Weekly 12/14/06 - 5

Salon Weekly

~ In 4  Color-Coded Sections:

• Table Notes
• Announcements
• Articles
  

• Books, Reviews, Films, Magazines
  

A Weekly Email Publication of The Lloyd House: Circulation:  c. 600.  Growing out
of the Wednesday Night Salon .  For info about the Salon, see the bottom of
this email. Join us at the Lloyd House every week of the year at 5:45 for pot
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To: Friends on our Pot Luck Salon list (c. 600)... Now in our
sixth year),

(to unsubscribe see below, bottom of page).
................................................... Section One: Table Notes ............................................................................ (Note: these notes were taken at the table and have NOT been approved or corrected by the speakers.  Reader
beware of inevitable misunderstandings and misrepresentations.  E.B.)

At the Table on  Wednesday, 12/13/06
Steve Sunderland, Shari Able, Mary Biehn, Himavat Ishaya, Marvin Kraus, Gerry Kraus, Mr. S., Mr. G., Roy Euvrard, Bill Messer, Linda Gruber, Chad Benjamin Potter, Ellen Bierhorst, Joyce Alpiner, Spencer Konicov, Brooke Audreyal, Mira Rodwan (WELCOME BACK CHAD BENJAMIN!)
 
Gerry: a wonderful exhibit at CAC on graphics.  Charlie Harper… a whole series on graphics that have roots in Cincinnati. Started hundred yrs. ago. Charlie Harper, known to many for his funny little bird … they will have a different artist featured every three months or so.  Lovely, interesting, environmentally interesting exhibit.
 
Mr. S.:  CAC, Contemp. Art Center on 6th & Walnut is always free on Mondays.  

Marvin: police found the suspected murder of Phillip Bates. They are to be commended. Two keys were  found at the scene.  Had 11 copies.  Went door to door to a thousand buildings trying the keys. Legwork.  11 buildings where the key fit the front door.  On the last day, they found the building, opened the door and the apartment.  …
Gerry a neighbor reported that the night Bates was killed this man rang their apt. bell because they had lost their keys.  
Marvin: is currently in jail on another arrest.  Burglaries.  … finding a needle in the haystack.  
 
Steve The Iraqi study group r eport last Wednesday. We are now trying to understand the report.  Shocking that it came from Jas. Baker.  Amazed that Baker would criticize the president.  You can buy a copy of the report for $11 in any bookstore.
 
Shari  the fact that Bush has postponed any further decision about the war until after the new year.
Gerry  there will be a new congress, after the 20th or something.
Shari …Bush is not talking to generals etc.  Is diluting the study group’s report, with Christmas.  Will probably not follow many of the suggestions.  
 
…
Speech given by Bush sr. on Jeb Bush.  He wept recounting the first defeat of Jeb as Fla. Governor.
 
Bill a former Newsweek correspondent writing about Pinochet death in Chile.  Both Bush sr. and jr. are breathing easier now that P. is dead, because of P’s complicity in Iran Contra, Alliende’s murder, … Web site “Intelligence Report”. First name Gary.  A long , thorough piece.  

Steve Bob Gates’ confirmation, an amazing story. Lied to congress… and yet sailed through confirmation.  We are looking at the return of a group of people who have admitted their violation of the constitution.  
…
Roy:  maybe Kerry intentionally lost the election because he didn’t want to be responsible for getting the Iraq war resolved.
Spencer  is this (‘08) the first presidential election since Eisenhower where there isn’t a vice president running?  (all: yes.)
 

DUMB JOKES AT THE SALON

Marvin in the spirit of the holidays can we tell an offensive joke?
How do we know Jesus was Jewish.
Lived with fam until 30
Went into his father’s business
His mother thought he was God.
 
Mr. G:  pharaoh, Mohammed and Moses .  God came and asked Pharaoh, offered commandments.  “Like what?”  Like not to steal.  Pharaoh, said no.  
Went to Mohammed.  … want commandments?  Like no adultery.  No.
Went to Moses.  Moses asked, “How much?”  God said, “Free.”  Moses said, “I”ll take ten.”
 
Mr. R: a dr., lawyer, engineer were arguing about what is  the oldest profession.  Engineer, the pyramids …  The dr. said, before the pyramids there was mummification. ...  Dr. said, Eve created … rib. Surgery. ..Engineer: God created heavens and earth out of chaos.  All this time the lawyer had said nothing. Then the lawyer:  “And who created the chaos?”
 
Spencer: southern belle, New Orleans. A funeral.  Behind the two hearses, a woman in black with a dog. And a stream of people for blocks. “Who died?”  “I don’t know.”  Finally the  man gets to the widow.  Who died?  “In the first hearse is my husband.  In the second is his girl friend.”  How died.  “My dog killed them both.”  The man says, “Can I Borrow dog?”   She says,  “Sure, get in line.”

WEEKLY EFFECTIVENESS QUESTIONED:

Mr. G  want a short report on  the effect of the Weekly.  Feedback?  
Ellen:  Yes, when I really scream in the Weekly for feedback it comes rolling in.  People say they love the Weekly, they read it frequently...maybe not every word, but lots of it.  Clearly the most popular part is the  notes from the table discussion.  (?) No, thre never has been any comment on the anonymous people, like “Mr. G.”.  Maybe some readers remember when we had that big discussion at the table ab out the danger of surveillance by the CIA/FBI, and some people decided to use pseudonyms.  Also, of course, we read a preamble each Wednesday night, that specifies that folks are free to “turn off notetaking” or to use pseudonyms for the published version.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Ellen  Mira will be  7:00 on Friday. Pot luck party at St. John’s Friday. Dec 15.  No gifts.  Menorah lighting/songs/dancing/games.  No soda pop, no hard liquor, no trans fats, no bottled water (because of the plastic bottles).  
(Toast to Mira.)
 
