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• No more eggnog for you.

  Posted by FHdweller
  on December 25th, 2007 at 10:17 am

• I don’t get how the word “Jew” got caught up in this article. I don’t like comments like “Jew stuff”. I will pass this along to some Jews and see how they feel about it and let you know.

  Posted by d.minch
  on December 26th, 2007 at 8:21 pm

• You can pass it right back to me, who attended six years of Solomon Schechter day school followed by three years of yeshiva. I’ll be happy to let you know how I feel about it.

  Posted by Steve
  on December 26th, 2007 at 10:06 pm

• I’m not sure what the issue was, or whether or not it makes a difference now that you know it was written by fellow tribe.

  Posted by Ouch
  on December 27th, 2007 at 3:12 pm

• If the only thing the Bukharian did to Forest Hills was put up a marquee, that would be great. How about the houses they’ve built all over the place, the brick fortresses, especially in the Cord Meyer area of FH. Now that’s disguisting!

  That said, Steve, you could have used a different title for your article because this has nothing to do with Xmas. To those of us who are Jewish, this is a non day, not an “American holiday”. I’m sure they told you that in Yeshiva.

  Posted by FHNative
  on December 28th, 2007 at 12:03 pm

• Well, people always expect you to post something Christmas-related on Christmas, but I posted something about Jews instead–hence “a very Jewish Christmas.” It seemed somehow appropriate. I have to cater to a multicultural crowd here!

  Rest assured I spent my December 25 seeing “Juno” at the excellent Kew Gardens Cinemas, then eating Thai food. I didn’t go to work–unlike my yeshiva days, when they told us we had to come to school anyway–but as far as vacation days go, I’ll take what i can get.

  Posted by Steve
  on December 28th, 2007 at 12:10 pm

• Has D.Minch gotten back to you yet? I’m dying to know what “some Jews” think!

  Posted by Peter
  on December 28th, 2007 at 3:32 pm

• Steve (and all my Jewish homies) you might appreciate this:
  http://nancykayshapiro.livejournal.com/35633.html

  Posted by jellystone
  on December 28th, 2007 at 5:30 pm

• What a dumb article. Can we look forward to a very Muslim Hanukah next year?

  Posted by Dudely
  on December 28th, 2007 at 8:06 pm

• I was really looking forward to M. D.Minch’s reply, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s not coming.

  Thanks for the kind words, Dudely! If something Muslim-related happens on Chanukah, then yes, you will get a very Muslim Chanukah.

  Posted by Steve
  on December 29th, 2007 at 3:54 am

• Steve, your implied hostility towards attending Yashiva reminds me of the experiences related to me by my Catholic friends on attending Parochial School. Now, the rabbis didn’t slap you across the wrists with a ruler like the nuns apparently did, did they? It is interesting that many children who had such a relatively strict religious upbringing rebel against that very religion as they mature. Oh, and I would have titled your posting “Oy to the World”; maybe some would have found that less “offensive”.

  Posted by bobbyrab
  on December 29th, 2007 at 10:01 am

• Steve, the point is we can either do something Muslim related on Chanukah or celebrate it as a Jewish holiday, which is what it is. I’m sure you would rather do the latter. For this reason, why don’t you celebrate Christmas for the Christian hoilday it is and leave it at that.

  Nonetheless, best wishes for you and healthy and Happy New Year!

  Posted by Dudely
  on December 29th, 2007 at 10:34 am

• Glad to see you were in my Nabe Steve! I am sure that AJ would want to turn it into a Multiplex.

  Anyway, back on point many folks who were indoctrinated at a young age into religion often see its hypocrisy as we get older and I think to some extent feel as if we were lied to. I am Jewish but really consider myself to be more of a Jewish/Buddhist/Agnostic. I get very frustrated in my neighborhood to be looked down on by the very orthodox who believe that they have a corner on religion. Also, I have still yet to reconcile how following the Talmud and the important teachings mix with screwing folks in business which I have often encountered. Someone said to me “don’t mix religion with business” but isn’t that the point? If you are pious then how do you separate out the two? It makes my head explode!

  Posted by KGResident
  on December 29th, 2007 at 11:58 am

• No I do not think that a jewish community center should be turned into a multiplex. In fact I am all for community centers. However I do believe that development only has a right to occur when there is unused or underutilized land and this has been the case.

  Posted by AJ
  on December 29th, 2007 at 11:07 pm

• Actually, Bobby, you’ve got the wrong idea–my yeshiva experience was nothing but positive. I didn’t get hit, the rabbis liked me, I did well academically for the most part, I had some good friends. I too have encountered the people who had a bad experience as a kid and have thus turned against the religion they were raised with–Catholics seem particularly susceptible to this, I’ve noticed–and honestly, I don’t think that’s a very good reason to reject something. If God said you can only gain eternal salvation by doing so and so, then that’s what an omipotent deity decreed no matter what some nun did to you when you were 11. KGResident is more on the money, though I wouldn’t quite have put it like that. It’s just that sometimes you have to put aside what you’ve been told, look at what you believe and ask yourself, “Why do I believe this?” It’s a long and insightful process, and you get some interesting and unexpected answers. You don’t have to motivated by anything except the desire to know the truth–or, more accurately, seek the truth; I firmly believe you can never know it–and live your life the way you determine it has to be lived. I’m certainly not going to go into what I believe today, but I can definitely tell you that I got here by starting from scratch, examining what various people have to say, and thinking not about which belief system is most personally appealing to me for whatever reason–that’s the mistake most people make, I think–but which is most likely to be true.

  I actually don’t live far from you, KGResident. I’m definitively on the Kew Gardens side of Forest Hills, and Lefferts is only a 10- to 15-minute walk away. I should really spend more time around there; I think it’s an incredibly charming area. I love that theater. It makes me feel good about the neighborhood that it’s so close.

  Dudely, I considered taking this whole Jews/Christians/Muslims thing further, but I’m not going to and will instead wish you a happy 2008 right back. New Year’s–now there’s a holiday everyone can enjoy. Except Jehovah’s Witnesses, probably.

  Posted by Steve
  on December 30th, 2007 at 1:54 am

• Thanks Steve, but what’s there to take further. Enjoy the peace and harmony of Christmas.

  Posted by dudely
  on December 30th, 2007 at 10:49 am

• Why doesn’t everybody just enjoy FESTIVUS!!!
  SERENITY NOW!

  Posted by fifix
  on December 30th, 2007 at 11:35 am

• http://www.festivuspoles.com

  Posted by West
  on December 30th, 2007 at 1:49 pm

• Who will perform the feats of strength? One thing is for sure, we all air our grievances on this blog

  Posted by KGResident
  on December 30th, 2007 at 8:36 pm

• As a Patriots fan, I’m offended you did not have an article entitled, “A Very Brady Christmas.”

  Posted by mickiet
  on January 1st, 2008 at 12:23 pm

• Steve, I think that this particular piece could have used some editing. Basically I agree that it is a travesty what has been done to the Trylon theater. I’m not surprised that the landmarks commission did nothing to preserve the site. That of course is the main point. The new owners could have been Mongolians and the result would have been the same. What I think is the real problem in this city is the lack of polical will in fighting the wholesale destruction of neighborhoods throughout the city. It starts at the top with Bloomberg and right down to the bottom, in this case Melinda Katz.

  Posted by BillF
  on January 11th, 2008 at 6:48 pm

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