Hmm

It's been a while since I posted last... I don't think my blog is really going where I wanted it to. I guess a blog is really good 4 two things: The first is a journal ur friends can read. It's a gr8 thing, that way u don't feel like ur boring them all when u talk about yourself-- because we can all chose if we want 2 read it or not. The second is for ideas-- expressing streams of conciousness and stuff like that, or just random things u notice. At any rate, blogs r 4 voicing what ur thinking-- without being sent 2 a shrink 4 talking 2 urself.
Right now I'm just using my blog 2 talk about... Plays. It's a journal type thing, which is kind of annoying because I wanted it 2 be ideas, but the problem is that I come up with ideas 2 write when I'm away from the computer and by the time I get 2 the computer it's so charush in my brain that I can't bring myself 2 write about it. So I write about things that are relatively shallow-- and of course no less important to me-- like what-I-did-today type things.
U know, it's also the computer's fault. Maybe it's just the light from the screen, but computers make u tired and dumb. Think about how many times someone has said in an MSN conversation "I'm bored"-- u think it's coincidence? No, computers make u plain dumb and if I wasn't on the computer right now I wouldn't be feeling as blah. U bet.
So I really want 2 try 2 write things when I think of them so I can type them up. Maybe put some intelect-tickeling brainwaves on this b-l-o-g.
But that doesn't mean I'll stop quoting Wicked. No sir-ee!!
(See? I'm getting dumber by the second. Please excuse me.)

Perfect Relationships

HaHa, it's a song from the musical Company, it's really funny.
Don't take it seriously, it's meant 2 be a joke... ;-p

JOANNE:It's the little things you do together,
Do together,
Do together,
That make perfect relationships.
The hobbies you pursue together,
Savings you accrue together,
Looks you misconstrue together,
That make marriage a joy.
M-hm...

It's the little things you share together,
Swear together,
Wear together,
That make perfect relationships.
The concerts you enjoy together,
Neighbors you annoy together,
Children you destroy together,
That keep marriage intact.I

t's not so hard to be married
When two manoeuver as one.
It's not so hard to be married,
And, Jesus Christ, is it fun!

It's sharing little winks together,
Drinks together,
Kinks together,
That make marriage a joy.
The bargains that you shop together,
Cigarettes you stop together,
Clothing that you swap together,
That make perfect relationships.
Uh-huh...
M-hm...

FRIENDS:It's not talk of God and the decade ahead that
Allows you to get through the worst.
It's "I do" and "you don't" and "nobody said that"
And "who brought the subject up first?"

It's the little things,
The little things,
the little things,
the little things.
The little ways you try together,
Cry together,
Lie together,
That make perfect relationships.
Becoming a cliche together,
Growing old and grey together,
Withering away together,
That make marriage a joy.

It's not so hard to be married,
It's much the simplest of crimes.
It's not so hard to be married--
JOANNE:I've done it three or four times.

FRIENDS:It's the people that you hate together,
Bait together
,Date together,
That make marriage a joy.
It's things like using force together,
Shouting till you're hoarse together,
Getting a divorce together,
That make perfect relationships.
Uh-huh...
Kiss-kiss...
M-hm...

The Capable Teen

Wow, that was so fun. I got 2 the theatre and only David and Toby were there, and technically they weren't supposed 2 be there-- see, the JEST board don't believe in capable teen-agers, so u can't leave them alone in the theatre. There should always be a grown up there... HaHa.
Only problem is, half the crew are teen-agers.
It basically goes like this: There are 4 actors, and they don't do much other than act, so they don't count right now... There's Pnina the director, Rachel who's in charge of the play from the JEST point of view, Dalia the set designer and Ephrayim the lights person. Then r the cool teen agers: There's David the sound guy-- he goes 2 the democratic school in JM and he's a professional, it's really cool. He spends his life doing theatre, he's going 4 a job interview something off-broadway in January, it's the coolest thing. There's Toby-- he's our stage manager. He built the sets almost entirely alone and he's the one walking around with the fancy electric screwdriver. He really knows what he's doing. There's Josh, Toby's younger brother-- he's 13 years old-- he's the little kid who goes around doing everything Toby or Pnina need and is actually really helpful. Whenever I c him he's wearing a tie-dye T-shirt. :-) There's Yamin and Avraham, I'm not sure what their connection 2 JEST is, but they're part of the stage crew. I think they're Toby's friends. There's Liel, who's actually a family friend of mine-- she's videotaping the show. She's learning professionally now, I believe. And there's me. That's the PROOF staff. I'm very fortunate 2 be working w/ such a gr8 group of people.
I grow up hearing about how teens can do so much, and that age isn't the issue at all-- ur never too young-- but there r still ppl out there who don't realize what youth can do. Maybe that's just cuz the JEST board is all ppl who r old a retired and need a hobby.
I asked Pnina if she wanted 2 work 4 JEST any more after this and she said probably not. She's not happy with the board and the way things are run-- the people at the top. The JEST regulars who arn't at the top r good, and it's the teens doing quite a portion of the work who r good too-- but as a professional theatre group it shouldn't be held up by those of us still trying to get thru highschool, u know what I mean?

