Something Special

Greetings and salutations from Bubbe, who always appreciates finding out about something cute and clever, especially if it relates to mah jongg!

Some of you may have noticed when photographer, documentary filmmaker, and author Robert Trachtenberg revolutionized the mah jongg world last year, as he and illustrator Tom Bachtell unveiled the Trach/Bach set, distributed by Crisloid.

 

Robert had been inspired to create a new user-friendly American tile set when, week after week, he and his mahj-playing friends struggled to distinguish a one-Bam from a Flower, a Wind from a Crak. The confusing similarity between the Chinese characters left him wondering why mah jongg sets always had to follow those traditional patterns. Robert was determined to “shake things up.”

 

He brainstormed and then contacted Bachtell, a 23-year veteran of the New Yorker magazine, to follow through on his concept. The Trach/Bach set features images that are witty in style and spirit: the South tiles feature a Scarlett O'Hara-esque, hoop-skirted damsel; the Red and Green dragons are buffing their nails and flossing their teeth, respectively, getting ready to do their dragon-ly best. The most frequent word used to describe the set is "whimsical," although "clever," "amusing," "innovative"—and of course, “beautiful”--also come to mind. The original products were snapped up by eager collectors, with a waiting list for a second run.

 

And then March, 2020 came. Like many of us, Robert’s routine was deeply affected by COVID. Not only did his photo shoot assignments--celebrity portraits for magazines, luxury products for advertisements--slow down dramatically, but he had to halt his weekly mahj game. Robert was faced with the prospect of playing online versions of mah jongg, but they left him cold. The mechanism for playing was fine, but he felt that, just like the traditional tiles, the available online versions lacked the charm and whimsy he craved.

 

Yearning for a new “COVID project,” Robert decided that he would bring his Trach/Bach tile design to an online game. It turned out to be more complicated than he expected. He has worked with software designers and coders in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, and Canada to put together a site that fulfills his vision.

 

Well-known mah jongg instructor and tile guru Johni Levene has arranged an opportunity for members of her Facebook page, "Mah Jongg, That's It!" to be beta testers for Robert's new website, “playmahj.com”. His team is hopeful that the beta version will be available within the next 6 weeks, and certainly before the end of the year.

 

The plan is, once MJTI mavens have provided constructive criticism and his engineers have incorporated the feedback, the site will be officially available. He anticipates that the subscription cost (monthly or annually) will be comparable to that of other mah jongg websites... but of course, it will feature that delightful artwork from the Trach/Bach tiles.

 

HOWEVER….drumroll….Robert revealed to me that the Trach/Bach set is only the beginning of what the playmahj.com site will offer. One day, Trach/Bach will be remembered as “the 2020 tiles.” Robert is currently working on a 2021 design with another illustrator, and in fact plans to come out with a new design each year.

 

(note: Crisloid sets are made in Rhode Island, laser-carved and hand-painted. Because of the complexity of the design and the labor-intensive nature of the work, not every one of Robert's annual designs will end up being available as a physical/tangible set of tiles.)

 

The site will provide online subscribers with the opportunity to play using whichever is their favorite design of tile, while following the current year's card/rules. Robert’s ultimate goal is to keep the site fresh and fun. I'm personally having a hard time picturing anything more adorable than the 2020 set, but I can't wait to see what else he's got in mind!

 

Robert also revealed that there will be mah jongg-related products and accessories available on his site, incorporating the illustrations from each year's tiles. There will also be animation and other unique features that aren't available on any other online mah jongg site.

 

While we both long for the day when we can play mahj again at a table with friends, Robert and I agreed that online playing is here to stay. It's a valuable tool for learning the card and honing one's skills, like spotting opponents’ hands and making quicker decisions. It also holds appeal as an “around-the-clock” option, a great resource for insomniacs.

 

Of course, no other site will have the enticing style and wit that you'll find at playmahj.com. I urge you to install and play it on your computer, as opposed to your phone, so that you can see the intricate design of those tiles!

 

Want to help try it out? You can sign up as a beta tester at www.playmahj.com . I also recommend joining Johni's Facebook page, you never know what other new products and ideas will come up there!

