Early Signs of Diabetic Issues: Identifying the Warning Signals
Diabetic issues is a chronic illness that influences millions of people worldwide. According to the International Diabetes Federation, about 463 million grownups aged 20-79 were dealing with diabetes in 2019. This number is expected to rise to 700 million by 2045. Identifying the very early indicators of diabetes is critical for prompt medical diagnosis and effective administration of the condition. In this write-up, we will discover the crucial signs and symptoms and warning signals that might indicate the beginning of diabetes mellitus. Increased Thirst and Frequent Urination Among the earliest signs of diabetes mellitus is polydipsia, additionally called raised thirst. People might experience an unquenchable thirst and discover themselves consuming more liquids than usual. This excessive thirst is frequently accompanied by constant urination, a condition called polyuria. Diabetes mellitus influences the body’s capability to control blood glucose degrees, resulting in boosted urine production. If you observe these signs lingering for an extended period, it is recommended to consult a healthcare specialist. Along with polydipsia and polyuria, individuals with diabetes mellitus might also experience nocturia, which is the demand to wake up throughout the evening to pee. This disruption can significantly influence one’s high quality of sleep and overall wellness. Inexplicable Weight-loss Sudden and unexplained weight-loss, despite enhanced appetite and food intake, can be a very early indication of diabetic issues. This weight management occurs because the body lacks enough insulin to transform sugar into power. Consequently, the body begins breaking down fat and muscular tissue to sustain its power needs. If you notice a substantial and unintentional enerflex es bueno o malo weight management with no adjustments in your diet or workout regimen, it is important to consider diabetes as a possible cause and seek medical recommendations. It is essential to keep in mind that not all people with diabetes experience weight loss. In many cases, specifically in individuals with type 2 diabetic issues, weight gain might happen due to insulin resistance and hormonal inequalities. Consulting a healthcare expert is crucial in understanding the underlying root cause of any kind of inexplicable weight changes. Various other early signs of diabetes include: Boosted appetite, particularly shortly after consuming Tiredness and low power levels Obscured vision Slow-healing injuries or constant infections Tingling or pins and needles in the hands or feet If you experience any one of these symptoms, it is very important to consult a medical care professional for an extensive examination and appropriate diagnosis. Constant Infections and Slow Healing Diabetes mellitus can compromise the body immune system, making people extra at risk to infections. Frequent infections, specifically in the urinary system system, skin, and gums, might show the existence of diabetes. High glucose levels in the blood can offer an environment that helps with the growth of germs and fungi. Furthermore, slow wound healing is an additional usual characteristic of diabetic issues. High blood sugar levels can hinder blood flow and damages nerves, making it testing for the body to heal wounds successfully. It is essential to focus on any kind of indicators of infections that do not resolve conveniently or wounds that take longer to heal, as they may be a sign of diabetes mellitus. Adjustments in Vision Blurry or altered vision can be an early indication of diabetes. Raised blood sugar level degrees can trigger liquid imbalances in the eyes, leading to swelling of the lens and changes in its form. This can result in problems in concentrating and maintaining clear vision. If you discover abrupt modifications in your visual skill or experience obscured vision, it is vital to speak with an eye professional or an endocrinologist...
Read MoreThe Ultimate Guide to Safe Online Casinos
With the boosting popularity of online gaming, it has ended up being more crucial than ever before to ensure that you are playing at a risk-free and sms casino payment trustworthy on the internet casino. The net is filled with numerous online casinos, yet not every one of them are reliable. In this guide, we will offer you with important information on just how to identify secure online casino sites and protect on your own from possible scams. Prior to diving into the globe of on the internet gaming, it is vital to understand the significance of playing at a secure and safe online gambling establishment. A safe and secure online casino site assures the privacy and security of your individual and monetary details. Additionally, it ensures fair gameplay and provides a trustworthy system for your gaming tasks. Exactly How to Recognize Safe Online Online Casinos When selecting an on-line casino site, there are several crucial elements to think about to guarantee your safety and security and security. Here are some important standards to follow: Licensing and Guideline: One of the initial and most crucial elements to take into consideration is the licensing and regulation of the online gambling establishment. A respectable online casino site will hold a valid gambling license from an identified authority, such as the UK Gaming Commission or the Malta Pc Gaming Authority. These licenses make certain that the gambling enterprise runs within details guidelines and regulations, giving a secure setting for gamers. Protection Procedures: Inspect if the online casino employs innovative safety measures to shield your individual and financial info. Search for SSL encryption technology, which ensures that your data is transferred firmly. Furthermore, a risk-free online gambling establishment will have a