That’s my Mom:

Smokler on November 10, 2006

The Jewish Daily Forward has just released its Forward 50 list of the 50 most influential Jews in America. Tucked into the philanthropy category is the following entry…

Carol Smokler
When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Carol Smokler was largely responsible for the overwhelming response from the national Jewish community. As longtime chair of the national Emergency Relief Campaign of United Jewish Communities, she helped bring in more than $20 million to rebuild the region. But Smokler, a clinical psychologist in Boca Raton, Fla., was thinking long-term, not just about Band-Aids. She knew that the campaign for the Gulf Coast was going to be a long haul, requiring years of constant attention. The volunteer leader earned her stripes working with the local Jewish federation in Ann Arbor, Mich., before she leaped to the national stage, chairing UJC’s Women’s Constituency Board. The UJC Emergency Relief Campaign, created in 1989 to cope with Hurricane Hugo, has been under her leadership for nearly half its life, winning acclaim after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Known for her capacity to build teams, Smokler effectively moderated the debate over whether Jewish or non-Jewish institutions should get the bulk of the post-Katrina monies she helped to raise.

Carol Smokler is my mother. I’m prouder than a pug with puppies.

Kvetching…

Smokler on November 10, 2006

Heeb Magazine has this feature called Urban Kvetch, artfully deployed complaining on a variety of mundane topics. An example…

Two Dimes and a Nickel
The ice cream comes out to $4.50. I give you a five and you give me a quarter, two dimes and a nickel. Are you rationing for some pinball war I should know about? You’ve got plenty of quarters left in the register. It’s common fucking courtesy. If you don’t want to give me two quarters, then change the price to $4.75 or something. I don’t want to deal with your issues when I’ve got laundry to do. Seriously, I’m wearing bathing suits as underwear for chrissakes.
JOSHUA NEUMAN

I was inspired to try one of my own

Your friend’s band
We’ve had a tasty meal, a few glasses of wine. I will be trying to kiss you in the cab. So I’d rather remove my appendix with a railroad spike than head to Club Sticky Floor to hear your friend’s band. No, they don’t “sound just like Arcade Fire” and yes, that jerk from the Weekly knew exactly what he was talking about. You even think they suck. And “you’re friend?” You’ve already slept with him or plan to come last call. We’re only here because you think I won’t try anything naughty while getting elbowed by that guy in the ironic “Alf” T-Shirt.

So please, could you leave me to my couch and ABBA:Gold? Then we’ll both get what we want

eh?

Read Recently: “Joe College” by Tom Perrotta

Smokler on November 9, 2006

Joecolellege

Title: “Joe College”

Author: Tom Perrotta.

Synopsis: Danny is a sophomore at Yale in 1982. Has girl trouble, torn between roommates and hometown friends, drives father’s lunch truck over spring break. Hilarity insues.

Backstory: College, the 80s, the
author of “Little Children” which I loved. Do I need another reason?

Notes: Quick, painless read. No fiber in this meal. Think Fruit Roll-Ups.

Verdict: Perrotta hasn’t matured quite yet. The whoel novel is loveable in an old blanket sort of way but doesn’t really justify why we should be reading. Danny is really hapless schlub, a financial aid package away from Fuck Head in Jesus’ Son. Perrotta overwrites him giving him phrases no 19-year-old would use even the kind who hyperanalyzes nothings like I did at that age. The supporting cast is colorful yet flatly so.

This is a pleasant read. But not much more.

Wasted Youth? Er, No.

Smokler on November 9, 2006

Wise man Jeff Chang had this on what made the difference this election cycle…

You want to know how it happened? Just check the League of Young Voters site. In Ohio, they knocked on 50,000 doors. In Pennsylvania, they ran a massive registration and GOTV and election protection campaign, and backed up those efforts on the ground in Maryland, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Florida, Maine, Missouri, Connecticut, and California. Not a few of those states turned on very thin margins–all made by young voters.

The Dems did not do this. The Reeps did not do this. Young people did it for themselves.

I have to admit it’s wonderful to see all the old pundits and their brainwashed young followers (beginning with NPR and extending all the way to the alt-weeklies) who have been bemoaning the waste of “apathetic youth” eating a large serving of crow along with Rumsfeld and Bush.

Here here to that…

The Blue Wave:

Smokler on November 8, 2006

An update on Virginia. Thanks to the sharp eyes of my friend Kevin Lawver, CNN is reporting that the Associated Press is calling the race for the Democrat Jim Webb which would give them a 51-49 majority in the Senate.

That may be the best news I’ve heard all year.

Gleanings: Alice Munro, Similes and Little Green Footballs

Smokler on November 8, 2006

It’s all About Virginia…

Smokler on November 8, 2006

Montana and Missouri have gone Dem. What happens in Virginia will now determine the fate of the Senate and the next two years.

Nails. Bitten.

What a Night!

Smokler on November 7, 2006

The Senate is still up for grabs. Races in Missouri, Virginia, and Montana have yet to be decided and won’t be finalized until tomorrow morning at the earliest. I’m watching a little dumb TV and going to bed soon.

Close races are the best kind. On to tomorrow and the next two years…