ATTENTION HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS: YOUR TESTIMONIES CAN HELP DEFEAT IRAN'S HOLOCAUST DENIAL CAMPAIGN

I received this email today from the wonderful Wiesenthal Center:

ATTENTION HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS: YOUR TESTIMONIES CAN HELP DEFEAT IRAN'S HOLOCAUST DENIAL CAMPAIGN. PLEASE SEND US YOUR TESTIMONIES TODAY!
On Monday, December 11, 2006 the Simon Wiesenthal Center will convene “Witness To The Truth,” a videoconference of 70 survivors of the Nazi Holocaust in Los Angeles, New York and the Toronto headquarters of Canadian Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center who will present their personal testimonies to debunk the Iranian regime's conference entitled “The Holocaust: A World Prospect” taking place on December 11-12. The conference organizers have indicated that 70 Holocaust revisionists from 30 countries will participate. The Tehran conference, sponsored by the Iranian government, comes after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the Nazi Holocaust ‘a myth.’

We are therefore asking Holocaust survivors from around the world to join in our conference and debunk the deniers by sending their testimoniesby fax: 310-553-4521 or e-mail: witnesstothetruth@wiesenthal.net to the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

“Witness to the Truth” will be held at the Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance and linked by videoconference to the Center’s New York Tolerancenter and its Toronto office. In Los Angeles, artifacts from the Nazi's Final solution from the Center’s historical archives will be on display.

We thank Holocaust survivors for their courage and commitment and for once again sharing their painful legacy.

Please send your testimonies to the Simon Wiesenthal Center:
Fax: 310-553-4521 Email: witnesstothetruth@wiesenthal.net
Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1399 South Roxbury Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90035
310.553.9036 www.wiesenthal.com

I sent this email to many people and here is the response from Liz:

"Marge,

I must tell you this story.

My niece Stephanie told me about a little synagogue on Broome Street (lower east side) which is also a holocaust museum. It is a special museum because it targets the area in Greece where I was born, Ionnina, and the 3,000 or so Jews who perished at Auschwitz.

Stephanie asked me to donate copies of old family photos which I was happy to do. We went last Sunday and met the curator, a lovely woman named Marcia. As I showed Marcia the photos, one in particular was of my mother, who at the time was 16 years old, and her eldest sister, my Aunt Astro (unusual name but not for the community as I found out later). Astro had two children who were also in the picture. I could not remember their names. Marcia promptly pulled out a book and read aloud the children's names! I turned to her in total amazement and said, "You're freakin me out here!" She told me there was a wall with the names of all the people of my village that perished at the camps in Ionnina. I cried. She gave me a copy of the book and I read all the names of my family members who I never met but always heard about. Needless to say, I was a mess for the rest of the day. I went home and slept for two hours."

How about that for a story?"

Yes, Liz, indeed, how about that for a story, a story that must be shared. And thank you for doing so.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS, MY FRIENDS (updated 10-3-06)

Village Skating, Metropolis, Busby's, Roxy, oh, what a joyous ride it was. For me it started in 1979; for many others it started a few years earlier than that. Those might have been the happiest and most interesting and most fun years of my entire life! Yes, it did have a very disappointing ending for me and no, I won't be skating anytime soon, but now thanks to Liz, Julio and Marion, I am in full reminisce mode and loving it.

First I'll show you The Buzzards, then The Wizards, our heroes, then the Wizards with another wonderful group, also our heroes, Scramblin' Feet, all pictures taken in the early '80s, and then Liz and I in 2006, just 25 years later!









Thank you, Liz, for calling to check in last December. I'm sorry we lost touch over the years and am so happy to have reconnected. Marion, it was a total thrill and extreme pleasure to talk to you today.

To see more interesting stuff, go here:
http://snipurl.com/xy98

To see more wonderful pictures and remembrances, go to Julio's website:
http://web.mac.com/roxydjjulio/iWeb/Site/Roxy%20DJ%20Julio.html

To see pictures of the wonderful 30-year skating reunion held at The Rink in Montvale, NJ, on 9-30-06, go here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/marge201/VillageWizards30YearReunion93006

I received an email tonight from one of the people pictured above. The following quote describes the reunion and why we were so happy to be there more eloquently than I possibly could:

"It was really great seeing you after all these years. I'm sorry we didn't get to talk much amidst all the excitement of seeing so many longtime friends from our skating family. Isn't it amazing how after all these years everyone seems to have kept that same vibrant spirit no matter where life has taken them? I guess that's what makes us a special circle of friends."