privacy policy in place to lay out just how your info is accumulated and utilized. Game Justness: Fair gameplay is an important aspect of a safe online gambling establishment. Look for online casinos that make use of licensed and investigated Random Number Generators (RNG) to ensure that the end result of their video games is totally arbitrary and honest. Reputable casinos typically display their qualifications from independent testing agencies, such as eCOGRA (eCommerce Online Video gaming Policy and Guarantee). Favorable Online Reputation: Research the on-line casino site’s reputation by checking out reviews and endorsements from various other gamers. Pay attention to any type of negative comments regarding postponed or non-existent payments, unfair games, or bad customer support. Reliable on-line gambling enterprises will have a positive track record and a solid credibility within the gaming area. Settlement Choices: A safe online casino will certainly supply a range of secure and reputable repayment methods for deposits and withdrawals. Look for reputable repayment service providers, such as Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, or Neteller. Furthermore, examine if the casino site supports your preferred currency. Customer Assistance: A reliable online casino will have a responsive and experienced customer assistance team available to aid you with any type of questions or concerns. Try to find gambling establishments that use several support networks, such as live chat, e-mail, or phone assistance. Make sure that the assistance team is offered 24/7 to accommodate your demands. Tips for Safe Online Gambling While dipping into risk-free on the internet gambling enterprises is critical, there are added actions you can take to improve your online gaming experience. Right here are some convenient tips: Establish a Budget plan: Before you start betting, establish an allocate yourself and stay with it. Just gamble with cash you can afford to shed and prevent chasing losses. Accountable gaming is necessary for a risk-free and delightful experience. Read the...
Read MoreOught i Rating an installment Mortgage which have Bad credit?
Ought i Rating an installment Mortgage which have Bad credit? Payday loans online address people with less than perfect credit and sometimes declare to own no minimum credit history or any other standards to meet the requirements. This new disadvantage? The common Apr out-of pay day loan ranges into hundreds, which means that you will be expenses much more in the appeal compared to the total amount your debt. Payday loan providers usually prey on individuals struggling to find money, however their cost conditions are usually impossible to meet. Actually bad-borrowing from the bank repayment funds most useful aside which have an annual percentage rate from %, making them a lot more sensible than just probably the most useful cash advance offering. And many people often find that it is better to pay off financing which have several short money rather than one large sum. Offered loan terms and conditions is drop off this type of monthly payments further, putting some cost financing more manageable. If you are looking to have a substitute for quick online pay day loans, consult with your borrowing from the bank relationship. Many have begun providing pay check-alternative fund that provide quick-name financial support with a max Apr of twenty eight%. Have there been Zero-Credit-Have a look at Repayment Finance? Specific lenders use simply a mellow credit assessment when giving a loan in place of asking for a challenging pull-on your credit score. No-credit-glance at fees money resemble cash advance in this they render selection to individuals that have less than perfect credit, but the disadvantages tend to surpass the advantages. No-credit-view payment funds can occasionally feature a very high origination payment and you may punitive rates. Instead, keep in touch with a cards partnership to sort out a much better price. Perform Fees Fund Harm Their Borrowing from the bank? The only real most other way that a cost mortgage can be harm the credit is if your skip your payments. You can attempt to extend the loan words to lower the latest monthly installments and give a wide berth installment long term loans no credit check Kingston OK to which out of happening. Exactly what Minimum Credit history How would you like having a payment Financing? Additional lenders enjoys different standards. Really will need a score of at least 600, while some are more stringent and get minimums of 640 or 680. Would you Pay back a fees Loan Early? Sure. Yet not, definitely see the loan fine print since the some lenders enjoys penalties having very early repayments. Extremely cannot, but simply for instance the origination fee, once you understand this type of penalties helps you end dirty surprises regarding future. No lowest yearly income demands Due to Upstart’s unique underwriting design, the business does not have any the absolute minimum credit rating maximum. Alternatively, the lending company considers a number of other points to influence their qualifications to have a consumer loan. Generally speaking, borrowers are unable to fool around with SoFi signature loans first off another type of company, purchase a property, otherwise money money otherwise bonds orders. Apr Selections LendingClub’s Apr begins at the 7.04% and limits out at %. There isn’t any disregard for buying the latest autopay solution, but applicants with seemingly a good credit score results can often qualify for a nice-looking rate of interest. As a personal loan signifies an increased exposure for the financial, interest rates are often large. Performing this lets the lending company to mitigate risk by gathering far more money on the lifespan of your own financing. Origination Costs You...
