January 30, 2004
Powerful Words
Writer and counselor for troubled youth, (Yechezkel) Chezi Goldberg, was killed yesterday in the suicide bombing on a Jersualem Bus.. I hadn't read Mr. Goldberg's writings, but my mother frequently read his articles and e-mails.
On December 3, 2001, Chezi Goldberg wrote a powerful article about emotions and prayer after terrorist attacks. Here is an excerpt:
Perhaps, my friends, we are being foolish to really believe that the nations of the world should be upset about the continuous murder and slaughter of Jews --- if we ourselves are not crying about it. Am I my brother's keeper? The most effective way for us to stop the carnage in our midst is to wake up and to react to it from our hearts. How can we DEMAND that the Creator stop the tragedy when most of us react like robots when tragedy strikes? If WE don't cry about what is happening around us, who will?If YOU don't cry about what is happening around us, who will?
If I don't cry about what is happening to us, who will?
Maybe our salvation from this horrific mess will come only after WE tune into our emotions and cry and scream about it.
As King Solomon said, "There is a time for everything under the sun." Now is the time for crying.
May He protect each and every one of us from our enemies so that we will not have to cry in the future.
"Goldberg, 42, a native of Toronto who made aliya eight years ago from his wife's native Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn, had seven children of his own, ages one to 16, but he left behind dozens of children whom he helped through his practice and his articles. He preached for years against making concessions to terrorism in articles he wrote for The Jewish Press and in a radio show he hosted on Arutz 7.
Friends of Goldberg said he saved many lives. Goldberg was eulogized at the Bostoner Shul in Betar Illit, where he served as a sexton, before he was buried Thursday night at Har Hamenuhot Cemetery in Jerusalem. "
January 29, 2004
Someone Stole Yoda
PASADENA, Calif. - Someone lifted a 170-pound bronze statue of Yoda, the "Star Wars" Jedi master.
The theft from a flatbed truck was reported to police last weekend and artist Lawrence Noble, 55, of Crestline has offered a $1,000 reward for its return. The limited-edition bronze is worth up to $20,000.
"It's a real high-end collectible," Noble said.
Suspicious...GREG?!?
In the wrong place at the wrong time
This is the first e-mail I got this morning when I woke up. It is from my cousin Esther, in Jerusalem:
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 10:52:29 +0200From: "Esther"
Subject: We are fine--------------------------
Hi,
Just watned to tell you we are all fine b"h. Mark's mother missed the bus. THANK G-D!!!E
Unfortuantely many more people didn't miss that bus today.
January 28, 2004
Listen to the Radio
O.A.R. will be on The Junkies in the Morning on WHFS this coming Friday morning. I am not sure what time they will be on, but I would guess between 7:30 and 8:30 in the morning. If I hear anything different, I will let y'all know. Last time they were on WHFS, they were pretty funny. They will probably perform at least one song and maybe this time we will actually hear Benj's voice. Looking forward.
January 27, 2004
I gotta get out more
create your own visited states map
or write about it on the open travel guide
Here is a website that shows how many states you have visited. The states I have been to are in red. Wow, that is really, really pathetic. Anyone else have less states on the map then me? Let me know.
Brain Freeze
It is unbelievable what 2 days stuck at home during a "wintry mix" will do to your brain. I think I have lost all creativity.
January 25, 2004
Ever Wonder?
I had to laugh out loud when I saw this TV listing:
SHOW TITLE: New Jewish Cuisine
EPISODE: Yom Kippur
I always thought that Yom Kippur was the easiest holiday too cook for.
Alanis Predicts
We all know the lyrics from Alanis Morissette's song "Ironic":
"An old man turned ninety-eight
He won the lottery and died the next day"
Well, here's what was in today's news:
ELWOOD, Indiana (AP) -- A man who won $57,000 in an Indiana lottery game taped for television died hours later after being hit by a pickup truck.
The "Hoosier Millionaire" featuring Carl D. Atwood, 73, was broadcast Saturday night after his family said they wanted the show to go on, Hoosier Lottery director Jack Ross said.
The broadcast concluded with a photo of Atwood accompanied by text reading: "In memory of Carl Atwood."
Well isn't that ironic, don't you think?
Hey Ya!
For those of you who like the song "Hey Ya" and happen to like Charlie Brown, THIS is awesome! Enjoy! (I'm wondering how many other animations this song will be played to.)
Thanks to Blogdigger for helping me find the link.
