Sex & Love- A Father Speaks

Ah the joys of fatherhood are never ending. The inquisitive lad you know as Little Jack has struck again and insisted that I explain love, divorce and girls in general to him. That little rascal reminds me of the Terminator. He is relentless and unstoppable. You can divert his attention but sooner or later he will be back.

We have been over this ground on a number of occasions. Here is an incomplete list of posts that help to provide some background:

Not Quite a Recap- Let's Talk about Body Parts
Dear Tooth Fairy
She Broke My Penis
For A Good Time Call...
A Life Without Regrets
Mr Nobody Made Me Do it
Proud and Humbled By the Four-Year-Old
Things My Four-Year-Old Has Done
A Six Year Old WondersWhere Babies Come From
Profanity- The Children Learn New Words Part Deux
Sex & Children
Great Moments In Parenting- Parts of our Body That Grow
Are You Smarter Than A Rabbi? Part I
Are You Smarter Than A Rabbi? Part II

And that is the short and incomplete list. It really doesn't touch upon any of the stories involving the dark haired beauty, which is good. I need some time to prepare myself for the coming onslaught that she is going to unleash upon me.

As I sit here typing I am grinding my teeth, excuse me I am trying not to grind my teeth. My jaw is clenched and the muscles in my back and neck are tying new knots upon the existing ones.

Ok, I know that is a bit heavy for the normal tone of these posts. Usually they are a light hearted recollection of conversations between my children and I. But the rules of the blog dictate that I share what is really happening so that is what I am doing.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

The big guy is acutely aware of the world around him and constantly exploring and asking questions about what he sees. Some of his classmates have parents that are divorced and some that are in the process of getting divorced so he is intensely interested in what this means and how it happens.

Today he asked me to try and explain to him what it means to be married and why people don't stay married. He also asked me to try and explain why men are interested in women and in a whisper asked me to tell him about kissing.

Now the first rule of Jack's tips for fathers is to keep your explanations short and simple. No need to answer the question of what time is it with a three hour diatribe on how to make a clock. Kind of funny coming from a man who is brevity challenged, but it is an important safety tip because everything you say opens you up for new questions.

Marriage

I really was tempted to start the discussion about marriage by sharing a clip from The Princess Bride but I managed to resist the temptation. Instead I provided him with a short description of marriage as a partnership between friends who love each other and have a desire to be together every day.

For a moment that worked for him and then he started peppering me with questions:

• How old do you have to be to get married?
• How long do you have to be married?
• How many times can you get married?
• Would you marry someone else?
• How do you know you won't marry someone else?
• Do you have to kiss the girl at the wedding?

We spent a few minutes running through answers and then he told me that he never wants to get married because he doesn't like girls. I smiled and told him that it was ok. I am not worried about it. He smiled back and told me that he is never going to change his mind because girls are far too bossy.

I let out a loud guffaw and muttered "you have no idea." I was tempted to let loose with my impression of Al Bundy and run through a list of of cracks about women but it was too easy. And let's face it my audience, an inquisitive eight year-old wasn't going to appreciate it.

He still wanted to know why I laughed so told him that it was because I agreed with him, girls can be very bossy and then he said illogical and irrational too. Ok, he didn't say that, but it would have been something if he had. Just what that something is I don't know.

Then he got serious and asked me to tell him about kissing and why people do it. And because I have juvenile sense of humor I had to restrain myself again from making a crack about foreplay and how men would like to skip right over it. But I didn't, because even though I have a juvenile sense of humor I have a romantic streak.

So I gave him a quick line about kissing feels good and helps to show that two people love each other and that is when he hit me with how do people stop loving each other.

It was a serious question and I had to think about it.

I paused and for a moment I thought about the great loves and heartbreaks of my life. Inside my head I remembered moments of intense passion and unfettered love. I remembered the feeling of utter joy and I remember the intense pain and loneliness of the end. I remembered that moment when you first realize that you are in love and you can't wait to see that special person. And I remembered the soul crushing feeling of being told that it was over.

All of that feeling is far too much to pass along. He doesn't need to know about that. I hope that one day many years from now we'll have the sort of father/son relationship where we can discuss those things. And then I can tell him about those things. Then I can give him the background on the relationships that helped shape me, but not now.

For now I tried to explain being in love as the feeling you get when you are with your best friend. You always have fun together and you never get tired of doing things together. And then I told him that sometimes people change. Sometimes when you grow older you grow apart.

That seemed to satisfy him, at least for now. As he went back to playing with his Legos I stared at him and tried to imagine what sort of man he'll grow into. I can almost picture him grownup, at least I can visualize the body. I can't quite see his face or picture what his voice will sound like.

I hope that he finds the sort of love that makes him understand what it is really all about. The kind of love that makes your heart pound like a hammer on an anvil. I want him to understand that there is a fierce love that gives you incredible power and strength.

But that is a post for a different time and place.

Haveil Havalim #203: Did You Love Leah?

The latest edition of Haveil Havalim, the Jewish/Israeli blog carnival is now live and available for your review.

Go check it out. You’ll be glad that you did.

Octuplets- Something is Wrong Here

Don't have time for a long analysis so this will be a hit and run type post. The story about the woman who gave birth to Octuplets troubles me. The mother already had six children and now has more than doubled her brood.

The LA Times reports following.

"And look what happened. Octuplets. Dear God," Angela Suleman said four days after her 33-year-old daughter became the second person in the U.S. ever to
give birth to eight babies at once.

Suleman stressed that her daughter "is not evil, but she is obsessed with children. She loves children, she is very good with children, but obviously she overdid herself."Angela Suleman said all the children are from the same sperm donor, but she did not identify him. Her daughter is divorced, but Suleman said the ex-husband was not the father."

My first question is what sort of income does this woman have. As a father I know first hand just how much money is required to try and support a family. Providing for 14 is going to take an enormous amount of cash.

And let's not forget that they aren't exactly spaced. How do you take care of 8 infants. You cannot do it by yourself, it is impossible. Even splitting the work between a mother and a father would be exceptionally taxing.

But let's say that she is a billionaire and that money isn't a problem. I would be very concerned with the mother's ability to spend time with her children. She is going to be pulled in so many different directions someone is going to miss out. Someone is not going to get as much love from their mother as they deserve.

I'd like to know more about the screening process for the procedure she went under. Don't they have responsibility here to look at each candidate and qualify them. I know that sounds bad and in theory everyone should have access to the tools and resources they need to become a parent. But the reality is that not everyone should be a parent and even the greatest parent has limits.

Someone dropped the ball on this one.

My Best Writing

If you asked me to describe my blogging style I might say that it is fast and furious. I have a tendency to blog in waves. There have been days in which I have put up somewhere between eight and ten posts. We're talking about original content and not the cut and paste work that some people thrive off of.

And if I am doing it write then the quality of the posts matches the quantity. I don't want to be like the rockstar who puts out a new album with fourteen tracks, only three of which are worth listening to. That is not to say that I don't miss the mark, because I do. There are posts that should be shredded and burned.

I have spent some time trying to identify what characteristics my best posts have. Simple truth, identify what elements you need to be successful and then try to replicate that over and over again.

I have come to believe that some of my best writing comes during moments when I am upset. It bothers me to say that being really sad is a great tool for putting up great posts, but there seems to be some truth in it. That feeling of loss and disappointment really lends itself to coming up with more descriptive sentences.

Especially when it comes to writing posts for Fragments of Fiction. Not unlike many writers I take elements and experiences of my life and use them in my stories. It is a useful tool. So sometimes when I am trying to write and having trouble I go searching for the pain of the past. I look inwards and try to remember the sorrow.

Sometimes I look in those dark corners and I remember what it was like to feel like the world had collapsed upon me. I think about how it seemed like my ability to be happy had been stolen from me. I focus upon how unfair it all was, to be so close and yet so far and the words just flow.

But I can also say that there have been many good posts that were written in moments of great personal satisfaction and happiness. Sometimes that bubbly feeling lends itself to the post/story just as well as the sadness.

I suppose that the confession of the moment is that I read this and wonder if I am saying that the only way I can write is to be really happy or really sad. Does it really have to be so extreme. I am fairly confident that the answer is no. I can produce solid content without having to rely upon emotion.

So now I am going to have spend more time trying to figure it all out. Damn, blast and blarney. And now if you'll excuse me I am off to gather enlightenment by banging my head against the wall.

My Blogging Style- Personal Versus Professional

In the previous post I constructed a relatively dry post about what it takes to produce a professional blog. This post is going to be far more enjoyable for me because I am going to spend a little time talking about how I write for this blog.

I began my interaction with the online world in my early twenties. Chat rooms on AOL and Compuserve were sort of the training grounds in which I began to learn what lay in cyberspace. I graduated from those into debating and discussing politics and life on some message boards.

For a while CNN was one of my regular haunts. Those message boards taught me a lot about many things. It exposed me to some of the finer experiences online and it educated me about how nasty things could get when people weren't looking you in the eye.

I also learned that the moderators of the boards had tremendous influence on the discussion. To a certain extent you could blame some very negative experiences with one mod as being the reason I started blogging. I am sure that if you asked the Shmata Queen she'd tell you how irritated we were with a woman who thought that it was her job to edit our comments.

Eventually I decided that I was tired of the shackles that I was bound in and I started this blog. Unfettered I started my blogging career with a little hesitation but a lot of energy. Over time I developed a style and a rhythm that has stuck with me.

Here at the Shack I just write about whatever and whenever. I don't spend any time worrying about my writing. I rarely edit the posts and don't concern myself with whether the posts are going to offend or upset others. And while I am quite aware of my stats I really don't spend a lot of time trying to figure out ways to gain new traffic.

Look, I am like a million other bloggers. I'd love to say that each month ten million unique users come here to see what I have to say. I'd love to see a 100 comments on each post. It would be nice. It would be great to see that happen and it would be even better to have someone pay me enough to do this on a full time basis.

But I write because I really do love it. I write because when I feel pain in my heart this is one of the ways in which I exorcise those demons. I write because it helps me to clarify and better understand myself.

I write because I write. I write because without this place all of my fair would fall out, my teeth would be ground down to little nubs and I'd have a massive coronary from stress.

It is a coping skill my writing.

How to Write a Professional Blog

During the past few weeks I have been employed as a consultant for some companies that are interested in using the blogosphere to engage in a deeper and more serious dialogue with both existing and prospective customers.

It is an interesting change of pace for me to sit down and take a more professional look at blogging than I do in my role as a private blogger. As a professional blogger I have very different concerns than as a private blogger. In a professional capacity I look at every aspect of the blog with a very critical eye, but I also take care not to overthink it.

It is a simple three minute presentation that goes something like this:

• Start by preparing a business plan for the blog.
• Identify the purpose of the blog.
• Determine what sort of content supports that purpose.
• Find a template that is user friendly.
• Prepare an editorial calendar.

About this time I count to ten and sure enough someone inserts their two cents about how content is king and we haven't even discussed it yet. They are right. Content is king. Solid content is the X factor. It is the backbone and without it your blog is doomed. But they don't pay the big dog to come in and lecture about how your blog must be well written. Everyone knows this.

But in an age of instant gratification some people seem to have forgotten that there certain business principles are still applicable and establishing a plan is important. You plan so that you can avoid pitfalls. You plan so that you can figure out what sort of metrics you are going to use to measure the success of your blog. You plan so that when the boss or bosses ask you to give a report about the blog you don't look foolish.

In the next post I'll spend offer a few thoughts about the difference between the professional and personal blog.

Battlestar Galactica

I was a bit late getting into the current incarnation of Battlestar Galactica but I am quite glad that I have. While the cylons aren't as much fun as those I used to see at Universal Studios it has been a lot of fun.

I am not going to spend any time discussing whether the show offers a metaphor for what is happening in the real world. No time talking about whether Cylons are really Soviets and Humans are Americans.

In general I stay away from that sort of crap. I watch television shows for one of two purposes. It is either educational or entertaining. It just kills me to spend time talking about what the writers really meant. Sometimes water is just water and a red shirt is just red.

Life is far too complicated as it is.

Anyhoo, I loved this latest episode. I like seeing the momentum build towards the final few episodes and I still don't buy into who they have set up as the final cylon.

Crazy for Star Wars

Earlier this week my son told me that he had decided that he and I are going to have to fight Darth Maul. He outlined a plan of action and gave me a list of duties that I am supposed to fill. It is hard enough to be a father without being told that I have to become a Jedi master.

Although I suppose that there are a lot of perks to being a jedi. Come to think of it I can think of a number of situations in which using the Jedi mind trick would be useful. Would have done wonders for me back in college. I could illustrate it more graphically, but that would deprive you of the chance to use your imagination.

In the days in which I drove a Camaro it would have been really useful. Just picture the police speaking with me.

Officer: Sir I pulled you over because you were speeding.
Jack: I was not speeding.

Officer: You were not speeding.
Jack: I need a police escort. You will arrange to clear traffic in front of me.

Officer: I will clear traffic in front of you.
Jack: You will arrest my statistics professor.

Officer: I will arrest your statistics professor.
Jack: About this time I'd probably let out a maniacal laugh.

Oh, if only I could really make that work. I love the possibilities. Anyway, this weekend I get to practice my fighting skills so that we can defeat Darth Maul. It sounds kind of fun, but I think that I need to make sure that my son understands that grace is not something that you associate with me.

Jedis are smooth and fluid fighters. I am not. I am more of the bull-in-the-china shop variety. If I were in a Western the guy I was fighting would be flung through the window or over the bar. In fact I might even go with him.

There is no doubt that I'd win the fight. In the end it would appear that I did so quite handily, at least to myself. To the rest of you I'd be covered in sweat and dust. My clothes would be torn and I'd probably have a bunch of scrapes and bruises. But I'd be able to say that I look better than that other guy.

I may pick this thread up later and flesh it out some more. I can see plenty of material to talk about "Jack, the Jedi."

For those of you who don't know who Darth Maul is you can watch the video below.

Stupid Criminals

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

It is The Middle of the Night

It is the middle of the night and I suddenly find myself awake. I fell asleep on the couch and apparently no one managed to cover me with a blanket. Can't say that I totally blame them as the children seem to have run off with all of the spares.

Makes me think that just as I have an auto club card I should have a blanket club card that I can call when I am in need. It would be nice to have some sort of service like that. Maybe it would help prevent me from waking up in a foul mood.

I am cold, my leg has a cramp and my back hurts from sleeping in some sort of fetal position. What the hell. I spent nine months curled into a ball. Shouldn't there be some sort of rule that says my body should automatically remember those days and consequently I should be exempt from cramps and discomfort.

Woke up having had a dream about my best friend, an irritating dream in which I was given some sort of stupid, illogical and unreasonable answer about an argument. Can't say that I quite remember what it was about, but suffice it to say that I am right. Oh yes, I am right.

Going to try and go back to sleep now. In fact had I not noticed that the computer was still on I would have gone straight to sleep. I probably should have, but I am awake and irritated so I took a moment to try and vent.

I hate waking up like this. With any luck I'll fall asleep without any sort of struggle and have the sort of dream that you never want to wake up from. But if I can't or don't you'll probably hear about it.

Crappy Service on a Slow News Day

Friends this is the type of story that we have to cover, but we readily admit that it stinks.

What should you do when your toilet dies in the line of "doody"? Have a funeral, of course.
On Friday at 10 a.m., the Carl's Jr. restaurant in Centerville will have a "moment of silence" for the potty that was destroyed last week when a patron's handgun fell out of the holster and fired as he was hitching up his pants.

The bullet shattered the toilet and sent sharp shards into the man's arm. The 26-year-old, who had a concealed-weapons permit, was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

But the "john" was destroyed, and the national hamburger chain is feeling the loss. "By all accounts, it was a good toilet; reliable and well liked by customers and crew members alike," wrote Brad Haley, executive vice president of Carl's Jr. marketing, in a tongue-in-cheek note posted on the company's Facebook page.

"It seems only fitting to have a formal service to let everyone say goodbye to such a critical member of our team that was in very close contact with the public each and every day," Haley eulogized. "Our thoughts go out to the surviving men's room urinal and porcelain sink. We only hope that the new toilet can fill the void left by its predecessor, but so far it hasn't made much of a splash."

When Bloggers Meet

I have often mentioned that I didn't spend any time considering whether I was interested in blogging. It was nothing more than an impulse. One day I thought that it might be interesting to try it out and so I did.

Had I really spent any time considering it I would have done things differently. I certainly would have come up with a better moniker than Random Thoughts-Do They Have Meaning? Who would have known that so many other people would use such a non-descript title. I really don't like it, but after all this time it is developed a bit of brand equity so I don't know that changing it makes sense.

Having jumped into the water without any regard for temperature or depth I didn't have any idea that I would enjoy it as much as I have. I really was surprised by how much I got out of it. I never kept a journal or any sort of diary. This was a new sort of experience for me.

As I treaded water and learned how to swim in the blogosphere I experimented with topics to write about and discovered that I enjoyed being able to recount some very personal moments. I didn't have that many readers and the few that I did were complete strangers. That made it easy to discuss things that I probably would never have volunteered.

In the early days a number of bloggers approached me with invitations to meet for lunch or a drink. I routinely turned those down as I was very guarded about peeling back the curtain. It was more comfortable to be the all powerful Oz and not just a man whose balloon had crashed near the Emerald city.

Over time I found that I developed relationships with some people and when the occasion presented itself I found myself agreeing to meet them in person. I recently added a new person to the few bloggers that I have met in the real world.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting The Misanthrope from Toner Mishap. After four years it was nice to put a face to the words and ideas. If you ask me if he matched the image I had of him I can't really say. I really didn't have a sense of what I expected his voice to sound like so the real thing wasn't shocking at all.

But he did look a bit like some of the old pictures he had posted on the blog so I suppose that you could say that he looked as I expected him too.

The conversation was quite comfortable, not that I find that to be surprising. After four years of reading each other's blogs we actually knew quite a bit about the other.

It does make me wonder. I had a nice time with a misanthrope. Whatever does that say about me. Maybe it is just proof that I am a curmudgeon. ;) Anyway I am glad to have had the opportunity. We'll have to do it again sometime.

Musical Interlude

Good old iTunes provided quite an odd mix of tunes.

The Crying Game- Boy George
More Than This- Roxy Music
Praise You- Fatboy Slim
Rain In the Summertime- The Alarm
Battle Without Honor or Humanity- Tomoyasu Hotei
The Mystic's Dream- Loreena McKennitt
Southern Cross-Crosby, Stills & Nash
Live Like You Were Dying- Tim McGraw
Last of the Mohicans-Soundtrack
Imagine- John Lennon

Feeling Sad & Defeated

A new entry for Fragments of Fiction

"There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship's smoke on the horizon.
You are only coming through in waves.
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying.
When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye.
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it nowThe child is grown,
The dream is gone.
but I have become comfortably numb."
Comfortably Numb- Pink Floyd

"I can't pay my bills. I can't find a job. I can't support my family, can't even support myself," he said. At least I think that is what he said. Slumped against the wall he stared off into space and began mumbling again.

"I feel sad and defeated. Whatever I touch crumbles into dust. Relationships, jobs, friends all they do is go away."

It wasn't the first time I had heard him speak this way. He was a man who lived and died every day. His own personal rollercoaster never stopped running, at least that is how he had once described it to me.

