#Mike Gentile

[clubnate]

Decaydance Records & WhatABabe.com

[crunkboy]

[X]

[musicmags]

[graphicpolicy]

Captain America: The Winter Soldier comes to the Marvel Premier Collection and it's still so good #comics #comicbooks #captainamerica

[ichooseyoupikajew]

I saw these tags made @fdelopera on this post and I can't help but think about how the same applies to media. Especially when activism has become so 'fandomized' online.

There's a certain aggression that some develop when Jewish actors, like Tara Strong and Mike Pollack, speak up in defense of Israelis and the response by the fandom is to...draw cartoon characters like Twilight Sparkle and Dr. Eggman saying "Free Palestine" and waving Palestinian flags.

Gentiles resent Jews existing in media, unless they can control them. Fictional characters will never disappoint them; fictional characters can reflect whatever the viewer wants. They can be the eternal "good Jew" - or, even better, not Jewish at all - while the actors who helped bring these characters to life are demonized. Representation in media didn't help gentiles develop empathy for Jews. Representation made gentiles feel like they can control us and shape us in the way that they feel most comfortable.

[stupidjewishwhiteboy]

The thing about the whole “antizionism isn’t antisemitism, we hate Zionists, not Jews” thing is 1) 99% the person or organization that is being called “Zionist” is a Jew or a Jewish organization. Antizionists will often have bad things to say about John Hagee or Mike Huckabee, for instance, but calling them “Zionists” is fairly rare, and 2) the Antizionists are the ones who get to determine which Jews are “Zionists” and which aren’t. I’ve seen Jews who are opposed to the current Israeli government, to Israel as a Jewish state, to Zionism as an ideology, to Jews as any sort of collective identity except as a religion being called “Zionists” by gentile (and even sometimes Jewish) antizionists to discredit them. It doesn’t mean anything to say that you love “Jews” and hate “Zionists” if you get to move them from one category to the other based on what YOU feel.

On a related note, this is also what undercuts the argument that organizations like Hamas or the PFLP aren’t antisemitic because they have at one time or another said they’re OK with Jews existing in a Free Palestine. putting aside that Hamas at least has also said the exact reverse (and also that they want to expel most Jews but enslave the ones with technical skills), these organizations have asserted the right to kill as many Israelis as it takes to achieve their goals, therefore it doesn’t matter that they are *theoretically* ok with Jews.

[girlactionfigure]

 THURSDAY HERO: Rabbi Abraham Joshua Twerski

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Twerski was a Hasidic rabbi and psychiatrist who authored dozens of books, helped tens of thousands recover from addiction, and was a blessing to everyone he met.

Born in Milwaukee in 1930, Rabbi Twerski was the scion of two illustrious Hasidic dynasties: Bobov and Chernobyl. His father Rabbi Jacob Israel Twerski was a Russian immigrant and leading rabbi who was beloved by the Milwaukee Jewish community. Abraham was one of five brothers and the first to be born in America. He was raised in a traditional Orthodox home but attended public school.

After being ordained as a young man, Abraham served as his father’s assistant rabbi, and was in awe of his father’s ability to connect with people and counsel them. He later said, “I didn’t see my life as a performer of rituals, and I felt that if what psychiatry is doing is what my father used to be doing, well, then that’s where I’ll go. So I went to medical school to become a psychiatrist to do what I wanted to do as a rabbi.” He graduated from the medical school of Marquette University  in 1960 and served as clinical director of the psychiatry department at St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh for many years.

In 1972, Rabbi Twerski founded Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Pittsburgh, a program so successful that there are now 22 Gateway centers in Pennsylvania and Ohio, serving both Jewish and non-Jewish patients. The current CEO of Gateway, James Troup, said “Dr. Twerski is our founder, inspiration leader and the person we think of every day as we execute our mission and vision.”

His granddaughter Chaya Ruchie Twerski remembered growing up with her beloved zaydie. “My grandfather used to pray on Saturday mornings in Chabad and when we would walk home from synagogue, every single Shabbos was the same thing. Cars would honk, people would roll down their windows and shout, ’Sending our love,’ or ‘Five years clean, Dr. T!’”