If you have any questions or comments, contact me at bubbefischer@gmail.com. I always love hearing from you!

Talk to you soon!

Bubbe

 

 

Bubbe's Stovetop Secret

Greetings, salutations, and g'mar chatima tova from Bubbe, straight from the kitchen with a very important announcement:

After 30 years of marriage, I have FINALLY perfected a latke recipe that saves you an hour of your life!!! Enough time to play a few extra hands of mahj, or put in a load of laundry, or write an article!

Maybe some of you already knew these secrets, but it took decades for me to get here.

1) FROZEN CHOPPED ONIONS. These, I have been using for years. They're a blessing for several reasons, including not having to chop your own, not having the issue of  "half an onion" hanging around the fridge, and being super easy to measure (for recipes that use measurements). They usually come in a 12 ounce package (approximately 3 cups) in the frozen vegetable section; get the store brand. I also recommend letting them defrost for a few hours, rather than trying to "nuke" them--that just turns them into water and a few thin pieces of onion.

2) "SIMPLY SHREDDED HASH BROWNS" or whatever pre-shredded potatoes you can find. Does anyone still need to prove how much they love their family by slicing up their knuckles on a vegetable grater? I got tired of de-clogging the food processor, too....

This particular brand of potato was the magic ingredient for me; I tried other sizes and styles of frozen potatoes, and they were awful for latkes. These are in the refrigerated (NOT frozen) section of the vegetable department. The package is 20 ounces (a little less than 5 cups). They are perfectly cut for latkes. And yes, like the frozen onions above, they have an OU hechsher.

3) 3 eggs

4) Salt and pepper

5) A few fistfuls of flour

6) Vegetable oil

I mix all the onions and potatoes together well in a medium-sized bowl, with a 1/2 cup of diced fresh leeks if I happen to have them--strictly optional, of course, as is garlic or scallions. 

I put about a third of the onion/potato collaboration into a large bowl with one egg and mix well. Then add another third, with a second egg, and mix. Then the final third with the final egg and continue mixing. Add the salt and pepper (a lot or a little, depending on your crowd) and enough flour to hold things together.

Heat the oil in a fry pan or two, or.... 

Here is the other HUGE Bubbe time-saving tip: a la Ruth's Chris and other swanky steak restaurants, you can make ONE BIG LATKE in a 8 or 10 inch omelet pan. Sure, you can stand over the stove and make the traditional size (4-5 inch diameter) latkes, flipping and checking and putting in more oil and giving up half your afternoon. OR you can make a FEW of the traditional size, plus two or three of the super-size ones. Trust me, once they taste them they won't quibble about the shape.

The key to flipping the larger latke was to flip it into another frypan first, or even a pot lid that is larger. There was no way I was going to keep such a large latke intact on one immediate flip.

This recipe makes enough food for at least 4 starving people, or 6 normal ones. I made them for both tonight and the break fast tomorrow, and hopefully they will last until lunch on Tuesday, too. 

Leftover tip (also good for Pesach): sandwich of barbecued brisket between two latkes.

Wishing my Jewish friends a meaningful fast. And (per the Hebrew above) may we be signed and sealed in the Book of Life for a much better year.

Talk to you soon!

Bubbe Fischer

Mahj Makeover!!

 

Greetings and salutations from Bubbe, thinking about changing a few things....

 

I don't know about the rest of you, but I haven't had a haircut in over six months. My "bob" has become a flip, like Marlo Thomas in "That Girl." I'm glad to wear a mask in public so nobody can see if I have a breakout on my chin.

 

If, like me, you feel like you don't quite look photo-ready, that's okay. It's understood that we

don't look fancy, we're taking it easy. Except for eye makeup, I don't think anybody's making

any dramatic changes to their appearance.

 

However, if you are determined to do a little self-improvement, Bubbe's got a proposition for

you! In lieu of those standard transformative beauty treatments, how about a mahj makeover?!

I've joined up with the ladies at Modernmahjong.com to provide a few lucky mah jongg players with an analysis of their game and some helpful tips. Hopefully this will make them stronger players.