I understood. We have been friends for most of our lives so I have borne witness to it all. I have seen the triumphant moments. Walked with him through the fire and saw him emerge unscathed. We share a million memories and a million dreams and nightmares.

He is not the easiest guy to get along with. At times he is moody and temperamental. He is a man who consumes life and that takes a certain toll upon oneself. I have often told him that if he could figure out how to take the middle road he'd be happier more frequently. The highs and lows can't be good for you.

It is a fruitless discussion. This sort of behavior is part of his core. It is who he is. It is why whenever he has dropped back down inside his personal hell I don't worry. Ok, I worry a little but I have never seen him not find a way to rise above it. Never seen him lose all hope, at least not until this moment.

Because now is the first time that I haven't seen that fire in his eyes and I wonder. I wonder if the flame has truly been extinguished. Has he lost that edge or is it my imagination. Sometimes it is hard for me to tell.

I can't walk along the razors edge the way that he can. It makes me far too nervous. But that is part of the friendship. We complement each other. There is a certain balance that we provide. So I stand there next to him and debate whether to yell or coddle.

He is a grown man. I don't need to do this. I shouldn't have to do this. But he is my friend and I have seen him do some incredible things in the name of our friendship. So I suppose that the question of whether I will help him is moot. The bigger and better question is what is the best way to help. How am I most likely to get through to him.

Slowly I slide down the wall until my butt hits bottom and I find myself just a hair shy of sitting in his lap. For the moment we sit in silence and then he tells me that if I think that this is our Brokeback Mountain moment I better be prepared to get punched in the mouth.

It is said with a hint of feeling and I almost believe that he is better than he is. But something feels off to me, so I am not quite prepared to accept that.

Instead I say nothing and wait for him to speak again. It is a noisy silence and it is disconcerting. But whether it is because I am really concerned or just confused is still up for debate.

The Anniversary of The Challenger

Today is the anniversary of the destruction of The Challenger.

A Good Father

The beauty of attending a reunion like I did is that it forces you to look at your life and think about what it is that you are doing. Because when you run around a room telling people from your past about your present you have your nose pushed right into a pile of life.

I spent a chunk of time Saturday night listening to people spin tales about who they are and what they do. I am not trying to say that people were lying or embellishing the truth, but in many cases that is exactly what they did.

Some of the people that we thought of as being goofballs or least likely to succeed are incredibly successful now. And some of those we expected to be a huge succeess were not. It is not easy to look some of them in the eye and tell a story about a life that hasn't lived up to what you wanted. It is even harder when you listen to someone shout with such exuberance about how things are better than they ever could have imagined.

Now it is no secret that the last four years have been harder for me than I would have ever expected. I have faced some challenges that I couldn't have foreseen. I have dealt with unfair situations and circumstances and done the best that I could. Sometimes I fell down. Sometimes I simply failed.

But there were other moments when I didn't. There were moments when I succeeded in spite of the stumbling blocks that were set before me. I'd like to say that there were more succcesses than failures, but I am not completely sure that it is so.

What I can say is that these experiences have provided a sort of hard scrabble education. I have learned things about myself that will inevitably help me. I have stood in the fire and watched the flames burn me. I know, it is bit melodramatic but it is how I feel.

It has also helped to clarify not just what I want, but what I need. And that is something that some people never quiet figure out. I can tell you what I want with a lot of detail and know that it is accurate. I can also tell you that I am working to achieve those goals and that I am doing my best to do it without wreaking havoc everywhere.

If you want to know how this applies to being a good father, well I can give you a number of explanations. I am a good father. I work hard for my family and do a lot to give the children a great life. But I can do better. I am falling short in some areas. There are some things that I can improve at and I am working on it.

I can tell you that I believe that my children are going to be able to look at my life and learn a lot from it. They'll be able to see that I have made a lot of mistakes but that I have also made a lot of smart moves.

If all goes as I hope it will those lessons will serve them well. One of the most important lessons is how to keep going when it feels like the world is collapsing. It is something that I saw with my parents and something that I hope that I can pass along.

When it is all said and done I think that the most important part of being a good father is giving your children the tools to live a good life. If I can do that then I am fairly confident that they'll make good choices, at least I hope so.

I won't be defined solely by the deeds and actions of my children, but I do hope that when I am gone they have nothing but fond memories of me as having been a good father.

Some Blog Stats to Share

This is post number 6,408.

The most popular posts of the last year include but are not limited to:

The Duggar Family Revisited
What Are Your Favorite Song Lyrics?
War in Gaza Update #16
The Heart Wants What The Heart Wants
A funny email about anger management
Weird Signs
No! No! No! Eye Tattoos Are Out
Morality Without Religion- A Comment to The Self-Righteous
Name a Song That Makes You Cry
Haveil Havalim- The Almost Purim Edition

I suppose that a two second analysis shows that people enjoy my fiction, humorous tales, some Jewish and political content.

Recent keywords that led to the blog include:

how to win a woman's heart
how to hardboil eggs
Duggar family
favorite song lyrics
what makes a community
how to care for sick parents
sexual incompatibility in marriage
fixing a broken man
how do you name your blog

My blog is read by people around the world. The countries that send the most visitors include:

U.S.
U.K.
Canada
Israel
Australia
India
Phillipines
Germany
Netherlands
France

I started blogging in May of 2004. Sometimes I think that I'll do it for the rest of my life and sometimes I think that I won't last another year. Sometimes I think that I have already published my best work and sometimes I think that it lies ahead of me.

Bottom line, I haven't a clue as to how much longer I'll keep doing this, but I guess for a while. We'll take it one day at a time.

The Voicemail Challenge

The Private School Dilemma Again

Just downed a big glass of V8 juice and hoped that the surge of so called healthy fluids flowing down my throat would provide enlightenment. Waiting, I am sure that any moment it is going to happen. No really, it is a far cry better than soda and I drink too much of that as it is.

Ok, at least five seconds has passed and I don't feel any different. In an age of instant gratification do I really need to wait longer. Ok, I'll give it five minutes. Excuse me while I go hit the john.

Still waiting for Nirvana. In the interim I did manage to make that trip to the bathroom. I listened to The Killers play Human and Yo-Yo Ma performed Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major. Unfortunately none of that solved my problem of what to do about the fricking private school dilemma.

Every year I agonize over whether to keep my kids in a school that I think is fabulous. I love it, their mother loves it and most importantly they love it. They're thriving there and every year I have watched them grow.

They are good kids. Smart kids. They are going to learn and succeed wherever they go to school. I have no doubts about that. But that doesn't mean that some schools are not superior. It doesn't relieve my doubts about the local public school. I have toured it several times and while I like much of what I see it doesn't meet my requirements.

The whole situation reminds me of the "People plan and G-d laughs" line. The big guy in the sky has been engaged in more than giggles about my life. I think that it is a belly shaking rumble, but that's a different story.

When we purchased the house the idea was that it was going to be a place to live for two years and then we'd leverage it into a bigger house in near a good school. Thank you G-d for laughing at my plan. The housing market went ballistic and my job disappeared and the ability to move went poof.

From a financial perspective private school makes no sense whatsoever. It is a ridiculous amount of money for school. Month in, month out. Year in, year out. If I do nothing more than support the children until they are eighteen I have a guarantee of more than a decade of doing this. Reminds me of that Billy Crystal bit, I Hate When That Happens.

But I can't look at it solely from a monetary perspective. Children aren't commodities to be traded and or dropped when they don't provide the ROI we're looking for. They are getting more out of this school than they would at the local public. There are resources here that the public can't match. There are opportunities to be exposed and taught about things that don't exist elsewhere.

There is a parent's organization that is devoted and active. Certainly there are public schools that have this, but my local doesn't. I don't believe in a school that doesn't have strong parental involvement.

So when I take time to analyze this I see a situation that isn't cut and dried. There is no black and white solution, no easy answer. I mean a good accident would cause the life insurance policy to kick in and they'd be covered through college, but no farther.

And before any of you get too excited I am not suicidal. At times I have a twisted sense of humor, but I haven't any interest in dying. Besides what would the shmata queen do without me. Be pretty bored, I tell you.

Not to mention that I wouldn't do that to the family. I am far too selfish to give them such an easy way to get rid of me. Those kids are going to have the benefit of my presence for another 90 years or so.

Nope, can't get rid of me I am like that ugly luggage you inherited from your grandparents. A little beat up, a little worn but virtually indestructible.

I wonder if maybe another V8 might do the trick. Maybe that is the problem, maybe I just didn't drink enough. Aww hell, might as well down a bottle of Bourbon while I am at it.

Got to run for a while.

Gaza- The Dust is Still Settling

So now the dust is beginning to settle and we can start to assess the results of the war in Gaza. This post offers a collection of perspectives and thoughts about that.

The video above was made by the Libi fund which helps support IDF soldiers.

From the traditional media we have:

NY Times: Obama Sends Special Envoy to Mideast and Europe

CNN: Week-old Gaza cease-fire is breached

WAPO: Obama Voices Hope for Mideast Peace in Talk With Al-Arabiya TV

Fox: The Smuggling Tunnels are Open for Business!

AFP: Shalit should not be part of Gaza truce deal: Hamas

The Spectator: A British soldier's view of Operation Cast Lead

The Spectator: The ugly face of bigoted Britain

Financial Times: Saudi warning (is it rude to say Bite Me Limey)

The Australian: Israeli troops were told to kill themselves to avoid capture

YNET: Carter: Hamas can be trusted

YNET: Time to take responsibility

JPost: EU official: Hamas responsible for Gaza

JPost: Israel hits back at war crimes charges

JPost: Caroline Glick Our World: Defending freedom's defenders

Haaretz: ANALYSIS / Recognizing that Israel's effort to topple Hamas has failed

Haaretz: Summit on Holocaust: Gaza war legitimized equating Jews with Nazis

Haaretz: Egypt to Hamas: Take Gaza truce before Netanyahu is voted PM

Commentary: A Gaza Post-Mortem

Commentary: Michael Totten writes The Mood in Israel Now

From the blogosphere:

Seraphic Secret shared And the Ladies of Gaza. The FP has How badly did Gaza poison the well?

At Solomonia you should read A Pragmatic Voice and Video: War Protests or Pro-Hamas Hate Rallies?.

Weasel Zippers Red Crescent Says Hamas, not Israel Prevented Their Ambulances From Picking up Wounded Gazans....

Gateway Pundit shared Pro-Hamas Thugs Attack Pro-Israel Protest in Sweden with Eggs, Rocks, Bottles & Tear Gas Grenades.

At the Augean Stables take a look at HRW and Israel: Ken Roth vs. Gerald Steinberg and Jenin Redux: Casualty Figures Reconsidered.

Daled Amos blogged Europe May Finally Catching On To Hamas and Sharansky: Neither Hamas Nor PA Can Be In Charge Of Rebuilding Gaza.

EOZ offers World press ignores Hamas' media intimidation. I covered Saudi Arabian Hypocrisy.

At Yourish Jimmy Carter: Stooping to new [moronic] lows. Yaacov Lozowick shared So What was Achieved?

Soccer Dad discussed Israel's legitimacy is debatable; hamas's is not. At Adloyada read UK govt minister claims Israel cowed BBC into turning down Gaza appeal.

Mere Rhetoric blogged Palestinians Blow The Lid Off Cover Up Of Glorious Hamas Victory and UN Chief: Yeah, I Guess It Sucks That We've Been Helping Hamas Shell Israeli Civilians For Eight Years.

Check out Joshuapundit's '60 Minutes' Libels Jews And Israel.

That is all for now folks. Stay tuned for a resumption of light hearted posts about college life, raising kids and assorted odds and ends.

The Condom

Another Sunday night and I find myself hitting the blog hard and fast because sometimes I just have to sit down and write about the things that bounce around the old melon. This is going to be one of those posts in which I tell a story but intersperse it with bits and pieces of other things.

You're Gonna Go Far, Kid- The Offspring

It is 1983 or '84 and I am about 14 years old. I am standing in the parking lot of my junior high school staring at a bus. I am part of the school newspaper and we are about to embark on a trip up to Fresno. We're going up to participate in a writing contest and to participate in some workshops.

I am excited. I know, if you are familiar with Fresno that is hard to envision. But remember we're a bunch of kids on hormonal overdrive heading off to stay in a hotel. There are a few teachers along for the ride, chaperones to keep an eye on us. But we know that we outnumber them and that there is no possible way that they can monitor us the entire time.

It is hard not to be excited. The prior year I went on a school camping trip and learned all sorts of things. We played spin the bottle on the beach. Some of the girls I had kissed during the game are on this trip as well. The boys and I huddle and wonder aloud if they'll play again or can we up the ante with Truth or Dare.

The bus ride up is typical. We don't quite know what to with ourselves. We try to impress the girls by being cool but spend more time wrestling in the aisles. It is not easy to be a 14 year-old boy. You have limitless energy and try hard to be mature, but the confusion that comes alongside it all makes it hard.

Eventually we arrive at the hotel and are given our room assignments. I am pleased that I am sharing a room with three friends, because I could have been stuck with some people that I didn't particularly like. It is junior high so things like that are important.

Inside the room the conversation is going a mile a minute. "Did you see how that Ann Stacey was looking at me. You know she loves me," I exclaim breathlessly. I barely finish the sentence when David starts to shout about how Melissa put her head on his shoulder and slept there for half the trip.

In between the declarations about who is hot and who is in love we start discussing strategy. We all vow to bring a girl back to the room. In the midst of this Michael throws a role of blue squares on the bed.

Silence ensues. I am not really sure what I am looking at, but I have my ideas.

"I went into my dad's drawer and grabbed a bunch of condoms for us to use," he says.

We all nod in unison and reach down to grab one or two. None of us want to admit that we haven't the foggiest idea what the hell to do with them. Ok, maybe one of those guys did, but I didn't. But I sure as hell wasn't going to admit it.

I can't say that I remember everything that happened after that, but I can say that I took a moment to look at it. My first Trojan in the blue wrapper. I put it in my wallet. I remember thinking that I'd always have my wallet so if I needed it there would be easy access to it.

The conference and contest came and went. We had a blast. Discovered that the mystery door in our room had a partner on the room next to us. It just so happened to be filled with four girls from school. We had a field day with those girls and spent a ton of time running back and forth between rooms laughing about how we had fooled our chaperones.

Anyway our last night in Fresno featured a big dance. The four of us spent most of the dance talking about what we would do if one of those girls gave in and did what we were sure they wanted to do. Of course not one of them did.

Who knows if they would have. It definitely saved me some real embarrassment. And so the conference ended and we headed back home, the condom still tucked safely away in my wallet.

Too many years have passed for me to remember all of the details of the next event, but I remember enough. I am in my English class and somehow one of the other guys has gotten a hold of my wallet.

Out flies the condom. Great. He has three older brothers in high school and college and recognizes it immediately.

"What do you need a condom for, JACK!" "Are you having sex, JACK!" "I bet you're really big JACK!" "Did you make sure to buy the extra large rubber, JACK!"

As he shouts I am chasing him around the classroom, desperately trying to get to him. I am really embarrassed and I can't stand the taunting. The teacher walks in and he darts into his seat. His poker face doesn't hide the laughter in his eyes, but the desk barely hides the condom in his hands.

I am just about to give up when he offers a cheshire cat grin and flashes the condom at me. The teacher can't see what is happening because my back is between her and him. It is too much and snap.

I grab his desk and dump him and it over. I can still see the shock in his eyes. He didn't expect that from me and had it not been for the sharp words of our instructor I probably would have followed up by trying to kick the crap out of him.

Not surprisingly that was the last time he ever teased me. But thanks to him I got to hear about that stupid condom for the rest of the school year.

Fortunately that story didn't follow me into high school, but I have wondered from time to time how many people still remember. I half expect it to show up on Facebook one of these days.

Fraternity Life Revisited

Last night I engaged took part in a scientific experiment and was trasnported back in time. When I left my house it was 2009 but when I arrived at my destination it was sometime in the mid-eighties.

Yep, I went to a reunion of the Greek system from my university. Initially I hadn't intended to go. I am in touch with most people that I want to be friends with and while there are those I miss, my time is limited. So I figured that if I have trouble finding time to see the really close friends why make myself crazy with adding old/new ones.

But a couple of friends kept hocking me to at least make an appearance and one of them pointed out that it might even lead to business opportunities so I said what the hell and tooled on off to a bar that once was a hang out.

And I have to say that for the most part I am glad that I did. There must have been fifty or sixty guys from my house and for that alone it would have been worth it. It was fun catching up with the guys and hearing about who is doing what. We exchanged numbers, shared pictures of the kids and teased each other about who still had or didn't have hair. And of course we pointed out that more than a few of us are up a belt size or two.

In addition to the guys from my fraternity there were representatives from all of the other fraternities and sororities. I looked around a very crowded room and saw an awful lot of familiar faces. Throughout the evening we found time to grab a moment here and there and went through the same ritual of "what have you been doing" for the last twenty years or so.

But I have to say that I was a little surprised by how much drinking there was. Back in my college days I was known to put down a pitcher or two, or maybe I should say that I didn't put too many down. Either way that was then and this is now.

I had about two beers the whole evening. Didn't feel the need to have anymore and was quite conscious of the reality of children making a hangover feel like torture. But even so I was also conscious of not getting myself into trouble. There were more than a couple of people who I am sure had very unpleasant mornings.

More than a few people took advantage of doses of liquid courage to profess their love for another or to announce that they had decided that it was time to end their current relationships. Now that surprised me a little.

Anyway, even though I had a blast I did confirm that I have far less tolerance and interest in spending hours in a bar with a band that is way too loud. No regrets about having gone, but my ears still feel like somone stuffed cotton inside of them.

And now if you'll excuse me I think that I am going to see if I can't find a way to grab twenty minutes of shuteye.

Haveil Havalim #202

It is live at SuperRaizy.

Saudi Arabian Hypocrisy

So that wacky prince thinks that he can lecture President Obama about the peace process.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (CNN -- Relations between Arab nations and the United States hinge on American leaders living up to their rhetoric about commitment to lasting peace in the Mideast, Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal told CNN Saturday."President Obama, in his statement yesterday, said that he's genuinely making the effort to accomplish a peaceful resolution," al-Faisal, who served as Saudi ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2007, told CNN's Nic Robertson in an interview Friday.

"We've heard this before," al-Faisal said. "We need to see implementation. We need to see facts on the ground change. We need to see rhetoric change. We need to see presence on the ground."

He said he was encouraged by Obama's appointment of George Mitchell as Mideast envoy, saying, "Mitchell comes with a track record of success." But he suggested Mitchell spend some time in the region to make real progress.

"American envoys, when they've dealt with the Middle East, have always come and gone," he said.

"I think it would be wise for Sen. Mitchell ... to pitch his tent in Ramallah or in Jerusalem, let's say, and spend a year, two, perhaps three years on the ground dealing with the daily aspects of making peace there." The United States' backing of Israel, in light of the latest Israeli military operations in Gaza, does not improve its standing in the Arab world, he said.

"What happened in Gaza, people have called it a tragedy," al-Faisal said. "I'd go further and say it was a catastrophe in all aspects of that word. The killing and the destruction was so barbaric by Israel, and unprecedented in a such a small area like Gaza.