Also, on Monday, Jan 1 celebration of Emancipation Proclamation by Lincoln. Metropolitan CME church (Black Methodist) 1 bl. W. of Thompson McConnell Cadillac.  Melrose.  Melrose runs N and S, about a block E of Gilbert.  The church is across from the Melrose YMCA.  A block or so N of McMillain.  Great singing, great Black pulpit oratory.  I’ll be there in the MLK chorale.  Service at 11; free lunch served for all about 12:30.  
 

FREE SPEECH, CONTINUING

Mr. G  Last week we ended a discussion, unfinished, Bill and Steve on First Amendment and censorship.,  You two took very interesting positions.  
Bill: one of his lifelong causes is to o ppose censorship.
Steve’s position, when you make a statement, as in the Enquirer blog, that is anti-Muslim. That is not good.  
 
Bill there was a feeling that when you permit certain kinds of hateful expression that is injurious…  if these were for the op-ed of the paper version, there would be an editor selecting or rejecting…
Steve I am concerned hate speech.  Lest it contribute actions injurious to people.  When I read, “Muslims need to be honest…” and worse, I thought that it could have been better.  That headline appeared again and again as the title of a “thread” for days.  A new kind of hate speech.  My feeling was… like when we ask Ellen not to use our  names when we are saying certain things.  … We should ask the editors not to reprint hate titles.  I have thought about our conversation all week.  
Bill you also made a personal plea that touched me…”I’ve heard enough hate speech for a lifetime and I don’t want to hear more.”  …But you need to hear…
 
Roy the best thing is to respond with a learned response. I would rather hear it in the open rather than forced to go underground.  Have it out in the open.  
 
Mira I heard about a Muslim girl who was being called “Osama” and the boys were threatening to piss on her.
 
Mr. G  I tend to be close to Bill’s position in most cases, but I have to ask: in a blog you don’t know who it is that is “speaking”.  It could be one person sending all the hate messages.  …  Gives enormous power to the hate speaker to dominate without revealing anything about who they are.  
 
Gerry you could take a  positive step to counteract.  Some Somalis settled in Lewiston Maine, written up in the New Yorker.  About 3000 Somalis have moved there.  Town has about 35,000 residents.  There was a hate rally; but then an even larger rally supporting the Somalis. So the best response to hate is to rally around tolerance.
 
Steve.    Hate speech takes an emotional toll on me and everyone who has to hear it.  Some may say “This is the price we pay for an open forum.”  Franklin’s (new)  biography by Johnson.  Franklin wrote and printed crazy, extreme material in newspapers, signed with pseudonym…  This is a tradition in America.  But it hurts me to know that people are walking around here being hurt by what is being said…
 
Gerry: the alternative could be worse.
Marvin Another dimension.  We have learned from the electronic communications, there is so much information, people must learn how to distinguish truth from falsehood. What are we doing to help all those who are hooked on internet communication, to learn to discriminate truth from falsehood.  How do you know what’s fact, what’s fiction.  
 
Bill A friend recently handed me a letter from his sister, she had printed from a web site with 20 charges against the ACLU. Charges sounded terrible. If you knew anything about them, you understood.  She had written, “Is this true?”  And he handed it to me to answer.  This woman doesn’t know how to discriminate.  She lacks facts, but also the tools.  
 
Mr. G.  CSI, Crime Scene Investigation,is a TV show.   I read that juries are acquitting perps on the grounds that they are finding fault with evidence due to what they are learning on CSI.  …I don’t know where to get information….
I can smell “agenda” better than I could last year.
            Conversation with my Dr.  I brought up the TV program “Gray’s Anatomy”.  He said the medicine is not correct.  The human interaction is good.  So I buy in.  but maybe some erroneous medical information goes into my memory, and how do I know if it is true.
 
Mira ..the few ads there are on PBS…  “Who do you  trust?”  People say they trust PBS.  I am not so sure how reliable it is; sure is better than commercial stations.
 
Shari seems to me we are  now talking about people not being able to tell what is true on web sites.  Remember in the days before “separate but equal” education was struck down, people were writing to say that separate but equal was fine.  … What is considered true is subject to change.  All we can ask for is the facts as somebody sees them. We should just know when we read something, that it may be wrong.
 
Mr. S  On Democracy Now, a study reported on the media, NPR and PBS.  Counted liberal and conservative guests. Even NPR and PBS were considerably right leaning.
 
Spencer: this is a very interesting conversation.  A website is the musing of someone, whether they have any intelligence or not.  I have just visited my daughter and her daughter.  The house is completely baby proof.  In the middle of the night I went to the bathroom, and I couldn’t open the lid.  The next morning I said to my dau. “there must be a limit to security.”  She survived, not withstanding our not having done all those safety measures when she was young.
   Happy moment, when a child shows having learned from you…  You have to teach children to be discerning and make judgments.  
 
Gerry among the teens there is a new form of communication: Instant messaging.  Probably a lot being said that is worse than at the Enquirer.  A church had a retreat to consider what was wrong or right to say on I.M.  
Steve at what point do we savage each other to the degree that civility no longer possible.
Marvin   a test of true and not true. See movie “Gentlemen’s Agreement” with Gregory Peck, 1947. From the library.  Peck’s character wanted to write about anti-Semitism; lived as a Jew for six months before writing.  So , Live it . Then you’ll know.

