This is my article for our Hebrew school's newsletter. Enjoy!
Never Fear, Don Eganu is here!
If you’re anything like me, you’re desperately annoyed with the lack of good Israeli music on iTunes. They have some of the huge artists (and even then, not all of the most famous artists), but what about smaller bands, bands that only sing in Hebrew and have less international appeal? What about Israeli indie bands? There doesn’t seem to be any way to get them here in the United States.
Welcome to Eganu, where, “Israeli culture meets the world.” Eganu is a site specifically for Israeli bands and their fans. Any Israeli musician is able to create a profile and start speaking to their fans, whether they be six or six thousand. HaDag Nachash, koltura, and lo dubim are some of the most popular on the site, but they are by no means the only ones. In fact, as of December 2009, eganu.com houses 1,198 different Israeli musicians and groups, and countless other music fanatics.
So, how can you use Eganu? It’s easy. First, make your free account. Add some information about yourself, and then get searching. Don’t know what you’re looking for? You can just browse around the site and listen until you find something you like. Most musicians have a link to some of their music on their profiles. Find something you like? Become a fan! If you have a specific genre in mind, you can search by genre. Planning a trip to Israel? You can check the concert schedule of all of the bands you’re a fan of at once.
See you at a Yestegan chaY concert?
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
My Secret
After going on and on about PostSecret the other day, I figured I should share one of mine. So, here it is. Enjoy.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Click your heels together three times...
Have you ever had a secret? One that you can't tell anyone, that eats away at you from the inside, but you can't give voice to because that would make it too real? That, my friends, is what PostSecret is for. PostSecret is a project/website/book series created by the wonderful Frank Warren. The PostSecret project started out as almost a prank-Frank printed 3000 self-addressed postcards and handed them out on the streets of DC, asking recipients to mail him the postcard with a secret written on them. Even after the cards ran out, the secrets didn't. People began mailing him their homemade cards. He has been called America's "most trusted stranger." People with a secret finally have someone to turn to who they can trust. They can say what they want to say, to abusers, rapists, parents, siblings, friends, lovers, even strangers, without the fear of repercussions. It's a way to let go of everything. Some secrets are hilarious, others mundane, still others heartbreaking. Every Sunday, Frank posts a selection of cards on his blog, and still others are posted on his twitter and myspace pages.
PostSecret has given many, including me, a place to send their innermost fears, hopes, and traumas. It's a release, oddly enough, to send your secrets to possibly be displayed on the internet. There's always the hope that the message will get to the intended recipient, or at least help someone else who needs it along the way. I think the best part of the site is looking at someone's secret and thinking "Yeah, me too." You don't really feel less alone, just that there are more people who are alone with you.
www.postsecret.blogspot.com
PostSecret has given many, including me, a place to send their innermost fears, hopes, and traumas. It's a release, oddly enough, to send your secrets to possibly be displayed on the internet. There's always the hope that the message will get to the intended recipient, or at least help someone else who needs it along the way. I think the best part of the site is looking at someone's secret and thinking "Yeah, me too." You don't really feel less alone, just that there are more people who are alone with you.
www.postsecret.blogspot.com
Friday, December 11, 2009
Gaydar
Mine always seems to have sucked. I am most certainly not homophobic, more to the opposite, in fact. Two out of my three best friends are gay. I'm happy for them, but sometimes it sucks not having anyone completely understand where you're coming from. I have one friend who I constantly want to gush to, but I don't want to bore/annoy her.
How do you explain to your lesbian best friend why that boy makes you smile like nothing else? And how do you deal with a gay guy who keeps falling for only straight and/or taken guys? I love them, but it's hard. I feel like I get too wrapped up in their drama in an attempt to escape my own. Once I get there, though, it's too depressing! I don't want to know anymore.
Also, I'm excited that they're confident enough to be so open and proud! But it shouldn't feel like they're in an exclusive club, should it? It just gets so annoying sometimes, when they treat it like this thing that I'm not welcome in. I try to be as helpful and as understanding as I can, but I resent being sort of used when work is needed, then treated like an outsider when it's time to celebrate a victory.
