Community Empowerment One Smile at a Time... Comunidad Sonrisa por Sonrisa

My tweets

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:54:43 GMT

Thu, 09:51: Please find me via my LiveJournal or LinkedIn, as I will no longer be responding to or watching FB. Peace, Shira

missing shul and wedding dancing!

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:30:10 GMT

Urhggh! I was looking forward to leading the dancing at the wedding, cds ready and plan bullying the Rabbi into leading his 7/8 time version of Adon Olam as well! But, my throat still hurts even to move, let alone talk, and the doctor has sent sample off to test for strep, and told me not to excersice. That, and the cough is getting worse, so that is it until next week. :-(

If anyone wants to come borrow the cds of Greek folk dance music, feel free. Give me a call and follow the sounds of coughing and smell of garlic, as I am logging off of this computer.
Shabbat Shalom
S.

My tweets

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:02:04 GMT

Mon, 12:45: wondering at the lack of response to my Community post, a couple of messages below. What do you find inspiring?... http://t.co/0WL152e05E

My tweets

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:31:15 GMT

Sun, 13:16: posted a new entry to 'shirad' at LiveJournal. http://t.co/ROUKH2h1a8
Sun, 13:21: Share what inspires you: http://t.co/EMq9lpdgLn
Sun, 15:09: Check out my professional profile and connect with me on LinkedIn. http://t.co/Rlb3Jh9SsQ #in
Sun, 22:11: Happy Mother's Day ... Feliz D�a de las Madres...

Building Cooperative Community...

Sun, 12 May 2013 13:16:25 GMT

Making a positive difference in this hurting world, and gathering a group of friends committed to doing the same, is what insipires me.

Tell me, Friends, What Inspires You?

Peace,
ShiraDestinie

My tweets

Sat, 11 May 2013 12:31:08 GMT

Fri, 21:33: almost ready to finish my query letter, and start 4th (or 3rd planned) draft of novel... http://t.co/FJTxBGqbiK
Fri, 21:34: posted a new entry to 'shirad' at LiveJournal. http://t.co/dy3d951KyF
Fri, 21:34: almost ready to finish my query letter, and start 4th (or 3rd planned) draft of novel... http://t.co/FSey2OgE9x

almost ready to finish my query letter, and start 4th (or 3rd planned) draft of novel...

Fri, 10 May 2013 21:33:49 GMT

I have one more page to redraft and my 3rd (ok, 2nd since the 1st draft was a totally unplanned NaNoWriMo novel, and it shows!) draft is nearly done, and I am fretting about finding an agent. I figure, with 1 in 7 of 1 in 20 new authors published, out of 140 queries, I am guaranteed success! It only took The Help 25 tries. Maybe I will get lucky. My Summary Paragraph is nearly done, although I am not keen on it, still, or yet, and I still keep changing my hook sentence. Then there will be the bio to write. ugh.

food...

My tweets

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:16:15 GMT

Fri, 10:25: Battling the last 50 pages of my 3rd draft, and publisher-finding anxiety.

My tweets

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:31:10 GMT

Wed, 22:20: Now up to 80k words in middle of 3rd revision of novel: Fencing, Fighting, Horses, and Cats, all in a Biblical Science Fiction social justi…

My tweets

Mon, 06 May 2013 12:01:25 GMT

Sun, 16:25: posted a new entry to 'shirad' at LiveJournal. http://t.co/c9p8iFOmOc

annoying health problems!

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:25:33 GMT

Netying and cayenne seems to have finally gotten rid of the cough and sinus problems I have been having since January, but my eye is still twitching, trying to develop yet another stye. Hot Compressing is very irritating since it works, but prevents me from getting work done.

And please do not tell me to work less. It is the only thing that gives my life meaning at the moment.

And yes, it makes Shabbat less than relaxing for me, but I am coping. Thankful to have a family that invites me over to socialize after services many Saturday afternoons.