Read Moreten Some thing Really Experts Do not know Throughout the Virtual assistant Financing
ten Some thing Really Experts Do not know Throughout the Virtual assistant Financing More 21 billion Veterans and you may Servicemembers inhabit the latest You.S. now, but only about six percent of them ordered a property having fun with an effective Virtual assistant mortgage before 5 years. One to payment was a lot higher. Basic, they could perhaps not know all the advantages. 2nd, they could envision getting a good Virtual assistant financing was a hard procedure to-be eliminated. Last, particular loan providers don’t take time to illustrate Pros towards program, otherwise have no idea far regarding it by themselves. This new Va financial is actually an application non-army home buyers like to that they had accessibility. My personal guidance: get a short while knowing these types of 10 information about brand new program, and you will just about disregard any kind of property otherwise refinance choice. These are even the greatest advantages to good Va financing. You do not have a down-payment. Nothing after all. Extremely mortgage apps, particularly FHA and you will old-fashioned funds, want at the least 3.5 % in order to five per cent off.That’s doing $a dozen,500 towards the good $250,100000 home get. With an excellent Virtual assistant mortgage, you can get instantaneously, in lieu of several years of preserving having a deposit. With a Virtual assistant loan, you stop high financial insurance fees. On 5 percent off, personal mortgage insurance policies (PMI) will cost you $150 a month with the good $250,100000 domestic, centered on PMI merchant MGIC. Having a beneficial Virtual assistant loan, so it buyer you will afford a house value $29,100000 way more with similar payment per month, simply be removing PMI. Playing with an effective Va mortgage saves you money initial, and you can enormously grows the to invest in power. 2. Make use of work for over-and-over Their Va home loan benefit is not you to-and-done. You can use it as often as you would like. Here is how. Assume you purchased property which have an excellent Virtual assistant financing. Nevertheless now, you’ve outgrown our home and require anything larger. Once you sell the home and pay the new Va mortgage entirely, you might lso are-use your advantage to get some other household. The entitlement is recovered completely. Qualified Experts and Servicepersons is discover a single-date repair when they pay off brand new Virtual assistant financing, however, keep the house. Which condition will come in for many who bought your house enough time in the past, and now have paid back the mortgage. Moreover it is applicable when you yourself have refinanced the latest Va financial having a non-Virtual assistant loan. step 3. The benefit never ever expires After you’ve obtained qualifications with the Virtual assistant mortgage, they never disappears. Those who supported 20, 29, also 50 years ago usually ponder if they can invariably pick a house today if they never used the benefit Augusta installment loans. When the qualification can be depending, the answer are yes. Qualifications will be based upon just how long offered, as well as the period the place you offered. By way of example, a great You.S. Armed forces Experienced that have no less than ninety days in service from inside the Vietnam time is likely eligible. To evaluate eligibility, earliest get your DD Function 214. With that document, an effective Va-approved lender can be demand your own Va Certificate off Qualifications to you, you can also request it directly from VA’s eBenefits website. You are entitled to buy property having fun with good Va home loan, even if you supported way...
Read MoreIdeas on how to Top Qualify for Home financing
Ideas on how to Top Qualify for Home financing Taking a home loan can be involve lots of actions, and you won’t would like to get too far on processes just before realizing you’ll not meet the requirements at all. Speak to your financial, if you have one out of mind, about any additional details and needs for what they may be able offer you. Fool around with Our very own Home loan Degree Calculator You could potentially and ought to calculate their mortgage repayment for the potential home loan your self, or perhaps a crude guess of it, to prevent any shocks in the future. Is your finances lower than best? You can find strategies as you are able to take to bolster your mortgage loan app and you will alter your possibility of getting an approval. Alter your Credit Your credit score significantly impacts your capability to get a home mortgage. Need several steps to correct your own borrowing from the bank to be eligible for far more loan items and you can unlock lower rates. Listed below are around three easy how to get started on street to raised credit. Generate all your payments into the agenda. The simplest way to increase your credit score is always to make a track record of toward-time payments. Write-down when all of your loan and you may credit card costs flow from while making at least the minimum commission anytime. If available, you might like to enroll in car purchase the your fund. See their borrowing usage. Might you lay excess amount on the handmade cards for each week? If so, lenders view you as an effective riskier candidate. Make an effort to fool around with no more than 29% of your total available borrowing from the bank every month observe the most significant escalation in their rating. Lower your debt. Settling financial obligation proves you probably know how to deal with your money while dont acquire extra money than just you really can afford to pay. Do a propose to handle the debt very early and find out their get rise. Reduce your DTI Ratio Reduce your DTI proportion to provide more money to keep having a down payment it certainly makes you a very tempting candidate getting loan providers personal loans Riverside MO. There’s two ways you might reduce your DTI ratio: Decrease your expense. Channel all even more month-to-month money towards the financial obligation reduction and downsize to minimize their cost of living. Improve your money. Request a raise where you work, pick-up an area hustle or functions towards the starting to be more overtime for each of checks. Cut Having A bigger Advance payment A bigger down-payment reduces the amount their bank has to mortgage your. This will make the loan much safer on the bank as they cure less cash for those who default. Rescuing getting a bigger deposit helps you become a great more desirable applicant for a financial loan and may even convince an effective lender to cut you some slack in other application areas. Use these suggestions to boost your down-payment money: Budget for deals. Check their monthly funds and determine exactly how much you really can afford to store each month. Hold the down payment fund for the an alternate family savings and combat brand new temptation to blow any of it. Pick up a side hustle. On the for the-request “gig” benefit, it’s never been simpler to secure additional money outside the business. Drive getting an excellent ridesharing service, send dinner for regional businesses or get several spare tasks...