Am I jealous?
Am I greedy?
Am I horribly shallow?
This is my life.
How do you explain to your lesbian best friend why that boy makes you smile like nothing else? And how do you deal with a gay guy who keeps falling for only straight and/or taken guys? I love them, but it's hard. I feel like I get too wrapped up in their drama in an attempt to escape my own. Once I get there, though, it's too depressing! I don't want to know anymore.
Also, I'm excited that they're confident enough to be so open and proud! But it shouldn't feel like they're in an exclusive club, should it? It just gets so annoying sometimes, when they treat it like this thing that I'm not welcome in. I try to be as helpful and as understanding as I can, but I resent being sort of used when work is needed, then treated like an outsider when it's time to celebrate a victory.
Am I jealous?
Am I greedy?
Am I horribly shallow?
This is my life.
Soldier of (bad) Fortune
I enter the school with a brand new doctor and a brand spanking new disorder. PTSD. Isn't that just for wounded soldiers? It makes it sound like I'm coming back from Iraq, fresh from a bombing where I lost my two best friends and an arm. It doesn't make me sound like a very tired, very scared 16 year old girl. PTSD makes me sound like I've been through more than I have, and I sort of like that. It makes me feel braver than I actually am. I use the word as both a shield and a mask.
I'm going to tear off a corner of the mask for you, though. PTSD is not only for wounded soldiers. It is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and anyone who has been through a trauma (like lucky little me) can develop it. What does it mean? It means that I'm jumpier than I should be, easier to startle. I'm always on high alert for danger, real or imagined. I have dreams that I wish I could wake up from. Oh, and you know those scenes in crime shows where the amnesiac has vivid flashbacks of clips of what happened? You guessed it! It's not all for drama.
This is my life.
I'm going to tear off a corner of the mask for you, though. PTSD is not only for wounded soldiers. It is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and anyone who has been through a trauma (like lucky little me) can develop it. What does it mean? It means that I'm jumpier than I should be, easier to startle. I'm always on high alert for danger, real or imagined. I have dreams that I wish I could wake up from. Oh, and you know those scenes in crime shows where the amnesiac has vivid flashbacks of clips of what happened? You guessed it! It's not all for drama.
This is my life.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Hair of the Dog is a better band than it is a drink...
...not that I've tried it.
So, I'm supposed to talk about my feelings to the safe anonymity of the internet. I've never been so good with feelings, though. Other people's, sure, but my own have always been a problem. Nasty, messy things. They've always been best left alone. Here are the facts:
I am 16.
I am 5'6"
I weigh more than I should.
I drink much more Diet Coke than I should.
I have just been diagnosed with general anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and post traumatic stress disorder. Quite a mouthful, huh?
This is my life.
Want to hear more? Let's take it one day (or disorder) at a time.
So, I'm supposed to talk about my feelings to the safe anonymity of the internet. I've never been so good with feelings, though. Other people's, sure, but my own have always been a problem. Nasty, messy things. They've always been best left alone. Here are the facts:
I am 16.
I am 5'6"
I weigh more than I should.
I drink much more Diet Coke than I should.
I have just been diagnosed with general anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and post traumatic stress disorder. Quite a mouthful, huh?
This is my life.
Want to hear more? Let's take it one day (or disorder) at a time.
Monday, March 23, 2009
You can dig so deep that you're left with a hole
I'm trying to ignore real life right now.
It's not working.
"Be, don't not be. That is the answer."
It's not working.
"Be, don't not be. That is the answer."
Monday, March 16, 2009
Lets waste time chasing cars around our heads
We’re cruising, the needle is hovering somewhere around 72. You’ve got the roof open and the night is dark despite the bright lights flashing at me. I’m glad that we’re going away. I’m never going back to that place, ever. I don’t tell you, but I think it to myself. Never going back to the man with the nice eyes that I force myself to look at and the firm handshake that I can always match. Never going to sit in the chairs that are just the right amount of comfortable to relax people, but uncomfortable enough that they’ll leave when they’re supposed to. Never going to pretend I’m reading the boring magazines about how to be successful. I’m leaving it behind.