At that time it was rare for an Orthodox rabbi to be an expert in secular subjects such as medicine. It was also a common belief in the Jewish community that alcoholism and addiction were gentile problems. Rabbi Twerski challenged both assumptions by becoming a prominent psychiatrist who wrote over 80 books and helped thousands of Jews and non-Jews recover from substance abuse – all while maintaining his identity as a pious and visible Hasidic Jew. He tackled subjects nobody else in the Jewish world was addressing, such as domestic abuse and drug addiction.

Those who knew Rabbi Twerski remembered that his favorite word was “gem” because he believed that every human being is a precious gem. Rabbi Moishe Mayir Vogel, executive director of the Aleph Institute in Pittsburgh, said of his beloved rabbi, “He would never throw anyone away. He would say, ‘We just have to polish them off and wipe away the dust.’”

Rabbi Twerski was the first Jewish leader to embrace the 12-step program created by Alcoholics Anonymous, despite the program’s association with Christian teachings. A renowned expert in spiritual and secular subjects, Rabbi Twerski wrote dozens of best-selling books, all with the same theme – self-esteem. A fan of the Peanuts cartoon, Rabbi Twerski co-wrote two books with Peanuts creator Charles Schultz. Noted psychologist Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb said of his mentor, “He was a great believer that there was no contradiction. A person could be a person of great faith and a rigorous scientist.”

In his long life, Rabbi Twerski made use of every moment. Besides treating patients, authoring books, and traveling the world to lecture and advise, Rabbi Twersky founded multiple organizations including Nefesh, an organization for mental health workers, the Kollel Learning Center, and Transitions, for boys from Orthodox homes battling substance addiction. Pittsburgh resident Mike Pasternak, co-founder of Transitions, described Rabbi Twerski as “an amazing person who cared about everyone. Every day I spent with him was an experience seeing someone be the ultimate mensch, caring for everybody.”

Besides his work as psychiatrist and spiritual leader, he was a gifted singer and composer. Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld of the Lubavitch Center of Pittsburgh said that Rabbi Twerski “had a beautiful voice and was a great composer of songs… He was an unusual kind of person. A person that was down to earth, but at the same time very spiritual. He had a foot in and was able to reach out and be effective in the entire world.”

Rabbi Twerski died in Israel on January 31, 2021 at age 90 and was survived by his wife Dr. Gail Bessler-Twerski, four children, and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. His first wife Golda died in 1995. Rabbi Twerski’s will specified that there should be no eulogies at his funeral, instead mourners should sing a melody he composed for the words of Psalms 28:9, “Deliver and bless Your very own people; tend them and sustain them forever.”

For saving lives and blessing the entire world with his saintly presence, we honor Rabbi Abraham Joshua Twerski as this week’s Thursday Hero. May his memory be a blessing.

[fatalquiete]

Nel 1991, mentre camminava per una strada di New York, Mike Tyson notò un anziano senzatetto seduto sul marciapiede, tremante per il freddo. Senza esitazione, infilò la mano in tasca e gli diede dei soldi. Gli occhi dell’uomo si riempirono di lacrime di gratitudine.

Ma proprio mentre Tyson si girava per andarsene, due uomini, che lo stavano osservando da vicino, si avvicinarono di corsa e cercarono di strappare i soldi dalle mani del senzatetto.

Tyson si voltò e, in un batter d’occhio… BOOM! BOOM!

Due pugni devastanti, tipici del suo stile, e i due aspiranti ladri si diedero alla fuga, senza aspettare di scoprire se ne sarebbe arrivato un terzo.

Tyson si chinò, raccolse i soldi e li restituì all’anziano. Con voce ferma ma gentile, gli disse:

«Oggi nessuno ti porterà via ciò che è tuo.»

Quei due uomini che si diedero alla fuga,

erano Mario Draghi e Ursula Von Der Leyen

[seaoflove07]

~ Summer Breeze ~

•A Commission Artwork done by The Drawables. Etsy Shop•

🔪Azusa & Rose🌹

For life and love and summer breeze

For memories that fly with ease

For days with you that bring to mind

The greatest joy that I may find

For music that reflects the sun

For you and I to be as one

For roses that perfume the air

as fingers ruffle through your hair

For thoughts of peace that fill my heart

For knowing we will never part

For saying I will always stay

Until my breath should wing away

- Poem by Mike Gentile.