~ End of Table Notes~

Hugs to everyone,
Ellen

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Section Two: Announcements

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Mental Health for the Holidays [Every Thursday in December, 5:50- 7:30 pm]: Holistic psychologist Ellen Bierhorst offers an open group, “Surviving and thriving during the holidays: December Mental Health Institute at the Lloyd House” for support and education around common problems and individual issues, including: holiday blues, overeating and overdrinking, family reunion and anniversary issues, parenting, loneliness, insomnia and more.  Couples and families welcome.  $10.  Drop-ins welcome.  No appointment necessary.  The Lloyd House, 3901 Clifton Avenue, Cinti. 45220.  Parking on Lafayette Avenue.  More info @ 513 221 1289, ellenbierhorst@lloydhouse.com, & http://www.lloydhouse.com
This is an opportunity to have access to Ellen in a freely affordable way, for those who would love that, but don’t feel like or can’t afford a full-dress psychotherapy appointment.  It most likely will be a small group—could be just you and me.  Feel free to come to one or all of the Thursday evening sessions.    

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Mira will be  7:00 on Friday. Pot luck party at St. John’s Friday. Dec 15.  No gifts.  Menorah lighting/songs/dancing/games.  No soda pop, no hard liquor, no trans fats, no bottled water (because of the plastic bottles).  
(Toast to Mira.)
 

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EarthSave Cincinnati (vegan/environmental group) Holiday Party

Sunday, December 17th, 2006, 4:30pm
Clifton United Methodist Church
3416 Clifton Avenue

4:30 pm Potluck dinner
5:15 pm Speaker: Michael Budkie, Executive Director,
Stop Animal Exploitation Now! (S.A.E.N.)
"Exposing the truth to wipe out animal experimentation"
Topic: Effective Activism for Animals
6:15 pm Party: Dance and enjoy live music with Lagniappe*

Please bring a vegan dish to share –
vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, seeds, nuts
and your own plate, cup, utensils, serving utensils.
(No animal products including no dairy, eggs, casein, honey)

$3 non-members

For more information call: 513-929-2500.
visit: http://cincinnati.earthsave.org or
email: earthsave@nuvox.net

"EarthSave educates people about the powerful effects our food
choices have on the environment, our health and all life on Earth,
and encourages a shift toward a healthy plant-based diet."

Everyone welcome!

*Lagniappe is Cincinnati's only traditional cajun band featuring lots of other kinds of music.
The musicians are: Chico Converse on fiddle, Yvan Verbesselt on rhythm, Chris Carmichael on guitar, bass  and trumpet, John Mooter on keyboards, trombone and cornet,and Dick Franz on accordion. Besides two-steps, waltzes and stomps, they play a little Zydeco, gypsy, blues, and a crazy, spicy musical jambalaya of Johnny Cash, Gershwin, Beatles, Juan Reynosa, and some originals.  (Lagniappe derives from New World Spanish la ñapa, “the gift,” and ultimately from Quechua yapay, “to give more.”)

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MoveOn.org calls for 1 minute activsm:  Important!
FLORIDA SHOULD HAVE REVOTE:

Dear MoveOn member,

Electronic voting machines in Florida appear to have flat-out lost 18,000 votes for Congress—votes almost certain to change the outcome of a close House race in Sarasota.1

This election meltdown demonstrates the insanity of paperless voting machines. There's no way to recount the votes short of holding a new election. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi—along with Republican and Democratic leaders—are deciding now if Congress will tolerate this broken election or call for a new one.

The decision could come any day—and once it's made, it's hard to reverse. Can you sign this petition urging Congress to call for a re-vote in Sarasota, Florida and to repair our nation's elections? And then ask your friends and family to do the same.
http://pol.moveon.org/floridaelection/?id=9601-1309716-zLUng_2bqrLo3INDkVeUmA&t=2

Here's what the petition says: "In the wake of Florida's electronic voting machine meltdown, Congress should call for a re-vote and repair our nation's elections."

Our voices could make the critical difference.

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On Monday, Jan 1 celebration of Emancipation Proclamation by Lincoln. Metropolitan CME church (Black Methodist) 1 bl. W. of Thompson McConnell Cadillac.  Melrose.  Melrose runs N and S, about a block E of Gilbert.  The church is across from the Melrose YMCA.  A block or so N of McMillain.  Great singing, great Black pulpit oratory.  I’ll be there in the MLK chorale.  Service at 11; free lunch served for all about 12:30.  
I urge everyone to go to show solidarity with the African American community, to show respect, and for a great time.  Ellen.  

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Dharma Center in Northside: Sunday lunch discussion of DESIRE, ADDICTION, ADEQUACY, LONGING

Dear friends of the dharma center –
 
The Christmas shopping and socializing season brings vividly to our
attention matters of desire and addiction, questions of adequacy and
longing.  Pema Chodron has written insightfully about those very questions
in an article on addiction to be found at

http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/pema/addictions.php

That will be the jumping off point for this month’s brown bag lunch and
discussion (Sunday, December 17).  Brown bag lunch and discussion start
shortly after the end of the meditation period, at 11.30, and you are
welcome to join us for meditation, for the discussion, or for both (arrive
at 11.35 if only joining the discussion).
 
Tea will be provided, and all are welcome.

(Salonista David Loy, Buddhism scholar newly at X.U. Often shows up at these.  Also the reluctant salonista Richard Blumberg, who gave us a fabulous introduction to Buddhism about two y ears ago. Ellen)

The Dharma Center is just off Hamilton Ave, behind the post office, on Moline St., across from Northside Tavern.  

