communities and the "bar-mitzvah show"

I'm on a mailing list for discussing worship issues in the Reform movement. Recently there's been a discussion of services on Shabbat morning. Someone posted about his congregation's successful early service, which draws people who wouldn't attend the bar-mitzvah service that is largely unfriendly to the community. Someone else chastised that person, accusing him of Balkanization of the synagogue and saying that those people should go to the bar mitzvah. This morning I posted the following, which I want to preserve here. (I am not the person who introduced the phrase "bar-mitzvah show", FYI.)

( Read more... )

vet visit (2 of 2)

Baldur and Embla had their checkups tonight. Ok, all of my cats have lost weight this year. How weird! They eat as much as they want. Yeah, older cats tend to lose weight, but still... (My vet had no specific advice on diet changes.)

Baldur: 13 pounds 3 ounces (15+ last year, 17+ the year before)
Embla: 6 pounds 13 ounces (missed last year, 9+ the year before)

Baldur has recently (last couple weeks) been throwing up (small amounts), and Embla's heart rate tonight was 240 (normal is 180-200), so both are getting blood tests. In both cases, the vet suspects hyper-thyroid. I asked if I can get a bulk discount on treatment. :-) I also asked if it's really plausible that all three of my cats are suffering from that ailment, and he said he didn't know but it is common in older cats.

(So, lorimelton, you were right the other night -- Baldur actually has lost weight. Granted, it's hard to really tell by looking.)