 

Since I'm involved, you know I'm going to advocate taking a few chances, adding a little more

adventure to their game. First, though, I'm going to make sure they know their fundamentals. After all, preparation is essential. Say it with me: "Luck favors the prepared mind."

 

If you are a frustrated player and want to improve, or perhaps a friend of yours seems to be

stuck in a rut and could benefit from one-on-one mentoring, get in touch with me at

bubbefischer@gmail.com and I'll see if you or your your friend is a candidate for a mahj

makeover! Our first event will be on Wednesday, October 21st (7pm EDT/4 pm PDT), but we hope to do these every month. Even if you're not the special guest, you still can pick up a few great tips just from watching!

 

I also recommend going over to either the Modern mahjong website or their YouTube channel. You can catch up on lectures by some well-known mahj community members, and even a couple from me! There are lectures about mah jongg history, collecting tiles, tournament strategy, etiquette, all sorts of things. It's a fun way to spend a few hours, learning about mah jongg.

 

I'm always happy to hear from you, with any questions you might have. Drop me an email any time!

 

Talk to you soon. 

 

Bubbe

Bubbe and Fern, Round 2

Greetings and salutations from Bubbe, checking in on Labor Day!

I apologize for the long delay--like many of you, I've been a little bit distracted. I've done some nice "Zoomchats" with various organizations (like the ladies at modernmahjong.com, video available here), but other than that, I haven't been able to sit down and put an article together--let alone another book!

Lucky for me, my friend Fern Bernstein invited me to do another podcast with her. It's up today, full of tips and tricks....and it refers back to one of my favorite games, written about here. Really one for the ages.

While I try to get my brain together to write another real article, feel free to read the 2015 article and listen to my chat with Fern. And check in with me when you get a chance, I always love hearing from you: bubbefischer@gmail.com

Talk to you sooner than 4+ months....I promise!

Bubbe Fischer

You'll Love Deb!

Greetings and salutations from Bubbe, full of gratitude for mahj friendships!

I’ve made lots of friends because of mah jongg. In my last article, I wrote about the 2020 Card for Change, created by Deb Love and Lisa Gelber, two clever, politically committed women in the Los Angeles area—and now Deb is my newest friend! Making a friend is all the more miraculous in this period of social isolation…and now I want to introduce my friend to all of you, with a secret bonus fact! 

First, you should go back and read the blog about the card. It reflects her ability to imagine and follow through on a project (a clue!) as well as her commitment to mah jongg, politics, and philanthropy.

I asked about her history with each of those things, starting with mahj, of course! Deb grew up in Great Neck (“North!”) and left the East Coast when she was 20. She wasn’t exposed to the game until her late 40’s, when one of her friends offered to teach her the basics. Her mom, also a latecomer to mahj, bought her a vintage set for her 50^th birthday, and from that moment on, Deb was hooked. She has, in turn, taught others to play. She had a few weekly games—she still meets one group online every day, but the others have been hard to keep up with lately, for obvious reasons.

The social aspect of the game is most important to her, and she looks forward to playing, even in quarantine. “We go on Real Mah Jongg and Zoom at the same time. Friendships are important to women, we socialize throughout our lives. That’s why women live longer,” she added. (Another clue...)

Her group generally gets tired of the new NMJL card after a month or two (Deb says, “it’s such a snooze!”), and for the past few years they have incorporated “crazy cards…to make (our) brains work.” They keep track of who wins each hand, but put all of the week’s money into a communal pot and save up to take mini mahj vacations together.

As for politics, Deb has always supported liberal/Democratic causes. She joined a political advocacy group called MoveOn.org before the 2016 election. Whether it’s supporting a candidate, passing legislation, or changing the culture, MoveOn members are committed to an inclusive and progressive future. She is currently a Text Team Volunteer Leader. She spends several hours a week training other activists and texting for various projects both state and nationwide, including Get out the Vote drives and check-ins for individuals around the country during the pandemic crisis. The text team is able to mobilize millions of people to contact their congresspeople, or spread the word about upcoming events.

