#to talk to my colleagues who were chatting in hebrew

[todaviia]

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[drtanstravels]

We recently stayed in Tel Aviv, Israel for four days so Anna could attend a teaching seminar for the International Retinal Panel. During our stay we would take a tour of Jerusalem, travel along the West Bank while venturing into Palestine, visit the ancient village of Masada, and then float and get all muddy in the Dead Sea. All of the main events happened in the final two days of the trip so this will just be a relatively short post in comparison, covering the initial two days of our journey, both spent in Tel Aviv.

Friday, November 1, 2019 We had left Singapore at 11:30pm the previous night, took an 11.5-hour flight to Turkey, had a 90-minute layover in Istanbul Airport, and then took another two-hour flight to Tel Aviv. When we were in Seoul, South Korea recently we got chatting to some friends of mine who had traveled to Israel in the past and the nightmares they had faced going through immigration once they had reached Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. One of them even told us about how he got cavity-searched, so we were both prepared for the worst. Once we were off the plane and inside the airport I cringed a bit when the first security guard snapped on a pair of disposable gloves, but it turned out to be just for him to search through our hand luggage. After that the line at the passport counter was taking forever, but it turned out that the reason the queue was taking so long to move was because we just had a really talkative guy checking our passports and when he first saw my Australian document, he looked up, gave me a curious look, and asked, “Do you watch Home and Away?” I smiled and mentioned that my sister used to have it on every night back in the day and that was it. We had to ask for entry border crossing cards, a separate slip of paper to be put into our passports instead of a stamp, because having an Israeli passport stamp can cause quite a bit of trouble when traveling overseas. There are currently eight countries that won’t accept passports containing Israeli visas, the most notable one being Saudi Arabia, a country to which we may need to travel one day. There are also quite a few countries whose passport holders are forbidden entrance to Israel without official confirmation from the Israeli government, Malaysia being on that list, so one of Anna’s colleagues was unable to attend. In fact, if Anna hadn’t taken Singaporean citizenship after we got married, this journey would never have happened.

As has been a pattern over recent trips, we arrived in Tel Aviv early in the morning, well before our hotel room was available so we dumped our bags with the concierge and decided to have a look around town. We were staying at the Crowne Plaza, which had an attached shopping mall so that was our first stop, mainly for a much-needed coffee and a couple of pastries, and then we discovered that there was a park and shopping district nearby called Sarona, a place with an interesting history:

Sarona was a German Templer colony established in Ottoman Palestine in 1871. Sarona is now a neighbourhood of Tel Aviv, Israel. It was one of the earliest modern villages established by Europeans in Ottoman Palestine. In July 1941, the British Mandate authorities deported 188 residents of Sarona, who were considered hard-core Nazi sympathisers. By the 2000s, the area had fallen into disrepair and was a haven for drug addicts. However, since 2003, the area has undergone massive renovation, which involved moving and relocating historical buildings before their restoration. The area is now a popular shopping district, as well as housing museums, cultural artefacts centring on its history, and IDF complexes.

Walking around Sarona was really cool with its mix of shops, bars, and cafes, as well as the Sarona Market. When Anna was purchasing a ring in one of the stores she asked for some recommendations in the area and the first one immediately given was Anita, a boutique ice-cream store. We initially thought this was a one-off, but we ended up finding incredible ice-cream shops all over the city. Anyway, we ordered a cup with two flavours, Pavlova & Mix Berries and Salted Pretzel, before we continued walking around, visiting among other shops a handmade dreidel store called Draydel House, a place with some unique takes on the spinning tops, and then it was on to Sarona Market. The market had some great looking food and there were plenty of free samples, but as you will find out over the course of this post and the next, it wasn’t an accurate representation of kosher food. We walked around sampling different cheeses, pickles, and halva, possibly the driest substance on earth. Seriously, dust is more mouth-watering than halva. Another thing that Israel is known for is pomegranate juice, generally used for detoxing, so we ordered a large one each, a decision we would later deeply regret and one that would also put the pair of us off pomegranates for the foreseeable future, despite how nice it tasted. Once we were done with the market and walking around the gardens in Sarona, we were able to check into our room at the Crowne Plaza at around 2:00pm and take a nap for a bit. Our day up until that point (besides the awesome pickle store in the market that wouldn’t let me take photos):

Anna near the entrance of Sarona

The way Sarona is set up is really cool

Looking down a row of stores

A map of Sarona in Hebrew

Anna’s dreidel

The dreidel Anna would probably get for me

Some of the ice-cream flavours available at Anita

A few more

They also had a custom soft-serve yoghurt bar

Anna about to buy ours

Our sweet and salty combination was definitely a good mix

Halva inside the market

One of the food stall rows

There is a huge variety available in this market

Unfortunately, not all Israeli food is as good as this looks

Anna in the garden

Now in our room

After sleeping for a bit we caught a cab to the waterfront, which is split into two parts; Alma Beach, a modern seaside area, and the Old City area of Jaffa. Most modern beach areas are similar, whereas ancient cities are always fascinating so Jaffa was the obvious choice to spend some time exploring first. It would be nigh on impossible to summarise the history of a 3,800-year-old port city in the Middle East, but here’s the general background:

Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv–Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical stories of Jonah, Solomon and Saint Peter as well as the mythological story of Andromeda and Perseus, and later for its oranges. The city as such was established at the latest around 1800 BCE.

Modern Jaffa has a heterogeneous population of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Jaffa currently has 46,000 residents, of whom 30,000 are Jews and 16,000 are Arabs. The 2010 film Port of Memory explores these themes. Tabeetha School in Jaffa was founded in 1863. It is owned by the Church of Scotland. The school provides education in English to children from Christian, Jewish and Muslim backgrounds.

Our taxi driver was an elderly man who kept explaining to us along the way that Tel Aviv was a party city, that around 69% of people there were aged between 30-40, and that we’d be among the older people out that night. I wasn’t expecting that, but another thing we weren’t expecting was the fact that the sun sets in Tel Aviv before 5:00pm, it’s almost as if the city is in the entirely wrong timezone and is something that would throw our body clocks off for the duration of this trip. When it had been dark there for a few hours, you’d be led to think it was getting kind of late when in reality it was only about eight o’clock in the evening. So, despite the fact that we arrived at Jaffa at 4:30pm, the sun was already setting, but this just made the place that much more beautiful. We spent the evening wandering through the narrow streets and laneways of Jaffa, taking in all of the ancient buildings, towers, and structures, plus the major landmarks in the area such as Jaffa Lighthouse, Clock Square, and the coastal canons, all while the sun set over the ocean.

After all of that walking we were beginning to get hungry and the waterside restaurants at Alma Beach were supposed to be pretty decent so we chose one called Manta Ray for dinner where we sat outdoors with some drinks and feasted on some selections from their great meze platter, as well as a grilled fish. We were to meet the organisers and other attendees of Anna’s course at 9:30pm after everyone had arrived in town, but it was barely 7:30pm by the time we finished dinner so we found a nearby shisha bar for a few more drinks and a pipe. After a while we both began to bloat up, neither of us could stop farting, and I was burping constantly, feeling the need to vomit. It was too soon after dinner to be from the fish or the meze dishes we chose, I had already checked that the water was safe to drink so that wasn’t it, coffee, pastries, and ice-cream don’t have this effect on me, and nothing else we had tried had been a large enough sample to make us sick. Except for the pomegranate juice, that is. We had drunk about a litre (33.8 fl. oz.) each several hours ago and it now seemed like we were paying for it, however, we couldn’t be 100% certain. Whatever it was, we both wanted to go back to the hotel and let it all out, resulting in me violently throwing up for a few minutes once inside, but then we felt reasonably fine as soon as we were both empty.

