Travel and Food

By Danny Bloom TAIPEI, Taiwan — On a bright sunny Sunday afternoon in tasty, tantalizing and terrific Taipei, a group of around 200 people, Jews and non-Jews, marched through the city streets celebrating the arrival of a Hebrew-language Torah scroll donated by an Israeli businessman who flew in for the occasion as well. The festive

By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — Rav Yosef Poesner was a brilliant scholar and an amazingly righteous individual. During  his entire life, he seemed to be plagued by a nagging wife who would humiliate  him at every opportunity. His wife was the daughter of the reknowned Nodeh B’Yehuda, the esteemed Rav of Prague. After

By Danny Bloom TAIPEI, Taiwan — Overseas, and in India in particular, the big movie gossip involving the 2012 Warner Bros. remake of The Great Gatsby has nothing to do with Leonardo DiCaprio or Tobey Maguire. Rather, it involves Bollywood film star Amitabh Bachchan and what will amount to the actor’s first-ever Hollywood film appearance

By Steve Hofstetter NEW YORK — Compatibility is typically measured in likes and dislikes, general station in life, and temperament. But maybe its time people started measuring it in health, too. Whether you believe in common interests or opposites attracting, we’ve always measured a relationship by preferred hobbies. I once had a girl break up

By Gary Rotto SAN DIEGO — Summer vacations. I remember road trips as a kid with my folks, driving south from New Jersey to Gettysburg, Williamsburg and Fredericksburg.  And another time, we drove through New England up to Canada, eventually to Montreal and Quebec City.   I’ve continued that tradition with my daughter. This year, we ventured

By Lynne Thrope LA JOLLA, California –It came at sunset. A sense of awe long past due. It crept up so suddenly as if a deity were gifting me with a spectacular view that for too long had been taken for granted. It is true that ocean lovers from all parts come to this place

By Lynne Thrope Your dining adventure can begin with a taste of Tartare, Sashimi, Carpaccio, or one of five fantastic salads. The classic Caesar rivals the Apple Salad puckered with green beans and candied walnuts drenched in a ginger orange vinaigrette. If Tartare is your thing, you can’t do better than Eddie’s V’s version marinated

By David Amos SAN DIEGO — When I read a book for the first time, I like to lightly mark with a pencil the important thoughts, concepts, and paragraphs I encounter. This is especially useful if it’s a subject of a personally intense interest, or one which will become a book review. Interestingly, when reading Musicophilia,Tales

By Dan Bloom CHIAYI, Taiwan — Word order matters, especially with Taiwanese names when written or pronounced in English in the US or Europe. While Washington Nationals pitcher Wang Chien-ming (王建民) is a famous name among US baseball fans, both the Washington Post and the New York Times now spell his name “Chien-ming Wang.” US

By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — This business of obesity and its strain on the American health picture, including the unfair and disproportionate and attendant drain of medical and extended care funding, is one of the key crises of our time.  Having just shed nearly 80 pounds with the supervision of a hospital weight-management