Ramblin' with Roger

The Yiddish Book Center

A Storied History

On February 17, my wife and I left the Kern Art Center and went to The Yiddish Book Center. It is located on the campus of Hampshire College in Amherst.

We watched the introductory video. It was likely the most entertaining preview of a museum or library I have ever seen. The story of Aaron Lansky is that of a 24-year-old graduate student of Yiddish literature. In the course of his studies, he “realized that untold numbers of irreplaceable Yiddish books… were being discarded by Jews unable to read the language of their Yiddish-speaking parents and grandparents.

“So he organized a nationwide network of zamlers (book collectors) and launched a concerted campaign to save the world’s remaining Yiddish books before it was too late.” What was entertaining was the reception he received from donors and the scale of books he received, far beyond his wildest expectations.

Our daughter met us there, and we went on a tour of the facility. It was supposed to take about half an hour, but our enthusiastic docent, answering our many questions, spent 90 minutes with us. “The exhibition features thousands of rare objects, books, family heirlooms, paintings, photographs, music, and videos, including many never seen before in public.”

The “60-foot color mural of global ‘Yiddishland’ by illustrator Martin Haake” portrays everything from Jewish gaucho saddling up in Moises Ville, Argentina, at the turn of the 20th century to the Barry sisters at the Grossinger’s resort in the Catskills of upstate New York.

“Visitors can also explore a re-creation of the Warsaw apartment of writer I. L.Peretz, whose legendary salon stood at the forefront of Yiddish modernism in the 1900s.”

But wait, there’s more!

“In 1997, the Center opened a building in Amherst on 10 acres of land purchased from Hampshire College, Lansky’s alma mater; a second building in 2009 accommodated educational programs. Lansky’s announcement in 2024 that he would retire in 2025 (he’ll continue as a part-time advisor) made the front page of the New York Times, which called the Center “one of the country’s leading Jewish cultural institutions.”

The “beautiful 37,000-square-foot headquarters.. is a lebedike velt – a lively world – featuring an open Yiddish book repository, theatres, art galleries, museum exhibitions about Yiddish language and culture, and more.

However, the YBC is doing more than merely displaying relics. It has had a summer program in Yiddish culture since 1984. The Steven Spielberg Digital Yiddish Library was created in 1998. They have been collecting oral histories since 2010.

If you can’t make it there, attend A Global Culture Virtual Exhibit.

Based on a score of 100, Charity Navigator rated the Yiddish Book Center a score of 98 for Accountability and Finance, noting its independent board and positive financial status, and labeled it a 4-Star charity for the fiscal year of 2024.

Highly recommended!

Sucking Up Water

wet/dry vac

What did I do on my birthday, March 7th? I spent the better part of the morning sucking up water. I’ve mentioned that when it rains or when the snow melts, we’ll have a pool of water at the juncture of our walkway and our sidewalk, caused by the REPAIRS the city of Albany, NY, made to the sidewalk a decade or more ago. I dubbed it Lake 54 in honor of the NYC club Studio 54.

My wife suggested sweeping the puddle, but I said that there was way too much water. I remembered that we have a wet/dry vac in the basement, which I hadn’t used in a very long time. On the 6th of March, I decided, since I was having people over the next day, to try to drain this excess pond.

So I schlepped the machine up from the basement – no small task, because that thing is heavy – and got it outside. I found an extension cord that worked, and the machine started sucking up the excess water from the walk. When the machine cut off because it was full, I started removing the water with a three-cup plastic container. Eventually, when the water level was low enough, I could tip the device over into the big snow bank in the yard.

Hospitality

This exercise reminded me of something that is quite obvious: water is heavy. Twelve gallons of water are definitely heavy. I did that exercise a couple of times on the 6th.

One other thing: the machine is LOUD. The crossing guard at the nearby school, a few dozen meters away, glared in my direction. Hey, I want our sidewalk to be dry for the schoolkids, too.

When I looked out on the 7th, it looked just as bad. So I did it two more times on my birthday, but I decided to dump the excess water in the nearest sewer. That meant walking the device, which rather reminds me of R2D2, two houses away.

