December 8, 2023
March 30, 2023
Keeping Kids on a Short Leash
November 16, 2022
From Outrage to Action on Anti-Semitism
What is striking to me is that when it comes to hate against the Jews as opposed to hate against other groups, we continually see that “their” rights are immediately supported, while we have to prove that it’s really hate.Hopefully, our community leaders, police, FBI, and Homeland Security are paying close attention and will take appropriate preventive action so that we can avoid another incident like the shooting just four years ago at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. We need more intelligence, surveillance, officers, patrols, data-driven policing, self-defense and emergency medical training, synagogue protection, community outreach, beefed-up reporting systems, and tougher penalties to start with. We can’t expect the people who hate to stop, but we do need to keep raising the bar on how to keep our communities safe and stop hate crimes.
(Credit Photo: Laura Rosenberg Hosid)
From Outrage to Action on Anti-Semitism
October 31, 2022
Tires Overload
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Tires Overload
May 22, 2022
@Maryland Iron Festival (Catoctin Furnace)
@Maryland Iron Festival (Catoctin Furnace)
October 14, 2021
Fun Cars To Pretend
Sporty and colorful.
Fun to pretend to drive.
Just like a big person.
Watch the speeding please! ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Fun Cars To Pretend
April 19, 2021
How Many Is Too Many?
Take Risks Make Mistakes.
And the "i" is missing in Mistakes!
I didn't even take the risks, but I still made the mistakes. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
How Many Is Too Many?
October 29, 2020
Someone's Always Watching
Whether someone is peering at you from upstairs or around the corner.
Or there is a surveillance camera.
Or someone is recording you on their smartphone.
You are never really alone.
And even IF, and that's a big if, that no one person is watching.
Remember that G-d above still sees everything! ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Someone's Always Watching
October 15, 2020
Artsy Bike
Like a newspaper, it's black and white and "read" or actually rode all over.
How much time do you give a bike like this before it gets stolen on the streets downtown?
D.C. seems to be getting even worse than before, now with Coronavirus and the riots.
Doesn't feel safe, and it's in definite need of an urban makeover from all the horrible poverty and homelessness. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Artsy Bike
May 22, 2020
Shopping Up A Pole
Shopping cart up a pole.
No one else up there.
Safe from Coronavirus, hopefully.
Maybe some illusive toilet paper to be found in the sky mall?
Desperate times calling for desperate measures or an anxious society is losing its mind. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Shopping Up A Pole
January 6, 2020
Story About Dressing Modestly
The friend of his daughter was wearing one of those cropped shirts which expose the belly.
She said that her dad told her to throw a party for her clothes, so that her shirt could meet her shorts.
I guess all dads worry about the modesty of their daughters.
This was a good tznius story that hammers home the point and is also pretty funny. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Story About Dressing Modestly
December 30, 2019
Oh Deer!
Not good for the deer (dead meat!) and not good for your car.
My daughter and son-in-law just gave me Deer Warning Whistles.
They are supposed to emit ultrasonic sound waves that warn the deer away.
Anything that keeps the deer away is welcome in my neck of the woods. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Oh Deer!
December 17, 2019
Eyewash Smiley
I suppose this is good if you get something in your eye(s) and need to flush it out.
Are the yellow caps supposed to be for keeping the faucets clean and unobstructed.
Whole thing looks a little like a face: the yellow caps are the eyes, the big center faucet is the nose, and the sink basic the big mouth.
Maybe just my imagination, but I think it's saying "there are too many cooks in this kitchen, get the h*ll out!" :-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Eyewash Smiley
October 28, 2019
Card Ya
They have a digital calendar with the date from 21 years ago.
It says:
To Purchase Tobacco Products You Must Have Been Born On Or Before This Date.
Thank you for showing you I.D.
Ah, easy to match the DOB on the I.D. presented to the date on the calendar.
Nothing to calculate, no mistakes.
They raised the age for smoking (cigarettes and vaping) in Maryland to 21 on October 1, so it's the same requirement as for drinking alcohol.
Luckily for me (even though I'm over 21), I don't really do either--definitely not the smoking, and the drinking limited primarily to the Kiddush prayer on Shabbat. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Card Ya
November 2, 2018
At The Border: Immigration Or War
In real life, we have a caravan of thousands of people marching from Central America (Honduras and Guatemala) to the U.S. border seeking asylum, mostly for economic reasons.
On TV, we have the Last Ship Season 5, where South and Central America are at war with the U.S., "no longer willing to sit at the children's table of international politics," and they are coming to the U.S. to fight.
In the U.S. today, there are over 40 million people that were born in another country. Of these, there are over 12 million immigrants living illegally in the U.S. (55% from Mexico), and we know that we need immigration reform.
In the truest sense, we are almost all of us immigrants to this country, with ourselves or our families coming over at one time or another, and we are grateful for the generosity and open doors that allowed us to come here and make a good life.
Of course, we want to pay it forward and give others the same asylum and opportunity that we had and which they as human beings deserve.
Yet, the country continues to debate the mix of compassion and giving to the oppressed and needy versus the merit principles for bringing in needed skills, talents, and investment, and how many is the "right" number to allow in at any one time.
