Ezzie's Blog Roundup, 6/7: Canon Rocks

As a friend and I were flipping through the paper this weekend, he pulled out some of the ads. I figured I'd look through them quickly to see if the Canon Powershot A520 was on sale anywhere... and it was! Circuit City had it on sale, along with 512mb SanDisk memory cards for $20. Perfect: I bought the camera (which came with a small photo printer) and card for just $200, and now all is right with this world. After all, I can now take more pictures of Elianna! :)

To top it off, my brother was telling me tonight that of the 65 or so cameras that Consumer Reports rated, just two of them got a "Great Buy" seal, and one of them (of course) was the A520. Sweet! In all seriousness, if anyone is in the market for a good, affordable, digital camera, I recommend the A520 - it should be between $150 and $180, just make sure to buy rechargeable AA batteries and a new memory card. Great pictures, print really well, great battery life (which is the drawback of the A530), photos download really quickly to the computer.

And now, on to the roundup - there are a couple of really great posts today, so I'm going to point to those first:

Irina took a surprise trip (to us) to Israel. And it changed her life. I got chills reading this post... Wow:

Yes, it was a real journey, not just a trip. I... It *clicked* right away, if you know what I mean? Look, you don't believe me... but having never been to the country, from the moment I saw its landscapes from the window of the airplane, I felt as if I were *coming back* to the abode I once knew, rather than visiting a completely new place. Everything was SO familiar. The whole country was a MEMORY, not a discovery. I can't explain it; it's simply fantastic...

The only thing I can say is it felt RIGHT. So right, that it couldn't POSSIBLY be wrong.

Bein Adam L'Chavero gives the best reason of all why many of us should stay connected: The effect we have on others. Wow, what a post. Excerpt:

YOU, with your simple talk of your daily life (which is very bound up in your faith), and being so willing and happy to answer questions about your faith---and just plain being a good, kind man---have given me an opportunity I likely would not otherwise have had in my life, to learn so much, and in such a sweet way. As you've said before, there certainly are Jews out there who can be just as exclusive, snobbish, and/or self-righteous in their faith as anyone in any other faith---so while you certainly aren't *every* Jew to me, you are a FINE representative of your faith, to me (and of any faith, in terms of "follow with a sense of humility and compassion"). You LIVE your faith, as best you are able, and stand up and take responsibility and seek forgiveness when you feel you have failed that faith in some way, in how you act or think or live.

Israel:

JoeSettler asks how to count success. Excerpt:

According to Diskin, since the IDF left Gaza, in September 2005, there were 11 tons of TNT, three million bullets, 19,600 rifles, 1,600 pistols, 65 RPG launchers, 430 RPGs and some 10 shoulder rocket launchers smuggled into Israel.

WestBankMama on Gifts of the Magi.

EoZ asks who will be the sacrifice for the rockets to stop.

Emes Man notes just how beautiful and positive a certain anthem is.

Same-Sex Marriage:

Jack wonders why they're spending time worrying about this now. Me too.

DovBear thinks the stated reason is garbage.

The Jesters may have the only reason that makes any sense... Excerpt:

Clearly the President and his (few remaining) congressional allies are bringing divisive social issues to the floor to stir up their base and make the Democrats respond in kind and look the radicals so many Americans think we are. It will not be easy to overcome the influence of some our single-issue activists. I've mentioned that before. But we must. If we take the bait, we'll spend the next four months arguing a bill that has ZERO chance of passage and isolate moderates to the point that we blow the single biggest electoral opportunity we've had since 1964. Needless to say, this is exactly what the Republicans have in mind by pursuing this seemingly quixotic "Federal Marriage Amendment."

Misc:

Soccer Dad has a great post on why Anti-Zionism is usually Anti-Semitism in disguise.

Life-of-Rubin has scientific proof for the 5-second rule! Awesome. :)

Pragmatician on feeling the pain.

Cruisin' Mom is okay - thank God.

Wolf searches the stores of Brooklyn for a certain book... to no avail. Shocker. Meanwhile, some people are just plain dumb.

Enjoy!!