At today’s services, the Torah portion told the story of Jacob’s semi-understanding that G-d exists in the world. Jacob, the third patriarch in Judaism (after Abraham and Isaac), found G-d amidst the ruins and asked rhetorically, “I did not know G-d was here.” But He was, and He’s really everywhere, so what’s Jacob talking about?
A commentary I read today said something that fascinated me: It is only when we do not know, when we are most unsure, that we are most in G-d’s presence. It is this not knowing that makes G-d close. And I think this is right. If I think of all the people I know, it is those who are least sure, least positive about their place, their birthright, their knowledge, that seem closest to G-d.

I recently wanted to find out what had happened to Niles Crane, the “other” shrink on the show Frazier, which I haven’t watched in years. Cancer? Does anybody know?
More importantly, I believe that GE has redesigned NBC.com and it looks quite smart. Finally, a media conglomerate that takes its audiences seriously — no crazy pop-ups about tonight’s special, no Flash animation grabbing you by the throat to read it, no glaring headlines saying click on the news when you really, truly wanted to be entertained. I very much like their listing of all the main shows below so you don’t have to search for something like Will. And check out the nice little animated peacock logo at the top left. Corporate sweet.

The BBC recently announced the winners of 50 Places to visit before one lays one’s head in the deep, dark earth. It’s kind of a fascinating question — where do you want to visit before your time is up? The top 5 in this list are The Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, Florida, South Island, and Cape Town. New York City is number 7! I’ve been to 3 of the five, which is not bad.
But it makes me wonder, what are *my* top places to see before I die that I haven’t seen before? Hmm (in no particular order):
– Niagara Falls (where my parents went on Honeymoon)
– Tokyo (where everything is in vending machines and you can sleep in a tube)
– Kiev and Zhitomir (near Chernobyl, Ukraine, where my grandmother was born)
– Alaska (before it melts away)
– Helsinki

Today is Veterans Day but I’m working. My grandfather, though I never met him, fought in World War I, a war so far away that it almost seems like the 3rd century. Yet, Veterans Day began with Armistice Day as a commemoration of the end of WWI on November 11, 1918. The end of WWI, with about 10 million dead in Europe and the Middle East, must have been a very good day indeed. The “holiday” has been with us Americans ever since and has gone through numerous transformations.
It’s amazing to me that Veterans Day, or some kind of war casualty recognition day, is not more important to folks. War has taken perhaps 100 million lives, most of them non-soldiers, in the last century and yet here we are, on Veterans Day, thankless for what we have and unknowing of what others fought for, good and bad.
In this week’s Torah portion, I came across a prayer that seems relevant: Yehi shalom, b’haylekh shalvah, b’armenotayikh. It means: Let there be peace within your walls, serenity within your castles.

In addition to today’s cover story on animal rights, there was a good article in today’s Times about the soured relationship between marketers and folks like myself in Generation X. I can’t find the link to the article (probably because I’m a dumb Gen X guy, thus proving the marketers right). But the author shows that companies like Chrysler are betting the farm on Boomers who are going to have all the money for the next 20 years until they can pass their money to Gen Y, who will essentially rule Gen X for 20 years following that.
I’ve always this and it always sounds like sour grapes: Generation X folks got screwed. We grew up in the scary, nuclear 80s, had the misfortune of knowing AIDS, went jobless for many months or years thanks to the boomers on Wall Street and then in Silicon Valley, and was paid far lower than most professional newcomers because of our so-called “bad attitude,” which really is one of independent thinking and fortitude. Neither of these will be rewarded by Chrysler and their friends.
But let’s think about this: Where were the leaders in the last election from Gen X? What corporate, cultural, or spiritual leaders do you know of that are in Gen X? According to the article, the market has systematically denied our existence since we are demographically a blip between the bloops of history. Is it possible that the political and social system, as porous and complex as it is, has done so as well?

Finally, the New York Times has covered, in a major article, a story about animal rights, this time in the Sunday Magazine. I’m eager, nay anxious, to read it.
This is from the paper’s post-election edition (Wednesday, November 6, 2002) — which surely influenced the publishing of tomorrow’s piece:
Animal rights initiatives, largely sponsored by national groups, succeeded in several states, including in Florida, where voters approved a constitutional amendment to ban the confinement of pregnant pigs in restrictive crates. Oklahoma outlawed cockfighting and rejected a proposal to require nearly twice as many signatures for initiatives related to animals.
Wayne Pacelle, senior vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, said his organization prevailed Tuesday in five of six campaigns. “When state legislatures fail to adopt positive reform, we will turn to the initiative process to create new laws to protect animals from cruelty and abuse,” he said.

I believe I wrote about Mr. Zanes and his “zany” band that plays music for children and the adults of children. (Zanes used to be in the Del Fuegos, a hipsterish band in the 80s.) I finally broke down and tried to listen to Rocket Ship Beach and, well, it’s a great album — full of verve, original music, great covers, a range of styles from bluegrass to hiphop and children singing that actually doesn’t make your ears curl. Oh, and my daughter pops up and down to the music. Good taste that kid!

In today’s New York Sun, there is an op-ed piece by Laura Ingraham who explains why, in the big picture, low voter turnout today is a sign of relative contentment. It’s an interesting argument: the author believes that voters turn out only when they truly have something at stake to turn out for — Newt Gingrich, David Duke, Bill Clinton.
But in the “bigger” picture, I wonder if low voter turnout is really endemic of people feeling there is nothing at stake — that politics are sewn up by money and voting is only a feel-good exercise recommended to us by the plutocrats that run the country.
I hope this is not the case. I voted today, as I vote for absolutely every election, in part because my grandmother, born in Russia, cherished her right to vote here. If only there was a referendum on the ballot today to limit campaign financing.

Apple today launched its very own Gift Guide. It’s really just a very nicely designed page that features pretty snowflakes and prettier gadgets that connect to Apple’s line of computers.
There is an innovation here, however; unlike other sites selling wares, this one page allows you to find a limited number of products based on price, lifestyle, profession or search and highlights the top ten gifts. The user interface folks at Apple must never sleep.

I know that the film Birthday Girl, starring Nicole Kidman and Ben Chaplin (is he really the son or grandson of Charlie — his birthname is apparently Benedict Greenwood), was panned worldwide but I liked this movie a lot. With plenty of neat-o nods to Hitchcock and to early 1970s noir, the movie features an incredible performance by Ms. Kidman, who plays a Russian that is actually believable (move over Mr. R. Williams). This a very quirky little romantic movie that belies much of our assumptions about Russia, Russians, Brits and banking.
Oh yes, and it’s quite funny, occasionally poking fun at itself unlike any thriller I’ve seen recently. If there were more women leading these types of movies (see also: The Long Kiss Goodnight), Hollywood might actually gain some respect by those who like their stories unpredictable, sexy, and surprising.