Random Thoughts- Do They Have Meaning?

One of the things that I love about the blogosphere is that I am a part of community. Community, not one, but many. I rise up into the ether and find myself a part of a community of bloggers, of those who share my faith, interests, goals, objectives and so much more. It is a place that I find fascinating. I frequently speak about how I love the interaction and sometimes the voeyeuristic component of this. I peak into lives and see people who I think are just like and I watch others who are so very different. I learn about them and myself and I really believe that I am growing, at least that is the hope. I know for certain that this has been a positive experience for me if for no other reason than the outlet it provides as well as the chance to work on my writing. I need the practice. And I know that the outlet provides me with a certain freedom to say things I might not say and to admit things that I might not otherwise. So here is my confession of the moment. I

I saw this initially on Jewzoo and it really made me a little sad. There is a story that goes alongside the picture and explains why this woman allowed her forehead to be purchased for ad space. "Smith's ad is a labor of love and actually a positive in her life, something she says her life hasn't been filled with lately: a failed marriage and deaths of several family members — most recently, her sister in a car crash April 18. Smith said the money will give her son the education boost she believes he needs after falling behind in school since the accident. "For the all the sacrifices everyone makes, this is a very small one," she said. "It's a small sacrifice to build a better future for my son." Still, Smith said she knows most people won't understand why she's sold her forehead as advertising space. "I really want to do this," she said. "To everyone else, it seems like a stupid thing to do.

These are just a few of the things that have caught my attention today: "Newborn dolphins, killer whales never sleep -study A study has shown the young of those two species do not sleep at all during the first month of life. They are active 24 hours a day -- and their mothers have learned to cope. "Somehow these seafaring mammals have found a way to cope with sleep deprivation, facilitating rather than hindering a crucial phase of development for their offspring," Dr Jerome Siegel, a neuroscientist at the University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA), said in a statement. Siegel and his colleagues said the developmental pattern they discovered in the dolphins and whales is different from all other mammals. As the calves of both species grow, their sleep gradually increases to adult levels. "Their bodies have found a way to cope, offering evidence that sleep isn't necessary for development and raising the question of whether humans and other m

Went to the gym last night to play ball. I found two partners and we ran the court for a couple of hours. Basketball can be a very simple game to play, especially if you do what I did and find teammates who are exceptionally good. It makes the game very easy. I like simplicity. Last week I jammed the index finger on my right hand and then last night I added to my laundry list of aches and pains by jamming my middle finger. The upside is that it takes a large finger and makes it obscenely large so that there is no misunderstanding what I try to say to passing motorists. The index finger healed relatively quickly. I was surprised, pleasantly I might add because these things tend to be nagging injuries. Spent some time in the steamroom to unwind and exchanged war stories with the boys. Again I am convinced that the thing that scares me the most about being a father is not the usual mix of pedophiles, thieves and rapists, but one thing, ME. When I think about the stupid things I di

Thanks to Blogger's new capabilities pictures will be added to this blog more frequently.

I have written about my love affair with Israel on many occasions. I have fielded comments and questions about why I still live in America, whether I would still consider making aliyah and have sparred with people who accuse me of having mixed loyalties, who question my patriotism to the U.S. I don't feel much like discussing the 'ins and outs' or the 'hows and whys' of why I do what I do. I don't really care that much because in the grand scheme of things it is immaterial. For now I live in the US and am committed to living here and doing what I can to make the US a better place, but none of that precludes my being interested in doing the same for Israel. Nor does it prevent me from having an opinion on the disengagement. There are those who would say that because I do not live in Israel I am entitled or allowed to have an opinion on disengagement, but I disagree for a couple of basic reasons. What happens in Israel has an impact upon Jews worldwide. A

Dear Jack, You have slowed down in your blogging and your posts are getting dull. Thanks, Tim Dear Tim, Are you saying thank you to be polite or because you are happy that I have slowed down in my blogging. In truth I have slowed down, but I still pump out consistent and regular content. If you don't like it, than don't read it. Or be like the next guy. Dear Jack, You Zionists are all alike. You are wrong politically, liars and emotionally bankrupt. Long live Arafat. Dear "Yasser," Unlike Mark Twain rumors of your death have not been exaggerated. Dear Jack, What do you think of civilization? Best, Max Dear Max, I think that it is a good idea. Ok, I faked that one but even though it is an old joke I still like it and I wanted to have at least four letters to share. Jack, I have been reading your blog for some time now. Keep up the good work. Be well, Doug P.S. Go Pistons Dear Doug, So

