Embassy Crashers

One of the lead headlines on CNN's homepage reads, "Israeli Police Storm UK Embassy." That sounds pretty bad. After all, as any fan of "24" knows, embassies are sovereign territory. Sending forces into an embassy has the same legal effect as sending forces across a border into another nation. The article then explains that the commandos entered the embassy to capture an armed Palestinian who scaled a fence to enter the grounds so that he could forcibly demand asylum. The same story on Fox News also paints the same picture, although the headline on the homepage does indicate that the man the commandos nabbed was armed.

A crime occurring inside an embassy does not provide a legal basis for the police to enter the premises. The CNN article, and certainly the headline, give the impression that Israel committed a major violation of international law. What CNN and Fox omitted from the story is one very significant fact that the Jerusalem Post fortunately reports-the British government provided Israel with the consent to enter the premises and to handle the situation, which it did, by the way, with no injuries or fatalities, thank God. In other words, Israel did nothing wrong. Unfortunately, some people will assume the contrary because that's the narrative they receive.

Short People Got No Reason To Live

According to this recent news story, a study shows that taller people are smarter than average. It makes perfect sense to me. Of course, I'm 6'3", so most things make sense to me.

A Day Like No Other

Today is the fourth day of the Jewish month of Elul. For me, the day comes with a doubly poignant feeling to it. On this date in 1972, my grandfather, Rabbi David Zwick a"h, left this world. Because I was only 21 months old when he passed, I never had the luxury of really knowing my grandfather. From what I know from others, I missed a lot. The picture of my grandfather that hung in my parents' homes throughout my life showed a man with a pleasant and gentle smile. Other than that and knowing that my grandfather was a rabbi who taught Hebrew at various Jewish schools in the metro Detroit area, I never knew much about him.

Since moving back to Michigan eleven years ago, I have come feel great pride at being the grandson of a man I don't even remember. It seems like every Jew in the Detroit area between ages fifty and seventy had my grandfather as a teacher. As I meet people in both my communal and professional lives and they hear my last name, they ask if I was related to Rabbi Zwick.

The most memorable example was when, soon after law school and returning to Michigan, I was working for a law firm that represented creditors and trustees in bankruptcies. I was dealing with a file in which I sent a demand letter to innocent beneficiary of fraud demanding that he return the money, around $1,000. A few days letter, the recipient called me and started yelling that he did nothing wrong and wasn't going to return the money. After I argued with him and saw that we weren't going to get the money without a legal battle, I told him off the record that it wasn't worth our while to pursue the matter. Upon hearing that, the man immediately became friendly and asked if I was Rabbi Zwick's grandson. I said that I was. As I would hear many more times over the years, the man recounted what a nice man and good teacher my grandfather was. Needless to say, hearing that over and over again has given me great pride.

Exactly 21 years after my grandfather's passing, the fourth day of Elul was no longer just about my lineage. It became the day of my own greatest achievement, when Lesley and I married. A few months earlier, while driving on the Florida Turnpike between Orlando, where I attended a conference for work, and Boca Raton, where I would be spending Shabbat with some friends, I had time to think and realized after months of dating that I needed Lesley in my life and that I wanted to spend our futures together. While I pretty much knew where our relationship was heading, marriage wasn't something we had really discussed.

The next week, while on vacation in Las Vegas, Lesley and I were browsing in a book store. We were perusing one book that was meant to spark conversations by posing life questions. It sure worked. The first page to which we opened asked where the reader sees himself in five years. I said that I saw myself married to Lesley. She agreed. That was that. As soon as we returned from the trip, I went to the jeweler to order the ring and proposed the following week. After all, as Billy Crystal said in "When Harry Met Sally...", "when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

The rest of my life so far has been the best part of my life. There have been many laughs and a few tears, but every second has been the best because they have been with the woman I love, my best friend, the woman with whom I will, God willing, have and raise children and share this wonderful thing we call life. I don't know where it will take us. I just know who I want with me along the way.

