. Anything that's not under current investigation I'm happy to give anyone, anytime, any day. I've been a member of FOG ( New Mexico Foundation for Open Government) for years, (co-founder) Bill Dixon was a mentor of mine.


Colón has twenty years of activity in politics. He served as Democratic state party chair, then ran for Lt. Gov. and won the Democratic primary but the Diane Denish / Colón ticket lost the general election to Susana Martinez; he then ran for mayor. So, is he interested in national politics?

I have no desire to serve in Washington, D.C. I love New Mexico. And now, after 149 days in office, I could very easily see myself asking the voters to give me a chance at a second term if I’ve done a good job. There is a lot of work that needs to be done and it's very rewarding.

Now, be sure to mention in your article that the tool that I get to use to restore people's faith in government is the Fraud Hotline. 

Tips and calls to our office are up 30% over last year. Make sure that folks know they can report waste fraud and abuse through our hotline: 


1-866-OSA-FRAUD or www.osafraud.org

Also, we’re hiring! We’re always looking for great accountants, auditors, and investigators to come work with us.