Here's a picture of Herman, a fabulous photographer and the Buzzard who came up with our name, and Julio, who is single-handedly responsible for all this marvelous and heart-warming reconnecting that is happening now. His website, which is a huge, time-consuming effort of his (thank you, Julio!!), is a treasure trove of memorabilia from back in those glorious days.



Here's the email that Julio sent everybody today. It says it all:
"Hi everybody. I’m writing to thank you all for helping us to create a magnificent night of adult roller skating. It was wonderful to see so many of you that we have not seen for years. There was truly the feeling of a family reunion. It was amazing enough to have skaters from every rink that existed in the '70s as well as people from Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, California, Colorado, DC, Florida and upper New York State. We even had one skater, Melody Watrous, an original member of the Village Wizards, travel all the way from Japan for this one special night.

"During the course of the evening we received many encouraging remarks about the good vibes of the session, the music, the mature attitude of the skaters and the fact that everyone there was skating on the same frequency. That's because we are family, bonded strongly together by the roller skating experience.

"We received many inquiries about the continuation of this session. Yes, we will be at The Rink at Montvale every Saturday evening for your adult skating pleasure. However, if we want this session to continue, we must show our support by attending the sessions and spreading the word to all the adult skaters that we know. I would like to extend the Saturday evenings from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. But we need your help. One thing that we can all do is to call 201-391-1155 or email the rink -- http://www.rinkonline.com/ -- to let them know how much we liked the session and how much we would like it to continue. We want to create the best pure adult skating session you will find anywhere! And we are doing it just for you, the adult skater.

"Once again, thanks for helping us to create such a beautiful session. P.S.: Start getting your costumes ready for our fantastic Halloween Party on Saturday, October 28th, 2006."

No, Julio, thank YOU for your creativity and technical knowhow that made this all happen. (By the way, Julio, the music was OUTSTANDING Saturday night!)

http://web.mac.com/roxydjjulio/iWeb/Site/Roxy%20DJ%20Julio.html

6-30-06: a fun and wonderful day!!

Oh, boy, did we have fun. We started out here: Chat 'n Chew, 10 East 16th Street, 212-243-1616 www.chatnchewnyc.com
adorably decorated + great music playing (Springsteen, Grateful Dead for example) + delicious food + cheap, friendly place

Then we walked around here, which was fantastic. Oh, I wish I could have bought stuff. The garlic and onions, I've never seen anything like it: http://www.unionsquarejournal.com/greenmarket.htm

Then we went to Pearl River Mart to shop and hopefully buy myself an emergency pair of Chinese slippers since my feet were killing me!!
Pearl River Mart, www.pearlriver.com, 477 Broadway (near Broome St.)


The smile on my face is possible ONLY because of my little blue Chinese satin slippers that I spent many hours pounding the pavement in. Relief!!

Then we went to TKTS and got tickets for Alter Boyz. We all loved it! Abraham was my favorite of the boyz but the others were truthfully just as good. It was a HOOT. Definitely if you see it on the board at the TKTS booth, GRAB THEM!!



And then we had dinner at Zen Palate. It was delicious and wonderful food. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Zen Palate, 663 Ninth Ave., (corner of 46th) NYC 212-582-1669 http://www.zenpalate.com/

The day started at 11 a.m. and ended at about 11:30 p.m. A most splendid time was had by all.
We laughed, yakked, and laughed more. It was a total wonderful blast. We look pretty damn chipper at 10 p.m. here at Zen Palate, huh? Well, we were and that's because it was such a great and fun day for all of us. Steve (my junior high school buddy) is the greatest thing since sliced bread with a fantastic sense of humor and warm heart. Miles, as I said in the Santa Monica post, is a riot, a smart-ass like you wouldn't believe and fun fun fun. I CAN'T WAIT TO HAVE ANOTHER PLAY DATE WITH YOU GUYS!!!!!