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Residential and Office Space at the Lloyd House

Available:  Third floor room with double bed size sleeping loft, closet.  Bathroom just outside door.  Shared: kitchen (with 3 other housemates), living room, grand piano, gym, sauna, meditation/yoga room.  Shared: monthly house expenses... $350.    Lovely historic Victorian, warm multicultural community of adults (over 25).  No smoking.  No pets.  Ellen 513 221 1289

Available by the hour: beautiful and charming first floor “study”.  Wood burning fire place, beautiful durrhi rug, oak paneling... Separate door to the outside.  May use waiting room.  Call Ellen 513 221 1289.

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Tri-State Treasures

 
Tri-State Treasures is a compilation of unique local people, places, and events that may enrich your lives.  These treasures have been submitted by you and others who value supporting quality community offerings.  Please consider supporting these treasures, and distributing the information for others to enjoy.  And please continue to forward your Tri-State Treasures ideas to jkesner@nuvox.net.
 
Information about Tri-State Treasures and how to submit Tri-State Treasures is at the bottom of this email.  Please help me by providing all basic information and formatting your submissions as described below.

Sincerely,  Jim

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Tom Mooney - Teacher Advocate Dies [modified from article by Steve Kemme, Cincinnati Enquirer Staff Writer]: Tom Mooney, a strong, passionate force in public education in Cincinnati & throughout OH, died Sunday 3 December of an apparent heart attack at age 52. Mooney had been president of the OH Federation of Teachers for the past 6 years & served as president of the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers for the previous 21 years. Sue Taylor, president of the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers, praised Mooney for his leadership & for his concern about the quality of public education. “So many of us learned so much from Tom,” she said. John Gilligan, former OH governor & member of the Cincinnati Board of Education, called Mooney “an enormously effective & charismatic leader. He’s going to be badly missed.” A graduate of McNicholas High School in Mount Washington & Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Mooney started his career as a Cincinnati high school government teacher. He quickly became active in the teachers union. As president of the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers, Mooney earned a reputation as an articulate & fearless advocate for teachers & public education. His positions occasionally caused him to clash with school administrators. “He would be out on the teacher picket lines,” Gilligan said. “He took a lot of abuse over the years for the stands he took on behalf of teachers.” As president of the OH Federation of Teachers, Mooney was a critic of charter schools & fought to make them more accountable.
 
Give Unique Gifts to People With Great Needs: These are two sites that allow you to provide much needed gifts to people around the world.  The cost to you will be modest; the impact on the recipient could be enormous. Take a look through these fascinating websites @ www.altgifts.org & www.oxfamamericaunwrapped.com.
 
Send A Card To Men & Women Soldiers: Go to www.letssaythanks.com & pick out a "Thank You" card. Xerox will print it & send it to a soldier who is currently serving in Iraq. You don't pick out the soldier, but it will go to a member of the armed services. An honorable goal for everyone we know to send one or more cards; for every soldier to receive several cards. And it's free.
 
Give the Gift of Fine Art: 2007 Signed & numbered limited edition Fundraiser Calendar. Fourteen original hand-cut, hand-printed woodblock prints by Tiger Lily Press Members: Rick Finn, Carla Trujillo, Carole Winters, April Foster, Carola Bell, Susan Naylor,
Theresa G. Kuhr, Judy Dimuzio, Saad Ghosn, Kim Shifflet, Julie Knepfle, & Sherry Sicking. Images are 6” x 10”, the calendar is 9” x 13”. A great gift that benefits Tiger Lily Press & the Dunham Arts Building which serves local artists & the community. $50 each; 2 or more = $40 each; $5 shipping & handling. Make check payable to Tiger Lily Press & mail to: Theresa Gates Kuhr, 6505 Hunting Creek Drive, Liberty Twp., OH 45044. To view all calendar pages & learn more about Tiger Lily, go to www.tigerlilypress.org.
 
Click for Free Soup [ends Friday 15 December]: Not much time & lots of ground to make up. Please keep clicking http://www.chunky.com/clickforcansvote.aspx to get thousands of can of Chunky soup donated to the Cincinnati freestore foodbank. Bookmark the site & vote everyday. Tell your friends, even if they're not Bengals fans.
 
Documentary Screenings @ NKU [Thursday 14 December @ 6 PM]: The 2006 NKU Documentary Production Class presents their final projects. Eight individual projects plus one class project: Explore the socioeconomic division of downtown Cincinnati & Over-The-Rhine through the eyes of a postal worker (Tara Nolan). “Life on Wheels” - Explore the difficulties faced by students with physical disabilities at NKU (Paul Myers). “Dave Hyden” - The experiences of a comedian in Cincinnati (Bryan Houston). “Eight Days A Week” - A day in the life of a Beatles tribute band (Leland Schuler). “Team Crunk” - An NKU intramural boy’s basketball team’s voyage for a 3rd consecutive tournament win with no loses (Lance Meaux). “Wide Open Myspaces” - 3 students set out to explore ways the social networking site Myspace is used & has changed communication (Melissa Elrod). “Audible Lunacy” - The life & times of a local rock band (Ryan Grinnan). “Neo-Funtional Art” - Making art out of everything for everybody (Ybette Inojosa). A history of the Nixon Brant House in Lebanon OH, featuring interviews with 100 year-old Marion Brant (Class Project). A short Q&A after the screening. An exciting show covering a wide range of topics. Free. At the Otto Budig Theater, University Center, Northern Kentucky University, Nunn Drive, Highland Heights, KY 41099. More info from Christian Appleby @ 513.884.8048 & applebyc1@nku.edu.
 
