alexist

I went to the Jewish Museum today. I haven't been there since a Hebrew school trip when I was 9 or so, and probably wouldn't have thought to go back, but there was an article in the NYTimes about their new Maurice Sendak exhibition. This was formative childhood stuff, so I wanted to go see it, and I was glad I did. It was excellent. I learned that he based the wild things on his relatives, and the one who bows to Max is named Moishe (Sendak's Hebrew name). The section on Brundibar was... unsettling. It's based on an opera that was written for a Jewish orphanage in 1938, and was performed by the children of Terezin for the Nazis. On one level, it's a story about children triumphing over a bully; on another, it's about the Holocaust. In the preliminary drawings, the theme was more blatant; the children were visibly Jewish (with the yellow star) and Brundibar looked like Hitler. Even with the changes, though, it's still disturbing, especially as Brundibar's last message (after the children think they've won) is written over a copy of the ticket to one of the Terezin performances.

It was pretty busy because of the holidays--in fact Manhattan seemed to be filled with Jewish families enjoying Chol Hamoed. I don't blame them; it was a lovely day. It would have been nicer with Neil there though :(

Afterwards, I went to Bloomingdales, and got 2 nice skirts and one blouse. It would've been better if it had been the other way around, really, but with the number of weddings I've got to go to, it's hardly a disaster. And I hit the sale again: all 40% off! I looked for a nice shirt for Neil but didn't get one. I couldn't face the shoe department, so I went home.

I had good parking karma too: First I got a space downtown straight away without having to go up and down 10 streets, I didn't get a ticket even though I was an hour late getting back (silly me, I forgot a stack of quarters, so I only had half an hour on the meter) then I found a garage that did discounts with museum validation (I knew I would if I drove around--I forgot to check before I left--but I didn't have to look). $18 for 8 hours--regular rate was $36 for up to 10! (With the crappy train service and high fares and the fact that I was going shopping, driving was the better option.) No traffic either.

I need to use fewer parentheses.