Adina Bernstein

Warning: This article contains spoilers about the first season of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Photo by TOMMY VAN KESSEL on Unsplash
Since Star Wars premiered in 1977, the film franchise has become more than an iconic series of movies. It has opened the door to much-needed cultural change. Among this change is the place of women. Starting with Princess Leia Organa (the late Carrie Fisher), female characters are as important to the narrative and are as complex as their male counterparts.
In the recent seri...

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These days, interracial and interreligious marriage is (mostly) accepted. That does not mean, however, that the families of the engaged couples are welcoming of their child’s future spouse.
The new Netflix romantic comedy, You People, is a cinematic love child of Meet the Parents and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Ezra (Jonah Hill) and Amira (Lauren London) are in love and engaged. Ezra comes from an Ashkenazi Jewish family and Amira comes from a Black Muslim family. A clash between thes...

Photo by Natalya Letunova on Unsplash
Burger/Fast Food Restaurants
Schnipper’s
With two locations in Manhattan ( Times Square and Midtown East), this restaurant does not disappoint. Though it is fast food, it does not leave you with the feeling of eating cheap and empty calories. The menu is much more than burgers and fries, allowing almost anyone to find something to eat.
Roll n Roaster
Located in the South Brooklyn neighborhood of Sheepshead Bay, Roll n Roaster has been around for fifty yea...

I remember when I graduated from college in May of 2003. I was thrilled to finally be done with school and proud of myself for earning my degree. I was also scared sh*tless about getting that first job. What I know now, I wish I knew then. The only thing I can do is provide advice based on my experience to prevent another from repeating my mistakes.
Create a professional email if you do not have one already: Using hot4todd@youremail.com as your email address is going to get you nowhere fast. ...

These days (depending on who you talk to) the term “woke” is a dirty word. On the left, it represents empathy, understanding, and awareness of historical injustice. On the right, it represents an ideal that is antithetical to how one thinks the United States should be.
Last year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the following:
“Florida is where woke goes to die,”
While DeSantis and those on the right are entitled to their opinions, this idea of “killing wokeness” is disturbing. I love this ...

Imagine the following: a few days ago, you applied for your dream job. This morning, you received an email from HR. They want to set up an interview. With your heart pounding, you reply back with the preferred date and time.
Now that that is done, the next step is to prepare for the interview.
The key to getting the job is doing your homework. Of course, it is not a guarantee that you will receive an employment offer, but it will hopefully go a long way.
In my experience, there are three webs...

The influence of a grandparent is priceless. They are our first babysitters, our second teachers, and the ones who spoil us when our parents say no. They are also arbiters of the past, passing down songs, stories, and traditions of the generations who came before them.
I grew up in a conservative Jewish home. Going to services every weekend, celebrating the holidays, and keeping kosher was my normal. That included visiting my paternal grandparents, Beatrice and Leon Bernstein (whom my sister ...

There’s something fascinating about learning who a respected artist was as a child. Seeing who they were and who they grew up to speaks volumes about who they are as human beings and a creator. Recently, two new films delved into the childhoods of two revered filmmakers: Steven Spielberg and James Gray.
Over the last few months, both filmmakers released films (both of which were based on their childhood): Spielberg’s The Fabelmans and Gray’s Armageddon Time. Within each narrative, hate and pr...

Abortion is one of those topics that are guaranteed to generate strong opinions, regardless of where one stands on the political and religious scale. At the end of the day, it is just another medical procedure. But over time, it has become a stand-in for other cultural touchstones that may never be resolved.
The new movie, Call Jane, is set in Chicago in 1968 and based on a true story. Joy (Elizabeth Banks) is a traditional housewife. Happily married to Will (Chris Messina), she has a teenage...

There are inside secrets in any industry that are only known to those who make a living from it. I’ve been in customer service for most of my career. Though my job may seem simple, it’s not. What am I about to tell you will make your experience a pleasant one and my job much easier.
Note: The following emails are based on real emails/voicemails/messages I have received over my career.
Customer Email: I need an update on my order. (Note that the email is lacking any information in regards to w...

Social media may seem innocuous. It is an opportunity to expand your world, connect with other people, etc. But like anything in life, there is a downside.
After nearly a year of speculation, Elon Musk announced that he had finally purchased Twitter. One of his aims with the platform is to ensure that free speech continues to be the raison d’être of the site. He also plans to limit permanent bans of those who have been considered to be problematic (he who shall not be named among them). By th...

Since March 2020, working from home has become the new normal for many white-collar jobs. Though it is tempting to spend all day in your pajamas, I believe that it is important to get dressed.
It provides a similar psychological effect to being in the office: There is a certain energy that comes with working on location. I can’t build up that energy while in my night clothes. Even if it is comfy pants and an old concert t-shirt, I need to get changed to get myself in the right frame of mind.
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After two and a half years, I would love to say that Covid-19 is firmly in the rearview mirror. But it is not. Approximately 400 Americans still die every day from the virus.
The Jewish High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) were two weeks ago and last week, respectively. They are three of the most important days on the calendar. Traditionally, Jews take off from work and school, ask for forgiveness, and hope/pray for another year of life.
Though the synagogue that I go to did not have ...

I don’t know about anyone else, but working from home is a new phenomenon. Before the pandemic, the only times that I was not in the office were either during a snowstorm or when I had to be home to let a cable technician in. When it became obvious in March of 2020 that Covid — 19 was more than your average cold, it was understood that those who could, would be working from their respective homes.
More than two years later, the virus has (hopefully) been tamed. Many companies have reopened fo...

In an ideal world, writers would be able to earn a living via their figurative pen and not rely on a day job. The truth is that while many of us dream of giving up our day jobs (myself included), the main source of income is not our writing. I’ve been freelancing and blogging on the side for nearly a decade. I hope that what I have learned will help other writers in the same position.
Keep a schedule that works for you: Some people wake up an hour early and write before work. Others use their...