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Thursday, August 16, 2007
Viva Las Jerusalem
The King was alive and well — and multiplying — today at the Elvis American Diner outside Jerusalem.
By late afternoon, 10 Israeli Elvis impersonators had flocked to the restaurant to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death. Old and young, hailing originally from Russia and Iran, they sang the praises of the musical icon.
The tunes were sometimes out of key. Some were downright dreadful. But they all came from the heart.
Joseph Rozen and his wife Rozidka were the oldest impersonators of the group. Both were sporting white-spangled jumpsuits of the Elvis Vegas era.
Joseph, who has been to Graceland twice, bought his from a store at the Memphis shrine, shelling out $1,400 to be able to say he has an exact replica of the one the King wore.
Rozen, who comes from the southern town of Beersheva, sells vitamins during the day. “But that’s just for money. What I really live for is Elvis,” he said.
The menu at the Elvis diner starts with the “All Shook Up” breakfast, consisting of an Israeli favorite of fried eggs in a spicy tomato sauce, and includes a “Tupelo Kid” children’s menu. The owner of the diner, Uri Yoeli, also offers a grilled cheeseburger that he says is based on the same recipe used by Elvis’ favorite diner in Memphis.
Given this sublimely greasy fare, it’s surprising that the diner’s best selling souvenir is the $10 Elvis wine that Yoeli bottled specially for the 30th anniversary.
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Don’t step on my blue suede kilt
Fans are flocking to Memphis’ Graceland today for the 30th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley. Yet thousands of miles away, in the windswept villages of northeastern Scotland, residents claim they should be the ones benefiting from a tourist influx.
According to a book published a few years ago called “The Presley Prophecy,” the King’s great great great great great great grandparents Andrew Presley and Elspeth Leg were married in Scotland on Aug. 27, 1713. Their son, also named Andrew, would later join the flood of immigrants to the United States in search of a new life.
Scottish villagers lament the fact that little has been done to capitalize on the Presley connection. “If this was America, there would be statues up and hordes of tourists,” said Allan Morrison, author of “The Presley Prophecy.” “But the Scots don’t seem to be much good at that sort of thing.”
Even so, there are a few kilt-makers who are benefiting. An Elvis tartan is being unveiled in Aberdeen, Scotland, in Presley’s favorite colors: black, baby blue, pink, and gold.
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Shoot first, ask Britons later
Europeans have long been fascinated by the American gun culture. Floridians, it seems, can shoot whomever they please.
“For the last year and a half, Floridians have been allowed by law to shoot anyone they want,” according to Isaac-Davy Aronson, a columnist writing in Britain’s Guardian newspaper.
The “stand your ground” law passed the Florida legislature by a wide margin. Since it went into effect in 2005, similar laws have been passed in at least 14 other states. The law gives people the right of “self-defense without the duty to retreat” meaning people can use deadly force to prevent death or serious injury.
Aronson argues that shoot-first laws are a wholesale rejection of law itself, a step towards replacing a nation of laws with a nation of value judgments — a nation in which whomever is currently considered “good” gets a free pass.
He cites a statement from Wayne LaPierre, executive vice-president of the National Rifle Association, which is behind the Florida measure: “Good people make good decisions and that’s why they’re good people. If you’re going to empower someone, empower the crime victim.”
But Aronson said he knows a lot of incredibly good people who make bad decisions on a daily basis and a lot of good people he wouldn’t trust with a gun. But he said it’s clear the Florida law isn’t about gun rights but about a moral philosophy of good and evil.
“If a good person shoots someone, it’s O.K. If a bad person shoots someone, it’s not,” he said. “You might call that a double standard.”
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