Read MoreAbout Me
What’s Susan up to?
Penn State Center for Holocaust and Jewish Studies will host me as I present a solo program of song and history focusing on the roots of Eastern European Jewish music and related songs.
I have the honor of presenting this year at the annual American Folklore Society's conference. A lecture on papercut arts around the world and a demonstration of my own work will take place during the conference on October 22, 2021!
ELEVEN languages and counting! Over the years, I've crafted ketubot that honor many cultures. In addition to the expected Aramaic, modern Hebrew, English, and even Yiddish, I have included Korean, Kannada, Latin, Arabic, and even the Telugu seen in the cropped image above! What a joy this has been!
What a wonderful experience I shared with the community of Las Cruces, NM and the Guild of American Papercutters when I presented an hour-long lecture on the worldwide history of papercut arts on March 16, 2021. This was in conjunction with the museum's show of Islamic papercut art. We looked at tools, traditions, and especially shared visual vocabularies from India to Mexico, from Persia to China and beyond!
February 18, 2018 - Susan will be hosted by the Sholem Aleichem Center in the Bronx for a concert. Come for a shmuez (a chat) and stay for the music!https://www.pineclubgolf.com/best-electrical-push-carts/
As part of the Sacred: Image, Text, Ritual exhibit at Lebanon Valley College, Susan will be presenting a lecture recital titled "Words as Homeland: Where Jewish Text, Art, and Song Converge to Express a Culture." Thursday, February 8, 2018, 5 pm at the Zimmerman Recital Hall.
A wonderful arts residency in Teaneck, NJ at Congregation Beth Sholom concluded with a full concert, accompanied by Adrian Banner on Piano. Enthusiasm and learning flowed back and forth the entire time. Fabulous community!
What a great night at the Jalopy in Brooklyn on June 16, 2016 as my new trio with Lauren Brody and Jake Shulman-Ment stepped out to strut our stuff! Many languages, many musical cultures, and great joy in blending our voices and instruments.
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In the beautiful summer landscape of Rindge, New Hampshire, I was privileged to teach traditional Jewish papercut arts at the annual National Havurah Committee's Summer Institute. We turned a large, sunny room into an art studio, and the class burst into enthusiastic art creation. I love the celebratory greeting of everyone's creations as skills and appreciation deepen over four days of classes. I'll come to you! Just ask!
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Back to the Catskills, this time teaching for HAZAK, a group under the umbrella of United Synagogue that offers among its programs an annual summer week of learning and camaraderie. I used my lecture/recital format to widen the world of Yiddish song for about 150 life-long learners as we studied, laughed, sang a bit, and grew to know one another in Kerhonkson, NY.
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When Nancy Spielberg screened her film Above and Beyond in Harrisburg's Chisuk Emuna Congregation, I was tapped to create a papercut gift for her. I chose the color scheme of her promotional material and the Hebrew words which translate into "Be strong... and strengthen one another." The filmmaker and I are shown here. (photo by Josh Damrauer)
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Each year the myriad of faith communities in the Harrisburg region come together to celebrate in song. Here's an image of my participation, sharing the beauty of Yiddish song at the Pine Street Presbyterian Church.
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One of three children's programs to wind up a hectic and marvelous Scholar in Residence program at Congregation Beth El in Fairfield, CT. Lectures, singing programs, explorations of Yiddishkayt - and a debut concert of the new Leviton/Brody duo in concert! I'll happily come to your community, too!
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Yiddish Culture on St. Croix! I received the warmest welcome all across the island where I had the opportunities to teach a vocal arts class in a school, offer an adult papercutting workshop, lecture in the synagogue, and get the whole audience at the Reformed Church singing along in multiple languages! Cultural seeds planted and the smiles, voices, and hugs still linger in memory!
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The Judson Church off Washington Square was packed with well over 300 people on December 30, 2014, to honor the memory and brilliance of Adrienne Cooper, and to award Michael Wex with this year's Dreaming in Yiddish prize. Below is an image of the finale of the musical performance of the Kanonen song from Brecht and Weill's Threepenny Opera, translated from the German into Yiddish by Wex himself. An all-star band backed us as we belted out the Army Song and others, accompanied by the brilliant puppetry and staging of Great Small Works and Power Point translations which made the text a little less inscrutable! What a night! Singers below include Sarah Gordon, Eleanor Reissa, Tine Kindermann, Dan Kahn, myself, and others.
