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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
August 6, 2010
26 Menachem-Av, 5770
Down to the Sea in Discontent
By
Suzanne Fields
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
COROLLA, N.C. — A perch in the sand on a pristine beach invites a summer afternoon's reflections, and here where North Carolina's Outer Banks meet the Atlantic we're all sea-watchers, looking and listening for changes in the color and texture of the ocean, diving for shells, wondering how far from the distant Gulf of Mexico the tar balls will travel. The seas have always offered a mix of possibilities — opportunity and threat, exploration and discovery, recreation and exploitation. But this is the summer of our discontent. We're all humbled with respect for the sea and man's place in it and by it.
Life was once dangerous here, when pirates prowled the Outer Banks, seizing booty and having a high old time terrifying everyone. The Folger Shakespeare Library's current exhibition called "Lost At Sea: The Ocean in the English Imagination" couldn't be more timely, taking us fathoms deep into the experiences of mariners, scientists, inventors, explorers, poets and preachers. The exhibition begins with a 1709 illustration of Shakespeare's "The Tempest," showing the storm-tossed ship where Ariel and his fellow spirits shoot fire and lightning into the rigging. The wizard Prospero stands on the shore, attempting to impose both order and chaos, as apt as any metaphor for BP's now-tamed runaway oil well off the coast of Louisiana.
Steve Mentz, one of the two exhibition curators, studies ocean imagery and concludes that 21st century culture has frayed the human connection to the sea. "The end of the age of commercial sail and the advent of airline travel, airborne warfare, containerization, the automation of ports, and even the romance of outer space, have displaced the sea from the center of our cultural imagination," he writes in "At the Bottom of Shakespeare's Ocean." Even the southern tip of Manhattan, "where sailors and longshoreman once walked, bankers and lawyers now stride in isolation."
The terror, unfortunately, hasn't gone away, but merely changed delivery systems from sea to air. The misadventures of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, a general and half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, reverberates throughout the Folger exhibit. Sir Humphrey was eager for Elizabethan England's expansion into the New World but recognized the hazards, as well. As his ship Squirrel was swallowed by the sea, taking him and his entire crew with it, the captain of a neighboring ship claimed to have heard his last words: "We are as near to heaven by sea as by land."
The menace of the sea, as Shakespeare's contemporaries understood and as we are re-learning today, can be as much manmade as the work of nature. Virginia Lunsford, a professor of history at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, tells a rapt Folger audience how Blackbeard, the notorious buccaneer of the 18th century, like the Somali pirates of today conducted a reign of terror that relied on small and brutal crews armed with cutlass, sword and ferocious ambition. She flashes a huge photograph of Johnny Depp on a screen, observing that pirates were never as charming and swashbuckling as the dashing Depp makes them out to be as Captain Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean."
But Blackbeard was a genius at marketing. He put tiny fuses in his locks under his hat and exploded them, blowing smoke, attempting to terrify onlookers. The ruse worked. He snipped off the ears of captives and forced them to eat them. The horror stories grew in proportion to his success.
Coastal merchants, like the owners of the oil tankers now prey of pirates off the Somali coast, were quick to surrender booty and themselves, hoping to receive mercy not wrath. When Blackbeard was finally killed in a bloody battle near Ocracoke Inlet, only a few miles from my vacation beach, delighted children shiver to the scary tale of how a soldier wielding a sword beheaded him and Blackbeard swam around his ship without a head, to remind everyone of his continuing power.
Less fantastic, but more inspiring, is the story of "Robinson Crusoe" by Daniel Defoe. The Folger exhibit reminds us that the story was based on a man in real life who was marooned on an island. Defoe changed the narrative to be read as an allegory of how human ingenuity can triumph over hardship. Yet for all Western civilization's triumphs over the sea, the briny blue remains a fathomless mystery. Man, with his ships both big and small, can imagine himself omnipotent, or at least pretty grand, but the sea gets the last word. We remain in awe of its power, and sometimes feel more than a little "lost at sea."
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© 2006, Creators Syndicate, Suzanne Fields
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