Black Friday

• Harley and I were out this morning at 6:30 with a mission to the Sony blu ray players on sale at Sears. We were not successful on that front, but we did all right.
• We made the rounds. We went to Sears, Kmart, Circuit City, Express, Macy's, back to Express, Dick's, Ross, Modell's and Toys 'R' Us. Yeah, I'm bad ass.
• Everywhere we went, I got the dream parking spot. It was unreal. Harley says it means that no one was out. I say that it just proves how awesome I am.
• Auntie Anne's pretzels make a fantastic breakfast.
• I called Nilda at 8:00 just to check in and let her know how I was doing. Her response: "You called me for that?" She's still pissed at me.
• My sister Caryn wants to be alone on black friday. Do NOT mess with Caryn's alone time on black friday!
• We didn't find what we wanted at the stores, but we had much better luck on line. We even ordered the blu ray player and our new tv (but that's another blog).
• Apparently, you don't need to buy expensive HMDI cables, since there's no difference from the cheap ones.
• At Modell's, we saw a young couple, a man in an Eagles jersey, the woman in an Eagles sweatshirt, looking to buy more Eagles clothing. I want to be that, Nilda.
• Nilda wants to go out again this afternoon. I'm in. Right after my nap.

The Trip To Israel

• We flew into Tel Aviv and stayed the first (and last) night there. I always hated Tel Aviv. Then I learned that it was formed by 60 Jewish families in 1909 who put a flag in a sea of sand near the old city of Jaffa and decided to make a home there led by Mayor Dizengoff. When Israel declared its Independence in 1948, Ben Gurion made the announcement in Tel Aviv (since Jerusalem was under siege) from Dizengoff's old home, now known as Independence Hall. Tel Aviv represents the vision and the balls of the early Jewish settlers of Palestine.
• Golda Meir, who was born in Minnesota and was a key early leader of Israel, eventually becoming Prime Minister of Israel, was a bad ass. Ben Gurion said of her, "She's the only man in my cabinet."
• We went to the international headquarters of the Bahai'i, some weird kind of "religion" that has its headquarters full of incredibly well-kept gardens in North Israel, in Haifa. They only accept donations from members, but members are not allowed to live in Israel where the headquarters are located. I don't get it either.
• When Dad gets hungry, he gives up all responsibility for decision-making, which, he tells me, then rests with my mother. Yet, he retains veto power over any decisions. Luckily, we had Julie to ask total strangers where was good to eat, which was usually successful.
• Our tour guide, Yehuda, was great. He was a member of the Israeli Navy and spent the 1967 war running a boat on the Sea of Galilee. He was extremely knowledgeable about everything, and clearly loves what he does. His card reads, "For you is a tour, for me is a passion."
• Yehuda is also a Scientologist who hates Arabs, women drivers, dinner and Arabs. He loves the Maccabees, a family that led a successful revolt against the Greeks, which collapsed after only 80 years after the sons could not agree on a successor. This was an obviously failed revolt to me, but Yehuda saw this as a success that lasted longer than the state of Israel has survived. Jews like to look for a victory.
• What stood out was how much agriculture there was throughout the state of Israel. From bananas to dairy farms, to fish farms, the entire country is seeded with farming.
• One of the most tense moments we had was driving through the West Bank to get to Jerusalem. We asked Yehuda if we were allowed to drive through such a hotly constested piece of land, to which he responded, "Of course! This is my land." The Israeli villages in the West Bank have fences and barbed wire for protection. Nothing happened, of course. What really struck me was how many farms there were throughout the area. Milk and honey means a good place to grow food.
• Jerusalem has always been my favorite city in the world. It's the only place where people actually care about the land itself.
• We visited the Valley of Tears, a battlefield from the 1973 Yom Kippur War where about 200 tanks held off about 1260 Syrian tanks over a three day battle. Dad and I wanted to know the tactical basis for how the Israelis were able to win under such stunning odds. All we got were that the Israelis had the higher ground. One thing I realized was that, apparently, the Arabs were terrible soldiers.
• The Bedouin Arabs, however, are great soldiers, according to Yehuda.
• There are more Christian tourists than Jewish tourists. They all want to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.
• Jesus' real name was Yeshua, which translates to Joshua. Joshua was just one of many critics who argued that Herod's grandiose temple was a mistake that put too much distance between the people and God.
• Nilda and I both caught some kind of bug in Israel that made us both sick. It turns out that when you're sick, you're less inhibited in telling people about what would normally be very personal information. Needless to say, Nilda and I pooped our brains out in Israel. Nilda blames petting the baby cow that was born that day, I've got nothing to counter with.
• Being sick, I had a lot of tea. Tea is good shit.
• We had international CNN and Fox news. Apparently, all anyone cared about was the financial crisis in the US and what kind of puppy the Obamas are going to get.
• Israeli food is Mediterranean food. You start out with a number of "salads" like hummus, tahini, eggplant, cabbage, falafel and pickled vegetables, then move on to white fish such as "sea bream" or meat like lamb or veal. The veal is not like our white veal, but more like regular beef.
• There is no such thing as "regular" coffee. You get either instant coffee or Turkish coffee, which has the grinds in it. Your best bet is to order a cappuccino.
• In the days of the Temple, religion consisted of sending an offerring to the Temple once a year. There was no synagogue or daily prayer, as the Jews were just another tribe of warriors. Finally, I feel vindicated for not going to services or keeping kosher, since my Jewish ancestors didn't give a shit about that, either.