We met up with Anna’s course-mates in the lobby of our hotel and we walked down to a pub in another nearby part of town where everyone chatted over some beers, while those who hadn’t eaten had dinner. It was a really fun night and Anna decided to ask one of the local organisers, Tamir, if it could’ve been the pomegranate juice that bloated us. He said it’s good for you, most people just take a small glass and share it. When she told him that we’d had a litre each he was gobsmacked. “That’s not detox, that’s just tox!” was the response. Here are a whole bunch of photos from around Jaffa that evening, plus a couple of our dinner and the shisha bar before we bloated up like a couple of non-embalmed corpses:

Hashan Square

Anna and and I on the peninsula

Part of Jaffa from a distance

Looking over the ocean

People washing their hands

One of the coastal canons, imported by the Ottoman government in the 18th century to protect Jaffa from Bedouin raids

Overlooking a mosque

You can even find cool bars in towns dating back to the bronze age

Walking down a wide thoroughfare

The sun setting over the ocean

A museum surrounded by shops

Walking down an avenue

Anna posing in an alley

One of many interesting sculptures in Jaffa

The view of Clock Square from a very narrow stairway

We were both wondering if this was the Jewish equivalent of leaving your tie on the door handle so your roommate knows you have a girl inside

Etzel House

Dinner is served

We chose a few dishes from this platter

Baked blue bream with Jerusalem artichokes

Smoking a shisha while we both rapidly expand

Saturday, November 2, 2019 Anna was going to her course so I was free to do my own thing for the bulk of the day, but there was one small problem — Saturday is the sabbath, also known as Shabbat in Judaism, and this would severely limit what I was able to do due to many actions being classed as melakhah and thus being prohibited on this day of rest or historically punishable by death! Here’s a better description of melakhah:

Jewish law (halakha) prohibits doing any form of melakhah (מְלָאכָה, plural melakhoth) on Shabbat, unless an urgent human or medical need is life-threatening. Though melakhah is commonly translated as “work” in English, a better definition is “deliberate activity” or “skill and craftmanship”. There are 39 categories of prohibited activities (melakhoth) listed in Mishnah Tractate Shabbat 7:2.

Some acts forbidden on Shabbat include:

Threshing/Extraction Definition: Removal of an undesirable outer from a desirable inner.

Dissection Definition: Reducing an earth-borne thing’s size for a productive purpose.

Kneading/Amalgamation Definition: Combining particles into a semi-solid or solid mass via liquid.

Cooking/Baking Definition for solids: Changing the properties of something via heat. Definition for liquids: Bringing a liquid’s temperature to the heat threshold. This threshold is known as yad soledet (lit. “A hand reflexively recoils [due to such heat]”). According to Igrot Moshe this temperature is 43 °C (110 °F).

Extinguishing a Fire Definition: Extinguishing a fire/flame, or diminishing its intensity.

Ignition: Definition: Igniting, fuelling or spreading a fire/flame.

Transferring Between Domains Definition: Transferring something from one domain type to another domain type, or transferring within a public thoroughfare.

Now, some of you reading this are probably thinking, “Why would you care, you’re not Jewish.” This is true, however, despite me seeing fewer Orthodox Jews in Israel than I did on any given day in New York City, prohibition of melakhah on Shabbat is enforced by law, although not to an extreme. Although no shops would be open, these restrictions would severely limit my food purchasing options. Because it had been powered down for Shabbat, I pushed my way through the revolving door to exit the hotel and hit the street. I was quite hungry due to the fact that I had vomited everything I had eaten the previous evening so I figured I might get lucky finding somewhere open to eat at Sarona. I saw a cafe with people all around it so that’s where I went and I ordered the egg white omelette on the menu, which came with some bread and a side salad. I guess the hotplate must’ve been kept burning from the previous day and eggs aren’t really a solid or liquid so changing their properties via heat would be fine. Salad was also okay because the form of the lettuce doesn’t change, only the size, and it was cut quite large so it wasn’t done to make it into a more usable, productive state. The bread had obviously been made the previous day and when it came to dissection of the food in order to eat, that was all on me, not the cafe. Juice wasn’t an option due to threshing/extraction, but it was when I ordered a latte that things got weird. The waiter told me that he could only offer me a “very weak coffee” which was the result of the water and milk only being heated to about 40°C in keeping with the law, a temperature that also isn’t really hot enough for the coffee to properly infuse the water, thus making it not very strong. It actually turned out to be infinitely easier to get a beer anywhere in town that morning than coffee. My order at the cafe was able to be brought from the kitchen to my table, and also to diners who were seated outside, without transferring between domains due to the installation of an eruv, described as:

An urban area enclosed by a wire boundary which symbolically extends the private domain of Jewish households into public areas, permitting activities within it that are normally forbidden in public on the Sabbath.

Although the Jewish community must strictly adhere to laws of prohibition on Shabbat, going to the effort of building eruvs and heating liquids to a slightly cooler temperature than normal seem like ways of pranking an almighty deity who is easily fooled by the loopholes in the rules he wrote. Then I remembered this scene from the documentary Religulous:

After eating I decided to have a look around the beach area, making my way there via the main shopping district en route, but obviously everything was closed except for bars, restaurants, and cafes and wouldn’t be opening again until late in the evening or within the next few days. I was also having trouble getting cash out of an ATM again and this time I wasn’t sure whether the machines weren’t accepting my card or were just unable to function in general. I arrived at the beach and it was quite nice with a bunch more seaside bars and restaurants, as well as plenty of entertainment, some of which was unintentionally funny. There was Israeli folk dancing that happens at Gordon Beach every Saturday, as well as a big outdoor gym area where meatheads could work out like in Venice Beach, California, all just grunting, flexing, and slapping butts. Instead, I walked out along the pier to a lighthouse, just taking in the sights. It was a nice walk, but I could feel myself getting sunburnt so I went back to a shaded area along the shore to sit down with a bunch of senior citizens for a bit and that’s where I got the biggest laugh of the day. There were three guys working out there, one was absolutely ripped and doing chin-ups and some other impressive feats on horizontal bars directly in front of us, another was doing push ups, all the while giving the third guy tips on capoeira moves. If you are unaware of what capoeira is, it’s a Brazilian martial art that combines acrobatics, dancing, and complex moves involving hand plants, kicks, and flips (that link is a video that will give you a decent idea). The only problem was that the guy trying to do it wasn’t particularly good at capoeira so I found myself sitting there with a bunch of confused older people who were innocently trying to figure out why a muscly dude was doing cartwheels in the sand in front of several other muscly guys. It was a hot day, a dry heat compared to the insane humidity of Singapore, but I had no cash for a drink so I had a sip out of the drinking fountain where people also washed the sand off their feet, and walked for forty minutes back to the hotel, passing a cheese shop that you could smell before you could see, despite it being closed, along the way. Once back I killed two birds with one stone, grabbing a bottle of sparkling water from the minibar and making an instant coffee in the room, which turned into mud when I added water, but it still gave me the caffeine fix I had been lacking. I also managed to get cash out of an ATM next our hotel and Anna was still going to be a while so I planted myself in a bar back in Sarona for a few hours until she was done.

