New Job

Hey all,
I am so excited to announce that I am starting a new job tomorrow. I will be working for a nationwide company that outsources technicians to fix dental equipment. As it stands now I am kind of running this company under the guidance of those who started it but we are hoping that the company will grow into a true prosperous organization like any other out there. I am very excited about it and I can't wait to tell you all how it goes.

Turkey Day

I have heard from some people around our community that they do not celebrate Thanksgiving. One person told me: "Thanksgiving is a Christian holiday and we shouldn't celebrate it". This really upset me. How can an American living in America not feel that Turkey Day is important? The holiday does not have any religious significance, it is a day to be thnakful for being an American and having a free country to live in.

I say now to all of you living in this fine land that if you can not find a way to be thankful today then get out of our country. Our ancestors fought for our freedom and fought for this land so that we could live good lives and be proud of who we are. If you don't feel that way then you are heartless and selfish. I realize that there is a certain Christmas aura around the day but it is still only Thanksgiving and we should acknowledge things that we are thankful for. Plus, it starts the biggest shopping time of the year with the best DEALS, and as Jews, that should trully be our biggest holiday of the year, j/k.

So, to all you Jews who really don't think they owe anybody a thank you or can't find something to be thankful for, be thankful to Hakadosh Baruch Hu that your ancestors survived the evil hand of the Natzi's - Yemach Shemam - and that The United States not only helped rescue them but welcomed them into this country with open arms and gave them hope and oppurtunity to live full and meaningful lives, giving us a chance at life and prosperity. I know that I am thankful for that, today and every other day of my life.

Eliptical

So Gillian and I got an eliptical a while back and I have to say it is such a pleasure to have it in the house. Many people toy with the idea of purchasing workout equipment because they fear it will become a clothing hanger or a bulky item that takes up a lot of space. I am proud both to say that we do use it and that we are actually enjoying it. I definitely reccomend that everyone get a piece of workout equipment at home. If you have the will to work out and get in shape then you will use the machine. It only takes a little bit of discipline for the first few weeks and then you get into a routine that works for you and you are on your way. So here's to working out and getting healthy and living life to its fullest.

Playstation 3 Problems

According to a news report on Channel 4 last night, many cities are seeing major problems with the new Playstation 3 systems. Many stores are reporting game glitches and countless customer complaints as well as many incidence of returns. I must admit I find this to be a bit humorous. How many people spent months saving up money and sacrificing so they could enjoy this new system to find out it was a bust?

The story was broken as a Detroit video game store on Gratiot was robbed yesterday right before closing. According to the store's employees, two men in ski masks came in with guns demanding the new Playstation consoles. The clerks informed the two men that they had none in the store and the men instead stole two xbox 360's and a bunch of games as well as the two register tills. The report also claimed the men stole the surveillance tapes as to not be found later by police. As a side note, I commented that perhaps it was the clerks who staged the robbery in order to each get a game console and some cash. It seemed a little strange that nobody else saw what happened.

The story was topped off by a comment by channel 4's reporter. The reporter commented that one of the clerks told him that the games were not even worth all that trouble because of all the problems being reported about them.

Check out this link below to read the story.

Police: 2 Men Rob Store Of Game Systems

Black Friday

I just wanted to remind everybody that Black friday is coming up this Friday and you can check out all the great deals by clicking on the link below. I tried to do this last year and go to one of these stores but I couldn't get up; the turkey got the best of me. I am going to give it another go this year and see what happens. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!!!


Great Deals!!

Crash

Our Computer crashed this week and we lost everything. All of our documents and files are gone. If anybody knows how to fix this, PLEASE HELP!!!!

Throw The Jew Down The Well

So if anybody thought that there was no more antisemitism in America, you are sorely mistaken. We all are aware of the recent Borat movie and some of the craziness and whackiness it includes, but what we may not realize from the film itself is that antisemitism is alive and well right here in our own backyards. In the film, most of the antisemitism takes place either by Borat himself or outside the counrty - i.e. the running of the Jew in Kazakhstan.

However, a clip that was cut frim the movie, but that can be seen on www.youtube.com, shows that there is plenty of hatred toward jews here in america as well. Borat visits a country bar and decides he wants t operform his version of a country song. The name of the song is In My Country There is Problem. In the first verse of the song, the country's problem is transport (transportation). This dosn't seem like anything crazy and the bar's audience chuckles a bit.

