Spin the dreidel: Good times on Hanukkah

“PUT ON YOUR yalmulka,” Adam Sandler famously sang, “here comes Hanukkah.” 

From sunset on Dec. 11 to eight days later on the 19th, Jews around the world are celebrating this end-of-year holiday by lighting menorahs, spinning dreidels, and, best of all, mowing down on delicious latkas (deep fried potato pancakes, served with oodles of sour cream and apple sauce… yum!) 

I’m the son of a Jewish father and my mother was raised Catholic (and didn’t convert), so growing up, I did both Hanukkah and Christmas. Friends used to remark about how lucky I was because I got double the gifts. Much as I would have loved that, it didn’t quite work that way. 

Maybe because of the time of the year that the holidays fall, most folks typically view Hanukkah as the equivalent to Christmas. 

It’s really not, though. For one thing, it’s far from the most significant of Jewish holidays. Certainly Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah and Passover rank above it (and it’s not like Jews pretend otherwise).

Christmas, on the other hand, is unquestionably the ultimate Christian holiday. No Christ, no Christians – and no Christmas. 

Hanukkah is alright, don’t get me wrong, but past the age of eight – when the thrill of dreidels and gelt begins to wear off – it’s just not that exciting. To be fair, Christmas does get a lot of help in the hype department because it’s such a commerically driven holiday. 

Still, it tends to have a timeless, almost universal appeal – if you filter out the whole religious part, that is.  

Indeed, my father and some of my Jewish friends, part of the gang that’s usually gathered at my family’s Christmas dinner table, always get a kick out of celebrating the holiday (Heck, Dad’s been known to don a red sweater for the occasion.) 

They have a great time taking part in all the activities and traditions that come with Christmas, corny as some of those may seem to the Grinches out there. It’s a mixture of fun and fantasy, the kind you don’t tend to get with Hanukkah. 

Jon Stewart, referring a few years ago to an “experiment” celebrating both holidays with his two-year-old kid (he’s married to a Catholic), put it more succinctly: “Christmas blows the door off of Hanukkah.” 

Here are a few specific reasons I can think of why Christmas might have Hanukkah licked. 

To start with, Hanukkah is a tad thin in the symbol department: a dreidel and menorah are all I can come up with. 

How can Judas Maccabeus compete?

The holiday is also lacking in mythology and icons. Judas Maccabeus is a legend, but he’s no match for Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman and Scrooge (there is Hanukkah Harry, though…) And where the Christmas back story is easy to understand, Hanukkah’s is really confusing. 

Pop culture-wise, there aren’t many memorable Hanukkah movies (Eight Crazy Nights?); no catchy Hanukkah tunes come to mind, either, other than ‘I Have a Little Dreidel,’ perhaps. (This is ironic, considering Jews wrote a number of the big Christmas anthems, including ’White Christmas,’ ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,’ ‘Let It Snow, ‘Silver Bells,’ and ‘The Christmas Song.”)

And in the end, as devilishly delightful as those latkas might be, I don’t think they can compete with a full-blown Christmas feast – the kind best enjoyed with my Jewish father and friends. Positively sacrilicious. 

ryan@roadtostarrdom.com

The Politically Incorrect News for Politically Incorrect readers

Some thing you may or may not have read…

Item #1- First it was a lecture from China, now Germany is warning the U.S. on market bubbles. Damn right-wing extremism is spreading overseas.

Item #2- Senate health care bill raises taxes on families with special needs children. This is almost as bad as putting their parents in jail if they refuse the mandate.

Item #3- Jon Stewart is important to news. So says alphabet-media libtard Brian Williams.

Item #4- One of life’s little mysteries has been solved. This could be a Jeopardy question one day.

Item #5- Obama’s thug organization, Organizing for America, thinks Sarah Palin is dangerous. What a shocker. A bunch of liberals pussies scared of a real woman who keeps her kids alive, loves her country and can defend herself.

The guy is funny, and makes fun of the White House getting on FOX’s case, and FOX  defining itself……Obama is Stalin?…….but Bush was stalling?………Kal Penn?

Who are those guys?

The schadenfreude mill has caught up to another one.

More chaw means more forearms, kids.