Three Videos

Here's one of President Bush being dissed by world leaders refusing to shake his hand. Really, it's pretty sad. Maybe he had a cold or something:



Here's another one you've all probably seen, of Sarah Palin giving an interview with turkeys being slaughtered behind her. Is it wrong that this clip makes me hungry?

And here's one that Irene has up on her dashboard, whatever that is. I don't know what this is, but I want to go there. Tender!!!

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Happy Birthday To Me

So for my birthday, Nilda took me to the one restaurant that no Jewish boy from the suburbs can resist, Red Lobster. I asked Nilda to take a picture of me, but she was too cold to get the picture of the full "Red Lobster" or the 10-foot, turning lobster that's just off the to left. I tried to get a do-over, but that was quickly nixed as my "stupid picture" was not as important as getting into the nearest cab. Anyway, here's a picture of me in front of "Red." Thanks, sweetie! And yes, for Uncle Alan's knowledge, I spent way too much at Red Lobster.

Happy Birthday, Loser

Tomorrow is Andrew's birthday, so as a SPECIAL TREAT, I took a shit-load of pictures in Israel of American products re-packaged with Hebrew (or Arabic). Only a dork like Andrew would find stuff like this interesting, so here you go, dork:

Back From Israel

9 days in Israel and it's good to be home. Nilda, my parents and everyone's favorite younger-older sister Julie, had a great and busy trip, traveling through most of Israel. The only downside was that I was sick almost the entire trip. I left with a head cold that turned into a sinus infection that moved down the length of my entire body. Not to give too much info, but it's also called Immodium in Israel. I'm still not sure how to blog about it, but I figured I'd start tonight with just a few of the 400 pictures we took:

Vacation, Beeches!!

So I'm off to the holy land for vacation for a little over a week. I'll be back, with pictures. Andrew asked me to take pictures of American products with Hebrew packaging. He'd be a BALL to go on vacation with. And yes, Nilda and I are definitely wearing our Obama shirts in Israel.

The Future Of The Republican Party

Here's another article that Irene sent to me today, confirming that Palin's days as the doll of the Republican party are over. Apparently, Palin was supposed to buy just three suits, but used the opportunity to have a buying spree for her and her family. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast." The bill will end up being far more than $150,000, since she had staffers use their own credit cards for purchases, which are only now coming out as they seek reimbursement. McCain's aides never told him, because they were sure he would be offended.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for McCain refusing to let Palin speak last night, as she had asked. She would have taken the opportunity to bolster her own political future, tarnishing McCain's message of unity and reconciliation. McCain, for the first time this election, put country first.