I got rid of all that water because my friends were coming over for my hearts game, bringing food and beverages. We told lots of stories, some of which involved Scotland and/or getting older, and had a wonderful time.

I’d lost every one of the four or five games I played except the last, and it’s only because of a quirky house rule that allows someone who gets exactly to 100 to go back to zero. I had 81 points and got 19.

But as people were leaving, the same pond returned. It was particularly troubling to me because one of my friends broke her ankle and was wearing a boot, which needed to stay DRY.

Still, my work apparently had its beneficial benefit The next morning, Lake 54 was almost totally dry and remained dry even as other people’s walks were puddling. So I feel like the nearly 50 gallons I removed from my sidewalk were ultimately beneficial.

Irish heritage

1926 Irish census

Two sources of Irish heritage intrigue me. The African American Irish Diaspora Network (AAIDN ) works “to connect African Americans with Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the Irish Diaspora through education, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and cultural exploration.

The February 2026 newsletter mentioned the Library of Congress Exhibition that spotlighted Frederick Douglass’s ties to Ireland. You can find more information here in the Irish Echo.

The issue also highlighted Leon Diop—co-author of Black & Irish: Legends, Trailblazers & Everyday Heroes with Briana Fitzsimons… —and founder of Black and Irish, shared his thoughts on the release of his new memoir, Mixed Up. “You can read more of the Hot Press article below, and grab Mixed Up now at the Little Island Books website!”

AAIDN is more of a gateway to other cool stuff. You can subscribe here.

Genealogy

I joined The Irish Family Genealogist in October 2025. The coolest feature: “Each Thursday, I answer a new Irish genealogy question so you never have to guess what to do next. From beginner questions to tricky roadblocks, I cover it all.”

And he does. Some recent examples: Why Your Irish Ancestor’s Birthday Might Be Wrong. “Does your Irish ancestor’s birthday seem to change across different records? You’re not the only one with this problem! Discover why your ancestors’ birthdays ‘drift’ and how to narrow it down.”

This could be helpful for some: A 100-Year-old census goes online — “Here is why it matters. The 1926 Irish census is scheduled for release in April 2026. For anyone tracing Irish roots, this is something special.”

Ireland’s most Heartbreaking tradition: The American Wake – so called “because it was the ‘celebration’ held the night before a young person emigrated to America. This particular American Wake is for [Mike Collins’] great-granduncle, Patrick Collins.”

Collins? Hmm. I’m STILL trying to find the parents of my great-grandmother, Margaret Collins, born in 1865 in upstate New York. Her Irish parents most likely had an American wake.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Céad míle fáilte!

March rambling: your AI slop

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

No one wants to read your AI slop

The $5.6 billion opening salvo: inside the staggering cost of his war on Iran

Orwellian Board of Peace Consists Entirely of Human Rights Abusers

The Black Anti-Fascist Tradition Recognized That Fascism Didn’t Begin in Europe

Blowtorching the frog

USAID: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

These Women Exposed Prison Sexual Abuse. Now ICE Wants to Deport Them.

Florida Has Deemed All Existing Intro to Sociology Textbooks Illegal

Should charity CEOs get a percentage of revenue raised? (NO!)

How selfish are we? An age-old debate about human nature is being energised with new findings on the tightrope of cooperation and competition

Is Freedom Enough? Notes from a Community Conversation

John Green: Risk Is a Privilege

Apocalypse no: how almost everything we thought we knew about the Maya is wrong

Daryl Hannah: How Can ‘Love Story’ Get Away With This?

WHCL (Hamilton College) is 85 years old

Pete Townshend and Jodie Foster Take The Colbert Questionert

Now I Know: The Man Who Shipped Himself Home and The Underground World Time Forgot and How Mickey Mouse Saved Time and The “Lion” Whose Bark Was Bigger Than Its Bite

Kelly on biscuit

Pants on Fire

From here: For the last year, [FOTUS] has told us that he’s made life safe for democracy, and more affordable and better all around. During his record-long SOTU address on Feb. 24, he told us that our economy was strong, gas prices were $1.85 a gallon, and the stock market was above 50,000 for the first time. “When I came back, our country was dead. Now it’s the hottest country on the planet,” he said in what has become the standard stump speech pickup line.