The rest of the song, however, is a ranting about the problem is the Jew and that the Jew must be thrown down the well in order to free Borat's country. Not only is the song crazy, but the entire bar starts to join in with Borat singing together. I will admit, I thought the song was absolutely hilarious, but it still shows the sadness of the world that people can still hold hatred for someone simply because of their skin color or their beliefs.

Why are people so ignorant and stupid as to not learn to love others as human beings and nothing else but that? If these southern folks are so religious, why don't they see Jews or blacks or asians or anybody else as creations of G-d? Do they really think minorities are some alien being that they can treat like dirt? If we truly want to improve the education system in America, I think it needs to start with this topic. We wil never be able to learn together if we can not learn to live together.

For anyone who would like to hear the song, this is the link Click Here to Hear the Song

Kosher Starbucks

Hey all,
It doesn't look like this is really going to pan out, but I think it is pretty sweet that I made it in the article. Take a look.

Starbucks Article

Playstation 3

So I am sure everyone is aware that Sony has decided to release a new version of its popular game system, Playstation. This will mark the 3rd version of the game system that was first introduced in 1994. There is one problem that I feel is linked to this new release, it is very limited. Many reports have already stated that there will only be a handful of PS3's brought to the United States; many reports that I have heard suggest only about 300,000 will be sold here. That is not the only problem we face. The other problem is that Sony has said it will stop producing games for its highly popular PS2 console, but that any games produced to date will work on the version 3 console. Is Sony out of its mind? Millions of PS2's are played around the owrld every simgle day and if Sony is only intending to sell about 3000,000 copies of the PS3, where are the PS2 owners supposed to play their games; or even worse, what will they play when they want new games? It isn't like we can just simply go buy the new version. Not only are there limited copies, but the 2 version of the PS3 - a 20gb version and a 60gb version - sell for $499 and $599 respectively. As a PS2 owner, I am upset that Sony would throw its loyal game players under the bus like this. If they were continuing to make both PS2 and PS3 games it owuld be one thing, but I feel like Sony is trully making a mistake with this latest move.

Lions

I am not sure what is more pathetic, the fact that the Lions played so bad or the fact that I sat at the game and watched them play that bad. I just don't understand. These guys are paid millions of dollars and they look like little kids playing in an after school league. The 49ers ran the same play over and over again and these idiots couldn't figure it out. If we thought Millen had to go before, you can sure as hell bet we need him gone now.

Borat

So I went to go see Borat last night. I will admit to you this, I actually thought it would be a little bit funnier but I must say that I enjoyed it. It was very nice. There was one interesting thing about the movie that intrigued me and I think truly brings out the true genius in Sacha Baron Cohen. Every time in the movie that Borat is speaking the language of Kazakhstan, he is actually speaking modern hebrew. It is hysterical. Most people will never pick up on this because they either don't speak hebrew or aren't even Jewish, but that fact that there are so many Jewish jokes in the movie yet he is speaking hebrew the whole time made me laugh. If you guys have a chance, it is worth seeing the movie.

Voting Blunder

This is a letter I just sent to the news staff and Channel 4

To whom it may concern: I wanted to write to you to tell you what happened as I voted today. I was not privileged - or cursed by the sounds of some reports - to have a voting machine and I voted the old fashioned way with a pen and some ovals. I finished filling out my ballot and submitted into the feeder and I left, proud of myself for having voted today. As I was driving down a local street however I passed a sign that said "vote no on 2" and it hit me, the proposals were not on the ballot. I thought, how could this be? I turned around and returned to my polling center and was told that the proposals were on the ballot, they are on the back. Unfortunately, nobody told me there was a back and it turns out most of the people at my polling site did not vote on the proposals because nobody was aware there was a back side. Perhaps it is my own error for not checking, but seeing as this is only the second time I have ever had a chance to vote, it would have been nice if one of the staff members would remind people about the back. I thought perhaps you would find this an interesting news story because seeing as most of the people at our site did not vote the proposals, who knows how may others did not vote them as well. In addition, I realize I should have asked where they were right away but in all the other confusion and commotion that was going on at my site, I guess they slipped my mind for the moment. When I did inform the people after of the error, they simply told me there was nothing at all that they could do and they sent me on my way. Whether this makes the air or not, I thought it was something worth telling the media world. Thank you for your time.

Remeber guys, if you haven't voted yet, CHECK THE BACK!!!

