So for now, let’s leave out the fact that Muslims (deliberately) built a mosque on top of the ruins of the ancient Jewish temple precisely to desecrate the Jewish site, that Jerusalem is not mentioned even once in the Koran ( see this recent humorous incident for more info), that there already IS a Palestinian homeland (it’s called Jordan), that the Palestinians are being used as pawns by the rest of the Arab countries in the area, and the fact that the only reason Israel is occupying the “disputed” territory in the first place is that the Arabs attacked Israel (unprovoked), and LOST. MULTIPLE TIMES.

Leaving all that aside, we’ll focus on the issue at hand … what to do now. I continue to maintain that the idea of a two-state solution is ridiculous, and not a solution at all. Why? Well, for one reason … because it’s inherently obvious that the Arabs are not going to accept this. But don’t take my word for it … read what they say! Hamas will not accept a two-state solution. Not my interpretation, their actual words.

Yet Israel is demonized every day in the international press, and faces an inordinate amount of pressure to “fix” the Palestinian problem by agreeing to this two-state “solution”…

This week’s topic is things I want to do in 2009. I like this better than the New Year’s Resolutions … ’cause they’re more specific, and they can just be for fun (which most of mine are).

1. Be a good coach – I got conned into coaching BOTH kids’ basketball teams this year! I have pretty low expectations performance-wise – only one kid on each team has ever played basketball before. My goal is to teach them to love the game, and hopefully make sure they know which goal is theirs! In all seriousness, my kids have played enough sports that I’ve seen a lot of coaches – some great, some absolutely awful. Even if I can’t be great, I hope I always am able to find something positive to say to each kid after the game, and to make sure they have fun, regardless of outcome.

2. Cosmo challenge – this one is for Craig, he knows what it means!

3. Watch either Kentucky or Vanderbilt win the NCAA championship – based on pre-conference play, this one doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell, but you gotta dream! In the case of Kentucky, a follow-up to this one is that I’d like to watch a press conference where the UK athletics director fires Billy Gillespie.

4. Go on another sisters weekend with my sisters – girls, we’ve been talking about this for TWO YEARS, we gotta get our acts together and just do it!

5. Enjoy celebrating my 10th wedding anniversary

6. Join (or start) a book club – again, this is something I’ve talked to several people about, and just need to get my act together and do!

7. Be better about keeping the web page/blog updated – Facebook is great, and I have been doing more of that, but I know some of you want more details!

8. Go somewhere I’ve never been – that’s on my list every year!

9. Submit at least 5 papers for publication, and two grant proposals – need to kick my work up into a higher gear, and now’s the time.

10. Have a Passover seder or Rosh Hashanah dinner at my house – we have gotten out of the habit of entertaining, but I really like having people over, and holidays are an easy way to get back into that groove.

Will try to check back in over the course of the year to see how well I do!

This is actually an area I have started doing a lot of research in. It’s an interesting area, and one that unfortunately has developed a large cult following. But, just because a lot of people jump on the bandwagon doesn’t mean there’s not something to it! MUCH more rigorous scientific research is needed in the area – that’s where people like me come in – but so far the results really do seem to indicate a lot of benefits for pretty simple techniques to increase levels of gratitude. More on this in the future as I get my studies going…

Our synagogue is next to a church, and someone was getting married there this afternoon. SO, in addition to the heavy traffic turning in to the synagogue, there was additional traffic turning in to the church. It was EASY to see (presuming of course that one actually notices things in the external environment while driving) that people were stopping to turn left. Two cars in front of me, someone stopped to make the left turn into the church. The car behind it stopped. Then I stopped. The car behind me also stopped, or at least was stoppING. However, the woman driving the car behind that apparently had better things to do with her time than notice the traffic around her – she slammed into the car behind me, which then slammed into me. The cop who came to investigate told me she was probably going at least 40 miles an hour when she hit us. Luckily, because I WAS paying attention to the other cars around me, I had allowed plenty of room between me and the car in front of me, so while my car did get pushed into the one in front of me, it didn’t really damage her car at all, just a small scuff on her back bumper.

My van was not so lucky – here’s a picture:

It’s worse than it looks – the whole back of my van was crushed basically all the way up to the third seat.

More importantly, Sami was not so lucky – there’s a HUGE knot on the back of her head. We went to the ER and had her checked out. She passed all the neurological tests, but will have to be watched closely for several days to make sure she’s okay. We’ll go to her pediatrician on Monday for followup.

Here’s the kicker – the bitch who caused the accident NEVER ONCE came over to check on Sami. Sami was sobbing hysterically, in pain and totally terrified, and the sorry skank couldn’t even be bothered to see if she was okay. What kind of sorry lowlife acts like that?

As for me, still in shock…

When I arrived at my synagogue tonight, I went to drop Sami off at the children’s area (Eli was sick, so he and Craig stayed home and it was just Sami and me). Posted on the door was a security notice. This notice informed me that in the event of an attack, the children would be evacuated to the cemetery on the back of the property, and parents would need to go there to look for them.

An attack?!! Nothing was said officially, but of course rumors abounded that one (or more) of the local synagogues had received bomb threats. I have to admit, I was kind of distracted during much of the service – I kept thinking about how terrified Sami would be if anything like that happened. The sermon (which was very good, by the way) was on family, which only made my ruminations deeper.