Opening Night!

Tonight is opening night for PROOF, I'm so excited!! I really love working on this, it's been so fun. The last preformance is next Wednesday, I dunno what I'm gonna do with myself when it's done.
I'll write more about it when I'm a little less rushed.
I g2g 2 school now!
Luv ya'll

Happy Birthday MC!!!

Wow, BZ, that was awesome. I davka like that park, except that our presence is clearly unwanted there...
I thought the cake came out really good, if I may say so myself. Actually, last time I made it it kinda got messed up..
Oh, lord, I am SO jealous of Yoni, Yonatan and Natanel. Their musical talent is beyond amazing. The worst part is that if I had taken music seriously I wouldn't be so bad. Hey, it's not like I'm tone deaf or anything, I could master an insrument. I read somewhere something like "A mathmatician looks at a math problem, and it makes sense-- so they can figure it out. A musician looks at the piano or guitar and it makes sense to them..." So I was thinking and I guess that the piano does make sense to me. Like, I tried playing something the other day and it worked. My fingers are clumsy though, how can I get over that? The guitar doesn't work that well 4 me though. I mean sure-- if u really think about it then it will make sense, but in the meantime... Playing violin was cool, it's just a little confusing, I felt a bit disoriented-- there's no border between the notes, so I was just estimating (and going completely off-key). I guess once u play it 4 a while it comes more easily.
Darn it, I have too many interests. Not enough hours in the day.

Proof-- the play I'm working on..

My neighbor Pnina Shechter is directing a play for JEST (Jerusalem English Speaking Theatre), and she asked me to help. It's really cool. She called me in the summer, saying she needed an assistant-- odd jobs and stuff, but it's theatre so of course I said yes!
The play is called "Proof", written by David Auburn. It's a drama, not a musical, and it's been on broadway. There are four characters: Catherine, Claire, Robert and Hal. It takes place in Chicago, today. The basic storyline goes like this: Catherine is the main character, she's 28 years old (in the original script she's 25, but we made her older, I'm not sure why...). Robert is her father, and the actual story starts after he dies-- but there are flashbacks and stuff. Robert was famed for his brilliance as a mathmatician, but in his late twenties he went crazy. Catherine has spent her recent life taking care of him because her mother died (this isn't so relevant to the plot) and her sister Claire lives in New York. Basically in the play we're trying to figure out if Catherine inherited her father's mathmatical ability, or his insanity. Hal used to be one of Robert's students, and after Robert's death he spends time looking through some notebooks that he wrote in while he was crazy to see if there's any trace of the math he used to do-- hoping to find a proof or something. He does find a notebook with a mathmatical proof, but Catherine insists that she wrote it. It's complicated, but it's a really cool play. I read the script before we actually started working on it, and it seemed interesting, but since I've been watching it performed by the actors it really came to life-- I can tell u that Pnina is excellent-- it's a gr8 play.
My job is basically anything Pnina needs me to do. When they reherse I sit there with the script and give them lines they forget and correct them and stuff. When Pnina is working with only a few of them, I run lines with the others. Rehersals are usually in Jerusalem, so we I have plenty of time to talk 2 Pnina on the ride back-- she asks me what I thought of rehersals and stuff. It's really neat-- I really feel like she values my opinions, so I tell her about things that don't look right on stage. See, she spends her time telling the actors where to stand onstage to make sure they're not too close to each other, and they're not going to knock over the set, so she wants me to look at everything that goes on other than that and tell her what I think. I have other odd jobs too. The other day we spent the ride to JM making a list of problems to work on. There are tons. There's no room to move backstage, the set builder is senile, there's no place for rehersals, the actors have no time to change their costumes, stuff like that. Up until last week there was no one doing sound, but she found a teen ager from JM. I dunno if there's some1 doing lights-- but at least there's someone setting them up beforehand. I'm ending up with a ton to do the nights of the play: I have to take care of preparing the stage each scene-- moving chairs around etc., I will have a CD player backstage-- hopefully connected to the sound system-- and I'll be playing the background music on cue, I have 2 set up ppl's costumes so they can throw them on on time-- and then clean up the mess they make when they throw their clothes all over in their rush. I also have 2 sew velcro onto someones costume so u cant see the other costume they have on underneath, and help paint the sets. But that's a post in it's own.
The play is on Wednesday Nov. 15th, Thursday the 16th, and twice on the following Wednesday (the 22nd). Until then there are rehersals four times a week....

Woah, I'm really glad this blog is virtual and not printed on paper-- I mean, the page could be the whole width of the computer screen, but the posts come out so narrow, u know what I mean? Like, this blog could be so much shorter! What a waste!

