Mah Jongg Mondays podcast

In this weeks episode join Fern and her guests Michele Frizzell and Debbie Barnett as they discuss the upcoming mahj event titled MAHJCON.   What is MAHJCON?   It is a mahj centered conference where mahj enthusiasts like you can come together to be entertained, informed and inspired.  In addition to this dynamic duo of mah jongg creating MAHJCON, they also formed AMJIA, American Mah Jongg Instruct...

Join Fern and her guest Bettyann Stryker, founder of the Facebook group We Love Mah Jongg! , tournament director, charity supporter and all around mahj enthusiast. Bettyann found mah jongg an important part of her life after a traumatic brain injury and is sensitive to others personal challenges. We've all got a story and today Bettann will share hers with us.  Bettyann's Facebook Group can be fou...

Bubbe is back with more mah jongg insight. In this weeks episode guest Karen Gooen, author, lecturer, teacher and statistician discusses tips and strategies to help you navigate the new 2021 NMJL card. Karen reveals some golden nuggets  she has discovered while analyzing the new card and shares those with us today. So go grab your card, a pen and paper and let's dive into our new cards together! T...

This is the week the new 2021 NMJL cards will be arriving in the mail! Join Fern and Lorraine Urist as they discuss the new card, changes in sections, hands and values. If your card didn't arrive just yet you can still glean information about the new card in this episode and be ready for when it arrives. Mah's Helping Hand Mah Jongg Highlighters can be bought at the company's website, mahshelpingh...

In this week's episode Fern welcomes back mah jongg aficionado Gladys Grad. Listen in as they talk about the NMJL card, Flower and Joker tiles and how Gladys became involved in land and cruise tournaments. Not only did she create  Siamese mah jongg but also Mah Jongg Master Points. Gladys has designed, created and sells mah jongg sets and is a progressive and innovative master of the game of mah j...

In today's episode Fern takes us back to the 1970s. Stacey, one of Fern's Long Island mah jongg friends, shared her aunt's old mahj cards. Listen in to hear about some mahj history and some background on the NMJL presidents. It's a short but sweet episode. Thank you Stacey for sharing your aunts cards!  Fern's memoir, Mah Jongg Mondays, can be found on Amazon or at your local independent bookselle...

Join Fern and her talented guest Christine Whitman as they discuss how Christine was lured to the tiles and started a mah jongg related business. Hear how the mah jongg community helped Christine and her mah jongg playing husband Brett get through a devastating fire that left her home and business nothing but ashes. This dynamic duo rebuilt their life and business and continue their love of the ga...

March is all about luck...or is it? This week's podcast is chock full of tips and strategies from the book by Elaine Sandberg: Winning American Mah Jongg Strategies . Grab a pen and paper and get ready for some great info to up your game. These tips will be helpful with our upcoming 2021 NMJL card too!

In todays episode Fern talks with guest Mindy Bogin about playing, teaching and sharing mah jongg memories. Mindy played both in the states and in Israel where she shared her love of mah jongg by teaching new players and creating social circles through the game. These are the tiles that bind and connect us to one another. They are the tiles that fill the "craks" in our lives with friendship, socia...

Join Fern and her guest Lorraine Urist as they discuss Lorraine's fifty year mah jongg journey. Lorraine learned as a teenager and developed a love for the game that went cross country from New York to California. Lorraine has taught over 2,000 players and has some great tips and strategies to share with us as well as some fun and heartwarming teaching stories. Listen in for some mah-ja-lus fun fi...

Join Fern and mah jongg instructor Daron Barness discuss the Charleston, the sequential passing of tiles that occurs during American style mah jongg. Learn about the 1920s, when mah jongg made its debut for the American consumer and became all the rage along with pixie haircuts, flapper dresses, Jazz and the dance craze called the Charleston.    Mah Jongg Charleston Assist available here: Majbydar...

Join  Fern and her guests Erika Marcus and Lauren Kesten discuss their marvelous experience being extras on this amazingly popular Prime series. Of course mah jongg comes into play—they met up at a tournament and recognized one another from filming the same episode! If you love watching the show you will remember the scene where Joel's mom has been playing an all nighter mahj game at the Catskill...

More mahj? "Always!" say Mo-Mahj founders Deb Diamond and Dara Barker. These two savvy mahj players created some innovative products for every day playing either in person or online. We'll find out how they were lured to the tiles, created their product line and hear about a new online game in the works. Liam Freivald joins Fern for some fun 2020 reflections and announces the four Giveaway winners...

