SerandEz On Crack

That's probably not such a good title... Ah well. I started using a "stuff to post" folder in my bookmarks sidebar recently, figuring it'd be easy to put together posts and articles I really enjoyed or thought were worthy of greater dissemination, but don't have much to add to them. This latest pull started a few days ago, and as I waited to post due to the sudden burst from my friends, it built up way too fast - there's just too much worthwhile stuff out there. The following is the latest batch; some are serious, some are not; some will move you, some will make you cry; some will make you laugh, and some are just plain interesting. Enjoy!

Just so you know, this is how I grew up:

You know what else makes you question things? Waking up in Cleveland, Ohio, and looking north out the window of your Marriott hotel room and realizing that there’s a barely discernible line out there in the distance, and that that line separates the gray lake from the slightly less gray air; then going down to breakfast and watching out the window as two men carrying stacks of overstuffed binders walk straight into the teeth of the wind screaming o Lake Erie, their faces being savaged by tiny airborne razor blades; then going back up to your room and looking out your window again and observing that, while the gray slab of day has lightened a little, the contrast between lake and sky is still imperceptible; and then finally realizing that the people of Cleveland live a large portion of their lives inside a howling, subfreezing, youth-repelling, job-vanishing, anti-light box.

That's part of a really fascinating piece on LeBron James in GQ. Also, Broadway apologized to Cleveland for making fun of it in an ad, and is giving out free tickets to people with Ohio licenses! Elsewhere...

Israel vs. Gaza:

• A Soldier's Mother relates the difference in reactions in two cities... and what it's like to see your son for a brief moment during war.
• The best compilation of clips a person would need to show anyone why children die in Gaza. The scariest one is this really sweet kid, playing games with Hamas members as shooting is going on outside, talking about his future, them talking about his future, answering the reporter's questions... and then what the kid is doing at the very end: Acting as a lookout at night while Hamas carries out attacks and moves from place to place.
• RafiG posts Menachem Lipkin's excellent piece detailing what it's like to suddenly understand how Sderot lives, after the sirens went off in Jerusalem. (And about having a son in Gaza.)
• A piece in the WSJ notes that the Palestinians are helping Israel to defeat Hamas.
• EoZ has an amazing (old) video of an Israeli soldier using a Palestinian as a human shield. Wrong? Well, no - he used the Palestinian who had just thrown a grenade at him as a shield against that very grenade. Ridiculous.
• RafiG on the meetings between the army and R' Shteinman, with the army encouraging R' Shteinman to allow Arab workers to work. Interesting.
  

World (& Media):

• These riots are actually a bit scary. Batya has some crazy clips of protests in London against Israel, which are mostly large masses of Muslims and others chasing the British police for blocks, throwing orange cones and other items at them in the process. (Note: I'm pretty sure that there have been no violent pro-Israel demonstrations.)
• Via Yourish, watch this takedown of a CNN anchor by Israeli spokesman Mark Regev. He did a fabulous job answering every point.
  
• EoZ catches the ICRC President in quite the lie - not only is Gaza not so incredibly densely populated, but guess what is many times more densely populated than Gaza - or even Gaza City? That's right: Manhattan.
• Israel Matzav calls this the best commentary on Gaza. It's up there.
  
• Treppenwitz notes that every one of Israel's neighbors has checked into the fight.
  

Judaism & Life:

• Who wants to help Irina pick a Jewish name?
• MiI and ProfK on questions to consider when picking a school.
• R' Dr. Benzion Twerski on suicide.
• Nephtuli pointed out this interesting piece on Mr. Mom on CNN.