My Trip Up North :-) (Part II)

Continuation...

So after that we went 2 see the Banias waterfalls. I discovered I can take black and white shots on my camera!!

We went to a really nice fish restorant 4 dinner called Dag Al HaDan. Recommended.

Tuesday morning we went 2 Canada Center, Metula, 2 go ice skating. We got there right when it opened at 10:00am, so the place was completely empty-- for the first hour my family were the only people on the ice. At the beginning I could hardly let go of the railing, but by the time other people started showing up I was skating pretty well. You have 2 go around the rink counter-clockwise-- I spent like 2 hours trying 2 figure out how 2 cross my right foot over my left 2 make the turn-- eventually it worked!! Guys, we havta go there sometime, It'll be so much fun. We were there 4 about 2:30hrs, then my dad decided he wanted 2 try out the shooting range, so we all went 2 watch. It was really neat-- he got 25 bullets and they all hit the target, very close 2 the middle. One bull's-eye. I don't have any really good pics..

It's like a 4hr drive down from Metula, so we took a few detours 2 make it interesting. One was 2 the very edge of the city-- looking out over lebanon. Then we drove down 2wards the Kinneret. On the drive down you could still tell that it had rained the other day-- part of me wants 2 say that everything was green and beautiful, but thats not exactly true... One reason is that everything got dried up over the summer, like it always does, so it'll take about a month or so for it 2 be green again. Another reason is that every once in a while we would pass a clump of trees that were all dried out in a mixture of orange and black... scars from July.

We stopped at the Kinneret around 4:00, near the Luna Gal east of the lake-- the sun was almost setting. While my family went swimming I stayed in the car and tried 2 do my math HW. It didn't work. So I joined them-- gosh it was amazing. The water was so clear, but the surface looked orangy-blue from the light, I just wanted 2 keep swimming until I got 2 Tveriya. I'm still dying 2 swim across the Kinneret-- the plans kinda got messed up this summer, so I'll go next year. We watched the sun set behind the Arbell mountain/cliff and we could see every colour reflected in tha water. :-)


We got home at about 8:00 and had chinese 4 dinner... Yum!
So that's why I wasn't in school this week.

My Trip Up North :-) (Part I)

It was really cool.
Here's something I wrote on sunday morning..

The first rain of the season gets even the weather reporters psyched. The Yor'e. It's beautiful out now, everything looks clean and fresh. I'm in Tzfat in a parking lot looking over at Hat Meiron, which is partially covered in clouds. Walking through the old city, there are hardly any people-- the chagim are over, people are settling back into their daily routines, I guess.

I took some really neat pics of Yaira:

We stayed at HaGoshrim, which is... Somwhere. Like 20 minutes southeast of Kiri'at Shmon'e, I think. The sky was pretty cloudy on the way there from Tzfat-- not too cloudy, though, just enough to make the sunset absoloutly breathtaking. My sis took the pic of me, I took the pic of

the sunset.
On Monday we went 4 a tour in Emek HaHula. The birds are migrating through the valley, like, now, so there must have been a million people there over the chag. They have a designated path 4 tourists and you can either bike it or take these golf-car thingys-- my family was debating between the two. Actually, the biking had a few options too: we could all rent seperate bikes, or we could rent bikes for more than one person. The coolest was this 7 person bike-- oh, it was sooo awesome! Check out the pics-- the seats are arranged in a circle, and one person has control of the steering wheel. You pedal towards the middle, but it's set up so you go wherever the steering person decides. They said there are only 6 bikes like it in the world, 3 of them are in museums. In the end we decided to take the golf car thing though, because I'm not sure the bike would have worked with my grandmother... It was a lot of fun!! They weren't sure if it would rain, so they had us take along some really... um.. cute storm coats. C pics, lol. Besides for the birds, we saw a peanut field-- really neat, and some dried up sunflowers-- the seeds weren't that bad, and some charuv trees. There are also hay fields, with those big bails all over-- we saw one right next 2 the path so we all jumped on a took pictures. Then we tried 2 turn it over-- so

it was like standing up, and I got splinters in my hands but we were laughing like crazy!!

Sunday Mornin'... Rain...!

I just got back from a really fun trip with my family-- we went up north for 3 days. My grandmother's here, that's the occasion, and we decided 2 go after that chag cuz during the chag everything would have been PACKED.
I'll write about it later, cuz it's really late now. I have some gr8 pics 2 post.
Good Night!!

I just remembered a poem a saw once. It was about 3 years ago, when we still learned in Nocham and Chana was our bat sheirut. She had this wall she used 2 hang stuff on, and one of the things was this poem-- I don't remember who wrote it, and I don't exactly remember how it went, but I'm gonna try 2 remember. It was in Hebrew, BTW.

