tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364059472024-09-02T03:36:25.737-04:00My thoughts on life, beliefs, and people in general.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-21465422004850655672011-02-05T10:14:00.000-05:002011-02-05T10:14:43.683-05:00

I know I haven't blogged in a while, but I can't help but share my thoughts on Egypt. After Tunisia's example, the Egyptian people are fighting for their voices to be heard, showing the power of peaceful demonstrations.   Hopefully, in addition to Mubarak stepping down and there being a peaceful transition of power, the rest of the world will learn one or more of the following lessons. 1)

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-53986515227881397622010-08-30T17:44:00.000-04:002010-08-30T17:44:57.963-04:00

Since I just researched this for an email, I figured I'd post this publicly for all who were interested.  A number of area synagogues offer free or reduced price high holiday tickets to young adults.  Some places to look at: Hillel (reform, conservative, and orthodox)Open Jewish Project at The Temple (reform)Or Hadash (conservative)Atlanta Jewish Experience at

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-61466721551912587962010-04-26T23:22:00.000-04:002010-04-26T23:22:01.308-04:00

I know I've touched on this in multiple posts previously, but I wanted to clarify based on some of the comments from my last one and consolidate here. One of the hardest things for me to get used to in Atlanta is that gender-based dating rules are largely followed.  For someone uncomfortable with the idea of boxing anyone in based on their sex chromosomes, the fact that I've caved and have

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-52700412503012111822010-04-14T00:45:00.001-04:002010-04-14T01:38:50.658-04:00

As Evelyn tells me, I must balance my more serious blogs with those on a lighter topic, namely dating.  One might think in my 4+ years blogging I may have run out of insightful things to say about dating, but I seem to be constantly provided with new material. In many discussions I've had lately, both male and female friends have complained about the passivity with which potential partners

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-38336258625698805982010-03-25T00:30:00.058-04:002010-03-25T00:41:25.212-04:00

I love it when two of the random things I ponder in a given week can offer a different perspective of each other. A couple days ago I was listening to a How Stuff Works podcast on fascism while running. Yes, the word frequents the political vernacular all too often these days, but what does it actually mean? If I can summarize the podcast well, fascism is the extreme right of the political

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-20636809994308594692010-02-08T11:48:00.001-05:002010-02-08T11:48:00.124-05:00

What exactly does the 2nd amendment guarantee? The debate around the 2nd amendment has come up a lot in my social circles lately, and I think I'm one of a few that has not come to a decision about it yet. Given that I have readers on both sides of this issue, let's dive in, but with a scientific/logical approach. Apart from regulation of who has access/what checks are done/whether guns can be

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-40022883500180569332010-02-06T23:59:00.000-05:002010-02-07T00:25:41.334-05:00

It's been a while since I wrote the first two parts to this discussion, part I being a general overview of gender differences in religion, and part II focusing on how we see G-d. I figured it was time to expand a little on the rationale behind "separate but equal", as I myself struggle to form an opinion on the matter.Now, most of my readers know by now that I'm an ardent feminist. Growing up I

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-4888750569161465192009-11-06T23:35:00.001-05:002009-11-22T22:05:13.295-05:00

When it comes to relationships, how do we define strength? As someone who values mental and emotional strength, I have yet to decide who to award points to when it comes to relationships. The older we get, the more each of us puts up walls. We get cynical and jaded from past experiences, and begin to know better than to blindly rush into each potential love story. We learn to be

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-32120009368920567532009-11-06T22:51:00.000-05:002009-11-07T00:54:37.947-05:00

For all those of my friends who like to live vicariously through my dating stories, I figured it was time for an update. As I'd expect someone in my mother's generation to say, dating today just isn't what it used to be. Particularly in the age of online dating, as I'm now learning.Let me paint the picture. Sign up for Jdate, Match.com, etc, and you're hit with a plethora of potential mates,

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-71576315261645672582009-09-15T11:54:00.004-04:002009-09-15T12:05:34.899-04:00

It's that time of year again, to reflect on the past year and ask forgiveness for all the wrongs. I think this is one of the hardest things to do, both to remember individual events and to apologize without coming off insincere. But here it goes anyways.First off, I want to apologize that my memory is not great, so I'm writing a generic apology for all that I may not remember. If I've wronged/

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-43899356469145670152009-07-20T00:43:00.006-04:002009-07-22T09:46:14.092-04:00

I promised one of my high school friends a few weeks ago that I'd write about this topic, so I figured it's about time to address it. It seems that this is neither simply a regional problem nor a cultural one, rather an epidemic sweeping our country: the disappearance of manly men. Where have they all gone?Hyperbolic perhaps, but this topic has come up frequently with my female friends lately.