My kosher Shabbat breakfast with very weak coffee

Walking into town

At the beach

Looking down the boardwalk and across the road

Some huts near the ocean

Now walking down the promenade

Was Banksy in town?

More art, this time honouring the older community

Israeli folk-dancing

Beanbags on the beach

One of many cafes along the promenade

Coming over a little cloudy

That’s better

Waves crashing along the pier

A lighthouse at the end

I’m still trying to figure out if this building had caught fire or was just art-deco

The cheese shop on the way home. I wish it was open

The bottom of my instant mud coffee

Anna was soon back from her teaching and we had a dinner that night with everyone else involved in the course. This meant taking a minibus with the International Retinal Panel crew back to a restaurant at the beach, Anna’s first venture into that area of Tel Aviv, so we had a look around the boardwalk and took a few photos first. It was nice to hang out with everyone while we were feeling 100%, they were really cool people and an interesting mix of nationalities, some local, others coming from Columbia, Italy, India, France, Argentina, China, and a multitude of other other countries. The restaurant we went to looked good, but the entire group, myself included, consisted of about 30 people, taking up two massive tables, and the platters we received, two per table, were to be shared. The problem with this system was that Anna, myself, and a few others were tucked away in a corner on the back table and our food and drinks kept failing to appear. Everyone else received a meze platter except us, we waited about 20 minutes and then had to ask for it, as well as remind the staff that we had also ordered drinks. When it finally arrived, the other areas of both tables were receiving a grilled fish that looked delicious, but when we finished our platter the fish never arrived, nor did the second drink I ordered. We asked about the fish and when it finally came ours was just what seemed like fish offcuts including several heads, all of which was deep-fried to the point that it was so crunchy it was pretty much inedible. We didn’t bother eating much of it, that second beer never came, and everyone that was there for the course had homework to do so we got back in the bus, the interior blue light making my Rick and Morty “Pickle Rick” shirt appear as if it were covered in turds, and we went back to the hotel, them to do group work and me to have a couple of drinks at the hotel bar until it closed.

Anna’s first stroll along this area of the beach

The boardwalk at night

All of the people involved in Anna’s course

A merry-go-round

Some of the food has arrived, but it also looks like others are asking for stuff that hasn’t

If our fish were pork, it would’ve been the parts that go into a sausage roll

Definitely looks like faeces

Tel Aviv is such a cool city and nothing like we expected, yet a completely hidden gem when it comes to traveling, but this was just the beginning! Stay tuned for the next instalment when we do all the cool stuff you would expect one to do while in Israel that in no way would fit into this post, like visiting Jerusalem and floating in the Dead Sea.

The first two days of our four-night trip to Israel We recently stayed in Tel Aviv, Israel for four days so Anna could attend a teaching seminar for the International Retinal Panel.

[xocriminal-minds-imaginesxo]

Redamancy Pt. 2

A/N: Here it is! Later than I planned, but part 2 is ready to go! If you would like to be tagged in future chapters please let me know!

Part one Here

It had been a few weeks since Ella had her chat with Penelope, and she still couldn’t get the words out of her head. She couldn’t have a crush on Luke Alvez… could she? Even if she did, it’s not like it would actually happen, once he finds out the truth about her it will nip that one right in the bud.

“We have a case.” Emily said from above. The profilers all closed up whatever they were working on and climbed the steps. Ella was the first one to the room and took a seat. Garcia was standing there and gave her a knowing look. Sure enough, everyone took the seats surrounding her, leaving one next to her unoccupied. Luke walked in last, coffee tumbler in hand and smiled at Ella. Sheepishly, she returned the smile and her eyes flew over to Garcia who was biting her lip to keep from laughing.

“Alright profilers, this one is… icky.” Garcia pinched her face in disgust as she pulled up the images. “Three bodies have been found in Mobile, Alabama. 35 year old Dave Janson, 27 year old Samantha Swanson, and 50 year old Paul Mueller.”

“Different ages, builds, hair color, sexes… what makes us think this is all the same guy?” Rossi asked, swiping through the pictures on his tablet.

“So glad you asked, but not really.” Garcia pulled up three more pictures. “Each of the victims had this symbol carved into their chest.” They all stared at the symbols in confusion.

“It looks like it could be some kind of characters, like a word.” Spencer zoomed in on the picture.

“It’s Hebrew.” Ella squinted at her screen. “At least I think it is. It says ‘naqam’ … vengeance.” She felt the whole team put their eyes on her, confused looks on their faces.

“Since when do you know Hebrew?” Rossi questioned her.

“So I took a class in college.” Ella shrugged her shoulders.

“Why…?” Luke was very genuinely confused.

“Well it’s proving to be useful now isn’t it!” She stuck her tongue out at him and he chuckled.

“Alright, vengeance, is there anything initially that makes us think they had done something wrong?” Emily looked to Garcia, getting us back on track.

“No, not at all. As far as I’ve been able to tell they were all very upstanding members of society. They had normal day jobs, families…” Garcia trailed off.

“Well it looks like we have a lot of work to do. Wheels up in 30.” Emily shuffled the papers in front of her into a file and walked out of the room.

“Hebrew, really?” Luke leaned forward in his chair and Ella rolled her eyes.

“Shut up.” She couldn’t hide the smirk that had formed on her lips though.

“Ella can I talk to you?” Garcia tried to keep her voice calm but Ella knew what was going through her mind. She nodded her head and stood up, following Penelope to her office. Garcia closed the door and reached out squeezing Ella’s arm in a death grip.

“Ow! What are you doing?” Ella jumped back. Penelope put her things on her desk and rushed back over to where Ella was standing.

“He is so, so into you!” Garcia whisper screamed, a giant smile on her face. Ella rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Penelope Garcia! Do you know how hard these past three weeks have been with your words running through my head?”

The two girls were having a rapid fire whisper argument when a knock sounded at the door. They were inches from each other, hands up amidst their gestures in the small argument that they were happening. They snapped their heads toward the door when it opened. Luke raised an eyebrow as he looked between the two.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“No.” They said in unison, relaxing their body language.

“Right… Ella, JJ wanted me to remind you to grab the um… what was it?” He furrowed his brow trying to remember. “Oh! Grab the bob?”

Ella’s eyes shot open as wide as saucers and Garcia choked on a laugh. She turned away from the door, unable to contain her laughter and Ella slapped her on the back of the arm.

“What? Is that wrong?” Poor Luke looked so confused.

“No I got it. Bye Luke, see you on the jet in 10.” She shoved him out the door and slammed it shut. Garcia roared with laughter when Ella smacked her again. “Are you fucking kidding me? The Battery Operated Boyfriend? Garcia I will slap the shit out of you.”

“See you when you get back.” Garcia said through fits of laughter.

As Ella walked onto the jet she couldn’t help but chuckle to herself, it was kind of funny. Luke had no idea what he was talking about, and that somehow made it even funnier.

“I fucking hate you.” Ella said to JJ, a smile tugging at her lips as she plopped into her seat.

“Guys, major information!” Garcia’s face appeared on the screen.

“Penelope, we haven’t even taken off yet.” Rossi said as we all turned toward the screen.

“Well I’m sorry, do you want me to hold my information until you’re in the air?” She tilted her head sarcastically.

“On with it, Garcia.” Emily urged.

“Right, sorry. I did some digging into their backgrounds just to see if anything popped up, trying to find the connection. Get this, they all belonged to a secret neo nazi organization.” Ella’s eyes widened at the news.

