For a little musical interlude I present the video that has Gorbachev, zombies and plenty of hammers and sickles operated by pretty women. Last 20 years of the post-Soviet era replay right in front of your eyes. Enjoy!

The band ANJ can be found here.

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For people who pride themselves on being independent, Americans too often become victims of the herd mentality. Whether it’s the approval of the war in Iraq, voting for Obama or wearing Crocs, Americans latch onto some absurd idea and follow it all the way to the disastrous end. The common problem is that important and sometimes life-and-death decisions are made based on emotions and very little knowledge and common sense. To me, the question of the light rail in Kansas City falls into the same category. No one in the right state of mind would even propose the light rail as an option which would solve any transportation problems in this city. Instead of just being dismissed as a bad idea, huge waste of money and totally worthless as a means of commute, this issue is constantly being discussed, written about, voted on, studied and even taken to courts.

Kansas City has a rich history of public transportation which allowed the public to move around town before cars took over as the main commuter option.

I, of course, didn’t get a chance to see this. I was happily growing up Behind the Iron Curtain where I had a chance to ride every imaginable kind of public transport from bus to tram, from subway to trolleybus, from taxi to water ferry.It wasn’t very comfortable but it got the job done. It was crowded, hot, sometimes smelly and noisy but it allowed an average person to get around town with relatively little wait, not too much walking and very cheaply. And that’s what I consider the major criteria of the usable public transport system:

• Cost. Some people will overpay just to be “green”. For the majority it has to make fiscal sense.
• Convenience. I am not driving 10 miles to the terminal just to ride the light rail for 7 miles. It has to be within walking distance or it’s too much hustle.
• Coverage. I am not interested in the A to B ride, unless I live in A and I am going to B. Public transportation system should blanket the area with routes that cross each other and allow passengers to jump from route to route.
• Constant circulation. This is crucial – I don’t want to know bus schedules, I just want to know that the bus will show up within 10-20 minutes even if I just missed the last one. One fear that I have is to be stranded somewhere with no chance to get out.
• Security. I want to arrive in one piece with all of my belongings.

In the next few installments I will try to describe the public transportation system I grew up with. It wasn’t perfect but it worked. More than I can say about the light rail that never will.

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If you are still using pathetic-looking jalapeños like these, do yourself a favor and pitch them or at least give them to someone you don’t like. Do not donate them to Harvesters – poor people have dignity too. Instead spend two bucks and 15 minutes to pickle your own delicious crunchy jalapeños. The recipe I am using is in Russian and translated version reads like gibberish, so with the credit to original creator of this recipe I will translate it and use my own pictures.

1. Buy 10-20 nice-looking jalapeños. I usually pick the mixed colored ones, they just look good.

2. Slice thinly the jalapeños, some shallots or onions and 5 cloves of garlic.

3. In the meantime heat up two cups of white vinegar (5%) with 2 tablespoons of salt, two tablespoons of sugar, less than a teaspoon of oregano ( I don’t put too much at all) and few bay leaves. When sugar and salt dissolve turn the heat off and let cool.

4. Place your jalapeños, onions and garlic in a container.

5. Pour cooled liquid over the peppers.

6. Cover the container and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours until vinegary smell dissipates. Because the seeds were left in, these peppers may only get hotter with time.

Disclaimer:This recipe was safely tested on my co-workers. I cannot be held responsible for the damage to your internal organs.

Warning: During the preparation of this recipe resist the urge to rub your eyes and any other sensitive parts of your body. Wash your hands before touching yourself. Women and girly-men are allowed to wear gloves.

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Now that the ETAX got extended for at least another 5 years, Kansas City,MO won’t have to scramble to find alternative sources of revenue for some time. While I am clearly not a supporter of the Etax and have outlined my reasoning in multiple posts and comments, I think that the City and its residents should spend the next 5 years making the Etax more palatable to the non-residents (and even themselves) who currently contribute 40% to 50% of it.

1.Dial down the hate and resentment.

Whatever you might think of Johnson County (ironically not the only county who contributes the Etax,but the one which gets the most hate), it is the source of a large part of KCMO revenues, both in the form of Etax and various economic and philanthropic activities. Johnson Countians and other non-residents contribute by spending on food and entertainment, patronizing P&L district, Plaza, Sprint Center, other venues that you are so proud of. Additionally, multiple sponsorships and contributions come from the other side of the State Line to support the arts and causes based in Kansas City. Sprint center carries the name (and sponsorship) of an Overland Park,KS company, and the major benefactor and the Chairwoman of the Center for the Performing Arts lives in Mission Hills. There is a significant number of Friends of the Zoo, Nelson-Atkins sponsors, theater supporters who live outside the KCMO. I don’t even have to mention the Chiefs and Royals fans, who pay for the tickets, parking and every logo item they can get their hands on. You don’t have to like us, but you might consider stifling yourselves a little.

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This may be of interest to my 3.5 Jewish readers.

Few days ago Venus mentioned klezmer-punk band Golem in one of  her posts. I looked up few of their videos and one song sounded vaguely familiar:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze6ONmmBBbA

This is their take on the famous Yiddish song Rumania, Rumania originally composed and performed by Aaron Lebedeff. It just happened that the same day I was watching  “The Komediant”  – a documentary about a world famous Yiddish actor Pesachke Burstein. The movie mentioned that his son – Mike Burstyn grew up among famous Jewish performers and that Aaron Lebedeff himself taught Mike to sing “Rumania” while he was still in the stroller. The DVD included this version of “Rumania” performed by Mike Burstyn and Bruce Adler:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISC9f6emB_c

You can pick your own favorite, personally I didn’t care for the punk version. Not everything can be punked up.

If you made it this far, here is a bonus list of words that you may have heard before but didn’t know where they came from. By the way, the word “Shrek” means “monster” in Yiddish.

But wait! If you made it this far you must really be a fan of Yiddish and Jewish music. Enjoy:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vAMgbGEDTY

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