January 26, 2022

Mini Noah's Ark

I'm not sure this is quite the mini Noah's ark, but it's definitely a boatload of animals this guys is rowing along with. 

The question is who is going to be the dinner for whom? 

Sure, I'll go along for the ride said the cheetah.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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January 25, 2022

iPhone Generation

It's a beautiful day. 

Friends are all sitting on the boat together. 

One is even getting married, a bride-to-be. 

Sky is clear and water is blue.

Yet not one person is looking up from their screen. 

Apparently the virtual world is so much more intriguing. 

Soon everyone will be lost in the Metaverse.

The real world left to become a cesspool that perhaps no one cares much about anymore. 

Is this really what we call progress? 

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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January 24, 2022

Artist Expression x5

Sometimes one has to interpret art. 

I'm having a little bit of a hard time with this one. 

But I still like it!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal) 


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January 23, 2022

Not Terror But Hugs

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Not Terror But Hugs."

While standing up for the Torah to be brought back to the ark, a little boy comes up to me and just gives me a big hug. I learned afterwards that the boy “makes the rounds” in shul giving everyone a beautiful Shabbat embrace. This simple symbolic act of caring and loving others, mainly many older people in synagogue, by this innocent child gave people an uncommon sense of happiness and even hope in our future despite the anti-Semitism and hate of too many others outside.
The love of G-d is our secret for life and for our perseverance throughout history. G-d loves us as His children, but also punishes us as His children. As children, we are always learning and growing, but as adults we have to act in a way of righteousness and holiness, so that we will merit the former, and not the latter. With G-d's mercy and blessings, hopefully, we will have peace in our synagogues and our lives, wherever we reside in the world, to worship and live as Jewish people free of bigotry, hate, and terror, once and for all.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal, Adapted from L. Krestin)
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January 21, 2022

March For Life






 (Credit Photos: Dannielle Blumenthal) 


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January 20, 2022

Cut Off The Legs And Call Him Shorty

Who knew, it's actually a song by Louis Armstrong.

It comes after:

"Shave off my hair and call me baldy."

They don't make them like they used to.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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January 19, 2022

Models on The Shelf

This was interesting display of female models. 

You can pick the cards with the models you are interested in. 

Seems a little obsolete in the time of the Internet when it could all be online.

Also, seems more than a little degrading to line them up on a shelf like any  commodity in a store. 

People are not things for peddling (or Human Trafficking!), and this seems like it sends the wrong message especially about women.  

At least if you threw in some male models here too, it wouldn't come across so grossly misogynistic. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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January 18, 2022

Stylish Bowl

Nice green bowl with yellow tactile border 

Simple yet artsy and inviting. 

Is it too nice to eat out of?  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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January 17, 2022

Fossil Fish

A petrified fish. 

So cool. 

Preserved better than with preservatives!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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January 16, 2022

A Trust Beyond Faith

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "A Trust Beyond Faith."

When we have faith in G-d, it generally means that we believe that He created us and that He is the Master of the Universe. However, faith does not necessarily imply trust. Trust in G-d means that we believe that He not only created us, but that He sustains us and that there is Divine Providence in this world. When we trust in G-d, we believe that G-d is close to us and has a personal relationship with each and every one of us, and actually to everything in the world.
We all need to leave our egos at the door! No matter how strong or smart that we think we are, even the little grass above us (or above our graves) is greater than us. Certainly, G-d Almighty who is our creator and our sustainer, all-knowing and all-powerful, He is over us and watches over us in better times as well as those that are perhaps more challenging, but always we trust, for the good!

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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January 14, 2022

All American Eisenhower EOB

Beautifully decorated Eisenhower Executive Office Building. 

All American: red, white, and blue. 

Standing tall and proud.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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January 13, 2022

Sunflower and Heart Day

Nice to have a coffee next to a sunflower and heart. 

Sitting and relaxing under a blue umbrella. 

Great way to start off a day!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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January 12, 2022

Lego Peace Love VW Van


Great Lego Peace, Love VW Van with surfboard and tanning chairs! 

Ready to jump in and enjoy the hipster life!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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January 11, 2022

Happy Place Sweat Jacket

Nice sweat jacket:

In My Happy Place

With some yellow and pink sunflowers underneath and on the arms. 

I'm feeling happy just looking at it!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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January 10, 2022

Fabric Fabric Everywhere

Beautiful rolls of fabric!

Red, and pink, and blue, and green, and white, and black, and...

I'm outa breath. 

Can you imagine having to make these on a loom like in the olden days? 

Ah, not fun for sure. 

Maybe that's why some people "go commando."