Join Fern and Liam as they share their excitement of the podcast reaching over 20,000 downloads! Hop on over to Mah Jongg That's It! on Facebook to enter to win some "mahj-alous" prizes in the celebration giveaway! Good luck everyone!   Also in today's episode: meet Philippe and Julie, the creators of I Love Mahj, a new and innovative online mah jongg platform. This dynamic duo and mahj loving cou...

As in person tournaments are currently just a memory due to COVID, many of us have joined online tournaments. Join me and my guest Adrienne Marshall, as we discuss how her mahj group ran their tournament and the fun and excitement we all shared. With just a little mah jongg ingenuity and inspiration we find a way to get our mahj on!   This episode was sponsored in part by Mah's Helping Hand. Use p...

This week I welcome guest Max Bloom to the podcast platform. This young man of mahj learned how to play at age five. He started to collect sets at age twelve and now at age eighteen is buying and selling sets from the expanded collection he has accumulated. Max is a skilled player both in the Chinese and American styles of the game. Listen in and learn how this young man takes his love of the game...

Join Fern and this week's guest Robin Rackoff. She is a long time player, learning during the era of The Beatles and bell bottoms. Robin has taught hundreds of new players and writes in Georgia publications about mah jongg. Some of you may recall Robin's recent post on MJTI! She was visiting with her almost 104 year old mah jongg loving mom and posted about that visit along with a column she wrote...

Join Fern and John in this week's lively mah jongg discussion. Learn how John was lured to the tiles and how that attraction helped inspire John to create MJ Diva Magazine. Find out how two worlds collided, one being his art and the other being his love of mah jongg, creating dozens of mahj inspired products. From tournaments, Royale, to Siamese and then to on line games, nothing will stop this ma...

Join Fern and her guest Ahuva Ellner as they discuss Ahuva's love of mah jongg and her love and responsibility in caring for her mother Miriam, who suffers from Alzeheimers. Like mother, like daughter, mah jongg is a game they both share, although for Miriam it is a game of the past. Ahuva plans for the future of mah jongg meet ups in NYC, and teaching opportunities once COVID is behind us. Listen...

Join Fern and Dr. Linda Sasser as they discuss the benefits of mah jongg on our aging brains. Dr. Sasser teaches us about our brains, cognitive reserve, neuroplasicity, and other brain related terms. Have a pen and paper handy as Dr. Sasser leads us in some of the brain games she includes in her book Brain Sense . This is sure to be an episode we'll all benefit from! Dr. Linda Sasser's book Brain...

This is the first of a three part series about aging and how mah jongg effects us socially, cognitively, and emotionally. Join Fern and this weeks guest, Rita Katz, as they talk about the lighter side of aging as Rita shares some of her poety and thoughts on aging.   Contact Rita Katz to purchase her book, The ABCs of Aging, at: Ritakatz26@aol.com   Dr. Linda Sasser's book Brain Sense can be found...

Shalom! Join Fern and her guest, Laura Vinogradov, as they discuss how Laura loves to share her passion for the game of mah jongg where she lives in Israel. Laura is the founder of the Israel Mahjong League, and created her own version of an Israeli mah jongg card and sells mah jongg related items on her website. Listen in and enjoy this episode! There's always something new to learn about mahj!  ...

Join Fern and her guests, Sally Hall and Beth Marx, as they discuss an analysis of the 2020 card, along with tips and hints to use in your next game online or in person. Their friendship spans thirty years, and eventually one friend led the other to the mah jongg table. Their friendship now includes the fun, sisterhood, and mental challenge that mah jongg provides. Grab a pen and paper to take som...

In this weeks episode join Fern and travel consultant Mollie Mandell. Hear about far away destinations in countries and continents all over the world where players have had the opportunity to set up their mah jongg racks, spill their tiles onto a table, open their NMJL cards and play some mahj. Mollie, who personally has traveled to over forty-eight countries, has extensive travel experience, idea...

In this weeks episode, we'll hear how mah jongg helped reconnect two women on opposite sides of the country who lost touch almost forty years ago. Oh, the magic of mah jongg! Sign up for the new online game and beta testing opportunity at: www.playmahj.com   Fern can be contacted directly at Mahjonggmondays@yahoo.com Fern's Instagram can be found at @fernlovesmahjongg Fern can be found on Facebook...