[hero-israel]

one fringe and somewhat-less-important-than-the-wholeass-war-israel-is-currently-in thing im worried about is that. the political climate surrounding israel both on and offline- where, after an inhumanely evil slaughter of over a thousand israeli civilians in a single day by an outspokenly antisemitic arab terror group, the survivors are being viciously mocked and jeered by the left and witnessing their country being dragged to the hague on false charges of genocide by *south fucking africa*- might result in a sharp veer towards the right-wing movement, at least among the younger generations. i know Netanyahu had an incredibly shaky and slim supporter base even when he was elected and the closest thing I've seen to spoken support to him has been people saying he, and his party, should all just resign (as opposed to being shot dead, for example) but, even then, this kind of shaky, fearful, uncertain time has historically been the kind that has allowed shitty far-right heads of state to rise to power like trump, Bolsonaro, several military dictatorships, and even facists like mussolini. (and also that one other guy... but i shan't compare anybody to him)

this is a relatively petty thing to focus on as a gentile on the other side of the world, but i am *not* a fan of the idea of a historically queer-friendly state like Israel (even if they overstate their own achievements in that area) going in that direction.

then again, I'm not there. am i just spewing shit or do you think something like that is going on?

Netanyahu and his allies would be wiped out in an election, nearly all Israelis hold them responsible. AND Israelis may very well end up voting for other right wingers. It would still be a major improvent. From a national functioning standpoint, there is a big difference between President Mike Pence and President Mike Lindell. We should only be so lucky as to have Israel be upgraded to a government run by Ayelet Sheked and Avigdor Liberman. As is, the polls say it would go to Gantz and Lapid, who are pretty moderate by Israeli standards.

[crunkboy]

[X]

[wolfiekb]

a clara era um demônio com vc tb ou era um anjo?

Todo mundo fala assim dela, mas ela nunca foi assim. Pelo menos não comigo. Acho que com a Daisy e com a Jamie ela também nunca foi assim. Eu pelo menos só lembro dela perturbando o irmão, o Remy e o Mike. Mas comigo ela sempre foi cuidadosa, gentil. Ela gostava de fazer cafuné no meu cabelo e gostava de ouvir as músicas que eu ouvia. Ela sempre limpava meus machucados quando eu caía de skate também e ela falava que eu tinha um sorriso bonito.

Enfim.

[aprilflowers2040]

Before I start, I should be transparent in my opinions here. While I personally identify as a zionist (in that I believe in the necessity of a Jewish state in our ancestral/indigenous homeland), I also believe in equality inside its borders and alongside a separate Palestinian one and that it shouldn’t be mandated for all Jewish people to live inside it. Just because antisemites have latched onto the antizionist cause, doesn’t mean everyone who’s antizionist is antisemitic or that Israel should be immune to criticism or being called out for what its government does. In turn, not every zionist (especially the gentile evangelical Christian variety) are friends to Jews. They have their own fucked up agendas.

Now that I have that out of the way, people like Mike Pollok absolutely disgust me. Here we have a fifty nine year old man who has a long history of toeing the line when it comes to his behavior, but now he’s chucked himself over that line and into a fucking volcano. Sending your fanbase to harass a literal child on social media because they challenged you on your views is absolutely foul and honestly he should be fired at the bare minimum and at most see prison time for his behavior. The absolute callousness of his repeated behavior has zero place in society and he should be ashamed of himself. Mike Pollock, get a damn life! As a fellow Jewish person in faith, ethnicity and culture, you bring shame upon me and the rest of us. Do better!

Still, he isn’t just the one at fault here. He’s been emboldened and enabled in his behavior by a fanbase that kept kowtowing to a man with an ego equal to the character he portrayed. Just because someone tells you to harass someone on socials doesn’t mean you should! I may not be in deep with the Sonic fandom but given what I’ve heard from my friends who are involved, this behavior is far too common. Stop it Sonic fans! Do better!