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A whirlwind arts week in Caldwell, NJ at Congregation Agudath Israel allowed me to open Jewish folk arts to energetic groups from preschoolers through elders. The tots sang and acted out Yiddish songs with costumes and props, the school students (4 larger groups) explored paper arts and traditional papercutting, and adults were treated to a series of lecture recitals, everything taking place in a large space where I hung over 35 works of framed art. What a fabulous arts residency for all of us together!
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Nearly 100 people attended a lecture/recital stitching together I. B. Singer's writing and the artists who illustrated his books as Susan sang her way through the bookshelves, Sunday, November 16, at Chisuk Emuna Congregation in Harrisburg, PA. This was the second event in the year's programming under a grant from the Koster Foundation.
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I was guest lecturer at Dickinson College today, October 6, singing my way through a program on Jews and Food. Unlike the light weight singalongs I often do on this topic, the class took food songs into the framework of Hasia Diner's examination of the place of food in Jewish life in the Pale of Settlement through acculturation in America. 15 songs unpacked! A great eye-opening experience for all!
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Heeding God's Call is a national organization working at a grassroots level to end gun violence and straw buying. On September 18, within days of two gun murders in Harrisburg, I participated in an interfaith program at the MLK Baptist Church in the heart of our city. We 'sang' Reisen's Dos Naye Lid together as the assembled crowd held colored cards with words in Yiddish and English.
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A happy bride at the huppah with her papercut ketubah! 'Tis the season, and I've been busy with commissions of all sorts!
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A full week of learning and teaching at the Havurah Summer Institute was a welcome experience again this year. Located at Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire, about 300 Havurahniks from infancy to elder sage-age filled days and nights with enthusiastic work, food, music, and exploration. I taught classes in Yiddish song and helped create a soundscape for Tisha B'Av this summer. Loved it!!!
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A lovely way to begin the summer's KlezKamp's Wisconsin adventure was a solo concert at Chai Point in Milwaukee. Jill Gellerman and were welcomed to the beautiful facility and then I sang for and with a great crowd of elders, eager to be part of the action!
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Quite a surprise when I met the truck from Welch Signage in Maine, carrying the massive synagogue feature wall I had designed, to see a piece of my own artwork prominently displayed on both sides of the vehicle!
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I performed for over 100 people at beautiful Maris Grove in Pennsylvania's Delaware County on May 13. As part of the PA Humanities Council's program of Commonwealth Speakers, I was able to bring the sound of Yiddish to an audience largely unfamiliar with the language and culture. As always, common threads were immediately found!
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Verrry busy these days creating a synagogue feature wall, but I took time last week to be interviewed for Ted Merwin's article "The Aesthetics of Judaism" in The New York Jewish Week. Here's a quote: "For Susan Leviton, a ketubah-maker, paper-cut artist and Yiddish folk song performer ..., it was during the 1960s and ’70s, when many Jews flocked back to their roots, that Jews... 'took Judaism back into their own hands' and began braiding challahs and tie-dying prayer shawls. Hiddur mitzvah 'alters us as we fulfill a mitzvah or perform a ritual,' she told me. A Midrash (Song of Songs Rabbah 1.15) suggests that observance of the commandments makes Jews beautiful, even as Jews glorify God through hiddur mitzvot."
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An outpouring of love and creativity filled the room as we honored the memory of Adrienne Cooper and saw Jenny Romaine accept the first Dreaming in Yiddish award for her visionary work. Here's Susan on stage with Alicia Svigals, Jake Shulman-Ment, Benjy Fox Rosen, Aaron Alexander, Michael Winograd, and Dan Blacksberg, 12/21/13. (Photo by Bob Blacksberg)
When Goucher College Hillel welcomed a gift of two Torah scrolls, I was honored to craft mantles and wimples. So much silk! Garnet polished to look like pomegranate seeds! Text and the visions of students to work with! A grand experience.
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A totally spectacular group of artists, writers, social activists, and even puppeteers joined me for a week of creative work as I served as Artist in Residence at the 2013 National Havurah Conference Summer Institute in Rindge, NH. In 4 days of intense collective learning and creating, we built a musical theater production in a box (a cranky) and shared the story of the plight of needleworkers, past and present, with 300 others in a rapt audience!
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It was a beautiful day in Baltimore as the Jewish Museum of Maryland presented its annual Risch Memorial Program. I was delighted to be the featured performer, following brief, powerful presentations by Andres Salguero, Ssuuna, and the DC Turkish Folk Music Group. It always touches me to rediscover the points of connection among immigrant communities, regardless of geographic homes, cultures, and reasons for relocation. A brilliant celebration of cultures!