Sometimes a friend will call me
and the first thing they'll do is ask "am I bothering you?"
So I just want to tell you--
you're never bothering me, it's never a bad time to call.
You can call me at any time of day, weather I'm eating or studying,
or with family or other friends,
during the day, or at night.
And if at night I don't answer--
I must be asleep.

I like it.

Ray's Sweet Sixteen II

Guys, it was awesome!! Thanx so much 4 making it work!!! I especially want 2 thank all the guyz who came dressed up, it was so nice! And everyone who cleaned up afterwards-- I was all ready 2 stay over after everyone was gone and spend the rest of the night cleaning and all that, and u guyz are soo amazing! Girlz, you looked beautiful.

...When can we do that again?

;-p

Ray's Sweet Sixteen

Yeah, I'll post final details here:

Sarit's party will take place on Wednesday evening, from 7:00pm until whenever ;-) Location: Gabi's home, Reuven Sheri street #11, Ramot 06, Jerusalem. Backyard+Succa.
Gabi has a beautiful garden, and we will match it in glamour, or in Sarit's words: "Dress to Impress." That is, formal yet fancy outfit for the girls-- I'm wearing a long turquize dress from a shiney material-- and long sleeve, button-down shirts and dark pants for the guyz. Preferably black and white. Comb your hair.
I had invited all the girls over for hair and make-up do's in the afternoon, but I WONT BE HOME, so I'm gonna have 2 cancel that. I'm really sorry. I'm going somewhere with my family and from there-- right 2 Jerusalem. But I still have all this neat make up and stuff-- if any1 wants 2 borrow, maybe meet up by some1 else... I'm sorry.
We're having a light dinner and dessert, so I'd like everyone 2 chip in 8nis 2 cover the costs. I said 5 before, but it may be more. I hope not. Sarit's mom may help with the technical stuff. I'm going 2 try and tell everyone 2 bring 8 at the ampi 2night, but if I can't get thru 2 u all then it'll probably stay 5nis. wtvr.
Yoni-- bring your guitar, ok? If you can, that is. Sarit's putting 2gether a mix of good music 4 the evening.

There, I think that covers everything, hmm?

Can't wait 2 c u all there!!

Oy, c'mon

Please, you have no idea how much I hate being pissed off. It happens very rarely so it's not such a big issue, but right now i'm not in the best of moods. Look, I'm trying 2 put 2gether this party with some people but I still can't read the minds of everyone else, right? In the last few days I've SMSed and emailed about 30 people, about 12 of which cared enough 2 reply. I hardly even got responses from the people I called. All right, I know that SMS's cost $$, but could you please find a way of reaching me?? Seriously, telepathy doesn't work. I mean, after a few responses I got the idea that tuesday was ok, so c'mon-- if you really want it some other time you have to tell me!! Friday afternoon I was making phone calls and moving it 2 Wednesday, and only now-- Sunday afternoon-- do I discover that that wont work, because half of the invitees can't make it. Tuesday is soon, guys. So what am I to do now, make another thirty phone calls?? And just 4 the record-- I despise phone calls. Stick me in a torture chamber, someone.
So here I am, bending over backwards (not literally, literally would be ok...) so this party is sucsessful, because I really want it to be.
Just communicate, that's all I want. This is driving me up the wall, and I feel like crap being pissed like this.

Also for the record (and since the only people who might read this are girls (Mim, Avital, and Gabi-- this isn't aimed at you, I just have 2 get it out of my system and I'm sorry 2 make u the victims))-- if ur that keen on pissing me off, try to do it at some other time of the month. It's not wise 2 do it when I'm already edgy. It's like pouring salt over open wounds, it just multiplies the pain a few thoudsand times over.

Maybe I'll delete this 2moro.