Hmm...The Arabic expression for bite me comes to mind. The chutzpah it takes to say this sort of stuff with a straight face is incredible. To place all of the blame on Israel and to wave his finger in Obama's face is unmitigated gall.

It is really hard for me take any sort of Saudia Arabian peace initiative seriously. They are morally bankrupt, two faced and exceptionally intolerant to people who do not practice Islam. So when I see them try to lecture us or anyone about what we should do I roll my eyes.

Let's take a quick look at a recent story about child marriage.

(CNN) -- The debate over the controversial practice of child marriage in Saudi Arabia was pushed back into the spotlight this week, with the kingdom's top cleric saying that it's OK for girls as young as 10 to wed.

"It is incorrect to say that it's not permitted to marry off girls who are 15 and younger," Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, the kingdom's grand mufti, said in remarks quoted Wednesday in the regional Al-Hayat newspaper. "A girl aged 10 or 12 can be married. Those who think she's too young are wrong and they are being unfair to her."

The issue of child marriage has been a hot-button topic in the deeply conservative kingdom in recent weeks.

Late last month, a Saudi judge refused to annul the marriage of an 8-year-old girl to a 47-year-old man.

This is sick and wrong. There is no justification for this. There is no spinning this to say that it is ok because it is culturally acceptable or religiously ok. Child sacrifiee and slavery once were considered to be acceptable and we don't do that.

Want another example of their barbarism and why we cannot allow them to dictate morality. How about the time when the religious police murdered school girls fleeing a fire at their school.

Saudi Arabia's religious police stopped schoolgirls from leaving a blazing building because they were not wearing correct Islamic dress, according to Saudi newspapers.

In a rare criticism of the kingdom's powerful "mutaween" police, the Saudi media has accused them of hindering attempts to save 15 girls who died in the fire on Monday.

About 800 pupils were inside the school in the holy city of Mecca when the tragedy occurredAccording to the al-Eqtisadiah daily, firemen confronted police after they tried to keep the girls inside because they were not wearing the headscarves and abayas (black robes) required by the kingdom's strict interpretation of Islam.

One witness said he saw three policemen "beating young girls to prevent them from leaving the school because they were not wearing the abaya".

The Saudi Gazette quoted witnesses as saying that the police - known as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice - had stopped men who tried to help the girls and warned "it is a sinful to approach them".

The father of one of the dead girls said that the school watchman even refused to open the gates to let the girls out.

Or what about the fact that 19 of the 911 hijackers were Saudi Arabian. The sad truth is that we can continue to cite chapter and verse about why the Saudis are among the last people to serve as arbiters of morality. Were it not for their oil money they would be a very poor and backwards nation with all of the relevance to the world that the Congo now holds.

If there is justice in this world we will witness the demise of the cash cow that has permitted these intolerant, small minded, bigots and promoters of terror to thrive.

Crossposted on Yourish.

Texting Is Killing My Grammar

The audio above is about a new pet peeve of mine, the negative influence of texting upon my writing. I am going to come back later and expand the written portion of this post.

For now I'll leave this up and open to your comments and thoughts. I take this seriously. Repeated actions become habit and I don't want to fall into a place in which I let the abbreviations spill over into my normal writing.

I have enough to worry about without being concerned about the degradation of grammar and an ability to communicate in a professional manner.

C U LTR.

A Memory Shared

I can't remember the last time I listened to that song. For a brief while in college it was sort of a personal anthem. I just never got tired of it and I loved the sense of rebellion it provided me with. There is a whole story tied into that but I haven't decided yet if I am going to share it here.

Anyway, I'll share one other comment about it as it relates to my current life. This is the sort of tune that I like working out to on my heavy bag. It is light, it is catchy and it has a beat that makes it easy to exercise too.

I can dance around the bag, jab, jab, jab and then start throwing combinations. There is something sweet about the smack of the glove on the bag. With the right music and a little effort you can get that this greath rhythm going.

But there is something to be said for playing some heavier music to just pound the bag to. There is something cathartic in just unloading on it. Bam, Bam, Bam, Bam, Bam, Bam- keep going until you haven't anything left and you're bent over huffing and puffing..........

Thursday Night's Music Madness

I Have Got You Under My Skin- Frank Sinatra
You'll Never Walk Alone- Frank Sinatra
Stolen Car- Beth Orton
The Voice- Celtic Woman
One World- Celtic Woman
Danny Boy-Michael Londra
Ain't That a Kick In the Head- Dean Martin
Lodi- Creedence Clearwater Revival
Walk Like a Man- Four Seasons
I'm free- Soup Dragons

The Professional Blogger

Some of you may remember that once upon a time the mythical creature I call The Shmata Queen was a blogger. No, really, she was. She had a blog that she used to share stories about her life and thoughts about things that took place within it. Now it is no secret that occasionally I'd borrow the keys and take the blog out for a spin around the block.

As you can very well imagine she wasn't always pleased with the improvements that I made upon her posts. Occasionally she was more than a little irritated, irate might be a good description. If you'd like you can blame it all upon my puckish nature. Had we gone to elementary school together I probably would have pulled her pigtails, assuming that I had deigned to speak with her.

But what you might not know is that I also wrote a number of serious posts on her blog and passed them off as having been written by her. Some of them received more comments than I ever got on my blog. It made me a bit crazy when that happened, but I suppose that it was a bit of a blogger's karmic kick in-the-pants.

I share this with you now because it fits this post. I blog for many reasons not the least of which is that I love to write. Blogging provides a good excuse to write daily and a chance to try and improve my skills as a writer.

That is something that is important to me. When it is all said and done I should like to be known as a very fine writer. It would please me greatly if I could write well enough that my work would live on after me. That would mean that I had done something right, or should I say write.

************

I was blessed with two grandfathers who were master storytellers. They had different styles but they were very skilled at holding the attention of those listening to them. I share that not just as a loving grandson but one who was often told by friends how much they enjoyed the stories I grew up with.

It is a skill that I have spent almost forty years trying to emulate. There have been moments where I have felt like I had the same magic tongue they used. There have been times when I was spinning my own yarn or sharing some sort of tale and I knew that I had those people in the palm of my hand. And then there have been the moments where I could see that whomever was listening was disinterested and trying to politely hide their desire to run away or fake narcolepsy.

Sometimes I wonder if part of the magic of their stories is a generational thing. Just to clarify I feel quite lucky to still have my maternal grandfather. In about six weeks he'll turn 95. I try to make a point of asking him to tell me some of my favorite stories because one day he won't be around to tell them.

In the 2.5 years since my paternal grandfather died I have missed him terribly for any number of reasons. But one of the primary is that I miss those stories. He had bright blue eyes and when he got going they would just light up. It makes me smile just thinking about it. If I close my eyes I can hear see his face and hear him start laughing as he'd talk about what life in New Orleans was like in the thirties.

I have made a point to share some of those stories with the people I care most about. It is part of how I honor his memory and make sure that he is not forgotten. I sometimes wonder what he'd think about this. Not that he'd be upset, but I wonder if I am telling the story the right way. I didn't live through these events, at least not most of them. But I do my best to try and tell them as he did.

************

I could be a professional blogger. If it paid enough I could do this for a living. I could spend my days telling these tales and sharing my thoughts about this and that. I could be the pundit who speaks about politics. I could be the dad who riffs on and around the challenges of being a father. I could be any and all of them. That is the beauty of the blog. You can constantly reinvent yourself here.

But for the moment the dream of becoming a professional blogger is just that, a dream. I hold it close to my heart along with a few others that are dear to me. Sometimes dreams do come true. Sometimes they are more than pity phrases. Sometimes when you ask if they are someone to have fun with or someone to live a life with the answer is crystal clear.

One day I'll have grandchildren of my own. One day being 50 years or so from now, could be more, I plan on living until I am at least 130. And I hope that if nothing else I can keep that storytelling tradition alive. So stick around for a while and let's see if that is just a pipedream or the reality yet to come.

Do You Know What Makes You Happy?

You should have seen the first draft of this post. It was pathetic. A collection of pithy phrases and gibberish that I am embarrassed to say came from my hands. Ok, it came from the melon on top of my shoulders. Anyway, I decided to try again.

Within the last ten years or so of my life I have been a part of or witness to some events that have made me focus on trying to identify the things and people in life that are most important to me. Some of them have been obvious and some have been less so.

I suppose that you can attribute some of this to painful mistakes that have made me take a hard look at myself. One of my great challenges is that I am very hard on myself. Sometimes I look at choices I have made and I just want to kick myself for picking the wrong door.

Friends of mine have told me that as one door closes another one opens but I always have trouble accepting that. It is a feel good statement that doesn't always make me feel good. So I have chosen to take a slightly different approach and ask myself some very simple questions about what I want in life.

At the root level it is a question of who do I want around me. Who makes me happy. Who makes me feel good. Who stimulates me. What sort of work do I want to do. Not what pays the bills, but what kind of work inspires me to wake up in the morning.

What kind of things do I need. I truly don't need much, but I do need some things and I haven't any problem saying that.

Now I haven't provided much in the way of details and I am not sure if I am going to in this post. Much of this is incredibly personal and I am not really sure how comfortable I feel sharing it. I'll provide some general answers. In order to protect what little anonymity remains I am going to qualify this and say that I may already have some of the items I list here, or maybe not.

Let's start with companionship. I want someone who makes my heart pound and my blood boil.
They don't have to and shouldn't agree with everything I say or like. It is good to have a few differences. But I want someone that I like and that I can speak with about anything.

It is not about someone to have fun with, but someone to have a life with.

Possessions- I want a comfortable house that I can entertain in when I feel like but it must be a home. I want a good stereo and a good television. I love music and sometimes I'll want to watch a ballgame or cuddle up for a movie.

I want a great library of books to read and a comfortable chair to read them in.

That is pretty much it. Obviously it is not detailed. I didn't forget family and friends. They are critical elements in my life and I want them too.

In between all this or maybe I should say wrapped into this I'd love to travel and enjoy some very fine meals.

Off the top of my head, that is pretty much it. The rest is commentary.

Controversy Surrounds "The Hokey Pokey"

Now here is a story that you might find to be surprising. Who knew.

"It's a musical staple of nursery schools and seniors' fitness classes throughout
the English-speaking world.

But The Hokey Pokey - the right-hand-in, right-hand-out ditty that sparked a 1950s dance craze - has become the focus of a bizarre controversy in Britain that has drawn in politicians, the Catholic Church in Scotland and soccer fans accused of exploiting the song's alleged anti-Catholic roots to taunt opposing teams.

Now, the son of the famed Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy - the man credited with penning the lyrics to one of the world's most familiar melodies - has weighed in to the furor by revealing what he calls the true inspiration for his father's hit: a traditional Canadian folk tune sung by miners in the early 20th century as a drug anthem celebrating the therapeutic powers of cocaine.The song is known in Britain as The Hokey Cokey, and was originally published by Kennedy during the Second World War as The Cokey Cokey before various U.S. recordings of The Hokey Pokey gave the song and its accompanying movements global popularity.

In December, the song sparked an uproar in Scotland when fans of the Glasgow Rangers soccer team were accused of planning to sing it to insult rival Glasgow Celtic, a club with Catholic roots. A Catholic Church spokesman warned that The Hokey Cokey had centuries-old origins as a Protestant song meant to mock the words and actions of Catholic clergy presiding over the Latin mass.

"This song does have quite disturbing origins. Although apparently innocuous, it was devised as an attack on and a parody of the Catholic mass," Peter Kearney, a spokesman for Scottish Catholic Cardinal Keith O'Brien, said at the time.
He added that soccer authorities should monitor the situation to assess "if there are moves to restore its more malevolent meaning."

Michael Matheson, a Nationalist member of the Scottish Parliament, also issued a warning about The Hokey Cokey in December: "It is important that the police and football clubs are aware of the sinister background to this song, and take the appropriate action against individuals and groups who use it at matches or in other situations to taunt Catholics."

But that suggestion was quickly panned by Murdo Fraser, deputy
leader of the Scottish Tories: "I can't believe Scottish children performing the
Hokey Cokey are doing so in pursuit of any sort of anti-Catholic agenda," he
told reporters.

For weeks, allegations of historical bigotry behind The Hokey Pokey have been the focus of a lively debate in the letters pages and websites of British newspapers."

Read the whole story here.

That Part Of My Life is Over

Well it seems that I am not the only one who sometimes finds Facebook to be a bit disconcerting as I have had more than one friend tell me that the "worlds colliding" bit is hard. A few of you have deleted your Facebook accounts because of this.

And the truth is that there have been moments where I have considered it too. I suppose that it is only fair to say that there have been moments where I have considered closing up shop here as well, but that is a bit different. So let's focus on Facebook for a few moments and I'll try to shed some light on it.

When I evaluate my short life I can say that overall it has been quite good. There has been more good than bad, more happiness than sad. But there are moments in time that I don't want to revisit. Some of them are tied into the sad memories and some of them are tied into the happier moments.

The main thing is that they are done. There are people and places who may have been important but they are a milestone that is best left in the past. They are a stop on the road that I don't want to revisit.

Sometimes it is just easier to let them sit in memory. But on Facebook the past continues to rear its head.

The Hotel Offers a Sleep Guarantee

Any place that offers a sleep menu catches my eye. Check out this selection:

The Benjamin has gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that their guests receive a perfect night's sleep. At the center of the program is the Sleep Concierge whose job is to help guests with every request for a restful and peaceful night's sleep. From selecting the perfect pillow to arranging a relaxing massage at the hotel's Wellness Spa, the Sleep Concierge provides assistance and advice for guests as well as fulfills requests from the hotel's Sleep Menu, such as a bedtime comfort snack of milk and warm cookies or delivery of a white noise machine.
In fact, The Benjamin is so confident each guest will sleep well it has instituted a "Sleep Guarantee" of a free nights stay if a guest does not sleep as well or better than at home.
Sleep Amentities
The Benjamin offers a full range of 12 different types of pillows from which to choose: down, upper body, buckwheat, satin, hypo-allergenic, water-filled, Swedish memory, magnetic therapy, a jelly neckroll, a five-foot body cushion, sound, maternity and a special anti-snore pillow.
In addition to the pillows, the hotel features The Benjamin Bed: a Serta® mattress created exclusively for The Benjamin, with specially engineered convoluted foam cushioning and layers of fibers quilted to the mattress for a luxurious surface feel. The custom-designed Benjamin Bed is wrapped in 100% Egyptian Cotton 400-plus thread count sheets by Anichini and a down-filled comforter with luxurious triple sheeting. (The pillows, sheets, and mattresses have become so popular that they are now offered for sale for guests who want to bring The Benjamin experience home.) Aromatherapy bathroom amenities further enhance relaxation. In addition to the luxurious sleep amenities, The Benjamin has outfitted each guest room with double-glazed windows, with argon gas between the panes, and black-out shades to keep rooms quiet and restful.

Olim Chadashim- A Round Up of Posts

WestbankMama is interested in doing a round up of posts by olim chadashim. For more information please click here.

Change is Coming

Three weeks into the new year and I can tell you that I am still grumpy from the old one. Still have too many bills to pay and too few options. Tired of listening to people say that Bush is responsible for all of our problems. Tired of listening to people say that Obama is going to fix all of them. Tired of listening to Sarah Palin whine about whatever it is she is whining about. I am ready to turn on the television, open a newspaper and or surf the net without seeing her name.

Talked to the boys and confirmed that I am not the only curmudgeon feeling this way. But even if I were, I wouldn't care. It is how I feel. Spent more than a few hours talking about such things over the weekend. A few of us got together and held a state of the union and discovered a few things.

We're all ready to give up on women. every last one of us. The wives have gone out of their way to drive us to drink. There is a reason why clumps of hair keep falling out and we have knots in our necks. But I suppose that is only fair to say that the wives are telling similar stories among themselves and truth is that none of us are going to give on women.

To quote my friend John. "Jack, I love hanging out with you and talking to you is real easy. But it is much more fun to sleep with Kelly."

John hadn't quite finished his sentence when he realized how he had left himself open to all sorts of fun replies. Being a gentleman I told him that I agreed with him, it is much more fun to sleep with Kelly because she doesn't snore.

On a more serious note, I suspect that a few more of the boys really are going to hang up their spikes and seek greener pastures. I find these conversations about troubled marriages to be troubling. I don't really want to have give my opinion on whether they should stay or go. I think that it is the sort of conversation that is rife with pitfalls that I don't want to fall into.

Every relationship is different and everybody has their own ideas about what they have to have and what they are willing to compromise upon. I can't really tell anyone what to do, only what I'd do. I don't like straddling the fence, but sometimes it is safer there.

If you wanted a list of complaints about these marriages I can provide it without trying too hard:

Not enough sex
Too much sex
Money problems
Different ideas about child rearing

I suspect that those are relatively universal problems that can crop up. But if you ask me the thing that I don't hear any of them say is that their wives are their best friends or even good friends. Mostly they refer to them in a way that sounds more like a business partner that they occasionally have sexual relations with.

If I have any real advice about marriage to offer anyone it is that you need to like your partner. That is different than love and different than lust. If you don't like them I don't know how you are going to make it for the long haul.

Enough about all that. Here we are less than two hours into the Obama presidency and I wonder what we are going to see happen over the next four years. I am curious for any number of reasons. I suppose that part of it is because President Obama holds the title of first president that I consider to be a contemporary. As far as I am concerned he and I are pretty much part of the same generation.

It is kind of different. Until now I had always thought of the president as being either a really old man or closer to my parent's generation then anything else. Maybe I really am getting older, who knows.

President Obama's Inauguration

This is what I would call sort of live blogging the event. I have been torn about whether I felt like being on the computer today. Check that, I have to be on the computer for work purposes, the question has been whether I was going to blog about anything.

I am not as caught up in the events of the day as a lot of people are. That is not to say that I am not excited about it, I am. But I am feeling a bit worn out. I am tired of reading about all of the challenges we face. I am tired of reading about banks and other industries being given billions of dollars to be bailed out.

Lots of people are in financial trouble. Lots of people are fighting to stay afloat and it kind of irks me to see these institutions get more cash, especially since I know that I will end up paying for it.

So I am ready to let the man begin working. As I said in an earlier post I don't expect that he or any other person can turn everything around over night. It is going to take time to make things happen and while I am ready to celebrate the potential for change and a brighter future I am far more interested in seeing the process get started.

More to come on this in another post.

Gaza Continued

There is so much that could and should be said about the situation in Gaza and the hypocrisy exhibited by so many. We could go round and round in circles about the nonsense. We could ask why those who protest the war are not protesting the brutal treament of Palestinians by Palestinians, but what fun would that be.

Instead we'll share a collection of links that you might find to be of interest:

CNN: Palestinians: 1,300 killed, 22,000 buildings destroyed in Gaza (What this story doesn't say is how many of those who were killed were terrorists and how many buildings housed weapons or were used as launching pads.

It also doesn't talk about how Egypt turned a blind eye while allowing tons of weapons to be smuggled into Gaza.

WSJ: Israel Scored a Tactical Victory

Telegraph: Analysis: Hamas did not win conflict but did Israel? (Good questions here. It remains to be seen.)

JPost:'Hamas torturing Fatah members in Gaza' (You just had your ass kicked up and down the street, so what do you do. Oh, I know, let's go terrorize other Palestinians and see if it makes us feel better.)