“That could explain the Hebrew on the bodies then.” Ella said.

“How so?” Luke asked.

“It could be a Jewish individual, seeking out revenge on those who want to hurt him.” She explained and the others nodded. Then she shrugged her shoulders and muttered under her breath “Can you really blame him?”

It had been two days since they arrived, and they’d made no progress since they discovered the connection between the victims.

“He’s never gone this long between kills before. What is he planning here?” Emily groaned in frustration.

“Usually this is a sign that he has an endgame in mind. Maybe he’s planning something bigger?” Reid suggested.

“That’s it!” Ella slapped the table. “What better way to get vengeance than a targeted attack on a large group.” Before she even finished speaking Emily called Penelope.

“Garcia, are there any meetings happening within this organization anytime soon?” They could hear her fingers dancing furiously across the keys.

“Tonight, Mobile event center, 7:00.” Garcia said. “Addresses are on your phones.”

“That’s in 45 minutes.”

They sped off to the event center and jumped out of the SUV’s as fast as they could when the arrived

“Alvez, Ella – go in the back.”

Guns drawn they ran to the back of the event center. Luke twisted the door handle and nodded to Ella, letting her know that the door was unlocked. He pulled open the door and she stepped inside, gun drawn. She locked eyes with Luke and nodded again. They were walking through the conference rooms, hurriedly hoping to find him before he had a chance to hurt anyone.

“Got him.” Ella heard Rossi’s voice in her ear piece. Luke and Ella both holstered their guns and relaxed, when suddenly the fire alarms began blaring and the sprinklers started spraying.

“Out! Everybody out of the building!” Emily screamed into the ear pieces

Luke grabbed Ella’s arm and pulled her toward the exit. They were sprinting as fast as they could toward the exit when they heard the blast. The ceiling behind them started crumbling.

“Go! Go!” Luke yelled, urging Ella to run faster. They were almost to the exit when Luke grabbed Ella’s arms and dove out the door, shielding her body with his own as they reached the outside just in time, where they had once been standing now completely collapsed. They both breathed heavily, trying to catch their breath. Luke helped Ella to her feet and they brushed themselves off.

“Are you ok?”

“What was that you could’ve killed yourself.” Ella gasped, still out of breath.

“Are you ok?” Luke’s voice was urgent and Ella met his gaze. His eyes were full of concern.

“Yeah, Luke. I’m fine.” Her voice confused, but soft. “Are you?” He nodded his head and pulled her into a hug.

“Is everybody out?” Emily’s voice sounded. One by one their colleagues sounded in. “Ella? Luke?”

“Yeah….” Ella replied, still wrapped in Luke’s arms. “We’re fine.”

@somebookworm @beenthroughalot  

[hekate1308]

Routine

More Season 12 AU because I can’t stop myself. More Destiel in this one, I swear!

Now that he doesn’t have to worry about the Men of Letters wiping out the Win – wiping out his friends, Crowley can actually relax in his room.

It actually feels kind of nice to just let go. He knows it’s the spell, but he’s safe now. Dean has seen to that.

And Dr. Hess was dumb enough not to take any precaution in case he got found out and captured. Didn’t think they, or more specifically Dean, had it in him.

How wrong she was.

He’s lying on his bed, eyes closed, imagining what he’ll do to every single member of the Men of Letters when he’s free, hearing their screams, almost feeling their blood run over his hands, when Dean knocks at the door.

“Crowley? You decent?”

“Yes. Don’t be too disappointed”.

Dean opens the door.

A gasp leads Crowley to open his eyes.

He actually looks pale.

“Jesus, Crowley, you know you don’t need to breathe. I almost had a heart attack.”

Oh. Right.

That’s what you get for mediating.

“Anyway, here”.

Dean holds up a bottle of Craig.

“Thought you might as well enjoy yourself.”

“So you’re going to bring in Hess and my mother on a rag?”

He chuckles.

“Might be a bit impractical. How are you doing?”

“Much better than before” Crowley replies, honestly. He might be locked up, but he was doing way more harm when he wasn’t.

“Still... You hated it the last time.”

“The last time I was in a dungeon in the bunker. This is luxury compared to that.”

Dean nods.

“Call if you need anything, alright?”

It soon turns out he doesn’t have to. Every occupant of the mansion checks on him at least once a day.

Cas, who seems to have come to the conclusion that life without caffeine isn’t worth living, brings him a cup of coffee each morning.

“We’re working on the spell” he tells him every day without fail, “We’re going to break it.”

Oh, Cassie. If anyone knows what it feels like to be controlled, it’s him.

“I know. Just tell Squirrel to take a break, will you? He looked pretty run down yesterday.”

“He’s sleeping in today” he tells him firmly. Crowley grins. He can imagine that discussion.

“How does it feel?” Cas asks.

He shrugs.

“Not that bad, really. Things are usually easier when free will is not involved.”

“Yes, but not better.”

“Never that, feathers. Never that.”

Sam is... a bit of a surprise, really. He’s warmed up to him considerably, but Crowley still didn’t expect him to seek his company when he’s confined to his room.

“Does that look like a lamia attack to you?”

Typical of Moose. Always needing a reason to come talk to someone. Not like Dean, who simply spends time with people because he wants to.

“No idea. Did you show it to Dean?”

“Of course. He doesn’t know either.”

It didn’t use to be “of course” but Crowley doesn’t mention it.

Even Mick visits him regularly.

The former man of Letters is usually polite and concise, “Sorry but I don’t want you to learn anything that can harm us”, as he explained.

Crowley can see why he was the only piece on the board smart enough to leave their little killer club.

The point is that even locked into a giant trap he is as much part of life in the mansion as he was before. Except that he doesn’t learn what’s going on with their network and the Men of Letters, just in case.

He worried very little about Hell. Even before this, he went there less and less often. Ever since he killed Lucifer, there has just been little reason to go, aside from reminding everyone who’s in charge. And he’s never liked being the leader of a bunch of pitiful black-eyed cry babies anyway.

If anything, this experience has taught him very well where he stands.

One day, he gets a surprise visit.

It starts with strange noises coming down the hallway; he tenses until he recognizes Dean’s voice amidst the cursing and the banging.

“Can’t believe... I survived... three freaking apocalypses... to carry this thing for miles...”

“It’s not that far, Dean.”

Even Cas sounds exhausted.

“Guys... guys – careful!”

Another bang. Sam hisses.

“You okay Sammy? Mick, can’t you make sure...”

“I can barely see the corridor!”

“Stop grinning” Dean complains.

It makes sense when the door opens and Mel is carried into the room in a bathtub, as happy as can be.

“I am never doing that again” Dean announces.

“We have to take her back later” Cas reminds him.

“Hi Crowley” she says, still grinning.

“Mistress of the waves”.

“There it is. Knew something was up when you didn’t call me that.”

She squints.

“Yeah. There’s something on his soul... must be the spell. A dark spot... Sorry I can’t tell exactly. I can only barely make out demons’ souls, and humans are completely unreadable.”

“I hate to disappoint you, but my soul, or what is left of it, is dark as a matter of course.”

“You’d be surprised” she replies cryptically.

“But still... here’s the thing: The spell, while powerful, doesn’t seem to have a very firm hold on him.”

“I’ll be the first to tell you it does” he presses out. “I’ve been trying...”

“I didn’t mean that” she sounds apologetic. “I think it’s easier to get rid of it once you know how, that is all.”

