‎"Isn't it nice to know a lot! - And a little bit not."

Two essays I wrote on Yitro: one - about the image of eagle's wings, and a second about why Rashi combines two midrashic opinions regarding what Yitro heard, and says he heard both.

Yesterday I watched a wonderful documentary by Werner Herzog, Encounters at the End of the World. He's a force of nature himself, and the film is remarkable - it is both about the geographical and (G-d forbid) historical end of the world. Fascinating.

I just finished watching half of the filmed for TV version of the play Into the Woods. The Times' reviews says that when it was previewed people thought it was done at the intermission. It feels that way. It seems that in the second half things are going to turn dark. Maybe I should do what I did with Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?) and skip the part where the bottom falls out.

I am with cold. I need to go healthy, and herbal and all that jazz.

I had a helpful talk with a talmid-chaver this morning. In short, I need to write things here that are tiferet le'oseha vetiferet lo min ha'adam. Or to use an expression my mother - OBM - used to like, "When in doubt, leave it out." This is true in general regarding writing or speaking, if the best you can do after saying something is maybe not lose out, then don't share it. The odds are better that way.

It's been a few years since I mentioned Chana Rothman. You can hear her songs for free here, with the option to purchase. I thought of Chana and her song, More Than One Way, on Martin Luther King Day. It would provide good theme music to a video on civil rights. I like all the songs of hers that I've heard. Chana is wise as is evident in her saying that "the truth hurts but it opens your eyes." That reminds me a bit of a comment by another singer/songwriter, Carrie Grossman who says that "Disappointment, I've learned, can be a very good friend -- shattering illusions."

Poetic Posts Past

Here's a backwards alphabetical acrostic poem that I wrote and that Miss Trudy liked.

Here's a post about the idea of carrying a new poem in your pocket every day (sample poem included).

Here's a thought and a poem from Oscar season four years ago.

Here's an excerpt of a poem in a post about sitting at my sailboat spot (picture of painting that has since been let go of included).

Here's what I wrote for the blog's fourth anniversary (full sailboat poem included).