Worring to inspire Community Cooperation,
ShiraDest

My tweets

Sun, 05 May 2013 12:16:08 GMT

Sun, 11:27: Good Morning All, back to editing 3rd draft with good feedback. Happy to send the summary paragraph (which I... http://t.co/cO1s12syMb
Sun, 12:02: Glad to lead Maariv, the Friday night Shabbat evening prayer service, and got good feedback on my Novel. / Canté servicio del Sabado, trab…

My tweets

Fri, 03 May 2013 12:31:10 GMT

Fri, 00:01: Brain is mush, just lost a fight with my printer re. 3rd draft of novel Book 1. Sending horrible 1st draft as... http://t.co/vW2QVa0TgT
Fri, 08:13: Cannot sleep, back to editing 3rd draft. / No pudeo conseguir el sue�o asi que voy a trabajar en el 3ro redaccion de me novela... shira
Fri, 08:53: Excited to be finishing 3rd draft of Novel, seeking Science Fiction and other publishers... Estoy muy emocionada de terminar mi novela, bu…

My tweets

Thu, 02 May 2013 12:16:16 GMT

Wed, 18:30: Interesting new media, help bring a bit more substance pls... And Novel summary for those who want http://t.co/eGn83DjdMm
Wed, 18:30: posted a new entry to 'shirad' at LiveJournal. http://t.co/Z2OVWP57H8

Interesting new media, help bring a bit more substance pls... And Novel summary for those who want

Wed, 01 May 2013 18:30:18 GMT

Last week a Facebook friend (whom I knew back at MSU many moons ago) was to blame for my becoming addicted to rating things I hope would raise awareness:

http://combosaurus.com/user/shiradestinie

join me and together, we will rule... oops, sorry, yes, I am going to submit my 1 page summary to some publishers now, right after I send it to who ever wants to read it. The newest working title is
Creator: Friend or Foe, Book 1, Beginnings

My tweets

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:16:02 GMT

Tue, 18:24: Please ask, rather than assume. Some of us are actually Conscientious. Shira
Wed, 11:51: Hungrilly unpacking my veg. from our CSA, surprised to find that in this building we pay electric util. I was... http://t.co/FPiMnTmi1G
Wed, 12:00: Kala Meno to our Greek friends, Happy Beltane to our Wiccan friends, and Happy May Day to everyone else! ShiraDest.

Frightening Fins

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:34:09 GMT

How terrifying it has been, writing the last chapter of my first novel. Actually it is the new last chapter of the 2nd draft of my novel, but writing the last pages back in November just were not so scary, for some reason. I now have 78k words, and need to review my 2nd draft before starting on the 3rd draft.

Peace, everyone,
food...

My tweets

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:16:07 GMT

Tue, 11:33: Halfway through writing last chapter of novel, hoping to inspire more Community Cooperation. ShiraDest.
Tue, 12:07: Eye compressed and washed, stye getting better, back to writing last chapter, 2nd draft... Shira

My tweets

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:16:14 GMT

Sun, 21:15: Compressing my eye and dreaming up the last chapter of 2nd draft of novel. Glad that folks enjoyed my chanting yesterday and the Shep. Pk …
Mon, 11:27: Who knows what Call and Response is, and how to eat ethically out in the city? Please comment: http://t.co/2BfTW5Clqq

My tweets

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 12:16:02 GMT

Fri, 16:39: Black-Jewish Call and Response Songs, Personal Questions, and Refusal http://t.co/SQvTRJpcKl
Fri, 16:39: posted a new entry to 'shirad' at LiveJournal. http://t.co/ex5WpsgzbG

another geocities page from 2009

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:24:59 GMT

Just posted my old community page from 2009, here on LJ under 26.April 2004 or 2005...