January 23, 2004
Application for Adam
Alrighty, I mentioned last week that Average Joe's Adam Mesh will be the star of a new reality TV dating show.
For all interested women, here is the application to appear on AVERAGE JOE 3: Adam Returns . Check out the written application as well.
Interestingly, nowhere on the application does it mention whether the women appering on the show will be average or not so average janes. Should be entertaining. Glad I'm not applying.
January 22, 2004
Take that JoJo and Kenny
(Jingle heard every morning in my childhood):
"Brian and O'Brian, Brian and O'Brian, in the morning, in the morning on B104!"
On Blogging
Stavros the wonder chicken has a wonderfully and well written post about blogging. Here is an exerpt (opposing other's opinion that weblogs have to be a publication to be considered valid):
Weblogs are a party, damn it, and sometimes they're publications too, or instead, and sometimes they're diaries, sometimes they're pieces of art, sometimes they're tools for self-promotion, sometimes they're money-maknig ventures, sometimes they're monuments to ego, sometimes they're massive wanks, sometimes they're public services, sometimes they're dedications of faith, sometimes they're communities. Always, they are a public face, one chosen and crafted to varying degrees, of the people who write them. They are avatars, masks, or revelations of our deepest selves. They are political or philosophical, merrily inebriate or sententiously sober. Do not listen to those who would tell you what they are not.
I think that is pretty powerful.
Crablogs
Apparently Crablogs, "a directory of weblogs and online journals based in the greater Baltimore, MD area", has added Penny Stock to their site. Nice.
Money Money Money
Yesterday on a whim I put some of my graduate school text books (which I have not opened in 4 years and will never open) on Amazon to sell. One of them (actually the most expensive one!) already got sold. I am so excited. I am going to go to my parents house and find some of my text books from undergrad to sell as well. They aren't as up to date, but some of them might be of interest to someone. This is great. Not only am I making money, but I am also getting rid of stuff that has been lying around the house taking up space. Rock on!
January 21, 2004
NY Kosher Food
I just found this website called menupages.com . It has menus of many many restaurants in New York City. I perused through the kosher restaurant menus and I feel like crying. I like Baltimore, and I like my family and friends who live close by. But why, oh why don we have so few GOOD kosher restaurants here? I hate New York with a passion, but part of me wants to chuck my house and backyard out the door (if that were possible), rent a 2 bedroom apartment in the upper west side (and pay triple of my monthly mortgage payments), have my kids never have a normal life, and move up there JUST so I can have the selection of restaurants that they have. Oh the injustice.
State of the Union
I watched most of the State of the Union Address (I fell asleep during the last 10 minutes). On completely superficial levels, I actually like President Bush: I think he conveys a lot more "realness" than his predecessor and he doesn't give me that oogy unclean feeling like "Slick Willy" did. But I have one major gripe. Bush has some good speech writers. We know that. Can they please write the world Nuclear phonetically next time so he can actually pronounce it correctly? For the last time, it is not Nook-Yuh-Ler, it is Nook-lee-yur. Gosh.
January 20, 2004
Pancakes in the morning, Pancakes in the evening...
This post is about pancakes. Ironically, it has absolutely no connection to yesterday's post about a girl named pancake.
My kids love pancakes. Every morning for breakfast they eat Pillsbury Microwave Pancakes . They occasionally ask for the pancakes for snacks in the afternoon and on rare times of laziness or exhaustion, I give them pancakes for dinner as well. They have specifications for eating the pancakes. Ezra likes his syrup poured directly on the pancake and then he folds it up and eats it with his hands. Gila demands the syrup be on the side, she needs her pancakes cut up and she either eats them with a fork (which she prounouces "fierk") or her hands.
This afternoon when Gila was asking for pancakes, I started thinking, "Where did these kids come from? I am not such a pancake eater." When BAM a flashback of memories came back to me.
The year was 1983. I was six years old and my extended family went on a three or four day excursion to the Grossinger's resort in the Catskill Mountains. Grossinger's was one of the most legendary hotels of the Catskill Resorts , especially during the "Catskill's Era" (before my time-THINK Dirty Dancing). ANYWAY, there we were with my grandparents, my great-uncles and aunts, and various second cousins. My sister and I were the ONLY kids there. My old European great-uncles and grandfather made us kiss them on their cheek's in exchange for quarters for the arcade room. The food was probably great, but I was so picky- I refused to try anything new. The best thing that happened on the trip was when I realized that I could order pancakes at ANY meal. At breakfast it was a breeze. At lunch, in the coffee shop- pretty easy too. At dinner, with my grandfather (Of Blessed Memory) standing over me saying in a thick Russian/Yiddish accent "You don't eat any protein.
