Thanks for Visiting, Please Come Again

Thank you to our recent blog visitors from Canada, Brazil, Israel, Trinidad and Tobago, Taiwan, Korea, and of course, the USA. Thank you also to the not-so-recent visitors from Argentina, Australia, Poland, Ireland, Greece, Spain, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the UK. We miss you guys.

Bush says he's sorry for the static, but don't worry because it's only from the dead people. And the rest of the world isn't any better. (Most countries are much worse. Even you neutral countries cannot escape blame because you have responsibilities too. Many of America's blunders come from trying to help, but we'd all be worse off if they just stayed out.)

The Pope does not apologize b/c he is the Pope and that's how it is. What a shame. He really insulted Islam. He also insulted the Jews not long ago if I remember correctly. Its blunder after blunder for poor Pope Benedict. Really a shame after John Paul did so much to improve inter-religious relations and correct the historical wrongs of his predecessors. It looks like we are back in the Middle Ages. Speaking of going off on a tangent (is that what we were speaking of?) Yale University created a center for the inter-disciplinary academic study of anti-Semitism. The University cited growing levels of anti-Semitism in Europe and other parts of the world and the need to understand why hostilities erupt between religious factions.

Random! Anyway, drop me a line. Comment please. Anything.

Twink Links

Watch him go from this

To way past this

Cute Twink with a Bubble Butt

Young Guy Posing on a Futon pic set at Tyler's Room

Josh Hartnett is Suddenly Everywhere

And thank G-d for that! I happened to see 40 Days and 40 Nights the other day (loved it) and next I know, Josh turns up on the cover of GQ (October issue). He just took a (short) break from Hollywood to learn boxing for his upcoming movie Resurrecting the Champ. Josh takes his roles very seriously, gets fully into them, and does a great job. He's more than just a pretty face. Josh's filmography already inclues Sin City, Black Hawk Down, The Black Dahlia (2006), Lucky Number Slevin, Pearl Harbor and more. It's worth checking out the spread in GQ.

Pic of the Day

Ben Savage Lives

MySpace has done it again: The web-world has gone crazy over Boy Meets World star Ben Savage after MySpace pranksters reported that he died in an auto accident. Fortunatley, Ben is alive and well, performing a small-time role in movie Palo Alto. Ben was great in BMW, but apparently is past his prime.

Headlines

Self proclaimed "pop star" Aaron Carter (18) breaks off an engagement to older brother Backstreet Boy Nick Carter's ex-girlfriend after only 6 days. Aaron popped the question to Playboy model and former Miss Teen USA Kari Ann Peniche on stage after he had known her for just days, then admitted he had gotten, "caught up in the moment" and "made a mistake."

Aaron's music is only mediocre but he's really cute and he's still young. And the girls sure love him: Lindsay Lohan and Hillary Duff are just a few of the names on this phenom's growing list of ex-es. His next big gig is a TV show he's set to do with Nick called House of Carters. Find out more about AC at http://www.delafont.com/music_acts/aaron-carter.htm

Former President Bill Clinton made headlines for his heated response to Chris Wallace's pointed questions about bin Laden during a television interview. Clinton was interviewed about his Clinton Global intitiative, a large-scale humanitarian and charitable project out to solve the worlds problems. Clinton has raised over $16 billion for the project which plans, among other things, to install playground equipment in African towns that will serve the dual purpose of powering underground water pumps to provide fresh drinking water to the residents. Wallace took the opportunity to press the former president about his handling of al-Qaida during his presidency. See the Clinton Foundation site at http://www.clintonfoundation.org/index.htm

Chris Simms of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL) had his spleen surgically removed after sustaining damage during a loss to the Carolina Panthers. Team officials have expressed hope that he will play again. From http://www.usatoday.com/sports

Preferred Blogger: www.makebananapancakes.blogspot.com

Song of the Month: Wake Me Up When September Ends by Greenday. (That would mean 5 more days of sleep.) It's that back-to-school feeling, that end of an age, a so-long to innocence and long sunny afternoons, parties and freedom. Summer has come and passed/The innocent can never last/Wake me up when September ends/Here comes the rain again/Falling from the stars/Drenched in my pain again/Becoming who we are... But don't get me wrong, I like school and love to learn. I'm working on a fascinating research project now, and I'm going home to the States soon for a week-long visit, which I am looking forward to. Last time I went home for a month and was not a happy camper, but I think I've matured a lot in the last 6 months and anyway, this time will only be for a week.

