Off to Chicago for a quick weekend get-away. Actually, going for a wedding. Wish me luck. I am a slender man and hope not to get blown away.

GAZM programming genius, Adam Sills, got top billing in a .NET book to which he contributed content. Check it out here. I am very excited for him. He put, and continues to put a ton of work into GAZM, based on his squishyWARE software. Way to go Adam!

Movie Catch Up

For a variety of reasons I decided it was finally time for me to take a big stab against the long list of movies I am embarrassed for having not seen (especially after being a film major!). I created a NetFlix account and proceeded to load up my rental queue. I can have 3 movies out at a time. When I mail them back I get 3 others from my queue. An unlimited number for films for $20 a month.

I just got done watching Pi and Brazil. Still on the docket is The Graduate, which I have seen but hear the DVD is fantastic.

Pi was a fascinating movie. Although I usually like schlocky Hollywood mainstream machine crap, Pi was not so artsy as to turn me off. I was genuinely intrigued by the number theory and connection to Judaism. I could have done without the last 20 minutes, though. I won't ruin the film for those who haven't seen it but come on?! I bought everything in the film, but not the ending. That's all I have to say.

Brazil was a fun, quirky, farcical movie. I enjoyed seeing De Niro in a weird role. I bought into the flights of fancy and weird dreams. I loved the reverse aging process his mother underwent and really laughed at the opposite affect that befell her friend - "my complication seems to have developed a complication." What clever writing!

But the greatest line has got to be the one I end this blog entry with-

"How about a little necrophilia?"

There is an interesting discussion going on right now on Metafilter in regards to propaganda on both sides of the Middle East Conflict.

Regardless of your stance, opinions or understanding, I think a few things are undeniable.

This comment, by revbrian, seems to be undeniable:
The moral state of things is this:
1. If the Palestinians unilaterally lay down their arms and renounce violence, they will be given peace, dignity, and their own state.
2. If the Israelis unilaterally lay down their arms and renounce violence, they will be slaughtered.
3. As far as most of the world is concerned, either outcome would be satisfactory.

Furthermore, a few weeks ago there was an article explaining the lack of Arab support for a war against Saddam Hussein. It basically said that they support Iraq (overtly or covertly) because it is the closest to perfecting a nuclear bomb. That is the only leverage they could ever have over America and Israel (using oil as leverage will only benefit America, in the long run). The moment after they perfect the bomb, it will be launched at Israel. I do not think this is questionable. It is a certainty. But if the suicide bombings stopped, if violence ceased, if Saddam paid $25,000 to families for books and sanitation instead of suicide, there would be peace. But none of that is happening. Why? Hatred.

These and many other points remind me that not everything is equal. Not everything is just a matter of opinion, open to debate and differing understandings.

Rally For Israel

Showing my support for the rally going on right now in Washington, DC. Today is the Israeli Memorial Day for soldiers lost in the many wars fought by the young country. Tomorrow is the country's 54th birthday.



For an excellent crash course on both Israeli Memorial and Independence days, check out this blog (no permalink, sorry, scroll down).

At 12:36pm my respect for the quality of CNN anchors, already at a low, dipped even lower. Coming back from a Donald Rumsfeld briefing, the anchor said something to the effect of, "Donald Rumsfeld wrapping up his daily press conference at the Pentagram, one key point was about the new Osama Bin Laden tape recently aired by Al Zeera television."

I rest my case.

Launching Shuttles

Did you know that all that white gas you see spewing from the bottom of space shuttles just before launch is steam, not fuel? Seriously. The sound emitted when the twin solid rocket boosters ignite would tear the space shuttle apart, so they have these "rainbirds" which drench the launchpad with 300,000 gallons of water. The water damps the noise to 3 decibels below the critical level. Fascinating stuff. So the white gas is actually steam, from the water hitting the flames. Check it out.


yep, steam!

Wow. The Internet works! After putting out the booty call for kind souls who are skilled translators, 2 people have volunteered. I have almost finished creating the blog itself and Shlomo is already working on his introductory post. Stay tuned. Thanks to everyone for their help, links, advice and offers. It's going to be great.

The GAZM Firebrand

On another note, the first newsletter since the new GAZM.org launched went out last night. For those who have a passing/lurking affinity for GAZM.org, I definitely recommend creating an account and checking the box to sign up for the newsletter. When creating an account you choose which (if any) information to make public. When signing up for the newsletter you will get an email once every 10-14 days. No spam. No crap. Just an infrequent email I put together with the coolest, funniest, most poignant, most popular, most active content on the site.