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Over 350 pieces of beautiful Youghiogheny Art Glass hand-cut, and now I'm on to wet-grinding the edges! It's a new skill that I'm happy to add to my resume as I take on the responsibility to create a soaring double wall of glass above the Torah ark for Chisuk Emuna Congregation in Harrisburg, building anew after a destructive fire in 2009. Check back in mid-May for a look at the completed wall!
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Getting closer to a new recording! Michael Winograd spent a day in the studio on March 28 with Frank London, Dan Blacksberg, Hadar Noiberg, and Alec Speigelman to lay down horn tracks for my as-yet-unnamed CD. Dan Kahn joined in as a special guest vocalist. Next will come strings and soon after that the mixing and mastering, printing and artwork, and OT AZOY! A new Yiddish recording!
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A whirl of creative activity has sent me to the sewing machine to craft two Torah mantles for Goucher College Hillel. One of the scrolls is a rescued Torah from Czechoslovakia, so armed with a palette of palest greys, golds, silvers, and ivories, I headed to Chinatown in NYC on a rainy day to seek silks! What a delight to discover Belraf Fabrics, owned by an Uzbeki couple. A trip around the world in fabric! Take a peek here are the first days' construction.
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I'll be guest lecturing at Dickinson College in Professor Ted Merwin's class during the week that we commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. My program on the fire in words and Yiddish song continues to grow as I learn, and to sadly resonate as we all ponder how little has changed in global workplace safely in the last century. See "Upcoming Events" for details.
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Each year as KlezKamp ends, I proclaim, "This was the best ever!" And every year I mean it. And this year I mean it more! The staff concert nearly lifted the roof off what had been, in its glory days The Granite Hotel in the Catskills. My classes (traditional papercutting and "Our Lives are in our Songs") were filled with curious, thoughtful participants who challenged one another to take each idea to a new level. What an experience. Do not miss this next December!! (sneak peek? Check out the KlezKamp post under Upcoming Events for a video clip!)
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December 22, 2012. Kaye Theater in Manhattan. I soared on the energy of dozens of the finest performers of Yiddish song and Klezmer as we paid tribute to Adrienne Cooper's memory in a three-hour concert of the songs she most loved. What a thrill to sing 'Di Arbuzn' a cappella, in three parts with women performers including Alicia Svigals, Lauren Brody, Shura Lipovsky, and Marsha Gildin. It was both a humbling and energizing evening. Sing out!
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I've just been selected as one of ten 2013 Guild of American Papercutters/X-acto Masters. This means over the course of the coming year I will be testing tools and materials and interacting with other artists to hone our skills and increase interest in papercutting arts. Very exciting!
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Are you aware of the Commonwealth Speakers program under the PA Humanities Commission? Every two years, a roster of artists, story-tellers, historians, and musicians selected by the PHC are able to travel the state offering specific programs at no cost to groups (schools, libraries, state parks, etc.!) other than a basic application fee. I just returned from Ohev Sholom in Williamsport and will head to Reading on Thursday to bring Women's Voices in Yiddish Song to the Federation's Friendship Circle there. Visit the website at www.pahumanities.org and check it out! Free programming! What are you waiting for???
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It's been a long time coming, but here I am, immersed in the joy of working in collaboration with brilliant musicians as I prepare a new recording! Production is in the fine hands of Michael Winograd, and the initial tracks have been laid down with David Licht, Jake Shulman-Ment, Carmen Staaf, Garth Stevenson, and Avi Fox-Rosen, with Lauren Brody and others joining in soon! Hmm... mostly Yiddish, with some surprises mixed in, and everything from spare acoustic accompaniment to over-the-top orchestrations. There'll be more and more about the project as it emerges from its infancy, so watch for news! Perhaps a concert or cd release party in your neighborhood down the line...
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Kesher Zion Congregation in Reading, PA welcomed me as artist-in-residence for the weekend of November 9, 2012, as the congregation honored the memories of Dr. Robert Greenberg and Evelyn Blumberg. I was delighted to find myself in the company of the congregation's brilliant Rabbi Minna Bromberg and rooms full of enthusiastic people hungry to experience new 'takes' on Jewish culture. My programming included a presentation of Yiddish songs of spiritual yearning, a lecture on contemporary Jewish ritual art, and then a rollicking concert on Saturday night with the newly expanded Old World Folk Band! Be sure to check the "Upcoming Events" tab to see where else I'm scheduled to spread YIddish culture!
