shockingly, I've started to slide to the right...I've never been truly a lefty, more like a soft left capital L midline liberal. But, living here and absorbing the emnity in the middle east has pushed me a bit farther right than I've always been comfortable identifying with.
There was an article in the international herald tribune today which discussed the idea of social contagion. Two harvard sociologists long ago theorized based on extended data obtained from the Farmington heart study, that we can infect others with social conditions or physical conditions all the same. The theory purports that emotions like happiness and bitterness can be passed on through the people you interact with along with traits like obesity, leanness, and success.
Tempting theory with lots of epidemiology backing it up but it doesn't take into consideration confounders like homophily ( when people associate with others like them) or shared environment ( when a macdonalds opens in the neighbourhood and puts the big mac on special). Anyway, I have a feeling that political ideology is contagious too and I haven't escaped infection. I've just had less tolerance lately for self victimization and this may well push me farther right on the spectrum.
In the meanwhile, I should probably go chum around with some hospital clowns and start infecting new years cheer or something of the sort. Clowns are better than H1N1, unless they're obese clowns or pessimistic clowns or actually, forget the clowns. I've never really liked clowns anyway.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
So will there be banners popping up on the blog soon? A homage to Bibi perhaps? :-)
mmmmm not quite so soon.
I was at shul today and they were talking about how many in Israel are swinging right and I said that it is funny they should say that because I was talking to someone in Israel who was doing the same thing politically. I also told them you were going to introduce me to eligible Israeli women and my Rabbi lit up and was happy while everyone else went crazy with whispers. I did it for no other reason than to get a rise out of them. It has become a great deal of fun for me. Now they are marching in a bunch of their own women for me to look at because they think I'm going to Israel, like.....tomorrow and they will somehow see me snatched away. I can't help myself. LOL!
so funny. i can just imagine the chorus of whispers and i have this image in my head of a team of tall bombshell-type israeli Ricardo snatchers marching into your synogogue and carrying you off to israel to the chagrin of open mouthed sweet little old ladies in the shul.
May you be inscribed in the book of life. By now I assume the new year has begun for you. I have some time left.
Here is what I see. During the rosh hashanah service the shul fills with a heavy mist as the shofar sounds and there is a bright light from which tall,beautiful, Israeli women emerge from. They are all in exotic outfits and move with great poise and and elegance. They surround me and place me in a trance which causes me to faint. They then hoist me up into the air and carry me off into the light and vanish!!!!!
take it easy on the psychotropics when you go to shul for services...it might be distracting for all the congregants to watch you in a trace envisioning israeli fembots...kidding kidding :-)
Enjoy the services and shana tova kmo dvash!
Post a Comment