You are all skin and bones," it was a little more difficult- but luckily I had my parents there to defend me. At every meal, I got 4 or 5 perfectly round and even pancakes stacked up on a big plate with as much syrup as I wanted on the side. Heaven. I'm sure my mother will chime in that it is virtually impossible that I got pancakes for dinner because at the time we went to Grossinger's it was strictly kosher and the dinners were probably meat ones. Whatever, this is my memory. I don't remember eating anything else besides pancakes during that entire glorious vacation.
Ironic that I remember my grandfather standing over my shoulder though. Maybe I will think twice before I say something like he would have said when my kids are going through their pancake craze. Let's face it, they come to it legitimately!
January 19, 2004
Microsoft Vs. MiKe Rowe Soft
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- It's Microsoft versus Mike Rowe-soft.
Rowe, a 17-year-old high school senior and Web designer from Victoria, has angered the software giant by registering an Internet site with the address www.MikeRoweSoft.com.
"Since my name is Mike Rowe, I thought it would be funny to add 'soft' to the end of it," said Rowe.
Microsoft, however, is not amused.
It has demanded that he give up his domain name. In November, Rowe received a letter from Microsoft's Canadian lawyers informing him he was committing copyright infringement.
COME ON. How ridiculous is this? Is Microsoft not happy enough with their oligarchic control of the computer world that they have to bully a 17 year old kid? Do they feel so threatened that they have to take something as trivial as a kids' REAL name and say he can't use it for a web site domain? I think that kid is pretty industiral. Really cute world play there. They call it a copyright infringment (although I am not so sure how that would stand up in a court because of the different spellings). They could have let it slide, but the real reason they are making a big deal is because this kid is jeopardizing their feelings of omnipotence.
What's in a name?
Today I went to New Emplyee Orientation (which they referred to as NEO all day- you Matrix fans) at Sinai Hospital. Anyway, a few tables away from me was a fellow eployee who's last name is Pancake. Everyone in the room got a big kick out of that one. I can only imagine what it is like to go through life with a name like that.
January 16, 2004
'First Wives Club' author dies
NEW YORK (AP) -- Olivia Goldsmith, a best-selling novelist whose book "First Wives Club" was made into a movie starring Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler and Diane Keaton, has died. She was 54.Goldsmith had been in a coma since last Wednesday after complications resulting from anesthesia during plastic surgery, according to her lawyer, Steven Mintz. She died at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan on Thursday, he said.
What a waste. I have read a few of Olivia Goldsmith's books and they were pretty entertaining. It is a shame her life was cut short in the pursuit of agelessness.
January 15, 2004
Not So Average Adam Strikes Again
For those who followed the first Average Joe and were enamored with the runner up and one of the best liked "average" people in TV history, Adam Mesh, here is some good news for you.
According to Reality News Online, Adam will now be the star of a new dating show called "Average Joe: Adam Returns."
Here is some info:
The show will begin on the heels of the finale for Average Joe 2, premiering Monday, March 15. Unfortunately, that’s about all we know at this time. NBC entertainment chief Jeff Zucker has mentioned that the “Average Joe” concept could work for women as well, but didn’t specifically say that was what would happen here. He did, however, note that the women fighting over Adam will be a combination of “gorgeous” and “not gorgeous.” Will they start out all non-gorgeous and then have the gorgeous invade, like on Average Joe? We don’t know, but if I had to speculate, I’d say no – it’s too obvious. Just as the producers sprung surprises on Melana and Larissa, they will probably want some for Adam as well. And, of course, any women on the show should be prepared for twists as well.
I don't know about it. I think that even if the nicest guy had to choose between georgeous and "not so" georgeous women he would show his "not so georgeous" true colors. I hope this doesn't backfire on Adam when the country finds out he has some jerky tendancies.
January 14, 2004
Keep on Digging
Blogdigger has made some changes. Go to the site to check them out! I am sure all the technical stuff is really important but I just don't get it. In any event, Way to Go, Greg- the site looks great!
January 12, 2004
These are a few of my favorite things...