JPost: Iran renews efforts to supply weaponry to bruised Hamas (Will the world just watch as the leader fomenters of terror continue to try and wreak havoc. My guess is the answer will be yes.)

And now for some blog posts to review:

Mere Rhetoric: Opps! Al Arabiya Accidentally Airs Description Of Hamas Firing Rockets From Al Arabiya's Own Studio

Yourish: More threats, lies from Saudis

Seraphic Secret: Chaos

Solomonia: Hamas children's propaganda film reinforces illusion of war victory

Recent Posts

My Parents and My Blog
We Leave The Toilet Seat Up
In the Works
Nigerian Scam Artist
War- What is it Good For
Instant Messenger
When Harry Met Sally- New Years
Sunday Songfest

My Parents and My Blog

This past weekend my father was admitted to the hospital again. He has a couple of health issues that are creating some other issues. The docs decided that the most effective way of treating these would be to run a battery of diagnostic tests upon him so that they could determine what the appropriate next steps would be.

While hanging out around the big guy's bed we engaged in a bit of small talk about this and that when all of a sudden my mother asks me why she can't read my blog. I looked at her and said that there was no reason why she can't read it other than the fact that I am anonymous.

She smiled and asked me how her almost forty year-old son could have so many secrets. I told her that it was as a result of my joint CIA and Mossad training and that my handlers would never allow me to reveal my secrets. Thus, it was for my own safety that I was preventing her from reading my words.

She frowned and told me that it was clear that I still have a very active imagination. I suggested that if she hung around long enough I could develop Alzheimers and my imagination would really amaze her. She frowned again and made a comment about ridiculous comments from me.

I smiled and asked her if she preferred that I get Alzheimers or be hit by a bus. She smiled and said that in my old age I was losing my ability to change the subject. I smiled and said that I wasn't losing it in the slightest.

But I did say that at the moment I prefer my anonymity. In turn she said that she knew that my name was Jack something or other. I laughed and said that she was close but that I still wasn't going to give her the URL.

On a serious note it is not that I can't talk to my parents about what I write. I can share anything and everything with them. But there is some material within these walls that I prefer not to discuss with them, at least not now.

Truth is that sometimes I miss having complete anonymity.

We Leave The Toilet Seat Up

Before we begin the exciting topic of what position to leave the toilet seat in let me share some of what I have been listening to this evening.

God Only Knows- The Beach Boys
My World Is Empty Without You- The Supremes ( I prefer the original- no time to search)
Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major- Bach (Played by Yo Yo Ma)
Gimme Three Steps- Lynrd Skynrd
No Leaf Clover- Metallica

Ok, let's move on to the incredibly interesting topic of what position to leave the toilet seat in, up or down. I have to give credit for the topic to the illustrious Therapydoc. If you tool on over there you can see that she and I engaged in a bit of back and forth about whether the toilet seat should be left up or down.

Having grown up with more sisters than you can shake a stick at (I tried that once. Bad idea, my father had none of it and, well let's say that I only did it once.) I learned that women have this funny idea that the toilet seat must always be left down so that if they decide to use the powder room it will be ready for them.

I take a different position and I hope that my fellow men will join me in overthrowing the tyranny of the toilet seat. It is time to force these dames to do as we do and learn how to look at the seat before sitting down upon it. Somewhere my mother is beginning to grimace and squirm, she has this weird knack for sensing when I am going to cause trouble.

And yes I am well aware that suggesting that we don't have to put the seat down is a recipe for a fight. But ladies I ask you if you would consider crossing the street without looking both ways. You would not. You don't drive with your eyes closed and you usually take a moment to check yourself out in the mirror before leaving the house.

So I ask why you who are capable of so many things claim to be incapable of determining what position the toilet seat is in. It makes no sense.

We can take this from a different position too. Every now and then we men have to respond to a need that requires sitting upon the toilet. We haven't any problem checking the position. I have no more interest in falling into the toilet than you do.

Ok, that is about as much energy as I am willing to lend to this topic.

In the Works

Busy working on an original song written in honor of the Shmata Queen. Question is will I actually sing it for her and if so, will it be done in a falsetto or baritone.

Decisions, decisions.

Nigerian Scam Artist

I used to really wonder if anyone ever fell for any of the Nigerian email scams. On more than one occasion I have had moments of fun by playing with them. Long time readers may recall reading about some of them. Perhaps when the Shmata Queen returns from her vacation I'll ask her to share her favorite one.

In the interim if you haven't gotten a chance to review any of my antics here are a few links to review:

I am Rich Again- How Much Luck Do I Deserve
More About My Good Fortune
Give Me Time and I will Be Rich, Rich, Rich

That leads into a story I just read about a boy who was taken in by these scammers. Let's look at two excerpts:

"A Leamington man has fallen prey to international scam artists who strung him along for more than a year with the promise of millions in cash, but ultimately bilked him and his family of $150,000.

John Rempel said he quit his truck driving job, lost friends, borrowed money and rossed the globe in pursuit of a non-existent inheritance, after he was contacted by e-mail in what is known as a Nigerian 419 scam.

Rempel said he borrowed $55,000 from an uncle in Mexico and his parents gave him $60,000 on credit to cover fees for transferring $12.8 million into his name."

and

"The man then told him he had to pay $2,500 to transfer the money into his name. Then there were several more documents. Some cost $5,000.

He was told to open an account at a bank in London. That required a $5,000 minimum deposit. The crooks later sent him an e-mail with a link to what he was told were details of his new account. Some money had been transferred there for “safe
keeping.”

“Everything was good,” said Rempel.

Then he got an e-mail from a government department — he’s not sure which country — saying he owed $250,000 on tax on his inheritance. Rempel spoke to his contact, who told him they negotiated the fee down to $25,000.

Rempel went to Mexico where his uncle owns a farm. His uncle gave him $10,000 cash and money for a plane ticket. He was going to London to make sure it was legitimate.

“I had $10,000 in cash in my pocket and my uncle sent another $25,000 when I was over there.”

In London, Rempel met some people and handed over the $10,000.

They met Rempel the next day with a suitcase. They said it had $10.6 million in shrink-wrapped U.S. bills. Rempel wanted more proof. His new friends pulled out one bill and “cleansed” it with a liquid “formula,” which washed off some kind of stamp.
Rempel was told that process made the money “legal tender.”

I sort of feel bad for the guy, but I have to wonder about the rest of the family as well. Sounds like an entire family fell hook, line and sinker for this. Sometimes you have to use common sense.

War- What is it Good For

Forgive me for using an antiwar lyric for a war I supported, it just seemed fitting. Fitting because like so many others I have been trying to determine what was accomplished. What sort of benefits have been derived by three weeks or so of bloodshed.

We can start with the obvious and ask if Israel was truly able to stop the rockets and re-establish some deterrence. Have they put the fear of God into Hamas and made them rethink their positions on little things like not recognizing the state. Was Gilad Shalit rescued and returned from what Seraphic Secret rightfully calls cruel captivity.

There is an obvious answer to the question of what happened to Gilad. The answer is that he has not yet been rescued and that there have been reports that he was killed by Israeli artillery fire. Until proven otherwise I refuse to accept this as anything more than Hamas propaganda designed and intended to demoralize.

But I will again add my voice to the chorus of those who find it unacceptable that he is still in captivity.

As for whether deterrence has been established, well that is a question that we can't answer overnight. I tend to adopt a similar position to Yaacov Lozowick who says

"Now we've got to wait till the morning after the morning after (I liked Thomas Friedman's formulation) to see if Hamas has reached a stage similar to the one Hezbullah reached the morning after their morning after their "victory" in 2006. If this morning's rockets cause no casualties and cease by the afternoon, not to be renewed for years, that's fine. If they continue, however, even if only in a drizzle, we have to keep on hitting, inaugural parties in Washington or not."

He is correct. If the rockets continue Israel needs to resume pounding them.

Back on the topic of identifying accomplishments from the war it is also clear that the war provided antisemites from around the world with another excuse to commit barbaric and hateful acts of their own. Just look at this post from Zombietime for a list of events in the global intifada.

In a side note to my Israeli family and friends, this is why you sometimes hear from us about having a voice in what happens. My personal perspective is that I prefer to have the bigots out in the open. I'd rather know exactly who I am dealing with. Not to mention that the sort of scum bag that engages in this behavior would do so regardless of what Israel does. But this does serve as a sort of beard for his/her behavior.

The war made it apparent that we need to work harder on educating the ignorant masses about international law, moral relativism and what disproportionate force means. We also need to be cognizant of how many people are choosing to question Israel's existence. It used to be that we heard discussions about occupied territory and we knew that part of Israel was being discussed. Now the tune is changing and we're having more talk about the entire state.

Don't believe me or want a source for this. Go read this post and report back to me. In the meantime here is are links to all of the roundup and some more posts to read:

1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5, *14, *14.5, *15, *16, *17, *18, *18.5, *19 and ceasefire edition.

From the traditional media:

CNN: Bodies dug from rubble during Gaza cease-fire (Who else was in there.)
CNN: Hamas, Israel set independent cease-fires
NY Times: Rebuilding Begins Upon a Wobbly Truce
The Spine: Reviving the Oldest Hatred
WSJ: Defeating Terrorists (Sometimes force works)
Boston.com: The violence network
JPost: Yadlin: Hamas likely to keep attacking
JPost: Analysis: The operation is over but the war continues
JPost: Analysis: Europe's plea for peace ignores the Gaza reality
Mark Steyn: Jew-baiting, then and now

From the blogosphere:

Yaacov Lozowick's Inventing Your Own Reality.
Omri says CAIR: Complaining About The Anti-Semitic Attacks We're Inciting Is A "Distraction"
EOZ: I must be much dumber than Olmert
Solomonia: Big Gas Field Discovered Off Haifa
Solomonia: The MSM is the Enemy
Soccer Dad: Report from the front
Soccer Dad: Shiny happy dhimmi - #9

Crossposted on Yourish.

Instant Messenger

(A new piece for Fragments of Fiction)

Can't remember the last time I signed into the good old Instant Messenger and there you were. I wondered if it was a sign or just coincidence.

Anne Stacey. There you were. A little picture of your smiling face flashed up at me and I smiled back. For a moment I just stopped and stared. Watched and wondered what to do. You told me to give you some space and I had done that. But the truth for both of us is/was that space is a funny term.

Throughout the years there have been a few brief moments where we felt that we needed some time away from each other. Moments of anger and or frustration. Moments of confusion when we tried to catch our breath and figure it all out. But throughout it all we always found that it was impossible to completely forget the existence of the other.

It is a hard thing to explain, but we always feel better when we allow the contact. And when we are separated intentionally or otherwise we have a tendency to seek the little things that connect us. There is a comfort in those things. We passed the point many years ago when we could truly say that we were all by ourselves. Now the connection is always there.

Most of the time it is a wonderful thing. Most of the time it is an incredible feeling to know that the missing piece to the puzzle is not just out there, but identified and recognizable.

Most of the time we find ourselves smiling and secure in the knowledge that our best friend is our greatest love and truly the star we follow in the dark night. But sometimes it is hard. Sometimes it is painful to accep that the person we wish most to be with is separated from us.

Sometimes we compensate for the pain and frustration by coming up with reasons why we are angry with the other. Sometimes we fuel the fire with imaginary hurts and slights and or make lists of all of the reasons why it cannot work. Sometimes we run from the truth because it is too painful to accept.

There are those who suggest that sometimes love isn't enough. There are those who say that the best thing you can do is just accept this and move on. But you know that I have never been one to just accept these things. I push and pull. I tug and shove and bang and knock. Tell me no and watch me prove you wrong.

Ok, so not everything is possible. I can't fly and I can't stop time. But if it was possible to do so than you know that I would. If it was possible to alter the good old space-time continuum for my Anne Stacey I would. But even though I cannot it doesn't mean that the future is an impossibility.

I don't allow myself to be constrained by purely linear thinking. I don't live based upon what can't happen, but upon what can and what could be. I am not Don Quixote attacking windmills, but if I did it is a certainty that the windmill would fall.

That is the power of the certainty of a deep and mature love. It fuels a fire that burns bright and deep. It powers an engine that has the strength to push through slings and arrows. I suppose that we could continue this line and ride some sort of cliche filled story where I woo you by using math and science. You know, talk about how there is a new element to add to the 106 in the periodic table. Or compose some sort of word problem that illustrated in math terms the proof of our love.

We'll save that for a different day. Instead we'll circle back to the moment that inspired the note. The completely unexpected appearance of your picture in my instant messenger box. It caught me off guard. I was unprepared to see your smile and the sparkle in your eyes. It was a pleasant surprise and I am sure that you'd be pleased to know that after all this time the flames inside are still smoldering. It wouldn't take much to start a full blown fire.

But I refused to give into the urge to contact you. I refused because you asked for space and I intend to give it. Besides the hopeless romantic that lives inside believes that something will happen. There will be a moment, an incident, a something that makes you reach out to me and ask me to help. And that is key.

That moment is going to be part of a number of events that help everything fall into place. It is the keystone in the arch. Or maybe it is just the fantasy and burning desire of a dreamer who believes that our potential doesn't have to go unrealized.

I can say one thing without hesitation. Everyone should experience the kind of love where a thought and a smile provides a charge that makes your entire body tingle. A charge that makes you close your eyes and bathe in the thoughts and memories of what was and what will be. The memory of your scent is intoxicating.

More than this I dare not say or write.

When Harry Met Sally- New Years

Some people are tough to stay angry with. This kind of expresses it well.

Sunday Songfest

A quick snapshot of what I am listening to:

Tales of Brave Ulysses- Cream
Layla-Derek and the Dominos
I Got a Woman- Ray Charles
I Can't Stop Loving You- Ray Charles
Dancing in the Dark- Bruce Springsteen
Tougher Than the Rest- Bruce Springsteen
You're Gonna Miss This- Trace Adkins

A Bag of Mixed Nuts

The weekend comes and the weekend goes and the earth keeps turning. So many thoughts and so many stories come and go through my head. These War in Gaza updates were, are important but I miss being able to focus on my writing. Now with the faux ceasefire I'll grab a few minutes here and there to try and spin a yarn or two.

The man I call abba is spending a few days away from home. It seems that the docs need to keep him in house for a spell to take of a few things. At the moment all seems well but I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't somewhat concerned. Told him that if he wanted to take a vacation there are better ways of doing it and places that are far more fun.

All sorts of work to be done around the house. There is painting to be done, gates to be fixed, things to be sorted through and attended to. I love my home, but there are moments where I miss the simplicity of the condo we lived in. Although if you really want to know I miss my first apartment the most.

It was in Encino just a hair south of Ventura Boulevard. It was an old building that had a bunch of issues, but it had a ton of a character. Just one bedroom, but it was all mine. It was a sanctuary and a refuge. It was filled with ugly furniture and god-awful wood paneling. The place was hot as hell during the summer and really cold in the winter, but it was mine.

Dishes in the sink, clothes on the floor, shoes in the middle of the room- all mine. Now just to be clear that wasn't how I kept it. The clutter would have made me crazy. But there were a few times when I stumbled in after being out for a few days and was too tired to do much. No roommates to be pissed off at or to be irritated with me. No children to play role model for. So every now and then I'd just enjoy the freedom of not worrying about anything.

Had a crazy neighbor downstairs and several scattered around the building. We lived in a corner of the building so my apartment and the couple next to me both occupied a little space right about the crazy neighbor below.

The couple that lived on one side of me would have sex every night for hours. The squeaking of their bed never stopped. Crazy neighbor that lived directly below me used to go nuts about it. She was convinced that it was me. Most nights she'd take a broom or something and pound on my ceiling. That was in addition to complaining to whomever would listen that all I would do was have sex all night long.

Tried to convince her that it wasn't me, but she never did believe me. I once asked her if she'd be willing to talk about it on camera. I figured that since I was single I might as well make use of it. For some odd reason she was irritated by that.

There are a lot of other stories tied into that building that I could and probably should share, but for now I'll let it be.

Funny though how your memory works. That feels like it was yesterday, but when I think about it I realize that it might as well have been a thousand years ago. So much has happened since then.

Someone once told me that they used to like to think about what their life was like twenty years ago and to imagine what it would be like twenty years from now. It is easy to look back but much harder to look forward.

I have my suspicions about what things will look like, but who knows. I'll be turning 60 and in theory my children will all be out of the house and living on their own. I can't say much more than that. Too many variables, too many unknowns.

At least not today. Today I don't think that I want to engage in any sort of projections about what is going to be. Besides, sometimes the best thing that you can do is focus upon the present.

Obama- Realistic Expectations

Less than two days left until we say goodbye to Dubya and set a new milestone by inaugurating Barack Obama as President of the United States of America. That is quite a mouthful, President of the United States of America.

You don't have to spend much time looking around to see descriptions of the POTUS as being the most powerful man in the world. I'd say that it is relatively fair assessment of what comes with being POTUS. However I'd also say that it is not unlimited power. The president is not omnipotent.

So you might ask yourself why I am mentioning any of this. The answer is simple. I have grave concerns about the expectations that some people have of President Obama's ability to solve the challenges facing him.

Far too many people talk about him in almost mythical terms. I am gravely concerned about what is going to happen if he doesn't meet their expectations. And to be honest I don't think that he will. That is not a knock against him. I am not talking about qualifications and whether he has them or not. That discussion is done.

I am convinced that he is a smart guy and that his heart is in the right place. But there is only so much that can be done. And it seems to me that there are people with unrealistic expectations about what he will be able to accomplish. We have the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a very tough economic situation. Not to mention all of the fuss over what people think that he'll bring to the ME peace process.

There is enough work there to last four terms, let alone one. So while I very much want him to succeed I do not expect it all to work. I expect that he is going to fail in some areas. And so I wonder what sort of response he is going to receive when this happens.

Let me be clear, I don't think that anyone could walk in on January 20th and fix everything that needs to be adjusted. There is simply too much.

So here is what I am hoping happens. I am hoping that the man exceeds the expectations of those who wish that he fails and that those who idolize him gain a more realistic perspective. Add to that my wish and fervent desire that the polarization we have seen under Dubya and Clinton disappears.

It is time for people to pull together and stop pulling apart, at least that is my dream. In a couple of days we'll get a chance to try and find out if some dreams can come true.

War in Gaza Update- Ceasefire Edition

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #19.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5, *14, *14.5, *15, *16, *17, *18, *18.5 and 19.

As a side note Haveil Havalim, the weekly blog carnival of the Jewish/Israeli Blogosphere can be found here. Go check it out as you can be certain that it also contains valuable posts about the war.

From the traditional media we have:

CNN: Israel declares unilateral cease-fire in Gaza
NY Times: Israel Declares Cease-Fire; Hamas Says It Will Fight On
WSJ: Israel to Halt Offensive in Gaza Strip
Reuters: Israel to cease fire in Gaza, no deal for Hamas
JPost: PM says all Israel's goals in Cast Lead have been attained
JPost: Hamas vows to keep fighting Israel
JPost: Mubarak calls for IDF to leave Gaza (Maybe he'll see about shutting down the tunnels.)
Haaretz: An open letter to Gideon Levy
Haaretz: ANALYSIS / Israel declares victory in Gaza, but at what cost?
Haaretz: ANALYSIS / The ball is now in Hamas' court in Gaza
TNR The Things They Carried
Commentary: Thoughts On The Cease-Fire

From the blogosphere:

Aussie Dave and The Muqata continued live-blogging the war.