In real life, we are beefing up border agents, building a wall, and calling in the military to halt the illegal flow of immigrants, so that we can channel immigrates through a process and vetting that leads to legal and safe immigration to this country
On TV, we are fighting in the air, on land, and at sea an alliance of countries from the south and central that want to take over the U.S., and we are also holding our own and holding them back.
In both cases, we need to have and maintain borders to be a sovereign country, to protect our country, and to ensure that caravans of illegal immigrants or foreign troops are not crossing the border and doing harm.
It's high time for true immigration reform that is compassionate yet principled, but overrunning the border isn't an option that is practical or fair. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
At The Border: Immigration Or War
August 1, 2018
Superhero Work Gloves
"Ironclad Industrial Impact--Rigger Cut"
These were just hanging around the local clothing store.
They not only look like superhero gloves covered in orange, yellow, and black duraclad padding ready to WHAM BAM!
But they also feel that way when you put them on with all the rubberized ruggedized protection.
Hmm, wonder whether these would be good in the gym for weightlifting...
Now who actually goes to work wearing these things? Its probably got to be a pretty "macho" man or women job. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Superhero Work Gloves
February 16, 2018
Who Says Flying Can't Be More Enjoyable
This flight attendant is terrific here.
She delivers the typical hum-drum public service announcements in a whole new way--now (maybe) you'll actually pay attention.
Smart cookie and fun sense of humor.
Happy Friday and enjoy!
(Thank you to Itzchak Ochayon for sharing this with me)
Who Says Flying Can't Be More Enjoyable
December 19, 2017
What Do You Do With Fear?
"You have two options:
Forget Everything And Run
Or
Face Everything And Rise"
It the old fight or flight!
- Running may be good when you can avoid a devastating fight and get yourself and your loved one to safety.
- But sometimes you don't have that option and you have to "fight the good fight" and overcome the devils you face.
Everyone is afraid of something(s) and/or somebodies.
If someone isn't afraid then they are brain dead!
Strengthen yourselves, ready yourselves, and pray.
What do you fear and how will you face it? ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
What Do You Do With Fear?
December 1, 2017
Sexual Acting Act
From the longest-serving Congressmen to the biggest star of morning television news, it seems that no one is sacrosanct.
Is it just that "absolute power corrupts absolutely"?
Or maybe it's more broadly to be stated, as the Rabbi noted on Shabbat, that:
"G-d created man perfectly imperfect!"Men and women are created with sexual urges to procreate, bond emotionally and physically, and enjoy each other.
Men tend to be the stronger than women and are able to have children into old age, and perhaps, it can be said, have the bigger "urge to merge.
Sure, there are women who are normally sexually active, and also those who are perhaps hypersexual (nympomaniac, "cougars," etc.) and who commit sexual abuse too.
In fact, it was interesting that Wikipedia actually breaks rape down into 4 gender on gender categories:
- Rape of females by males
- Rape of females by females
- Rape of males by females
- Rape of males by males
Issues with physical intimacy and sexual harassment and violence span both sexes, however, it is also clear that:
"Rape affects women disproportionately, with the majority of people convicted being men."
In the U.S., the statistics show gross levels of sexual violence to women:
- 1 in 5 women will be raped in their lifetime (vs 1 in 71 men).
- 91% of victims of rape and sexual assault are female.
Also, particularly disturbing is the number of girls and boys targeted:
- 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before age 18.
What type of society have we created, where women and children are not generally safe?
It's interesting to me in Judaism that there is a recognition of sexual impulse, and that some Hasidim actually wear a "gartel" belt when praying to physically and spiritually separate the upper half of the body with the head and heart, from the lower half with the more animal instincts.
In short, the head and heart need to control the animal part of people.
Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be happening in so many cases.
Stunned from the outpouring of sexual allegations nearly everyday now, I said to my wife:
"What is wrong with these people? They have it all: position, power, and wealth; and yet, they throw it all away --including their integrity and reputations--for a five minute lay in the hay!"
Is the animal instinct too strong for the person to control? That just isn't going to cut it.
As a functioning society, it's got be completely unacceptable for people to act out sexually or otherwise violently hurt their neighbors.
It's time for social reform and for the animals to be controlled by the people. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Sexual Acting Act
November 14, 2017
Wrapped In Bubble Wrap
One colleague joked with me that:
"Everyone should just wrap themselves in bubble wrap!"
Reminded me of that game where people put on big wearable inflatable bumpers and then smash into each other for fun.
The problem though is that sometimes we put on the bubble wrap, bulletproof vest, or seat belt, but then we get stupidly overconfident.
We think we are protected, but nothing human in impenetrable.
So the person with the seat belt and air bag drives too fast and off a cliff and still gets him/herself killed.
Or the person with the bulletproof vest gets shot with a high caliber armor piercing shell or in the back of the head.
Like on many cars, where the mirror says, "objects in mirror are closer than they appear," we need not over rely on safety, protective, and risk measures and still do stupid things.
One guy told me, he backed up into the wall in the garage, because he thought there was more room and that's not how things looked in the mirror.
Let's face it, there is no bubble wrap that can fully protect us from life.
Everyday we face risks out there, and we need to manage them with common sense or else... ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Wrapped In Bubble Wrap