Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The Second Annual J-Blogger Fest

Yom shlishi, 26 Elul 5769.

I had the most wonderful birthday day-before-yesterday! 

My favorite non-Yom Tov annual event is the J-Bloggers' Convention; and the Dearly Beloved was kind enough to let me spend my birthday hanging out with a whole bunch of virtual people, instead of with my family.  (I said that just for you, Baila.  Say along with me:  "Bloggers ARE real people!  Bloggers ARE real people...)

Hosted by Nefesh B'Nefesh and powered by WebAds, the Second Annual J-Bloggers' Convention took place in a lovely venue -- Beit Avi Chai, near the Grand Synagogue.  There were wonderful photographs on the walls, which stirred controversy.  ("Ah, more photographic evidence that there are no women in the Ultra-Orthdox world."  -- name withheld for snarkiness.)  My favorite photograph was of a Chareidi guy sitting on the ground in the snow, because I love when people get in touch with their inner little kid.

There was one sad occurrence, that we would not have heard about until after the party, if four-fifths of the attendees had not been news junkies:  astronaut Ilan Ramon, a"h, has now been joined by his dear son, IAF pilot Assaf Ramon, a"h.  May Rona Ramon and her other children be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Yerushalayim...
 
I attended workshops on "Defending Israel through Social Media Tools" and "Being a Better Blogger."   Treppenwitz and Jameel of the Muqata are my favorites, as they gave me the most useful advice; but I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Ashley Perry, and to Carl of Israel Matzav as well.  Yishai Fleisher moderated with great professionalism.  (Did Malkah choose that suit and tie, Yish?  Very nice.  Very "corporate," as Yeshiva Bochur would say.)

Moshe Shmuel Benji Lovitt was very funny, as always -- except that he has given up on having any hair at all, and is doing the fashionable but annoying cue-ball thing, and he needs to eat more food.  (Nu?  You're killing me, here.  Eat your chumous.  Take two pitot.  Eat!  Eat!)  Some people just bring out the Jewish mother in us.

There were a couple of panel discussions on various topics.  Three things struck me during these events:  1)  The presenters put a lot of work into trying to provide an incredibly varied group of bloggers with interesting content, and they will get better and better each year; 2) Half of the people in the auditorium are Twittering, I-Phoning, and Blogging.  We never would have gotten away with this in college lectures!; and 3)  If my mama hadn't raised me to sit politely and listen, I would be out in the halls, grabbing extra time with my peeps.

Because the best part of the event was the opportunity to "chill" with lots and lots of my favorite writers.  In the olden olden days, when print was still alive, writers used to meet in the salons of elegant dowagers.  Not necessarily writers themselves, these wealthy ladies became famous for hosting gatherings; and their salons became almost as talked about as the people who met there.

We may not be George Sand or Dorothy Parker, and NBN isn't creaking with age and dripping with emeralds -- but the opportunity to hang out with thinkers and writers of like mind totally diverse opinions is truly a pinnacle of my year.

I got the special treat of seeing my friend Rivkah practicing to be an Israeli (very soon, please G-d).  And there were people who blog in Israel, but I missed seeing -- either because they did not make the event, or there simply wasn't time to look for them around all of the programming.

I look forward to RivkA's budding plan to have a picnic with no programming, just so that I can chatter (not tweet) for hours with the likes of RivkA, Baila, Safra-Knit, Risa, A Soldier's Mother, One Tired Ema, Rahel, West Bank Mama, Penina, Muse, and the spousal units of QuietusLeo, Jameel and Treppenwitz, if their schedules allow.  We could try to get Moshe Shmuel fixed up with someone who would feed him.  Really.  I'm serious here.  Bring on the beer and barbecue!

Haveil Havalim, The Ruti's Birthday Edition, is up at The Reform Shuckle.  Have an extra slice, on the house!

11 comments:

The Sussmans b'Aretz said...

Happy Birthday! You are just too funny - thanks for entertaining while giving a great recap of the event!

bataliyah said...

a) It was not a snarky comment. It was an accurate reflection on the virtual absence of public images of Jewish women in that world.

b) Drat! Why do I think your birthday is the 20th? Now my ecard is gonna come on the wrong day. Is this a Hebrew-English date thing or am I just plain wrong, in addition to being snarky?

c) I always thought of the witty and wisecracking side of you as a reincarnation of Dorothy Parker. Are you saying you're definitely not??

Miriam said...

Mazal-Tov and Happy Birthday ad 120. May you celebrate many more happy birthdays in good health with your loved ones.

Shana Tova Umetukah
Miriam

Ye'he Sh'mey Raba Mevorach said...

OK. Now I'm REEEEEALY bummed I couldn't make it. I would have given you a birthday hug!

May the coming year give you what you want, and may what you want be what you need!

Ketiva veChatima Tova my dear friend.

rutimizrachi said...

Ladies: No one can say that I don't know how to fish. ;-) Thank you for the birthday wishes.

Romi: See you there next year, I hope! Josh can't have all the fun.

BatAliyah: a) Emet doesn't negate snarkiness. :-) But we can debate the reasons they are not photographed. In my experience, it has less to do with being marginalized than it has to do with their own desire to stay powerful behind the scenes, rather than on the stage. b) It was my Hebrew birthday. Your e-card will be welcomed with a warm, appreciative smile. c) Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.

Miriam: Amen! Thank you, and may we share many smachot! I'll look for you next year, too! Or maybe at RivkA's picnic?

YSRM: You were so missed! But it was nice of you to send your representative. Next time, it's your turn.

Hillel Levin said...

Happy Birthday Sis.

You always make Mom proud.

Much love and New Years wishes for You and Avi and all the kidlits from your Amish Sister and me, Bro.

Benji Lovitt said...

Awww, thanks Ruti! Great to see you...shana tovah!

Moshe Shmuel Benji Lovitt

Baila said...

I wish I would have known it was your birthday. I would have definitely had Moshe Shmuel mention it in his routine.

It was fun, wasn't it....?

Looking forward to seeing many times before the next one (or at least a few...)

sparrow said...

I couldn't link into the conference (even though I was registered) because the video unit used a technical format not useable with Macs!!! I was in the chatroom and Jootube tried to help by letting me skype him and listen via his webcam! Great idea, but sadly his mike wasn't powerful enough to pick up stuff. I told him it was your birthday and asked him to find you and wish you a great day...

Glad you had a great time. One day I would like to be there in person, but at 42 hours flight away.....

Big hugs,
Noa

Penina Tal Ohr said...

Snarky or not, its true. I am brought back to last summer when Hamodia printed an extensive story about my life and work and then wanted a picture of my husband! I sent a picture of us under the chuppah which did not show my face but just a tiny part of my shoulder (in the wedding gown) and they refused to print it. Oh well...

Happy birthday, dear lady! Keep writing - making us laugh (that hyphen inserted just for YOU!) and inspiring us all. You are a great friend and a wonderful person.

Penina

Mrs. S. said...

Happy birthday!

The convention as a salon and NBN as a renowned hostess - what a great image.

May you and your family have a shanah tovah u'metukah and a ktivah v'chatimah tovah.