More about Justice

Just two days after my wonderful time with that adorable Justice and his parents and grammie, a routine visit to the doc revealed that his leukemia came back. Here is the email that his parents wrote to all their friends:

Dear Friends,
We learned earlier this week that Justice's leukemia has returned. We are reeling from the news, but believe with all our hearts that this is just another bump in the road to a full recovery. The doctors at New York University Hospital, where Justice has been re-admitted, are working on his drug protocol, yet they seem quite certain that this course will include stronger chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant to send him into full remission.
You have all been so wonderful and supportive throughout Justice's illness and eight-month remission, and know that that hasn't been forgotten. We'll keep you posted on his progress and count on your continued prayers. Love, Jayne and Hunter

Last Saturday night was a benefit that I attended. Here's the invitation:


It was a terrific event and it looked like and I hope that a significant amount of money was raised. I know that I will thoroughly enjoy the paella and flan dinner that my group of 8 won in the silent auction! Quite a few people in my building wrote checks made out to "All For Justice," even people who never met Jayne and Hunter. Everybody is rooting strongly for that little adorable boy to beat this damn thing down and get on with his life. Justice's Aunt Holly tells me that when he's approached by docs and nurses he screams, "No way, no way!!" but that after they're done he says "Thank you" to them. What a fabulous little boy he is.

DINNER AT CASSIE'S

So there I am in Ellie's apartment cleaning up her computer a bit when all of a sudden she asks me to join her for dinner at Cassie's in Englewood with Jayne, Hunter and the cutest little kid in the world, Justice. Take a listen:



We had a great time, which included good company, fabulous dinner (chopped salad + delicious salmon and sauteed spinach), and running after 2-and-a-half-year-old Justice, a kid with a great personality. Thanks a lot for dinner, Ellie!

SANTA MONICA!

Steve Wachs, my junior high school school buddy, his oldest son Jeff got married to a gorgeous girl named Hannah on 3-26-06 at the Loew's Hotel in Santa Monica. It was a wonderful whirlwind weekend. I arrived in LA on Fri, 3-24-06, and cabbed it to the hotel in Santa Monica and immediately saw Dave, brother of the groom who I haven't seen since 2000 when he graduated U of P! Great guy: smart and funny and handsome.

Later that day I had dinner at Barney’s Beanery in Santa Monica with a woman who works at an agency I do work for who we've never met but spoken on the phone plenty with, Luane. We had a great time meeting, yacking and eating. It was a total pleasure to meet her!













Later that night we went to a service at Jeff and Hannah's synagogue, oneg shabbat following. It was a totally delightful service. Their rabbi is funny and unique and a friend of theirs. Here's a picture of Steve and his 2 younger sons Dave and Mike. Mike's a great kid. I adore them both.













We were having trouble getting Mike to show teeth in a pic so we had to resort to pinching and guess who was being pinched where??!!!













The next day, Saturday, 3-26-06, I slept until 1:30!! Didn't feel like going out so I hung around the room drinking coffee and eating Luna bars. At 5 p.m. I went to the Loew's for a cocktail hour followed by a rehearsal dinner for 90 (!) sponsored by Steve and Ruthie, mom and dad of the groom. at Shainghai Red's in Marina Del Rey. Here's a picture of Steve and I plus Howie Sherman at the dinner, all of us JHS friends from Kakiak JHS:













And here's another picture from that evening, the uncle of the groom Bob:













The next day, Sunday, March 26, 2006, at 5 p.m. was the wedding.




AND MORE GREAT MUSIC:


















Here they are the night before at the rehearsal dinner:













Here I am, pre-humidity, on my way to their wonderful wedding, which featured 100% vegetarian food and no one complained a bit because with such delicious food, believe me there was nothing to complain about!













And here we are at the cocktail hour. This is Miles, a world-class smart-ass with an infectious laugh like you wouldn't believe who I just loved meeting:


The wedding was fabulous with great food and great music. We danced our arses off. The band was absolutely fabulous. The people surrounding these families are warm and friendly and it was such an honor to be with them.