Avidan

Stunningly gorgeous.

More Hot Pics

Beautiful.

Why get dressed to do the ironing when you can just tie on an apron and show off what you've got?

Can't wait to see those pants come off.

Tell us what you think of our new look!!

Hot Pic Series

What do ya think?

The Verdict Is IN

America's favorite nonfiction writer is... Noam Chomsky. He was the only author listed twice on Amazon.com's top 25 bestsellers. Everything he writes turns to gold. He has 3 books that recieved 3000 or more citations on Google Scholar and an additional 7 works in the 1000 cite club (3/7). For comparison Einstein has only 1 article in the 3000 club (1/0) and Darwin never made it (0/4). Ok, so google.scholar isn't a perfect record, but trust me any researcher will tell you it's pretty good. A highly useful resource. Anyway another citation superstar, Al Bandura made the 3000 club 4 times and has another 2 articles in the 1000 club (4/2). Some dude PK Smith earned over 5000 cites for a biochem piece, but he was a one hit wonder (1/0). Chomsky's success is rare, but often well deserved. His genius is darkened only by his awful anarchist politics, his idiotic stance against Israel, but his good ideas are not to be ignored.

Wedding

(The original of this post got lost, and you now how the rewrite can never match the original, but here goes.) I went to a friend's wedding last week. It was a lot of fun. Beautiful. The groom was stunning. I've actually had a crush on him since we met about 4 years ago, but apparently he's not gay. Oh well. As long as he's happy, that's the main thing. Cute couple. Pretty girl, wonderful sweet smile, but I still think she got the better deal: he's hotter than she is. I disgust myself - there is so much more to a relationship, and especially a marriage, than just looks. They are preparing a whole life, they have plans together, education, careers. They care for each other, entertain each other, enjoy spending time with one another and doing things together (and not just, ahem). I have a lot of maturing to do.

I danced like mad at the wedding, and didn't even drink. I've been trying to loosen up more w/out booze. It's hard. I've often relied on alcohol to loosen up and have fun at parties, but I know I have to grow up and learn to just be who I want to be without chemicals. Oh, I remembered the other part I had written in this post. It was a bit, I've probably written it before, about how I want to be less selfish and help others. I said, my life must seem pretty boring to you. ;-( If I would do more for others it would probably spice up my life, but that is not why I want to do it. I want to make the world a better place. Cliche? If only it would be more of a cliche, you know what I mean?

P.S. Looks like they found the original copy. It is better; see below and compare for yourself.

Wedding

I went to a friend's wedding last week. It was a lot of fun. Beautiful. I danced like mad and didn't even drink. I've been trying to loosen up more w/out alcohol. It's hard. I've often relied on alcohol to loosen up and have fun at parties, but I know I have to grow out of that and learn to be who I want to be without chemicals. Anyway, the groom was stunning. I've had a crush on him since we met about 4 years ago, but apparently he's not gay. Oh, well. As long as he's happy, that's what counts. His bride's grandfather died three days after the wedding and the couple flew to California for the funeral. Sad. Kind of awkward. Life is full of these odd quirks. All the best. You think my life is boring, don't you. ;-( I think most lives are, even many of the ones that we think would be interesting. 1 important thing that is missing from my life is helping others. I got to do more for other people and be less selfish. That would probably spice up my own life, but that isn't the reason to do it. I want to help people, "to make the world a better place". Cliche? If only it would become more of a cliche, you know?

The Quickie

Yah, I don't have much time now, b/c the dude wants to close the maabada (lab). Just wanted to check in and tell y'all more is on the way. Isn't "y'all" a cute expression? Well, the way this cute boy in my school (who unfortunately isn't in my class) says it it seems divine. Anyway, it's almost time to register for Fall classes. I wonder what I'll take. The summer break was great. Relaxing. Hard to get back to work, to schedules, responsibilities. Stuff happened, I guess. Wonder if it interests you... I moved. Switched apartments, only about 5 blocks from where I was, nothing major. Got two weeks notice from the lanlord at my old place that we all have to move out. That was it: 2 weeks and you're all out. Just like that. No reason given. The rent was all paid up on time. Spent four days 'on the street', hopping between friends' places till I found this place, but now I'm settled in there and it's cool.