Worst Liar Ever

According to this story, Madin Azad Amin was traveling from Chicago to Turkey with his mother when airport security asked him about a suspicious object in his baggage. Not wanting his mother to know that the object was a penis pump, Amin told the security staff that it was merely...a grenade. Yes, a grenade. Security arrested Amin, who, after telling the truth, is facing a felony count of disorderly conduct.

Let's take stock of this situation. All over the news are stories of men with Muslim names and/or appearances facing arrest or at least harassment and delay due to suspicion that they are attempting to explode airplanes. So what does this guy do when facing the embarrassment of his mother knowing that he needs some, er, help? He instead tells the authorities, with his mother listening, that he is carrying an explosive device.

This tells us two things about Mr. Amin. First, he apparently comes from a culture where it's more shameful within one's own family to need assistance in the bedroom then to be carrying live ordnance on an airplane. Second, he is really stupid to have not thought of a better lie. Of course, if his mother is as dumb as he is, she probably cannot read the news story that reported her son's problem to the entire world.

UPDATE: Mrs. Zwicker raised a good question-Why was it so necessary for Amin to carry the pump on the plane as opposed to checking it with his luggage?

Snakes In A Theatre

The movie "Snakes On A Plane" doesn't really interest me too greatly, but I have to acknowledge some great marketing. For example, by visiting the movie's website, you can have Samuel L. Jackson make a customized telephone call to your friends and family (hat tip to Noah Daddy). However, I think some people are getting a little too excited about the movie. During a recent screening of the movie in a Phoenix, Arizona, area theatre, someone released venomous diamondback rattlesnakes. If the culprits were into the whole audience participation thing, ala "Rocky Horror Picture Show," I'm just glad I didn't go to see "King Kong" with them.

Let's Say Thanks

Whatever you think of the war in Iraq, the men and women representing this nation over there (and anywhere else for that matter) deserve our utmost thanks and gratitude. I therefore recommend visiting Let's Say Thanks. You can select from one of a number of postcards that American children designed. The Xerox corporation will then print the postcard you select, with your name, city and message (don't worry, if you're not feeling particularly poignant, the site has a number of "personalized" messages from which you can select) and send it to a soldier for you.

Hat tip to Brent the Gentile.

World Trade Center

When I first heard a number of months ago that Oliver Stone, of all directors, would be making one of the first major motion pictures about 9/11, I thought that I would probably never see it. It's not that the subject matter is too touchy for my sensitivities. It was more a matter of assuming that Stone's filmography left me assuming that he would use arguably the saddest day in this nation's history as a platform for his politics.

After reading very positive reviews about it, Lesley and I made plans to see Stone's "World Trade Center" last night. It was quite ironic that we saw it last night, hours after news that England's MI-5 captured terrorists planning to hijack and explode airliners heading for America.

The reviews were right. The movie is amazing as a story and art as well as necessary to see. Let me preface that I will not write any spoilers in this post and ask any commenters, if any, to not spoil it for others, although I will add that tissues are a must.

The movie is about both the heroes of the Port Authority Police Department who entered the WTC to save others as well as the cruel uncertainties that their families endured awaiting word of their trapped men. The movie starts by showing the protagonists starting that fateful day in their normal manner, as we all did that morning. The film never shows the planes actually hitting the buildings. It just shows the shadow and loud noise of the first plane as it approached the WTC.

Watching the first part of the movie, when various players heard of the first and then second strikes and the uncertainty they faced while trying to determine what happened and what to do, brought back to me vivid memories of that day. I was sitting in my office in suburban Detroit, getting ready for a 9:30 deposition, when I heard on the radio that an airplane hit one of the towers. Like many others, I assumed it was just an errant small plane that couldn't have caused too much damage in such a massive building. When the second plane hit, we all knew it was much worse and sinister than that.