My Prime Excuse

The one I use all the time... Wait for it... Ein Li Zman. And I feel so stupid writing it, cuz it sounds like "I don't have time 4 u". But I promise that's not true. Maybe Kash'e Li Limtzo Zman Pnai. That's better.
Sound familiar? And it's even true sometimes. I want 2 dedicate this post 2 Yonatan and Gabi specifically, because they hear the excuse most often.
Actually, don't bother reading this-- I'm warning you-- anyone, because it'll just sound like a bunch of complaining, and who needs that? I just feel the need 2 explain myself.
I'm writing it anyway. Why I don't spend my life hanging out.
Every day I leave 4 school at around 7:30, which means I usually wake up at 6:30, I dunno y it takes me an hour 2 get ready, but it does. And I never wake up on time, 2 be honest, and since there is a direct connection between the time u go 2 sleep and the time u get up, I should go 2 sleep before 10:30, ideally.
So Sundays I end school at 5:ish. It's supposed 2 be 5:15, but sometimes the physics teacher starts class early and lets us out earlier. So at 5 I go 2 gymnastics, and I work there with the group from 5:10-6:10, and then there's my own class till 7:10, so I get home at like 7:30 and then I eat dinner and clean up till around 8:00. That leaves me with about 2:30 hours on Sunday, yes? And I need time 2 get ready 4 bed and stuff... That takes away at least half an hour, usually more.
Monday is the same, but no gymnastics. I get home around 5:45/6:00. Dinner. Guess I sort of have time on Mondays.
Tuesday school ends at 2:30, get home around 3:30, cuz it takes 4ever 2 get on a bus around here. And I'm working on Tuesdays too, I believe, from 6:10 to 7:10, which means I'm actually out from 5:45 to 7:30ish. And I go jogging with Mim say around ~8:30-9:30. I'd like 2 go more than once a week.
Wednesdays I'm putting gymnastics on hold until the end of November, because of this play I'm working in with Pnina. Rehersals are at 7:00, and sometimes in JM, so that's the whole evening. I don't get home until around 11.
Thursdays we get out at 4:30, so I'd be home at like 5, I guess.
And Fridays are 4 sleeping in and Shabbat preparations.
Ok, that's not so different from anyone else's schedual, but combine that with HW and the rest disappears: English is actually very little work this year even tho it's 3 she'elonim, but there are bagruyot in 6 other subjects (at least), and one of them is math. Math is a lifetime of it's own: The teacher warned us that it would be work, and that if we spend less than 5 hours a week on homework we might as well throw the bagruyot down the drain. But her HW takes more than 5 hours, I can tell you that much.
Truthfully, this really is just like any other 11th grader's week. So why am I being forced 2 feel guilty wherever I can't go 2 town on a Thursday night?

God only knows what I'd be without you...

I spent Shabbat at my cousins in Chashmonaim-- it was gr8! I rediscovered what I'd been missing for those 12 years I lived with no relatives (other than my immediate family) in Israel. Like-- we all share this weird sense of humor and stuff. Inside jokes. We spent Friday night dinner telling blonde jokes and talking about people who walk into bars. Ouch. And laughing our heads off. :-D
I love my cousins!!
And of course it's always fun hanging out with my darling Chashmo friends, who I really don't see that often. My sis came with me 2 Judi's this afternoon, but hey--though she may be only 14-- she's fun 2 hang with too!
When I got home from Chashmonaim I met up with Mim, Batzion, MC, Yonatan and Shmuel at Mercaz HaPizza and we hung out 4 a while. Didn't do much, but it's gr8 2 be with people I love.
I got home from Mercaz HaPizza about an hour ago to find my parents and sister watching "Love Actually" (SUCH a cute movie!!), hence the title of this post.
See? Love actually IS everywhere. And G-d only knows what I'd be without u all!

My IDF

Woah, I got my tazv rishon, how cool is that??? And Gabi and Batsheva got theirs yesterday, and I can see by his SN that Joe got his too. Wow, like I'm really an Israeli citizen... So official. Hey, enough with the "Amerikaky" stuff, k?
I mean, I don't really know if I want 2 go 2 the army. I'm not sure what I want 2 do. Suggestions are more than welcome!
I scanned through the letter, and it really makes the army service sound like summer camp. And that just makes the whole thing even more exciting. Gosh, I'm so naive. Wtvr, it's still exciting.

Sad News

We got out math tests back yesterday. This is sort of a big deal because this is the first grade that will be in our tzi'un shnati. Naturally, this means we're gonna care about every point, and here's a piece of conversation I thought might explain what I mean:
Tova to Chana: "How much did you get?"
Chana: "99"
Tova: "Nice!!"
Chana: "And you?"
Tova, in a pretty dissapppointed voice: "98."

Shux.

School started. Back 2 that beautiful busy schedual again. See you in a year. Maybe two.
Oh- and the worst part is that my math teacher's pregnant. Yep. She looks like she's due right around the winter bagrut. Hope she's not early, that's all.

Dancing Though Life

Wicked is such a cool musical. The storyline is cute, and the music is just so amazing... It's just funny, cuz the values are a little backwards, in a way, and so backwards that the idea actually comes through. Appearences are deceiving.

Every character has their approach, right, so Galinda is all about looks and appearence--
"It's not about aptitude
it's the way your viewed
so it's very shrewed to be
very very popular
like me"

And then there's Fiyero-- the brainless. I named this post after his song:
"Dancing through life
skimming the surface
gliding where turf is smooth
Life is painless
for the brainless...
Those who don't try
never look foolish..."

Of course-- the wizard himself is a complete hypocrite:
"They call me "wonderful"
so I am wonderful
in fact -- it's so much who I am
it's part of my name
...trust me, it's fun!"
He adds: "Where I'm from, we believe in all sorts of things that aren't true. We call it -- 'history'."

But Elphaba couldn't care less about looks (She really CAN'T care more, though, because she's green..), or about what anyone thinks of her:
"So be it then:
let all Oz be agreed
I'm wicked through and through
since I cannot succeed..."
She doesn't even bother to look likable.