Oh, the Question of the Day: You're seeing a guy for a while, you've slept together several times, hung out, gone out, when does he become your "boyfriend"? How does it get official? I mean, also, like this: you spent 3 or 4 nights together in a week. Who knows how many people he was with that week besides you? Ok, so he's not like that. He's not a slut. But the truth is you don't know where people are holding. And you don't want to push things where they are going to get prickly, you don't want to assume too much - or too little. Whatever, I guess we'll talk it over. When he comes back from New York... Thing is also - and I've told him this - I eventually want to get married - to a girl - so this thing, though we're loving it, can't last. I want him to enjoy his vacation in NY. I can't be there. I'm in Israel. I don't know if he's "on the prowl" there or he wants to be "faithful" to me, I don't know if we even have that kind of relationship that there is such a thing as that he's "faithful to me". But I don't begrudge him his fun if that is what he wants. I want him to be happy, why should he ruin his vacation that he looked forward to for so long (if that's what he wanted) just because we met several weeks before?

Shit, relationships! (Sorry, I'll try to watch my language.) I sometimes try to keep my emotions out of it so as not to get hurt. Some of this is conscious, some unconscious. I think, so what if I date a guy and he's seeing other people too, if he's there for me and cares for me, and I for him, who cares what he does when I'm not around? And if the concern is STDs, that is a problem anyway and that is what protection is for. I sound pretty vulgar. I wish I had answers. I do't even know what I want. I wish I could express better what I feel; I don't think I did justice here now, it came out a little one sided - lacking the proper balance that I would have liked to provide. But time is short.

More later. G'bye! XOXOXO

Jerusalem Update: WorldPride, Arts and Crafts Fair

It's been a while. Well, we're in-between semesters now, so I have a bit of a break. Participated in Jerusalem WorldPride - smaller scale than some would have predicted, but very nice, to the point. Health conference, youth day, party at HaOman 17 (one of Jerusalem's big dance clubs), film festival, meeting at Jerusalem's City Hall (which in Hebrew is called Kiryat HaIriyah, which translates literally to Municipality Complex, or what Americans might call City Hall. It's a nice set of modern buildings at Kikar Safra, Safra Square, in downtown Jerusalem and there is a terrific view from the top which was opened to the Pride participants by. Wouldn't have gone to the parade anyway, so its just as well that part was war-cancelled. And it's great that the war has finally ended (at least for now); people can stop dying and get back to work, maybe I'll get to do some touring.

I went to the closing night of the Jerusalem International Arts and Crafts Fair. It was fabulous: a wealth of beautiful creations, breathtaking, charming. Loads of great food, superb music. My biggest regret is that I had no one to share it with. I called several friends, but couldn't find anyone to go with. This one had to work, those two were out of town, two others couldn't be reached by phone, etc. The event contrasted in my mind with New York's Javits Auto Show which I reviewed several months ago. The two were similar in that they were large, themed collections of exhibits and displays from different places and attracted huge crowds, but the differences are strikng. The J-lem fair was excellently executed, impresive , and delightful. But it seemed on a smaller scale. I'd estimate there were about 25 - 50 thousand visitors a night during the two weeks of the fair, so it wasn't small, half -baked or cheaply produced, but compared to NY, it looked almost like a low-budget knockoff. Not that this doesn't have its own charms - it does. The Israeli crowd will sit down on the grass. I know, most of you find this pretty normal, but watch New Yorkers - they won't just sit down on the grass in front of a stage to enjoy the music (eww, the graassss! You want me to sit where?).

I went on a tour that included a visit to a natural spring. Israeli youth just stripped to their underwear in the hot weather and jumped in (from atop a 15 foot cliff - I can hear the American whining "that is soo dannngerousss, how could they let them dooo that") for a cooling swim before getting back to their daily activities. Some stayed for a BBQ spring-side. It was so natural and beautiful (and you should see some of those bodies), I longed to jump in, but the American group was too civilized for that. You see, there is a certain quaint charm in the Israeli chilled-out-ness that Americans can learn from. Israel is just high-tech and modern enough to provide the comforts of 21st century living without giving up all of the charm of "backwards" third-world fun. The combination is great: hard-working, serious, studiousness mingles with the most laid-back attitudes imaginable and in a blink switches to the gruff abrasive manner that made Israel famous. Just one more reason to say, "Ain Kmo Yisrael" (There is no place like Israel). Remind me of those ads: fill-in-the-blank by day, Bacardi by night.