The deposition witness fortunately did not appear that morning, for reasons totally unrelated to what was unfolding in New York. I was for once not annoyed at someone wasting my time. There was no way I could concentrate on business that day. In addition to knowing that our nation was under attack on our own soil, it was happening in a city in which I lived for seven years and still visited often. It was specifically happening in buildings into which I had entered countless times. I thought immediately of two of my best friends who worked in the immediate vicinity of the WTC. I of course could not reach them by telephone. A very good friend died the prior year. That was the saddest time of my life. Contemplating not only the loss of two more good friends but also having no way of knowing their fates made me a nervous wreck. Thank God, I learned that night that both had escaped any harm. Millions of others went through the same panic that day. Some were not so fortunate.

The rest of the movie dealt with the trapped officers, their families and the rescue efforts. Stone managed to direct and produce the movie in a manner that was tasteful and neither exploitive or political. He merely portrayed some of the things that make this nation so great-the strength of love and family, sacrifice and courage. Nearly 3,000 people died that day. Were it not for our heroes, the total would have been much greater. The movie serves as a stark reminder that those who serve and protect this nation deserve our utmost gratitude. Members of the military and police as well as firefighters make sure that we can enjoy not only our safety but our freedoms. After the movie, I saw an older gentleman in the hall wearing a baseball hat that read, "Once A Marine, Always A Marine-Semper Fi". As I have done for the past few years whenever I have the opportunity, I approached him and thanked him for his service. He thanked me back and offered his hand for a not surprisingly very firm handshake. I looked him in the eye and said, "No, really, thank you." I meant it.

Penniless Lane

Yesterday I stopped at the Farmer Jack at Ten Mile and Coolidge . I don't normally like to shop at that store due to its repeated failure to have enough registers open relative to the number of shoppers, no matter the time of day. I only go there because of its location.

In yesterday's shopping trip, I was only purchasing two or three items, so I used the self-checkout lane. Since the total cost was $5.49, below my usual $10 threshold for credit card use, I paid cash. I inserted into the machine a $20 bill and received $14.50 back. For those of you who may be mathematically challenged, the machine shorted me a penny. Apparently, the machine automatically imposes half of the "give a penny, take a penny" protocol.

A penny is obviously not going to make or break me, but it irks me for two reasons. First, my change at the end of each day goes into one tzedakah fund or another. So please don't think that stinginess is prompting my outrage. Second, while "give a penny, take a penny" is a good idea, it should be the consumer's choice.

A few years ago, Air was rightly upset about Farmer Jack's refusal to stop shoppers with more than the maximum number of items from using the express lane, a violation of which also occurred yesterday in the lane I used. He protested by refusing to put his carts into the corrals in the parking lot. I'm struggling with devising a way of letting Farmer Jack know how upset I am in a manner as effective as Air's.

Michael Levine A"H

With the Nine Days' mourning period officially done and Shabbat Nachamu just hours away, we would all like to proceed to happier times. At the same time, we cannot forget the destructive force that we Jews, especially those in Israel, are facing.

Yesterday, while driving to shul, I heard on ABC radio a brief clip about Michael Levine, a young American who was killed in southern Lebanon the other day and whose funeral was, fittingly enough, yesterday on Tisha B'Av. Listening to wails of his mourners would have been sad enough on any day but reverberated in my mind even more so because of all that we commemorated yesterday. The news became even sadder when I received the following e-mail from our friend Ruthie Rott:

Dear friends,
I've been blessed to hear from so many of you lately with concerns about how I'm doing in Israel. Up until now, I've been able to say that I'm doing fine considering the situation. Unfortunately, the war hit a bit closer to home this week when a dear friend of mine, Michael Levine, was killed in battle in South Lebanon.
Michael, or "Mikey" as we called him was one of the most special people you'd have ever met. He was warm, caring, loving, kind, and always (I mean
ALWAYS) had a huge smile on his face. Over the last two years, he'd become like a 'little brother' to me... he used to call me his "soul sister".
Every now and again, he would drop by for tea and cookies... just to talk about 'stuff'. Those are very special memories that I will forever cherish.
For those of you that have read about Mikey in the Jerusalem Post, you'll know that he was born in Philadelphia and came over to Israel at the age of
17 when he joined the IDF as a lone soldier. He became an Israeli citizen and joined the elite paratrooper division. Despite his slight physical stature (118 lbs, and 5'5" tall) he was a strong and true soldier... through and through... but it never made him hard... he always remained one of the warmest people I'd ever met... with a smile that could light up a room.
When the war broke out, Mikey was on vacation in America. He was not called back to Israel, but he voluntarily chose to return to his unit. Initially, they were going to place him in a homeland division, but he insisted on going ahead with his unit into Lebanon. He even told a mutual friend that he felt like his life wouldn't be worth much anyway, if he didn't come home and fight side by side with his unit - which were his brothers and his family - and to fight for the country he loved. This strength, courage, and clarity coming from a 21 year old is beyond my ability to understand, but will forever inspire me...
He loved Israel. He loved people. And everyone that knew him, loved him as well. The world is a much dimmer place, without him here.
Over the last few days, as I've been processing this loss, I debated whether or not to send out this email. Especially because Mikey wouldn't want people to make too much of a fuss over him anyway - he was a tremendously humble human being. But I thought it was important to put a face (see pic
attached) on the reality of the losses we're feeling here in Israel as well
- it seems to be the story least told in this situation.
For those that are interested, I also wrote something about Mikey and the Jewish holiday of Tisha B'Av (a national day of Jewish mourning) on my blog
at: amomentofinspiration.blogspot.com Mikey was buried on Tisha B'Av... he was a true Tzaddik.
Now, as I close this email, I am going to make a bold request. While expressions of condolence and support are appreciated - and I know how much all of you care - I would prefer something else right now. It would mean much much more to me if instead of emailing me back, you would PLEASE DO SOMETHING in his memory instead. Let his death not be in vain. In his memory, in the name of Michael Levine - give charity, take on a mitzvah, speak kinder to people, don't gossip, say a prayer, judge others favorably, defend Israel (here, or in the media, or in the world), do anything, do SOMETHING, just any small little thing to fill this world with more light.
Because there's a much bigger void than there was just a few days ago...
Please help honor his sacrifice - because if we all do something small - even if it's really really really small - all of us combined will equal something really really big. Please help his memory live through our good deeds...
Love and Blessings Always,
Rachel Tova (Ruthie)

I'll Call Your Gibson And Raise You A Dingell

It's been a week now since Mel Gibson's drunken, viciously anti-semitic tirade. With the Nine Days' ban on listening to music over in a few hours, I have listened to, and read, many opinions on the topic from both ends of various spectra, religious, political and social. The most reasonable summation of the whole sordid affair, in my humble opinion, comes from Dennis Prager.

In essence, Prager argues that Gibson clearly harbored anti-Semitic thoughts, the voicing of which require condemnation. At the same time, Prager continued, Gibson has never, as far as we know, acted on his feelings. To those who say that "The Passion Of The Christ" proves to the contrary, Prager responds that while Jews understandably found the movie disturbing since it displays their religion's ancestors as the wrongdoers, you have to look at the movie from the perspective of Gibson and the movie's gentile audience. They saw the movie not as the Jews committing wrong but as Jesus suffering and dying for their sins. The identity of Jesus' killers was secondary. The proof, according to Prager, is in the pudding-there has been no anti-Semitic act of hatred, violent or otherwise, that resulted from the movie.

