Apr 15, 2015
WHO IS THE OTHER IN JEWISH COCHIN?
Who is the OTHER in COCHIN? Anthropology is about the study of THE OTHER and until recently it has been chez l’autre (in the OTHER’s home). But in light of…
Stories
Field notes from the road
Medicine, culture, travel, food, healing, and human stories from my archive. Start with a trail, search for a memory, or move by year.
Roads, meals, clinics, and human encounters.Archive into inquiry
These field notes are not only memory. They are the ground from which my new field inquiries begin.
The current inquiry follows one trail through the archive: food culture, metabolic health, Indigenous knowledge, and Suriname.
Apr 15, 2015
WARM, FRIENDLY, GENEROUS FRIENDS AND SEDER IN MIAMI
Just a few days ago I was in Fort Cochin, was wondering where I would spend the first night of Pesach! No invitation was forthcoming from Portland, Oregon so I…
Apr 15, 2015
MALA SYNAGOGUE, AN ENCHANTING EXAMPLE OF KERALA JEWISH SYNAGOGUE ARCHITECTURE
Nowhere in the world, can one witness the harmony between the religions and cultures as one sees in this part of Kerala. This is not a politically correct behavior imposed…
Mar 15, 2015
FOOD SYMBOLISM OF PURIM, THE UNIVERSAL MESSAGE OF THIS CELEBRATION
Today is 13 th of Adar 5775 Yesterday evening, walking home in the evening, the clear fading sky showed the outlines of a bright moon, almost full. Is the moon…
Feb 15, 2015
DISTORTION OF HEALTH INFORMATION ON INTERNET
HEALTH INFORMATION ON INTERNET DISTORTED BY COMMERCIAL GROUPS Low Vitamin D Levels Tied To Increased Risk For Type 2 Diabetes. HealthDay (2/24, Predit) reports that a study published in the…
Dec 15, 2014
JEWS OF ARABIA AND IRAN: PAST AND PRESENT AND A HANUKKAH THOUGHT FOR THEM
IN MEMORY OF ALL THE JEWS WHO LIVED IN ARABIC/PERSIAN SPEAKING LANDS, IN HISTORIC TIMES AND THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO LIVE IN IRAN AS MOST ARAB COUNTRIES HAVE MADE REFUGEES…
Nov 15, 2014
POST MODERNITY AND THE FUTURE OF COMMUNICATIONS
Post Modernity and the Future of Communications My sister told me that she had lunch with six adults and as many children at a nice restaurant in Cayman Islands, it…
Nov 15, 2014
SPICING UP YOUR HEALTH: BRING ON THE MASALA
MOGULS GOT IT RIGHT SPICE UP YOUR LIFE A BIT BRING ON THE ROGAN JOSH OR CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA On a recent visit to Miami, my good friend and I…
Nov 15, 2014
FROM INDIANS TO CUBANS A FREQUENT FLIER ODYSSEY
Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE FROM INDIANS TO CUBANS A FREQUENT FLIER ODYSSEY At 630 AM, as NPR was broadcasting the news of the day, I drove…
Oct 15, 2014
BBC, CNN INTERNATIONAL, TRADITION IN A SUPER MODERN WORLD
TRADITION IN A SUPER MODERN WORLD I would be in a hotel room, trying to catch up on NEWS, usually in English, whether BBC or CNN International, rarely Al Jazeera,…
Sep 15, 2014
SHANAH TOVAH TIKKATEVU 5775 WELCOME JEWISH NEW YEAR
SHANAH TOVAH TIKKATEVU WELCOME TO THE JEWISH NEW YEAR 5775 This New Year, as I dip the apple slices into the honey, I would remember fondly the various conversations around…
Aug 15, 2014
JEWS OF ALGERIA, CHAABI MUSIC, MUSIQUE ANDALUZ, ARAB AMITIE.. NOW ALL NOSTALGIA
The Story of El Gusto, the Chaabi Music Reunion, is truly one of nostalgia and remembrance of a time that would never ever appear again. When a Jew plays this…
Aug 15, 2014
PLEASURE WITHOUT DESIRE
One of my favourite philosophers, Gilles de Leuze, once famously declared: Tell me your desires, I will tell you who you are. In the western minds, who you are, is…
Jul 15, 2014
SHABBAT SHALOM FROM MALAYSIA A MOSLEM COUNTRY
IT is so very important to me to say my Shabbat prayers here in this Moslem Country where they chant anti Israeli songs each day and the politicians call Israel…
Jul 15, 2014
CELEBRATING BASTILLE DAY, THE FRENCH NATIONAL DAY IN MALAYSIA
IT is 14th of July 2014 Bastille Day Fete Nacional France Celebrations Parades Fireworks yes in France but I am in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Since I have family in France…
Jun 15, 2014
LIFE IS FULL OF UNEXPECTED PLEASURES
FRIENDS, FOOD AND FAR EAST 4TH TIME IN 2014 Miami-Newark-Hong Kong-Singapore-Kuala Lumpur-Siem Reap-Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok-Amman-Tel Aviv-Istanbul-Brussels Trip 3 Miami-New York-Hong Kong-Kuala Lumpur-Yangon-Bangkok-Siem Reap-Kuala Lumpur-Kuala Trengganu-Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta-Tokyo-Chicago-Charlotte-Fort Lauderdale Trip 2
Jun 15, 2014
WANDERING JEW: THE SHABBATH VARIATIONS
I have been fortunate enough to be traveling on an irregularly irregular basis all around the world since 1993, and since 2002 fairly regularly to South East Asia. I have…
Apr 15, 2014
NATURE VS NURTURE WHEN IT COMES TO HUMANITARIAN MEDICAL PRACTICE
Nature vs Nurture Science vs Entrepreneurial While watching a short video about some of the eye boggling science that is coming out of Israel, I began thinking about Nature vs…