December promises to be a month of exciting events at Moishe House Seattle. There'll be an ice-skating afternoon, a Russian evening, a night at "Spicebox" (a regular local belly-dancing event), and a Chanukah outing to a burlesque show, plus a Shabbat in high MH Seattle style. In my life, Jewish doings abound; I'm working on a freelance piece for Jew-ish.com on the afterlife, I saw "Milk" (one of the year's best films, in my opinion) last night with a bunch of friends, and I'll be turning my attention soon to choosing December's selection for Israeli movie night. (I think it's between "The Band's Visit" and "Bonjour, Monsieur Shlomi" -- I want something heartwarming after last month's "Late Marriage," which is a bit of a downer).
Though I haven't managed to nail down a day job yet, I've had some encouraging advances in the process, like applying for a writing position at PCC that I'd actually want to do, and gearing up for an informational interview on Friday at the HIV Vaccine Trials Network. Where the various job sites left me in a state of mild despair before, now I'm thinking that persistent effort, and a decent bit of networking, could actually pay off eventually -- and a job would bring a sense of balance to my life that I could really use.
Showing posts with label movie night. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie night. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
MHSeattle, Neal Schindler, 9/18/2008
Life at the house is good. I made wasabi ice cream today, with help from Masha, and one other person liked it enough to have seconds. We've had a bunch of events lately -- last week saw a Tuesday potluck, a Thursday coffeehouse, and Shabbat dinner -- and I find that eating the right amount is becoming hard. So much good food so often, in such a comfortable social setting; I'm afraid I'll regain the "freshman fifteen" my housemates have warned me about. On the other hand, what would a tight-knit Jewish community be without lots and lots of food?
I'm kind of amazed sometimes that within the space of just a few months I've become part of this vibrant, fun community full of smart, entertaining, kind people. I'm blogging late at night, so I should probably save further, more grandiose thoughts for later, but I wanted to say that more than three weeks after moving in, I'm still really glad I did. And I think it had to be this way -- I had to spend six and a half years in Seattle before I could comfortably move toward my Jewish identity in such an overt, meaningful way.
Quick update on the Israeli film series: The first film will now be "Sweet Mud," since "The Galilee Eskimos" is still on the festival circuit and therefore tough to get ahold of. October's film will be the widely praised (and Sukkot-appropriate) "Ushpizin," and in November we might screen "Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi," which Masha really likes. There's a particular projector I've got my eye on for the house, but we'll have to see whether it makes sense to buy one new. For September, we'll borrow one from Mo Fine, a community member who's also a filmmaker in her own right.
Tomorrow I have lunch with Leyna Krow from Jew-ish.com, the site I'm currently blogging for, and meet in the evening with members of the committee in charge of reviving Seattle's Nextbook literary salons. The first one in the 2008-09 series, scheduled for Oct. 23, is about sex, and I'm reading Neurotica to prepare for it. I like how the components of my newfound Jewish life -- Moishe House, Jew-ish.com, Nextbook -- overlap naturally and freely. And I like that I'm blogging more, even if the fact that our Wi-Fi is strongest at night means I'm often doing it after 1 a.m.
I'm kind of amazed sometimes that within the space of just a few months I've become part of this vibrant, fun community full of smart, entertaining, kind people. I'm blogging late at night, so I should probably save further, more grandiose thoughts for later, but I wanted to say that more than three weeks after moving in, I'm still really glad I did. And I think it had to be this way -- I had to spend six and a half years in Seattle before I could comfortably move toward my Jewish identity in such an overt, meaningful way.
Quick update on the Israeli film series: The first film will now be "Sweet Mud," since "The Galilee Eskimos" is still on the festival circuit and therefore tough to get ahold of. October's film will be the widely praised (and Sukkot-appropriate) "Ushpizin," and in November we might screen "Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi," which Masha really likes. There's a particular projector I've got my eye on for the house, but we'll have to see whether it makes sense to buy one new. For September, we'll borrow one from Mo Fine, a community member who's also a filmmaker in her own right.
Tomorrow I have lunch with Leyna Krow from Jew-ish.com, the site I'm currently blogging for, and meet in the evening with members of the committee in charge of reviving Seattle's Nextbook literary salons. The first one in the 2008-09 series, scheduled for Oct. 23, is about sex, and I'm reading Neurotica to prepare for it. I like how the components of my newfound Jewish life -- Moishe House, Jew-ish.com, Nextbook -- overlap naturally and freely. And I like that I'm blogging more, even if the fact that our Wi-Fi is strongest at night means I'm often doing it after 1 a.m.