I am going to pick on Psycho Toddler for a moment. I enjoy reading his blog for all sorts of reasons. One of the things I like about it is that there are these comments that I envision being made in sort of dry, deadpan fashion. I like droll humor and this seems to hit the mark sometimes. In this post here he delivers one of my favorites: "After that we had a conversation where I couldn't remember which one of my kids I delivered. My wife said Daughter2, but I thought it was Son3." Now I should add two things first that he is a doctor and secondly I think that he is a genuinely good guy so when I say that I am picking on him I am not picking on him. But I do find it kind of funny that he doesn't remember which child he delivered, but at the same time there is something kind of cool about that. I can't put my finger on the word that I want to use to describe it.

Well it is another Tuesday night here in the shack. I just finished paying bills and I am feeling irritable. It is not surprising, nor shocking to feel this way, but a little tedious. Allow me to vent, to spew out the negative energy and recharge my batteries. Today marked the second trip the plumber has made to my house in the last week. We have a very large tree in front of my home, it is beautiful, but it is killing my pipes and starting to impact my pocketbook. Sooner or later there is going to be a showdown between the tree and I. If I allow the tree to stay I can figure that in the not so distant future I am going to be tearing up my driveway and rerouting the pipe from the curb to the house. Depending on the plumber it will cost anywhere between $1800 to $3,000 to do the work. Now I realize that this is a big range, but it is impacted in part by whether I hire someone who is licensed to do the work. There is no question about this, I want the license because I need

Ok, I am a day behind in reporting this but I had to jump in on it. An Italian Newspaper called Corriere della Sera covers the story here. I had Google translate the Page, it is a little rough, but I'll provide another source for your review as well. Hitler: one inflatable doll for the soldiers The German soldiers could therefore satisfy their needs sexual, avoiding veneree diseases and preservando the purity of the race. ROME - Adolf Hitler commissioned in 1941 to the Danish doctor Olen first Hannussen giocattolo the erotico one of the world: one inflatable doll. Of aspect rigorously Ariane, the doll had to serve affinchè the German soldiers could satisfy their needs sexual, avoiding therefore the veneree diseases and preservando the purity of the race. The instructions of the Fuhrer on the physical aspect of the doll - a Norwegian daily paper writes the conservative newspaper Spanish ABC citing - were very precise: "Of natural largeness, beautiful woman of skin

" RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia issue d a new list on Tuesday of 36 suspects believed to be linked to attacks in the world's biggest oil exporter, showing its battle with militants is far from over. In the latest response to a two-year campaign of bombings and killings by supporters of Osama Bin Laden's al Qaeda group, state television broadcast pictures of the suspects and offered hefty rewards for their capture. "Security authorities managed to uncover plans by the deviant group who used themselves as a tool to distort Islam and harm the security of the country," the Interior Ministry said. The announcement came just days after a report that one of the last remaining militants on an earlier Saudi "most wanted" list had been killed in Iraq." Call me a skeptic but I don't place a lot of credibility into the Saudis and I question their intentions. They have created an environment there in which it is easy for AQ to recruit new mem

"NEW YORK - Pfizer Inc. said that a review concluded that Viagra doesn't increase patients' risk of blindness but that it is still working with federal regulators to update the drug's label to reflect rare reports of vision loss." Ok, so I am drawing a blank on an appropriate sarcastic remark here. "It is so small you'll wish that you were blind" or some such silliness comes to mind. Sorry, today the witty remarks are suffering from fatigue or some other malady. More to come later.

I find that the best way to begin a sentence to simply begin. Now to some of you that may seem like common sense, but you are not the people sending me notes asking for advice. Tjat should not be seen as an attempt to make disparaging remarks about them, if I wanted to do that I would come right out and lambast them by name. So to Shaggy Disproportionately large head monster and Woolly Eared Mama I say feh and a pox on you. I finally saw Batman Begins. Now there was a fine flick. I enjoyed it tremendously, immensely and wholeheartedly. Years ago when people said wholeheartedly I would respond by saying that I thought it was only worth a vena cava or a left ventricle, but people never did find that funny. Well screw them, I have always been my own best audience, not to mention lover, best friend, confidante, critic what have you. The movie was worth every penny. I paid in copper just because I wanted to see how long it would take to count 800 pennies. The people behind me in line