In spring 2008 I read, fascinated, a New Yorker article about how my childhood hero Lenny Dykstra had become a multimillionaire businessman wheeler-and-dealer extraordinaire on account of being, well, Lenny Dykstra.  He bought Wayne Gretzky’s old house in LA for $18 million.  He rode around in luxury jets.  He did lunch at the St. Regis hotel in Manhattan.  He yelled at umps at his kid’s little league game.  Living in the Third World at the time, I distinctly remember thinking, I have got to get home.  If Lenny can get rich, for chrissakes, anyone can.

Turns out ole Lenny wasn’t another Warren Buffet with oncoming mouth cancer.  When the bubble burst last year, Lenny lost everything.  He’s now declared bankruptcy.  He owes his creditors a cool $31 million.  The little league umps ignore him.

Ah, Lenny, if you weren’t such a crass, pompous asshole (really, read the article), we could feel sorry for you for being so dumb.  As it is … well, good luck with that whole bankruptcy thing.

Funny, that the lying liar Jim Cramer was a big fan of Lenny’s.  And that almost a year to the day after the feature on Lenny came out, that lying liar would be outed as such on national TV.

That interview is funny like being punched in the gut is funny.  This, however, is just good old-fashioned snarkastic humor.  As is this:

Analysis of Week 6 in the NFL

Game Recaps

Texans 28 Bengals 17

We’ve said from the beginning that Houston could stun the league when they were on, and this week they put it into high gear. Matt Schaub attacked through the air, while Steve Slaton and Andre Johnson aided him. Slaton was the all-purpose player of the day with 19 carrier for 43 yards as well as six catches for 102 yards and a touchdown, while Johnson was up to his old tricks to the tune of eight receptions for 135 yards. When the Texans can keep Cedric Benson to 44 yards, which is something no other team could do so far this season, there’s always a huge chance to win. For Cincinnati, Carson Palmer was inconsistent at best and really needs to work on controlling the tempo of the game before it gets out of hand.
Game Ball: Matt Schaub went 28/40 with 392 yards and four touchdowns.

Lions 0 Packers 26

This was the first game this season that Detroit wasn’t even competitive in, but to be fair injuries played a part. When the leading receiver and starting quarterback aren’t in the game, you will always have an issue. Daunte Culpepper can’t control this team like Matthew Stafford, and the momentum of the team suffers for it. Aaron Rodgers didn’t have an incredible game, but Donald Driver and Ryan Grant made his job a little easier as well. We will look at this as a tune up for Cleveland next week. The Pack will need it, won’t they?
Game Ball: Donald Driver had seven receptions for 107 yards, including a one-handed catch that landed him on highlight reels everywhere.

Ravens 31 Vikings 33

Old vs. New… and Old won. Adrian Peterson ran for his first 100+ yard game since Week 1, and the Vikings withstood a Ravens’ comeback attempt to win by a very narrow margin. What’s more interesting is that Brett Favre did this without his new favorite target, Percy Harvin, who was injured in the first half. Both Favre and Flacco got beat up all day, but they had excellent games (Flacco turned in a career-best passing effort by going 28 for 43 with 385 yards and two touchdowns). It was refreshing to see Jared Allen so upset after a win – when interviewed by ESPN Allen went off saying this was one of the worst defensive fourth quarters he has ever seen – just because sometimes winning wipes away those bad plays. We don’t think it’s necessarily Steve Hauschka’s fault that he missed that field goal – if time had been managed right be may not have had to kick that far.
Game Ball: Brett Favre can’t get it every week, but he was stunningly accurate, going 21 for 29 with 278 yards and three touchdowns.

Giants 27 Saints 48

Maybe it was a little too early to anoint Eli Manning the king of New York, because he certainly didn’t look that way against New Orleans this Sunday. Manning turned in an embarrassing 14 for 31 performance, throwing for only 178 yards and one touchdown. That simply isn’t going to cut it against one of the most explosive teams in football to this point. No one predicted we would be talking solely about New Orleans’ defense, who held the Giants to just 84 rushing yards and eventually took Manning out of the game. At the end of the day, Drew Brees is still the man and every star shined for the Saints.
Game Ball: Marquis Colston caught only eight passes (every one that was directed to him) for 166 yards and one touchdown.

