Brother Going to Portugal

For professional reasons, my brother is leaving tonight, [yeah yeah on a jet plane like there's propeller ones still around], for Portugal. You guesers (Portuguese-ers) better treat him well. I don't want a repeat of the 16th Century, or, ironically enough, I will get Medieval on you.

Pic from here.

Video of the Day: Will Ferrell Superbowl Commercial

Recommended by my brother. Note, I've still not seen the movie Ferrell's character's from:

Backpost finished 2009-12-20.

Why the Kennedy Endorsement is Good

My brother responded to my gleeful question about the Kennedy endorsement, whether Obama is JFK or RFK by saying:

Hopefully, more like Bobby. But truthfully, hopefully like neither one, on several levels.

I asked why - and I should note, I've never harbored ill-will to the Kennedys the way a thinking minority of my parent's generation seems to.

My brother's response:

Well, both were assassinated. JFK was high on rhetoric, but apparently quite lacking in substance. And there's the womanizing, which I'm tired of hearing about.

Fair enough. Here's my reply. Note, while this is being blogged now, it was originally an email exchange:

JFK - with all his faults - was a watershed for the boomer ideology. He was young, fresh, 'new century' ideals. He did what FDR and Reagan did - create a new ideology for America to follow. RR sucked. JFK, again for all his faults, stood for economic, racial, ethnic equality. The great society, the civil rights movement, were all done in his memory.

And similarly, the last 25-30 years have all been different riffs on Reagan's legacy. Clinton knew that too - hence why he shrunk government, abandoned health care, gutted welfare. These were all Republican ideas. And as Obama said, it's because Reagan provided a narrative to answer the excesses of the 60s and 70s.

Take the 'ruthless reviews' world famous (according to Wiki) "80s Action Film Guide" - the Dirty Harry, Rambo crap. Those movies were based on the idea that liberals were ruining America. It was crap, but RR captured that sentiment and turned it into a revolution.

There's now a chance to create a new narrative, akin to the FDR 'new deal,' the JFK 'new frontier/great society and the Reagan 'I Hate Everybody Not White' The realignment kicked into gear in the wake of Abu Ghraib and Katrina, exploded with the 2006 midterms, and can now be captured by Obama.

It's no longer a question in my mind. We have a chance - we meaning Democrats, but also we meaning America - to again reshape the world. This was the feeling that JFK gave people, the way the 'morning in America's crap of Reagan worked, and what can happen now.

Look at the voter turnout numbers! Turnout is usually low because people, especially the young, think that politics is worthless. Choosing between the lesser of two chumps. Gore vs. Bush, Kerry vs. Bush. Ugh ugh ugh. But Obama is drawing hundreds of thousands of new voters in each state. He's growing the party, and helping Democracy.

It's time.

First pic from here, second is from the Ruthless. Backpost finished 2009-12-18.

Asymmetry Crush

My brother (Shlita) has emphasized in his unpublished philosophy that a key to understanding success through life is to recognize and use asymmetries. First developed in recognition of traffic patterns, it applies to all game-playing/political ventures of everyday life. You win by exploiting asymmetries, you lose by being caught in the opposite end of the ratio. Be a numerator, not a denominator.

That said, I am now caught in the pincers of a nasty asymmetry. While this happens every year after the chagim, this year is particularly onerous. Basically, the chagim are time-consuming for everyone and people with secular jobs find themselves having to makeup lost work. This is nothing compared to the burden of the workingman pulpit rabbi. We all know it, we call it our "busy season" (like April for CPAs) but who else has a busy season of hammerlike repetition where you can't write/record or relax?

Normally, after Shabbat, I try to take some time to recall the things I said/sermonized/taught. The crush of 3 three-day yom-tovim - all those ideas! - one after another and then Shabbat Bereshit!

Ya see, this year there's a happy happenstance in the Jewish calendar - every parsha has its own week. The combo of the holidays not being on Shabbat plus a leap year makes that possible. So I pledged this year to take the time a develop a workable preliminary commentary on the Torah. Then Bereshit - the largest parsha for a commentary - becomes inaccessible! Argh!

The chagim asymmetry combines with the other crushes - the Moving Houses, the Baby, the Intro to a New Community - all piled on each other making repair and review arduous and nearly inaccessible.

I was hoping to take part of this week off. Won't happen. Firstly, I've had to put off all outside requests and demands so I could concentrate on the chagim. And, sadly enough, a beloved member of the community passed away on Simchat Torah - which means shiva minyanim… and as the only clergyman, I can't take off.

Asymmetries - respect them.

{2009 Pic Update, of the Archimedes lever, from here.}