National Museum of the American Indian

Today, I went to the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC with a friend. We saw two exhibits in the museum one called "Our Universes" and the other one called "Our Lives." We began our visit by seeing an introductory movie about Native Americans and then we went on to seeing the two exhibits. "Our Universes" explained a little bit about each Native American tribe in the Americas. It was really interesting to see that all the tribes are different in their own way whether it is the way they dress, hunt or their philosophy. "Our Lives" talked all about contemporary Native Americans and the issues and problems they face in the modern world.

I especially found the exhibit "Our Lives" interesting. I did not realize how poor a lot of these Native American tribes are. To me, it is really sad that the Native American tribes have to fight the government to keep their lands and have lost a lot of their ancient traditions because they are unable to adapt them to the modern world. However, despite the modern day struggles Native American tribes live in reservations all across the Americas and find ways to keep their beliefs strong. I think the Native American culture is really fascinating with their strong connection to nature and I hope they continue to cling to their strong beliefs. I think living in America is all about the freedom and opportunity to practice your beliefs in your own way and I believe the Native Americans like any other culture deserves that same freedom.

Sex and the City: The Original

I just started reading the book Sex and the City, which is what the T.V. show "Sex and the City" is based on. It is a great book that talks all about relationships in New York City. The author, Candace Bushnell, bases the book on her personal life as well as her friends' stories on relationships. It is really interesting to read all about the glamorous singles scene in New York City. Candace Bushnell and her friends are single and in their thirties and talk about how important it is to be happy and independent. They talk about how one should depend on a guy for their happiness. I think this is a really important message because many women when they hit their twenties feel they need to have the perfect relationship, amazing job and great salary. However, that is not always possible and sometimes you have to roll with whatever life throws at you and if you remain confident and true to yourself nothing will get you down.

Interesting Topic: Modelizers: The author defined this term as those men who only date models. She described them as men who are rich, very attractive and have high standards of beauty when it comes to women. These men are not looking for long term relationships. They are looking to date as many beautiful, young models as they can to make to boost their self esteem.

Friday Night Dinner at Home

Last night, I went to my community where I grew up and had Shabbat dinner with my family at a friend's house in the neighborhood. It was really nice to be back home for Shabbat dinner and to share a meal with family and close friends. We had a dairy meal for dinner which is a nice change of pace from the usual meat meals that i grew up with.

We talked about a lot of interesting things such as politics and our own lives. During the meal, I learned some interesting things about the Shabbat meal that i did not know beforehand. One thing I learned is that the Shabbat meals are supposed to be reminiscent of the sarifical offerings that occured in the Temple Before Common Era (BCE). Also, one of the reasons we put salt on bread at the Shabbat meal is because in ancient times the most common food was salt and bread. We are being reminded of that as well as the sacrifical offerings in the temple when we sprinkle the salt on the Challah (bread) during the Shabbat meals.

Fun Fact: It was a custom when a person moves into a new house for people to bring them bread and salt. Bread and salt symbolize a fresh start and new beginnings.

South Park Episode On The DaVinci Code

Last night, I was flipping channels on television and I saw that South Park was on. I don't normally watch South Park but there was nothing on T.V. and i decided to watch it. It was actually a really good episode based on The DaVinci Code. I thought it was really funny to watch these little kids running around acting out the book. Instead of having the holy grail as the basis of the story they used a rabbit. South Park pretended that one of the boy's fathers was part of a rabbit cult and the boys pet rabbit was supposed to inheret the papacy instead of the current pope. The pope found out about this cult and kidnapped everyone in the cult including the boy's father to prevent a rabbit from steeling his job. It was then up to the boy and his friend to reinstate the true heir to the papacy: the rabbit. I only watched a little of the episode but i thought it was great to see a different spin on The DaVinci Code.

A New Book by Nicholas Sparks

I just started a new book called Dear John by Nicholas Sparks. I started it yesterday and I am already halfway through. The book is amazing. It is about a man named John Tyree who lives with his father in a small town in North Carolina and it is all about his life journey and how he meets this beautiful woman who helps him through it. While I have not finished the book I would highly recommend it to anyone who would like to relax and imagine themselves in a different place. Nicholas Sparks causes his readers to journey to a different place and identify with his characters. The book starts in the year 2000 and ends in 2006. Even if you cannot relate to the main characters you can still identify with their struggles. I really felt John's struggle to find something to do with his life that would make his life meaningful is something everyone, myself included, can relate to. I felt myself turning the pages wanting to know what happens next.

I highly recommend reading Dear John or any other one of Nicholas Sparks' books. His other books include The Notebook, The Wedding, Message in a bottle, A Walk to Remember, A Night in Rodanthe and many others. While each book has a different storyline, all his books take place in small towns in North Carolina and they are generally about familial and couple relationships.