Law & Order [Thursday 14 December @ 7:30 PM]: Ohio Wesleyan history professor Michael Flamm will lecture on the topic of urban violence & politics in the 1960s. Dr. Flamm recently published a book on this topic. Free. Join Dr. Flamm at a dinner reception hosted by the Museum Center starting at 6 PM for $35. Part of the "Seminar on the City 2006-2005 Series" presented by Johnson Investment Counsel, the Cincinnati Museum Center, & the University of Cincinnati Department of History. At Cincinnati Museum Center, 1301 Western Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45203. More info & dinner RSVP @ 513.287.7021 & www.cincymuseum.org. More info about the speaker & his book @ www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/catalog/data/023111/0231115121.HTM.
 
Buy Books & Stuff to Support the Arts [Monday 18 December]: Joseph-Beth Booksellers will donate 20% of your purchase (with some item exceptions) to League of Cincinnati Theatres & the Acclaims. Get a book for your Dad, bath salts for Mom, soy candles for your friend, a CD for your sister, or a book of poems for that someone special. Simply present the coupon (attached as a jpg file) when you ring out & 20% will be donated to LCT & the Acclaim Awards & its programs to encourage new theatre projects. While you're there, purchase a YP Card - 5 shows for $50; 5 different shows & theaters between January & June, including Cincinnati Ballet's Twyla Tharp program. At Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 2692 Madison Road, Rookwood Pavilion, Cincinnati, OH 45208. More info @ 513.396.8960, www.josephbeth.com, & www.leagueofcincytheatres.com.
 
Oscar Shorts 2006 [Tuesday 19 December @ 7 PM]: This is your rare opportunity to see the 2006 Academy Award® nominated & winning live-action & animated films, this year from Australia, Germany, Ireland, UK, & USA. Short films generate a lot of interest at the Oscar ceremonies each year, but then they vanish. Since 2002, CWC's annual "Oscar Shorts" events have been Cincinnati's only opportunity to conveniently & affordably see these excellent short films at one time, in one place. Short films are among the most imaginative & well-crafted filmmaking in the business, since they're made for the love not the money. And because there are about 10 short films (~5 per category) & they're short, the screening is like a stroll through a gallery of extremely creative & diverse art; & if one doesn't suit you, just wait a few minutes for the next one. Tickets are $8; $6 for CAM members & students with valid ID; the show will likely sell out; buy in advance; I have. Afterwards, go to the Wine Cellar in Mt. Adams to visit & discuss the evening's films. At Cincinnati Art Museum, 753 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info, tix, directions & maps @ 859.781.8151, worldcinema@fuse.net, & www.cincyworldcinema.org.
 
 
Continuing Treasures:
 
Video to DVD: Do you have those pesky videos that you wish were DVD's?  Well wish no more. For $15 a piece you can convert your VHS tapes to DVD's.  (non-copy right protected material only, please). Contact Suzanne Beckner @ 513.721.2234 for more info.
 
Christmas Yet To Come [thru December 23]: World premiere. Know Theatre transforms Dickens’ classic story into a contemporary, cutting edge rock musical where the cutest little girl is Christmas Past and a gorgeous drag queen is Christmas Present. Christmas Yet To Come will feature live rock music, intense narration, and pop modern dance. In collaboration with Cincinnati’s most exciting contemporary dance company, Exhale Dance Tribe. At Know Theatre of Cincinnati, 1120 Jackson Street, Downtown Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info & tix @ 513.621.2787, info@knowtheatre.com, & www.knowtheatre.com.
 

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Chris Appleby of Media Bridges sends urgent request:
ACTION ALERT!
Telcos are trying an illegal end run at the FCC to take away your rights,your property and your community media.Go to:
 www.defendyourvoice.net

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Our environmental activist Howard Konicov: support threatened curbside recycling (again!):

Dear all [please circulate],  

I s anyone interested in working on maintaining recycling weekly?  If so please contact Chris Moran below.  

My sense is that working with the County to expand recycling component industry offers the region the opportunity to develop an area of Economic Development that has great potential to supply emploment for the region.  And further that the reason we don't avail ourselves of a range of these Environment & Development opportunities, including developing Clean Energy resources is that City's Economic Development Department is too narrowly focused --an unfortunate legacy of the Luken Administration.  

The solution to these challenges is to: (a) restructure the Economic Development Department to provide it with the tools to more effectively meet these challenges (the department's Quality of Life Index neglects, perhaps intentionally, common sense indicators for Air Quality & Health).   

Additionally, ( b) it would be valuable to comunicate to our new highly competent City Manager Milton Dahoney that we have higher expecations for more coherent development policy in the future and that we would like a forensic audit of past giveaways from our $1 billion capital budget to prevent such abuses in the future.

The City Managers contact information is below.  Please contact him to share your views.  City Manager's Office:  Milton R. Dohoney, Jr.
 City Manager
  801 Plum St. Rm 152
  Cincinnati, OH 45202-1979
  Phone: 513-352-3243
  citymanager@cincinnati-oh.govSincerely,

Howard M. Konicov
MSES/MPA
The Synthesis Foundation


On 12/2/06, chris moran <vstlib@yahoo.com> wrote:

Howard,

The City Manager's budget proposes to reduce
the curbside recycling program to twice monthly.
Twice monthly with Cincinnati's existing open bins
most likely will lead to reductions in tons of
material collected and in number of households
participating.  I would like to be incontact with
anyone who is interested in working on maintaining
weekly curbside recycling in Cincinnati.  Any ideas?

