Friday, July 13, 2007

This Ad Blows

... actually, it's AMAZING. Creative, get's its message across. When you watch it, you'll understand.



(discovered on Clicked)

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Will You Marry Me? Type Your Comment And Press Enter.

Lost Inspired Wedding
Note: This is a random picture. NOT the happy couple

As you may know, I like LOST. The TV show. A lot. The idea of no Lost until January frightens and confuses me. But that's not what this post is about. This post is about LOVE.

One of the blogs I read after every Lost episode is "Lost And Gone Forever." The blogger, Brian, is pretty insightful, many times wrong, but always entertaining. He always gives me a few new Lost theories to think about. Of course, I haven't checked his blog since Lost went on hiatus.

I did today, and I think I just discovered history in the making.

THE FIRST BLOG PROPOSAL

Yes, Brian proposed to his "super-hot girlfriend" on his blog. Complete with a photo of the ring he bought her. They met because of Lost. No, not on the island. They watched it together. A romance blossomed. And she read his blog all the time. A few comments after one anonymous prankster replied "No," Brian's girlfriend finally typed "Yes!" I admit, my eyes got a bit misty.

Congrats to Brian and his fiancee. Just don't go fly to Sydney for the honeymoon!
Facebook Photos Threaten Miss New Jersey Crown

Amy Shows Her Vegetables

There she is, Miss A... hey, are those mini pumpkins?

Poor Amy Polumbo. She acheived every girl's dream, to become a sex obj... er.. I mean, role model for millions when she was chosen as the next Miss New Jersey. But now her crown is being threatened by pictures she posted on the popular social networking site, Facebook.

Polumbo made the mistake of thinking that pictures of a hot girl posted on the internet somehow won't become public. Even girls who didn't post the pictures themselves can become an internet phenomenon, as Allison Stokke found out. While Polumbo's pictures are tame, she never gave a thought to how they might look in someone else's eyes. In the Facebook era, can we afford to make her mistake?

I thought about myself. What pictures have I posted on Facebook that could come back to bite me when I become a famous astronaut/actor/President? I decided to do a thourough search through my albums, to see if any of my pictures could be interpreted as less than innocent:

Exhibit #1:

Dancin, Drinkin

Con: Dancing Badly

Pro: I look pretty good.

Con: Cans of beer everywhere, one in my hand, implies drinking.

Pro: I was 21-plus.

Con: This picture was taken at my parents house while they were away.

Conclusion: All in all, I don't think this hurts my aspirations. Except for my dream to be on So You Think You Can Dance. Reputation fairly intact.

Exhibit #2:

Me and a Girl

Con: I appear to be sneaking a peek.

Pro: The girl doesn't seem to mind.

Con: I've just lost the evangelical vote.

Pro: They wouldn't vote for a Jewish guy anyway.

Conclusion: Men in our society are granted a lot more leeway than women. A fortunate double-standard for me. George W. Bush had his youthful hijinx, and so did I. His involved cocaine though. Reputation with the ladies mildly damaged.

Exhibit #3:

Halloween

Con: Are you looking at the picture???

Pro: This may help me win the gay vote.

Con: NASA doesn't allow ninjas in space.

Con: Readership of this blog just dropped to zero.

Conclusion: Halloween is a holiday when most people dress (and act) like a completely different person. Polumbo had her share of scandalous Halloween photos. Still, the ridiculousness of this photo is alarming. Reputation: Destroyed.

Well, there you have it. Turned out, pictures I thought were harmless took on a sinister and an alarming tone when viewed through analytical eyes. Let this serve as a warning to you, dear reader. Think before you post.

And keep your ninja sword safely sheathed.
Working Hard? Or Hardly Working?

On the day of September 11th, 2001, after spending most of the morning flying from one undisclosed location to the next, hiding, in fear of terrorists, President George W. Bush finally made his first statement. He promised, above all else, "Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts."

That evening, finally back in the Oval Office, Bush set into motion the plan that would eventually become his "War on Terror."

"I've directed the full resources for our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."

Nearly six years later, has George W. Bush fulfilled his promise? Perhaps that's unfair. It was, indeed, a tall order. So let me instead ask, are we safer today from terror than we were on September 10th, 2001?

WASHINGTON (AP)- U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded al-Qaida has rebuilt its operating capability to a level not seen since just before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, The Associated Press has learned.