Interesting Fact: Nicholas Sparks lives in North Carolina with his wife and kids and many of his books have been made into excellent movies on the big screen.

Fun Friday

Today is the end of the first week of my new blog and i am really glad that i made this blog. I made a really nice Friday night (Shabbat) dinner of chicken, mashed potatoes and vegatables. I made up the recipe for the chicken which turned out to be really good. I made a mixture of mustard, margarine, some spices, matzo meal, and a little soy sauce and put it on top of the chicken. I have never made chicken on my own and i feel really accomplished that it turned out well. I am hoping to start a tradition of making a homemade meal every Friday night as opposed to just having pasta and vegi burgers for dinner. It is something different and i think its nice to have a meal on Friday night. It allows you to rethink how the week went which is I really enjoy. I also think it is a great way to start off the weekend with a beautiful Shabbat dinner.

I really like starting off the weekend with a nice Shabbat dinner because it gives the opportunity for family and friends to come together and discuss their lives over a fun, good meal. Starting off with the traditional blessing over the wine and bread is a nice traditional way to start off the meal. It reminds me that i am Jewish because the blessing over the wine comes from the Jewish bible (Torah). I believe some traditions like the Shabbat dinner are a nice way to remind myself of my religion and how important it is in my life.

Fun Fact: The bread is covered during Shabbat dinner and lunch at the beginning. I have been told the reasoning behind this is the blessing over the wine is said before the blessing over bread and we do not want to hurt the bread's feelings since we are eating it second at the meal.

New Cosmopolitan Magazine

I have been reading the new Cosmopolitan magazine cover to cover like usual and i found some very interesting tidbits that i thought i should share.

There was an article about five spa treatments that one could do at home. I think this is a great article because i always love going to the spa but spas are really expensive. The first thing the article mentions is different ways to get a good nights sleep. It says to do relaxation techniques during the day and not just at night. It also mentions giving yourself a foot massage right before you go to sleep so your body becomes more relaxed to fall asleep. Also, if you press the space between your thumb and forefinger it slows your heart rate down. I tried the last two tidbits and i realized that doing these calming techniques only help if you tell yourself to relax and stay calm throughout the day.

Fun Fact: Many companies are creating nap rooms for employees to solve the typical mid-afternoon exhaustion. Apparently, experts say a power nap can enhance a persons creativity and mood. Who Knew!

Interesting Fact: A weird behavior guys do not understand about girls is when they decide to go to pricey fat free yogurt places because they think it is healthier. Guys feel even if its frozen yogurt it is still desert and unhealthy. Guys feel girls should stop pretending frozen yogurt is healthy when it is just another dessert.

Most Recent Book Finished

I just finished reading The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown and like Angels and Demons which I read I could not put it down. Dan Brown wrote two unique novels. These two novels are unique because they have the element of mystery combined with religious symbolism as well. While reading these novels I often felt that I was reading a mystery that was based on complete truth. I sometimes forgot that these novels were fiction and that the organizations mentioned in the novels are not actually real. I also really like Dan Brown because he broaches topics in these books that are contraversial to people passionate about Christainity and he is not afraid to do so.

The DaVinci Code takes place in Paris, France and discusses a very important document in religious history. I do not want to go into specifics about the plot because that would spoil the book. Sufice it to say this novel goes through twists and turns about a very important topic in Christainity. If you are interested in mysteries that are unique and have a twist I highly recommend this book. It also has the aspects, interpersonal relationships and betrayal.

Angels and Demons while somewhat similar to The DaVinci Code is also quite different. This novel incorporates mystery and mixes with religion with science. Angels and Demons takes place in Italy mostly and discusses a brand new scientific invention that has profound religious implications. I highly recommend this book as well.

You do not have to read these books in any order but read both. I guarantee that you will not be able to put them down.

First Blog Post

For my first blog post let me start by giving you an idea of the types of books and magazines I generally read. I love reading mystery novels, fiction novels that incorporate religion as well as general fiction, and romance novels. Some of my favorite authors are Nicholas Sparks, Anita Shreve, Fern Michaels, Dan Brown, Faye Kellerman and Naomi Ragen.

I also subscribe to Cosmopolitan Magazine and I actually read it cover to cover because it gives good relationship and friendship advice. It also is fun to read because it gives good advice about makeup and fashion which is useful. I know some people think that Cosmopolitan is superficial but if you take the time to read the articles you will find really useful advice for women. Also, for the men out there-there are a couple of articles in Cosmopolitan that give good advice about how to treat your girlfriend and they can be very useful to read. It also give some good recommendations of the latest romance novels.

I really believe reading a book or magazine is a really good relaxation technique because it gets you away from your day to day life and into the life of the novel or magazine you chose to read. Books and magazines can also give you helpful advice for your own life.