That’s some good news, he supposes.

Mel stays for a bit longer, eager for a chat.

Crowley doesn’t seem to be the only one who enjoys her company. Mick certainly appreciates her visit.

It’s remarkably easy to tell. After all, he looks at her and Dean the same way.

It was a nice thing of her to literally drop in and come see him. He’s starting to develop cabin fever.

God, he needs this spell to be gone.

Not knowing where they stand exactly with the Men of Letters is infuriating. From the little information Dean gave him, it looks like they could win this war any day, but he wants to be sure.

Soon. The boys will find a way out of this.

Dean promised.

Once again, her son doesn’t show up.

Rowena is aware that Dr. Hess is growing more impatient with each passing day.

Her own fault. She should have given Fergus more specific instructions. That he has to do anything to bring them a report, for instance. Or make him incapable of acting differently than he usually would.

She could have done so herself, but...

He’s still her son. She might hate him most of the time and enjoyed breaking what was left of his heart, but blood’s thicker than water, and she enjoys the chaos of giving him a fighting chance.

Someone who clearly doesn’t is Mary Winchester. She’s still livid about the decision to exclude her from the spell, and she’s rather eager to finally destroy every monster in existence, so the free pass Rowena is supposed to get annoys her beyond all means.

One day, she corners her in the hallway.

“Where is he?” she hisses.

“Fergus? If I knew, you would, dear.”

“How can we be sure of that? You might be working with him...”

“That would be a rather bad decision, honestly. Because as soon as he’s free, he’ll come for me. Aided by your sons, no doubt.”

“They are... misguided. By your son, among others. I’m just trying to save them.”

She’s still convinced of that, apparently, not realizing that much of her motivation stems from the distain for the hunting life she thought she left behind.

���Of course you are. By destroying everything they hold dear.”

“They’re used to this life. That is all. Once they can go and be normal, they’ll...” Mary breaks off.

“I’m not discussing my family with a witch” she spits out.

“If you think that’s the worst thing I’ve ever had thrown at me... Fergus was always very creative. And I’d rather be a witch than something else”.

She moves past Mary.

Right as she’s about to turn the corner, she calls over her shoulder, “And at least I openly despise my offspring.”

She hears her march off and smiles. Undoubtedly Mary will do what she usually does to blow off steam and go kill something.

Rowena suddenly finds she vastly preferred her sons’ company to hers.

Dean was downright adorable when he had amnesia.

No wonder Fergus has a weakness for them, really.

A weakness...

She turned him week when she performed that spell. He must hate it. He always hated being told what to do, even when he was just a wee bairn in Scotland.

There was a reason she tried to sell him for three pigs once. He never forgave her for that.

Not that he’ll ever forget what she did to him now. Her son can hold a grudge.

She was right about Mary. She ends up disappearing for a few days and comes back splattered with blood and gore, a manic gleam in her eyes.

Rowena shudders. If the boys were like this, she wouldn’t be alive anymore.

Even so however, she and Mary Winchester aren’t that different.

That thought stops her in her tracks.

It’s true. They are both betraying their children.

At least Rowena knows exactly why and is honest about it.

But, watching Mary argue with Dr. Hess once again, she’s not so sure that’s a good thing, either.

Mary Winchester is starting to annoy her. She doesn’t see the big picture – she’s just as mistaken as her sons are, only in a different way.

If she could, she’d go on a killing spree right now, and Dr. Hess has never been comfortable with unreliable colleagues.

She made an exception for Mr. Ketch because he was useful and knew when to obey orders, but that was it.

Mary Winchester might soon turn out to be as much as liability as her sons ever were.

If so, she’s looking forward to dealing with the consequences. Mick Davies has taught her something.

No more weak links.  

Just another day in the life.

His boyfriend is talking to their werewolf buddy on the phone, his other best friend is still locked in his room, his brother is cleaning the weapons they used last night (nasty wendigo, thank God Tara noticed the signs and alerted them) and their newest addition is studying an old Hebrew document.

Yep, just another day in the life.

Even if Garth’s news that nearly every werewolf he knows is ready to support them is a little overwhelming.

Mick storms in just after Cas hangs up, looking frustrated.

“Nothing. And I know the spell must have ties to the Bible, but I never got high enough in the organization to learn about it – “

“Hey, don’t worry about it, man. We’ll find a way.”

“We always do” Cas confirms.

Mick sighs.

“not being able to help... It’s just frustrating.”

“Welcome to the club. You’ll get used to it”.

“At least he’s in a pretty good mood”.

“I think “not being told what to do” right now trumps everything, concerning Crowley.”

“You... know him very well” Mick begins, glancing at Cas.

“There were rumours...”

“If you mean the one where I turned into a demon and we spent a few weeks bffing it up, that’s true.”

He doesn’t even bait an eyelid.

He’s really growing used to all of this.

“Thank you. I was wondering.”

“You’re taking it pretty well.”

“I know you. I know you are a good man. The indiscretions of your past don’t matter in context.”

Dean sniggers a little at Mick describing his turning into a demon as “indiscretions”, causing him to blush and take his leave.

Cas’ arms circle around him.

“Don’t do that” he murmurs.

“Just having fun”.

Cas’ arms tighten.

“He’s younger than me”.

Oh.

“Cas, are you – are you actually jealous? Of Mick?”

“No, of course not.”

He sounds a bit grumpy and Dean turns around to kiss him.

“How about we agree we are all adults here and trust one another?”

Cas looks slightly ashamed of himself. Dean kisses him again.

“Come on. We got a King of Hell to save and the British Nazis to take down.”  

[bairdbc]

Father and Son

Growing up, there was a song that my dad would always play on his guitar. I knew the words to it before I could walk. It’s a Cat Stevens song called “Father and Son”. It’s about a dad letting his son go be a man and a son’s want to leave and be a better man. You may know it. Every time I hear it, I am filled with a barrage of emotion. It reminds me of SO many memories but the one memory it conjures the most were those times I began to get to know my dad as a little girl. Every time he played and sang it, I would listen to more than just the lyrics. I would hear what made my dad think, feel and dream. It was like every note offered me a tiny fragment of his innermost thoughts. My relationship with my dad has taken on many forms since I was a young girl. We have shared many conversations and many arguments. However, my dad and I are tethered to one another. I can talk to him for hours and it feels like 10 minutes. I know my Father. I get him. We are connected somehow as all children are to their parents (whether they want to be or not-lol).

Recently, my dad stunned me with insight I had never grasped on the phone the other night. It stimulated a path to revelation I had not even begun to consider. Revelation that has truly, instantly changed me. As my dad spoke and I listened, I began to understand how the Father of all creation relates to His son, Jesus. I began to understand how they are tethered and how I am invited in to that union. I am one with the Father through the son. I began to know what my Father God thinks, feels and dreams by listening. The Word of God is his song and you are a child invited to listen to the innermost thoughts of God the Father.

I don’t know about you but the Bible confuses me. If the Bible has all the answers, then why don’t they organize it differently with tabs that answer a direct problem. Like a tab for “debt, sickness, depression, marriage, weight loss, etc. Wouldn’t that be wonderful. Bam-instant answers. Sometimes I just see my Bible on my coffee table or ignore my BibleGateway app because it’s just not something I have the time to dissect. Lately, I have approached God and His word a bit differently. I have been directly asking for answers. I have boldly entered the throne room of Grace that I might obtain mercy and help in a time of need. (Hebrews 4:16) I boldly asked God to give me the Bible tabs that meet my need.