I myself have not seen the movie, but those whom I know who have seen the movie did not walk away from it with fear of persecution or even disgust that would come with experiencing an anti-Semitic work. At the end of the day, as disgusting as I find Gibson's statements to be, they don't scare me. They were wrong and Gibson has unequivocally apologized for them. Given his track record, which has been devoid of any anti-Semitic actions, I accept his apologies, albeit with an eye on the future to see whether he has put his hateful views behind. Most importantly, Gibson is an entertainer who doesn't seem to have any power to put his views into action.

On the flip side, sadly lost in the Gibson kerfuffle have been Congressman John Dingell's statements and actions regarding the Israel-Hizbollah conflict. On July 18, the United States Congress passed a resolution condeming Hizbollah for initiating the conflict. Only eight members of Congress opposed the measure. Dingell, along with fellow Michigan representatives John Conyers and Carolyn Kilpatrick (Kwame's mother) ,was among the eight dissenters. This past week, a local reporter asked Dingell if he was taking sides between Israel and Hizbollah. Dingell responded that he was not.

While Dingell does not appear to be an anti-Semite, his statements and actions, which you could label as either moral cowardice or mere pandering to his Muslim constituents in Dearborn, are startling. After all, Dingell is a senior member of this nation's legislative branch. Hizbollah is an organization that the government, under administration of both parties, has officially named a terrorist entity. It is an organization that killed 241 members of our military, a terrorist action for which it has never made amends. According to this morning's Detroit Free Press, "Hizbollah has two fundamental goals: the destruction of the Jewish nation of Israel and the creation of an Islamic nation in Lebanon modeled on Iran." Besides supporting the only democracy and true ally his country has in the Middle East, Hizbollah's stated desire to be another Iran should be alarming enough for Dingell.

Call Gibson a hater, but that's where it ends for him. His opinions may be despicable, but he is at the end of the day just a guy who makes movies. Dingell is someone who can make laws and set policy. You tell me which one is worse.

Bad Statement, Worse Timing

Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, has declared that the war in Lebanon is creating momentum for further withdrawals from Judea and Samaria. If Olmert should have learned one thing, it's that giving land for peace only results in giving land while leaving terrorists with the impression that violence doesn't result in defeat but in gaining land. Omert's statement would be terrible at any time but is particularly unfortunate in its timing. The one message that he should be sending now, while his country is fighting Islamofacsists on two fronts, is that Israel will not give an inch to terrorism.

Letter From Avraham

The following is a letter from Avraham a/k/a the Artist Formerly Known as Robbie. Avraham's brother was one of my good friends growing up and our families are still close. Avraham is now an artist in Tzfat, where he lives with his wife and daughter. When Lesley and I were in Israel this past March, we spent a wonderful night at their house in Tzfat. We should all pray for the peace and safety of Avraham and every one of our fellow Jews, both in Israel and in the Diaspora.

b"hshalom,thank you to everyone for writing and for all the heartfelt words of support. i cannot answer all the e-mails personally right now as i have now only a few moments on-line. we (my wife rebecca, daughter ashira, and myself) left tzfat 14 days ago, under fire from ketusha rockets. the bombs started to hit tzfat on the fast of the 17th of tamuz. a few places in tzfat were hit in the afternoon. late afternoon between mincha and arvit (the afternoon and evening prayers), another round of rockets hit tzfat. i was in the abuhav synagogue when we heard the explosions. i rushed home, and on the way saw that a rocket had hit a few streets above our house. i have heard since that a young man was killed in that explosion. a ketusha also hit 6 doors down from our house, injuring a woman and her 5 children, with 2 of her young daughters being seriously injured. (please pray for their recovery: ravital, and bat-tzion bat ravital, and michal bat ravital).

we quickly grabbed some belongings, filled our car with rebecca's brother (who had a ketusha fall 30 meters from him in his house), packed the car with friends and drove from tzfat in the dark as the power in the town went out and more ketushas could be heard exploding. mount meron was on fire as we were leaving.the next week we traveled as refugees from place to place for a week until we rented an apartment for the next couple of weeks in the old city of yerushalayim, where we are now staying. ketushas have been raining down in tzfat and northern israel every day since we left. i believe that well over a thousand bombs have hit northern israel. from what i have heard 80% of tzfat has evacuated and those that remain are living in shelters or more secure rooms.

