One Year Anniversary

Exactly one year ago today I started this blog. Its been an interesting year, if I do say so. Thus, in that spirit, I will now give a look back over the past year. Personal

• My oldest son celebrated his 3rd birthday, my daughter her 2nd, and our youngest son was born last November.
• We are expecting our 4th, G-d willing, in 2005.
• We moved from a 3 bedroom apartment to a 3 bedroom townhouse.

Canada

• Chretien retires (finally!) Paul Martin gets to act Prime Minister
• The Tories finally merge with the Alliance, they get Harper as their leader
• Liberals are rocked with sponsorship scandal, Martin calls an election, and polls indicate that the Tories may win
• Liberals win anyways
• Provincial Liberals win in Ontario, proceed to raise taxes right away after promising not to (like anyone believed that)
• Mel Lastman, mayor of Toronto, retires, David Miller gets elected. Who's better than Mel as a former Toronto mayor? Nooooo-body!
• 2004 Olympics are held in Athens, proving once more that when it comes to the Olympics, we still stink

The Rest of The World

• Iraq. Staying the course. What more can I say?
• US Democratic party picks JFK as their candidate. Unfortunately for them, its not John F. Kennedy, but John Kerry. Smart enough not to go with Dean, not smart enough to go with someone "normal".
• US presidential campaign heats up, Kerry picks a lawyer as a running mate, allegedly to offset his "lack of charisma". And we all know how everyone loves lawyers. Will Kerry get elected? Time will tell as to whether historians will compare him to Mondale or Dukakis.
• In Israel, Sharon the Likudnik becomes Sharon the Laborite and aggresively pushes his plan for "disengagement" which is a code word for making the Gaza strip Jew free.
• Sharon has his Likud party vote on it, they say no, he goes ahead and pushes for it anyways. Israeli politics. Heh!
• Hamas finds itself "spiritually lacking", courtesy of a Hellfire missile
• PA prime minister quits, new one gets appointed, then he quits half a year later. Then he un-quits. Or maybe it never happened. Does it matter?

The Guests Have Arrived

There have been several movies made in the past that have focused on the theme of Orthodox Jewry, especially Chasidim, or those that are labeled as "ultra Orthodox". Usually, these movies suffered from weak plots, many inaccuracies, or both. Others also add an element of portraying their subject in the worst possible light. In many cases, it is actually fun to point out the inaccuracies (much like it is fun for Trekkies to point out inconsistencies in the latest Trek installation). It would be nice, however, if there was a movie that treated its subject matter with some respect and accuracy. In Israel, a Breslover Chasid (a Ba'al Teshuva, returnee to Judaism) has made what may be the world's first charedi (fervently religious) produced and starring movie. It is called Ushpizin, the Aramaic for "guests" or "visitors". Whether it is good as the reviewer says it is, time will tell. No word on when the DVD (with the directors commentary and 8 hours of deleted scenes) is coming out.

Blackout Remembered

It is now one year to the day that the biggest blackout in North American history, a total of 50 million people without power, occured (thank you very much, Ohio!). The Toronto Star today published an article looking back at that day. So, in the same spirit, I am linking to an article from the Canadian Jewish News on how the Jewish community here coped with the blackout. My experience with the blackout was not as memorable as having a candlelit wedding along with barebequed wedding food and a-capella singing. I do remember being stuck without a bus ticket and being as their were no stores open so I could purchase one, not to mention that the traffic was exceedingly slow, I decided to walk home instead. Aside from slight dehydration and a blister on my foot, I made it back in one piece. We all went over to my parents house and had a nice barbeque on the back porch, along with the neighbours. The weather was just perfect. Best part of all... my mom had a steak in the freezer.

There Are Other Keinz

First, there was Freedom fries. And, now there is an alternative to Heinz ketchup. W Ketchup And its kosher, certified by the OU.

Tie a Red Ribbon

The US department store, Target, is now carying red Kaballah strings for $25 a bundle. No word on whether Old Navy is planning on carrying tallisim.