Welcome to The Dancing Catalystic Dreamer Site! (formerly Dancing Sfardic Dreamer)

Tengo consentida perfecta para mi. Soy feliz. I have the perfect lady whom I hope to marry, if she will have me. I am content. May, 2004
I will be updating my home page less, probably, since I have been persuaded by a friend to join LiveJournal -but you will need to register and add me as a friend in order to see my friends-only posts, which are generally the most interesting.
testing my newly installed Tsalagi (Cherokee) Font which does not work on my LiveJournal but does work here... Many Thanks to the Cherokee Nation which makes this font available for download here: http://www.cherokee.org/Extras/Downloads/Font/syllabarytest.htm

Image	Font
	1
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"INTJs enjoy developing unique solutions to complex problems." As an I but sometimes E on the MBTI this statement fits me to a T!

new photo 30 mar 2005

My bookmarks are slowly being backed up on Delicious

Some of my recent travels ...

Kol Bo, a wonderful Jewish store in the Boston area, has a nice selection of Sephardic music.
Judaismo Hoy, about Ladino, a Ladino forum, a surprise photo of me from a 1999 party

My updated resume should focus on sales and solar energy... there is a link further down on this page...

"Oil Color Sky"

The heavens are Her canvas
The Almighty, the Artist
On a background of blue
Her brush strokes clouds

Troubles dispatched,
Fears allayed;
From glorious dawn
to gentle dusk
A beautiful day...

(c) Thursday 4 April 2002

See some of my academic goals for life, thoughts about money and 2001 values .

I was just in a play, and a fellow cast member posted some photos of us. I'll put these on my own home page soon...

I loved it in Turkey so much that I am particularly focusing on finding work there.
De Turkia, me encanta. La gente son hospitable e amable, preguntando muchos cuestions de inmediato, como "cuantos a�os tienes", y "tienes hijos" y asi. Tambi�n, me invitan a beber te con frequencia, y tienen una leyenda, dicen que si bebes te con alguien, estaramos amigos para cuarenta a�os.

Some of my ideas on building just community.
I enjoy the NEFFA festival, and the Lowell Folk Festival.

I've recently joined Servas, a peace-oriented NGO advocating traveling and talking with people from different parts of the world as a way of building the supports for peace. To join, you ought to first become a Servas host, and then write a Letter of Introduction to help hosts get to know you.
I am currently focused on dancing as much as possible, finding opportunities to sing, being active in my Chavurah, and setting my goals for life in Turkey, where I will be moving in late Summer 2004.
I will need to updagte my resume , soon, when I finish my TEFL course.

March, 2004
Sleep can do amazing things for a person, I've recently discovered. Reflection, when not totally exhausted, is much more fruitful than reflection when all one wants to do is stop, and rest.

I have recently traveled for the first time to Barcelona, after a brief stop with a friend of mine in London. I found it a very educational trip, seeing more of people than actual places.

These days, I try to be more simple in my outlooks on various parts of life. I live for the longing reach of the Spanish Guitar, the stretch of the oud, the trill of the mandolin, joined by the wail of the voilin, in accord with the beat of the santouri -my Jewish soul lives in the Mediterranean.

I have finished a MA degree, and am looking to teach overseas. I would like to teach English, math, and basic computer skills to women in poor countries, but I also love the Mediterranean, and eventually want to live in Spain and Italy, after Turkey.
My former persona in the SCA.
An acquaintaince of mine has a horse business.

Pre-November, 2003

I love cooking! :-)
As a long term goal, I hope to help foster a community which is
tolerant, open, just, hard-working, and fun! :-) Some of my ideas on solving the world's problems...

Though I am currently a full time graduate student and sometimes substitute teacher, my top short-term goal is to find work making presentations or doing public speaking, cooking or mentoring.

Hobbies

I love international folk dance, singing, cooking, writing poetry, and like to ice skate, cross-country ski, and work on solutions to people's problems. I also like to do arts and
crafts (particualarly inkle and small card/tablet loom weaving), and am working on learning to read and play music.
I am an INTJ, on the Myers-Briggs personality indicator scale.