Way back in the annals of time, when Jack was a young man, a strapping young man I might add he had an incident at Disneyland. I was all of 20 when that fateful day came. My fraternity had held its formal at the Disneyland hotel. It was a night of many memories, or should I say few memories. Yes, we were drinking. We drank so much the fish fled from our presence for fear that their habitat might be destroyed. It was a bad combination of young, dumb and stupid, not to mention way too much alcohol, but that was Saturday night and this tale is about a single event that took place the next day, Sunday afternoon. We were tooling around Disneyland, frequently hanging our heads because the happiest place on earth is not that much fun when you are hung over. Then it becomes, loud chaotic, and somewhat unpleasant. The boys and I were in Tomorrowland waiting for our dates to exit the bathroom. I don't remember what we were talking about, it could have been the mystery of why women n

LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) - Seventeen former prisoners at Guantanamo Bay who were detained on their return home to Pakistan were freed, with many alleging they had witnessed the desecration of the Koran at the US jail. The men came back to Pakistan around nine months ago after being cleared by US authorities. They were finally released from a Pakistani jail after promising not to take part in militant activities. "American soldiers have been committing desecration of the holy Koran at Guantanamo," Haifz Ehsan Saeed, 27, told AFP as he emerged from the central jail in the city of Lahore. "There were various incidents. Once I saw them throw the Koran in a bucket full of urine and faeces," he said." I have said it before and I'll say it again. I am not an advocate of abusing the holy books of any religion, but it is not a legitimate excuse to riot, murder, or in general go crazy. On a sidenote I suppose that riot could encompass going crazy. What I do

I yelled at G-d. I did. I yelled at him/he/she/her/it whatever. I screamed at G-d and beat the ground. I am not proud of it, but not quite ashamed either. It is not something that I keep to myself, but it is not something that I totally share either because, well, I don’t know why. I can’t say because it comes from a place deep inside. It is a spot that lies beneath a lot of other junk so it doesn’t see daylight all that often. Maybe it is because I don’t like looking there because there are so many questions and so few answers. When I was 19 I was madly in love with a girl that I though was supposed to be mine forever. I didn’t think of it as besheret, I knew it as such. I knew it the way a 19 year-old knows that life is going to give him everything because that is just how it works. I knew it in the way that I knew my hand, intimate and secure. And then she left me. She decided that I was not for her. She told me that she woke up one day and realized th

I received a request to try and create list of things about myself. I don't have any real direction so I am going to just throw it out there and we'll see if it is remotely interesting. I have a problem with brevity, I am naturally long winded. Although I can be gregarious I can be exceptionally quiet. I can be the life of the party or the shyest guy in the room. I am a hopeless romantic. I love movies that have a character that has loved and lost- Casablanca and Unforgiven come to mind. I am exceptionally stubborn. I can maintain my position against the world, even at the expense of cutting off my nose to spite my face. I am working on that. I can bark like a dog. It sounds like a very large dog and I have used it on many occasions for many purposes. When I was 12 I called the police on the FBI. I was evacuated from a Forest Fire when I was 16 and have been through several major earthquakes. I used to be able to curl 150 pounds and benchpress mo

I have been involved in a number of different message boards. At one time or another I have been part of forums on CNN, the NY Times, ABC and a number of other places. And any time the topic of discussion was something that people feel passionately about the tone eventually grew quite ugly. I can't think of a single place where flame wars didn't didn't spring up. And to those who know me it will not be surprising to read that I have been involved in some of those wars. I like a good debate. I like to challenge and be challenged, but all the same in time each one of those places went from being a placed I liked to frequent to something ugly and nasty. The negativity and ugliness always began to wear me down because the dialogue just wasn't that interesting. It turned into something dull where ideas were no longer being exchanged, just insults. Don't get me wrong, I admit to kind of enjoying that. I admit to being a button pusher and shitstirrer, not every time

"I used to be hell on wheels back when i was younger man now my body says, "you can't do this boy" but my pride says, "oh, yes you can I ain't as good as I once was that's just the cold hard truth I still throw a few back, talk a little smack when I'm feelin bullet proof so don't double dog dare me now 'cause I'd have to call your bluff " Toby Keith- As Good As I Once Was I love that song, the lyrics just feel so, real. I am not old, not even close to it but I notice a few new aches and pains have made themselves at home. There are days where I can hear cracks, squeaks and other assorted noises come from various places around my body. I bruise more easily than I used to and the recovery time is a little bit longer, but overall I feel good. I can't play ball every day without noticing the impact and effect the pounding has. By the end of the week my legs feel a little rubbery and my back aches, but to a certai

