Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Test balloons are for popping

Posted on Jewschool.com first. 
 
Rabbi Jonah Pesner said he may be interested in running for John Kerry's vacated Senate seat in the special election. Some believe he should jump in with both feet, up to his neck, and go for it with the belief of a zealot. This is a bad idea.

If the report in The Boston Phoenix about this run was a test balloon, I hope this blog post at least starts a leak.

Rabbi Pesner—for all his political maneuvering in the Jewish world—is not a politician. He is a community organizer sure, but a politician with national chops he is not. Blah blah, President Obama, blah, blah. These two men should not and cannot be compared in the same breath. Now that this is out of the way, we will get into the meat of this disastrous move.

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Thursday, January 3, 2013

Book Report: A Wild Sheep Chase

What?

Great book, well written, but what?

I am sure I am not looking deep enough but I think I might be.  After reading What I talk about when I talk about running, I believe Murakami is about putting it right there for you.  The deeper message is in the mind of the reader.  

This book was outstanding and completely weird. However, unlike other very strange books, I never felt uncomfortable reading this novel.  The story line twists and turns unbelievably with precision. There were parts of the book that I understand better because I read his memoir and some of the issues that he raises, the obsession on weight gain toward the end and the running to address it specifically.

I think I would like to speak with someone with a deep understanding of Japanese history and culture to make sure I am not completely off base here.  But for the most part I believe this is a story of a lost guy within a society that lost its way and hasn't decided how to deal with its past.

I am happy I read it but I wouldn't actively suggest it to others, unless you are into that sort of thing. 

4 out of 5 Stars