So yeah, the theme of the story is Appearences Are Deceiving, and what, only one character suggests it? So that's just it-- it's so sarcastic that you get the idea. I wonder if I could analyze this play for a few extra points on my bagrut.

Photo Fibs

Hey-- Check this out. Thought it was pretty interesting.

http://www.mivzakon.co.il/fun/flash/video.aspx?v=430

Naturally, this is a media posting like any other. As much as I might want to believe it I guess you can never really know how honest it is. What I don't like about it is his tone of voice-- it's very cynical, don't you think?

One thing I can say is that I saw that picture from the cover of that magazing-- the one with the tires burning-- in a recent Time magazine, captioned:

"BLACK AND BLUE The wreckage of a downed israeli jet that was targeting Hizballah trucks billows smoke behind a Hizballah gunman in Kfar Chima, near Beirut. Jet fuel set the surrounding area ablaze"

See, that video thing quoted the magazine saying that it was a picture of an Israeli jet, but the actual Time article clearly stated that it's the "surrounding area", so it does make sense for it to be a garbage dump. On the other hand, Time said that the smoke was from the jet-- does anyone know if fuel smoke is really that black? Because I know that tire smoke is...

Anyway, no Israeli jets were downed.

Local Knowledge

I saw an ad in a National Geographic magazine a few months ago that had two identical pictures of pills, and two identical pictures of herbs of some sort. One of the pill pictures said "useful" and the other "useless", ditto with the herbs. My question is: which would you go for? The pills or the herbs? All the amazing miracle-medication of today might just have the same results as the those healing herb-thingys people used a thousand years ago.
Why do I feel like people assume that you can't really know something unless you study it for years?
Here's a funny story: Not herbs, exactly, but whatever. My dad was working at his jobsite a few weeks ago, when he stepped on a nail. It went right through his shoe into his foot. Ouch. My dad says one of his suppliers or something-- I think his name's Miki-- told him to take off his shoe, and then Miki took a piece of wood and started whacking my dad's foot right where the nail had cut it. He says he put his shoe back on a didn't feel a thing.
No university, no painkiller. Just a bit of helpful random knowledge. So there.

Comments

I really hope there's someone out there who's bored enough to read this entire post. It's a good option if you're fasting, you know. Might even serve as a little reminder as to why it's so important that we pray on this Tisha'a Be'av.

On the Yahoo homepage they have links to really random articles sometimes. I found this one pretty interesting:

http://hotzone.yahoo.com/b/hotzone/blogs8044

After the article there were comments that people have left in the past couple of days, so I read through a whole bunch, and I guess you could say I'm a little LIVID. OK, there are over 1000 comments and they keep coming, so don't bother reading them all-- I just picked out my favourites (most of them are the same thing, really). Here they are (with my comments in between):

First-- most comments were like "God bless you Kevin for doing the right thing".

As a once PROUD JEW, I am now ASHAMED TO BE A JEW. I read Kevin's columns and I cannot believe that my fellow countrymen have committed this devastation. Our arab neighbors want to live in peace just like us jews. Its the right wing fanatics who must stop stealing the arab's lands, stop occupying them, stop taking their dignity - it is the only way that we jews will ever feel safe again. All this bombing will only bring the world's and our neighbors wrath down upon us for more generations to come....... why? why? why? this violence has never worked before and it will never work to accomplish anything of value. Shame on us....
Posted by hurwitz_don on Mon, Jul 31, 2006 11:48 PM ET


