How about some stuff to read n' hear?
Chaotic recommendations! (#7)
Dear ones,
I hope you had a weekend that include at least one (1) delicious meal and at least two (2) snuggles from a loved one, human or animal. I can’t remember anything I ate over the weekend, besides a really good rice noodle bowl with chili-lime tofu, but I got a lot of great snuggles from all members of the household. Including the silly cats.
On Shabbat morning, I took Big Kid into New York for a free intro ballet class, as part of the Passport to the Arts program at Lincoln Center. Basically, kids can sign up for free art experiences, taught by professional performing artists of all kinds: musicians, dancers, and so forth. Big Kid had a wonderful time for a few hours in a black box theater in midtown Manhattan, learning the difference between a plié and a relevé, twirling, feeling the music move through her body. As a parent, it was such a delight to witness her experience movement in such a beautifully embodied way.
It was also wonderful to get to spend a morning having a no-rush adventure with Big Kid. Back when she was a toddler, we used to go on no-rush adventures all the time. Anytime we had no plans, I’d grab her by the hand and we’d take off on a subway adventure. We never knew where we were going when we set off, and anyway it didn’t really matter. The point was the journey.
This being New York City, we’d inevitably have an interesting time on the way. A person with rainbow hair. A person transporting a tree on the train. A complete mariachi band performing live. And so forth.
We’d get off somewhere, make our way to a café or a playground or a park, have a snack, and then head back home. Sometimes we’d take the East River ferry, thought more often we’d just ride the various subway lines and busses all around the city. Once, we took the cable car to Governor’s Island — these adventures could end up going anywhere.
These days, we’re a little more strapped for time. She has a great many commitments — rock-climbing class, Movie Night at school — and so do I, as I wrote about in a recent newsletter.
So, it felt especially sweet not to hurry anywhere on Shabbat morning. We got to New York in plenty of time and, miraculously, found street parking three blocks from Lincoln Center. This meant we could meander to our destination. Big Kid climbed the scaffolding, and the trees, and the fire hydrants. We stopped to note a statuette of firefighters and some random street art. We skipped into the Rose Building, hand-in-hand.
On the way home, we listened to Best of the ‘80s Weekend on Lite fm and, when it staticked out in the Lincoln Tunnel, I explained about music traveling through the air. We talked about the soot from exhaust pipes (“When we get home, let’s make a plan to get rid of coal, Mama.”) and about how music feels when you’re dancing. We sat in quiet company.
These are the moments I hope she remembers when she’s all grown up. These are the moments I hope I remember when she’s all grown up.
In the meantime, here are some things I found interesting or provocative in the past few weeks.
Love,
Mikhal
Hey there! Welcome to the Chaos Palace is a space uplifting ADHD, queerness, Judaism, and how to find opportunities for growth & creativity in the messiness of life.
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As always, these works are not necessarily things I endorse, although some are! Have fun guessing! What they all have in common is the ability to make me think and expand my mind. Some I had to come to with more compassion and deep breaths than others. All were worth the time it took to listen or read.
Things to Read:
[Hebrew & English] לצאת מתהומות הייאוש ולהשפיע A conversation with Tammy Yekira, a main organizer the People’s Peace Conference last month, where 6,000 people from across the political spectrum came together in Jerusalem to demand a peace deal. Here’s a rough English translation of the interview.
A new survey from ALLMEP shows a majority of Israelis may be open to the idea of a Palestinian state in the context of a broader deal with Saudi Arabia et al. Putting this in the “to keep an eye on” column in my head.
There are *ahem* discrepancies in Trump’s records of whether or not the tariffs have done a ton of harm or just a lot of harm to the economy.
Should we prepare for the end of the world?
revisits the idea of a useful bunker full of tinned food.*takes deep breath* There are so many things that upset me about how the Republican party is attacking transgender athletes at this moment.
breaks them down, one by one, in this extensive piece for .- suggest some things Elon Musk can do with all his free time.
Is Feminism Dead? Read this extensively reported opinion piece on
for some food for thought.My piece, “I Am a Good Listener: On ADHD & Empathy” was featured on
’s wonderful Substack ! I am honored and agog!
Things to Hear:
My dad is from Nova Scotia, so imagine how thrilled I was to see that
featured a queer indie musician from Halifax!This song, by Aviv Bahar and Hadas Kleinman, melts my heart.
Tali is a dear friend and basically a sister to me. More importantly, she’s a massive talent who plays a recorder like you’ve never heard before. Here, she’s playing a leopard-print recorder. I mean, c’mon.
HYPERMOBILITY + ADHD?
This episode from
’s podcast left me thinking and thinking and thinking about our whole societal structure for many a day.Want more Chaos? Subscribe and never miss a mess! Or share this with a pal! Or not, whatever, it’s all good.
It made my heart sing (and my toes pointed) to hear about your Big Kid's ballet adventure. Ballet is my favorite performing art form. It's really great your kid got to experience the embodiment of music in this little adventure!
Thanks so much for sharing my podcast🧡