After so much fun with my family just the other week, it seems to be falling apart. I saw my grandparents for the first time in a year (due to Israel) at Shira and Mike's engagement party, and my Grandma Franny, who just turned 80, was looking quite beautiful. But this week she was not feeling well and had to go to hospital. She is now home, but it's hard to see my Grandma in pain and my Grandfather struggling as well. I think it shook the whole family up.

My Daddio was also not doing so well. He tore a ligament or something or another in his knee, and he had outpatient surgery to fix it. He was limping quite a bit, but true to form he decided, not a week after the surgery, to walk from the 50s up to 122nd street to see me. Once here, we had a nice lunch and I got to show him the Columbia campus and TC's main building. I think he was suitable impressed that he was getting his money's worth with architecture and gardening. We also took a tour of Grant's Tomb (though it belongs to two Grants, Ulysses and Julia). We took turns quizzing each other on Civil War trivia, which he won since everything I know he told me at some point and I don't remember half of what he tells me. I never had a chance. We then hung out at my apartment and took naps, until dinnertime when we headed out to Shira and Mike's place.

After a nice family dinner, we bid Daddio adieu, and Shira, Mike, and I went to see Borat. I usually don't go in for "stupid" humor movies, but absolutely everyone is talking about this film. I was 3/4ths horrified, 1/4 entertained. There is a great deal of anti-Semitism in the film, which seems acceptable since the star and writer is Jewish, but one must wonder what the non-Jewish and middle-American audiences take form the movie. There was also a great deal of nudity, unattractive nudity. There was also ironic commentary on American culture, everything from gun laws and Southern racism to NY's fear of human contact. I felt for the first time a bit like a NYer when I saw Borat on the subways and streets of my residence. I don't want to ruin it for anyone...

Kareem!!!!! Kareem and I met about 4 years ago at OSU when we both attended the Palestinian National Convention. Then, a few summers later, I met Michelle Weiner through my then roommates in Jerusalem. I ended up hanging out with Weiner a lot, and then one day we hung out with her friend Kareem as well, and it turned out we had already met! He stayed at my apartment a few times that summer, and this past summer in Jerusalem we met up quite a few times and he took me and a few friends to Bethlehem (look at old blog). More importantly, everyone loves him, LOVES HIM. So it was a special treat that he invited me out with his friends this weekend, which included Weiner as well!

Pictured: Kareem, Me, Weiner

I met up with Kareem, Weiner and two of their friends and one fiance at the Museum of Sex. I'm not sure that it was really an educational experience, the kind of non-formal institution we're taught about at Teachers College. The first exhibit was on Japanese pornography, mostly tiny sketches from the 19th century. Strangely enough, I had seen a similar exhibit in Jerusalem. Brian and I had gone to the Israel Museum because they had a few exhibits on Japanese cultures and art, which included these same sketches. It's strange what pops up in your life. After the museum we took a long walk to dinner, which ended up being Afghani food, very similar to Indian and very tasty. We then headed back to the movie theater, where they were all going to see Borat and I was going to go home. We stopped for some Ben & Jerry's, the literal cherry on top of a nice evening out.