Three weeks later, the average price of gas is $3.60 a gallon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down another 739 points Thursday at 46,677, a loss of more than 9% since the State of the Union. On Friday, it was down another 119 points, finishing at 46,558.

MUSIC

My Funny Valentine – Leslie Green (02 20 26)

Neil Sedaka, Singing Craftsman of Memorable Pop Songs, Dies at 86

Country Joe McDonald, Whose Antiwar Song Became an Anthem, Dies at 84

The Clarity of Cold Air by Jonathan Bailey Holland

Cartoon Collection – Medley sinfónico

I Don’t Wanna Know – Human Radio

Buddy Guy: Tiny Desk Concert February 27, 2026

Concerto for Wind Ensemble by Kevin Day

George, Tell It Like It Is -Peter Sprague featuring Sinne Eeg

Umoja (and others) by Valerie Coleman

Objects In Mirror – Josh Ottum

Here We Go Again – MonaLisa Twins

You’ll Be Back, and You’ll Be Back a cappella

We Can Work It Out -· Stevie Wonder

Hysteria (A Comedy Song) -Riki Lindhome

Kyrie – Mr. Mister

Desi Arnaz short (1946)

How Will I Know – Whitney Houston.

You Did It Your Way – Jimmy Fallon Serenades Stephen Colbert On The Late Show

If Stayin’ Alive Had Been Written in the 16th Century – Tabea Bös and Jonas Wolf

The Fate of Melania – A Randy Rainbow Song Parody

MORE MUSIC

K-Chuck Radio: Were the Carpenters just a great cover band?

Blackbird – Beyoncé

Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough – Michael Jackson

Strike Up The Band (Gershwin) – Thilo Wolf Big Band

Hot Stuff and MacArthur Park Suite– Donna Summer

Texas Flood – Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble

The theme song from the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon show – Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine

Hurricane Country – Peter Sprague

Matt Forbes: L-O-V-E and It’s Almost Like Being In Love (Lerner & Loewe tune from the show, Brigadoon) and You’re Nobody’Til Somebody Loves You

Maybe I’m Amazed – Paul McCartney

Got To Get You Into My Life – Earth, Wind & Fire,

Flip Flop and Fly – Joe Turner and His Blues Kings

Ray Bolger dancing — alone and with a couple of past presidents — in April in Paris

Hello My Baby – Joe Howard on the Ed Sullivan Show, 1954

Genre Delve #13: AOR/Classic Rock

Thunks Redux: Sunday Stealing

dermatology

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

Once again, we return to Thursday Thunks, which is giving us more questions. Alas, the thunking stopped back in 2011.

Thursday Thunks Redux

1. It’s the middle of the night. There isn’t another car in sight. You’re stuck at a red light that just won’t change. How long do you wait until you run it?

I know that on my bicycle, it’s been about 90 seconds. There are some intersections where the bike will not trip the signal. BTW, that’s true in the daytime as well.

2. What’s your favorite recipe?

There’s only one, and it’s for lasagna, which I wrote about six years ago.

3. When did you last ask yourself, “What the hell was I thinking?”

Oh, about now. We at the Friends and Foundation of the Albany Public Library need to put together the postcard for the May/June book reviews and author talks. I have all the information about the book, the author, and the speaker. But I didn’t notice until Friday that I didn’t have any biographical information about the speaker, and the deadline to get that to the library is the same day. I sent out an email, but no response. If I had noticed this earlier, it would have made my life easier.

Excise

4. Have you ever had a mole removed? If yes, where on your body was it?

Not a mole, but what my dermatologist, whom I see annually because of my vitiligo, removed were some skin tags. She uses cryotherapy, which stings quite a bit for about 15 seconds.

5. What website do you faithfully check (other than email)?

fillyjonk

AmeriNZ

Coverville

Vlogbrothers

Forgotten Stars

News From ME

I get feeds from a slew of news sites. Some I only get to see the first paragraph or two (WaPo, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, e.g.). But I subscribe to the New York Times, the (Albany) Times Union, and GroundNews.