The Prestige

I went to see this movie Sunday night at about 10:30. Let's just say the previews started at 10:30 and the movie started more like at 10:50. The reason I note this is the movie is 2 hours and 25 minutes long. Anyway, the movie was actually very good. It is a little bit twisted at parts and sometimes can eve be difficult to follow but the movie was great. One thing that surprised me was david Bowie plays a character in the film, and he is a damn good actor. And of course, how can you not love Scarlett Johansson. I definitely reccomend you guys check this one out, assuming you have the time.

Basketball

So did anybody watch the pitiufl Miami vs. Chicago game last night? I mean are those really the guys that we lost the Easter Conference to? I have to say I would be embarrassed to be a Miami fan today the way they got wiped off the court last night. I guess we can at least take comfort in knowing that Ben Wallace didn't play that big a factor with only 5 points and 11 boards.

Kenny Rogers

I don't know about all of you, but I saw one of the best pitching performances of my life last night. The pitching throughout this season has been fantastic and has continued throughout the playoffs, but the schooling I saw given by Kenny Rogers last night was truly amazing. Unfortunately, this feet of excellence has been shadowed by many accusations of cheating. I am sickened by the idea that a television announcing crew could have such an impact on America's past time. In case anyone missed it, in the first inning of last night's game, Joe Buck and his crew made a big deal about a substance they noticed on Kenny Rogers' left hand. They then showed clips of him from the first innings in the Yankees and A's series in which he pitched showing similar markings on his hand. One happened next was crazy. Soon after the broadcast Tony larussa suddenly wanted to chat with the umpires and didn't want to comment on it at all after that. Jim Leland claimed Rogers was asked to wash his hands but Rogers said that nobody told him, "he noticed the dirt and washed it off". He said the only thing the umpire mentioned to him was that he had more time in between innings and he should relax and use that time to warm up. Larussa claimed that his players thought "the ball was doing funny things" and that is why he said something. But, in post game interviews the players who batted in the first inning claim they never said anything about the way the ball was being pitched. This is what I know. Whether Rogers had something on his hand in the first inning or not, it was gone by the second. And I also know this: he was amazing through EIGHT!! So for all you haters out there that think the Tigers don't deserve to be here, too bad. We are here and we are proud and we will win this thing fair and square.


ESPN Article

Sports Illustrated Online Article

Sporting News Article

What's with the Rain??

So are you guys like me? I woke up this morning at about 7:00. I realize this is a bit late for some of you but please bare with me. Gillian had to get up and start getting ready for class, and the weather was already looking pretty bad. I did a few things around the aprtment and noticed as time went by tha the weather wa sonly getting worse. By 10:00, it was raining and thundering so hard that I thought for sure we would have no power ofr days. In addition, it wasso dark outside, I had truly no idea what time or day it was. How crazy is that? May G-d never send us rain like that again!!

NBA Finals

So the Miami Heat won the NBA Finals tonight. Ladi Freakin Dah!! I have to be honest, I didn't even realize there was a game tonight. Gillian and I watched a movie and when it ended, we turned on Sportcenter and found out the horrible news. I am pretty pissed off about it, but I am still a bit torn. I am not sure if it would have been better for us if they won or lost. On the one hand, we can say hey, at least we didn't lose to a sucky team. The did win the title. On the other hand, if they lost, we could say, thank you dallas for beating them for us. But then, we look like panzies for losing to a losing team. I don't know. I do know on ething, however, I am so glad this crap is over so we can all go back to focusing on the Pistons next year.

Sam's Club

So Gillian and I discovered the world of Sam's Club today. My father has a business account there and was able to add us on. The store really can save some serious dough if you can afford to shop in bulk. I mean these prices even beat out Meijer, a store I used to think was a G-dsent. Well, I just thought I would share this because it was so amazing.

Sticky Situation

Ok guys, I have a serious question/issue and I need some advice.

Recently, Gillian's great uncle past away. Even though he was Jewish, his body was cremated rather than having a funeral. Because there was never anything done, the family is haveing a "memorial" (get together) at Gillian's aunt's house this sunday. Here is the weird part. Gillian has class and is unable to go, but I don't have anything better to do that I can use as an excuse. Do you guys think I should go or will I feel like a moron with my in-law family?

HELP PLEASE!!!

Return

Hey friends, after quite an absence I am making my big return to the world of blogging. So did you all hear this crazy story about demitri young? Supposedly he beat some woman and he didn't want to go to court so he said he was sick but he couldn't prove so now there is a warrant out for his arrest. What crazy crap is that? Just thought I would throw that one out there.

