An afternoon of "Blazing Saddles"

I was just not that into the Super Bowl this year. No affinity for either team and just did not feel the need to see the ads. While home with the boys in the afternoon (the weather was not apt to outside activities), we stumbled across a sanitized version of the Mel Brooks classic, "Blazing Saddles" on AMC. We had a blast watching it and I have not laughed like that in a movie for a long time. The humor still is original and the story line was great. While the boys did not understand much of the humor,(e.g. Nazis in the American west during the 19th century) they appreciate the physical comedy. For the record, I would not have let them watch the unedited version. But while Rachel was working, it was quality father/son time that I always cherish and enjoy. Thank you, Mel Brooks!

Twitterfeed

Many thanks to @N9tog for showing me about Twitterfeed.

THE ONLY SURVIVING PHOTO ALBUM FROM AUSCHWITZ

This Album memorializes the arrival of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz in May of 1944. It is the only one of its kind, and it is solely due to this album that we have a visual history of what occurred in the Auschwitz-Birchenau death camp. The album was discovered after the war by an Auschwitz survivor, Lily Jacob, who donated it to Yad Vashem in 1980. Now, with the aid of the Internet, it can be viewed by millions of people, anywhere in the world. Please pass this around, to help assure that people will continue to bear witness to this evil legacy.

Click here to view the Auschwitz Album http://www1.yadvashem.org/exhibitions/album_Auschwitz/mutimedia/index.HTML

A Festenstein Welcome to American Samoa!

After a very long and exhaustive search, I have finally found the commemorative quarter for American Samoa as part of the U.S. Mint States and Territories Series. Perhaps I will someday travel to this paradise in the South Pacific, but for now, the image of this far away place will have a welcome place in our home.

Noting the birth of Ronald Wilson Reagan

On this date in 1911, Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois. Were he alive today, he would be 99 years old. I remember the day that he was shot quite well. I was in the 5th grade and we were at the old Randhurst Mall in Mt Prospect, Illinois when the news broke. It was just shocking. Fortunately, the President recovered and went on to be re-elected in 1984. The United States of America and the Free World are the great entities that they are today largely because of the impact of the Reagan administration. This American thanks President Reagan for his service to our nation and will always remember him.

Hit Counts through the end of January 2010 (Still waiting for Antarctica!)

United States (US) 1,546 Canada (CA) 58 Korea, Republic of (KR) 20 Israel (IL) 19 United Kingdom (GB) 17 India (IN) 13 Australia (AU) 9 France (FR) 8 Germany (DE) 7 Romania (RO) 5 Italy (IT) 5 Poland (PL) 4 Spain (ES) 3 Netherlands (NL) 3 South Africa (ZA) 3 Mexico (MX) 3 Ireland (IE) 3 Switzerland (CH) 2 Brazil (BR) 2 Taiwan (TW) 2 Hong Kong (HK) 2 Philippines (PH) 2 Norway (NO) 1 Estonia (EE) 1 Hungary (HU) 1 Slovenia (SI) 1 Morocco (MA) 1 Saint Kitts and Nevis (KN) 1 Malaysia (MY) 1 Fiji (FJ) 1 Argentina (AR) 1 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (LY) 1 New Zealand (NZ) 1 Turkey (TR) 1 Greece (GR) 1 Japan (JP) 1 Bulgaria (BG) 1

Get $1500 off your child's summertime fun!

Here is some great information from a great organization, The Foundation for Jewish Camp: Now that it's the New Year, it's time to follow through on some of your resolutions. And if your resolutions include introducing your child to life-long friends, boosting their self-confidence and giving them positive experiences that will stay with them their whole lives, then consider sending your child to overnight Jewish camp this summer and save yourself up to $1500 in 2010! Best of all, Jewish summer camp is fun! But don't just take our word for it - take a look at what camp has to offer!Watersports, horseback riding, arts and crafts, hiking, campfires and spending time in the outdoors are just a few of the activities that your child could enjoy this summer at one of 23 camps in the Western states.Act now, as your first-time camper may be eligible to receive up to $1500 off of camp this year. If your camper qualifies for a first-time grant this summer, they will qualify for additional funding to go to camp again in 2011! Go to onehappycamper.org to learn more about eligibility and the overnight Jewish summer camps in your area. Spaces at camps are filling fast, so act today. Redeem the coupon below and make this resolution a reality! Know someone who would like to be a happy camper? Send your friends to onehappycamper.org

A great Purim Carnival in Las Vegas!

Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution

Something like this............ For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that Congress members could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they didn't pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Health care Reform that is being considered...in all of its' forms. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law. I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop. This is a good way to do that. It is an idea whose time has come. Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution: "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States". Each person contact a minimum of Twenty people on their Address list, in turn ask each of those to do likewise. Then in three days, all people in The United States of America will have the Message. This is one proposal that really should be passed around.