Browns 14 Steelers 27

Four turnovers each? And these teams are professional? That statistic would usually signal a close game, but in this case it was not. Playing a more disciplined game would have allowed Pittsburgh to run away with it. We aren’t blaming Brady Quinn for wanting a trade – it’s ludicrous to watch from the bench when the starter goes nine for 24 with only 133 yards of offense. The Steelers look like they are slowly recovering from the last couple of rough weeks, but they will need to eliminate the turnovers to be successful in the coming weeks, which includes a meeting with the unbeaten Vikings. On a side note, it is good to have Troy Palomalu back on the field.
Game Ball: Ben Roethlisberger went 23 for 45 for 417 yards and two touchdowns.

Panthers 28 Buccaneers 21

Once again, Carolina managed to win despite Jake Delhomme. The Panthers were helped by two 100+ yard rushing games, but they also benefited from the inspired play of Julius Peppers, who had two sacks and three more tackles for losses. But again, like every week with Carolina, we wonder what they would have done with a quarterback that threw the ball to his own team. This time, we’re betting Steve Smith is asking the same thing.
Game Ball: D’Angelo Williams had 30 carries for 155 yards and two touchdowns, while Jon Stewart had 17 for 110 yards and one touchdown.

Chiefs 14 Redskins 6

When the Redskins play, it now means we will not see a touchdown. All of the points scored in this game were not touchdown related – Kansas City had four field goals and a safety while Washington managed two field goals – and we get frustrated just watching it. The players in our nation’s capital have turned their weekly games into “me” ball, meaning Clinton Portis running for 100 yards and Albert Haynesworth’s half of a sack are simply to keep their stats up so somehow, some way they can get traded off of the team. Surprisingly, Todd Hailey’s offensive mind still couldn’t find a way to score a points (unless you think the kicker was part of his genius as well).
Game Ball: We’re giving it to the kicker. Ryan Succop went four-for-four with a long of 46 to score 12 of the Chief’s 14 points.

Rams 20 Jaguars 23

We thought maybe, just maybe, St. Louis could rake up their first win. But alas, the universe won’t let it be so. It may have taken four quarters, but the Jags woke up and started playing some football just in time to win the game. Behind the efforts of the hyphenated twins, Mike Sims-Walker and Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville advanced to the .500 level, while the Rams are still winless. Even though the Jags lost the turnover battle, it was the penalties that killed St. Louis again this week.
Game Ball: Mike Sims-Walker had nine catches for 120 yards, while Maurice Jones-Drew had 33 carries for 133 yards and three touchdowns.

Eagles 9 Raiders 13

Every year the Eagles lose to one team that isn’t even qualified to take the field, and this week it was Oakland. The Raiders had a lot of media talking smack on them this week, and to their credit, they stayed quiet and took it out on the field with them. Their defense took advantage of an injury to offensive lineman Jason Peters as well as Andy Reid’s pass-thick play calling to get to Donovan McNabb fast and hard. The Raiders sacked McNabb six times, including two by Richard Seymour, who seems to be settling in nicely. With a game this tight and problems with the plan, Philadelphia’s problems with David Akers were highlighted – the kicker went three-for-five, but only kicked outside of 40 yards the entire day.
Game Ball: Seymour was impressive and showed the fire we were used to seeing in him from the New England days. Along with his two sacks, he had three tackles for a loss, and three more hits on McNabb during play.

Cardinals 27 Seahawks 3

After Seattle’s blowout win last week, we thought this game would be a little more competitive. Instead, Kurt Warner decided he wanted to win. He went 32 for 41 with 276 yards and two touchdowns on the day, but the real surprise was how good he looked passing to Larry Fitzgerald, who seems to have gotten out of his funk from earlier in the season. The Seahawks may have lost this game because of their complete lack of a running game – they had 11 attempts for 14 yards as a team – or it could have been Matt Hasselbeck’s lack of talent this weekend – he completed only ten passes for 112 yards and one interception. You decide who to blame.
Game Ball: Larry Fitzgerald looked explosive, catching 13 of the 15 passes he receiver for 100 yards and a touchdown.