Chris Moran

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Section Three: Articles

Contents:

• Salonista Rabbi Tom Heyn featured:
• Steve Sunderland (salonista extraordinaire) lamenting anti-Muslim sentiment in Cinti
• Kudos for Weekly
  

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Humanistic Rabbi Shines A New Light on Hanukkah
By Holly Robinson <mailto:hollyrob@earthlink.net?subject=Rabbi%20Tom> , contributing writer
December 1, 2006
 


When a congregation based in White Plains, New York invited a rabbi/musician to help them celebrate Hanukkah this year, they discovered he would be sharing more than songs about menorahs and dreidels.  “Rabbi Tom's approach encompasses a lot more than his music,” notes Terry Toll, the congregation's event coordinator.  “It’s our custom to weave different Jewish traditions into our celebrations – but the ideas he's planning to present suggest that this Festival of Light will be quite illuminating.”
Rabbi Tom Heyn was ordained seven years ago from the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati where he stayed on to work as a chaplain in a Jewish nursing home and help raise his three boys.  In what hours remained, he worked hard to refine his musical skills, broaden his repertoire of Jewish music, and deal with what he says felt like a spiritual crisis.
Then his life and career took an unexpected turn after an awakening of sorts.  Now busy with a hectic tour schedule, Heyn visits congregations in search of what he calls an 'Integral' approach to Judaism.
Dr. Elin Poneman, a hospice-physician who also lives in Larchmont, found Rabbi Heyn on the internet last year when she was looking for a rabbi to conduct a humanistically-framed Bar Mitzvah service for her twin sons.  “We were astonished,” she recalls.  “He didn't say anything then about his philosophy, but it was clear he could bring people together from very different religious backgrounds.  I'm thrilled he's coming back on behalf of our congregation.”
Poneman's congregation is the Westchester Community for Humanistic Judaism (www.WCHJ.org <http://www.WCHJ.org/> ), a group that has been reaching out to Westchester Jews for almost five years.  WCHJ is one of thirty other small congregations that are affiliated with the Society for Humanistic Judaism (www.SHJ.org) <http://www.SHJ.org/> , headquartered in suburban Detroit.
“Humanistic Jews celebrate the many aspects of Jewish culture that affirm its inherently humanistic values,” explains Rabbi Miriam Jerris, who serves as the Society's community development coordinator. “We believe that a person does not have to recite traditional prayers or practice traditional rituals in order to be authentically Jewish.”  Heyn was attracted to the group's inclusive philosophy and joined Congregation Beth Adam, a humanistically-oriented synagogue in Cincinnati where he now serves as Music Director.
The movement in religions toward more complex, rational ways of thinking is nothing new.  It was advanced significantly in the 19th century by the early founders of the Reform Movement and soon after by Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan, whose work became the basis of the Reconstructionist movement.  Starting in 1909, when he began   teaching rabbinical students for the Conservative movement at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, Kaplan sought to 'reconstruct' the foundations of Judaism by reinterpreting prayers and rituals that made reference to traditional God-concepts.
In the late 1950s, Rabbi Sherwin Wine took the idea in a different direction.  Instead of retaining and reinterpreting Judaism's traditional God-language, which for many had become problematic, he decided to write his own liturgy. As Rabbi Miriam Jerris put it, “Instead of saying one thing and meaning another, he inspired us to read and sing about what we could positively affirm.”  In 1963 Wine founded a humanistic congregation and soon after established the Society for Humanistic Judaism.  
After considering the evolution of these separate movements, Heyn came to understand it in relation to a process much broader in scope. “In some circles,” he adds, “it's recognized as an evolution of consciousness, but we can save that for another article.”  Although he's an ordained Reform rabbi, Heyn now describes himself as a Humanistic rabbi as well as an Integral rabbi.  “I think each description transcends and includes the one that came before it. On that basis you could say that an Integral approach is trans-denominational.”
The word 'transdenominational' puts Heyn in a class of rabbis who have defined themselves, and the organizations they represent, as such.  For example, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, who is credited with having founded the Jewish Renewal movement in the 1970s, probably coined the term himself.  Today he is working closely with the Integral Institute (www.integralinstitute.org <http://www.integralinstitute.org/> ) in Boulder, Colorado to develop a program of study called 'Integral Kabbalah.'  Brandeis University professor Arthur Green, a world-renowned scholar in the field of Jewish mysticism, oversees a rabbinical studies program at the Hebrew College in Boston that is – you guessed it – 'transdenominational.'
Hundreds of other rabbis, many of whom have been profoundly influenced by these two leaders in particular, are actively implementing a transdenominational approach in congregations around the world. But so far, only a handful have openly described their approach as Integral.  One of them is Rabbi David Ingber, who founded the Upper West Side congregation Kehilat Romemu.  The congregation is described on its website (www.romemu.org <http://www.romemu.org/> ) as both 'transdenominational' and 'integral.'
Could this be the beginning of an 'Integral' denomination within Judaism?'  Heyn shudders at the idea.  “The last thing we need is another denomination.  What's needed instead is for people to think about what separates one denomination from another.”  He believes that the dynamics of the Jewish community are driven largely by ideas that operate in the realm of the subconscious.
“An Integral approach encourages us to examine those ideas because they profoundly shape our lives and our world.  Meditation can help to cultivate the stillness of mind needed for this task.”  But Heyn says it also helps to have “a more comprehensive, holistic view of the inner and outer dimensions of the human experience.  In other words,” he explains, “if you want to know where you're standing, it helps to have the best GPS technology on the market, or at least a good map.”
Heyn admits it's difficult to explain the Integral approach in a quick soundbyte, other than by saying that it 'integrates' insights from leading-edge sciences with wisdom gleaned from our world's spiritual traditions.  Beyond that, he encourages readers to check out any of the two-dozen books published by Ken Wilber, the most prominent of Integral theorists (www.wilber.shambhala.com <http://www.wilber.shambhala.com/> ).  Heyn provides links to other resources as well on his own website (www.RabbiTom.com <http://www.RabbiTom.com/> ).
Rabbi Heyn will be in New York City on December 6th for a first-ever “Taste of Integral Judaism” event to be held there. The two-hour program, led by Rabbi David Ingber, will begin at 7 pm at the One Spirit Learning Alliance on W. 38th Street (www.onespiritinterfaith.org <http://www.onespiritinterfaith.org/> ).  Rabbi Ingber, who leads his congregation in eclectic practices and ecstatic chants, is likely to attract urban Jews somewhat familiar with – or at least comfortable with – the use of liturgy and ritual.  When Rabbi Heyn returns to Westchester on December 16th, he's likely to appeal to suburban Jews who, for the most part, are more secular in their orientation.
Why does Heyn think they'll be interested? “It's like electricity.  I can't explain how it works, but I know how to turn on a light.”  He also knows how to energize a room with music.  Having studied at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, he is an accomplished singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.
Heyn also has experience recruiting musicians and involving them in the process of community-building.  “I have a little talent and a lot of chutzpah,” Heyn says of the qualities that have helped him infuse the Humanistic movement with a whole new spirit and style of  Jewish music.  During his visit to New York this weekend, he will be recruiting professional-level musicians who want to join him in his efforts.
“Within another year or two,”  Heyn projects, “people will recognize these congregations for the quality of their music.  They'll be like that restaurant where people come for the dessert.  Only in this case, people will come for the music and end up staying because they like the meaning it conveys.”
Rabbi Heyn will be at the WCHJ (Westchester Community for Humanistic Judaism) on December 16th and 17th. On Saturday (Dec 16th) from 7-10 pm, guests (and musicians)  are invited to an 'Open House' in Larchmont.  The evening will include a sampling of latkes and Hanukkah desserts followed by a live performance featuring some original music along with more familiar tunes.  Tickets are $15; reservations are required.
On Sunday (Dec. 17) from 12-3 pm, Rabbi Heyn will participate in a Children's Hanukkah Festival & Concert at the JCC-on-the-Hudson in Tarrytown.  The afternoon will include Hanukkah-related arts, crafts, and activities as well as two separate programs.  At 1 pm, Rabbi Heyn will present a 30-minute musical rendition of the story of Hanukkah for children and their parents.  At 2 pm, Jewish entertainer and comedian Dan Cohen (www.DannaBanana.com <http://www.DannaBanana.com/> ) will perform songs and stories from his CD, Bananukah!  The entire afternoon is free; children are encouraged to bring an unwrapped gift.  
For more information on both events, call Terry Toll at (914) 834-3158 or email her at TTollNotes@aol.com <mailto:TTollNotes@aol.com> .