TO hurwitz_don - YES you should be ashamed, but jus for a different reason! "Stop demonizing of Israel for merely defending itself". (said by a way smarter man than me) By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER, a Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C. What other country, when attacked in an unprovoked aggression across a recognized international frontier, is then put on a countdown clock by the world, given a limited time window in which to fight back, regardless of whether it has restored its own security? What other country sustains 1,500 indiscriminate rocket attacks into its cities ­ every one designed to kill, maim and terrorize civilians ­ and is then vilified by the world when it tries to destroy the enemy's infrastructure and strongholds with precision-guided munitions that sometimes have the unintended but unavoidable consequence of collateral civilian death and suffering? Hearing the world pass judgment on the Israel-Hezbollah war as it unfolds is to live in an Orwellian moral univer se. With a few significant exceptions (the leadership of the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada and a very few others), the world ­ governments, the media, U.N. bureaucrats ­ has completely lost its moral bearings. The word that obviates all thinking and magically inverts victim into aggressor is "disproportionate," as in the universally decried "disproportionate Israeli response." When the United States was attacked at Pearl Harbor, it did not respond with a parallel "proportionate" attack on a Japanese naval base. It launched a four-year campaign that killed millions of Japanese, reduced Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki to a cinder, and turned the Japanese home islands to rubble and ruin. Disproportionate? No. When one is wantonly attacked by an aggressor, one has every right ­ legal and moral ­ to carry the fight until the aggressor is disarmed and so disabled that it cannot threaten one's security again. That's what it took with Japan. Britain was never invaded by Germany in World War II. Did it respond to the blitz and V-1 and V-2 rockets with "proportionate" aerial bombardment of Germany? Of course not. Churchill orchestrated the greatest land invasion in history that flattened and utterly destroyed Germany, killing untold innocent German women and children in the process. The perversity of today's international outcry lies in the fact that there is indeed a disproportion in this war, a radical moral asymmetry between Hezbollah and Israel: Hezbollah is deliberately trying to create civilian casualties on both sides while Israel is deliberately trying to minimize civilian casualties, also on both sides. In perhaps the most blatant terror campaign from the air since the London blitz, Hezbollah is raining rockets on Israeli cities and villages. These rockets are packed with ball bearings that can penetrate automobiles and shred human flesh. They are meant to kill and maim. And they do. But it is a dual campaign. Israeli innocents must die in order for Israel to be terrorized. But Lebanese innocents must also die in order for Israel to be demonized, which is why Hezbollah hides its fighters, its rockets, its launchers, its entire infrastructure among civilians. Creating human shields is a war crime. It is also a Hezbollah specialty.
On Wednesday, CNN cameras showed destruction in Tyre. What does Israel have against Tyre and its inhabitants ? Nothing. But the long-range Hezbollah rockets that have been raining terror on Haifa are based in Tyre. What is Israel to do? Leave untouched the launch sites that are deliberately placed in built-up areas? Had Israel wanted to destroy Lebanese civilian infrastructure, it would have turned out the lights in Beirut in the first hour of the war, destroying the billion-dollar power grid and setting back Lebanon 20 years. It did not do that. Instead, it attacked dual-use infrastructure ­ bridges, roads , airport runways ­ and blockaded Lebanon's ports to prevent the reinforcement and resupply of Hezbollah. Ten-thousand Katyusha rockets are enough. Israel was not going to allow Hezbollah 10,000 more. Israel's response to Hezbollah has been to use the most precise weaponry and targeting it can. It has no interest, no desire to kill Lebanese civilians. Does anyone imagine that it could not have leveled south Lebanon, to say nothing of Beirut ? Instead, in the bitter fight against Hezbollah in south Lebanon, it has repeatedly dropped leaflets, issued warnings, sent messages by radio and even phone text to Lebanese villagers to evacuate so that they would not be harmed. Israel knows that these leaflets and warnings give the Hezbollah fighters time to escape and regroup. The advance notification as to where the next attack is coming has allow ed Hezbollah to set up elaborate ambushes. The result ? Unexpectedly high Israeli infantry casualties. Moral scrupulousness paid in blood. Israeli soldiers die so that Lebanese civilians will not, and who does the international community condemn for disregarding civilian life?
Posted by belomor_2000 on Tue, Aug 1, 2006 2:09 AM ET

(I think that was a recent article from the NY Times, actually)

belomor_2000...."hezbollah that uses women and kids as a human shield".....So do the Israelis..Haven't you ever heard of settlers in the occupied territories?...How's that any different?...You're just playing semantics.....Israel wants UN 1559..but Israel won't comply with UN 242 or 338.......You want security...but you don't want others to have security....You want to be left alone.....but you don't want to leave others alone...you want to occupy...but you don't want to be occupied.....It's all so very curious....You want to be the master instead of an equal..
Posted by bigrubes2000 on Tue, Aug 1, 2006 3:27 AM ET

"Settlers in the occupied territories"??? As in my friends who live in areas captured by Israel in '67? If u say it like that, then of course it sounds bad! The Israeli government doesn't plant people into their homes in the territories, they even take them out! -but let's not get into that now. Anyway, do you have any clue what the world would say if we put soldiers into those "occupied territories" as a shield? Cuz I don't think they would believe the 'shield' part.

Why are we forgetting or I should say, being mislead, This war didnot start because 2 Israeili soldiers were kidnaped, This war started when Israeili shells killed 7 innocent Palestinians on the beach on june 9th. Excellent work Kevin...Stay safe bro. and for Jenn, You are a Zionist and this is the best one can expect from you. I think its time for all of us to wakeup and raise our voice to stop the violence all over the world before this fire destroys us all.
Posted by ali_california11 on Tue, Aug 1, 2006 4:45 AM ET

Oh, ok, but wait-- maybe it didn't start with the palestinians who were killed last month, maybe it started with that "martyr" who blew himself up in that restoraunt? Or maybe the whole Levanon business started in '82? Or '67? Or '48? Will we ever know?? And who do you think you are to decide, anyway?
I can see Zionists are the bad guys.