Titans 0 Patriots 59

Jeff Fischer may be one of the best coaches in the league, but he is in a definite need of a change down there in Nashville. The Titans thought they had a star when they got Nate Washington, who is slowly proving that it’s all about the system you are playing in. They thought they were doing the right thing signing Kerry Collins to come back even though everyone said he was too old. Turns out, they were wrong. Collins completed only two passes on the day for negative seven yards and threw one interception, while Washington’s one reception was for -22 yards. Even with Chris Johnson rushing for 128 yards, the Titans still couldn’t manage to put any points on the board. Meanwhile, the Patriots are serving notice to the AFC and the rest of the league that they are back, and they mean business.
Game Ball: Let’s see… who to give it to. Tom Brady, who went 29 for 34 with 380 yards and SIX TOUCHDOWNS? That would be the one. Honorable mention goes to Randy Moss and Wes Welker for catching those well-thrown balls.

Bills 16 Jets 13

New York did everything they could to give this game to Buffalo, but the Bills wouldn’t take it. Mark Sanchez is looking younger each game, and slowly but surely that 3-0 start has crept down to 3-3. The only offensive player that looked like he was actually playing on Sunday was Thomas Jones, who wrangled a measly 200+ yards, but the rest were for the birds. Sanchez had an embarrassing five interceptions (one of which directly cost them the game), but even that didn’t directly lose the game for them. Jay Feely missed a field goal that could have put them up at the half. It was an entire team losing effort for New York, and a nasty win for Buffalo.
Game Ball? Yeah right. We guess Thomas Jones can  have it, if he even wants it.

Bears 14 Atlanta 21

Atlanta proved one thing on Sunday night: They can win if Matt Ryan isn’t on his game, especially if Jay Cutler isn’t either. This wasn’t an incredible offensive effort, especially coming off of that blowout last week, but the Falcons pulled through miraculously. Cutler and the Bears came up short on the two minute drive, which ultimately cost them the game, but when Cutler is also your leading rusher, you have a problem. The bottom line was really that Atlanta could convert in the red zone, while Chicago barely hit one of four attempts.
Game Ball: Roddy White caught four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown.

Denver 34 San Diego 23

It seems like every game is a statement game for the Broncos these days, and they went out of their way to win this one. Behind journeyman quarterback Kyle Orton, who was never meant to be this good, Denver backed up their undefeated status with big plays and clutch touchdowns. What is nice to see is that even a young team can stay calm under pressure, run a three-minute drill, and come from behind to win (again). Although their running back tandum or Correll Buckhalter and Knowshon Moreno weren’t as powerful as usual – they combined for 90 yards – wide reciever Tony Scheffler more than made up for it with six catches for 101 yards and one touchdown. Games against a very mad Baltimore team and Pittsburgh in the coming weeks will be more rocks in Denver’s not-so-smooth path. Things are going from bad to worse for the smack-talking Chargers. They really haven’t showed much promise, and if Phillip Rivers can’t come back from this start, they may be doomed for the season.
Game Ball: We said it once, we’ll say it again… Kyle Orton was never supposed to be this good. Orton went 20 for 29 with 229 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown with three minutes left.

Week 6 Wrap Up

- Injuries: Trent Edwards has suffered a concussion after a sack early in the game. The Bills have not released word as to the severity of the head injury. This is the second concussion of his carrier… Cincinnati defensive end Antwan Odom tore his Achilles tendon during the game Sunday. He had surgery on the injury Monday, and is expected to be out long-term. He leads the league in sacks as of Week 6… Jets defensive tackle Kris Jenkins suffered a knee injury. The ACL tear is said to be season-ending… Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu suffered what was believed to be a season-ending chest tear, but upon furthur review may not be as serious as previously thought. Tests revealed that the tear was partial instead of full, and may only need a few weeks of therapy… Atlanta corner back Brian Williams suffered a season-ending knee injury. Coach Mike Smith explained that Williams tore his ACL and “some other stuff” in a press conference on Monday…
- After Washington’s latest loss, the higher-ups in the franchise took play-calling ability away from head coach Jim Zorn. Zorn speculated that this would be a change just to see if he was the problem. Most experts think Zorn will be permanently removed during the bye-week.
-Shortly before Monday night’s game between the Chargers and the Broncos, a long-time stadium worker, Walt Daniels, fell from the press box. Entry to the stadium was delayed 40 minutes while the scene was investigated. Daniels was taken to a local hospital and his condition was not released.
- Steelers kicker Jeff Reed was cited for public intoxication and disorderly conduct after the win against Cleveland Sunday night. This was Reed’s second citation for the same offense, which happened at 9:00 PM at McFadden’s Bar in Pittsburgh.
- Panthers’ corner Dante Williams was suspended for one game Monday after a viscious hit on Tampa Bay’s Clinton Smith. Smith had signaled for a fair catch when Williams left his feet for a hit. Both benches cleared and Williams was ejected. Smith is said to have only a concussion.