Better to just kill a bear or something!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Dannielle Blumenthal)


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January 8, 2022

Discerning The Truth Amid Iran’s Lies

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Discerning The Truth Amid Iran's Lies."
While people can easily utter falsehoods, like Iran saying that their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, the documents and computer drives that Israel captured in 2016 when they courageously raided Iran’s nuclear archive shows that Iran has been pursuing a dangerous nuclear weapons program for decades.

The world has tried to contain Iran for decades: From monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities through the IAEA, to sanctions and covert actions to deter and set back Iran’s pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, and the JCPOA deal to try to contain Iran’s march to nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, nothing has worked, and Iran is intent on getting the bomb.

Moreover, while the costs of a preemptive attack on Iran could be great, the doctrine from former Prime Minister, Menachem Begin that Israel cannot and will not allow countries that threaten Israel’s existence to get the means to carry it out is as true today as in 1981 when Israel took out Iraq’s nuclear reactor in Osirak.
The Jewish people learned from 2,000 years in exile and persecution ending in the Holocaust that killed six million Jews that we must take verbal threats of annihilation supported by facts on the ground against us most seriously. As children of the Holocaust survivors, we must be true to our words of “Never again” and act with courage and determination to confront the enemy covertly and if necessary, with overt action to stop their genocidal pursuit from ever getting off the ground.

(Credit Photo: via https://www.flickr.com/photos/aeneastudio/3657735814 by aeneastudio and adapted by Andy Blumenthal)

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January 7, 2022

Flowers In Trunk

Flowers look beautiful even in the trunk of car. 

Shabbat Shalom!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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January 6, 2022

Tacky Bird in Window

Tacky window treatment. 

The shade has an amazing blue bird on it. 

Whether the shade is up or down, you maintain a view to the outside world and nature. 

This may actually be good in a bunker to ease the minds of those confined and cooped up. 

Bird fly, fly away to a place of peace and a time of serenity.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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January 5, 2022

Anyone Missing A Leg?

That's some museum exhibit!

Wonder if the owner of the leg is on the other side of that wall? 

What was this artist thinking?  

Hopefully just to sensitize us to people's health, disabilities, and plights, so we can be more compassionate and caring people!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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January 4, 2022

Meat and Potatoes Guy

Meat and potatoes guy!

Skip the carbs, and just eat the meat. 

Not as satisfying, but healthier indeed.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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January 3, 2022

Beautiful Amethyst Crystal

Wow, amazing beautiful purple crystal inside this stone.

Almost growing and alive inside like the rings of a tree.

Miracles of Mother Earth and nature.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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January 2, 2022

U.S. Misses The Boat on Hypersonic Missiles

It's great to be able to fight the old conventional ways. 

But the U.S. spends more than the next top 11 countries combined on defense. 

Yet, we have failed miserably at the next BIG thing in defense: hypersonic weapons!

Both China and Russia have hypersonic weapons ready to use on us.

China even claims they can use they can use their hypersonic missiles with heat seeking technology to destroy our most advanced fighter aircraft the F-35 and F-22.  

Yet as recently as November, the 3rd of the U.S. Air Force's hypersonic missile tests failed!  

Now at best, the U.S. Navy is hoping to be able to perhaps deploy hypersonic weapons by 2025-2028.

In the meantime, the U.S. is vulnerable to its adversaries at a time when Russia and China are rearing their militaries for confrontations in Ukraine and Taiwan, respectively.

And that could be only the beginning, if we don't get our military R&D together and fast. 

How could this happen with all the money we spend on defense?

Eyes wide shut like Pearl Harbor and 9/11 all over again!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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January 1, 2022

A 2022 New Year of Eggs

New Years 2022. 

Congratulations!

But I wouldn't call it "eggcellent," because there is a lot of world instability and fear looming on the horizon.

Are we looking at competition, conflict, and even possible areas of collapse or a much rosier outcome in the order of things?

  • From Russia to China and Iran to North Korea. 
  • From Al-Qaeda to ISIS and Hamas to Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad
  • From WMD to Cyber 9/11 and EMPs to Hypersonic ICBMs
  • From Covid to the Economy and Inflation to National Insolvency

Like a bunch of eggs. 

Will it be a year of Broken, Scrambled and Mashed or Sunny Side Up and Eggs Over Easy? 

Either way, we had better hope and pray that we don't get fried and burned.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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December 31, 2021

The Power of Giving to Overcome Abuse

Please see my new article in The Time of Israel called "The Power of Giving to Overcome Abuse."