the old city of yerushalayim is filled with our friends from tzfat. although our experience has been somewhat traumatic, we feel a very high elevation in our spirituality. it is hard to describe the feeling of suddenly not knowing if anything you own exists, being happy and thankful to be alive, and being instantly connected in such a real way to a collective consciousness outside of owns own personal life. it becomes so clear that there is only to try to be with g-d. how the world changes so radically for so many people in just one moment. it feels so messianic to suddenly be removed from our daily routine and to find ourselves with so many of our special community and friends here in the old city of yerushalayim and at the western wall for so many days now, praying for peace and the revelation of oneness in the world. there are so many miracles happening in front of our very eyes. it is so clear to everyone here that we are really experiencing the process of mashiach. not in some distant future, but that we are part of the revelation of geulah in these very moments.

there was a large prayer at the kotel yesterday where many thousands of people prayed together. it was so intensely beautiful to hear thousands of people say shema together, and to call out the 13 attributes of hashem's mercy with the shofar sounds of large silver trumpets like those used in the beit hamikdash.we are personally doing well and are now fortunate to be able to be experiencing this time in this most holy place. our spirits are very high as are those of most of our friends. people are coming together to help one another in every way. some people, especially those who were in the bombing for a few more days before leaving are experiencing various degrees of shock.

we are ok financially, but there are so many people we know from tzfat who are having a very difficult time. there has been no shortage of families opening their homes to host the refugees from the north. it has already been 2 weeks, however, and it is very hard to be in other people's personal space for so long, especially for people we with large families. many people who were just getting by financially before the bombings began, are now without jobs, without homes, and without money. if anyone knows anybody who can donate money to help families from tzfat in these most difficult times, we know many families in great need who we can give the money to.

for those who e-mailed orders for artwork or information from the gallery- we hope and pray that we will be back in tzfat before too long. i have saved the e-mails and when we are, g-d willing, able to be back home again, we will be in contact. for the meantime i am only able to check e-mails very periodically and i have no access to the gallery.we are praying together for shalom, and the revelation of mashiach to help us get there. for the safety of all peoples and our brothers and sisters of the nation of israel. for the safety of our solders and the refuah shelema (complete recovery) of all who have been wounded.

it is impossible to express in words the incredible spiritual awakening we are feeling here in these intense times, the countless miracles we are seeing, and the countless acts of loving kindness as the nation of israel is coming together to help one another. it says in the kabbalah that every suffering in the world is really a hidden blessing. that sufferings work to help us to come together and to remember what is really important. may we be blessed to truly come together and to really know what is important so that we do not need to go through what the world is suffering through today. may we be blessed with abundant faith and the realization that there really is nothing but g-d. may we be blessed to realize that everything in the universe is pushing us all forward towards our spiritual awakening as we are being made ready for the most awesome divine light that is, g-d willing, in the process of becoming revealed very very soon in all the world!

shalom from yerushalayim,avraham

Grease Monkey In The Middle

Our row at shul has an occupational diversity that not many other congregations can match. I and fellow attorney Noah Daddy anchor the row. With marketing maven Air now living in Israel, next in line is our favorite auto repair shop owner. After that is Firefighter Jerry a/k/a the Great American Hero.

I therefore found this Harris Interactive poll interesting. The respondents ranked how prestigious 22 different occupations were. While we attorneys ranked thirteenth, right behind athletes and directly ahead of entertainers, firefighters rank number one. Of course, I wonder if the answers would have been different if the respondents were told that a particular firefighter serves stale buns and showed "Date Movie".