Friday, September 5, 2008
MHSeattle, Neal Schindler, 9/5/2008
It's September, and the Nextbook literary salon series, which I hope to land at the Kibbutz (aka Moishe House Seattle), won't arrive anywhere until at least October. So I need to plan and lead an event, and I want that event to be a cinema night. I've been looking at Israeli movies online lately, and except for a few films (Broken Wings, Late Marriage), I'm pretty unfamiliar with Israel's cinematic output. But not for long, I hope. I visited Scarecrow Video -- Seattle's premier video store -- yesterday in search of Israeli movies, and I rented two: Sweet Mud, about life on a kibbutz, and Or, which is about prostitution and promises to be a tad intense. I definitely want to program a series that isn't a total downer, and I could be wrong, but Israeli films seem to visit dark themes more frequently than, say, French films.
Anyway, I'm seeing Sweet Mud because a kibbutz-themed movie, provided it's good, would be an apt kick-off selection, and Or because it looks terrific and has an actress from Late Marriage, which I'm also considering screening, though it's devastating -- heartbreaking -- and contains a very, very graphic sex scene. Maybe I'll work my way up to programming that one. It's funny to feel like I have to warn people -- adults like me -- about graphic sex scenes. But of course, everyone has different sensibilities, and we don't want a very awkward room -- we want a room that's been warned about potential awkwardness and has made an informed choice to participate in it. But I digress.
My hope is to have an Israeli film series -- maybe a half-dozen films, maybe a few more -- followed by a series of Jewish films that aren't Israeli. I'll introduce each film, screen it, and then facilitate a discussion. There will be popcorn and sometimes thematically relevant food. My main obstacle is technological: We have a smallish screen that we can transfer DVD playback to, but no projector, and no large-screen TV. We need to either borrow something for the September screening or purchase a projector for the house. A worthy investment, to be sure, but not a cheap one. I'll start looking online at projector prices, and I'll also see if anyone has a projector we can borrow in the meantime. Worst-case scenario, we have the first screening at the house of people with a big-screen TV. But I'm hoping it doesn't have to come to that, because it's nice to have events at the house. Reinforces the whole concept that it's the destination for all -- or at least a significant portion of -- your Jewish cultural needs.
Okay, I'm operating on too little sleep. (I took Masha to the airport this morning, leaving me alone in the house until Monday night. Ah, the crazy parties I'll have here while my fellow Kibbutzniks are away! No, no -- just kidding.) Time to sign off. If anybody out there has run a film night and has helpful hints, let me know. I'm at neal.schindler@hotmail.com.
Anyway, I'm seeing Sweet Mud because a kibbutz-themed movie, provided it's good, would be an apt kick-off selection, and Or because it looks terrific and has an actress from Late Marriage, which I'm also considering screening, though it's devastating -- heartbreaking -- and contains a very, very graphic sex scene. Maybe I'll work my way up to programming that one. It's funny to feel like I have to warn people -- adults like me -- about graphic sex scenes. But of course, everyone has different sensibilities, and we don't want a very awkward room -- we want a room that's been warned about potential awkwardness and has made an informed choice to participate in it. But I digress.
My hope is to have an Israeli film series -- maybe a half-dozen films, maybe a few more -- followed by a series of Jewish films that aren't Israeli. I'll introduce each film, screen it, and then facilitate a discussion. There will be popcorn and sometimes thematically relevant food. My main obstacle is technological: We have a smallish screen that we can transfer DVD playback to, but no projector, and no large-screen TV. We need to either borrow something for the September screening or purchase a projector for the house. A worthy investment, to be sure, but not a cheap one. I'll start looking online at projector prices, and I'll also see if anyone has a projector we can borrow in the meantime. Worst-case scenario, we have the first screening at the house of people with a big-screen TV. But I'm hoping it doesn't have to come to that, because it's nice to have events at the house. Reinforces the whole concept that it's the destination for all -- or at least a significant portion of -- your Jewish cultural needs.
Okay, I'm operating on too little sleep. (I took Masha to the airport this morning, leaving me alone in the house until Monday night. Ah, the crazy parties I'll have here while my fellow Kibbutzniks are away! No, no -- just kidding.) Time to sign off. If anybody out there has run a film night and has helpful hints, let me know. I'm at neal.schindler@hotmail.com.
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