I don’t ever want to stop moving. Sometimes I wish I could live my whole life in a car, just my mom and me cruising and listening to music forever. We’d just wake up and be in another town, every morning. We’d sing until our voices gave out and we’d stop to have tea and coffee in grimy rest stops. Sometimes we’d stop and stay with friends, but we’d just keep on going.
But for now, I’m with you, not my mom. Eventually we will stop moving. For now, I just lay my head back and watch the night pass by.
I don’t ever want to stop moving. Sometimes I wish I could live my whole life in a car, just my mom and me cruising and listening to music forever. We’d just wake up and be in another town, every morning. We’d sing until our voices gave out and we’d stop to have tea and coffee in grimy rest stops. Sometimes we’d stop and stay with friends, but we’d just keep on going.
But for now, I’m with you, not my mom. Eventually we will stop moving. For now, I just lay my head back and watch the night pass by.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Hmmm...
Okay, well, this is obviously a blog! =) Congrats on finding it.
So, I was bored a while ago and wrote like two pages on me. If you read the whole thing, you will be my favorite person ever. =) (I guess the first thing is that I smile a lot)
So here goes.
I’m ridiculous. Number one thing about me. I sometimes make a fool out of myself. I’m not one of those girls who tries to do it. I just seem to have a knack for getting myself into the strangest situations. And I don’t mind. I’m a dork, and life is fun that way.
I’m so excitable. I love excitable people. They make me so happy and give me hope for the world. I hate when people try to act jaded and older than they are. Why would you want to? I’ve still got time to be young and naïve and stupid, and I’m enjoying it, thanks much. =)
I’m having quite a bit of fun getting excited about small things. I’m the kind of girl who will grab your hands and dance you around the room when it starts snowing (I’ve done this to various friends on several occasions). I love snow when it’s snowing, but I think winter is far too long. I adore swimming and the beach, but I don’t actually live near one, which stinks.
I love my friends. They are the absolute best. I’m not sure what I could do without them, and I hope I never ever have to find out. They’re incredible. I love them so much.
I love to write songs. I write them about anything that pops into my head. Most recently, I was trying to write a love song and somewhere halfway through it turned into a random song about one of my best friends and how much I love…his violin. =) I don’t always go through with trying to finish up and edit all of the verses I jot down, but some of them turn out reasonably well. Some of them suck. Really bad. And I don’t mind. Because every song I write is just a way to get something out.
I’m not that complicated, and I keep things simple through my writing. I am amused by toe socks and sliding across hardwood floors. I love to bake, especially with friends. I bake a lot of cookies and bring them into school, and I always get mobbed. One of my friends even named the tin that I bring the cookies in and made a sign for it. I love being surprised, but I hate waiting for new episodes of my favorite shows. Summer and reality shows kill me for that reason.
I’m not very patient.
I used to be tall. Then all the guys grew. I find this fact extremely irritating. Sometimes. But I’m 5’6” and not done yet, so there’s hope.
I don’t mind just kicking around in a t-shirt and jeans. In fact, I often do. I’m okay to spend a day in my backyard with my dog. My dog is everything. I love her so so so much. She’s a black lab and pit bull mix. We think. We don’t really know, as she is a rescue. I can’t believe anyone could ever want to hurt her. I’m not very high maintenance. My ideal date is running through a corn maze and then going for ice cream.
But I love to dress up. I make tons and tons of jewelry and huge dangly earrings that I wear everywhere and sell. I like to sew the dresses I wear. I can be laid back, but I am such a girly girl when it comes to sparkles. I love them. I don’t dress up that much, but I love messing with colors. That means that I own about a million colors of eye shadow, but I never actually wear them. Luckily, my friends are kind enough to let me practice on them.
I’m a hopeless romantic. I still believe that there is a Prince Charming out there somewhere. I’m just having a little trouble finding him right now.
