Ramblin' Rosen

According to an article in the Guardian, the Kabbalah Center (a.k.a. “Madonna Kabbalah") is starting a Spirituality for Kids programme to recruit British school children. The article duly notes Jewish leaders criticisms of this organisation, quoting London rabbi Yitzchak Schochet as saying:

The fact that they are now peddling their gibberish to children only compounds the tragedy of how the good name of Judaism is being brought into ill repute.

I agree with Rabbi Schochet—this is not Kabbalah or Judaism that is being promoted here but a money-making cult that smears the name of Judaism, Kabbalah and mysticism in general.

Unfortunately, the article does not make clear the distinction between real, serious study of Kabbalah (Jewish or otherwise) and the Kabbalah Centre. Although I am not a Kabbalist myself, it is disappointing to see the Kabbalah Centre’s appropriation of an ancient mystical tradition become the first thing most people think of as associated with that tradition. Since real Kabbalah is complex and takes a lot of work and study, I can’t see this situation changing in the near future.

There’s a reason why traditionally Jewish men had to be at least 20 years old (or 40 according to some accounts) and married before they could study Kabbalah—it takes maturity, discipline and stability to study any mystical tradition. I’m all for opening up mystical traditions more than they were in the past—as a woman, I’d be hypocritical not to be, as otherwise I’d be exluding myself from so many potential areas of study. However, this relative openess should not be a license for superficiality and lack of study or practice. Most people do not want to do the work, so they will continue to associate themselves with New Age charlatans more interested in money than true spirituality.

One British phenomenon I found strange when I moved here is the tendency for non-chain fried chicken fast food restaurants to have vaguely Southern names in order to try to sound like KFC. For those who haven’t seen these restaurants before, the Fried Chicken Gallery at Bad Gas has pictures of many of them.

Some of my favourites: New Taxas Fried Chicken, Dixy (sic) Chicken, Kennsy Fried Chicken, FCKF and Chickin Lickin’ with an honourable mention given to Chalet for their very surreal sign including not only a chicken picture but also a very odd mushroom house.

[Link via Snackspot]

No, the title of the post isn’t an episode name from the new series of Doctor Who. Instead, it’s the name of a very clever iPod/Dalek wallpaper on iPodlounge. If you’re a fan of iPods, Daleks or both, be sure to check it out.

[Link from Doctor Who - Thrilling Adventures in Time and Space]

Two of the main symbols people associate with the Olympics, the torch relay and the five rings, are not ancient Greek, as is commonly assumed but were either created by or popularised by the Nazis according to this article on Newindpress.com. The torch relay was originally planned for the 1916 Berlin Games that were cancelled because of World War I, and Hitler was very keen for them to be used in the 1936 games as a testament to Aryan superiority:

Hitler, who admired the powerful imagery of Greek gods such as Zeus, wanted his Games to promote his belief in Aryan supremacy. The torch relay, memorialised in Leni Riefenstahl’s film Olympia, was part of the Nazi leader’s elaborate attempt to add myth, mystique and glamour to an Olympics intended to intimidate pre-world War II Europe. In Hitler’s eyes, the torch symbolised the perfection and victory of the German nation.

Of course, the black American runner and long-jumper Jesse Owens ruined Hitler’s plans to show off Aryan supremacy by winning four gold medals. And the torch relay is now an international event that promotes values like international brotherhood that the Nazis would have abhorred.

The five rings were also popularised during the 1936 Berlin Games, although they were originally used during the 1920 Games in Antwerp to symbolise the first five Olympics:

Riefenstahl, the Olympia filmmaker who also chronicled Hitler’s rise to power, had the rings carved into a stone altar at the ancient Greek city of Delphi, spawning the myth that they were a symbol dating back more than two millennia.

With Hitler’s influence, the rings became part of the Nazi pageantry at Berlin - and they’ve come to symbolise the Olympics ever since.