See…I want a place to live. My house was foreclosed on in 2011. I left for VA and left my home to renters. I lost a 4 bedroom, 2 bath house because 4 tenants ran out on rent, never paid a power bill and the recession worsened. I was left with nothing to pay a $985 mortgage that had backed up by 3 months. I had to let the house go. Losing that house damaged me. It made me feel embarrassed and irresponsible. I live in 700 square feet now and am ready to expand. Getting married and want to get back what was stolen from me. Right now, my living conditions are wild and I need more space. For the last 3 three months, I have complained. I have made everyone miserable. On top of that, I decided to fix it. I scoured Craiglist, Trulia, Hotpads, etc for hours. Made appointments with realtors, completed applications for 3 houses and was denied all of them. I complained the entire time until one day I got God involved. I asked him, “Why has my situation not changed?” and he led me to Hebrews 4:10. He said my labors were not to fix my situation but to labor to enter His rest. I told God his “tabs” were broken. I wanted John 14:14. I wanted a “anything I ask in His name and it will be done for me” answer. God said we were getting to that but I was thinking wrong. God revealed to me that I was trying to fix my situation and muster up options that would make me feel more stable. All I was saying aloud was my circumstance. I was constantly complaining and looking for ways to make it better. As soon as Hebrews 4:10 landed in my spirit, I began to see my situation differently. I began to see a way of escape and note the positive. I asked God to put positive words on my lips and to change my outlook. Get this-the situation got better. My prayers became praises and I began to find rest despite dramatic changes to the circumstances. However, I still live in the same space. I want a better space. I know God has better for me.

My colleague (the most dynamic woman I know) shared Isaiah 32:15-20 with me:

Yes, weep and grieve until the Spirit is poured

down on us from above (weep and grieve in the flesh, receive blessing by the spirit, not by might)

And the badlands desert grows crops

and the fertile fields become forests.

Justice will move into the badlands desert. (It was unjust that 4 people did not pay me rent.)

Right will build a home in the fertile field. (Righteousness declares that I will be given what the evil one stole.)

And where there’s Right, there’ll be Peace

and the progeny of Right: quiet lives and endless trust.

My people will live in a peaceful neighborhood— (Been robbed 4 times where I currently live.)

in safe houses, in quiet gardens. (I can never keep flowers alive on my balcony.)

The forest of your pride will be clear-cut,

the city showing off your power leveled.

But you will enjoy a blessed life,

planting well-watered fields and gardens,

with your farm animals grazing freely. (I have 2 dogs that deserve a yard to play in.)

God gave me a specific scripture for my situation. God was telling me two things: 1.) Let me turn your complaining into promises. 2.) Let me turn your schemes into visions.

The promise in Isaiah proclaims that I live in undisturbed places of rest. However, I still have another question for God-”How do I believe for this?” He said, “you don’t, it’s who you are.”

My dad and I are chatting. He knows nothing about the house or me plotting to move. He is just talking about what God is showing him and he says, “Brittany, the precious promises of God are yes and amen for your life. God wants you to live in ”a peaceful neighborhood—in safe houses, in quiet gardens…” I stopped him immediately. I said how did you know that scripture? He said, “it’s a sure promise for your life.” It was the same dang scripture. Seems to me God wants to give me John 14:14. He needed me to stop complaining, stop laboring and start accessing my God-given right to the best!

What is our God-given right as followers of Christ? How vast is our birthright, our inheritance? It’s more than what Jesus experienced on Earth as the Son of Man. John 14:12 says, “The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing.” We are carrying on the Father’s mission he started in the Son (John 17:18-19). We are here to reveal the Father, to bring Him glory. What did Jesus say to his mother and father when he was supposedly lost? “I am about my Father’s business.” We are about the Father’s business and we do business the way Jesus did business. We come into the realization of who we are in Christ. We are led by the Way, the Truth and the Life to the Father. The more we understand our identity in Christ, we begin to understand who we are and our purpose. Colossians blatantly defines our connection to Christ by saying in verse 19 of chapter 2: “Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us.”

I was confused. I asked God, ” How can we be children of God and ‘in Christ’ at the same time? Either we are one with Christ or we are children.” God answered me immediately and it stunned me. “Brittany, you are to me what Jesus is to me. The same relationship I have to the Son of God seated on my right is the same relationship I have with you.”

Selah.

Stay there a minute. Let that marinate and saturate your spirit. God is saying throughout the New Testament that we are one with Christ. He is literally saying that you are a participant in the relationship between Father and Son. You are to live in that union and your life be a living representation of what that unity creates. When knowing and accessing by faith your birthright, you are entering into the possibility, the reality of a life’s mission that mirrors the life of Christ. Jesus lived it. Proof. You and I can live it too and see “greater works” because he sits at the right hand of the Father with death as His footstool. Every promise, every decree to obey, every dream, every obstacle, every unknown begins and ends in Jesus, the author and finisher, Alpha and Omega.

My life is changed. How did Paul write Colossians in a jail cell and be filled with untold, unspeakable joy? How did Jesus for the joy that was set before Him endure the cross? How do I have joy and expectation for a peaceful neighborhood and a safe house? How do you receive this unspeakable joy and unswerving faith in the midst of a daunting, treacherous situation?

Sit at His feet. Listen to him speak and sing over you. Listen to His heart. Ask him questions. Wait. Listen. Speak. Receive. See!

[marilynngmesalo]

‘Sweet, gentle’ synagogue shooting victims remembered: ‘The loss is incalculable’

‘Sweet, gentle’ synagogue shooting victims remembered: ‘The loss is incalculable’ ‘Sweet, gentle’ synagogue shooting victims remembered: ‘The loss is incalculable’ https://ift.tt/2PquSLH

PITTSBURGH — They were professors and accountants, dentists and beloved doctors serving their local community.

A day after the shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that left 11 dead, officials released the names of the victims. The oldest of them was 97. The youngest was 54. They included a pair of brothers and a husband and wife.

Said Stephen Cohen, co-president of New Light Congregation: “The loss is incalculable.”

CECIL AND DAVID ROSENTHAL: ‘SWEET, GENTLE, CARING MEN’

Cecil Rosenthal.

Cecil and David Rosenthal went through life together with help from a disability-services organization. And an important part of the brothers’ lives was the Tree of Life Synagogue, where they never missed a Saturday service, people who knew them say.

“If they were here, they would tell you that is where they were supposed to be,” Chris Schopf, a vice-president of the organization ACHIEVA, said in a statement.

Achieva provides help with daily living, employment and other needs, and the organization had worked for years with Cecil, 59, and David, 54, who were among the 11 killed in Saturday’s deadly shooting. They lived semi-independently.

Cecil was a person who was up for all sorts of activities: a concert, lunch at Eat ‘n Park — a regional restaurant chain known for its smiley-face cookies — even a trip to the Duquesne University dining hall, recalls David DeFelice, a Duquesne senior who was paired with him in a buddies program three years ago. The two became friends, DeFelice said.

“He was a very gregarious person — loved being social, loved people. … You could put him any situation, and he’d make it work,” chatting about the weather or asking students about their parents and talking about his own, said DeFelice.

And when DeFelice recognized Hebrew letters on Cecil’s calendar, the elder man was delighted to learn that his buddy was also Jewish and soon invited him to Tree of Life. DeFelice joined him on a couple of occasions and could see that Cecil cherished his faith and the sense of community he found at temple.