Here is a random jotting of things that make me happy (NOTE: I am not including my family, my husband, and children or anything spiritual in this list - those are givens and it would do them an injustice to put them on this list):
-HOT showers
-a big bowl of homemade mac and cheese
-reruns
-top sheets
- a clean house
-e-mail
- a good back scratch
-foaming anti bacterial soap
-naps
-Old Navy
-O.A.R. music
-possibly ebay (I will let you know in 1 days 21 hours
-having cash in my wallet
-being right
-Netflix
-Fear Factor (the more I gag during an episode, the better)
-not waking up with an alarm clock
-when the "Holiday Season" is over (Me = Scrooge)
That's all for now.
January 11, 2004
A night out
Last night, our synagogue had an evening at The Jewish Museum of Maryland. The current exhibit there is called Entertaining America:
Jews, Movies and Broadcasting. They also offered tours of the Lloyd Street Synagogue which is the oldest synagogue in Maryland.
I have to say the night turned out a lot better than I thought it would. They are trying to increase the friendliness and overall excitement about the synagogue and there are many new programs being started. Last night was great. There were about 150 people there (out of about 600 members). The musuem is really cool and the exhibit was neat. They decorated the place really nicely and they had a great food buffet: mushroom barley and/or potato soup, grilled veggie, refried bean, or tuna wraps, veggie and fruit platters, fancy cakes from NY, locally made cookies, petit' fours, brownies, rugaluch, and my personal favorite- an ice cream sunday bar. Someone from Peabody played piano throughout the night and the ambiance was great. I have to say, for once, our shul pulled off something really classy. It is ironic because many "cooler than thou" people thought the event would be lame and didn't go (are we in high school?!?), it is a shame because they would have thought the event was right up their ally. Oh well, no loss for me.
One thing I liked was that everyone was wearing name tags. I would say the majority of the people there new each other or knew who people were, but not everyone has spoken and/or introduced themselves to the other people. It was nice that you didn't have to waste the energy to make necessary introductions or play the ackward game when you totally know who someone is but for your ego's sake act like you don't because they don't know you and you make some lame excuse up for introducing yourself ("you look soo familiar, how do I know you?" you know full well you went to camp with that person in 8th grade and you beat her at tether ball every chance you got...).
Funny part of the night was when they were picking the winners of the door prizes. My mother and sister donated something from their business for one of the prizes. As they were picking the winner, I muttered under my breath ,"I better not have won that." Wouldn't you know it, I didn't win it, but Greg did. Luckily,he relinquished his prize and saved some face.
All in all, a great evening out. I am glad I went. Way to go Shomrei!
January 08, 2004
High School Reunion
We are currently starting to plan our 10 year high school reunion. So far we are trying to figure out people's e-mail addresses, who actually uses them, and who is still not connected to the web. It is hard to believe that there are people who are still not connecting via the web. It is such a great way to keep in touch with people, especially casual friends who you would not necessarily call up to chat.
Anyhu, we are in the very preliminary stages. A few e-mails have been going around so far. It is funny to see that based on a few short e-mails, some people seem exactly the same as they did in high school. It will be interesting to see how everyone else has turned out so far. Will the majority of people be cookie cutter images of the people they were when they were 18? Will some people have changed personalities, outlooks on life, desires? I don't know. I hope it doesn't get ugly.
January 07, 2004
Bean who shall not be named?
I just saw this on IMDB- not sure if it is credible.
Rowan Atkinson is trying to overcome the depression caused by the critical mauling of his last film by becoming a villain- he's playing Lord Voldemort in the new H@rry Potter film. The British 48-year-old star had to check into a rehabilitation clinic in America after last year's Johnny English was slammed by critics- even though it did relatively good business at the box office. However, the rubber-faced funny man has decided to expand his repertoire by signing up for the part of evil Voldemort in the upcoming The Goblet of Fire, which is due out for release in 2005. A source comments, "Its a very major career change for Rowan. He has been looking to spread his wings and branch out into other roles. He doesn't want to be the nice guy or the rubber-faced chap forever." Atkinson's character has previously appeared only as a spirit , but is brought to life by the "Death Eaters" in The Goblet of Fire, which will follow this year's Potter installment of The Prisoner of Azkaban.
Weird. That is all I can say...
January 06, 2004
If I were a rock star...
Over the past couple of years, The Smoking Gun has published excerpts from the backstage riders of a few hundred performers. Among the requests (demands) that different performers made for their backstage and during the concert needs were the following:
Red Hot Chili Peppers: A meditation room with all walls pipe and draped (what does pipe mean?) a medium to dark color- please, no blue.
