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It’s been a little over thirteen years, but I’m finally managing it. I’m finally managing to leave GVegas, otherwise known as Greenville, North Carolina, also known as the crown jewel of Down East. This isn’t happening the way I’d planned, but I can deal with that. I’m finally getting away from all the pirate mania nurtured by ECU. I’m a little sad I won’t be defacing one of the tons of pirate statues around town, but I can live with that too. So why am I moving?

This has been a very crazy summer. It started off with a bang. My apartment complex is being turned into a student ghetto, so since I’m no longer a student, I had to get out. I got a notice at the beginning of June telling me that if I didn’t get out within thirty days I would be taken to court and evicted. So naturally, I rented a storage unit, started cramming stuff in, and crashed at my friend Andrew’s. Unfortunately for me, his mom, who he lives with, is a little nuts. The woman hounds me to death all the time, wanting to cut up my food, (yes, this includes eggrolls), doesn’t want to go to church because she’s afraid I’ll fall if she’s not here to babysit me, and a bunch of other stuff that only crazy sighted people can think of. (Note: this does not mean that all sighted people are crazy. Just this one). So I’m going to move in with my best friends in the whole wide world, Wil and Denise, for a little while. And I get to see ma boys, Max and Titan. I’m not sure where I’m going to end up permanently yet, but I know it will be better than living Down East. I’m definitely excited. Here’s to a better life.

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Since our weather is so nice today I’ve decided to sit outside and do a little blogging. I love the fact that I can post updates from my iPhone and I can’t praise this app highly enough.

I’ve added some new features to the site, namely the ability to post my audio musings as well as things I post to Soundcloud directly here instead of in widgets on sidebars. So there will be more of that coming soon along with book reviews. Stay tuned.

Greenville, North Carolina, United States of America
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This is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.
I’ve been looking for an application that would allow me to blog from my phone, and it appears that I found it.
This app not only allows for posting text, but also pictures and other media.
And being able to dictate my posts is definitely cool.
Maybe this will be a good enough reason to get me blogging more and more often.

Greenville, North Carolina, United States of America
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There’s an article on Israel Matzav discussing the troubling political atmosphere at Hebrew Union College, and it raises what I think is an interesting question. Should rabbis preach about political issues from the bimah? The answer to this question is, I believe, no. I believe this for a few reasons. First, the synagogue is a place for prayer and worship. If rabbis want to discuss political issues, they should do so outside the prayers. Secondly, I see a problem with the idea of rabbi as political leader. I’m only familiar with what goes on in more liberal synagogues, but I see this kind of political involvement as getting very close to a line that shouldn’t be crossed. Rabbis are supposed to be spiritual leaders, not political ones, and I don’t think the bimah is the place for political discussion. I would believe this way even if I happened to share the political views of my synagogue. I don’t. As a matter of fact, I think I’m the only one in attendance who would classify myself as conservative. For me, this creates issues, because I know that I’m going to be on the other side of whatever gets discussed, and since political discussions can become very heated, I think that kind of divisiveness should be kept on the sidelines. There’s mention in the linked piece of how the Torah supports what are considered liberal points of view, specifically the view that government is supposed to take care of its citizens. This is true, but only to a point. The Torah also supports some very conservative positions, and I don’t think it’s accurate to try to mold the Torah to our political views, because it does support views on either side of the proverbial isle. I also believe that if those of the liberal persuasion have a problem with clergy of the conservative persuasion preaching on issues from the pulpit, then they ought to take a page out of their own book and refrain from such preaching, or, if they are congregants, refrain from expecting their clergy to preach on said issues. I believe that social action/social justice is a very thin disguise for politics, and I also believe that the two should be separated, because people of very divergent political views can often believe in a socially just cause, for very different reasons. And I think that by confusing the two, the waters are muddied in a way they never should have been.

In conclusion: Keep prayer and politics separate, no matter which side you’re on, and I think the congregational prayer experience will be better for everybody.

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I’m watching Fox News and looking at other news sources online, and according to CNN, Osama Bin Laden has been buried at sea. I’m sure, however, if there is a hell, his soul is already well ensconced in it, and he has to be at least somewhat disappointed that there weren’t seventy-two virgins waiting for him. The burial at sea will hopefully prevent any shrines being built to the erstwhile terrorist. I have to say I’m very pleased with his death and that hearty congradulations are in order for the Navy Seals who carried it out. His body was handled according to Islamic tradition, which I question given that he (a) killed tons of Muslims, and (b) wasn’t representative of Islam, and (c), never gave a fig about the traditions of anyone else he killed. Oh well, good riddance, and may his memory be blotted out, or if it is remembered, for a curse and not a blessing.