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Steve Sunderland (salonista extraordinaire) lamenting anti-Muslim sentiment in Cinti.

Dear Friends:

          I wish I were a better teacher of peace. (I teach in the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services, University of Cincinnati.) For the past 10 weeks, I have been talking with my students about making peace with a class even if the students are from different cultures, a skin color that is unfamiliar, or with learning abilities that are subtle, and varying. We have talked about the problems of being a teacher at peace when there are gay and homophobic students and parents. And, when you are a teacher in a rural school and the cultures that are out of the teacher's experiences.  I enjoy this kind of teaching when I see the students gaining confidence and skills in approaching their edges of understanding and experience. Our last class looked at a case study of a Muslim child being harassed in the school and, to my surprise, many in the class backed off from previous positions of advocating for the student and working for understanding of difference and, most importantly, re-enforcing the rule that all children are respected and safe in our classrooms.

               I wish I were a better teacher when students are afraid of Muslims, the cultures, their rituals and meanings of the Islamic religion. My frustration about intolerant statements that make the students who are Muslims "special" lights my fuse of intolerance. I stop listening for the fears surrounding this topic that are based in ignorance about Islam  and I leap to judgment about a teacher's attitudes without finding any common ground for the teacher to walk back from the fears. Teaching and learning cannot take place when honest disclosures about fears are met with my shutting down and anger. Peace can happen when the students can look, freshly, at themselves and their own self imposed barriers to offering respect, safety, and friendship to Muslim children and parents.

             In preparation for our discussion, I gave the students a Cincinnati news story about a suburban school board fight over allowing Muslim children a special room for themselves during Ramadan at the time that non-Muslim children are eating. Muslim children, choosing to fast, preferred being away from both food and children eating.  The Superintendent's decision to make available a room triggered an angry response by one school board member,  an argument that played out in the letters and editorials in our paper. Further fueling information about Muslims was the controversies connected to the 5 Muslim clerics that were removed from their plane due to the fears of some passengers. Also, the Pope's trip to Turkey has added questions about what will be the response to people to his visit. Finally, the continuing deterioration of the war in Iraq has led to intolerant letters being written to our local paper calling for the "carpet bombing of everyone," and the "paint balling of the Kaaba in Mecca" to show Muslims what we really think about their religion. My favorite stupid letter recommended that Muslims just give up flying and take cars.