Her philanthropic skills began with a very effective local program. When Deb’s two children were in elementary school, she began to advocate for public education and joined the Board of the Santa Monica Education Foundation. It’s the centralized fundraising arm of the local public school system, supporting 16 schools and 11,000 families.  Their efforts have raised more than $2 million annually to support programs for the entire community, sharing the proceeds between more- and less-advantaged schools in the district.

Deb and her friend Lisa were already inclined to use alternative mah jongg cards—already interested in liberal politics—and already thinking about how to give back to the community. Everything fell into place when they decided to write their own card. They chose to make it timely for the 2020 election. Their friend and graphic designer, Josh Freeman, donated his time and talents to design a great cover and layout.

As the pool of candidates for the nomination grew, they realized that they could not make a hand using any specific person’s name because he or she might be out of the race, early on. Instead, the card refers to Democratic leaders like Michelle and Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Adam Schiff. They include Mitch McConnell, but in the context that he will be voted OUT of office in November, 2020.

As for what to charge for the cards, Deb and Lisa found that the bookkeeping involved in selling cards and then donating the proceeds would actually not be the most effective way to raise funds. Instead, they created an “honor system” whereby they provide cards to whoever asks for them, and suggest that the individual makes a donation to a democratic organization of their choice. The first run created a batch of 500 cards. “If each one results in a donation of $20, the cards will have raised $10,000!” she explained.

So how else has this woman used her talents? Having self-published, and now marketing and shipping my books, I know what would be required for the Card project to succeed: a creative idea, attention to detail, and commitment to follow-through. I had done a little sleuthing (thanks, Internet!) and found out that Deb had indeed been involved in many a project beyond making a mah jongg card.

Of course, she considers her kids (now grown) to be the top accomplishment of her life, but she’s got more on her resume than that. For instance, she has always enjoyed working in the kitchen (ooh, another clue). “I love to cook and bake, I find it relieves stress.”

On previous occasions, however, she has used her culinary skills to great acclaim. She submitted her “Mexican Wedding Cake” cookies to the Los Angeles Times Holiday Cooking Bakeoff in 2012, and was honored among the Top Ten. In 2013, she submitted “Meyer Lemon Lavender Shortbread” cookies, and again made the Top Ten. “I won twice, and then retired (undefeated).”

Deb’s other talent lies in the Arts—specifically film. She was a Film Studies major at Sarah Lawrence in New York, and joined the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles, working on many film projects over the years as an assistant director and/or producer (last clue!). She had hoped to straddle being mother and filmmaker, but it was challenging. The Northridge earthquake of 1994 was the final straw—she has only returned to filmmaking once, since, as executive producer of an award-winning documentary, “Big Voice” (2015). The movie follows a year in the life of a high school choral director, and is really quite wonderful. 

Ok…enough with the hints. A woman who sees projects through; who appreciates the value of lifelong friendships; who enjoys working in the kitchen; who worked in the film industry. I was thrilled to see that one of her last projects, before retiring from feature films, was an all-time Bubbe favorite about lifelong female friendships and food. Released in 1991, nominated for Oscars and Golden Globes, it was (drumroll)….the excellent Fried Green Tomatoes! (Bubbe was about to say that, sadly, the movie lacks mah jongg scenes, but one of the four lead actresses, Jessica Tandy, had just starred in Driving Miss Daisy, where her character DID have a weekly mah jongg game!) If you haven’t seen FGT yet, you must!

Bubbe loved making a new friend and sharing her story with you! If you have a friend you’d like to share with us, email me at bubbefischer@gmail.com and perhaps I’ll do a profile of them, too!
 
Talk to you soon!

Bubbe

Won't Get Fooled Again?

Greetings and salutations from your locked-down Bubbe, who is—by every imaginable standard—ready for change.

Evidently, I’m not the only person who feels that way. I recently found out about the unique and inventive “2020 Card for Change.” It is reminiscent of the style of the American Mah Jongg Association (AMJA), with a very different feel from our annual National Mah Jongg League (NMJL) card. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the AMJA, its rules are similar to NMJL: they both use a card that lists specific hands, with assigned values; no one can use a joker to complete a pair; and some hands are concealed, versus exposed. However, a big difference between them is that AMJA hands can include both words and numeric patterns. 