And the UDU Game Ball Goes To…

Tom Brady needed a week like this. He set a record by throwing five touchdown passes in one half of football, then helped the Patriots set another record by opening up the biggest half-time lead in history (45-0). The 59-point win was the largest margin of victory in over 33 years. Brady went 29 for 34 with 380 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Bill O'Reilly and his Pimp

Given up true journalism after leaving CBS, O’Reilly seemed to hit his stride in the ego enhancement that is conservative talk radio. Taking a rule book from Rush Limbaugh:  Forget fact checking and the truth, and even more importantly make your program a circus that is totally geared to make money.

And then when Fox comes along and makes him their little whore, well, it was match made in Heaven.

The important thing to remember when viewing O’Reilly’s show: he really doesn’t care about the issues. He cares that his demographic cares. Dixie chicks? No, never cared about them. But his demographic  despises any critique, true or not, of President Bush. So he went after them.

With Dr. George Tiller, O’Reilly’s  on going slander and name calling(which i reciprocate here rather liberally) of this man. His demographic needed him again. And again. And after Tiller was assassinated? He blamed  Joan Walsh of Salon? It is not that he hates Joan Walsh or even Dr. Tiller, but having Joan Walsh on his show so he could treat her like a whore, made his show and his demographic rise. 

There is no doubt he is a good business man, amassing a fortune on the body of Dr. Tiller, and others. And it’s always fascinating to watch someone  that spends so much time pandering to an audience that is too dull to see through him.

On the Aug. 19 Episode of the Daily Show,  Jon Stewart points out the ironic shift reflected in Fox News. Supporting people at the health care town halls, yet mocking and ridiculing Iraq protesters years previously.  They are liberals now.

I think it’s important to point out that Bill O’Reily is a very well educated man. He has a masters degree in both public Administration and broadcast journalism.  The fact he can use gutter language,  paparazzi techniques and  yelling pointlessly at his guest, is sort of misleading. He seems quite aware of his lowered level and ultimate decaying journalism. If you had seen the man in the early 1980’s, would you have recognised him? 

But what you see now is a man that decided to take the check. He took the money and damned any qualifications for journalistic standards. 

And what is so telling when he tries to mock a mocker like Jon Steward? He is not talking to all of us, but the poor sheep; yes his demographics that do not have a clue to what irony and hypocrisy-laced  humor might be.

It is not doubt that O’Reilly knows exactly what Steward was saying.  But to admit to that would bring down his rating.  Now why would he do that?

Bill O’Reilly makes the case for the pocket book. This is no dummy, he just ”acts”  like one on TV.

Sarkasmus

Sarkasmus

Bonus: Das Beste, was jemals im Fernsehen lief

Earlier today I did a link to this video on the The Daily Show with Jon Steward about the socialist system in Sweden   It has raised quite a bit of discussion on facebook so I thought that I would link to it here too.  What do you think – is this a nightmare or is it a dream?

To be honest growing up in Australia where we had a partially socialized medical system and then working in New Zealand where health care was more fully socialized I can see both good and bad in the socialized system.  Yes taxes are higher but one does not live in fear of losing everything you have when you get ill. And I must say that 4 – 6 weeks vacation a year is rather nice too.  

Would love to hear your thoughts.  Check out the video here 

(I know I should be able to embed this but have not been able to figure it out so ideas on that would be appreciated too.  Obviously not as techi as I thought)

As mentioned in this post, the EURPLN and CHFPLN charts generated medium-term (weekly) sell signals:

Also CHFPLN’s trend looks like it has been reversed:

Those drops were caused by government interventions and we still need to observe the markets carefully.
Trend reversals will be more reliable, when price crosses 4.39 for EURPLN and 2.88 for CHFPLN.