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I can't say enough about the wonderful Tree of Life Congregation in MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA, where I just spent a weekend as scholar in residence. If you go to my 'coming events' tab, you may see the whole arc of the weekend, but I want to focus here on the response to my "Rage Against the Sewing Machine" presentation on Saturday night, October 27. Among the folks in attendance were physicians, attorneys, and workplace safety experts who each added to a passionate conversation about the effects of completely unregulated natural gas extraction on West Virginians, coal miners' safety issues, and even the plight of disabled people in sheltered workshops who, like the needle workers of 100 years ago, are largely groups without a voice. 'The more things change, the more they stay the same.' And yet we still find inspiration to act for social justice when we learn and sing the songs of our forebears. "Give us bread and give us roses!"
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A radio interview for a BALTIMORE station (WVIE 1370) allowed me to share some insights into the history of labor activism in the United States on September 2, 2012 - Labor Day weekend. So much more meaningful than running to sporting goods stores for sale items, this was a chance to engage listeners in anthemic Yiddish songs and their contexts. So many songs... so little time! But every time a Yiddish song is SUNG, it lives a new life.
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It's late summer, so a trip to the BLOCK AND HEXTER VACATION CENTER in Poyntelle, PA came around on my calendar. My teaching schedule allowed me to alternate sessions with fellow presenter Saul Silas Fahti, as we worked to expand the artistic, musical, polititcal, and in Saul's case, even cosmological horizons of the elders who flocked to the Poconos to participate, learn, and (it's a Jewish camp!) eat 3 squares a day. Whether singing, lecturing, or engaging in issues, I always learn from interactions with program participants. One highlight this year was meeting two Hungarian-born sisters who offered me a macaronic (mixed language) song that alternates lines between Hungarian and German/Yiddish. Will it make the cut on my upcoming recording? Stay tuned!
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A quick trip to MADISON, WISCONSIN as part of "A Bisele KlezKamp" on July 22 was a terrific bright spot in a busy summer season! Over 200 people buzzed around programming by some of the best teacher/artists in the Yiddish folk arts world as Michael Wex, Cookie Segelstein, Lauren Brody, Henry Sapoznik, Sherry Mayrent, Miriam Isaacs, David Spies, Sara Gordon, Kurt Bjorling, Steve Weintraub, and I managed to compress a week's worth of learning into one fabulous day. Keep up-to-date with U. OF WISCONSIN'S MAYRENT CENTER to find out what Yiddish programming will be offered throughout the year before our triumphant return next summer!
On Friday night prior to 'ABKK' I was hosted by Congregation Shaarei Shomayim where I presented an a cappella lecture/recital titled "Healing the World in Yiddish Song." Given the political upheavals and charged emotions in Madison these days, the program was a welcome one. The room was packed with people of all ages, and it was a special joy to me to be singing in a room within Frank Lloyd Wright's historic Unitarian Church, where the congregation meets regularly.
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Lauren Brody and I head to PITTSBURGH on June 3 for two concerts, a family event in the morning, and a full concert in the late afternoon at the JCC, in conjunction with the Jewish Museum's exhibit on the artists who illustrated the works of I.B. Singer. We're working up new material and are delighted that both PennPAT and the PA Humanities Council are supporting the program with generous grants. Come celebrate Yiddish culture!
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Healing the World in Yiddish - This lecture/recital program drew people from a wide variety of backgrounds and ages to a program sponsored but DICKINSON COLLEGE, the Literary Heritage Fund, Association for Jewish Studies, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg on April 24. With PowerPoint translations and even a visit from Dan Kahn and the Painted Bird on screen, we explored the drive for human rights that infuses Yiddish song, and the activism that the songs inspire. As part of a series titled "Telling Jewish Stories through the Arts," the evening's riches were obvious as participants lingered over tea and cake and shared the stories that bubbled up in response to the presentation. What a great night!
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On Sunday, April 1, the Jewish Federation of Greater DAYTON and the Lynda A. Cohen Yiddish Club welcomed Lauren Brody and me for a concert. It was the first time that Lauren and I had the opportunity to present a full concert and we felt like siblings on the stage, finding parallel expressions of meaning and intention in her accordion and my voice without even a nod or a word. Utilizing the full range of her instrument, Lauren crafted a unique setting for each song, and the 'whole cloth' was fantastic.
We're already warming up for an upcoming event in June, so stay tuned for details!!
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MAURICE SENDAK! I write this on the day of Maurice Sendak's passing. (If you haven't heard both the recent Fresh Air interview and the hilarious pair of Colbert interviews with the incomparable Mr. Sendak, go find them NOW and come back here in an hour...) I am grateful and humbled to have had the opportunity to spend several months immersed in the life and work of Mr. Sendak, preparing for a program built around the Rosenbach's exhibit of the influences of his Jewish world on his life's work. So on Sunday, April 15, the Haverford Public Library swelled with the sounds of Klezmer as I took over the children's wing of the library to present "Yiddish in the Nutshell" with Ken Ulansey on clarinet and Heath Allen on keyboard. Sendak's early life in a Yiddish-speaking immigrant neighborhood in Brooklyn, the awareness of evil in the world, and the fears and bravery of children shaped much of his life's work, and I blended his personal life into songs and stories for a rollicking hour. The program was interactive, with sing-alongs, props, costumes, and wild Sendakian tales abounding. It was a Yiddishe Vilde 'Rumpus' for everyone's inner child! Pick up a book by Maurice Sendak and look deeply into it. You may be changed!