I find this to be very troubling. I understand that there may be reason for government to acquire property, but it should be limited in its ability to do so. WASHINGTON - A divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses against their will for private development in a decision anxiously awaited in communities where economic growth often is at war with individual property rights. The 5-4 ruling — assailed by dissenting Justice Sandra Day O'Connor as handing "disproportionate influence and power" to the well-heeled in America — was a defeat for Connecticut residents whose homes are slated for destruction to make room for an office complex. They had argued that cities have no right to take their land except for projects with a clear public use, such as roads or schools, or to revitalize blighted areas. As a result, cities now have wide power to bulldoze residences for projects such as shopping malls and hotel

I am a native Californian, born and bred within the fine city of Los Angeles. During my travels to different places around the country and the world I have had to wait to get on planes, into movies, walk through airport security and been a member of lines to get into any number of places. Most of the time I have had to wait "in-line" in spite of the attempts of some people to get me to wait "on-line" but I most definitely have never been part of the queue. I have to say that I just don't like the term, "on-line" that is. When it comes to having to wait to enter somewhere it just feels awkward and unnatural to say that I am waiting "on-line" unless of course I am surfing the net.

Dear children, This is one of many letters that I am going to write to you about my experiences and thoughts about the journey we all share called life. Right now you are both quite young and this will not mean anything to you yet, but the time will come when you will see a need to read this. I hope that when that time comes you will find hope, help, comfort and sustenance in this because I am forever your daddy and love you with a passion that I cannot ever adequately express. In time you will both be in school and you will encounter the meat grinder we call peer pressure. Your friends and classmates will spend time telling you about themselves and their lives. Some of them will do it in a friendly, open way and others will not. Some of them will try to influence you to do as they do, to dress as they do, speak as they do and act as they do. Sometimes this can be a good thing and sometimes it can be a bad thing. One of the most important things you can do is learn how

This was a 600 word rant that I just nuked because it wasn't flowing the way I wanted it to, so I started over. The question I posed in the title is Do you represent all Jews also known as do non-Jews make their evaluation/judgement of who Jews are based upon their experience with you. It is an old discussion and one that in general I find to be very distasteful. There is something very wrong about basing an opinion about a group of people based upon the behavior of one person. For example, it is wrong to judge all Black people based upon your opinion of Michael Jordan or for that matter Michael Jackson. I wouldn't do it and I am teaching my children to develop their thoughts/feelings/opinion about people based upon the person and not some shallow observation. Yet it seems that all too frequently I have been engaged in a discussion by fellow MOTs about our responsibility to show the world who we are and what we are like. That if we act poorly, if we do not s

If only Dr. Doolitle had been there to translate. NAIROBI (Reuters) - A 73-year-old Kenyan grandfather reached into the mouth of an attacking leopard and tore out its tongue to kill it, authorities said Wednesday. Peasant farmer Daniel M'Mburugu was tending to his potato and bean crops in a rural area near Mount Kenya when the leopard charged out of the long grass and leapt on him. M'Mburugu had a machete in one hand but dropped that to thrust his fist down the leopard's mouth. He gradually managed to pull out the animal's tongue, leaving it in its death-throes. "It let out a blood-curdling snarl that made the birds stop chirping," he told the daily Standard newspaper of how the leopard came at him and knocked him over. The leopard sank its teeth into the farmer's wrist and mauled him with its claws. "A voice, which must have come from God, whispered to me to drop the panga (machete) and thrust my hand in its wide open mouth. I obeyed,&qu

And they say that weird things happen in Los Angeles. "NEW YORK - An attempt to erect the world's largest Popsicle in a city square ended with a scene straight out of a disaster film — but much stickier. The 25-foot-tall, 17 1/2-ton treat of frozen Snapple juice melted faster than expected Tuesday, flooding Union Square in downtown Manhattan with kiwi-strawberry-flavored fluid that sent pedestrians scurrying for higher ground. Firefighters closed off several streets and used hoses to wash away the sugary goo. Snapple had been trying to promote a new line of frozen treats by setting a record for the world's largest Popsicle, but called off the stunt before it was pulled fully upright by a construction crane. Authorities said they were worried the thing would collapse in the 80-degree, first-day-of-summer heat. "What was unsettling was that the fluid just kept coming," Stuart Claxton of the Guinness Book of World Records told the Daily News. "It

Hi kids, Just put up a new post for the Members of The Tribe to read. If you are MOT it might just tickle your fancy.