[Link courtesy of Explorator]

Roommate From Hell by Jim Munroe is a novel being published in the form of a blog. The premise is that Katie’s new roommate Lilith may or may not be a demoness, and on the blog is a poll to see if readers think she is or not. Jim is planning to write a spin-off based on the results of the poll.

The blog will consist of 88 entries, one post each day. For those who have to find out how it ends sooner, it has already been published in dead-tree form as An Opening Act of Unspeakable Evil. Unlike the blog version, the book version will not feature any of the photographs.

I’m definitely planning to follow this, both because the idea of a novel in blog form is intriguing but also to see how Jim handles my favourite demoness Lilith (or not, if she really isn’t a demoness). So far what’s been posted is intriguing and is definitely making me want to read more.

[Link courtesy of BoingBoing]

Recently both Wired News and BBC News have published articles on the two latest cloned kittens, Tabouli and Baba Ganoush. Unlike the first cloned cat CopyCat, a.k.a. Cc, these cats look remarkably similar to their genetic donor Tahini and even have almost the same coat pattern. This improvement in copying the original is mainly due to a new method called chromatin transfer that is supposedly more efficient and safer than earlier methods.

The company that performed this cloning, Genetic Savings and Clone, are now offering their cat cloning services to the public. For only $50,000, you too can clone your cat, but you’ll have to hurry as only one space is left for 2004.

Seriously though, even withstanding the fact that no one knows yet if this new cloning proceses is safe in the long term—animals cloned by the earlier method often had problems in later life—it’s hard to understand why anyone would actually want to clone his or her pet. A pet’s clone will never be the same as the original pet, despite being genetically identical, as the clone will have been raised in a different environment from the original.

Also, I have to wonder how emotionally satisfying having a clone would be, especially if the clone was a “replacement” for a beloved pet who has passed away. Whether the owner meant to do so or not, he or she would constantly be comparing Fido-Two to Fido-One, and any differences between the two could be seen as shortcomings of Fido-Two as opposed to just personality quirks of a different pet.

Part of the appeal of having pets that have personalities, such as cats or dogs, is the fact that all animals differ from each other and each pet is unique. None of my pets could ever truly replace another, and I wouldn’t want them to. I’ve enjoyed meeting and getting to know various animals, both furred and feathered, and my life has been enriched by all of them.

On the somewhat related subject of baby animals, congratulations are due for Miško & Ciuffo, the two resident cockatiels of sashaDesign, whose babies are beginning to hatch out. Unlike the two kittens in the picture above, these babies were definitely conceived the old fashioned way.

Cat-lovers in London between 21 August and 11 September 2004 should be sure not to miss Louis Wain & the Summer Cat Show, an annual exhibition of original Louis Wain paintings, along with works by other well-known cat artists such as Lesley Fortherby, Lesley Anne Ivory and Dede Moser. The exhibition is held at Chris Beetles Ltd, a well-known London art gallery. For those with deep enough pockets, many of the works on display will also be for sale, and for those with less money, there are usually books and other more affordable items relating to Wain and the other artists.

According to the brochure I received in the post this morning, all of Wain’s works and selected works by other artists should be available on the Chris Beetles website (linked above), but they do not seem to have been published there yet. Images from last year’s exhibition and other exhibitions at the gallery are on the site, however, and are worth taking a look at while waiting for the current ones to be posted.

I have yet to miss a Summer Cat Show since I moved to London, and I plan on not breaking that tradition this year. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves Wain or just loves cats in general.

The Details:

• Grand Opening: Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 2004, 10:00 am - 5:30 pm
• Normal opening hours: Monday - Saturday 10:00 am - 5:30 pm
• Last date: 11 September 2004
• Location:
  Chris Beetles Ltd
  8 & 10 Ryder Street
  London
  SW1Y 6QB

  Tel: 020 7839 7551
  Fax: 020 7839 1603
  gallery@chrisbeetles.com
  www.chrisbeetles.com