Je ne sais quo

The Majestic Niagara Falls

After 40 years of immigration from virtually every country, Toronto has realized its promise as a vibrant picture postcard of world culture. In just three days, Toni and I--and our Nordic passport holding friends Jefta and Tate--learned exactly how true this was as we grilled South Korean liver, laughed with an African-Canadian Quebecois comedian, listened to American Jazz music, ordered Baklava in the Greek sector, walked through a hobby farm in the middle of the city, relished Guacamole in north T.O., and ordered French delicacies-- je'voudrais une crêpe anybody?--in trendy Yorkville . Also, we learned that the Canadian side of Niagara Falls are way, way cooler (literally) than the smallish US side. Still, I'd pick Philadelphia over cosmopolitan Toronto any day of the week. There's just something je ne sais quoi about good olde Philly--just as long as I repress my hatred of the local obsession with the cheesesteak sandwich.


Walking the trendy streets of TO


Delicious French Crepes for Lunch (chocolate in our teeth for proof)

Brothers in front of the infamous Rocky Statue

The day we returned from our time in MN we were excited to have Ben's brother John, his wife Stacie and their daughter Elise for a visit. They had been in DC for Christmas and decided to come up to Philly for a short visit.

The day they were here we showed them the historic sites, had some cheese steaks and took them to the famous Philadelphia Zoo.

Thanks for making the trip!

Home for the Holidays

When people think of holiday travel the usual images of chaos, delays, and lost luggage come to mind. But Ben and I enjoy traveling during the Advent season. It reminds us of Mary and Joseph and the little one. So swiftly we flew to Minnesota before celebrating the incarnation of the little one with family in the city of Minneapolis. Fresh snow, clear skies, and that Scandinavian niceness put a smile on our faces in the land of the so many lakes. Alas we've now traveled back to Egypt--i.e. Philadelphia--beautiful in its own way, but not Minneapolis--it's no Jerusalem. So as the Jewish saying goes, next year in Jerusalem. Peace of Christ to you all this new year.

p.s. Please forgive the picture overload in this post...I promise to keep it to a minimum next post. :)


Drinks and Dessert with the girls and Ethan at Cafe Latte


Ben, Andy (groom), and Ryan in Colorado


Girls Christmas Brunch/Brow Bash at Jaide Salon


Making Pizza at home with Judson and Kata


In Rice Park after seeing White Christmas at the Ordway


Visiting G & G in Rochester on Christmas Eve


The Brandenburg, Muhrs around the tree on Christmas Day


Playing Ticket to Ride with Heidi and Brandon (our favorite game this Christmas)

Introducing The Pennsylvania Avenue Globetrotters.

BBB Rated 2008: Jazzed About Edition

I’m not going to pretend that I read so widely that I could rate a whole bunch of new hardbacks like I did in 2007 and 2006, but I am jazzed about a whole bunch of other things. Of course some things fell tone deaf in 08, so comment away. What’s on your Jazzed About/Tone Deaf List in 2008?

Best Waste of Time: That great European tradition, namely board games, in particular Ticket to Ride.™
Runner Up: The greatest invention since the printing press: the internet. While Gutenberg gave us the Bible, the web has gives us the joys of the FAIL Blog.

Film: Slumdog Millionaire
English director Danny Boyle’s exuberant drama cum romantic comedy cum technicolor musical about young Mumbai street beggars is downright Dickensian. Filmed with an Indian cast and production crew this slice of poetic justice deserves the Oscar for best picture.
Runner Up: Romania’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days is the exact opposite of Slumdog, but it will a haunt your mind all the same.

Politician: Boris Johnson
With the most memorable political season of my lifetime behind us, few Americans recall the truly revolutionary political moment: the election of a Tory—a cocky humorist Tory—as London’s major modo. Check out his ping-pong is coming home speech or his ruthless soccer tackle.
Runner Up: Tie. Barack Obama and Bobby Jindal.

News Story: Castro Resigns. Finally the Cold War is over.
Runner Up: The Economy Trumps Religion. Faith was simply not a primary concern on election day. That’s a good thing for people who value faith.

Sport: TSG Hoffenheim
Think it was a big deal that the Devil Ray’s beat out the Yankees and Red Sox to win the division with a tenth of their salary cap? Then imagine a AA team on top of the MLB. This is currently happening in Germany. The Bundesliga’s #1 team stems from a village. Literally.
Runner Up: World Series Champions Philadelphia Phillies

Non-Fiction: Lamin Sanneh, Disciples of All Nations.
Sanneh is one of the foremost interpreters of world Christianity and particularly of its recent history in Africa. His thesis about the translatability of the faith, his nuanced revisionist account of the missionary enterprise, and his account of the encounter between Islam and Christianity have influenced a generation of scholars.
Runner Up: The Limits of Power, by Andrew Bacevich. Bacevich speaks bluntly to his countrymen about their selfishness, their hubris, their sanctimony and the grave problems they now face.

Tone Deaf in 08
TDI8: The Dark Night. Sometimes a gritty, brilliantly acted, existential comic book movie is still a comic book movie.
TDI8: Republicans. How hard is it to get some new ideas in the playbook?
TDI8: Fannie, Freddie, AIG, and Lehman.
TDI8: The perfect Olympics. I forgot that spontaneity existed for those two flawlessly orchestrated weeks in August.

Slumdog New York?

Morning in Central Park

Going to New York City this past weekend reminded me of this year's best film Slumdog Millionaire. The film, shot and set in Mumbai (once known as Bombay), follows a young street beggar who appears on the Hindi version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and exceeds people's expectations.
The film shows both Mumbai's poverty stricken slums of the poor and the glamorous new developments of the rich. While New York City is certainly no Mumbai, you can still see the poor south Asian immigrants on 6th Ave selling cashmere scarfs, the Chinese on Canal Street hawking patriotic ware, and the West Africans peddling beads and 10 for $10 dollar "I Love NYC" shirts in Soho. In our flat--or at least curved--world these are all minor success stories just like Slumdog's protagonist Jamal. In some ways that is what makes New York City such a redemptive space. It is filled with the hopes and dreams--however imperfectly practiced--of the world's citizens.

Of course there's also those classic spots such as Central Park and Rockefeller Plaza. Places that Toni and I, and our friends Jefta and Tate, were happy to visit this past Sunday. But they don't really compare to the cultural diversity that can be seen on the less glamorous streets.















In front of 'The Tree' at Rockefeller

Thanksgiving 2008

Old City Philadelphia

This Thanksgiving week Ben and I were graced with the presence of his parents who came out from Minnesota.

It was a wonderful 3 days of seeing Philadelphia, eating lots of good food, playing games and taking a day trip up to NYC on Black Friday. While in NYC we made it on the Today Show, saw the Rockefeller Center tree and rink and even fit in a little shopping.

Thanks for making the trip!

Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade


Rockefeller Center Ice Rink


Times Square


Glogg on our Roof