I have very much enjoyed teaching Hebrew and Jewish studies at a reform synagogue in New Hampshire.
In addition to studying Spanish, I am looking into taking classes in American Sign Language (ASL), and have been working on Hebrew finger spelling. I find that learning the sign language for many words (such as izquierda/left, and derecho/right) in ASL helped me to learn them in Spanish. Probably because I am a strongly kinesthetic learner.

I love the idea of Eco-Kashrut! As for worship style, I actually prefer the Reconstructionist and Jewish Renewal movement philosophies.

In terms of prayer, I vastly prefer the gender neutral prayers adopted by many progressive Jewish congregations over the traditional masculine gender prayers. For me, being able to pray to G-d in the feminine makes a huge difference. I love being able to pick up a siddur and pray, since the set liturgy gives me the freedom to insert my own prayers, if I need to, into the context of a tradition that provides both structure and a set of words that I can always use, no matter what mood I am in, or how I feel that day. Despite my on-going struggles with Diety, its existence, benevolence or lack thereof, and its relationship to me, I always have a set of words which have withstood the test of time, and brought comfort to wiser and cooler heads than mine.

I am working on becoming fluent in writing my own movie reviews in Spanish (and translate my site into espan~ol) and Hebrew, and thus am seeking a pen-pal with whom I may email in Spanish via a pen-pal site, primarily, or also in modern Israeli Hebrew.

I may wish to foster and adopt children, somewhere between 5 to 12 years from now. That, of course, will require my finding a compatible partner who also wants to have or adopt children.
While I remain undecided, but open to the idea of raising children, I definitely wish to teach and mentor children.
I have discovered that all of my seemingly scattered interests point me toward teaching mathematics in a Spanish-speaking country where I can be of service to the community. Here is my dream of how I'd like to do it:

If I had all of the money I needed, I would spend four hours per day dancing, four hours per day teaching, and four hours per day reading, writing, thinking, and communicating. I would split my time between dancing with one or two passionate motivated dancers, teaching in a team with a fellow caring earnest teacher, in a school where the students need us, want to learn, and choose to be there, and reflecting upon how to improve myself and the world around me, writing letters, passing on information to help others. I would do all of this in a Jewish enclave of a Spanish-speaking place that feels like the Mediterranean. I would make just enough money to meet my needs comfortably and perhaps save a bit for retirement. Then again, with a life such as this, I wouldn�t need to retire.
My musing about money .

My philosophy on child-rearing continues to evolve as I take graduate classes toward a Master of Arts in teaching and read others work about teaching secondary mathematics, and I also enjoy studying the history of math.

I am told that I should consider ways to reward myself, next year (~summer 2004), with a graduation treat/present/reward. If any of my friends have suggestions, please let me know. Rewarding myself is not, I am told, one of my strong points.
I'm thinking of getting myself the Carlos Santana CD "Shaman" as a present.
I still think that joining the Peace Corp and teaching in Argentina would be a wonderful graduation present, personally. catalan_athens@yahoo.com

I am seeking work as a cook, research analyst, or systems engineer/architect.

I am a Jewess by Choice , keeping Sfardic customs, in search of community.

In the rest of my spare time, I volunteer with various local
community service groups, like Habitat for Humanity, and the
local Soup Kitchen/Shelter.

One book near the top of my current list of books to read is Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.

Thom Hartmann has written another of my favorite books, Hunter in a Farmer's world.

One of my friends is working on a writers site.

A few years ago I did some fairly extensive note-taking on health .
I also have an interest in astrology from a Jewish perspective as a topic of science and history, as well as from a mathematical perspective.

My personal priorities revolve around living a useful life,
leaving the world a better place for my having been here.

To that end, I try to find underlying issues on which to concentrate.
To me, this means working toward reforms in
the way our society handles learning, political
influence, and the rights of the individual. This translates,
for me, into working on education, campaign finance reform,
and allowing same-sex marriage.