Also, here's a great article from London (via Nilda) stating how Michelle Obama is a breakthrough first lady.

President Obama

Here's a photo that Andrew took of his tv and emailed to me. It feels good!!!

Damn, it feels good to write President Obama!! Now, I can relax, though it will take the country weeks to process the significance of what happened tonight. It's amazing to think of the kind of world that Francesca, Lacey and Lilah will grow up in.

P.S. - McCain's concession speech was better than I could have imagined. He tried to end the division and bring the country together around the new President, praising Obama when he didn't have to. Nilda cried...during a McCain speech! Hopefully, the old John McCain is back.

Live Blogging Election Night

• This campaign was brought to you by Howard Dean. Without his model focusing on grass roots organization, not reliant on the DNC, Obama would never have beaten the Clinton machine.
• Bad ass of the day: David Axelrod. He put together a brilliant campaign and stuck to his plan, making it as manager all the way through the election without being fired.
• I told you it would all come down to Pennsylvania!
• Forrest voted. Good job, Nilda!
• Schwartz said that Obama could be one of our great presidents. I shit you not! Of course, it was in the context of making Hillary sec of state. I don't think that would be a bad idea. She'd be great at any job, and it would keep her from fighting Obama in the senate.
• Pelosi has to go.
• Rachel Maddow was a Rhodes scholar from Stamford, and has a PHD in poli sci from Stanford. Who knew?
• I didn't drink last night, and now I feel sick, right before we leave for vacation. Coincidence? I think not.
• It always seems wierd when Chris Matthews calls Obama "Barak." He's not as informal with any other politician. When he starts calling him "President" or "Senator," you know Matthews is planning on running for Congress.
• The big discussion today has been about lines. I waited 45 minutes at 7:15 am, when I've never had to wait before. I thought about how Cousin Bill (at shakespeareteacher.com) is right about voting creating a sense of community.
• This will only be an "important" election if Obama wins. If McCain wins, it will be just another boring election.
• One explanation given for the faulty exit polls showing Obama winning in New Hampshire was that it was the younger voters, Obama supporters, who were more willing to talk to polsters after voting.
• It's 7:50 and I'm freaking out. But I look at http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/ and I feel better.
• The biggest surprise of the night is that I'm preferring CNN to MSNBC.
• Obama just won Pennsylvania. There are many high fives.
• Things are looking good. Hagan beat Dole, Florida looks like it's going to Obama and the portions of Indiana and Ohio that haven't reported yet are all Democratic. I say Indiana's going to McCain for sure, but Nilda's not convinced. Let's see how this turns out.

Why Obama Should Be President

This quote from Obama, taken from an interview with MTV News on November 2, demonstrates why this guy is perfect (thanks to Irene for the link!):

"I think people passing a law against people wearing sagging pants is a waste of time. We should be focused on creating jobs, improving our schools, health care, dealing with the war in Iraq, and anybody, any public official, that is worrying about sagging pants probably needs to spend some time focusing on real problems out there. Having said that, brothers should pull up their pants."

If Obama Wins

If Obama wins, because I'm still not getting my hopes up, the Democrats will criticize him for not doing enough, the conservatives will criticize him for being too liberal. There will be a failed policy initiative early in his term that the press will jump on, comparing it to Clinton's failed health care plan. There will still be terrorists, but the call of the US being the great satan will ring hollow in most of the Muslim world. Race relations in the US will not change much, but the generation born under the Obama administration will change the world. American entertainment and movies will spike in popularity, worldwide. There will be many police actions and treaties, but no wars. The nation will be polarized at home and unified abroad. History will remember this as the good old days.