The Wallflowers: (note Jakob Dylan, the lead singer of the Wallflowers is Bob Dylan's son) "purchaser should make absolutely NO reference to 'Bob Dylan's Son' in any and all advertising and billing- including advertisements and radio"
Goo Goo Dolls: "Fresh, 1 pound package of "Mr. Turkey" or similar sliced roasted turkey, 6 pairs of new tube socks"
Luciano Pavarotti : "There must be no distince smells anywhere near the artist."
Mariah Carey: "Tea service for 8: must use Poland Spring water
Phish: "Phish fans are a peaceful, intelligent group of people who respond better to curteous, respectful requests than to aggressive bullying. It is important that the security staff be aware of this fact and apply it throughout the show."
Cher: "TV with VCR with cable hookup. Please make sure we can get the following channels: Turner Classic Movies or AMC."
OK, I can keep going, but the list is way too long as it is. After reading all these, I decided what I would put on my Backsage Rider if I were a performer. here goes:
-1 42" Widescreen Plasma TV with the following videos rewound and ready to watch: every episode of the Wonder Years, The Karate Kid, and Happy Days (just the "Chachinated episodes, please).
-5 bags of Wise Onion Rings, unopened. (Funyuns will not do, Wise is necessary)
-Decor should be painted in as many shades of Green as possible, this color provides a calming effect on the performer.
-1 Sectional sofa with at least 1 recliner chair built into it.
-Case of Diet Peach Snapple Served with glasses of crushed ice filled 3/4 of the way up (ice cubes are not acceptable) and purple twisty straws.
-3 size medium Old Navy performance fleece sweatshirts in kelly green, mint green, and chartreuse.
- No reference should be made about "9th grade", the "9th grade play", "The King and I" or anything to do with the above mentioned tabboo subjects; both in print and media.
I can keep going, but I don't want to act like a Prima Donna.
January 05, 2004
The Darwin Awards
The Darwin Award is "named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution. The Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it. "
Here are the 2003 nominees
This is my personal favorite:
Slaughterhouse Robbery 2003 Darwin Award Nominee
Unconfirmed by Darwin
(12 February 2003) Three men wielding knives tried to rob a slaughterhouse. But when it comes to hand to hand combat with sharp blades, butchers working in a slaughterhouse are more than a match for your average thief. They stabbed two of the intruders to death. The third man escaped from the angry butchers and fled in his car.
Police soon spotted him, and after a brief car chase, the would-be thief pulled over and leapt from his vehicle. But instead of fleeing into the underbrush, he tried to dodge heavy traffic and escape across the highway. Perhaps he thought that threatening butchers with knives was not a sufficient demonstration of his intelligence.
Within seconds, the natural justice system meted out his punishment in the form of a large truck, which struck and killed him.
Sad? yes, very. True? Yes, very. Funny? Unfortunately so.
January 03, 2004
Trivial Pursuit Update
Here's what went down last night.
Greg, my sister, my brother in law and I played each person for him/herself. I was the blue piece (I have only been another color besides blue twice since 1985) and I don't remember what colors the others were. Basically, I dominated the majority of the game (not to brag). I flew around the board and picked up all 6 wedges relatively quickly. Meyer was behind me by 2 or 3 most of the game with Yehudit and Greg going back and forth between 3rd and 4th place.
I am not sure what is REALLY supposed to happen when you get all six wedges but in my family, here is what we do. You try to get back to the center of the board and once you do, you are asked all the questions on the next card and you must get 4/6 to win the game. Anyway, It took me a while to get to the center, I did a few times and didn't get 4/6 questions correct. While this happened, Meyer rallied and got the rest of his wedges (THIS ALWAYS HAPPENS). By this time, I was exausted and losing my edge and answering questions without really thinking. He then got to the middle and he won.
I am a gracious loser. Everyone played a really good game and most people were not obnoxious while playing (ahem, you know who you are). Most important, we had a great time and once again Meyer and I showed that we are far superior in trivial knowledge. I will admit if there was a Geek Edition of TP, Greg would be the winner hands down.
January 02, 2004
The Pursuit Begins
My sister and brother in law are sleeping over tonight since they are having some work done in their home. Meyer (my b.i.l.) bought the Trivial Pursuit 20th Anniversary Edition so we will play it after we put the kids to sleep tonight.
Meyer and I have a longstanding Trivial Pursuit competition. He is really smart and I know an insane amount of stupid information so we have a lot of fun when we play against eachother.
May the best player win!!!