We can't outsmart G-d, and we can't take what isn't rightfully ours. In effect, the charity we must give, already belongs to G-d, and we can't keep it or invest it, because at the end of the day, G-d will have what is His. And with this realization, lying back down in bed, I sung the words from Proverbs many times to myself and smiled, thanking G-d for my children who teach their parents and for G-d enabling me to learn new lessons for my soul and how the blessings from G-d are ultimately realized.
In short, while sexual molesters (i.e. monsters) steal from the bodies of their victims and inflicts devastating harm to them physically, mentally, and emotionally, in stark contract are those who give charitably to others, giving of themselves in order to make others that are in need whole again in body, mind, and soul.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

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December 30, 2021

Love Mushrooms

Love love mushrooms!

Especially fried up, crispy, and sweet. 

They make everything else taste better.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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December 29, 2021

Oriental Flair

I liked the oriental flair of this decor.

The vases, plants, and bonsai (even fake) were nice. 

Appreciated the symmetry as well which makes it hang all together. 

Relaxing and charming.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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December 28, 2021

Lipstick On A Chair

This is what happens when you get lipstick on a chair.

What a great place to get your makeup done!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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December 27, 2021

That's Spicy

How many of these do you cook with (do you have a favorite)?

  • Garlic Powder
  • Turmeric
  • Parsley
  • Paprika
  • Cumin
  • Black Pepper

Some are full and some are nearly empty. 

Time to reorder (hope they're not backlogged at the port).  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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December 26, 2021

Most Popular Grocery Item

Okay and for the $1,000,000 fantasy prize, what do you think is the most popular product at this supermarket?  ;-)

(This is obviously not a real contest or prize!)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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December 25, 2021

Finding Our Religion


Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Finding Our Religion."

The contrast between me being Jewish and the environment that was as broad as the United Nations (actually only a few blocks away), helped me to find myself and to build my personal Jewish identity. So, I think that for those Jews that are afraid for their children to leave the confines of the home, their “shtetl” neighborhood, and the local yeshiva, because they are afraid of the “foreign” (goyish) influences, I think that while that may be right for some Jews possibly, it is definitely not right for all of us.
In a sense, the redemption of the Jewish people and exodus was so much greater a miracle by Moshe becoming this great Jewish leader from within the fires of the Egyptian paganism at the time. Moshe’s rejectionism of Egyptian power and culture used for evil to enslave and hurt others was a powerful choice of good over evil and a message to Pharaoh and his household that despite all his wealth, strength, and influence, that Pharaoh and Egypt would fall before the hand of the true, Almighty G-d of Israel. Similarly, I think the message for us is that the final redemption for us and the world will come initially from “galut” (outside of Israel) from the cauldron of “Edom” (the Roman Empire and Western civilization) and all the materialist and pleasurable freedoms and allures thereof.

(Credit Painting: Dossy Blumenthal)

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December 24, 2021

Kosher Chinese Food on Christmas

 
Favorite Jewish pass time on Christmas...

Chinese food. 

Why?

Because everything else is closed. 

And we get some good food satisfaction for the holidays!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy blumenthal)


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December 23, 2021

Tinker at the Mall

I guess if you go shopping in the mall right before the holidays, you're sure to run into some zany characters. 

This guy, Tinker, did a little dance and gave the elf thumbs up. 

I wonder if all this was to communicate to us that we need to spend more money and buy more things (we don't need) for the holidays?  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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December 22, 2021

Dog Riding On Luggage

This little service dog was hilarious. 

He stood, the whole time, on this lady's carry-on luggage as she rolled through the airport. 

Dog was happy with its tongue out and ears perched up as he was riding along to his/her flight. 

I wonder if people could stand on their luggage too and get through the airport quicker that way!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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December 21, 2021

Skull Bags

Handbags in the shape of human skulls. 

Is that your dead sexy best?

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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December 20, 2021

A ‘Riblicious’ Meal at Izzy’s

Please see my new Restaurant Review in The Times of Israel called "A 'Riblicious' Meal at Izzy's."
Izzy’s Brooklyn Smokehouse Kosher BBQ now has a location in Miami, Florida. My wife, Dossy, loves ribs, so she “made sure” that we got to try this restaurant while on vacation here in Florida. Of course, she ordered her favorite BBQ Back Ribs as their menu says: “finished over our woodshow grill and covered in our BBQ sauce.”
We ordered the ribs for my wife and she was in seventh heaven just waiting for them to come. There was no bread or appetizer put on the table and when the ribs came they were just that, ribs covered in thick brown BBQ sauce with a sprinkling of pickles and purple cabbage on the side and a cup of ketchup. There was no doubt that this meal was all about the ribs and that virtually nothing else mattered. Looking at my wife’s happy face, I can almost forgive them for the various service snafus.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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@Miami Botanical Gardens


























(Credit Videos: Andy Blumenthal)
 


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