One reason I like it here...

Great bit of writing in today's New York Daily News...pretty much sums up what I miss about New York.

But then I got to thinking about it and, actually, a lot of these cross-cultural shenanigans happen in Israel, which is one of then reasons I'm finding it really easy to adjust to life here. The old "Ashkenazi Jew meets Ethiopian Jewish immigrant at a kosher Brazilian restaurant where the waiter is an American Jewish student and the bus boy is an illegal Thai worker" story. Anyways, just a thought.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/482410p-405865c.html

Mob rap in bagel boom

Feds tie S.I. attack in '01 to gangland rivals

BY ERNIE NASPRETTO and JOHN MARZULLI DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Only in New York would a Mafia associate nicknamed The Irishman allegedly provide a bomb used to destroy a Pakistani immigrant's deli that was competing with a bagel store protected by the mob.

The feds yesterday charged reputed Gambino crime associate Edward Fisher with orchestrating the December 2001 arson attack on My Deli and Grocery in Staten Island...

2 and 1/2 French!

Well folks, my dream has finally come true.

I'm a rock star.

Yea, that's right. I'm in a real-life, hard-rockin', chick-gettin', envy-inspirin' rock and roll band. We're called "2 and 1/2 French." The band members include: me, and my two roommates. They're French. I'm half-French. I came up with the name. A stroke of genius, I know.

Anyways, 2 and 1/2 French had its debut performance a few weeks ago and we blew away the competition. We're still working on original material, so we did a cover of Outkast's "Hey Ya!" I don't want to sound arrogant or anything, but we were amazing. Now, as an official rock and roll star, there is a certain latitude afforded to me for arrogance. Therefore, the truth is: we were the best. Point blank.


Getting ready for our debut performance. Notice the
skull caps and white shirts. In the music business, we
call this: "looking damn good."


Where did we play, you ask? Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem? Ramat Gan Stadium? Not even close. For our debut performance, we chose a very intimate setting; one that would get us the spotlight we so richly deserve: the Rothberg International School Talent Show.




The crowd was estimated at about 150, although those are the figures provided by local law enforcement. I thought the size of the crowd was more in the 50,000-range. Although I could be wrong; frankly I couldn't tell...the spotlight on us was too strong. You could say the spotlight was blinding.



At this point in the performance, no one in the crowd
knew the greatness that stood before them. But as soon
as those first few lyrics came out: "1-2-3. My baby don't mess
around cause she loves me so and this I know fo' sho...",
everyone knew.


Anyways, 2 and 1/2 French is getting ready to go on tour so if anyone out there wants to sign us to a lucrative, multi-million dollar contract, I suggest you do so immediately. Talent like this doesn't come around very often.

Until next time, keep on rockin'...

"Shake it like a polaroid picture."

-E

P.S. What? You wanna watch video of 2 and 1/2 French taking the stage? Fine. Go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDwbqQALdNc

And the award goes to......

Seeing that 2006 is almost over, I believe it's time to hand out the one and only award I give out for my blog.

And the 2006 winner of Best Responder to "Erik's web-based log...a 'blog if you will" goes to:

Drum roll please...

SEAN MCMAHON


Look at this guy. What is his deal? He looks like an out-of-work porn star who recently found work, and then got fired again. And oh by the way Sean, the homeless guy we always see outside of the Dupont Circle Metro called. He wants his t-shirt back.

But all joking aside, Sean has developed quite a skill for blog commentilization. No matter the subject matter, Sean finds a way to make his voice heard (albeit only by the 5 people who read this damn thing but whatever). Here are a few of his 2006 highlights:

-Re: Iranian Holocaust denial: "Will there be feats of strength?! What about airing of grievances? I've got some grievances to air!

-Re: Hebrew University Man Day 2K6: "You guys played the cracker game didnt you? You're disgusting."

-Re: The new U2 Best-Of album: "Who-ooo-oooooh-ooooo cares? Bono likes sweaty mens." (PS: Notice the use of the word "mens" with an "s" at the end. Brilliant maneuver)

-Re: The aesthetic nature of the Hebrew University campus: "You suck! Syracuse is the most beautifulest city in the entire world. Is Faegans still there?"