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-83747596387979925542009-06-11T00:36:00.002-04:002009-06-11T01:36:49.995-04:00

In talking with a number of friends and family members recently, exes has become an overwhelmingly frequent topic. It seems that no one knows what to do about them.First off, for those relationships that end relatively well, we often want to maintain the underlying friendship. This one seems like a no-brainer, but let me be clear about this: you cannot go straight from being romantically

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-3814252984843014672009-04-19T23:53:00.003-04:002009-04-20T01:03:42.332-04:00

I'm currently reading a book entitled : The Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt. Although I think it was given as a joke, it's actually a really cool collection of writings by Jewish women about guilt many of us feel because of our upbringing/community (e.g. not calling your mother, supplying grandchildren, or academic perfection). While I could write a blog about most of them, the last few

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-1217526064490493772009-03-06T23:25:00.003-05:002009-03-07T01:01:20.153-05:00

Why does my world always seem so polarized? I mean, whether it's a relationship gone sour, an organization's leadership butting heads, or friends who just plain dislike each other, lately I always seem to find myself stuck in the middle. While it may be a good thing that so many feel comfortable enough to confide in me, it always puts me on the defensive. Call me an optimist, but I still think

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-46475076505840972472009-02-12T06:34:00.003-05:002009-02-12T07:22:59.017-05:00

I just got back from an unusual and last minute trip to New Jersey. One of my favorite uncles has been battling cancer for a while, and now it appears like cancer is winning. Since they just sent Hospice in, my aunt and uncle decided to pass along the word now, in hopes that everyone could visit while he's still alive.It's always hard to see someone you love in pain. For my uncle, it comes

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-58054981951707138592009-01-30T08:55:00.002-05:002009-01-30T09:47:37.575-05:00

In continuing the discussion of ethics in war, I want to now focus on the decision to enter war. War by definition causes loss of life, usually both civilian and military. So when is it justifiable, and when is it not?I initially looked for a definition to post for why a country has a military to begin with, but definitions available are either vague (e.g. webster's) or uncited (e.g. wikipedia)

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-10897274235291880622009-01-12T23:41:00.003-05:002009-01-13T00:24:09.099-05:00

While the majority of my recent comments/posts have been in support of Israel's actions in Gaza, it's mainly a protest against the double-standards applied to Israel when compared to the rest of the world, in the media, at the UN, and around the world. If one is a pacifist, and anti-war at all times, while I disagree with you, I can respect your current criticisms of Israel. You are

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-15051116900865497512009-01-08T13:19:00.002-05:002009-01-08T13:39:30.276-05:00

So I figured I'd break up the political posts with something everyone can relate to at this time of year: being sick. I write this from home, where I was sent to take care of myself by my labmates. Funny thing is, in comparison to the way I was feeling on New Years day, I feel great. Until they said something about it, it would never have occurred to me to take today off. This got me thinking:

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-22028329433735793182009-01-04T11:10:00.003-05:002009-01-04T11:39:28.492-05:00

As the media likes to show coverage of, a great number of palestinians have been caught in the crossfire of the latest fighting. It's a terrible shame that innocent men, women, and children are injured or killed during the fighting, and I empathize with their feelings of anger and frustration. Yet the media would have you blame the Israelis. The common argument goes something like this: if

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-25476733516537840232009-01-04T10:48:00.004-05:002009-01-04T11:10:47.320-05:00

By now most people have heard about the "Crisis in Gaza" from the various news outlets. On CNN, the story went something like this: Israeli airstrikes kill hundreds of palestinians, including many civilians... and oh yeah, Hamas is firing some rockets into Israel. How on earth is one to get the full picture from this nonsense? Let me be perfectly clear: since 2005, when Israel withdrew its

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-61291248718628986792008-12-16T23:45:00.000-05:002008-12-17T00:02:37.385-05:00

My last blog and the public response lead me to an overarching question about our interpersonal relationships: should we judge and/or question the actions of our friends and family on moral grounds? Part of me says no, that I should care about them regardless of their opinions/actions, that it is not my responsibility nor role to lecture them on morality. I mean, discussing ethics is in general

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-65415349213458553322008-12-15T09:16:00.000-05:002008-12-15T09:16:00.217-05:00

The more I listen to people talk about politics and philosophy, the more I realize everyone has inconsistencies in their reasoning from time to time. Conservatives usually argue against big government, but some have backed the huge bailouts in recent news. Liberals often are staunch proponents of free speech, yet will try to prevent a racist speaker from coming to campus.However, some

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-76662559439852664492008-12-14T21:09:00.000-05:002008-12-14T23:21:54.585-05:00

The longer I spend in grad school, the more frustrated I get with all the political maneuvering and bureaucratic red tape. For example, last week one of the older male faculty members in our department made an inappropriate comment to one of my labmates about her not wanting to eat too much because she's looking a bit "husky". Now, mind you, this girl is anything but, probably in the best shape

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-46928105088673161062008-11-26T00:20:00.004-05:002008-11-26T01:04:45.576-05:00

Some friends recently suggested a trip to Bodies... The Exhibition, currently showing in Atlanta. Now, I remembered hearing something about this a while back, but decided to do my own investigation. The quote from wikipedia perhaps puts it best:New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo concluded his investigation of Premier, finding "The grim reality is that Premier Exhibitions has profited from

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405947.post-6783482083296548482008-10-03T08:46:00.002-04:002008-10-03T08:49:57.459-04:00

Think the Obama/Biden ticket is weak on Israel? think again... the below is from the vice presidential debate last night, and I must say, Biden's remarks are damn comforting... BIDEN: Gwen, no one in the United States Senate has been a better friend to Israel than Joe Biden. I would have never, ever joined this ticket were I not absolutely sure Barack Obama shared my passion.But you asked a

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16219090094692861615noreply@blogger.com0