In addition to being anxious, I also felt, and still feel, very annoyed. How dare someone threaten my child, albeit indirectly? I don’t mean to sound naive – I know horrible things happen every day. But, seriously, it’s JUST NOT OKAY!!! I should be able to take my child to celebrate the new year without having to worry about some wack job trying to blow the place up with her in it.

How do people ever get to the point where they are able to persuade themselves that deliberately harming other innocent people is okay – and, in the case of some people, not just okay, but something to celebrate? How does the hate come to run that deep? There are people I hate, I admit it – not many, but there are a few. And, naturally, I feel like they deserve my hate. However, it would never occur to me to try to get them to change their ways by attacking people close to them. I mean, seriously, who does that?!! As I said before, it’s JUST NOT OKAY!!!

I don’t know, I guess I am naive…

Disclaimer: I do not celebrate Christmas, so, if my list seems a little jaded, that’s probably why. Oh, and also, I’m grading exams…

1. To be allowed to vandalize at will the property of any individual who feels the need to put his/her Christmas lights up right after Halloween and leave them up until Valentine’s Day.
2. For Christmas to become VASTLY less commercial and all-pervasive in our too-materialistic culture (and, yes, this applies to me, too).
3. For my children to stop thinking Santa Claus is a cool concept.
4. For my children to stop telling other children that there is no Santa Claus – not that I care, but it tends to make the other kids’ parents angry! %-)
5. For the radio station here that plays non-stop Christmas carols from December 1 – December 25th to go out of business.
6. For the colors red and green to never be displayed together again – seriously, who thought up this color combination?!!
7. For people to stop thinking that if they use the word “holiday” instead of “Christmas”, it makes everything okay.
8. For anyone who fights with another human over the right to buy a toy to be permanently barred from all public establishments for the rest of their natural lives.
9. For no child who celebrates Christmas to be without a gift on Christmas day, no matter how small – never is the vast gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” in our society more pronounced than at this time of year.
10. For people in my tradition to stop feeling like Chanukah has to compete with Christmas.

Now, lest anyone reading this think I am a total ogre, here is a list of things I actually LIKE about Christmas:
1. The lights – they’re beautiful, even when left up (way) too long.
2. Mistletoe – what a very cool concept (moreso when I was single, but still…
3. Extended shopping hours at all my favorite stores.
4. Parties, parties, and more parties – I love dressing up!
5. The semester ending – I love my “holiday” break!
6. Sales, sales, and more sales – combined with #3 (above), this can’t be beat!
7. The fact that people at least pretend to be nicer and more giving than at other times during the year.
8. The weather – crisp, cool air, and (sometimes) snow. Fabulous in a place where people often have run their air conditioners 10 months out of the year!
9. It is near Chanukah, which is a wonderful holiday.
10. Did I mention the sales? %-)

Oh, and while I’m on a list-fest, I’ll go along with the spirit of how this week’s Ten on Tuesday was intended, and list out the actual gifts I want for Chanukah (yes, in my house we *do* allow the holiday to compete with Christmas, even though we grumble about it! %-). This is the actual list I sent to my husband – we’ll see how it turns out. Chanukah begins this year on Christmas, which is kind of weird. Anyway, here goes:

1. A cute little carrying thing-y for my iPod: http://www.myrebe.com/shopexd.asp?id=271# . I like the blue and pink ones, or the purple.

2. There’s never enough scrapbook stuff! This is a link to my friend Lola & Kathy’s store: http://www.scrappuccino.net/ . A gift certificate from there would be awesome! If you want to get specific things, I’d like the new Simple Scrapbooks guide to digital scrapbooking, the Adirondack alcohol inks, a melting pot, …

3. Almost anything from this website: http://dontblamemeivoted4kerry.com/.

4. A massage (or spa package! from Blue River Canyon.

5. A small copper saute pan for making sauces: http://www.creativecookware.com/copper_sauce_pans.htm . Amazon.com, William Sonoma, etc. also carry these.

6. A real Kitchen Aid mixer. I specifically want the one that is copper & chrome. I’ve been coveting this forever! http://ww1.williams-sonoma.com/cat/pip.cfm

7. A mother/child necklace. There’s two that I like, I’m linking to both. In either case, remember, two kids!

http://www.redenvelope.com/re/gifts/product_display/product_information.jsp?nc=6198&BV_SessionID=@@@@0259775088.1134274519@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccdaddghdgegjfcefecefedfgfdfmf.0&refPg=%2fproduct_display%2fgift_results.jsp&bct2=shops&bcp2=1&bcm2=1%24%24-8193&bct4=jewelry+%2B+accessories&bcp4=3&bcm4=1%24%24-8203&bct5=necklaces&bcp5=4&bcm5=29$$%2Fshops%2Fjewelry+%2B+accessories%2Fnecklaces@@30$$-10310@@35$$10310&catOid=-10310&oid=12564072&nc2=1

http://www.personalizedboutique.com/charms.html (go down to the “family pendant”)

8. A crepe pan, it needs to be made of steel to be authentic! Interestingly, the steel ones are also less expensive than the fancy ones. %-) They’re cheap enough you might be able to spring for a crepe cookbook, too: http://fantes.com/crepe.htm .

9. The new iPod alarm clock. Here it is at SmallDog’s new iPod site: http://www.podjungle.com/product/36220 . Also, I want the windshield mount thing-y from there, too!

10. Last but not least, I *still* want the bath caddy I’ve been asking for *forEVER*!!! They have it at Bed, Bath & Beyond: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=13382999&RN=182 .