The Top Ten 2009 Ageless Stories: By your clicks!

Among my favorite features of newspapers, magazines and online publications are the end of the year digests. So, here are the Ageless North Shore top ten stories as measured by unique online visits.

1. Baha’i Choral Music Festival…

Held on May 23 and May 24, this festival was a highlight of the year. We saw an ad in the Pioneer Press and we didn’t know any thing about the program.  And then we were blown away.

As we wrote to Ellen Price from  U.S. Baha’i National Center, “it will be hard (impossible really) to reproduce the feeling of being in your lovely sanctuary; watching the interaction between Maestro Van Gilmer and the choir and listening to the beautiful music.”

2. Seymour Rifkind: A celebration of passion and possibilities

I ran into Seymour Rifkind at our 40th class reunion from Niles East High. He subsequently emailed me about his documentary 135 Days to Badwater. Badwater is a 135 mile ultra-marathon. 135 MILES! That’s an Ageless story. I worked with Seymour setting up the premiere of the film at the Wilmette Theatre where he gave a very inspirational presentation about human potential. At any age!  Seymour will contribute occasional posts to our blog as he did yesterday about resolutions.

3. Van Gilmer: the Harmonious Voice of Diversity

In the fall, we sat down with music director Van Gilmer at his office at the Baha’i temple. He shared with us his musical background and how becoming a Baha’i tied into his commitment to civil rights.

Here is an excerpt: “I didn’t initially feel an attraction to Baha’u’llah, but felt an attraction to his teachings; the oneness of mankind, the elimination of economic, racial, and national prejudices. The Baha’is demonstrated the equality and acceptance of all people. Over a period of years I grew to accept Baha’u’llah though I almost immediately accepted His religious teachings.”

4. Guide for the Newly Perplexed: “A Serious Man” by the Coen Brothers

An occasional Monday feature of Ageless North Shore is a “Guide to the Newly Perplexed.”

Moses Maimonides (1120-1190) was a Sephardic Jewish scholar, philosopher and physician who lived in Spain and Egypt. He wrote the Guide for the Perplexed, delving into the most difficult questions of theology and reality itself; did the universe have a beginning?
Okay, now substitute Google and YouTube for scholarship and philosophy, and you’ve got the “Guide for the Newly Perplexed.”

Sachin Waikar, is a fine writer of fiction, as well as a successful freelance editor and writer and a contributor to Ageless North Shore. Sachin and Ageless Don took a screenwriting class together and see films now and again.

We have had comments on this post from all over the country. The film has a fable-like quality that complex and entertaining in that uncomfortable early Coen Brothers way (Barton Fink, Raising Arizona, Fargo).

5. Planning a 60th Birthday Party? Here’s something different…

Stuart Jacobson, “over-the-top edgy stand-up comedian and emcee,” came to us with a story about

Stuart Jacobson

a unique 60th birthday party. Stuart was hired to emcee a surprise 60th birthday that a woman threw for her husband at Chicago’s Admiral Theater, a strip club. Among the guests – the guy’s 80 year old parents.

Stuart is a positive great guy and a complete lunatic. He’s a pal.

6. Cellar Gate: A Sophisticated Wine Bar in Highwood…who knew?

We found out about this spot in Highwood thanks to our friends at The Got Spot. We bought one of their online coupons and enjoyed a lovely summer’s evening

“With the courtyard set back from the street, surrounded by the wrought iron of the front gate, the greenery, the fountains and statuary, we savored our wine, our food and the homemade hazelnut gelati.”

Cellar Gate is one of the many gems in the resurgent Highwood. The Gourmet Farmers Market, The Pumpkin Festival, Home for the Holidays. The French Market; Highwood has definitely got it going on.

7. Baha’i Sacred Song Concert CD and The not so sacred Comic Torah

This post brought together two of our favorite subjects in 2009. We announced November 15 that the CD “Sacred Songs III” of the Baha’i Music Festival, a capella choir had just been released. You can order CDs by calling 847-853-2337, or email jpane@usbnc.org

On that same day we posted that Aaron Freeman and Sharon Rosenzweig used the funding platform KickStarter to sucessfully raise the $12,000 needed for the Ben Yehuda Press to publish “The Comic Torah” as a full-color book.

8. Heroes of Woodstock: A Rock & Roll Review

Dr. Dave, our rock and roll specialist, reviewed Country Joe McDonald and his collection of Woodstock players when they played the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan on the 40th anniversary of the big party at Yasgur’s farm.

9. Wilmette: Antiques Row

As we said on August 3, “Located between Lake St. and Wilmette Avenue there is a leafy stretch of

Raven & Dove Antiques

road where you can find purveyors of antiques, and an almost indescribable variety of furniture and interesting old stuff – the weird, the beautiful, the pristine and the dusty…”

10. Going “East on Central”: A profile of Judith MK Tepfer

Our profile of Judith and the whole crew at the East on Central, literary journal rounds out our top 10. Check out their site for entries to this year’s journal. As we said at the time, “The North Shore seems to be crawling with creative types.”

Thanks to everyone who contributed posts, photos, comments, subscribed and read Ageless North Shore.