I almost always wear my Jewish star and my OneFamilyFund bracelet (and now my class ring, which I adore in a really dorky way). I wore a LiveStrong for a really long time, but it snapped. I still have it, because a really good friend gave it to me, and I love it a lot.
Despite being a hopeless romantic, I don’t really NEED a boyfriend. I’m okay being single. It may be right for some people, but I’m having too much fun enjoying life to be so serious. I’m in high school, for crying out loud! I won’t pretend to be stupid or put on extra makeup or spend an hour straightening my too-thick hair just to get a guy’s attention. He either likes me or he doesn’t. If he doesn’t like the real me, then what’s the point? (This is a very long paragraph because I learned that lesson the hard way. SOME (not all, but some) guys are really dumb).
My middle name is Rose. Not really sure what to make of that yet.
Apparently, I’m smart. I get pretty good grades and I’m in mostly advanced classes. I’m determined not to let it take over my life. It can get pretty overwhelming sometimes, though. That’s when I’m most thankful for my friends and family. Especially L, who lets me beat up the Slam Man in her garage when I really need it. I think she saved all humanity last June.
I practice piano way more than is good for the aforementioned class load. But it’s so much fun. I was never one of those kids who was forced into music lessons. I begged for them. I want to learn to play guitar really badly, and I’m going to take a class next fall. I can’t wait.
I love black and white pictures. Just plain obsessed. I love taking them, so I’m so happy to be in a photography class this year. I want to hang them up all over the place. That is, if any of them comes out alright. I carry my digital camera around everywhere. My facebook is filled with around 80 random albums that are just me snapping pictures of anything that amuses me. Most recently is a strawberry that looked like the bat signal and two mints in one wrapper. I’m kind of addicted to it and I take random videos of everything. It’s a Canon Powershot SD 1100. I’m extremely amused because it’s blue. =) The camera I had before it was also a Canon Powershot, but from seven years ago. Comparatively, it’s huge!
I hate making decisions. Each of my toenails is painted a different color right now because I honestly can’t decide. I think I’ll take a poll. But then I’ll probably disagree with it.
I love little kids, because they don’t lie. And if they do, they always feel bad about it. They never actually try to get away with it. I think that’s so sweet, and I wish the rest of the world worked like that.
I love people who take the time to care. If someone reads something of mine and actually comments on it, I feel so special. It makes my day. And people who remember the little stuff. I generally adore nice people.
I try to be honest. I mean, sometimes it’s necessary, but I don’t like to lie. I generally try to be pretty soft about it, though. Telling the truth doesn’t have to be harsh.
Oh, and my name’s Amanda.
So, who's going to be my favorite person ever? =)
So, I was bored a while ago and wrote like two pages on me. If you read the whole thing, you will be my favorite person ever. =) (I guess the first thing is that I smile a lot)
So here goes.
I’m ridiculous. Number one thing about me. I sometimes make a fool out of myself. I’m not one of those girls who tries to do it. I just seem to have a knack for getting myself into the strangest situations. And I don’t mind. I’m a dork, and life is fun that way.
I’m so excitable. I love excitable people. They make me so happy and give me hope for the world. I hate when people try to act jaded and older than they are. Why would you want to? I’ve still got time to be young and naïve and stupid, and I’m enjoying it, thanks much. =)
I’m having quite a bit of fun getting excited about small things. I’m the kind of girl who will grab your hands and dance you around the room when it starts snowing (I’ve done this to various friends on several occasions). I love snow when it’s snowing, but I think winter is far too long. I adore swimming and the beach, but I don’t actually live near one, which stinks.
I love my friends. They are the absolute best. I’m not sure what I could do without them, and I hope I never ever have to find out. They’re incredible. I love them so much.
I love to write songs. I write them about anything that pops into my head. Most recently, I was trying to write a love song and somewhere halfway through it turned into a random song about one of my best friends and how much I love…his violin. =) I don’t always go through with trying to finish up and edit all of the verses I jot down, but some of them turn out reasonably well. Some of them suck. Really bad. And I don’t mind. Because every song I write is just a way to get something out.