As for fun – Jim Cramer has been interviewed by Jon Steward (part1, part2 and part3).

Update from 2009/03/15:
Lem has published a interesting analysis of EURPLN on his blog (here, polish spoken commentary). Lem is using Elliott’s Wave Theory and according to this analysis the EURPLN’s uptrend is still intact.

Sources:
[http://lemansa.wordpress.com/2009/03/14/eurpln-szkolenie-part-vi/]
[http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=220536&title=Jim-Cramer-Pt.-1]
[http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=220538&title=Jim-Cramer-Pt.-2]
[http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=220539&title=Jim-Cramer-Pt.-3]

The WIG Index fell -1.01%:

Again, not much can be said. The positive divergence suggest correction, but current downtrend favors continuation of fall. Therefore, we shall not have any long-term positions.

Warren Buffett published its annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholders (here).

Jon Stewart has created quite memorable show (here, video here).

Sources:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Stewart]
[http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2008ltr.pdf]
[http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/CNBC-easy-target-Jon-Stewarts/story.aspx?guid={EAB2CEB9-0F7A-444A-B131-4821D7C59315}]
[http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=220252&title=CNBC-Gives-Financial-Advice]

Zionist terrorism against children and women in Gaza. With our Prayers for the people of Gaza, insha’Allah Justice will Prevail.

جرائم الصهاينة في غزة مع دعاء الشيخ خالد الراشد

This video shows how the children in Gaza are dying for no reason while the armies in Israel are having fun in writing their names on the rockets sent to Gaza. What did the children of Gaza ever do to the Jews to deserve to die!! Don’t they deserve to live life and feel secure, instead of fearing that they will die any second!?

 Astaghfirullahala’zim.

Israel ‘admits’ using white Phosphorus munitions – It is a chemical which is banned from using in Wars.

JERUSALEM – Human Rights Watch said Sunday that Israel’s military has fired artillery shells with the incendiary agent white phosphorus into Gaza and a doctor there said the chemical was suspected in the case of 10 burn victims who had skin peeling off their faces and bodies.

Researchers in Israel from the rights group witnessed hours of artillery bombardments that sent trails of burning smoke indicating white phosphorus over the Jebaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. But they could not confirm injuries on the ground because they have been barred from entering the territory.

The Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv reported that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) had privately admitted using phosphorus bombs and that the Judge Advocate General’s Office and Southern Command were investigating.

The Times first accused Israeli forces of using white phosphorus on January 5, but the IDF has denied the charge repeatedly. Phosphorus bombs can be used to create smoke screens, but their use as weapons of war in civilian areas is banned by the Geneva Conventions.

Yesterday reports emerged from Gaza about the killing of five members of the Halima family, when a single white phosphorus shell dropped on their house in the town of Atatra on January 3. Two others were in a coma and three were seriously wounded, according to doctors and survivors.

Nafiz Abu Shahbah, a doctor who trained in Britain and America, said he was sure white phosphorus was responsible. Her wounds at first appeared superficial “but it eats at the flesh, it digs deeper and gets to the bone…The whole body becomes toxic,” he said.

VIEW VIDEO AND THANK JON STEWARD HERE http://www.thankyoujonstewart.com/

 On The Daily Show’s January 5 “Strip Maul” segment, Jon Stewart did what few American television personalities have dared to do: he criticized Israel’s campaign against Gaza, making it clear that bombing will not bring peace for Israelis or Palestinians. He mocked the one-sided response of U.S. politicians by calling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict the “Mobius strip of issues because there’s only one side!” He’s sure to get thousands of complaints, so send Jon a letter of appreciation and then ask all your friends to watch this segment.Mahdi Bray – Muslim American Society, Pro Gaza Rally in Washington DC Jan 10, 2009

“WE all seek for World Peace”

 