“He was such a strong practitioner of his faith,” DeFelice said.

Emeritus Rabbi Alvin Berkun saw that, too, in Cecil, who according to his obituary was known as “the honorary mayor of Squirrel Hill,” and David, who worked at Goodwill Industries.

“They really found a home at the synagogue, and people reciprocated,” he said.

Cecil carried a photo in his wallet of David, whom Schopf remembers as a man with “such a gentle spirit.”

“Together, they looked out for each other,” she said. “Most of all, they were kind, good people with a strong faith and respect for everyone around.”

The two left an impression on state Rep. Dan Frankel, who sometimes attends services at Tree of Life and whose chief of staff is the Rosenthals’ sister.

“They were very sweet, gentle, caring men,” Frankel said. “… I know that this community will really mourn their loss because they were such special people.”

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BERNICE AND SYLVAN SIMON: HELPING OTHERS AS A TEAM

Bernice and Sylvan Simon were always ready to help other people, longtime friend and neighbour Jo Stepaniak says, and “they always did it with a smile and always did it with graciousness.”

“Anything that they could do, and they did it as a team,” she said.

The Simons, who were among those massacred Saturday, were fixtures in in the townhome community on the outskirts of Pittsburgh where they had lived for decades. She’d served on the board, and he was a familiar face from his walks around the neighbourhood, with the couple’s dog in years past.

Sylvan, 86, was a retired accountant with a good sense of humour — the kind of person his former rabbi felt comfortable joking with after Sylvan broke his arm a couple of weeks ago. (The rabbi emeritus, Alvin Berkun, quipped that Sylvan had to get better so he could once again lift the Torah, the Jewish holy scripture.)

Bernice, 84, a former nurse, loved classical music and devoted time to charitable work, according to Stepaniak and neighbour Inez Miller.

And both Simons cared deeply about Tree of Life Synagogue.

“(They) were very devoted, an active, steady presence,” Berkun said. The Simons had married there in a candlelight ceremony nearly 62 years earlier, according to the Tribune-Review.

Tragedy has struck their family before: One of the couple’s sons died in a 2010 motorcycle accident in California. And now the Simons’ deaths are reverberating through their family and community.

“Bernice and Sylvan were very good, good-hearted, upstanding, honest, gracious, generous people. They were very dignified and compassionate,” Stepaniak said, her voice breaking. “Best neighbours that you could ask for.”

MELVIN WAX: ‘A SWEET, SWEET GUY’

Melvin Wax.

Melvin Wax was always the first to arrive at New Light Congregation in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighbourhood — and the last to leave.

Wax, who was in his late 80s, was among those killed when a gunman entered the synagogue Saturday and opened fire a few minutes after Sabbath services began. Fellow members of the congregation, which rented space in the lower level of the Tree of Life Synagogue, said Wax was a kind man and a pillar of the congregation, filling just about every role except cantor.

“He was a gem. He was a gentleman,” recalled fellow congregant Barry Werber on Sunday. “There was always a smile on his face.”

Myron Snider spoke late Saturday about his friend who would stay late to tell jokes with him. He said “Mel,” a retired accountant, was unfailingly generous and a pillar of the congregation.

“If somebody didn’t come that was supposed to lead services, he could lead the services and do everything. He knew how to do everything at the synagogue. He was really a very learned person,” said Snider, a retired pharmacist and chairman of the congregation’s cemetery committee.

“He and I used to, at the end of services, try to tell a joke or two to each other. Most of the time they were clean jokes. Most of the time. I won’t say all the time. But most of the time.”

New Light moved to the Tree of Life building about a year ago, when the congregation of about 100 mostly older members could no longer afford its own space, said administrative assistant Marilyn Honigsberg. She said Wax, who lost his wife Sandra in 2016, was always there when services began at 9:45 a.m.

“I know a few of the people who are always there that early, and he is one of them,” she said.

Snider had just been released from a six-week hospital stay for pneumonia and was not at Saturday’s services.

“He called my wife to get my phone number in the hospital so he could talk to me,” Snider said. “Just a sweet, sweet guy.”

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JERRY RABINOWITZ: ‘TRUSTED CONFIDANT, HEALER’

Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz and his partner in his medical practice were seemingly destined to spend their professional lives together.

He and Dr. Kenneth Ciesielka had been friends with Rabinowitz for more than 30 years, since they lived on the same floor at the University of Pennsylvania. Ciesielka was a few years behind Rabinowitz, but whether by fate or design, the two always ended up together. They went to the same college, the same medical school and even had the same residency at UPMC a few years apart.

“He is one of the finest people I’ve ever met. We’ve been in practice together for 30 years and friends longer than that,” Ciesielka said. “His patients are going to miss him terribly. His family is going to miss him terribly and I am going to miss him. He was just one of the kindest, finest people.”

Former Allegheny County Deputy District Attorney Law Claus remembered Rabinowitz, a 66-year-old personal physician and victim in Saturday’s shooting, as more than a physician for him and his family for the last three decades.

“He was truly a trusted confidant and healer,” he wrote in an email to his former co-workers on Sunday. “Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz … could always be counted upon to provide sage advice whenever he was consulted on medical matters, usually providing that advice with a touch of genuine humour. He had a truly uplifting demeanour, and as a practicing physician he was among the very best.”

Rabinowitz, a family practitioner at UPMC Shadyside, was remembered by UPMC as one of its “kindest physicians.” The hospital said in a statement that “the UPMC family, in particular UPMC Shadyside, cannot even begin to express the sadness and grief we feel over the loss.”

“Those of us who worked with him respected and admired his devotion to his work and faith. His loss is devastating,” Tami Minnier, UPMC chief quality officer, wrote in a statement on Twitter.

JOYCE FIENBERG: ‘MAGNIFICENT, GENEROUS, CARING’

Joyce Fienberg is shown in this undated family handout photo.

Joyce Fienberg and her late husband, Stephen, were intellectual powerhouses, but those who knew them say they were the kind of people who used that intellect to help others.

Joyce Fienberg, 74, who was among the victims in Saturday’s shooting, spent most of her career at the University of Pittsburgh’s Learning Research and Development Center, retiring in 2008 from her job as a researcher looking at learning in the classroom and in museums. She worked on several projects including studying the practices of highly effective teachers.

Dr. Gaea Leinhardt, who was Fienberg’s research partner for decades, said she is devastated by the death of her colleague and friend.

“Joyce was a magnificent, generous, caring, and profoundly thoughtful human being,” she said.

The research centre’s current director, Charles Perfetti, said Fienberg earned her bachelor’s degree in social psychology from the University of Toronto, in her native Canada.

She brought a keen mind, engaging personality and “a certain elegance and dignity” to the centre, Perfetti said.

“One could have elevated conversations with her that were very interesting,” even if they were brief, he said. “I was always impressed with her.”

Stephen, who died in 2016 after a battle with cancer, was a renowned professor of statistics and social science at Carnegie Mellon University. His work was used in shaping national policies in forensic science, education and criminal justice.

The couple married in 1965 and had moved to Pittsburgh in the early 1980s. Joyce began her work at the centre in 1983. The couple had two sons and several grandchildren.

DANIEL STEIN: ‘PASSIONATE ABOUT THE COMMUNITY AND ISRAEL’

Daniel Stein was a visible member of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community, where he was a leader in the New Light Congregation and his wife, Sharyn, is the membership vice-president of the area’s Hadassah chapter.