I’m not that complicated, and I keep things simple through my writing. I am amused by toe socks and sliding across hardwood floors. I love to bake, especially with friends. I bake a lot of cookies and bring them into school, and I always get mobbed. One of my friends even named the tin that I bring the cookies in and made a sign for it. I love being surprised, but I hate waiting for new episodes of my favorite shows. Summer and reality shows kill me for that reason.
I’m not very patient.
I used to be tall. Then all the guys grew. I find this fact extremely irritating. Sometimes. But I’m 5’6” and not done yet, so there’s hope.
I don’t mind just kicking around in a t-shirt and jeans. In fact, I often do. I’m okay to spend a day in my backyard with my dog. My dog is everything. I love her so so so much. She’s a black lab and pit bull mix. We think. We don’t really know, as she is a rescue. I can’t believe anyone could ever want to hurt her. I’m not very high maintenance. My ideal date is running through a corn maze and then going for ice cream.
But I love to dress up. I make tons and tons of jewelry and huge dangly earrings that I wear everywhere and sell. I like to sew the dresses I wear. I can be laid back, but I am such a girly girl when it comes to sparkles. I love them. I don’t dress up that much, but I love messing with colors. That means that I own about a million colors of eye shadow, but I never actually wear them. Luckily, my friends are kind enough to let me practice on them.
I’m a hopeless romantic. I still believe that there is a Prince Charming out there somewhere. I’m just having a little trouble finding him right now.
I almost always wear my Jewish star and my OneFamilyFund bracelet (and now my class ring, which I adore in a really dorky way). I wore a LiveStrong for a really long time, but it snapped. I still have it, because a really good friend gave it to me, and I love it a lot.
Despite being a hopeless romantic, I don’t really NEED a boyfriend. I’m okay being single. It may be right for some people, but I’m having too much fun enjoying life to be so serious. I’m in high school, for crying out loud! I won’t pretend to be stupid or put on extra makeup or spend an hour straightening my too-thick hair just to get a guy’s attention. He either likes me or he doesn’t. If he doesn’t like the real me, then what’s the point? (This is a very long paragraph because I learned that lesson the hard way. SOME (not all, but some) guys are really dumb).
My middle name is Rose. Not really sure what to make of that yet.
Apparently, I’m smart. I get pretty good grades and I’m in mostly advanced classes. I’m determined not to let it take over my life. It can get pretty overwhelming sometimes, though. That’s when I’m most thankful for my friends and family. Especially L, who lets me beat up the Slam Man in her garage when I really need it. I think she saved all humanity last June.
I practice piano way more than is good for the aforementioned class load. But it’s so much fun. I was never one of those kids who was forced into music lessons. I begged for them. I want to learn to play guitar really badly, and I’m going to take a class next fall. I can’t wait.
I love black and white pictures. Just plain obsessed. I love taking them, so I’m so happy to be in a photography class this year. I want to hang them up all over the place. That is, if any of them comes out alright. I carry my digital camera around everywhere. My facebook is filled with around 80 random albums that are just me snapping pictures of anything that amuses me. Most recently is a strawberry that looked like the bat signal and two mints in one wrapper. I’m kind of addicted to it and I take random videos of everything. It’s a Canon Powershot SD 1100. I’m extremely amused because it’s blue. =) The camera I had before it was also a Canon Powershot, but from seven years ago. Comparatively, it’s huge!
I hate making decisions. Each of my toenails is painted a different color right now because I honestly can’t decide. I think I’ll take a poll. But then I’ll probably disagree with it.
I love little kids, because they don’t lie. And if they do, they always feel bad about it. They never actually try to get away with it. I think that’s so sweet, and I wish the rest of the world worked like that.
I love people who take the time to care. If someone reads something of mine and actually comments on it, I feel so special. It makes my day. And people who remember the little stuff. I generally adore nice people.
I try to be honest. I mean, sometimes it’s necessary, but I don’t like to lie. I generally try to be pretty soft about it, though. Telling the truth doesn’t have to be harsh.
Oh, and my name’s Amanda.
So, who's going to be my favorite person ever? =)
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