How do you make mah jongg tiles into words? Obviously, we are used to seeing “NEWS” representing the four Winds, as well as “F” for Flower, “G” a green dragon, “R” a red dragon, and “0” (zero) a soap/white dragon. AMJL card designers go further. For example, they use a “7” to depict the letter “L”, and a “1” for the letter “I”—and the soap can be used as either that zero or the letter “O”. 

Having seen this convention, I was familiar with the words vs. numbers idea...but the 2020 Card for Change is special for more than just using words, per se. The meanings of most of the hands reflect the theme of the card which is, like its designers Deb Love and Lisa Gelber, unabashedly partisan. There are names of political figures from both parties (McConnell; Obama, Pelosi, Schiff), and phrases that reinforce Democratic goals and values. For instance, there is a hand that reads:

DEMS 444 AMERICA

This would be represented by any Dragon, an East, a West (upside down!) and a South; a pung of 4’s in any suit; Any tile, another upside-down West, an East, a Red dragon, a 1 in any suit, any number tile as long as it’s a Crak, and Any tile. Technically, it’s an exposed hand, but the only part you could call for exposure would be the pung of 4’s. 

Only clever minds could come up with so intricate a card. They have reimagined sections that we traditionally expect from the NMJL, with titles like “CAN’T EVEN” (2468), “ODD MEN OUT” (13579), “THREE’S NOT A CROWD” (369), “NO MORE OF THE SAME, PLEASE” (Like Numbers), and “RUN FOR SOMETHING” (Consecutive Runs). There are also categories of “DEM HEROES,” “DEM VALUES,” and the purely election-related “VOTE FOR DEMS.”

The 2020 Card for Change uses a lot of political slogans and icons, but there are some more traditional NMJL-type hands. All of the combinations in the “20 IS OUR LUCKY NUMBER” section include kongs of three numbers that add up to 20. No Flowers are required; just a kong of 9’s plus two other kongs that add to 11 (3+8, 4+7, 5+6), in either one suit or three. Obviously, this is a year when “2” tiles are at a premium, so 11+9 was a good way to utilize the other numbers.

Strangely, and purely by coincidence, several hands are identical to the 2020 NMJL card. Since Deb and Lisa’s card came out in February, there is no way that they “copied” these hands. The happy result is that some players may find comfort seeing a few familiar ways to use their tiles.

On the other hand, experimenting with the unfamiliar is the whole point of using a non-traditional card. If and when you and your friends get in a rut (what, it’s only mid-April?!)—or if you are sympathetic to Democratic causes—it’s worth taking a look! 

The card is available by contacting mahjongsocialclub@gmail.com or finding the Mah Jong Social Club page on Facebook. While there is no actual “price” for the card, Deb and Lisa ask that you consider making a donation to the Democratic/Progressive organization of your choice. They provide some suggestions including the ACLU, Democratic National Committee, Planned Parenthood, Emily’s List, Fair Fight, and MoveOn.org.

Another great thing to remember during this time of social distancing/quarantine is that the 2020 Card for Change, like several other alternative cards, can be used on some online versions of mahj. If four friends play together on myjongg.net, they can select the “bring your own card” option. Deb has been asking the designer at Realmahjongg.com to allow the same opportunity; if you’re a Realmahjongg user and would like to be able to use non-traditional cards, join this grassroots effort and try to convince Ronnie, the designer, to add such a feature.

When I learned about the 2020 Card for Change, I found the whole concept so interesting—from designing an original and passionately partisan group of hands, to encouraging contributions to left-leaning organizations—that I contacted Deb and asked her if she would grant me an interview. Luckily, she said yes—my next column will spotlight her passion for mah jongg, political activism, philanthropy, and a few other creative “lives” that she has led.

If you have any questions or comments about Deb and Lisa’s card, or just want to check in with me, I’m always happy to hear from you—email me at bubbefischer@gmail.com

Talk to you soon!

Bubbe