Movin' On Up To The East Side

It's finally happening. This coming Monday, God willing, Lesley and I will be moving to our sort of new house in Huntington Woods. I write "sort of " because, as many of you know, we actually bought the house last year. We have not moved yet for two reasons. First, we wound up doing a lot more work on the new house than we first expected. Second, we had not sold the old house. Fortunately, other than the carpeting in the master bedroom, the work on the new house should be done by the end of tomorrow. Meanwhile, during the move this coming Monday, we will have to break away for an hour or two for the closing on our old house. Comcast will also be at the new house that day to install our Internet access. Needless to say, Monday will be a hectic day

Not that it's been so calm the past few weeks. My office staff must know our new address by heart from all the times they've heard me provide it for various orders, like switching our Internet, Direct TV, newspaper delivery, etc. While we had already moved a lot of our stuff to the new house when we first listed the old house for sale some ten months ago, we still have a lot of stuff left. Among the items we've encountered the past few weeks are Macabee's daughter's Bat Mitzvah gift (yes, she celebrated the occasion on Purim of last year, but at least we'll beat the Feldmans to the punch) and pop bottles and nacho chip bags with "use by" dates from 2004.

As excited as we are about the move, there is a certain sadness in moving from our first home. I have some great memories of the house. It was where Lesley and I first professed our love for each other. It's where we have had wonderful Shabbat meals, some of which were just the two of us and others, lasting as late as 4:00 a.m., with the expanded table filled with great food (credit to Lesley), lots of alcohol (can't forget the bourbon slush) and most important, our families and friends. It's the site of Hanukkahpaloozas I-V. It's where our two behemoths of dogs (actually behemoth and a half) grew from tiny, eight pound puppies.

On the other hand, the new house will be the first home into which we will move together. We hope to have many years of great memories there. Those memories will, as always, include our families and good friends. So feel free to stop by and say hi. For the amount of time and money we put into it, I'll be damned if I'm not going to have people see it. The first few weeks will be a little hectic and you might have to climb over some boxes, but the more the merrier. After all, we could use some extra hands in unpacking.

Tell 'Em Dan!

From coverage of yesterday's rally in New York comes this great quote from Israel's U.N. ambassador, Dan Gillerman: "To those countries in there who claim that we're using disproportionate force, I have only this to say: You're damn right we are. Because if your cities were shelled the way ours were, if your citizens were terrorized the way ours are, you would use much more force than we are using."

Props to senators Hillary Clinton and Frank Lautenberg for attending the rally and speaking in Israel's defense. By the way, it's quite noteworthy that the rally's participants called for peace and resolution. At the same time, Muslims rallying in Berlin chanted things like "death to Israel."

Business Not As Usual

If It's Thursday, It Must Be The Motor City

In the past week and a half, I have gone to Nashville and back twice. The first leg of my odyssey was driving to Music City, via Louisville, with Lesley. She was (and still is as I type) a vendor at the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (formerly known as the Future Homemakers of America) conference. We went a few days early for a little vacation.

We were both pleasantly surprised at how nice a city it is. Of course, part of our appreciation comes from our being big country music fans. As apparently every Nashville visitor must do, we toured the Country Music Hall of Fame, which was especially cool with its special exhibit on Ray Charles. Being the fan that I am, there was little about the Genius that I didn't already know, but it was still pretty neat to see some of the photos, artifacts, videos, and especially his tuxedos. For anybody who questions whether Ray Charles was actually blind, they only need look at some of the clothing he wore to cast aside any doubts.

In the evenings, we went downtown and just walked. Most of the bars had their doors open so you could hear the live bands playing inside. The bars into which we stopped had some really great music. The country karaoke bar was, however, a mixed bag. After hearing some typical karaoke (in other words, bad), I was about to volunteer my singing services (I was leaning towards "Friends In Low Places", which I assume is a very cliched selection in that part of the country, but what the heck), but hearing some singers who were actually good nixed that notion. The drunk redneck girl who seethed with Morrissette-like angst while singing "Jolene" was another story. We also went white water rafting on the Ocoee River, which served as the course for the 1996 Olympics kayak races. It was a lot of fun, even if I did take an unintentional dive into the water.