“Their Judaism is very important to them, and to him,” said chapter co-president Nancy Shuman. “Both of them were very passionate about the community and Israel.”

Stein, 71, was president of the Men’s Club at Tree of Life. He also was among a corps of the New Light members who, along with Wax and Richard Gottfried, 65, made up “the religious heart” of the congregation, said Cohen, the congregation co-president.

Stein’s nephew Steven Halle told the Tribune-Review that his uncle “was always willing to help anybody.”

With his generous spirit and dry sense of humour, “he was somebody that everybody liked,” Halle said.

ROSE MALLINGER: SHOOTER’S OLDEST VICTIM

Former Tree of Life Rabbi Chuck Diamond said he worried about Rose Mallinger as soon as he heard about the deadly shooting at the synagogue.

The 97-year-old had almost unfailingly attended services for decades, he told The Washington Post, and was among the first to walk in.

“I feel a part of me died in that building,” Diamond said.

The oldest of those killed in Saturday’s shooting at Tree of Life, Brian Schreiber told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he regularly saw her at services.

“Rose was really a fixture of the congregation,” Schreiber, president and CEO of the Jewish Community Center of Pittsburgh, told the Post-Gazette.

Her daughter, Andrea Wedner, 61, was among the wounded, a family member said. She remains hospitalized.

RICHARD GOTTFRIED: READYING FOR RETIREMENT

Richard Gottfried was preparing for a new chapter in his life.

Gottfried ran a dental office with his wife and practice partner Margaret “Peg” Durachko Gottfried. He and his wife met at the University of Pittsburgh as dental students, according to the Washington Post, and opened their practice together in 1984.

Gottfried, who often did charity work seeing patients who could not otherwise afford dental care, was preparing to retire in the next few months.

He, along with Wax and Stein, “led the service, they maintained the Torah, they did what needed to be done with the rabbi to make services happen,” Cohen said.

“He died doing what he liked to do most,” said Don Salvin, Gottfried’s brother-in-law, told the Washington Post.

IRVING YOUNGER: ‘NEVER HAD AN UNKIND WORD’

A neighbour in Pittsburgh’s Mount Washington neighbourhood on Sunday remembered victim Irving Younger as “a really nice guy.”

Jonathan Voye told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Younger, 69, was personable and occasionally spoke with him about family or the weather.

“I’m scared for my kids’ future,” Mr. Voye told the Post-Gazette. “How can you have that much hate for your fellow neighbour?”

Tina Prizner, who told the Tribune-Review she’s lived next door to Younger for several years, said he was a “wonderful” father and grandfather.

The one-time real estate company owner “talked about his daughter and his grandson, always, and he never had an unkind word to say about anybody,’ Prizner told the Tribune-Review.

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[rekhisssd-blog]

Filmmaker Mr. Chol Garang gives a biblical quote to prove he’s religious.

On our today’s episode, we feature a very talented young man who came from far, “he is not a successful man yet” – He said, but his plans are way paving a way for him, ladies and gentlemen, welcome Mr. Chol Garang also known as Shørl Wesley.

 Interviewer: Hello Chol, Welcome to our todays episode, how are you feeling to be here?

Chol: I’m feeling great, I would say, “Thanks for the opportunity”.

I: Can you please tell us, who’s Mr. Chol Garang or Shørl Wesley?

Mr. C: I would say, Mr. Chol Garang is a South Sudanese national, he’s born in the earlier 90s in the southern part of South Sudan, he became the representative for the first born, having fought his difficult times and abandonment, he’s now here with you in the studio.

I: So, how old are you and what do you do for a living Mr. Chol Garang?

Mr. C: Well, I’m 24 and I’m a filmmaker.

I: Wow! amazing, when did you start this filmmaking career?

Mr. C: As a small boy, I started starring in drama probably from 1998 at my elementary level, I was four, I had determination to act in front of the crowd also before my parents, I believe I and other kids we were acting with, we were the “Biscars” – (Oscars awarded in form of Biscuits and sweets) winners.

I: Haha (Laughter), what a journey, and so how far have this journey brought you through?

Mr. C: Here we are, messing around with the art around us. I’m now making my own films.

I: As a filmmaker, what are your roles?

Mr. C: Well, to be precise, I’m a writer from scratch, I’m a cameraman, a sound engineer, an editor, producer and director, and those are some of the main roles I play.

I: Wow, Chol who inspired you?

Mr. C: I’ve a list of people or things that inspires me, first of all, I get a lot of inspiration from the bible, it’s worth it being inspired by the word of God, that’s why we fight back, now, there is a list of people who inspire me from international level to grass root, I’ve international directors like “Dean Devlin” of BANSHEE, Justin lin of the Fast & Furious, Frank Raja Arase of Ghana and many more, I do receive my inspiration from my workmate also my uncle and colleague, Director Chol Mareech, he’s a guy who can prove to you that Sky is The Limit.

I: wait…did you just say bible, how’s that?

Mr. C: Well, it’s clear in the book of Romans 14:1; (“Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right ore wrong”)

This means that our faith is strong in an area where we survive contact with earthly people without falling into their pattern, at a point, we must avoid certain activities.

Also see the book of HEBREWS 11:1;

I: You’re incredible; tell us about your family in relation to line of work.

Mr. C: I’m sorry, I don’t discuss about my family.

I: Okay, So far Mr. Chol Garang, what have you achieved, do you have a startup or something?

Mr. C: Good question indeed, I’m currently working on getting my film aid organization called “Filmerah” on its feet, it’s really hard to come up with such but we really have to work harder to incite youth to be creative and convert their youthfulness to usefulness and save their country, nothing is permanent and that’s why I’ve a feeling that this calamity that has befallen our country will eventually come to an end.

I: These are great words of hope, apart from film making, what are your other passions and hobbies?

Mr. C: laughing, Well, film making is not my career, I’m an I.T guy, I’m a computer programmer, a web and software developer, I dropped out in my second year at St. Lawrence University due to lack of funds but hopefully I’ll work on that, I’m a chauffeur sometimes a driver, I do a lot of work, such as I’m a graphics designer.

I: This is unbelievable. So, what are your plans for the future?

Mr. C: Concerning my film thing, I’m determined to make it to Hollywood, no doubt thou it might take a long time, that’s where I’m heading to.

I: Tell me, what are some of the challenges you encounter in your life?

Mr. C: Well, we shouldn’t talk about my life, But I’ve problems in my filmmaking career, one great big deal is finance, I need money to be able to run any film project, basically any activity. Secondly, I’ve realize being a filmmaker in south Sudan is kind of risky, cameras are the new snipers in town, the government feel threatened, no support, when you’re caught, you’re punished instead of being warned, it will take us forward. Also the film career perception in South Sudan is so dysfunctional and it makes someone like me totally expandable, I literally do outreach and plan to sketch my film rising in the neighboring countries, at least there is law and order and aspects regulating film work.

I: It’s good to hear such words from you Chol; can you tell us little bit about your relationship?

Mr. C: [Mute] haha, honestly, there’s no comment about that and I know the media will keep pushing me harder, well, I’m seeing someone and it’s disclosed.

I: it was nice talking to you Wesley, we hope to see great leaders like you at this age doing amazing things that will lead to progress, it has been my pleasure chatting with you.

Mr. C: Thank you so much, hope to see you again soon, thanks for sharing my story.