Some random sites: (unrelated to above)
http://www.jqyouth.org/index.htm
http://www.thebody.com/goldstone/insouts.html

Couch Potato Nation

Obese people claimed to eat healthy and exercise in a new survey. Interesting. Psychologists will enjoy explaining why they think that.

Saw the movie Basic. I had heard from everybody what a great movie it is. I won't say I was blown away, but I wasn't disappointed; it was pretty solid.

www.Forbes.com has a lot of good content, but the site design is so awful, it runs slow, it is unstable and full of pop ups. I'm thinking boycott.

Later.

Movies, War, and World Pride

In the movie dept., I saw Pirates of the Caribbean 2. It was great if you can put your brain down on the seat next to you while you watch. Try thinking about it, and you are left with a filler made because we live in the post-sequel era of the trilogy. Anything good must be not doubled but tripled. Anyway, many people do enjoy leaving their minds on the side while they watch a movie, so don't take my comments as a knock to the film.

Also saw Luck Number Slevin. I liked it. Leaving Josh Harnett's shirt off for the first 39 minutes of the movie was an excellent call by director McGuigen. The movie was a little lopsided; they needed a lot of time at the end to sew up the plot and close loose ends. There were a lot of killings, but not much real action scenes. Some of the punches and plot lines were trite, stereotypes of Blacks and Jews abounded, but it had a feel-good kind of feeling to it and a hot lead actor that pretty much make it worth watching.

World Pride Jerusalem is coming up next week. I'm trying to decide whether to offer to host visitors. I have room, but you know how Mom always said never to talk to strangers. I mean, I'd love to be nice and offer a place. I'd really love it if I found a hot guy to offer it to ;-) , but I'm a New Yorker. You just don't invite strangers in; they rob you blind. It's really a shame, though.

I think it's better in J-lem than NY (it feels like we're all family here - amazing), but just the other day I was printing a big file at the university computer center and someone snatched my print card from the card reader while the machine was printing and I walked back to my computer to wait. Luckily, there was only about 5 shekel left on the card ($1.15), earlier I had had as much as 30 (~$7).

The Pride Parade and some events were cancelled, but much of the itinerary will go forth as planned. At this point, I'll stick in my feelings on Gay Pride: Cut it out. There is no need to parade around being proud to be gay and show off your sexuality in the streets of city after city. Sex is something private; do what you enjoy, but where is the "pride"? Is being gay an achievement that you are proud of it? Did you work hard to make yourself gay and now have increased self-esteem because you succeeded in becoming gay? I'll spare you the science of homosexuality and the nature/nurture debate, but point is you probably are gay by no conscious effort of your own. Even if you were, what is there to be proud of? We don't see heterosexuals showing off their "Straight Pride". So let's be clear, the Pride is not over a choice of sexual orientation, but rather "pride" as in not being embarrassed or discouraged from beng open about it. The idea is faulty. The real emotion here is not pride, but some mix of assertiveness, self-assuredness, and independence. This wouldn't sell to a mass market, so the Gay Lobby created this Pride thing which does us somewhat of a disservice even as it furthers our cause.

I, personally, would have trouble marching in a Pride parade on ideological grounds. I disagree with the idea of Pride (see above). My feeling is that people who are in touch with themselves and know their emotional attachments and sexual attractions, let them hook up with those people. Have a good time, do what you like. That is the Western ideal of individuality and the pleasure principle. But, there is no need to put sexuality on parade. It degrades the person; makes him/her nothing but a sex object. I see this with some of my gay friends who become nothing but "gay. It subsumes their whole identity. I prefer to have a whole personality, one part of which is my sexual orientation. But I am much more than gay. To submit to Gay Pride is to lose your identity, not to flaunt your individuality as some would have you believe. IF YOU DISAGREE, PLEASE TELL ME. I would love to hear from the other side on this debate.

As far as the ongoing War in Lebanon, I think a lot of us thought it would blow over by now, but it is still going strong. It hasn't been felt in J-lem, but up North, they are taking it pretty hard, living in bomb shelters, getting hit by Katyusha rockets. The poor Lebanese have been hit very hard. I feel bad and want Israel to stop, but realize that they are working to protect my safety and that the fault ultimately lies with Hezbolla. Yeah, the Israelis are behind the trigger, but they wouldn't be there if Hezbolla would leave them alone.