I seek to build a community of friends who pull together toward these goals, dancing
ever closer, and eventually to find a partner with whom to share the
intimacy of these dreams and hopes, along the way.

If you would like to help me in these endeavors, or if I may
be of help to you in similar goals, please contact me:
(This cloak was made by a friend...)

More about my interests below...

Sevgili Arkadaslarim, Maalesef vaktim yok, Turkce'yi yazmaya icin. Onemli seyler Turkce'de yazmayi calisirim ama genelde ingilizce'de yazarim cunku onlari daha basini genismesi lazim, ABD degistermek icin, dunya baris yapmak ve calismak icin, inshallah. Eger bir sey okumak istersen (Turkce'de), lutfen, bana haber verin ve cevermesi calisirim. Haydi optum size, Shira. ---

Queridos Amigos, Mis dato de contacto están aqui:

http://www.livejournal.com/users/shirad/133220.html

Para mis amigos que solamente hablan Español. Soy mujer sencilla y simple. La mayoria de mis puestos son para amigos y escriben en ambos Español y Ingles. Si ustds quieren leer a mis escritos privados deben de firmar en LiveJournal como amigo mio. Serian ustds muy bienvenidos. Eso es sobre yo: Trabajo en PhD sobre la justicia economica y en particular la moneda social en el Mediterraneao y America Latina. Tengo un sueño, y no sé si es practical o no. Si yo tenía todo el dinero y tiempo que necesito, y no tenía que trabajar, yo quisiera trabajar por 4 horas por día en bailar, y otra 4 en enseñar a niños y adultos quien quieren trabajar, aprender, con otra maestra que le importa la gente, y otra 4 horas por día en pensar, escribir, y comunicando como mejorar las cosas. Yo quisiera hacer todo esto en un lugar cerca del mar, donde hay gente de muchos lugares del mundo, quien hablan muchos idiomas, y donde hay comunidad Progresista con otras mujeres. Ahora lo se que es posible, con mucho trabajo. Lograre, con ayuda de mis queridos amigos. -----

Dear Friends, please note: Some of my more interesting posts are friends-only, so if you are a friend of mine, please register and add me as a friend or drop me a message so that İ can add you to my friends list. I am currently working on a PhD in Social Policy focusing on economic justice and alternative currencies in the Mediterranean and Latin America. I tend to be idealistic, hard working, to the point, and sometimes too bouncy for my own good. :-) I love everything about the Mediterranean, love to cook, love to dance, love to sing, love to meet new people and learn new things. I live in the UK (my friends-only contact information), where I am researching social and public policy. Much more about me on my home page personal page section: www.geocities.com/catalan_athens/personal.html. I am also on Orkut, same username.

----- Favorite Story online: Obs for Gands (and how to become a Gand if you're not already one): Eric Frank Russell:

http://www.abelard.org/e-f-russell.htm

-- Major Life Goals:

In addition to simply meeting people with whom I can form a lasting connections, I am seeking to build a network of friends who will form a supportive community of thinking, positive-action honest folk striving to better the world, with whom I can join in those efforts, encourage, and turn to for encouragement, as well as have earnest, safe, fun with.

İmportant Philosophies: Egalitarian Judaism

---- from THE JEWISH COALITION "RESPONDING TO HIV/AIDS IN AFRICA"

Introduction:

The Jewish obligation to respond to the AIDS crisis derives from the Jewish values which require that we not stand idly by when others are suffering, that we help heal the sick. Our obligation is also driven by pikuach nefesh, the mitzvah which requires us "to save life" and the mitzvah of bikkur cholim, visiting and tending to the needs of those who are suffering from illness. We are taught that every person is created betzelem elohim - in the image of God- and therefore deserves basic human rights and dignity. As we learn in the Talmud, "Each person, tall or short, deformed or normal, sinner or non-sinner, has a life whose value is infinite, equal to the value of the entire world." --