So there you have it. As this year's winner, Sean walks away with $10,000 as well as a new baby boy recently acquired off the black market:




You take care of that kid, Sean! And a hearty congratulations from the staff of "Erik's web-based log...a 'blog if you will."

-E

Black Slavery Never Happened...

"I'm gonna host a conference questioning what really happened in the Americas from the 17th century until 1865. Because I don't think Black slavery actually happened. And if it did, it was only a handful of Blacks."

Try saying that to any of your Black friends and see how they react. If they deck you...good. You deserved it.

So who did you deck (figuratively of course...I don't condone violence unless it's in the WWE) this week when Iran's Mahmoud "Call me Adolf" Ahmadinejad hosted a conference calling into the question the existence of the Holocaust?

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121100198.html

Mahmoud and his merry band of psychopaths (they call themselves "revisionists") got together for a little old-fashioned anti-semitism. That's what this is: anti-semitism dressed up as "academic research." The rational is simple: If you question the existence of the Holocaust and call it "research," it makes it a lot easier and "legitimate" to question the existence of Israel.

Don't be fooled...this is no joke. Mahmoud is even telling the world what he wants to do: wipe Israel off the face of the Earth. He's actually telling us all what he wants to do! Right to our faces.

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/27/AR2005102702221.html

My family members who were murdered in the Holocaust, like those of many many others, would not want me or any other human being sitting on our asses. The folks at the Iraq Study Group want Bush to talk to Iran and Syria. Maybe before we start talking to these monsters, we should be listening to what they're saying instead...

Anyways, that's enough for today. I don't even want to get started on that buffoon of an ex-president Jimmy Carter...

I'm off to Eilat for a long weekend. Happy Hannukah! And Pre-Merry Xmas and Kwanza. Oh and of course...Festivus.

-E

Man Day 2K6

Sometimes school sucks. There's a lot of pressure, stress, readings, tests, papers, weird people, and even weirder people who make the weird people look cool.

And I chose this voluntarily.

Therefore, in order to relieve some mid-term stress, about 20 of us organized the first-ever Hebrew University Man Day. This included early morning ATVing across a random industrial park in Bet Shemesh, then some paintballing near Herzliah, followed by an all-you-can-eat, coma-inducing steak extravaganza at a Brazilian steakhouse in Ramat Gan. Yes, there are steakhouses in Israel. Damn good ones too.

What, you ask, is particularly Israeli about this alleged Man Day? Absolutely nothing. But I thought I'd send some pictures along to show that not all the guns here in Israel fire live ammunition.

-E


The Fleet.



The Crew.




Me and Yoann. Yoann grew up in Marseille which
instantly makes him cooler than 99% of the people on
the trip. Except for the rabbi-dude you'll see in a few pictures.



Self-portrait. Look at my cool helmet. LOOK AT IT!!!



Drew enjoying one of his favorite pastimes.



What kind of bad-ass biker smiles?



Drinking on the way to paintballing.
This explains a LOT about the quality
of our aim once we actually starting shooting.



Haha, I love this picture: a bunch of tough guys.
And a rabbi who looks totally clueless. My man rocks!



Our "spiritual guru" (aka sugar daddy) Jeff Seidel.
He got DESTROYED! How's the paint tasting?!



Me and Drew, post-gun battle. Drew claims he had
28 "kills." But I don't think it counts when you shoot
yourself. And why won't this comment stay un-underlined?



Seidel pointing to a wound he provided one of our friends.
He's not pointing to our friend's crotch. At least I don't think he is...



The restaurant said we almost emptied out the meat locker.
By the end of the night, the table had consumed almost
60 pounds worth of steaks. Good work men!

Guess What's Out?

In case anyone dares to think that I've totally sold out to all things Israeli...a friendly reminder that my allegiance will always lie with you-know-who...

New Greatest Hits Album Out!!!!!



Please buy this record. Bono and the boys could use the money.