In the Trenches

The violent conflict here is frightening and unfortunate, but Israel is still awesome. Though parts of the country are confined to bomb shelters, life has gone on as usual in J-lem. We all got a kick out of George dubya Bush's comments to PM Tony Blair in St. Petersburg, "what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this sh*t, and it's over."

On the topic of humorous comments by political figures, Arab MK (Member of Knesset) Ibrahim Sarsur addressed the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee regarding the upcoming gay pride event in Jerusalem. www.ynetnews.com reports: A ripple of laughter went through Israeli parliament meeting when Arab MK Ibrahim Sarsur said, "I have never had to participate in such a discussion, because in Muslim society we don't have this problem."
(credit to this place: http://209.157.64.201/focus/f-news/1660124/posts I don't know who it is or how I even got there)

But it is not all fun and games. People are dying and being blown up, rockets and missiles are hitting towns and cities. Soldiers on both sides are risking their lives and sometimes losing them. Parents are worried about their children. It is crises like these that often inspire a desperate recourse to God as the only source left for comfort and order in a terrifying, painful, unpredictable, and uncontrollable world.

News agencies the greatest beneficiaries of war. In wartime, keeping up with the latest news becomes a widespread fascination, even addiction. The mass psychology of crisis and war is really intriguing; everybody goes through predictable, identifiable progression of phases that actually impact events in a big way.

Buffet Gives Billions to Charity Fund

Lets try something short this time.

Warren Buffet to contribute $30 billion dollars to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, bringing the value of the fund over $60 billion dollars. The donation will ensure the BMGF remains one of the world's largest charitable funds. It towers over just about any other private collection of wealth with the notable exception of Harvard's endowment.

Escalation of Violence and Psilocybin

Israel responds to repeated kidnappings of its soldiers with strikes on Hamas positions in Gaza and Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. Parents of students from overseas worry about the safety of their children in an unstable Middle East. The University assures the safety of Jerusalem, warns against travel to the North, and advises students to stay informed of developments and make their own decisions to stay or flee the region.

Unrelated random stuff: Effects of Coffee? Portrayals of Science in Popular Media? Idiot America? www.drudgerepot.com

Studies support a role of the psychedelic mushroom and its main ingredient psilocybin in creating positive religious experience which can be studied using neuroimaging techniques. Detractors warn against positive portrayals of illegal drugs. SHAME on them. Your concerns about drug abuse should not be allowed to adulterate scientific research. Science deals with empirical descriptions of what is. How people should behave is studied in separate fields such as philosophy, theology, and ethics. While there is an interaction, a scientific discovery does not imply any change in suggestions for behavior. This point is often confused in popular science which will recommend coffee-drinking because niacin, riboflavin, bioflavanoids, and caffeine have been linked to various health benefits. This does not automatically follow from the science, and other human factors mediate the interpretation and suggestion for action. Further, scientific discoveries of a natural "norm" does not impact the propriety or dispropriety of a given course.

When Your Biggest Fan is Your Worst Nightmare

The paradoxical nature of people is unescapable; it is scary. As part of a seminar the psychology of Israeli-Palestinian relations, my professor brought in several Israeli settlers who live in the West Bank to give their story. I was shocked and astounded to hear them come in so clueless about how to reach the modern university student. Though they spoke a relatively good English, it was like we were speaking different languages. Their lack of critical thinking was horrifying, especially because there are many people who will identify their views with mainstream Israeli opinion. They attributed all morality to God, discrediting completely opposing ethical systems. They saw the Palestinians as non-entities with no legitamate claim whatsoever, and were generally inflamatory and underinformed. My classmates and I tried to listen, tried to understand her perspective, but though many of us share Zionist leanings and ideas, found ourselves turned off to their viewpoint and offended by their declarations. They have a revisionist history and a lack of tolerance and vision. Magical thinking may also factor in here. Theoretically, these settlers should be the greatest ally of the Zionist dream. Until I met these people, I was supportive of some of their positions. Now, though I haven't changed my poitical opinions because of a few hapless souls, I am inclined to see less sympathetically their plight. It should be reiterated, of course, that the majority sentiment is not like this and that most of the settlers are more rational than this small minority group.

In an unrelated story: Random site of the day: www.stumbleupon.com