The Rebbitzin's Husband: Gaza, Wounded Children and the Tyranny of Liberal/Conservative Labels

At Yourish read the following posts:
British academics: Israel must be destroyed
IDF concludes deterrence has been achieved
Religion of peace and tolerance closes only synagogue left in Indonesia

Omri provides these posts that I encourage you to read:

Breaking: Hamas Launches Last-Second Barrages As Israel Prepares To Declare Ceasefire (UPDATE: Israel Declares Ceasefire)

Israel To Call Unilateral Ceasefire, Declare Partial Victory (Plus: Has Operation Cast Lead Achieved Anything?)

Iranian Cleric: Put A Bullet In Livni's Head (Plus: Smug Liberal Sophistication Unperturbed By Spectacularly Wrong Iran Predictions, Failed Anti-Iran Efforts)

Firedoglake offers Breaking: Israel Declares “Ceasefire”, cue Rod Serling. At Crittenden read World Gone Gaza.

Surber posts Cease-fire. Shrinkwrapped has an interesting piece called Inverted Cowardice.

Go read Some comments on the “Israel must lose” letter - David Hirsh.

At Israel Matzav Liveblog: Olmert announces Israel to surrender to 'public opinion' , Did Israel cave to Mubarak? and IDF opposed cease fire.

From Treppenwitz you have Betrayed. The Occidental Israeli asks Truce? What Truce?

Daled Amos wants to know Did Mony Python Negotiate Israel's Ceasefire?

At EOZ read Why diplomats don't get it and British anti-semitism roundup.

WestBankMama has A Gift for the New President. Judeopundit says Iran Gloats.

And from Shiloh Musings The Government's Statement re: Unilateral Cease Fire.

This will be updated later tonight.

Airing out the Archives

Decided to air out the archives and share some old posts again.

Some Songs That I Have Been Thinking About
Music That Makes Me Feel
I Still Feel Like a Fool
Losing Touch With Friends, With Family, With Life
My Crazy Life
Putting it All In Perspective

The Northridge Earthquake

It is dark outside and in the back of my mind I am slowly realizing that tomorrow marks 15 years since the Northridge quake. If you are interested in some pictures and details you can read a post I wrote last year.

There is a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. I have survivied a forest fire and been through more than one major earthquake. I have seen more than a few catastrophes up close and the memories stick with me. But the truth is that there is something about that day so long ago that hasn't ever gone away.

I haven't quite figured it out. Every time that I think that I have I find that it still doesn't make sense. There is a sense of foreboding that hasn't really left me. I don't think about it often, but sometimes I have this feeling that in a moment all hell is going to break loose.

The feeling starts slowly. I feel like the earth is starting to move and then I look for a chandelier or similar object, expecting to see it sway. I listen for the rumble that turns into a roar and I try to decide where to go. In seconds I know whether I am going to hit the doorway, go beneath the table or try to exit the building.

Prior to the Northridge quake I had no fear of them. A quake was a big joke. But that night taught me to show more respect for Mother Earth. That night I realized that this was very different from a funhouse. In the funhouse the hydraulics shut off and all returns to as it was. A large quake is far different.

The quake made a real impact on sleep patterns. Many of my friends say that for months afterwards they slept with one eye open. Those that made a habit of sleeping naked no longer did, or made certain to have clothing in many places.

For a brief time I played rent-a-boyfriend and had a bunch of sleepovers at the apartments of some of my female friends. Truth is that I think we all felt better knowing that someone else was around.

War in Gaza Update #19

As a prelude to this I want to link to this post 'He who cannot defend Liberty does not deserve Liberty' which is still Well Worth Reading .

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #19.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5, *14, *14.5, *15, *16, *17, *18 and 18.5.

From the traditional media we have:

CNN: Israelis edging closer to cease-fire agreement in Gaza.
CNN: Israel, U.S. target Hamas arms smuggling
WAPO: Diplomatic Efforts Toward Gaza Truce Intensify
WAPO: On Day of Heavy Fighting, Moves Toward Gaza Peace
Associated Press: Turkish PM: Israel should be barred from UN
Guardian: Syria urges full Arab boycott of Israel as divisions deepen over Gaza
Guardian: US backs deal to reopen Gaza-Egypt border
JPost:'Solidarity during war is Israel's finest hour'
JPost: 'We reject Israel's truce conditions'
JPost: Reporter's Notebook: An emotional disconnect
Arutz Sheva: "Iranian Unit" Destroyed, Hamas was Surprised
Arutz Sheva: Hamas Offers Ceasefire, Threatens Revenge

From the blogosphere:

Aussie Dave and The Muqata continue live-blogging the war. The IDF blog shared Summary of IDF Operations, 16 Jan 2009, 22:00 IST.

Seraphic Secret says Goodbye (Elite?) Iran Unit. The Augean Stables offers BBC Silent about being Terrorized in Gaza: Discretion or Cowardice?

Go to Soccer Dad and read Is the media losing the credibility war? and MacLeod-ing the issue.

Daled Amos asks Will Israel Negotiate Defeat From The Jaws of Victory?

Weasel Zippers has Hamas Storms BBC Offices in Gaza and Uses Them to Fire Rockets at Israel....Says Nothing.....

and

Washington: Reporters Call Israeli FM Tzipi Livni a "Terrorist" and a "Murderer" During DC Press Conference.....

Israel at Level Ground has a video that shows the downside of firing mortars at Israel.

At Planck's Constant What is Really Happening in Gaza and Why There can be No Truce with Hamas.

The Atheist Jew Disproportionate Response: By The Media, Protesters, Bloggers, Etc.

Joshuapundit provides The Root Causes Of the Gaza War in Less Than 6 Minutes. Flopping Aces discusses Civilian Casualties in Assymetric Warfare.

Counterterrorism blog provides the low down on Who was Said Mohammad Siyam?

Gateway Pundit has the sad story of Masked Thugs Repeatedly Stab Man For Wearing Jewish Symbol in France. Zombieblog relates to this with January 10, 2009: The Intifada is globalized as the Gaza War becomes a world war.

At Harry's Place it is Downright weird. At Winds of Jihad Hamas fires rockets from BBC building in Gaza, staff used as human shields, BBC keeps silent…

This concludes the round up.

The Growing Hazard of Bird Strike

I don't know about you but flying is stressful enough without having to worry about the growing hazard of Bird Strike. I already worry about dealing with all of the normal crap associated with flying like crowded planes and interminably long security lines.

On really bad days I wonder if the man with the crazy eyes plans on trying to hijack my plane. And let me tell you Mr. Crazy Eyes, not only am I watching you, but I have a plane to take you down hard and fast.

And it is not the sort of hard and fast that makes your wife hate that little blue pill either. No, it is swift and severe, prompt and persuasive. You won't like it all, Mr. Crazy Eyes. But I digress.

Now, I have to worry that a flock of birds might disable my plane and cause to hurtle through the sky wing over wing into a river or some farmers' field. And I have to worry about this without the reassurance of the crocodile hunter or Marlin Perkins.

But because I like to share the good and the bad allow me to provide you with more insight as to what I am talking about.

But among the surprises was the fact that the incident appeared to be caused not by terror attack or mechanical failure, but by a wayward flock of geese. (See pictures of the plane crash in the Hudson River.)

While the National Transportation Board has yet to conduct a full investigation, authorities believe the geese were sucked into the plane's two jet engines, causing immediate engine failure, shortly after takeoff from New York's LaGuardia airport. The aircraft, an Airbus A320, has engines designed to sustain damage from a bird weighting up to a four pounds, according to Todd Curtis, founder of Airsafe.com and an aviation safety expert. Canadian geese — the suspected culprits — weigh an average of 10 pounds. More than 219 people have been killed worldwide as a result of wildlife strikes since 1988, according to the volunteer organization Bird Strike Committee USA.

War in Gaza Update #18.5

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #18.5.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5, *14, *14.5, *15, *16, *17 and 18.

From the traditional media we have:

CNN: Airstrikes continue to target Hamas leaders
Economist: But is it a crime?
BBC: Q&A: Gaza conflict
USA Today: Israel intent on razing Gaza tunnels
YNET: Report: Israel, Hamas agree on 2-week truce
YNET: Farmers claim UK, Jordan boycotting Israeli fruit
JPost: UK Muslims call to curb anti-Semitism
JPost: Analysis: Security kingpin held Gaza in iron grip
JPost: Obama: Syria, Iran must be involved in talks
JPost: Aerial evacuation time reduced by 50%
Commentary: Is The Gaza War Ending?
Mark Steyn: THE PUBLIC SQUARE

From the blogosphere:

Aussie Dave and The Muqata continue live-blogging the war. The IDF blog has Paratroopers Operate in Gaza, 16 Jan 2009, 10:26 IST.

From A Soldier's Mom US Warning - Avoid the Situation.

At Yourish Gaza briefs, with snark and The Egyptian truce: Hamas wins.

Israel Matzav demonstrates How Hamas educates gifted children and discusses whether there is food in Gaza.

Snapped Shot has An Image, An Analysis. From Yid With Lid OMG !!! British MP Says Hamas is Like WARSAW GHETTO FIGHERS and UNRWA is the United Nations In-house Terror Group.

My Right Word has his own post of links. Amity Shlaes: Israel's Gaza Venture Hits Chord in Wounded India

I found the following at Solomonia Natan Sharansky: Save Gaza by destroying the heart of terror.

At The Augean Stables you can read Sounds of Sanity I: AB Yehoshua Rebukes Gideon Levy.

Elder of Ziyon shared Muslims pray to destroy Jews, Christians and The list of Hamas war crimes.
This ends the round up. Stay tuned for more.

War in Gaza Update #18

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #18.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5, *14, *14.5, *15, *16 and 17.

From the traditional media we have:

CNN: U.N. condemns shelling of aid complex
CNN: Third-ranking Hamas leader in Gaza killed
CNN: Arab nations split on Gaza diplomacy
NY Times: War on Hamas Saps Palestinian Leaders
Time: Hamas Ranks Showing Signs of Division
Time: How Badly Has Hamas Been Hurt in Gaza?
WSJ: The No-State Solution
Guardian: Gaza split prompts Arab countries to boycott emergency summit
YNET: Iran: It is not feasible for Israel to live
YNET: Olmert’s ill-advised move
Commentary: Con Denver
Commentary: An Obama Peace Process?
Commentary: An Exercise in Comparing and Contrasting

National Review: Can We Trust the Casualty Numbers?

From the blogosphere:

Aussie Dave and The Muqata continue live-blogging the war. The IDF blog has Summary of Overnight Events, 15 Jan. 2009 08:30 IST.

Take a letter, Dear World.

From Mere Rhetoric
Top US Communication Listserv: Hey, How About Some Anti-Israel David Duke Pamphlets?

At Daled Amos Talk Again Of Ceasefire--But Not Of Gilad Shalit? and United Nations Relief and Works Agency: We Employed Terrorists At Palestinian Schools.

The Elder continues to produce posts you need to read such as Fact: Palestinian Arabs lie and Morning news roundup.

Crittenden blogged about The Media War. Soccer Dad asks Who's getting sapped?

Jewish Current Issues shared Three Posts on Judging and Justifying Israel. Discarded Lies has IDF get another "rich" target: Hamas interior minister.

At Yourish go read It’s not anti-Zionism—it’s anti-Semitism.

Carl and Atlas Shrugs talked about the shelling of the UN complex in JIHAD USES UN COMPOUND TO FIRE AT ISRAEL and.'Palestinians': UNRWA headquarters on fire; UPDATED: 'Palestinians' fired anti-tank missiles from UNRWA HQ.

Jack and Jill Politics has a different perspective What’s Happening in Gaza is Wrong & It Needs to Stop Now.

Back at Yourish read Hamas: Still hurting, still needing to be destroyed. and Mark Regev responds to biased CNN anchor

From Sderoth Some Musings on Proportionality.

Shiloh Musings wants to know why Israel won't finish off the terrorists.

You might want to read Six wounded, two seriously as Grad hits Be'er Shev.

More idiocy from the protests Ringo's Pix: Bad Craziness in Los Angeles.

This is not a picture of the latest bomb shelter.

This concludes the round up. More to come later.

The Facebook Fight

It has been my experience that in most relationships there is an exchange of information about things/people/experiences that took place prior to your time with your significant other. I suspect that out of respect for your significant other many of these stories are censored. You don't really want to tell them that you and Jimmy once held the record for most sex in the dorm or other intimate things.

Sure, you want them to know about your past. You love them and want them to feel like there are no secrets between you, but do they really need to know all of the sordid details. Probably not and chances are they don't really want to know those about you either.

Thanks to the joys of modern technology this is something that could potentially become more of a challenge for couples. My friend Ken called me an hour ago to catch up on life and shoot the breeze. During the course of the conversation he told me that Facebook was going to cost him about $50 bucks in flowers.

I of course asked him to tell me why and he related the following tale. He and his wife both have Facebook accounts. Over the course of the last month or so he had reconnected with a bunch of friends from high school and college. Several of his new Facebook friends were women, a few of whom he had once dated.

She knew a few stories about them and as far as he knew had never cared. But their reappearance on Facebook was a different story. She was very uncomfortable with it and wanted to know why he felt the need to be in touch with them. He explained that it had been more than 20 years since he dated any of them and said that he had no interest.

It didn't satisfy her and she demanded that he unfriend them. He refused.

Bam, Facebook had suddenly gone from something fun to the impetus for a power struggle in the relationship.

I told him that I understood his position and that I understood hers. The funny thing about feelings is that they aren't based upon logic. Sometimes rational thought is not something that you associate with anger/love/joy/sadness etc.

I received a somewhat sarcastic thank you for not taking a position and was asked to provide advice. I laughed and reminded him that I wasn't married to her, but if it was me I'd find a way to resolve it. He lives with her. He wants a future with her. Figure out a way to make her relax and she probably will end up not caring about them.

It seemed to me that his insistence on keeping them made her angrier and fueled her concern. So defuse the situation. Give everyone a moment to calm down and then reapproach it. It is like two kids fighting over the same toy. Take it away for a moment and when they are calm they both can play with it.

Of course I also told him that if this didn't work or led to a bigger fight I took no responsibility. Sometimes it is good to be the one advising an attorney. ;)

Do You Wear Shoes in the House?

Ok readers it is time to answer a new question. 

Do you wear shoes in the house or do you insist that they be taken off before people come inside?

Various Stories that Caught My Eye

As promised we continue to provide a wide variety of news and information about many different topics. Here is a post with links to different stories that caught my eye.

The History of The Bra

Saudis Continue To Confound Me With Their Morality

This Game is Addicting

Women Control Gadget Buying Regardless of Who Controls the Remote- Fight back men, fight back!

War in Gaza Update #17

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #17.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5, *14, *14.5, *15 and 16.

From the traditional media we have:

Fox: U.N. Agency That Runs School Hit in Gaza Employed Hamas and Islamic Jihad Members
CNN: Medical toll (Excuse me for being skeptical about some of these numbers.)
CNN: Bin Laden message (Wonder if he is hiding in the same cave as Nasrallah)
CNN: Bergen: Tape shows Gaza conflict 'big deal' to bin Laden
NY Times: Why Israel Can’t Make Peace With Hamas
NY Times: Israeli Rights Groups Call for War Crimes Inquiry
TNR: Why Do the Jews In the Media Love Hezbollah?
TNR: Coverage of the Gaza Crisis
JPost: Hamas accepts Gaza cease-fire initiative 'in principle'
JPost: 'Are human rights for some, but not for others?'
The Atlantic: Race and The Israel Lobby
The Atlantic: The Walt Counterfactual
Commentary: Let’s Get Real

From the blogosphere:Aussie Dave and The Muqata continue live-blogging the war. The IDF provides IDF VLOG: Israeli Airstrikes Aborted to Protect Civilians.


and here is a video of a strike against Hamas terrorists.



Seraphic Secret has the scary story Marriage Hamas Style. Soccer Dad is Teaching Thomas.

Omri has
No, Of Course Hamas Didn't Accept A Ceasefire, Hezbollah Using Proxies To Bomb Israeli Civilians, Erode Israel's Deterrent and

Red Cross: Of Course Israel's White Phosphorus Shells Don't Violate Int'l Law.

Rafi has the picture of the day. Meryl pointed out Catch-22 on ICC in Gaza and Iranian ship turned back by Israel and Egypt.

Treppenwitz covered Okay, now that everyone has 'checked in'... and Picture this...

At My Pet Jawa read sabbah.biz: source of Palestinian campaign targeting Israeli officials' communications and The War Victims the Media Forgot.

Joshuapundit provided "Dear World"...An Open Letter From An Israeli Jew.

Weasel Zippers has the shameful story about New Zealand: Muslim Cafe Owner Kicks out Israeli Customers, Refuses to Serve Jews Until Gaza Offensive Over....

Go to Simply Jews Hamas - change of language and pricing issues. Rob wrote Gaza and Mogadishu.

American Power blog has Fanatical Islam's Tightening Grip in Britain. At Daled Amos Video Alert: The UN Lynch Mob.

Gateway Pundit says Helen Thomas Compares Jews to Nazis, HAMAS FIRES PHOSPHORUS BOMB INTO ISRAEL and 55 Anti-Semitic Attacks in France Since War In Gaza.

EOZ continues to set the tone with ICRC president inflates Gaza's population density and Free Gaza Movement allows dozens to die!

From Taylor Marsh The Thugocracy of Hamas in Gaza. Planck's Constant says Arabs Live Better under Israeli Rule.

No Quarter offered “Gaza Burning” - Worldwide Impact »
From Shiloh Musings "I Need Help," My Friend Said and Frightening Pictures.

Don Surber has Israel.

Stay tuned I will update this later today.

Kissing

The big guy who helps run this joint has become interested in kissing. He routinely tells me that it is gross and that he never wants to do it. But every now and then he'll approach me and ask if I like to kiss girls and why.

I tempted fate once by telling him that if he does a proper job of kissing a girl he can leave the seat up all the time and gain a maid and personal shopper. Men, learn from my experience, don't say this thing in range of women who wear pointy shoes or have heavy purses. Those things leave a dent in the old melon.

But because I push my luck I once said that kissing is a necessary evil called foreplay. This in turn generated the question of "does that mean that I get to kiss and play with four girls at once." I said something to the effect of it only works that way if you are Hugh Hefner.

Anyhoo I have attempted to try and explain to the young lad that kissing is an exercise that can blow your mind, but only if you are kissing the right person. Because when you have that sort of chemistry it is an organic experience that is worth doing over and over again. In fact a good kiss has been the reason why I got onto an airplane to fly untold miles to experience that again.

It was a life changing kiss that one. It was the sort of kiss that you find unsettling. It is so good that you can't help but ask yourself it is real. And if you are like me you open your eyes in the middle and find her staring back at you. At that point in time you reach into your pocket and hand her a breath mint. Don't forget to duck.

But on a serious note it was the kind of thing that spoke of unlimited potential. The kind of kiss that makes it clear to yourself that if you don't pursue the situation further you will forever be known by the moniker of "Super Schmuck" because only a super schmuck would walk away from that. There are some things in life that you can dream of and experience. And some experiences that are so good they are a dream.