After a nice Shabbat and getting Lesley settled in at the Opryland Resort & Convention Center (it's really nice but, if you ever go there, take rations and some bread crumbs to leave a trail-you will get lost), I flew back home. Having a ton of frequent flyer miles and some slow time at work, I decided to fly back on Tuesday evening and so I could spend more time with Lesley and help her sell chocholate at the convention. I flew back again this morning.

Two other things. First, we went to nearby mall yesterday and saw "Superman Returns". It was very good, with Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor being the best comic book bad guy I've seen since Jack played the Joker. Of course, I'm sure that Noah Daddy can give a much more detailed analysis of the subject.

Second, this sign, which we once again passed on our way to Louisville, will always make me laugh.

Happy Slurpee Day

Since I will likely be on the road most of tomorrow's work day (court in Flint and then a possibly lengthy stop in Pontiac) and then am flying back to Nashville (when I get a chance, I will report on the highlights of a city that pleasantly surprised us), I want to wish all of you in advance a happy 7/11 tomorrow. For those wishing to participate in this festive day, which should really be a national holiday, remember that you can get a free cup of what I like to call the nectar of the gods at your local 7-11 establishment tomorrow. For those of you having doubts about our country's future, it's comforting to know that these youths are fighting the good fight for us all. You can also read a little about the Slurpee, including its kosher status, over at Wikipedia.

Nothing Says Independence Day Like A Paternity Action

Today, like just about any other work day, I have been listening to Yahoo Radio for background music. I usually listen to my own station, which plays songs based on the ratings I have given to thousands of songs, artists and albums. In fact, if you ever want to listen to it, it's called Zwickeroo.

I sometimes opt for one of the dozens of stations that Yahoo has. You can choose a particular genre, mood or era. Today being the day before Independence Day, I chose the special July 4 station. I heard the expected fare, starting with John Cougar Mellencamp's "ROCK In The USA". Throughout the next few hours, the station played some good John Phillip Sousa marches, Ray Charles' classic version of "America the Beautiful" and songs from artists like the Beach Boys and Chuck Berry that are as American as they come.

Then came "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson. I know that most of these songs get into a particular playlist by a computer picking them based on similarities to other songs or artists. I still found this selection hilarious. As just about anyone knows, the song is about a man, ostensibly portrayed by the King of all Freaks, facing a paternity action by a woman with whom he danced. There are many themes and topics that reflect American values. Other than Maury Povich, I cannot think of too many people in this country who find value in a woman accusing a man of being the father of her child. In retrospect, knowing what we know now about Wacko, the song is funny on any day of the year. On July 4, the song is even more absurd.

Draft Thoughts

My favorite sight at every NBA draft is the photo op of a seven footer and diminutive commissioner David Stern. It's too bad Manute Bol was only a fifth round pick, although we at least had the good fortune to see him be teammates with Muggsy Bogues on the Washington Bullets, which should be O's Fan's favorite team.
Someone should explain something to the people at ESPN who wrote and approved the draft factoids that scrolled across the screen over and over and over last night. When Adam Morrison of Gonzaga became the number three pick last night, he wasn't the highest pick from that school since John Stockton went to O's Fan's favorite team with the 16th pick in 1984. Morrison was just plain the highest draft pick in school history.

It was good to see the other day that New York Knicks owner James Dolan publicly gave Isiah Thomas an ultimatum of one year to make significant improvements in the team that Zeke ruined. If last night is any indication, the smiling assasin either doesn't take Dolan seriously or just doesn't know what the heck he's doing. After all, when the best props you get for a first round draft pick is Spike Lee calling it a sleeper pick while holding back the laughter, it's not too soon to be updating that resume. Then again, Thomas might want to consider totally omitting his Knicks' tenure from his CV.