Word History: Totality of destruction has been central to the meaning of holocaust since it first appeared in Middle English in the 14th century, used in reference to the biblical sacrifice in which a male animal was wholly burnt on the altar in worship of God. Holocaust comes from Greek holokauston (“that which is completely burnt”), which was a translation of Hebrew ‘ōlâ (literally “that which goes up,” that is, in smoke). In this sense of “burnt sacrifice,” holocaust is still used in some versions of the Bible. In the 17th century the meaning of holocaust broadened to “something totally consumed by fire,” and the word eventually was applied to fires of extreme destructiveness. In the 20th century holocaust has taken on a variety of figurative meanings, summarizing the effects of war, rioting, storms, epidemic diseases, and even economic failures. Most of these usages arose after World War II, but it is unclear whether they permitted or resulted from the use of holocaust in reference to the mass murder of European Jews and others by the Nazis. This application of the word occurred as early as 1942, but the phrase the Holocaust did not become established until the late 1950s. Here it parallels and may have been influenced by another Hebrew word, šô’â (“catastrophe,” in English, Shoah). In the Bible šô’â has a range of meanings including “personal ruin or devastation” and “a wasteland or desert.” Šô’â was first used to refer to the Nazi slaughter of Jews in 1939, but the phrase haš-šô’â (“the catastrophe”) became established only after World War II. Holocaust has also been used to translate ḥurbān (“destruction”), another Hebrew word used to summarize the genocide of Jews by the Nazis.    

 

Ther ‘R Lighter thieves tHAT

LurK in every smoker’s LIFE

Somthing like elves whether U believe in them or not

I FOUND one the other day

a NEW one, 2Me,I dare say

A Lighter, under the socks in my top bureau drawer

a lighter, gone missing, why-only-a-few-days-ago, looking-for

as I grabbed  a spare [cig-a-rette]

– AMONGst the STOcking-Drawer

I sighed – oh, my: a lighter-thief I’v'e never sEEN beFore!

Posted by Jane

So we all know Tilia has an unhealthy obsession with the, I must admit, fabulous Jon Stewart, but I also must admit I have my own. And funnily enough, she’s kind of the female version of him. Rachel Maddow is the hottest pundit on American cable television (for gals like me ) and I’ll tell you why. 

1. That smile. Damn. 

She’s just cuter than a button, and the smile is usually genuine, unless she’s trying to smugly shrug off some dimwit guest’s unavoidable liberal attack. Not only is her smile beautiful and warm as sunshine, it’s also endearingly nerdy and a little goofy, which I find hopelessly attractive. 

2. Her energetic conviction. This woman could tell the American people cows were purple and I’d believe her. Speaking of which…perhaps her future lies in politics. She has a way of getting her guests undevided attention by speaking straight and truthful to them, and you can tell she always genuinely wants to get down to why they disagree, which is hot. She knows when to laugh, when to attack, and when to let her guests make asses of themselves. And she always….hands down…wins an argument. Because of…

3. Her intelligence. She’s smacked down the likes of Pat Buchanan on the Keith Olberman show, and does it not only with wit and charm, but just cold hard intelligence and decorum. She flashes those pearly whites, speaks in that desirably deep voice and out spouts impressive vocabulary and political fact doctrine. She’s not afraid to stick it to the man. And she’s really good at it. Best thing is she doesn’t want to do anything else with em! 

4. Her passion. I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to have such a talented woman on a cable news network amongst all these boring white guys with bad ties. She ultimately comes out on top, though, because of her passion for politics and what she’s reporting. She’s a self proclaimed political nerd but because she cares so deeply for what she’s talking about, her show doesn’t come across as a blaze, propaganda news show, but an upbeat, exciting one. 

5. Her gayness. Yeah. She’s out and proud. And it’s not only hot, it’s groundbreaking. Rachel is the first ever out lesbian to have such a powerful position in cable news. The fact that she’s gained so many fans and admirers, both gay and straight, both male and female, in such a short amount of time since her show aired, is a very positive step in getting rid of social prejudices people may have of the gay community. Well done Rachel! And…marry me?

Am I the only one that sees the irony in McCain basing his campaign on defining Obama as being unprepared when his hand-picked possible likely successor, has orders of magnitude less experience? Apparently, I have to go to Canada to find a supporting voice. I’ve seen thoughtful commentary on Palin from others more qualified than me to judge her fit. Jon Stewart and Robert Colbert know how to make the facts funny:

 http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=179253&title=wazzup

DNC as beer commercials as only Jon Steward can.
(Shamelessly swaggerjacked from The Rundown)