The next day, Monday, Steve sponsored a breakfast at Broadway Diner in Santa Monica. We all had a blast. [L-R: me, bride Hannah, groom Jeff, long-time friends of the groom Meryl and Ron]













Here's another pic of Meryl & Ron + Beth & Alan:



[L-R: Marge, Miles, Neal (son of Meryl & Ron, great kid), Miles, Michele & Adam (Adam who puts on a horrible NY accent and girlfriend Michele who's smart and terrific)]






Before we all said our good-byes, outside the Broadway Diner:













Here's a pic of Santa Monica Pier:





A splendid time was had by all!! Hope y'all enjoyed seeing pics of my wonderful trip to Santa Monica!! Now onward goes my redecoration project!!

Fun story on 3 of my favorite shows!

New York Daily News - TV and Radio - 'Simpsons' role a Homer run for 'Office' manager

3 great and intelligent shows: 1. The Simpsons; 2. The Office; 3. Extras

SUPPORT DENMARK!!

Support Denmark

ideas for buying Danish stuff here

FABULOUS NOT-TO-MISS TV ENTERTAINMENT

Stephen Colbert: America’s ‘Truthiness’ Teller - Newsweek Entertainment - MSNBC.com
Wonderful Newsweek story about one of my top 3 laugh suppliers.

OTHER FAVORITES
The Daily Show
The Simpsons
The Office
Desperate Housewives
Arrested Development
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Six Feet Under ( I still think about the finale so it deserves a mention.)
Seinfeld

SPRING STREET CAFE WITH LOCK + floors and walls!

Joanne was in the city today so we met for lunch at a great place: Spring Street Cafe http://springstreetnatural.com/ Everything there is interesting and great and I highly recommend it. We talked about everything, including my floor/walls project. At Lee's New Year's party, not having any idea then that I would be doing this, I fell in love with her walls and took pictures of them just in case. And I'm going with it!! I will be getting prevarnished long boards in the lightest color wood that my advisors agree with. Me, I don't have a clue and will consult with Diane, Gloria, Ellie, and Lock. I am lucky in many ways and one of them is having great friends with equally great taste.

INTERESTING READING, FOLKS!

I learned about this in Kim Komando's "Daily Show News," which is a worthwhile freebie FYI. This is what she said and what got me to go read this. Quoting directly from Kim Komando:

Cabbie lets readers ride along
When New York City cabbie Melissa Plaut hits the streets, her readers go with her. Writing in her blog, New York Hack, she chronicles her daily grind. Although she has had strange incidents, nothing too terrible has happened to her. It's not a job she loves, and she says the blog helps her cope with it. (And she's from Pomona, New York!)

New York Hack

In her blog there's a link to the NYT article, printed today, 1-24-06.

KAELA IN 42nd STREET

Dad and I drove up to Woodstock today to see his granddaughter and my niece Kaela perform in the chorus of 42nd Street. The show, which included multiple and great costume changes and stupendous and very impressive tap dancing, was fun and wonderful. Trust me when I say that Kaela was a total delight to watch. The girl can dance like you wouldn't believe. Click here for some great pics
[L-R] Dad, Kaela, Judy, Marge

READ THESE AND LEARN

I remember with utter distaste the days when I'd get the cold shivers when something went wrong with my computer. Oh, what to do now??? Horrible feeling, right? Especially if your income depends on it! The following great newsletters are a way for the cold shivers to be a very rare occurrence.

Ask Mr. Modem

Kim Komando

The LangaList!

Neat Net Tricks

Windows XP update tips

Tips and Tricks for Hacking Google

And if you read these, you wouldn't have to be told this:

Click here to see what I’m talking about

NEW YEAR'S EVE 2005

New Year's Eve 2005 was a lot different than my previous eleven New Year's Eves, but different can be a good thing and this New Year's was terrific. Joanne is a great friend who lives in Princeton. She was invited to a New Year's party and I tagged along. The party was at Lee's gorgeous home with the Main Street gang. I haven't been to Main Street YET but I hear it's great and, very notably, it's ENTIRELY SMOKE-FREE, including the bar!

http://www.mainstreetprinceton.com

http://snipurl.com/l83c

Lee has terrific friends. It was a delightfully friendly crowd with great food. Lee and Mike, thank you for hosting such a nice party!

Joanne and I spent New Year's Day yakking away and eating great food. Joanne, what's the name of that wonderful place where you get your soups and colby sandwiches? You can click on "comments" and tell us!

Oh, and look at the wonderful scarf Lock gave me. It is cozy and so pretty. I just love it.