The conclusion suggests that the network that launched the most devastating terror attack on the United States has been able to regroup along the Afghan-Pakistani border despite nearly six years of bombings, war and other tactics aimed at crippling it.
Yes, of course the CIA is nothing but a bunch of communist baby-haters. And the media is their willing concubine. But Bush isn't exactly denying it.

Bin Laden is still at large. Despite all the power at the United States disposal, the ringleader of the organization that attacked us is free. And he is free because of a concious decision by the Bush administration. "I'm not to worried about him," Bush famously said.

What has Bush acheived? He's torn apart Iraq, destroyed America's reputation, and sent thousands of patriotic boys and girls to their deaths. And Al-Queda keeps growing back, every time its tail is cut off. Yet Bush still refuses to go for the head.

I'll never understand how Iraq became responsible for 9-11. How Bin Laden became Saddam. How "winning hearts and minds" turned into sanctioned torture and collateral damage.

But I guess it was all part of that vision George W. Bush had for America while he was flying to Nebraska on September 11th, afraid for his life.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

More MSN MMM MM Goodness

Does She Really Need A Cell Phone??

Check it out.

Yes, I interviewed a lot of moms. What about dads? Am I sexist? Maybe. There was one dad, that replied to my interview request, but too late to be included in the article. Paul's 11-year-old daughter wrote him a poem in an attempt to sway his decision:

Phone

Why can’t I get a phone?
A phone of my own,
Something to call you on,
Come on Dad,
Come on Mom,
It’s something I need,
I can not feed on it but,
When I go to middle school,
I need to call you,
If you are late,
or if you need someone to hate,
So please, please,
help me.


"When I first saw it, I thought the poem was pretty funny actually," Paul says. She is a real gadget kid, and I think feels some peer pressure to fit in as well. Funny because I brought an iPhone home from work yesterday, and as you can imagine she freaked out."

Her poetic efforts seem to have paid off.

"She is starting a new school this year and I think we've finally decided to get her and her sister phones," Paul says. "It's a convenience thing. It does feel strange, but from a fiscal standpoint, they've been operating and taking care of their nintendo gameboys (and now DS lites, which they bought with their own money), so I think they'll be able to take care of a phone."

What do you think? Is there a minimum age that's reasonable for a kid to own a cell phone? Or should kids receive phones immediately following their bris? Leave your thoughts below, or on the MSN discussion board.
A Quick JFB Update

Ryan Braun, Jewish Superstar

At the All-Star break, it's looking like a difficult time to be the owner of an All-Jewish Fantasy Baseball team. Ian Kinsler joined David Eckstein on the disabled list, and I found myself in the difficult position of not having a second baseman. Who could I choose to replace him? JFB fans, welcome St. Louis 2nd Baseman Adam Kennedy. Yeah, I know. He sucks. And unless he's like Virginia senator George Allen, he's not Jewish. But his first name is Adam, and so is mine. And there's no other 2nd baseman in the major leagues who even sounds like he belongs to the chosen people.

That being said, the two weeks before the break saw their ups and downs. The Major League Mensches, led by Ryan Braun, Kevin Youkilis and Lance Berkman, sheared the Fighting Sheep, 236 to 186. Week 9 Adam's Life Sluggin Semite: Ryan Braun (12 for 27, 5 2B, 2 HR, 6 R, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB)

Week 10, with no one playing second base and minimal output by subs Kotchman and Geoff Blum, the Torah Team fell 147.5 to 56 to the costco fubars. Week 10 Adam's Life Sluggin Semite: You guessed it... Ryan Braun (11 for 30, 2B, 4 HR, 6 R, 7 RBI, BB, 2 SB)

At the break, our brave minyan of baseball heroes finds itself at 3 wins and 7 losses, 6 games out of first place. But with injured stars returning, and the addition of prophet Moises "Moses" Alou, the future is looking as bright as the Shabbos candles.
Dream Date

A Hairy Situation

A couple decided to dine and ditch at two expensive restaurants. The result is this rather bizarre news story, in which the author, in journalism terms, has "buried the lede." Meaning, the most interesting part of the story is mentioned way down in the piece. I think you'll see what I mean.

Monday, July 09, 2007

New MSN Article: Old Folks Remember College

Old School

Check it out!

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