Ezzie's Blog Roundup, 7/27: The Best Stuff Out There

[Just to give you an idea of how long this takes when you're looking at apartments and have a baby, notice that the timestamp is about 5 hours ago. Geez.]

There is so much good material out there (including SoccerDad's daily version of Haveil Havalim), and if you read a number of blogs you've probably already seen a few of the following. However, my guess is you haven't seen them all, and they're simply so worthwhile. Some will make you smile, some cry, some will get you riled up or calmed down. I'm not sure if this will be a long list or not, but since there will be a couple short videos, I'm putting it all after the jump. Many of the blogs are of the 25 or so new ones I'm checking out lately, and please feel free to mention more blogs in the comments.

*Posts of the Day* I couldn't decide between these posts...

Tall Latte writes about the rally her husband organized, but the best part of this post is not even the excellent points she makes about rallies; it's the surprise ending to Flags & Straps. Beautiful and inspiring.

(via Meryl and Judith) Vital Perspective has a map of Beirut. So what's notable about this map? Well, look for the gray areas. You found them? They're hard to see. Anyways, those are the areas of Beirut that have been bombed by Israel. [click on the map for a larger version] Worth remembering next time you see pictures of rubble and how Beirut is being destroyed.

A lot of people have this, but I saw the full text only on YeshivaWorld. CNN's Andersoon Cooper's blow-by-blow of a Hizbollah "tour" is incredible to read. I did see it first on Hayom, who contrasts it beautifully with CNN's first report on this.

*Videos of the Day*

Bagel Blogger has four of them. Four! I'm posting the inspiring one here, but check out the other three as well: Yalla Na Nasrallah, a funny song from the IDF to Nasrallah [with great images]; another one of IDF soldiers having some fun spoofing some of the best GoogleVideo stuff there is; and the great Israeli peace initiative, which shows an IDF soldier having some fun with Arab kids.

Israel:

Aussie Dave, in the midst of his excellent coverage, has the pictures and bios of 8 of the IDF soldiers who were killed in battle yesterday. Jameel has left the Muqata updating to others, and is now volunteering his medic services up North.

WestBankMama says Beware the Tel-Aviv Rose. Sharp as always. Ze'ev says it is time for Israel to let itself win. So does JoeSettler.

DryBones has a comic that is right on the money for what is happening now... only he wrote it in 1982. IfYouWillIt says that life goes on as normal, basically, while Jack notes that we have to definitely try to do so.

Pictures:

RafiG has the War Picture of the Day... unless you count all the ones at Balaboosteh. Or these incredible images of Tefillah on the Battlefield (hat tip: Sara). LakeVent, meanwhile, may have the funniest picture of the day up for a caption contest.

UN:

There are countless posts on the UN, the stupidity and bias of Kofi Annan, etc. This post on IsraelRules pretty much sums up the main points of all the others, so check it out. Their other post questioning whether this could backfire into the UN in worse ways than the Oil-for-Food scandal is a good one, too. Daled Amos notes that Israel has had its UNIFIL of the UN, also covering the key parts of the story. Israel at Level Ground has a great cartoon and piece on it as well.

AFP/AirAmerica:

Elder of Ziyon notes that the world's #3 news reporting service has a timeline of events in Lebanon. He also notes that it only has half the story. Guess which half. Meanwhile, Canonist notes that Air America is calling Israel's actions "genocide". Another reminder to those who generally lean left to be wary of those who claim to be on their side.

Jewish Life:

Bein Adam L'Chaveiro hates when people tell him he's "so frum", while Wolf wonders why his daughter can't play with someone who isn't Jewish.

BeyondBT's Shabbaton is coming up - here are the details.

David reminisces about the troubled first year of marriage he almost had... that's what happens during the 9 days. And apparently it's not just in Year One - ask PsychoToddler, who also think his family is the biggest J-Blog family out there. Shira has other 9 days troubles.

FrumWithQuestions has some 9 days questions... anybody want to give it a try?

R' Ovadia Yosef cancelled vacation for yeshiva students (via YW), which makes perfect sense: If they are saving the country with their learning, how can they abandon it in a time of war? Excellent stand on principles.

Cool:

A lot of people had this, but I think I saw it on RafiG first. An ancient Psalms was found in Ireland... open to Psalms 83, one of the ones normally recited at times like these. To understand the power of Tehillim, check out these two posts by Chaim.

I've been outed by Chana. :) Pearl, meanwhile, has great pearls of wisdom... and what's a roundup without a good RenReb rant?!

LabRab needs people to sponsor him as he rides for One Family, which supports victims of terror attacks. A great cause, so help him out.

Enjoy them all!