- The smell of my daughter’s hair.
- A hug from my children.
- The smile my son gives me when I get home from work.
- A good bowl of soup.
- Warm sun on my back.
- The sound of the waves breaking on the shore.
- The smell of fresh baked cookies.
- Hiking my favorite trails.
- A nice bottle of scotch, good friends and good music.
- Watching my kids play.
- Lying on the grass and staring up at the sky.
- Skipping rocks on a lake.
- Horseback riding- haven’t done it in a while, but I like it.
- Wrestling with my parent’s dog.
- Listening to my grandparent’s stories.
Archives for November 2006
How To Save ‘Lost.’
This guy thinks that he has the answer.
“Now let’s imagine an alternate reality in which, say, Lost was designed to run for only two seasons. Rather than……..”
What do you think?
Why The Baal Teshuva World Irritates Me
I am not FFB, but I have a number of friends who are. I am not BT and not real likely to go that route. I have watched many friends go down that path and haven’t had the most pleasant reaction to what I have seen.
The internal struggle that many of them has gone through has created so many tumultuous situations. Time after time I have witnessed terrible fighting with their relatives and the complete severance of decade long friendships.
I understand and appreciate that they have found a spiritual calling. I can respect that. I don’t have any problem with people choosing to find the derech. But I cannot condone the bridge burning that many of their supporters encourage them to do.
When the only way that you can find security in your new place is to rid yourself of all of your old world ties there is a problem. It comes off as being cultlike and I think that it is sad.
Not all of my friends growth resembled Sherman’s march through Atlanta. Some of them found a path that allowed them to do what they had to do without badmouthing their friends and relatives. Some of them were secure enough to accept that not everyone was going to be like them.
And some understood that you attract more flies with honey. They recognized that patronizing comments were unwarranted and that building bridges made more sense.
I suppose that part of what bothers me about this stems from their refusal to accept that there are those of us who have chosen to maintain our level of observance. Just as they feel like they have come to a place of spiritual growth so have we.
I recall one friend who grew up in a completely secular home trying to teach me how I could be more observant and become a better Jew. The former three day a year Jew thinking that 18 months of learning meant that he knew more than 25 years of practicing Judaism.
Why? Because the people he was surrounded by taught him that any Judaism that was different from their own wasn’t real. Quite shameful and quite sad. A real chillul Hashem.
I don’t want to belabor the point. I don’t have a problem with BTs in general and applaud their decision. All I expect is that they open their eyes and look around. In spite of what some say, it is a big world and there is no one singular path to Hashem.
Just as they say they’ll daven for me, I daven for them.
Israel & The Next War
I don’t claim to be the smartest pundit or pseudo-pundit around. I don’t need to own the title of strategist, envoy, ambassador or hayseed to be able to comment on this.
All I need are my own two eyes and ears and the tiny lick of common sense that was granted to me.
Another war is coming. Israel will take up arms again and be forced to fight.
I am not the only one saying it. There are plenty of others who get paid to think and write about these things. I am just a ordinary Joe sitting here at the keyboard ruminating about the crap that happens around me.
This last go around wasn’t enough. Three soldiers are still missing and the other side is still crowing about its victory.
Unlike some others I don’t buy their rhetoric. I don’t accept their claims. They have to say these things. They have to continue to push their PR. And you know what, it works. People buy into this crap.
Here is the thing. War is hell. War is brutal. War is the nastiest thing that you can think of and it should be. War is not fought from the air. The air force is just a tiny part of this.
When you go to war the real fighting is done by the troops on the ground. Sometimes it is hand-to-hand and sometimes it is with guns at close enough range that you can see the effect of bullets and bombs upon flesh.
Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran. They are pushing and baiting. They are prodding and poking and trying to establish the terms of warfare and the results prior to the end.
Some people will read this post and call me a warmonger, a chickenhawk and any number of nasty names. Go ahead.
I don’t like this. The people in danger are not just nameless, faceless souls. Many of them are family and friends. Some are former neighbors.
The last war wasn’t brutal enough. The death cult did not feel the real consequences of their actions. But I saw the grief of those left behind, on both sides. I saw the pain and recognized that some families have forever been torn apart.
I have to pick a side. It is pretty obvious who I root for.
I don’t like it. I wish that it were otherwise, but I just don’t see how we are going avoid the coming storm.
So when the next war comes I hope that it is fought differently. Take off the gloves and unleash hell. Spend time letting the civilians know well in advance that it is time to get out. Give them plenty of time to leave because the day will come when anyone and anything left in the battlefield is classified as us or them.
The punishment must be swift and severe. The consequences should be seen as being so dire that the participants fear to even think about trying again.
Just writing this makes me feel sick inside, like there is something rotten and fetid. Dead flesh. G-d help us all. Because if he doesn’t then the future I see truly is filled with sulfur and ash.
May this post come to be the cries of imagination and nothing else.
If Hobbits Could Rap……..
This is the first music video by the Lords of the Rhymes. The Lords are two hobbits who rap about Middle-earth and ring lore. The video contains a variety of costumes and references to the Red Book of Westmarch. Warning: The video also contains explicit language and very, very hot elf girls!! (as well as Leonard Nimoy)
Ok, that is the Youtube crap. As for my comments, it was a little off color, but it made me smile. Not incredible, but kind of fun.
The 911 Report- The Comic Book Version
As a kid I enjoyed reading comic books. As a child trapped in a man’s body I readily admit that I still enjoy reading them. I am not anywhere close to a hard core collector, can’t remember when I last purchased one.
Anyhoo, I just learned that the 911 Report has been made into a comic book. I am not real sure about how I feel about this. I suspect that upon reflection I am going to come to the conclusion that I am not a supporter of this effort. It feels watered down and lacking the appropriate solemnity that is required.
You can find more samples here. What do you think?