Shaving

As many of you may have seen in the YIOP eupdate, today is both Rosh Chodesh and Erev Shabbos. According to the Mishna Brurah, because today is a double simcha day, not only is one allowed to shave, but if one normally shaves outside of Sfirah, he is encouraged to do so today. I know I shaved this morning as soon as I could and it was awesome. I have to admit I really was starting to oget itchy. Have a good Shabbos everyone.

Rent

So Rent came out on DVD this week and I am pretty excited about it. Have any of you guys seen it yet? I thought the play wa sway better. I have been seeing shows since I was a little kid so I guess you can say I am in to that stuff. Just thought I would tell you if you haven't seen it yet, get on that.

Tigers

Hey guys, does anyone think it would be worth while to get Tiger's tickets for the upcoming season? Le tme know if you think I am crazy.
Dan I

Question of the Day

Who do you think the fifth player shuould be to play with the four Piston starters on the floor atthe All-Star game?

$5 Refund Law

Hey all, as most of you know there is a $5 refund law in the state of Michigan. This law was put in place to ensure that stores are charging their customers apropriately. The law says that if you are oveercharged for an item, you are entitled to the difference plus 10 times the difference up to $5. For example, let's say you bought an item that was marked $1.19 and it rang up for $1.39, you would $.20 back plus 10 times that up to $5, so you would get back $2.20. Pretty cool huh?
Well, I had the privilege of having this happen to me today. I was at Office Max buying ink for a fax machine and the black ink was marked $12.89 and I was charged $14.49. In this case, the difference plus 10 times would exceed $5, so I was only entitled to my five dollars back, but the store people were nuts!! They first tried to tell me I was only going to get the difference back. Then they tried to give like $9 back. The whole thing was crazy and it took a while, but the important thin is I got my $5.

Question of the Day

Hey guys,
How many polocks does it take to nail in a board?

Question of the Day

Hey guys, I am going to try to pose a question of the day so everyone can answer and throw a little fun into their day. I will start with a simple one so everyone can get the hang of it.


Why did the chicken cross the road?

Breakaway Minyan

For all those who are interested, I am willing to host a breakway minyan for certain Shabbosim when certain people are laining. I think those who are interested would know who I am reffering to.
Daniel

Renting

Hey all, what is new? This post is going to be more of a vent but here it goes. Renting an apartment sux!!!! I know you don't have to worry about maintanence and all that, but it is the worst. I want to kill our neghbors. Some of you already know the story, but for those who don't, it is too long to repeat. The bottom line is they make a ton of noise and I have had it. I may even end up in jail, so if a few of you could help me out with the bail actually that would be great. Anywho, just had to get that off my chest.
Daniel

All Star Game

Hey all,
How rediculous is the NBA and the lack of respedct to the Detroit Pistons. It really isn't only the NBA, but rayther sports media in general. How is it that a team as good as the Pistons can be shown such disrespect and be trashed as much as they are. If any other team in the league was playing half as good as the Pistons are right now, they would be placed on the highest of pedistals. What's wrong, nobody likes it when guys just come out and work hard every night? It always has to be about the finesse and the Hollywood crap?
I have been searching all night to try to find out the full rosters for the All Star game in Houston later this month. Right now only the starters are finite, but the reserves are yet to be anounced. Some writers and experts are saying that both Rip and Chauncey should be the backups and others leave Rip out of the running. Listen to what we are talking about people!! We are discussing whether the BEST backcourt in all of basketball is worthy of playing in the All Star game. Are people completely out of their mind. This simply proves tha the balloting is a popularity contest and not based on the best players.
I admit it, Kobe and Nash are deserving of their honors. But, do we really think that Wade and Iverson come out every night and play as hard and carry their team every night like Rip and Mr. Big Shot? Since voting has been allowed on the internet is it any wonder that Yao gets the most votes? HELLO!!!!! China has the most people anywhere. I think the league and the fans owe the Pistons and its starting five an apology. Flip is already coaching - in my opinion, we should have a game of All Stars against the Pistons; is there any question who would win?

Update

Hey all,
Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. My life has been a little nuts. As most of you know by now, we are the proud parents of a new cat. We decided to name him Nemi. We did this because he is orange and looks a bit Tiger-like. The Hebrew word for Tiger is Namer and we got Nemi for short. He really is the cutest thing in the whole wide world. Unfortuantely, he is having surgery today and he will be at the vet until Sunday so we miss him very much.
Nothing much has really been going on. I am sick and tired of hearing about the Super Bowl but I do hope that the Steelers will kick some Tuchas!!!! Go steelers!!!!!!
That is all for now, see you all at BKC.
Dan