And for more recent news: http://www.africaaction.org/newsroom/release.php?op=read&documentid=1843&type=2&issues=11

10 key values, affordable housing, akdeniz, alternative currency, alternative economics, alternative education, altruists, amazons, ancient athens, ancient history, andalucía, aprender, arabic, art, athena, aviation, babylon 5, ballet, barter, bayesian networks, building community, bulerias, cantorial studies, catalan, coalition of essential schools, community currency, comunidades intencionales, cooking, costa rica, cross country skiing, cross stitch, dance as meditation, darkover, demarchy, derechos humanos, economic justice, educational entertainment, egalitarian judaism, egalitarianism, ege, excellence, eşitlik, fair trade, feminism, fencing, flamenco, folk dance, folk music, frida kahlo, friendship, gandhi, gay rights, global civil society, greek, green party, havurat shalom egalitarian siddur, hebrew, herland, historical fiction, history, hittites, horseback riding, human rights, ice skating, idiomas, igualdad, intentional community, international politics, izmir, judaism, justicia, kahlil gibran, ladino, learning about other cultures, learning exchanges, lets, libertad, marathon, meditation, mediterranean, meeting new people, mevlana, modern dance, moneda social, movement, museos, museums, myers-briggs, mysticism, natural resources policy, negative population growth, nigunim, noam chomsky, nonviolence, open borders, pablo neruda, pacifism, peace, personal growth, poesía, poetry, positive peace, preventive health care, psychology, rabbinical studies, reconstructionist judaism, recycling, renewable energy, research, rock climbing, rome, same-sex marriage, sephardic culture, servas, sevillanas, seville, shabbat, sharing skills, sign language, singing, single payer system, social credit, social justice, solar energy, sortition, soulmates, spanish, spirituality, sufism, sustainability, sustainable living, tango, teaching math, tikun olam, time bank, time dollars, torah, traveling, tsalagi, türkçe, universal health care, voluntary simplicity, waldorf schools, weaving, wind energy, women's rights, women's self defense, world hunger, world social forum,

00awbcfreeradio, 100poems, _a_muse, a_better_world, americandissent, ancientamericas, antiadvertising, antizionistjews, artist_jews, ashamedamerican, asimov_fanfic, asimovians, babylon5, bath_uk, blindi, caringconsumer, cherokee_people, chilenos, chomsky_ru, colombia_, ecofeminism, ecovillage, egal_jews, ethics_vs_law, full_bellies, global_justice, global_nomads, green_rainbow, greenparty, guerillanews, hispano, hospitalityclub, indi_issues, jato, jewish_poets, jewishvegan, jewishwomen, karaites, leftunity, lostvoices, med_embroidery, mzb, nativeamerica, nativeamerican, nativeamericans, noamchomsky_, noncapitalists, nujls, octaviabutler, peaceniks, peacetrain, poesia, promo_espanol, tai_chi, talesofglenien, theatreatfirst, toma_sik, tremontstshul, trustmetrics, turkish_lang, venezuela, weirdjews, womenofstrength, worldhunger, wwoof שלום

Toward Peace For All, Paz para todos,

Dancing Catalystic Dreamer

For questions, constructive comments, etc, catalan_athens@yahoo.com

my old comm. page fr. geocities

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:21:02 GMT

What is the Dancing Sfardic Dreamer's idea of Community?

An excellent question -one that evolves over time, from

who is in my community,
to what is community, vs. family,
to how does one build community?

"Common committment to the idea of community": open communication, positive action, and being proactive and consensus-oriented. That is the type of community I hope to help build.

I see that my experience of Judaism shapes my ideas of the world, and of community. I find myself thinking that, despite my own personal feelings about a given person, the fact that that person is a member of my community entitles that person to something from me: my acceptance, my patience, my invitation to a community event; some acknowlegement that we are in the same boat, and that like him or not, as long as he accepts my personal boundaries, I cannot exclude him simply on the basis of arbitrary personal dislike or taste.