Before I forget today's lucky numbers are as follows:

1 15 03 8 31 68 5 9 69

If you share that combination of numbers than you are guaranteed a chance to engage in the most incredible and amazing experience you have ever had. Sheer bliss.

I hate to walk away and leave this post half done, but I have to attend to putting a young child back to bed.

Just A Few Thoughts About Things

I became a fan of 24 last season. Liked it enough that I decided to watch all of the prior episodes via Netflix. I did the same thing with Battlestar Galactica. Now I walk around shouting Frack this, Frack that and Frack you. In between I find myself looking at people and saying "that is not the right move."

Got to love Bauer with his "that is not the right move." Sometimes while the Shmata Queen and I are talking via telephone I say "copy that." And every now and then when my kids go to bed I sometimes look at them and say, "Goodnight Johnboy." They haven't a clue why I do that. Once they asked me why and I suggested they find a place where everybody knows their name. It is narishkeit, but it is my narishkeit.

Speaking of Cheers if I had to pick a character on that show to emulate I don't think that I could do it. Wouldn't want to be Woody, or Sam. Can't be Diane and if I was Cliff I'd have to scream. Ok, maybe I'd be Norm. I don't look a bit like him, but what the hell if you are going to force me to give you an answer.

A man recently came up to me and said, "Do I know you?" I looked at him and told him that if he took out his wallet he'd probably find some identification. He scrunched up his face and said that wasn't what he asked. I told him that Alzheimers is hitting earlier and earlier these days. And then I started screaming. Didn't do it for any particular reason. Ok, that is not true, I wanted my own seat on the bus.

Ok that last line wasn't true either, I live in L.A. Nobody takes the bus here. Ok, that is not true either, but I haven't been on a city bus since they called it the RTD.

Wading through all of the crap that people fling at me courtesy of the war is a bit draining at times. It is hard to fall into all of that muck and stay sane. Ok, maybe sane is the wrong word. What I really should say is that it is a bit depressing and disconcerting. Let's review some of what I have learned about myself courtesy of the commenters.

I am a unhinged, genocidal lunatic with a belief in a fake god and illusions of grandeur. Because of this I am doomed to go to hell and I should know that God will strike me down.

Of course I also have found out that even though I am part of this mighty cabal that runs governments and controls the world's economy there are limits to my power.

Kind of funny to think about the contradiction. We run the media. We run the world economy and yet we can't just wave a wand and make eliminate negative press. Nor can we snap our fingers and make Hamas disappear. Funny, that.

If you ask me the solution for Israel is to find our modern day hero. We don't need a King David or a Samson. All we need is the Zohan. And wouldn't that be nifty.

War in Gaza Update #16

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #16.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5, *14, *14.5 and 15.

From the traditional media we have:

NY Times:Olmert Says He Made Rice Change Vote
NY Times: Israel Says Hamas Is Damaged, Not Destroyed
CNN: Israel tightens grip on Gaza City; Hamas stays defiant
WAPO: Israeli envoy plans 'decisive' talks in Egypt
WSJ: Europe Reimports Jew Hatred
WSJ: Ending the West's Proxy War Against Israel: Stop funding a Palestinian youth bulge, and the fighting will stop too By Gunnar Heinsohn
Arutz Sheva: 'Cast Lead' Photo, Video Essay: Anti-Aircraft Gun Inside Mosque
Arutz Sheva: Humanitarian Aid: Reaching Gaza's Poor?
JPost: US says Olmert's UN vote story 'just 100%, totally not true'
JPost: Saying 'No' was a mistake
JPost: Red Cross: 'Israel's white phosphorus use legal'

Jefferey Goldberg: Does "Black Hawk Down" Portray an American War Crime?
Daily Dish: The Iran-Hamas Axis, Ctd.

From the blogosphere:

Aussie Dave and The Muqata continue live-blogging the war. The IDF provides video of a "Weaponized Mosque."

Much has been made about how this offensive is going to backfire because it will create more hatred. Yaacov takes that on in a post called Sowing Eternal Hatred in which he evaluates whether that theory is true or not.

Read about The Red Mosque of Death at Seraphic Secret.

Yourish has the story about Hamas to CSM: We won’t stop firing rockets, even with a truce.

The Elder has The war against Starbucks and Another terrorist "civilian".

Atlas Shrugs: UK: BLOOD LIBEL HORROR: JEWS EATING DEAD BABIES and ANTI-HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL VOTES AGAINST ISRAEL EXCEPT CANADA.

Zombietime has pictures of a protest in San Francisco.

Gateway Pundit told us Neo-Nazis Join Pro-Hamas Rally In Calgary. GP also shared this crazy story and video Muslim "Peace" Protesters Chase UK Police Down Street Screaming "Run You F**king Cowards!" (Video)

Foreign Policy Watch covered Not Exactly Rocket Science, but Close.

Solomonia tipped me off to Barry Rubin: The Peace Process is in Jeopardy? I Wonder Why! -

Confederate Yankee blogged Red Cross Confirms the Obvious: Israeli White Phosphorus Smoke Shells Used Legally in Gaza; Hamas Docs Continue Propaganda Efforts.

From Nad Ned Nad Ned, The Many Ways It Touches Us.

Shakesville wrote Open Thread on Israel Strike on Hamas, Part III. The folks at FDL are still foaming at the mouth in Gaza Update: Israel Whitewashing White Phosphorous. They must not have read Soccer Dad takes on the White Phosphorus Lies.

At DB check out A Triumph of Wishful Thinking.

Steg wrote a post about A JNF Rabbinic Solidarity Mission. At Shiloh Musings you can read Maybe Israel Tries Too Hard Not To Injure Gazan Civilians.

The Belgravia Dispatch shared Of War, and Tent Hospitals. Daled Amos covered Hamas In Hiding: Who's Afraid? Not Us! and The West Wins If It Lets Israel Win.

Vengeful Zhid asks Why can't Jews be treated like Muslims?

The Rebbitzin's Husband has An answer for Mick Verran - A Peace Compromise. A Soldier's Mother blogs Stop While You Are Ahead.

Want to know why you should come to Israel? Read this and find out more.

This ends the round up. Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TheJackB.

BCS Declares Germany to be the Winner of WWII

I saw this at The Volokh Conspiracy.

After determining the Big-12 championship game participants, the BCS computers were put to work on other major contests and today the BCS declared Germany to be the winner of World War II.

"Germany put together an incredible number of victories beginning with the annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland and continuing on into conference play with defeats of Poland, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands. Their only losses came against the US and Russia; however considering their entire body of work--including an incredibly tough Strength of Schedule--our computers deemed them worthy of the #1 ranking."

Questioned about the #4 ranking of the United States the BCS commissioner stated "The US only had two major victories--Japan and Germany. The computer models, unlike humans, aren't influenced by head-to-head contests--they consider each contest to be only a single, equally-weighted event."

German Chancellor Adolf Hitler said "Yes, we lost to the US; but we defeated #2 ranked France in only 6 weeks." Herr Hitler has been criticized for seeking dramatic victories to earn 'style points' to enhance Germany's rankings. Hitler protested "Our contest with Poland was in doubt until the final day and the conditions in Norway were incredibly challenging and demanded the application of additional forces."

The French ranking has also come under scrutiny. The BCS commented " France had a single loss against Germany and following a preseason #1 ranking they only fell to #2."
Japan was ranked #3 with victories including Manchuria, Borneo and the Philippines.

The Hamas Dictionary

Hat Tip: Oyvayblog

War in Gaza Update #15

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #15.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5, *14 and 14.5.

From the traditional media we have:

CNN: Israel tightens grip on Gaza City; Hamas stays defiant.
NY Times: Israelis United on War as Censure Rises Abroad
WSJ: Mubarak Struggles as Middleman in Gaza Cease-Fire Effort
Telegraph: Analysis: Egypt key to Gaza breakthrough
Commentary Magazine: An Obama Peace Process?
Commentary Magazine: The Economist vs. Israel
JPost: Haniyeh: We'll deal positively with any cease-fire initiative
JPost: Hamas raids aid trucks, sells supplies
JPost: Leaflets may counter 'war crime' claims

Just for kicks take a look at this story from CNN about what was happening in Gaza in January of 2006. Just a few months after the disengagement the world watched as the following took place:

• Three Palestinian government offices were occupied by gunmen.
• Armed militants detonated explosives in a United Nations club.
• Three British nationals were kidnapped at gunpoint.
• An Italian man was abducted.
• Two rival families unloaded weapons at each other in a personal dispute.
• A Palestinian police officer was killed in a shootout between police and militants.
• The Palestinian-controlled border crossing was shut down by police angry at the death of their colleague, prompting European Union monitors to leave.
• Palestinian police took over government offices in their continuing protest.
  

From The Blogosphere we have:

Aussie Dave and The Muqata continue live-blogging the war.

The IDF Blog has a summary of today's events and a picture of weapons discovered in Gaza.

Yourish has Iranians pulling Hamas strings and We are all Georgians now. Over at Seraphic Secret there is a Gaza Flashback.

Speaking of flashbacks here are a few things that some of you might remember:

In this post here I said that I was wrong about the disengagement. I made a big mistake in my stance about it, but I learned. That leads to a post that Daniel Gordis wrote about making mistakes. Here is an excerpt to share with you:

"But sometimes mistakes are worth making. Take the Disengagement. It is now clear that the Disengagement from Gaza was a horrifying, costly and still painful mistake. But – and I realize that this is not a popular position – it was a mistake that Israel needed to make. It was the mistake that proved, once and for all, that the enemies we face have no interest in a state of their own. They just want to destroy ours. That is what Israelis learned, now without a doubt, as a result of the Disengagement. There’s almost no one left around here myopic enough to imagine even for an instant that further retreats will get us peace. OK, there are still a few arm-chair peace-niks in the States, insisting that there is simply no conflict that cannot be resolved. But here? Precisely the opposite. Now we know that the right was correct – further retreats will only embolden our enemies. They’ll demand more. And more. Until we’re gone.

The benefits of that lesson are understandably of no consolation to the families who paid so dearly in the summer of 2005, who are still living in temporary housing, whose marriages didn’t survive, whose livelihoods have never been restored, whose children hate the country that did that to their parents – but despite all that, the Disengagement was probably a horrifying mistake that Israel needed to make. For now we know, even those of us (and I include myself) who were naïve enough to imagine something else. Peace is not around the corner. Peace is not a year or two away. Peace is not possible. Not now. Not a year from now. Not a decade from now. Because their issue isn’t a Palestinian State it’s the end of the Jewish one. We learned that through the mistake we made in 2005, a mistake that we probably needed to make."

Back to the update.

At Mere Rhetoric you should read:

Video: Hamas Broadcasts Tells Gaza Children To Form Human Shield Around Weapons Cache

Israeli Flag Now Functionally Illegal In Germany And Britain Because It "Provokes" Violent Anti-Semitic Mobs

Iranian Mullahs Wringing Their Hands As IDF Dismantles Hamas's Army (Plus: NPR Wonders About "Real Connection" Between Iran And Hamas)

The Volokh Conspiracy shared this ditty about the New York Times. The Spine has a post called In The Conflict.

The so called progressive blogs make me wonder if there is a single person in there who has a shred of sense. I know that is not nice and I have said many times that you can criticize Israel without being antisemitic, but this crap here makes me wonder if the progressives are capable. Moral relativism, hypocritical positions about humanitarian crises and remarks that show they are ignorant about the history.

Dr. Helen discusses Anti-semitism is mainstream. Daled Amos has Hamas: Democratically Elected, Yet Illegal and Gaza: Where Is The Exit? (Updated).

Soccer Dad takes on the White Phosphorus Lies. Yaacov jumps into the questions about ceasefires in Are Ceasefires Good?

Israel Matzav shares Why Israel is playing hardball with Hamas. The Elder has the Hamas Lie of the Day and Al Jazeera sermon: "Allah, kill all the Jews".

At the Right Truth read The dogs that are not barking. Don't forget to see what is happening at some of the protests Non-Jewish Pro-Israel Couple Attacked By Muslim Mob in NYC 1/11/09.

From At Level Ground 'One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other' .

At Jewish Current Issues read Netanyahu Bloggers Conference Call and Moral Questions in War.

Daniel Saunders covered a Pro-Israel Rally in London. Good News from Israel shared Pictures of Israel Support Rallies from around the World.

Frume Sarah shared Word Selection. Letters of Thought has CNN's iReports lets vile Antisemitism through - "Thank you Hitler".

At Shiloh Musings you can read The Truth About The IDF, Operation Cast Lead and Youtube. On the Fringe submitted Doesn't a brick to the brain kill just as readily as a bullet?

Baka Diary discusses Why Children Die In Gaza. Soccer Dad blogged Leave hamas alone.

Check out Jewlicious The Need for Israel Solidarity Rallies and Anti-Semitism and Gaza.

Gateway Pundit discusses Anti-Israel, Pro-Hamas, Far Left Rally in San Fran... and Islamists Chant "We Want to Kill All the Jews" At ....

Some more posts to go read Today I Am A Jew!, from Adloyada "We are all Hamas": the real voice of its messengers in London.

This ends the round up. Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TheJackB.

Fragments of Fiction Wordle

Haven't done one of these in a while.

Recent Posts

If you haven't been around here is a brief list of some recent posts here at The Shack.

Irritated
Save the Last Dance for Me
War in Gaza Update #14.5
Gabe Kaplan, Telly Savalas and Howard Cosell
A Summary of The War In Gaza
The Slumber Party
Haveil Havalim #200- The Harvey Edition
War in Gaza Update #14

Irritated

Save the Last Dance for Me

Save The Last Dance For Me

The Drifters

"You can dance

Every dance with the girl who gives you the eye

Let her hold you tight

You can smile

Every smile for the girl who'd like to treat you right

'Neath the pale moonlight

But don't forget who's takin you home

And in who's arms you're gonna be

Oh, darlin' save the last dance for me

Oh I know That the music's fine like sparklin' wine

Go and have your fun

Dance and sing

But while we're apart don't give your heart to anyone

And don't forget who's takin' you home

And in who's arms you're gonna be

Oh, darlin', save the last dance for me

You can dance

Go and carry on till the night is gone

And it's time to go

If she asks If you're all alone, can she take you home

You must tell her no

And don't forget who's takin' you home

And in who's arms you're gonna be

Oh, darlin', save the last dance for me

And don't forget who's takin' you home

And in who's arms you're gonna be

Oh, darlin', save the last dance for me"

War in Gaza Update #14.5

Here is a quick update on the War in Gaza.

Enclosed in this post is more news about the shocking incidents of antisemitism at protests in countries around the world. Don't let anyone fool you when they say that it is only about protesting against Israeli actions. If that was the case synagogues wouldn't be vandalized, Jews in Britain wouldn't write about feeling unsafe and scumbags wouldn't yell "Jews to the ovens."

Every country can and should be criticized, but if that is all that was going on we wouldn't have those stories would we.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5, *14.

From traditional media we have:

CNN: Israel calls for 'further patience' to meet Gaza goals.
WAPO: Peace Is No Longer in Sight
NY Times: Israeli Troops Push Into Gaza City in Day of Fierce Fighting
Guardian: British Jew: I Don't Feel Safe in England
YNET: Mashaal rejects int'l presence in Gaza
YNET: Media war on 'Nazi' Israel
YNET: Jewish communities fear escalation of anti-Israel protests
JPost: Iran warns Hamas not to accept Egyptian truce proposal
JPost: Fatah Leader: Hamas Are Criminals
JPost: Analysis: Closing in on the Gaza goals

From The Blogosphere we have:
Video of a school that was booby trapped by Hamas. If you don't speak Hebrew it is subtitled.




Aussie Dave and The Muqata continue live-blogging the war.

The IDF Blog has a summary of today's events. Here is a brief excerpt:

“We continue to face an insane reality of booby-trapped tunnels and booby-trapped schools. In one neighborhood of 150 homes, over 30 homes were found to be rigged with explosives,” IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu said. “Hamas is booby-trapping every home that is abandoned by its residents.”

The IAF targeted nearly 60 Hamas targets in Gaza throughout the day, including:

• Over 20 smuggling tunnels along the Rafah border
• Approximately 15 cells of armed gunmen
• Seven weapons production and storage facilities
• Several rocket launching sites, including the launcher used to attack Be’er Sheva in the morning

The Rebbitzin's Husband has Wake up, Jon Stewart, here's a Border Crossing Chronology. Michael Totten says Hamas is threatening to kill International Peace Keepers.

Seraphic Secret shared Hamas and their Many, Many, Human Shields. Yaacov Lozowick discussed Owning the Dead Children and NYT: Yes, Hamas Fights Dirty.

From Soccer Dad, Shiny Happy Dhimmi #8 and Both sides now.

Gateway Pundit offers German Police Rip Down Israeli Flag to Cheers of "Allahu Akhbar" (Video) and Vandals Deface 3 Chicago Synagogues-- "Death to Israel" Painted on Walls.

Yourish has Hamas: On the run, not on the ropes. The Jewish Policy Center covered the Palestinian Civil War in Gaza.

Doug Ross has video of Hamas Kidnapping Children to Use As Human Shields.

At TMV Obama’s Silence on Gaza Has Already Tarnished His Halo: Rue 89 of France.

Go visit the Elder to read Arab world not happy with Hamas, Outright anti-semitism in Denmark "peace" rallies and Outright anti-semitism in Denmark "peace" rallies.

The Sand Monkey says that Israel has made a terrible mistake.

From Daled Amos Adding Balance To The Disproportionate Debate On "Disproportionate Force" and Video: Humanitarian Aid To Gaza Includes Hamas Uniforms.

Israel Matzav had these posts Video: 'Bombs are more precious than children,' Hamas calls on Gaza kids to form a human shield and Even the Muslims get it.

Backspin has its take here. Nad-ned Nad Nad-Ned blogged about The Many Ways It Touches Us.

Here is a picture from our correspondent at the Israel rally in Los Angeles



This ends the round up. Stay tuned for more.

Gabe Kaplan, Telly Savalas and Howard Cosell

The Sports Guy reminded me of this classic moment from my youth. Battle of The Network Stars was cheesy, but it was fun. And as a big fan of Mr. Kotter and the Sweathogs I only have one thing to say, "Up your nose with a rubber hose."

Ok, it was really funny when I was in elementary school.

A Summary of The War In Gaza

After about two weeks of the War in Gaza I feel qualified to give a short summary of what is going on in the following outline.

• Israel initiates Operation Cast Lead to end the rocket attacks from Gaza.
• There is an outcry about disproportionate force. World angry that more Israelis are not dead. Why should Israel be angry about dead Israelis.
• Hamas leaders show up on Al Jazeera and in other media outlets where they praise the "resistance" and promise death to Israel.
• Israel demonstrates it learned from Lebanon war in '06 and makes real progress.
• Useful idiots around world again cry about disproportionate force. Angry that only a few Israelis have died.
• Hamas leader show up on television. Praise resistance again and use fiery rhetoric claiming great successes and maintain that the end is near.
• Israel continues to beat the terrorists. Demonstrable progress is made.
• More useful idiots cry about disproportionate force. Join together in a march to say that they are all useful idiots.
• Hamas leader back on television. Swears by Allah that victory is close and that even if it is not, the peace process is done. But it doesn't matter because Allah will bring victory. BTW, did I tell you that God is on our side.
• More success on the battlefield for Israel.
• Antiwar protests filled with antisemitic slogans. Blogosphere filled too. Useful idiots say that there is a small problem with antisemitism, but it doesn't matter because Israel should be shunned.
• In between all of this various newspaper articles and opinion pieces supporting Israel appear. Useful idiots moan and cry that this is indicative of bias. Antisemities claim that this is proof that Jooz run the media.

