Monday, August 27, 2012

Nesiya

Nesiya, from the Hebrew "נסיעה", meaning "journey"






At Shir Tikvah Nesiya ia a new way of looking at the religious school model, It is a creative approach of involving both parents and children in the study of Torah and social justice projects. We will get together several times a month, either to celebrate a Jewish holiday, Shabbat. or take part in a special mitzvah project. 

Malibu Beach Gellers

While on vacation in California recently, we needed to head back to our hotel room to rest a little bit after having too much fun at the Santa Monica Pier. We drove north up the Pacific Coast Highway on the way back to the hotel.  We found a place where we could pull over and hike down to the beach. Not just any beach, but a beach in the city Malibu. We skipped the Malibu Pier opting for someplace more quiet.  I am not sure what the beach we stopped at is called. Its not so much a beach as it is just some open coastline. There was a lifeguard who came along and had everyone who was in waist high or deeper water move in closer to shore. Apparently it is very easy to get knocked down and be held under water and drown. He was very concerned about it and there was even a memorial at the top of the hill for someone who had recently passed away. I was shocked at the force of the water as the waves retreated back to the ocean from the shore. I was almost knocked over more than once by the force. We had a great time playing knee high water on a beautiful day. before we finished our journey back to the hotel on a great drive through the Malibu Creek State Park on the Malibu Canyon Road. Its a beautiful drive that I would love to make on a motorcycle some day.






Sunday, August 19, 2012

Walking in L.A. er ....... Burbank


I went for a short walk near our hotel The Tangerine, in Burbank. We had a fantastic stay, more to come later.






Wednesday, August 8, 2012

The Longfellow 3 Twin Cities Debut

Tonight marks the local debut of The Longfellow 3 at 9 pm at the Wild Tymes Located on the 7th St. Plaza between Wabasha and St. Peter Streets in downtown St. Paul. 
No Cover
ALL street parking in downtown St. Paul is FREE after 4:30PM
 The Longfellow 3 is a Minneapolis based band comprised of longtime friends and bandmates, Bob Doe (guitar, bass and vocals) and Ted Bob Galetka (guitar, bass and vocals) formerly of The Center and Judy Garland's Ghost, and Chris Geller (drums and vocals) formerly of Bed of Nails and The Slime Clowns. We are very fortunate to be joined by Ted Bob's brother Jerry (bass and vocals), he is a veteran of many rock bands in Western Wisconsin. Having been part of the mid to late '80s Minneapolis alternative/garage rock scene, The Longfellow 3 pulls together influences of that period mixed with their current collaborative writing style.

Linger Longer is a collection of songs that were written at Center Records’ basement studio located in the Longfellow/Nokomis neighborhood in South Minneapolis. Album tracks and production were recorded and mastered at Wild Sound Studio in Northeast Minneapolis by Matthew Zimmerman and Gerard Boissy (of Rifle Sport) both of whom ran sound at The 7th Street Entry in the 1980-90's. 
Original Bob

Smiling Bob

Smiling Jerry

original Jerry



Linger Longer is a collection of songs that were written over 7 years at Center Records’ basement studio. l Album tracks and production were recorded and mastered at Wild Sound Studio in Northeast Minneapolis by Matthew Zimmerman and Gerard Boissy (of Rifle Sport) We highly recommend Wild Sound Recording Studio ! .Artwork by Peter Wolf


Sunday, August 5, 2012

Freedom to Marry


Dear Neighbors and friends,
A few weeks ago we read an article in the Atlantic about some folks in Eden Prairie and Minnetonka who were hanging rainbow flags in front of their houses to show support for their gay neighbors, friends and family members, and to demonstrate their intention to VOTE NO on the constitutional amendment that would limit the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. We were inspired and impressed by the women featured in this article and the church community that they are a part of.
When they first hung their flags, they sent a letter to their neighbors and friends and my letter to you follows that lead. No matter which side of this issue you are on, we are about to enter into what will be an emotional, divisive and brutal political season with this amendment on the ballet. This letter is an attempt to offer an alternative – real connection between those of us who live near each other, including those of us who agree and disagree with each other.
Flying the rainbow flag is not meant to start a confrontation, but rather to start a conversation - a dialogue about the impact of amending our constitution to limit freedoms; a conversation about love, commitment, marriage, and family even though our families don't always look the same.
My family has been fortunate to get to know many gay and lesbian couples in our Jewish community, at work, in our daughters schools, in book group, in our extended family,high school and college friends, and in our neighborhoods. These committed couples are raising children and sharing life’s joys and sorrows with love, commitment and respect just like I do with my wife Susan. I know the tremendous hurt they will suffer if this constitutional amendment were to pass. I know I can’t imagine being told that it is illegal to marry the person I love. I can not imagine what it must be like for our Rabbi's to not be able to legally marry their partners, while at the same time performing marriage ceremonies for opposite sex couples.
I really feel that the measure of a person is on how we have treated other living beings. Have we lived our lives in a way that has helped to lift others up and made the world a better place? If not, what have we done not to damage or make it harder for others to live. There are already over 500 laws in place here in Minnesota that treat same sex and opposite sex couples differently from each other. Prohibiting so many  things that we take for granted, such as having the ability to visit your partner while in the hospital. This amendment will harm and damage the lives of others. My hope is that this will not happen.
I hope in hanging our rainbow flag that I can invite a conversation with my neighbors. If you are not sure how you feel about this amendment, I would be happy to talk with you about it. If you are conflicted on it, then I would encourage you to simply not vote on it at all. And if you are strongly in favor of this amendment and would like to talk me about it, I welcome that conversation as well. I think we can all learn from each other. If you would like to fly a rainbow flag, I can get you one. If you have no interest in flying a flag, but will pledge to vote NO on this amendment, I appreciate your support.
You can go to Minnesotans United for All Families for more information or pledge your support.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Dr. L. Ariella Zeller

I recently had the pleasure of photographing Dr. L. Ariella Zeller from the University of the People. 
The University of the People  is an online University that currently offers Associate and Bachelor Degrees in Business Administration and Computer Science at no cost to the student.. The University of the People works with academic leaders from some of the top universities around the world and has over 1500 students from over 130 countries. I bet those are some interesting class discussions, I would love to eavesdrop in sometime..




Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Susan

I had the privilege of photographing the amazing Susan Geller for her new LinkedIn headshot. She has been doing amazing work with the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota. In addition, Susan is putting her energy towards communities of practice at the University and is especially focused on a group using  The Art of Hosting Conversations that Matter frameworks. She frequently blogs as part of that work.