[danzameccanica]

Oggi è un luglio del 2021 e credo che sia la prima volta che riascolto Vespertine dopo almeno quindici anni. Questo è l’album che quando ero al liceo mi ha aperto all’elettronica, alla musica intima, a tutto quello che non era metal. È grazie a Vespertine che poi ho inziato a comprare la rivista Ritual e a scoprire il gothic rock; questo album è stata la chiave di volta che ha poi sorretto tutto il muro della mia crescita sopra le colonne del metal estremo. Senza Björk non ci sarebbero stati i Massive Attack, i Radiohead, gli Oasis, i Verve, i Sigur Rós e tutto il resto… Vespertine, per uno che ha amato tantissimo Björk, forse è l’ultimo album accessibile, orecchiabile, facile nell'assimilazione. Ricordo con dispiacere l’uscita di Medulla: ricordo tantissimo il potenziale di quell’album e il concept ma che, sfortunatamente, non era riuscito a fare colpo. La Björk di quegli anni non era più “solo” e “semplicemente” una musicista ma un’artista a 360 gradi. La tragica esperienza di Dancer in the Dark è stata solo un caso isolato; in questi anni Björk si muoveva nel mondo dell’arte contemporanea, delle performance, della body e video-art (anche coadiuvata dal compagno dell’epoca Matthew Barney). Posso certamente dire che da questo momento in poi l’aspetto visuale di Björk è aumentato in maniera esponenziale ma anche inversamente proporzionale all’impatto musicale.

Vespertine è l’ultimo album “pop”; l’ultimo disco dove puoi fischiettare le canzoni una per una. "Hidden Place" è un intro struggente e drammatico, intimo e fragile che segna quasi il passaggio dall’inverno allo sbocciare della primavera; gli archi durante il ritornello sono arcobaleni che si aprono sopra i grigi ghiacci islandesi. "Cocoon" è una ballad su un registro di toni altissimi ma delicati: come se Björk cantasse una ninnananna alla rugiada sulle ragnatele, ultimi testimoni di una notte fatata che scoppietteranno a breve fra il noise-glitch gentile di questa meravigliosa composizione. Anche "It’s not up to you" è una graziosa interrogazione ai baccelli della foresta, musicata da una specie di post-drum’n’bass col contrabbasso jazz. "Undo" e "Pagan Poetry" (uno dei picchi più alti del disco) rivelano tutta la fragilità di questo bozzolo nel quale Björk si è rinchiusa cantando della sua terra. Ci sono i ricordi drammatici di "Bachelorette" e c’è questo strano sentore di catastrofe o – ad ogni modo - dell’irreversibilità della situazione. "Frosti" è una strumentale di carillon che evoca una magia notturna che prosegue naturalmente in "Aurora" e torna ad essere drammatica in mezzo agli scratch e breakbeat di "An Echo a Stain". "Sun in My Mouth" riprende il carillon ma ricorda qualcosa di Debut. Dietro al mixer e alla produzione di questo album siede Mike ‘Spike’ Stent che aveva già collaborato in Homogenic ma anche in Bedtime Stories e Music di Madonna; poi i Matmos che si porterà sul palco in almeno un paio di tour mondiali. Riascoltandolo oggi, mi rendo conto che forse le ultime 4-5 canzoni non sono così memorabili ma contengono le stesse sonorità delle precedenti mantenendo un perfetto filo-conduttore fino alla finale "Unison", un’allegra ballata che ricorda tanto i connazionali Sigur Rós. Ma la potenza, l'unicità e l'efficacia di Vespertine (ma in generale di tutti i primi album di Björk fino ad ora) è il suo utilizzo della voce come se fosse lo strumento principale; e, infine ma non per ultima cosa, utilizzare la sua voce per creare melodie principali. L’effimera natura di questo album, il suo essere freddo ma nella sua ultima fase, quella prossima al disgelo, lo rende davvero unico e speciale; Vespertine è un disco che sicuramente chiude una fase di crescita di Björk e ne apre un’altra verso la sperimentazione; purtroppo, per quello che mi riguarda, è davvero l’ultimo album magico, capace di raccontare qualcosa che a sua volta riuscirà a piantare un seme dentro l’animo.

[abatelunare]

Sono stato taggato...

La gentile @tendreestlanuit mi ha coinvolto in questo giochino basato sul tag. Non so se ho ben capito quel che devo fare, ma io ci provo. Giudicherete voi. Allora: indico di seguito cinque personaggi che ho apprezzato particolarmente in una fiction. Altri dovranno votarli per stabilire il migliore.

Ecco fatto. Spero vada bene. Non taggo nessuno: chi è interessato aderisca pure. Buona giornata.