Rinse, Repeat and continue. You get the picture.

Crossposted on Yourish.

The Slumber Party

It is heading towards 12:45, that is A.M. as in well after midnight. I have a houseful of eight year-old boys. They came over for dinner and spent the night, the first slumber party. I think that I am suffering from shell shock or some sort of P.T.S.D. because there is a ringing in my ears and I swear that I can hear thems shrieking.

Yes I said shrieking. At one point I was heard to say to the wife, "I can't wait until their testicles drop into place,or puberty or whatever it takes to remove this shrieking. Please, give them deeper voices."

And then I fell down upon the couch laughing hysterically. Don't ask me why I was laughing or what was so funny, I don't know. All I can tell you is that for about 30 seconds I considered moving to cleveland. And then I decided that if I was willing to subject myself to that kind of pain I might as well be institutionalized.

We went to a local pizza place and bought dough. The boys rolled the dough and then covered it in sauce and cheese. They loved it. We played a few board games and spent time screwing around with the Wii too. They loved that as well.

Somehow we made it through the night with only one set of tears and a minimal amount of chaos. Ok, minimal is a complete fabrication on my part. There was a lot. Because I am a sick man we helped the kids make ice cream sundaes. Sugar was exactly what they needed.

Eventually they got into their sleeping bags and then the real fun began. All sorts of noises began to emanate from the room, accompanied by much laughter. Eight-year-old boys love this kind of stuff. I waltzed in to try to suggest that we turn the volume down a bit and nearly gagged. My word, one of the lads was trying to expel the foul demon that had crawled up inside him.

I seriously questioned their sanity. When attacked with biological or chemical weapons of this nature you get the flock out. Don't wait, just get out. And they didn't. Instead they laughed and giggled for what felt like hours.

And now while I should be sucking up as much sleep as possible I find it impossible. My ears are still ringing. Chaos is still roaming through the compound. So I am hopeful that the few minutes it takes to prepare this post will allow me to gain some much needed perspective so that I can fall asleep.

Either that or I am throwing some clothes into a bag and hitting the door. I can be in Vegas in less than five hours. Come to think of it, Vegas sounds good about now. Got to run before they wake. See you all later.

Haveil Havalim #200- The Harvey Edition

Welcome to Haveil Havalim #200, the Harvey edition. This is the weekly blog carnival of the Jewish/Israeli blogosphere. It was initially founded and run by my blog carnival sensei, Soccer Dad.

After a few years he moved back into the field and I took over as Chief of Control. I have to tell you that being chief comes with a few perks, such as being master of the Cone of Silence, or C.O.S. The good old C.O.S. is pretty damn cool. I'll use the next sentence to demonstrate how it works.

Now I don't know if you agree with that last point or not, but it sure makes sense to me. I'd say more but we're not really supposed to discuss things like the C.O.S. So let's move on to why I called this the Harvey edition.

A while back I had to make a reservation at a restaurant. Most of the time when I do this I simply tell them to make it for Jack, party of however many people there are. On this particular occasion I didn't. Instead I said that my name was Harvey Havalim and that I wanted to be seated at a communal table. It earned a puzzled expression from the hostess and a strange look from the people who were with me. Stupid jokes are really only funny in certain situations. This was neither funny nor the appropriate situation.

Ok. Bear with me another moment and we'll get to the meat. I have found running Haveil Havalim to be a lot of fun, most of time. The exposure to new blogs and the interaction with you folks out in the field has been great. I look forward to seeing the carnival grow and expand in 2009, with new hosts and new bloggers submitting their posts.

This particular edition of H.H. is a bit different than I had intended it to be. Not that I had any specific plans, but I had hoped to give the 200th edition a more celebratory feel. However the updates for the War in Gaza have occupied a bit more time and energy so this issue is not what it could be.

Anyhoo, I could spend more time sharing my thoughts but the real reason you come here is to try and get a sense of what has taken place in the Jewish/Israeli blogosphere this past week. So without any further ado here is the 200th edition of Haveil Havalim.

Israel

We'll start with links to all of the updates on the War In Gaza. They contain some truly outstanding posts. 1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5 and 14.

Theodore Pappas presents The Difference Between Hamas and Israel (As Clear as War and Peace).

Eric presents A War Against Hamas or Iran?

The Occidental Israeli wrote Operation Cast Lead - Etymology. LOZ shared Hamodia: Fast Today for the Gaza War!

Daled Amos asked Is Support For The Two State Solution Dying?

Soccer Dad is Diehling with iran. Barbara submitted Boo Hoo - Blame the Hamas TERRORISTS (not 'militants') and Why the Israeli People Have Finally had Enough.

Daled Amos posted the obvious in Yes, It's True: The Lives Of Palestinian Civilians Are Secondary To Saving Israeli Soldiers and Olmert Defies The UN (Yes, Really!).

Esser Agaroth covered a terror attack in Rechovot. Mere Rhetoric has MSM Headlines Blame Israel For Scuttling UN Ceasefire That Hamas Unequivocally Rejects.

From What War Zone I Don't Care If They Drop Kassams on My Head, I'm Driving on Kvish 6, Dammit and BREAKING NEWS: Gaza War Turns Nuclear!

Cosmic X presents Background: Gaza and Cast Lead.

Mrs. S. presents Our Shiputzim: A Work In Progress: Kiddush Hashem – English translation.

Sara Layah Shomron presents Beit Shemesh Effort.

From the Ima we have Let's Take it Real World, Old School.

Cosmic X presents Captain Yonatan Netanel z"l and UNRWA Must Go!

The Rebbitzin's Husband shared Letter to the world: What did you think was going to happen?

LB presents Ceding Land. And then we have “Ani mavtiach lach, yaldah sheli ketanah…”

Joel Katz presents Religion and State in Israel - January 5, 2009. Harry presents Kids’ play and Finding hope in the Gaza conflict.

Ben-Yehudah presents Call me a radical, right-wing, scaremongering overoptimist and Rocket Range Increases.

Baila presents It's my first war and I'll cry if I want to. Ben-Yehudah presents Israeli Election Ploy.

Mottel covered The Death of Journalistic Standards. From NY's Funniest Rabbi we have Shalom.

I agree with Apologizing Will Not Make You Safe. You can take a look at ISRAELI VOICES: WHEN TO STOP.

Harry presents Kids’ play and Finding hope in the Gaza conflict.

Judaism

Nameless Faceless presents Why did she convert, anyhow? and What do you mean, your neighbor doesn't own a grenade-launcher?


The Real Shliach presents Wake up and see the truth. Tikkun Olam says Thank you, Rabbi Y.Y. Jacobson.

Schvach presents Schvach - פני דל.

The Rebbitzin's Husband shared Another casualty of Bernard Madoff: The definition of “Jew.”
Leora presents A Sweet Angel Song.

A Simple Jew presents הוא מחדש בכל יום תמיד - A Daily Challenge.

Avodah Ivrit עבודה עברית presents Qiriyat Sefer Stops Arab Workers From Entering.

Dan presents Commentary on the Writings of Rav Kook.

Miscellaneous

Batya presents Worth The Frozen Toes and Swollen Fingers. Frum Satire shared the Guide to frum wedding dances.

rickismom presents Five Kilos. Batya presents ...And I Didn't Even Have Time To Crochet!.

Mike In Midwood presents MY DOOR BELL, MY LIFE, LEAVE ME ALONE.

rutimizrachi presents Daven well. Bring Moshiach..

Shtetl Fabulous presents The Passion of the Everyday

Ben presents Jewish Armenianism.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of haveil havalim using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: haveil havalim, blog carnival.

War in Gaza Update #14

Here is a quick update on the War in Gaza.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5.

From traditional media we have:

CNN: Hamas rocket team leader killed, Israel says
CNN: Israel resumes Gaza offensive after lull
WSJ: Muslims Against Hamas
LA Times: Hamas Commander Killed
LA Times: Hamas' war crimes
Daily Mail: Protesters clash with police as London Gaza demo descends into violence
Daily Mail: Violent Gaza protests reveal how gentle civilised Britain has Become very ugly
Haaretz: IDF: Hamas fighters beginning to desert; army steps up Gaza offensive.
Haaretz: Meshal: No truce until IDF ends Gaza op, opens border crossings
JPost: IDF: 300 Hamas operatives killed in Gaza
JPost: Obama won't deal with Hamas, 'Post' told
JPost: 'Definitions skew civilian casualties'
Mark Steyn: The ‘Oldest Hatred’

Some videos that are worth watching:

From the blogosphere:

Aussie Dave and The Muqata continue live-blogging the war. The IDF Blog has a map that outlines how an entire neighborhood was rigged for war.

Doug Ross, It is the Zionist's Fault.

Harry's Place: “Hey! Ho! Israel Has Gotta Go” and Israeli Arabs and Jews rally for coexistence.

Gateway Pundit shared PRO-GAZA PROTESTERS RIOT IN LONDON... Police Attacked.

Omri offered European Muslims Doing Their Best To Cleanse France Of Jews.

Comments From Left field has Context Matters. I know, not fair to say that reading it is like a trip to the Twilight Zone.

My blog features Dueling Protests in Los Angeles. Or read LA Hamas Supporters Scream: "Long Live Hitler- Put Jews In the Ovens."

Solomonia has What the Fight's About and The BS War.

Don't forget to check out Martin Kramer: Richard N. Haass and Hamas, Rachel Marsden: The Biggest Lies About the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and Stephanie Gutmann: Israel in the Balance, Finally, some good news on the portrayal of Israel in the media.

American Powerblog has Newshoggers and the Neo-Totalitarian Left. Bookworm blogged A Swiftian view of the death of Palestinian children.

From No Quarter we have Liberal Anti-Semitism.

This marks the end of the round up.

Regarding Comments

In almost five years of blogging and more than six thousand posts I have experienced only a few occasions in which I had to turn on comment moderation. Most of the time it has been a brief method of preventing a bout of comment spam.

On the whole I have a pretty liberal comment policy. This is not a zone in which I demand that everyone agree with me. It hasn't been uncommon to find posts in which the commenters and I have diametrically opposed opinions. And that is ok, I don't expect everyone to agree with me.

Within the past two weeks or so this blog has been hit with some of the most vile remarks I have seen. More than a few of you slugs have suggested that I die a horrible death. It really is heartwarming, although I must admit that I have been disappointed at the lack of creativity in the suggestions.

Sadly I must draw the line at allowing that sort of hate speech to be posted here. So I must make a comment about the policy. Think of it if you will as the Animal House policy, "They can't do that to our pledges, only we can do that to our pledges."

That is my way of saying that I hold final say on all comments. My decision, end of story. Don't care if you don't like it. Go start your own blog or grab a soap box and a bull horn.

One more quick remark. I have been jammed for time and haven't been as good as normal about responding to comments. My apologies for this, I am endeavoring to improve upon it.

Dueling Protests in Los Angeles

Here is some very disturbing footage from two dueling rallies in Los Angeles. At around 4:38 in the video several of the Pro-Hamas protesters chant things like "Long Live Hitler" and "Jews in Ovens." It is not unlike what happened at a number of other rallies around the country and the world.

We had two correspondents this rally that verify that the men highlighted in the video were not alone in these disgusting chants. You can disagree with the war. You can list all of the reasons and allege that there is a humanitarian crisis because of the war. But if in the process you gleefully cite the Holocaust and suggest that it was a good thing you lose all credibility.

Nice job scumbags. I hope that you're proud of yourself.

War in Gaza Update #13.5

And we are back with another round up of news and information about the War in Gaza.
Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13.

From traditional media we have:

CNN: Hamas rocket team leader killed, Israel says
CNN: Israel resumes Gaza offensive after lull
CNN: Israel, Hamas brush off U.N. cease-fire resolution
NY Times:Israel and Hamas Rebuff U.N. Cease-Fire Call
Guardian: UN levels war crimes warning at Israel
JPost: Analysis: Time running out for an escalation Israel's leaders don't really want
Commentary: Three Questions About “Disproportionate Force”

A quick selection of posts from around the blogopshere.

Aussie Dave and The Muqata continue live-blogging the war.

The IDF blog Captured Hamas Intelligence, 9 Jan 2009, 16:26 IST. They also provide the rocket range map below:

Seraphic Secret covers Unforseen Sanity: Cease Fire Rejected. It includes a special section on women's shoes, which as my long time readers know is a mystery. That is, why do women need more than three pairs. But I digress.

Yourish says UNSCR 1860: Not worth the paper it’s written on. Omri blogged MSM Headlines Blame Israel For Scuttling UN Ceasefire That Hamas Unequivocally Rejects and Compare And Contrast - Israeli Vs. Hamas Cell Phone Messages To Civilians

Jason Maoz asks What Did Moshe Yaalon Really Say? At Powerline Dan Diker: A deterrent restored?

Surber asks Neville Obama? Bookworm states Let’s hope Obama is smarter than his followers about Gaza

From Daled Amos Is Obama Planning On Talking To Hamas? and The Cynical Approach: Gaza Conflict Is Meant To Distract World From Iran.

Lisa Goldman has Haniyeh and His Israeli Sisters and an article about media coverage in Israel.

Posted on Soccer Dad by Daled Amos Yes, It's True: The Lives Of Palestinian Civilians Are Secondary To Saving Israeli Soldiers.

Click here to see Operation Cast Lead: Fallen IDF Soldiers.

From Shinkwrapped we have An Endless War? and Gaza and the Palestinian Hostile-Dependent Adolescent.

At The Augean Stables Arab “moderates,” demopathy, and the incomprehension of media moralism.

From the Elder The advantages of craziness and Hamas shoots mortars at aid convoys, no one cares.

Bonus post from The Elder Al Aqsa's late night porn.

Solomonia has The Last Angry Mensch (A Boston Supports Israel...Rally?)

Soccer Dad points out the benefits and value of having blogger coverage.

This concludes the round up. Stay tuned for more updates.

A List of Things That Crossed My Mind

Had a small case of insomnia recently and decided that I'd share this with you. It doesn't happen too often. Even when I am stressed out I can usually sleep, but when it does I have a few tricks. Most of the time I try to start thinking about things that are harmless or completely innocuous.

Things like trying to figure out what my earliest memory is. Or sometimes I try to visualize my childhood bedroom, see if I can recreate it in my mind. Last night I went through a number of these bits. Here is an incomplete list:

1. I thought about my elementary school and tried to picture my first grade classroom.
2. Spent a few minutes thinking about all of the cars I have owned. Some of those have some really good memories attached to them.
3. When I was 16 I had a pair of Ray-Bans that disappeared. Reviewed the mental evidence in my head to see if I could crack the crase.
4. The sunglasses made me think of a few girlfriends. So then I tried to figure out if I could come up with chronological list of them.
5. Got bored and decided that the ex list wasn't exciting. Switched to thinking about places.
6. Visualized a few of my favorite places and tried to remember what the streets looked like

Ok, this post is going no where, so I'll end it here.

Decompressing

Decompressing. That is what I am doing. I am decompressing. Been up since around 3 A.M. or so. Spent a big chunk of that time lying in bed, pretending that I was asleep. Kept telling myself it was time to shut off the brain and just enjoy a few zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

But the brain wasn't having any part of it. Let me see, how can I best describe this. Ok, here is a visual of what was going on inside my head, ready:

Imagine you are in a warehouse designed to hold 100 people, but this one has 200 in it. And everyone of them is screaming out loud. Every one of these people is desperate for attention. The noise and chaos created by these people is unreal. As all of this is going on one man tries to force them into becoming organized. One man somehow manages to get them to quiet down slightly so that the roar is now a buzz.

And still, there is confusion. Why in my dreams must I be assaulted by elevator music. I swear while all this craziness is going on I can hear all sorts of crap being played. How many times must I hear her sing "Clang, clang, clang went the trolley..." Show tunes and heavy metal, squealing guitars and the frantic energy of the mosh pit.

I don't know if that really does it justice. All I know is that for a moment I felt like my head was going to explode and then I took a deep breath and relaxed...a little. Slowly the noise disappeared and I felt the tension oozing out of me.

War in Gaza Update #13

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #12. It is part of the continuing series of news and information about the War In Gaza.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5.

From the MSM:

Time: Can Israel Survive Its Assault on Gaza?
CNN: Security Council calls for cease-fire in Gaza
NY Times: Israel Condemns Vatican’s ‘Concentration Camp’ Remarks
NY Times: What You Don’t Know About Gaza (Biased, skewed and misleading.)
FOX: High-Profile Doctor in Gaza Called an 'Apologist for Hamas'
Guardian: Obama camp 'prepared to talk to Hamas'
YNET: A day with our troops in Gaza
YNET: 'Not all Israelis are bad'
Artuz Sheva: Israel Accused of 'War Crimes' in a Complaint at The Hague.
Artuz Sheva: United Nations Calls for Ceasefire, United States Abstains.
Artuz Sheva: Netherlands: No Sanctions on Israel; Another Ceasefire Idea.

And now onto the blogosphere:

Aussie Dave and The Muqata continue live-blogging the war.

The IDF blog has all sorts of interesting information. Click here for pictures of tunnels that were dug for the purpose of kidnapping soldiers. This link provides a brief summary of things that were accomplished including information humanitarian aid trucks that rolled into Gaza, discovery of more tunnels, weaponry and the neutralization of some terrorists.

Seraphic Secret has updated It Can (and is) Happening Here. At Yourish W. abandons Israel again.

Treppenwitz writes about the rockets in the North. At the Jawa you'll be shocked when you see Hamas Kills Innocent Palestinians (Rare Video).

Augean Stables blogged Hamas in their own words. The Occidental Israeli Operation Cast Lead - Israeli Public.

I am going to keep hammering this story 'Protestor' Calls for Jews to 'Go Back to the Oven'. Emmanuel Lopez is a ignorant fool who encourages the worst sort of behavior. The inherent hypocrisy he exhibits is shameful.

It is about time we get to read A Gaza Chronology that covers more than the past two weeks.

LGF covered A Staged Scene in a Gaza Hospital? - Update: CNN Yanks Video and Video: Hamas In Their Own Voices.

Yglesias covered Carter on Gaza. It is pretty much a festival of ignorance in the comments. Commentary reflected on Carter.

The Moderate Voice shared Gaza: Pride of the Arabs - Le Quotidien d’Oran of Algeria. Mother in Israel shared Updates and list of injured soldiers and civilians.

From Joshuapundit we have Hamas Torpedoes Egyptian Ceasefire Attempt. At No Quarter you can read BREAKING NEWS–UN Security Council Acts on Gaza.

EU Referendum shared I don't think they understand. Snapped Shot says Israel Found Evidence of Hamas Crimes Against Humanity.

The Elder Shared More on the jihadists' joy at dead civilians and PalArab press roundup Jan 8 2009.