I fear that if the world suffers a nuclear war, it will begin in the Middle East and be precipitated by Isreal. Isreal may not don't the first bomb but their actions, such as the genocide in Lebanon, certainly will be the instigation. I have always supported Isreal, and know and like Isrealis, however I am beginning to think the world would be a less violent place if Isreal had never existed.
Posted by brvomero on Tue, Aug 1, 2006 6:32 AM ET

Truth be told, you're right. Maybe we shouldn't exist. Maybe it would be so much better if you could stick all the Jews in the world in gas chambers and kill them all fast. Hmm, sounds familiar, no?

See it all depends on what side youre on. if I was an Iraqi and sitting in my basement during shock and awe I would be like damn terrorists. bombing a city full of five million people. But I'm sitting in america watching israel bomb lebanon and im saying damn terrorists. and israel is getting bombed saying damn terrorists and lebanon is like oh crap. and england is like what what? and french is like everyone is a terrorist wee give me wine. and russia is like damn checks are terrorists and the checks are going russia dirty terrorists. and spain has some terrorists. and australia has some crocs. and north korea are just a bunch of wanks. and south korrea has to live next to a bunch of wanks. and africa is just hell. canada should rule the world.
Posted by ambrose2124 on Wed, Aug 2, 2006 2:43 AM ET

"sitting in america watching israel bomb lebanon". There you go. ambrose2124 isn't at fault, it's all thanks to the objective news reports.

ambrose2124...the average Canadian has at least one gun and they have very few murders in Canada...What gives?....Here in the US at least 14,000 people a year die from gunshot wounds...the Canadians are some sick people they don't even know how to use thier guns apparently.
Posted by bigrubes2000 on Wed, Aug 2, 2006 2:48 AM ET

Woah! Talk about discrimination! Did you see that? DID YOU SEE THAT?? So there's a problem with Israel because they're violent, and Canadians are 'sick' because, apparently, they don't know how to use their guns. This is totally not fair.

You're right, Mr. Hurwitz...I'm not proud that you're a Jew either. To compare a country that is CONTINUOUSLY attacked for daring to exist with dickless cowards who deliberately place armaments alongside cribs, couches, and kitchens is beyond insanity straight into wickedness. You have chosen to be ashamed of people who warn the "innocent" they are going to be attacking that area--an unprecedented thing to do in a war, knowing that those you are trying to kill will also now be informed--who make strikes as surgically as possible, and who DON'T place ball bearings into the tips of weapons whose only purpose is to damage as much flesh as possible. You have chosen the side of those who have never once kept a treaty, promise, cease fire agreement, or covenant--not once, not ever, not even briefly--over a people who have kept EVERY SINGLE ONE, and who have repeatedly given up their meager land to murderers and even paid them money to behave as human beings. That you have allowed yourself to be so easily led and manipulated by PC--my readers know that I call that unholy of unholies POLITICAL CASTRATION, as there is nothing correct about it--belies your intelligence and leaves me wondering of your true identity. Mr. Sites, while tugging at people's heart strings, please remember to stroke their intelligence as well. Trying to tilt this in favor of the poor Lebanese is the same as blaming a rape victim for being in an area frequented by men. No one blames a victim for fighting for her life, even if she endured all of the other beatings for years. It was long past time for someone to screw their balls back on and say ENOUGH. We never should have tolerated this type of animalistic, evil behavior from the beginning. Well, we did, and now it's going to take a helluva lot to undo the beast we allowed to evolve. Your have an obligation, sir, to remind the world of that, too. Heartstrings earn the prize, sir, but intelligence wins the war...and this, sir, is a war. Who do you want to see win: those who have always kept their word, or those who never ever have? WARCHICK.COM--Read her and Heed her.
Posted by resalaru on Wed, Aug 2, 2006 3:02 AM ET

resalaru - american jew.
Posted by ambrose2124 on Wed, Aug 2, 2006 3:06 AM ET

Good observation. Leh. Hey, ambrose2124, if no one else will stick up for us, I guess the Jews will simply have to stick up for themselvs.

If anyone might manage to read to the end of this post-- I hope you can see why I'm livid right now.

Walking in Jerusalem

"Do u know how sexy it is to walk around holding your shoes? Cuz when they're on the ground no one can see them, and when ur holding them people can see them." --Hadas, while walking from the Old City to the Central Bus Station last night.
Shani's shoes are so nice!! ...But I'm not sure which hurts more: Wearing them or walking barefoot. I eventually chose the latter.
;-p

My Blog

Defying Gravity... Yeah, I like it.
(Thanks Mim.)
I mean, on the one hand it's the name of a song from Wicked, and I love that musical. Elphaba is singing about how she has to run away from what everyone thinks of her and how "everyone deserves a chance to fly!" On the other hand, and on a more general note -- defying gravity may be about going against the flow, but it isn't about rebelling: It's about moving against the force that's pulling you down.
Another reason I like this name is simply because I enjoy studying physics, and gravity, well... It has to do with physics.