Lev Raphael's Blog, page 44
March 23, 2015
Viral Quote's a Fake
When our youngest son was a song leader back in the 1990s for a Jewish youth group, our favorite song was this one:
We never found out who wrote it and nobody seems to know its origin. The song's been sung in Jewish summer camps and youth groups for many years, though, often in a round. Our son had an appealing voice and enga...
Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow
Don't walk behind me, I may not lead.
Just walk beside me and be my friend,
And together we will walk in the ways of HaShem
We never found out who wrote it and nobody seems to know its origin. The song's been sung in Jewish summer camps and youth groups for many years, though, often in a round. Our son had an appealing voice and enga...
Ridiculous Quote Alert!
When our youngest son was a song leader back in the 1980s for a Jewish youth group, our favorite song was this one:
We never found out who wrote it and nobody seems to know its origin. The song's been sung in Jewish summer camps and youth groups for many years, though, often in a round. Our son had an appealing voice and enga...
Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow
Don't walk behind me, I may not lead.
Just walk beside me and be my friend,
And together we will walk in the ways of HaShem
We never found out who wrote it and nobody seems to know its origin. The song's been sung in Jewish summer camps and youth groups for many years, though, often in a round. Our son had an appealing voice and enga...
'Downton Abbey' Can Be Dangerous!
Did you ever think being a fanboy could lose you your job?
That's what happened to former Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock. He wasn't known for his stand on major or even minor issues, but boy, was he known for how he stood: tall, tanned, and hunky.
Schock loved him some Downton Abbey! He was such a fan boy that he apparently had his Congressional office remodeled to look like a room from Downton:
The inspiration was Downton Abbey's famous Red Room though obviously the designer wa...
That's what happened to former Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock. He wasn't known for his stand on major or even minor issues, but boy, was he known for how he stood: tall, tanned, and hunky.
Schock loved him some Downton Abbey! He was such a fan boy that he apparently had his Congressional office remodeled to look like a room from Downton:
The inspiration was Downton Abbey's famous Red Room though obviously the designer wa...
Why I Love Looking
Last night's season two finale typified everything I love about this show: Its subtlety.
My spouse and I watch a lot of TV, and a lot of it is high-pitched in different ways in different genres: Game of Thrones, Scandal, The Walking Dead, How to Get Away With Murder, Episodes, Madame Secretary, The Americans -- among others.
But what I always look for, as an author, is memorable storytelling and writing, no matter how it's done, and the final scene knocked me out. Patrick's just had his br...
My spouse and I watch a lot of TV, and a lot of it is high-pitched in different ways in different genres: Game of Thrones, Scandal, The Walking Dead, How to Get Away With Murder, Episodes, Madame Secretary, The Americans -- among others.
But what I always look for, as an author, is memorable storytelling and writing, no matter how it's done, and the final scene knocked me out. Patrick's just had his br...
March 20, 2015
Lena Dunham's Scandal Fail
Lena Dunham may have a huge following on Girls but casting her on Scandal was a huge mistake.
Last night's episode was probably one of the worst ever. Dunham was meant to be a wildly kinky part-time dominatrix whose clientele was powerful Washingtonians, but she was the total opposite of the type. There was nothing imposing, firm, threatening or, well, dominating about her.
Instead, she came off as her usual quirky, angsty, ironic, navel-gazing self--that is when she wasn't doing a bad im...
Last night's episode was probably one of the worst ever. Dunham was meant to be a wildly kinky part-time dominatrix whose clientele was powerful Washingtonians, but she was the total opposite of the type. There was nothing imposing, firm, threatening or, well, dominating about her.
Instead, she came off as her usual quirky, angsty, ironic, navel-gazing self--that is when she wasn't doing a bad im...
March 19, 2015
Downton Abbey Can Be Dangerous!
Did you ever think being a fanboy could lose you your job?
That's what happened to former Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock. He wasn't known for his stand on major or even minor issues, but boy, was he known for how he stood: tall, tanned, and hunky.
Schock loved him some Downton Abbey! He was such a fan boy that he apparently had his Congressional office remodeled to look like a room from Downton:
The inspiration was Downton Abbey's famous Red Room though obviously the designer wa...
That's what happened to former Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock. He wasn't known for his stand on major or even minor issues, but boy, was he known for how he stood: tall, tanned, and hunky.
Schock loved him some Downton Abbey! He was such a fan boy that he apparently had his Congressional office remodeled to look like a room from Downton:
The inspiration was Downton Abbey's famous Red Room though obviously the designer wa...
March 17, 2015
Too Many Books, Too Little Time
I recently posted a trailer for The Dovekeepers on Facebook and a friend who knows I review asked what I thought about the book.
I was honest. I said I hadn't read it. Not only that, I had never even heard of it, even though I admire Alice Hoffman.
There are lots of possible reasons why I missed it. I could have been on a book tour out of the country when it was published. Or I wasn't reading book reviews at the time because I was immersed in writing one of my own books and had no intere...
I was honest. I said I hadn't read it. Not only that, I had never even heard of it, even though I admire Alice Hoffman.
There are lots of possible reasons why I missed it. I could have been on a book tour out of the country when it was published. Or I wasn't reading book reviews at the time because I was immersed in writing one of my own books and had no intere...
March 14, 2015
Hemingway's Stolen Quotation
"It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end."
Noble sentiment, right? Lately I've seen it flickering past on Twitter as something Hemingway said. Check and you'll find it on Pinterest and Goodreads as his quote, and anywhere else you can imagine. It's probably for sale at Hobby Lobby on knotty pine plaques, too.
Wherever you look on line, though, there's no specific attribution to a letter, diary, speech or book.
So it might be something...
Noble sentiment, right? Lately I've seen it flickering past on Twitter as something Hemingway said. Check and you'll find it on Pinterest and Goodreads as his quote, and anywhere else you can imagine. It's probably for sale at Hobby Lobby on knotty pine plaques, too.
Wherever you look on line, though, there's no specific attribution to a letter, diary, speech or book.
So it might be something...
March 13, 2015
Fifty Shades of Funny
Fifty Shades of Grey has become my feel-good book of the year. Whenever I'm tired or depressed, I just pick it up and flip through the pages, and I'm sure to find prose that will make me laugh. Here are some of my latest faves:
"No longer warm, the temperature of his voice has dropped several degrees."
"My subconscious has emigrated or been struck dumb or simply keeled over and expired."
"I struggle to keep up with him because my wits have been thoroughly and royally scattered all...
"No longer warm, the temperature of his voice has dropped several degrees."
"My subconscious has emigrated or been struck dumb or simply keeled over and expired."
"I struggle to keep up with him because my wits have been thoroughly and royally scattered all...
March 12, 2015
Writing Is My Bliss
There's a quote by Flannery O'Connor that often makes the rounds on Facebook:
I see her point that writing isn't an escape from reality: It's an attempt to make something out of reality. But "terrible experience"?
Being stuck in Lond...
"Writing a novel is a terrible experience, during which the hair often falls out and the teeth decay. I'm always irritated by people who imply that writing fiction is an escape from reality. It is a plunge into reality and it's very shocking to the system."
I see her point that writing isn't an escape from reality: It's an attempt to make something out of reality. But "terrible experience"?
Being stuck in Lond...