Is this, perhaps, part of what the Rabbis were getting at when they said that all of Israel was responsible for one another? In one way, maybe...

What is the relationship between community and family?
I suppose that I see them as nearly the same, in alot of ways. Coming from the kind of family of origin environment in which there was no sense of rootedness, support, unconditional caring, or belonging, I find myself, as an adult, constantly trying to create relationships to substitute for the caring of a family, the place to go during the family holidays, and the support network that allows for arguments, while still knowing that you will be there for each other. The kind of testing that is done as a teenager, which must be done within safe boundaries of care and respect, has had to play out, for me, within the boundaries of close friendships. Those that withstood those tests, unintentional as they were, have become to me, what family apparently seems to be for many other people. That one place you can go, say something off the wall, and know that it won't be held against you -for too long, anyway. :-)
Family, and perhaps a strong community, then, may provide a sense of emotional security that each person needs in order to go out into the world and be or do what she wants to do, wrapped in the knowledge that, failure or success, she will be accepted by a core of loving supporters, and nurtured.

Does community have a responsibility to care for all of it's members?
Well, Judaism seems to think so: bikur cholim is visiting the sick, which is caring for each other physically, while the custom that was practiced when I lived in Baltimore, of families asking singles if they had places to go for both sedarim (First and second night of Passover is the traditional time for families to eat the Pesach Seder together). This seems to be a form of caring for members of the community emotionally, also. Is this an obligation? I don't know how to justify it rationally, but I really think it is and important obligation. One of the things that a famous psychologist came up with a while ago was that suicides tend to isolate themselves. It is difficult for an isolated and depressed person to ask for help, increasing the isolation. One of the jobs of community (specifically who in the community is anyone's guess, I suppose) is to reach out to the isolated members of that community and prevent the isolation from going to its ultimate possible conclusion. To turn a person from a drain on the community into an asset for the community, is that an objective, or simply to include the person in the community? I would once have answered that from the asset point of view, but now I will say that simply to include a member is enough. Let each individual decide what is right for her life.

Interesting question: does home schooling exclude children from the community (assuming that a Jewish day-school exists in the local area)?

Toward Peace For All, Paz para todos,

Dancing Sfardic Dreamer

For questions, constructive comments, etc, please email catalan_athens@yahoo.com

Black-Jewish Call and Response Songs, Personal Questions, and Refusal

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:39:49 GMT

I am always surprised when I give one of my Community Cooperation Tours and none of the Jewish folks can think of a call and response (like, oh, The Barchu!), or when no one at all knows of a Negro Spiritual call and response (like, oh Well I woke up this morning with my mind set on freedom), so

this tells me that my work is needed.

I was surprised to be asked how I personally came to be creating these tours, and why. I suppose I always think of myself as simply the messenger for an obvious message that everyone seems to have forgotten.

As I reflect upon my lunch, while chopping the CSA scallions and wondering if there is an ethical way to buy fast food, I realize that this ensures that I am not buying cheap food built on slave labor. I make up my mind, that to eat food delivered cheaply to me through someone else´s suffering, I refuse.

lunch burning!

My tweets

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:31:14 GMT

Thu, 17:18: ShiraDestinie�s Mission: Can it Be Done? http://t.co/V6KCCHaZii
Thu, 17:18: posted a new entry to 'shirad' at LiveJournal. http://t.co/2SB2uKs6X3
Fri, 11:35: Preparing for Black-Jewish Community Cooperation tour, leyning Emor shlishi (chanting 3rd section of this week´s Torah reading), and writin…

ShiraDestinie´s Mission: Can it Be Done?

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:18:12 GMT

Shira´s Mission,

To build a community of friends comitted to making a lasting difference in the world.