In the American Thinker you can read Human shields: Where's the outrage?

At What War Zone BREAKING NEWS: Gaza War Turns Nuclear!

Shiloh Musings has the International List of Rallies for Israel- Friday Jan. 9 And After and Traveling the Red Zone, Part D (Habad Shelter, Nitzan).

Lady Light asks What can We do When Israel is at War. At Global Voices you can read Egypt: Bloggers on the Fence.

Chabad has Editorial: Where Wills Collide, Israel Survives. Pat Buchanan's big mouth is at it again.

Dry Bones has Israel Breaks the Rules.

This concludes our round up. Stay tuned for the next edition.

Hamas In Their Own Voice Video

War in Gaza Update 12.5

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #12. It is part of the continuing series of news and information about the War In Gaza.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12.

Within the MSM we have the following selections:

CNN: U.N. suspends aid work in Gaza.
WAPO: Jimmy Carter: An Unnecessary War (Sorry, the man's enormous ego prevents him from making unbiased observations.
WSJ: The Jews Face a Double Standard
NY Times: Gaza War Role Is Political Lift for Ex-Premier.
NY Times: Israelis Honor Fallen Soldiers, While Seeing the Gaza Campaign as Justified.
Haaretz: Hamas executes 'collaborators', restricts Fatah movement.
Haaretz: ANALYSIS / Excellent intel on Gaza shows Israel learned from its errors in Lebanon.
Haaretz: Israel's PR war.
YNET: Merkel says Israel security key for Gaza ceasefire.
YNET: IDF discovers Hamas booby-trap map

Israellycool and The Muqata are still liveblogging the war. The IDF Spokesperson blog continues to provide updates as well.

At Yourish I recommend you read Hamas targets schools, world is blind, deaf, and dumb on topic, He writes what I think and How soon they forget?

Over at Soccer Dad Aint nick's boomerang and The Watcher's Council Nominations.

Go check out Humor During War. Israel Matzav shared Red Cross attacks Israel over Gaza find and discussed the Vatican's remark.

At Hot Air you can read Palestinians try opening a second front. At The Week spend a moment looking at Why Democrats recoil from Gaza.

Crittenden shared Gaza, Trash Heap of Moral Authority, including comments about Jimmy Carter. Don Surber has remarks about Carter's comments at Jimmy the joke. So does A Blog For All: Foolish Evil Anti-Semite Rant of the Day: Jimmy Carter.

While you are there go read Operation Cast Lead: Day 13. Here is one more from Soccer Dad about Jimma.

Seraphic Secret wrote It Can (and is) Happening Here. Irshad Manaji writes Palestinian leader: “Fatah and Hamas come from the same root”.

Gateway Pundit offered Surprise-- Iranian Regime Repeating "Banned Weapons" Hoax. At Writes Like She Talks- Gaza, Israel: Who you callin’ one state?

Here is an interesting post From blogger to intrepid audio diarist for the BBC.

Mother in Israel submitted Updates and list of injured soldiers and civilians. At Shiloh Musings No Time For Truce--Israel Attacked From Lebanon!

My Right Word shared Dr. Chesner on "War and the Parental Instinct to Protect" and Here's A Great Support Group Initiative.

This concludes the round up. We'll try to update this later.

War in Gaza Update #12

***Updated at 8:45 AM PST****

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #12. It is part of the continuing series of news and information about the War In Gaza.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5.



YNET: Rocket barrage hits northern Israel.
YNET: Israel slams cardinal's 'concentration camp' jibe
Haaretz: Hamas executes 'collaborators', restricts Fatah movement
Haaretz: At least three Lebanon rockets hit north Israel
JPost: Analysis: As the diplomats falter, IDF focuses on Philadelphi
JPost: Yahalom unit commander: More tunnels than Lebanon
JPost: Daniel Pipes:Solving the "Palestinian Problem"
Washington Post: Hamas Pulling Back Into Crowded Cities, Beckoning Israelis
CNN: Zakaria: Israel should end campaign in a few days. Note-He says Israel was justified going in.
Bloomberg: Mideast Peace Rests With Arabs, Not U.S., Europe: Bernard Lewis
Times Online: Israel acts because the world won't defend it
Jeff Jacoby has identified it, Yes, it's anti-Semitism. Before people go off half cocked let me provide a quick excerpt:

CRITICIZING Israel doesn't make you anti-Semitic: If it's been said
once, it's been said a thousand times. Yet somehow that message doesn't seem to
have reached the hundreds of anti-Israel demonstrators in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who turned out last week to protest Israel's military operation in Gaza. As their signs and chants made clear, it isn't only the Jewish state's policies they oppose. Their animus goes further.

Demonstrators chanted "Nuke, nuke Israel!" and carried placards accusing Israel of "ethnic cleansing" and bearing such messages as: "Did Israel take notes during the Holocaust? Happy Hanukkah." To the dozen or so supporters of Israel gathered across the street, one demonstrator shouted: "Murderers! Go back to the ovens! You need a big oven."

Israellycool and The Muqata are still liveblogging the war. The IDF Spokesperson blog continues to provide updates as well.

Yaacov Lozowick has this to say Bloggers vs. Hacks.

Israel Matzav shared Breaking: War in Lebanon?, Video: How Hamas operates within a civilian population and IDF warns Philadelphi corridor residents to flee.

A Soldier's Mother shared Spoke to Elie...finally.

Daled Amos shared One Jerusalem Conference Call With MK and Brigadier General Effie Eitam. The Elder has Terrorists brag about causing Gaza civilians to die and Do explosions look like this?

The aptly named What War Zone wants to know How Does One Find a Good Hamburger During a War? AM I ASKING SO MUCH???

Westbankmama says No Religious, No Secular, We Are All One Here. At Plancks Constant you can learn Why Hamas Is Not Allowing Wounded to Leave Gaza.

Have you wondered about the Cyber war? Israel 21c Offering protection in the new cyber war.

Jewlicious shared links in Happy Reading. From Stop The ACLU, ANSWER: We’re not anti-semitic, we just hate all Jews.

Have you ever wondered How the Gaza Tunnels into Egypt Work. Over at Okielife we read Israel has a lot of patience: Fire 5000 rockets into Texas and ALL the terrorists would be tracked down by nightfall.

Preemptive Karma just found out about the Digusting actions of some of the protesters. This goes beyond the pale. It is one thing to criticize Israel, but to say that Jews should go to the ovens is another. And the reality is that antisemitism is running rife through many of these protest groups. Not just shameful, but troubling.

Don't forget to read Shocking usage of human shields, Hamas packs a roof over missiles filled home.

Shiloh Musings has a list of the wounded.

This concludes the round up. It will be updated later on.

A Musical Interlude

If you spend any time visiting The Shack it is a guarantee that you are going to get a post or two about music. So here is a sample of what I have been listening to on the good old iTunes Shuffle.

If possible I have provided a link to the song for you to listen to.

Dweller on the Threshold- Van Morrison
A Whiter Shade of Pale- Procol Harum
The Devil Went Down To Georgia- Charlie Daniels
Human- The Killers
Child of the Moon- Rolling Stones
Insanity- Oingo Boingo
The Ghost in You-Psychedlic Furs
Bring it On Home To Me- Sam Cooke
I Can't Get Next To You- The Temptations
Broken Hearts- Living Colour
Standing in the Shadows of Love- The Four Tops
I Wish It Would Rain- The Temptations
Money for Nothing-Dire Straits
The Man's Too Strong- Dire Straits
Closer To The Heart- Rush

War in Gaza Update #11.5

Welcome to the latest round up of news and information about the War in Gaza. You'll find that this is a useful tool for learning what is going on from a variety of sources and perspectives.

Within the last week thousands upon thousands of visitors have spent time reviewing the round up.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11.

Let's take a look at the MSM and see what they have for us today:

CNN Exchanges of fire mar 3-hour truce in Gaza
NY Times The Mideast’s Ground Zero
NY Times Israel Resumes Gaza Attack After a Pause to Allow Aid Delivery
WSJ Israel Presses Diplomatic Efforts as Strikes Resume
WSJ BENJAMIN NETANYAHU Militant Islam Threatens Us All
BBC Israel accepts truce 'principles'
Haaretz Report: Islamist site compiling list of U.K. Jews to target over Gaza op.
Haaretz Defense sources: Even if Hamas agrees to truce, its armed wing may resist.
Haaretz Joe the Plumber named war correspondent in Israel for conservative Web site.
JPost Analysis: It's all in how you want to define 'victory'
JPost IDF steps up anti-tunnel ops, warns civilians to vacate area
JPost PM: We'll halt op only when terror and smuggling stop
Ynet 'Hamas has nothing left but rockets'
The Atlantic Robert Kaplan and Iran's Post Modern Beast in Gaza.

And now on to the blogosphere.

Israellycool and The Muqata are still liveblogging the war. Two comments about the men behind these blogs. Aussie Dave is a very fine fellow, but he has this misconception that Aussie Football is somehow superior to American.

Jameel is another fine fellow. Little known fact outside of the Jewish/Israeli blogosphere, he makes the most incredible waffles. In fact he has plans to start his own line of Israeli Waffle Houses. More on this later.

The IDF blog continues to provide critical information and video footage. Here is a link to a blog post about IEDs.

The video below shows a surgical strike in which various terror targets are struck.

I also suggest that you read the following post Humanitarian Coordination Center and Daily Summary, 7 Jan 2009 20:25 IST.

An excellent post about the lies and misinformation about the UN school can be found at A Soldier's Mother in her post The Images they Show...

Yourish points out Israel ceases fire, Hamas bombs cities and AP confirms Hamas terrorists fired from UN school.

Mere Rhetoric British Muslims Doing Their Best To Cleanse Britain Of Jews and I Get (Often Inarticulate) Mail.

Read Seraphic Secret's The Horrors That Do Not Count. A post that points out the hypocrisy and moral ambiguity of those who hold Israel to the fire but fail to speak out against real humanitarian crises around the world.

The Volokh Conspiracy offers Gaza and International Law.

Crittenden in Weep No More discusses the crazy rantings of a cleric and in a post called Martydom Opportunities Mulled he spells out flawed arguments in a Thomas Friedman column and more.

Snapped Shot shared FINALLY! It is a post about how the media is finally covering the hate filled Pro-Hamas rallies.

Baila says It's my first war and I'll cry if I want to. At Writes Like She Talks Jill asks Is blaming “the 60 years of occupation” a euphimism for “one-state solution”?

Michael Totten asks to Stop Juan Cole and I don't blame him. Speaking of Cole, go read Cole spills wine at Cana.

Roger Simon writes in his post about the drawbacks of relying solely upon traditional media and why the blogosphere is important in The MSM, Gaza and Pajamas TV.

Let's put the White Phosphorus discussion to bed. Here is a debate about photos and their authenticity.

Take a look at The World Supports Hamas? Of Course, They Do!

More on this from the Syria News Wire The one state solution. It is skewed and I'd ask that people consider that when reading it. But as I said it is important to see what the other side says, even when they are spinning a tale.

Shiloh Musings shared Traveling the Red Zone (Nitzan). Freedom's Cost Down, but Not Out!, Kuwaiti Editor Identifies the Real Murderers in Gaza and Enough's Enough!

Zionist Conspiracy says to say no to a ceasefire. Boker Tov Boulder asks With "friends" like Condoleezza Rice, who needs Hamas?

Atlas Shrugs blogged NYC PRO-ISRAEL RALLY OVERWHELMING and VIDEO TORONTO PRO-HAMAS RALLY: "HITLER DIDN'T DO A GOOD JOB"

From Yid with Lid we have Video Of Hamas Using Gaza UN School To Fire Mortars and HUMAN SHIELDS WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE ?

At DovBear we have "Land for Peace". Ruti shared Daddy, what did Mommy do while you were fighting the war?" and "What can I do? I can't just sit here..."

This concludes our round up. More to come later.

Worlds Colliding- It would Have Been Incredible

During my college years I used to say that "fatigue is the best drug." It was a tongue-in-cheek remark that reflected upon my constant lack of sleep and the experimenting that I saw go on around me. But there was a lot of truth to it because I found that some of my best ideas and best days were those that came on less than three hours of sleep.

At least I thought that was the case. In the years that have passed I have sometimes wondered what I was thinking. Or maybe it is more a case of wishing that I could still have the benefits of my 19 year-old body and metabolism. Eat anything, stay up all night, run all day and have plenty left in the tank. None of this, "my back is sore in the morning" or better not eat that chili-cheeseburger at 3 am for fear of repurcussions crap.

Last night I found myself completely out of sorts and unable to sleep. So I headed over to check out Facebook and see if any of my friends had anything witty or interesting to say. As I perused the different profiles I was dumbfounded to see how many people from my past had suddenly shown up there.

There were connections between people that made me wonder what the crossover was. As far as I knew they hadn't grown up together, went to different schools and wouldn't have ever met through me. So I scratched my head and sort of shrugged it off.

And let's not ignore that in some cases they are connected to old girlfriends. I am not still carrying a torch for any of these women. I don't spend any time wondering what could have been. Those days are done, but I think that I sort of preferred having those days relegated to memory.

As nostalgic as I may sometimes be I don't want spend chunks of time looking back. No doubt that those were some of the best and worst times of my life. Experiences that helped shape and turn me into the slightly deranged fellow I am today.

Side note. While I stared at tiny profile pictures trying to see what they looked like today I had this momentary urge to send off a few messages to them, truly ridiculous messages like:

"Dear Kathy,

It is Jack. Not sure if you remember me, but we had that thing second semester of our sophomore year. You broke up with me because you said that you just didn't see a future for us. Well I stumbled onto your Facebook profile and thought that I'd tell you what has happened since that time.

I became an entrepreneur and inventor. Not sure if you are familiar with any of my inventions, but just to give you a sense of what I have done since then I am the person who invented a pill that has improved life for millions of people.

When I sold the rights I had to agree to not use my name in conjunction with the drug. Since I always honor my agreements let's just say that it rhymes with Niagra. I took the money I made from that agreement and spent some time traveling the world.

Since then I have been a part of a number of different ventures. These include being a silent partner on various movies, like "Titanic, Forest Gump, Return of The King and The Departed."

I also helped fund The Make a Wish Foundation. That has been one of my favorites. I always get such a warm feeling helping those kids.

Anyway, you were right to tell me that there was more to school than wild parties. I have to go know. I am meeting with Barack Obama to discuss my role as special adviser in his administration.

Write me sometime and tell me how life is.

-Jack

I know. It is totally ridiculous. But that is the thing about fatigue, it makes the ridiculous sound almost believable. Anyway, I didn't send any letters. Didn't try to friend any of the "ex" crowd because sometimes the past is best left behind. You can't go back, so might as well focus upon now and the future.

Still, it would have been kind of fun to send off that note.

War in Gaza Update #11

Welcome to Gaza Update #11. We continue in our effort to provide a comprehensive round up of news and information about the War in Gaza. Our news gathering efforts include but are not limited to reviewing sites such as Memeorandum, general surfing of the net and tips from readers.

Within the last week thousands of visitors have spent time reviewing the round up.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5.

CNN in a shocker reports Al Qaeda message blames Obama, Egypt for Gaza violence.
The New York Times has Israel Puts Media Clamp on Gaza
More NYT For Israel, Lessons From 2006, but Old Pitfalls.
The Telegraph has an entire section devoted to Israel, including links to some bloggers.
More from The Telegraph Analysis: Will Israel call a Gaza ceasefire?
Reuters EXCLUSIVE-Gaza headmaster was Islamic Jihad "rocket-maker"
YNET reports:
PM: No to 48-hour ceasefire, yes to American initiative.
Rice gives support to Mubarak proposal on Gaza.
Egypt announces Israel-Hamas truce plan.
Hamas built underground city.
Christopher Hitchens: Gaza could have been a model of the future Palestinian state.
Michael Totten on Journalistic Malpractice.

Mark Steyn on Judeophobic Logic.

Israellycool and The Muqata are still liveblogging the war.

American Power discusses the Necessity of Peace. I enjoyed the story of Tomer Bohadana.

From my friend The Elder we have Suburban Gaza and Al-Arabiya Arabic news roundup.

What War Zone has headlines that are inimitable I Don't Care If They Drop Kassams on My Head, I'm Driving on Kvish 6, Dammit.

Solomonia shared Andy McCarthy on Why We Need Israel to Win
MEMRI TV: Egyptian Clerics- 'Dispatch Those Sons of Apes and Pigs to the Hellfire' - 'bite their heads off with our teeth'
Boston Pro-Hamas Organizers Describe Goals: Destruction of Jewish State.

The Sand Monkey Why don’t you get involved? and Give Ghaza to Egypt?

The Sultan's Note blogged Hamas has failed – it is time they stepped down.

Oleh Girl shared Yesterday Hamas fired upon, hijacked humanitarian aid trucks.
From Gateway Pundit we learn Pro-Hamas Thug Smacks Reporter in Face At Toronto Rally (VIdeo).

My Shrapnel say If you will allow me a brief primal scream... Personally if I am going to scream I don't ask for permission, I just do it. ;) But she is right, minority opinions and the ability to voice them are significant rights.

The Prairie Pundit shared Hamas victim offensive gets a boost. Plancks Constant conducted an investigation: Norwegian Doctor in Gaza - Unbiased?

Joshuapundit says It's Hard Out There For A ( Hamas) Pimp. Or perhaps you can read a couple of posts at Lubavitch.com,

Bookworm found a great source of Moral clarity. Let's surf over to Yourish to read World trying to push Israel into an early cease fire.

Chabad is doing their best to support the troops. At Shiloh Musings read Day 11 of the War from Netivot.

Who would expect to discuss the war at a Buffy The Vampire Slayer message board. Coming next it is the fans of Gomer Pyle USMC versus McHale's Navy.

Go take a look at War. Mother In Israel provided a link to The Children's Brigade song.

Gateway Pundit has a number of worthwhile posts. Let's focus on Hostile Protesters In Turkey Force Israeli B-Ball Players to Flee Court and Danish Schools Refuse to Admit Jews Out of Fear of Violence... From Muslim Students.

Soccer Dad has Walt's moral disneyland and other stupid academic tricks. Ask Treppenwitz about The Writing on The Walls.

Go here for a Good War Analysis by WSJ. Sometimes you need to spell it out. Our Children Come First.

That is it for now. I am off to collapse into bed. See you in the A.M.

Recent Posts

For those of you who are either uninterested, bored, overwhelmed or just tired of the Gaza updates here is a quick list of posts that you might have missed.

Social Media Can Be Too Social
A Few Thoughts
Why My BlackBerry is In The Refrigerator
Quotes I Enjoy
New Years Day Music
Why Argue With Strangers

War in Gaza Update #10.5

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #10.5. Before we get into the meat of things lets set the mood with a video that many of you have probably seen before.

Brothers in Arms

I am curious to see if this war produces it's own "Yalla Yalla Nasrallah"

One more video Tommorow I will return home- מחר אני בבית


And now we'll head off to the next round up of news and information about the war in Gaza.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10.

In the news we have the following stories for your review and consumption:

CNN reports Israel: Hamas mortars prompted attack near U.N. school
Bret Stephens writes in the WSJ An Endgame for Israel.
Natan Sharansky writes How the