Olim Chadashim- A Round Up of Posts
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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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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