         I wish I could teach in ways that effectively challenge this culture of hate. I see most students wading into the thick of the conversation, most admitting that this is the first serious religious discussion they have had about another person's religion, and seeing them fight with themselves as they struggle with the cultural messages of hatred and their own contributions to the worsening situation. Teaching peace means that we are able to see the ways in which our silence, our fear, and our timidity may embolden the negative forces in the classroom. Talking without a promise of a "happy ending," is too risky. "Teachers are alone and the policies of the school are rarely clear, "one very bright student reminded me. "We are risking our jobs if we speak out and take leadership," she added with a kind of wisdom that brought nods from her classmates.

            "But the child that is being picked on is also alone," I quickly add. We had just finished reviewing a moving children's book by Zakia Hyder, "I am an American, Too" (AuthorHouse, 2006), that recounts the story of a American Muslim family's experiences with intolerance following September 11. "I would take him out of the room, reassure him, and take him to the principal's office until the class settles down," another good student suggests. "This only isolates him more," someone else rightly responds. Faces of the discussants are set in different looks of fear and discontent.

              "Would the situation be better if it were a black child and the issues were connected to racial conflict?," I ask, hoping that some of our earlier courage in making sure that racism is not allowed in our classes, will be recalled. "Oh, yes. It would be a lot easier because everyone is against racism and there would be no controversy about stopping racism," another concerned student offers. Our only black student chooses this time to comment: "It is really not any different. Every child needs to be protected against prejudice, black, gay, Muslim or whatever."

           We pause to mull over her point and the person who is making it. We are stalemated, unsure what move makes the most sense to us, helps the child, protects our jobs, and makes teaching a humanistic, a peaceful profession. "I am not going to talk about anyone's religion in my classes," a thoughtful graduate of Catholic high school education announces. "It is just too dangerous." Many people see this as the best of many too difficult and unpredictable choices. A few are caught in their ideals, in the strong cultural messages about Muslims being "dangerous," and in the thankful reality that they are 5 years away from their own classrooms.

               I realize that these students do not know the history of the destruction of the Native American's life through schooling; nor, are they aware of the ways in which immigrant children were demeaned in and out of schools; the experience of African-Americans in segregated schools seems to have escaped their schooling; and, the ways in which the Nazi treated Jewish school children, or how the U.S. made Japanese American's lives miserable during WW 2 are just not points of reference. More recently, they are unaware of the history of desegregation and re-segregation in American schools. Our national history of obstacles for people of culture and ethnic differences is rarely in their conversations as models that had to be overcome by teachers.

              I wish I could teach people wanting to be teachers about the ways that teachers have stood up, joined efforts to protect children and cultures, and made a difference despite religious and hate fanatics of all types. Some students do know about the Civil Rights Movement, although the details of the legal revolution are not known. Gandhi's name is known, although we were not sure just what he did for peace and why Rev. King was influenced by his philosophy. The absence of a strong historical education added to a non-religious education in the origins and evolution of the faiths, prepares the ground for fear and misunderstanding when religious intolerance bursts through the walls of the classroom. I am impressed by the willingness of these young people to try and fashion compassionate approaches based on their values. I have seen changes in position taken as examples from their lives of isolation and confusion have been disclosed in the purpose of making "their" future classrooms places of justice, safety and friendship for all. We left our last class thankful for making these connections, intellectual and personal, and hoping that there still is a future for the peaceful and just class.


To Be Continued...

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Chris Delaporte, professional campaign organizer, compliments Weekly:

Ellen:
  
 This is Delaporte in Maryland, a person you befriended when I came to Hamilton County to work in the Kerry Campaign.  
  
This weekly letter, more times than not, serves to get me up and going emotionally and physically, more times than not.....
  
I have often made good fun of this letter, especially when it takes on the patena of a "front lines" intelligence report during campaign times....I comment that if the NSA and CIA could report with the level of knowledge and detail that you folks do, our county would be a lot better off....Yikes.
  
Anyway, I am thankful to have met you and to continue to receive this weekly report.  I am sending it along this morning to some selected friends, who I know will enjoy the first part about the Hamilton County park system, your nice nod to President Carter----I was down to Atlanta and met with him a few weeks ago---and that piece by Michael Moore, which, it happens to fully capture my political belief system in this day and time...
  
Many Blessings to Yours and You.  Keep on doing what you are doing.
  
Chris

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Section Four: Books/Magazines/Reviews
...................................

(Paul Brown, prof. at W.VA U. in Morgantown, once came to the salon... Has new book out.  This guy is brilliant.  Publishes a weekly newsletter called “the Clock is Ticking”)
Paul Brown, Notes from a Dying Planet, 2004-2006. One Scientist's Search for Solutions.
Iuniverse, 2006.
The four challenges of overpopulation, global warming, mass extinction and human behavior, from the perspective of a brain scientist.
Best price seems to be Barnes and Noble.

Paul Brown
Physiology Department
West Virginia University Health Sciences Center
Morgantown, WV 26506
(304) 293 - 1512

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The Lloyd House Salon (usually about 12 people) Meets on WEDNESDAYS at 5:45,
EVERY Wednesday, 52 WEEKS/YEAR come hell or high water, as my mother used to say.

We of the Lloyd House Salon gather in a spirit of
respect, sympathy and compassion for one another
in order to exchange ideas for our mutual pleasure and enlightenment.  

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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For Pot Luck  procedures including  food suggestions, mission and history visit
http://home.fuse.net/ellenbierhorst/Potluck.html   .

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