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LAFAYETTE COLLEGE Hillel hosted me on Tuesday night, March 20 for a program in song and story on the actual history of the Sarajevo Hagaddah. It was a real one-woman show as I demonstrated design, lettering, and gilding techniques of the centuries-old masterpiece, as well as recounted its improbable story interspersed with songs in the Sarajevo dialect of Judeo-Spanish, in Yiddish, and in Hebrew, along with a Moroccan chant - all related to the Hagaddah. The audience included students, college faculty, and local residents, and there was a lively Q and A at the conclusion of the program. Lafayette has a gorgeous old campus perched above the city of Easton at the confluence of the Delaware and Raritan rivers. I hope to return!
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LAUREN BRODY will join me in presenting a full concert in Dayton, Ohio on Sunday, April 1 for the annual event honoring the memory of Lynda A. Cohen. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to share the stage and have been working up two terrific sets for the Yiddish club and expected gathered throngs!
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A presentation of my concert "Women's Voices in Yiddish Song" at Penn State University in Middletown, PA on February 23 drew people from Lancaster, York, Lebanon, and the greater Harrisburg area. Having been interviewed for an upcoming article in a Dayton, Ohio paper the night before, I kept thinking during the concert of a particular question I was asked: "What do you want people to take away from your performance?" So I'll tell you: I want people to be so surprised and touched that they come away with a desire to dig a little deeper into Yiddish culture and discover something about themselves. The values and history that are packed into our songs go far in teaching us how to know ourselves if we just open our hearts a bit. That's why I sing. Oh, and also, I sing because I can't NOT sing!!
Only a week to go before Kerhonkson, NY becomes the temporary capital of Yiddishland! This year at KlezKamp I'll be teaching the hands-on papercutting course and a four-session a capella lecture/recital course.
I'm especially looking forward to the time I'll be carving out with fellow PennPAT artist SUSAN WATTS to work on some vocal duets and arrangements, and to begin taking concrete steps towards my NEW RECORDING, which will be produced by the amazing MICHAEL WINOGRAD! Check this website regularly for announcements, too, of a new duo in the works featuring MICHAEL WEX and Susan Leviton. Use your imagination for now - details to follow soon!
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On Sunday, November 20, 2011, I presented a "Conversation with the Artist" in conjunction with the "Making it Better: Folk Art in Pennsylvania Today" exhibit in which one of my papercuts is featured. I demonstrated the art of Jewish papercutting and shared insights into its history and contemporary expressions with about 30 museum-goers. On exhibit through April 29, 2012, Making It Better tells the stories of over 30 master artists whose works represent a wide array of traditions such as African dance, stone wall construction, Native American clay flutes, Pysanky eggs, contemporary blacksmith work, woodcarving, and Vietnamese funerary portraits. I'm honored to have been chosen to have my work represented among so many brilliant examples of folk arts.
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Groundbreaking for Chisuk Emuna Congregation's new synagogue took place in Harrisburg on Sunday, October 16, 2011, and over 350 people celebrated with a block party that featured kugel in a sukkah, carnival food, games and abundant crafts for children, and an afternoon of outstanding music: klezmer, jazz, and old-timey. Bands set up on a concrete pad at one end of the soon-to-be-a-shul property, and music filled the air! I had the pleasure of singing once again with the Old World Folk Band, which has recently welcomed several new musicians as regulars, and which added additional guest performers for the outdoor event.
The synagogue was destroyed by an accidental fire in 2009, and more recently was left homeless when The Flood of 2011 forced the congregation from temporary quarters in the JCC. The sense that the next plague was waiting in the wings was banished by the wonderful welcome to a new neighbrhood, and it looks like the block party may become an annual event!
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A whirlwind few days at the 14th annual IAYC (International Association of Yiddish Clubs) conference in Novi, Michigan offered me the opportunity to perform and teach, and to meet people from all over the country who gathered to celebrate Yiddish culture. Highlights for me were presenting my powerful lecure/recital, "Rage Against the Sewing Machine" in this 100th anniversary year following the Triangle Fire, and joining Dan Kahn on the bandstand following my solo concert.
To see parts of one of my programs at the conference, please visit www.yiddishlives.com/susanleviton
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