Oy Veh, it's OJ!

"Do you really think that there are people who are addicted to watching OJ Trials on TV?", I asked my daughter.

She said that I was "beginning to obsess" and that if I couldn't "just give it up" I'd have to take "the first step". I'd have to "admit" to my own dependency!

Actually, I am not interested in OJ, or interviews about OJ, or books or gossip about OJ... I'm just hooked on the OJ Trials. TV shows like CSI present a fantasy view of criminal investigation. "Reality TV" offerings like "Survivor", "American Idol", "The Apprentice", etc. are Make-Believe Reality... The OJ Trials are the real thing. And I am powerless to resist their pull.

So now that I've admitted to being an OJ Trialaholic, tell me, do you think less of me?

...And where were you during the First OJ Trial?

Sunday Mail: June 10, 2007

Posting a cartoon every weekday leaves no room for me to simply share news, ideas, and other stuff with you. So welcome to 'Sunday Mail: Letters from Dry Bones', the new, once-a-week Dry Bones feature.

Item One: Dry Bones on YNet
YnetNews.com is the English-language website of Yediot Ahronot (Israel's biggest selling Hebrew daily). YNetNews recently announced the addition of Dry Bones cartoons to their opinion pages. They slipped the notice into an online news report headlined: "Dry Bones sweeps JIB Awards".

Item Two: New Schedule
When I was the staff cartoonist of the Jerusalem Post, I had a deadline. It was 8PM. I did a cartoon in the evening and everyone read it in the paper the next morning.

Here in the blogosphere, life is different. If I post a Wednesday cartoon at 6:00AM Wednesday morning(Israel Time) it's still Tuesday night in New York, and only 8 in the evening in LA. I want you to read my Wednesday cartoon on Wednesday, but because I don't know where you are, I don't know when you are. This has all been complicated by the erratic behavior of the automatic emailings to subscribers.

So, starting today, here's the NEW SCHEDULE! I will (G-d willing) post the daily cartoon each day between 10:00AM and 1:00 PM(Israel Time). I will then personally send out the emails (I've taken over the previously "automatic" emailing). Let me know how it goes for you.

The past few Sundays I've given you links to some fun "learning Hebrew" stuff... forgetting that some of you can't read the Hebrew letters. Forgive me. So if you can't read Hebrew, Item Three is for you!.

Item Three: Fun Way to Learn to Read Hebrew.
So if you want to learn to read Hebrew there's a cool piece of software just for you. Actually, even if you can read Hebrew it's a neat way to tune up your skills. You can download the program for only $9.95. The price is about to go to $17, but Uncle Bones got them to keep the price at $9.95 for you.

And speaking of cool, before you buy... you can give it a try! They'll let you try Lesson One - "In the Beginning" - online. For FREE!! I can't believe how much fun I had playing with Lesson One. Try it by clicking on Starting With Aleph

...And let me know how it goes.

Sunday Mail

Posting a cartoon every weekday leaves no room for me to simply share news, ideas, and other stuff with you. So welcome to the first edition of 'Sunday Mail: Letters from Dry Bones', a new Dry Bones feature.

Item One: The Dry Bones Blog was just voted the Best Overall Jewish Blog of 2007 in this year's Jewish/Israeli Blogosphere (JIB) Award Competition.

We also "took the gold" for Best Jewish Humor Blog, Best Political/Current Events Blog, Best Jewish Culture Blog, and Best Pro-Israel Advocacy Blog. So a big hug and a thank you to all of you who voted for us. I suggest that you look at the list of JIB winners, there are some really neat blogs that you would enjoy, so check 'em out.

Item Two: Are you interested in learning or improving your Hebrew? I found a neat "freebie" online. Take Uncle Shuldig's advice and hop over to www.dictionary.co.il and sign up for their absolutely free Hebrew word-a-day service. They'll mail you a new Hebrew word each day. Free.

On their website they also have a free "My Hebrew Dictionary" search engine. You use a drop-down menu to find words organized by categories and topics. I recently had to check the Medical-human body category to find the correct word for bladder. (Don't ask). The site also has lots of interesting products, from various Hebrew, Aramaic, and Yiddish dictionaries to "Learn to Read Hebrew" software for beginners. It's also got links to translators, live teachers, etc. Their latest and greatest, however, is a link to a free Hebrew pronunciation dictionary. You click on the Hebrew word and hear it properly spoken. Now you have no excuse. Enjoy. Here's the link again:

www.dictionary.co.il

No Confidence Vote (1979)

To understand this cartoon from November 1979 you need to understand our system of government.

At election time we get to vote for a political party of our choosing. It might be the Labor Party, or the legalize marijuana guys, or the National Religious Party, or the Likud, or the Retired People's Party, or... If a party wins 10% of the vote then they get to fill 10% of the seats in our parliament (the Knesset). If they win 30% of the vote, they get 30% of the Knesset seats.

After the elections, the newly-elected Knesset meets to vote for a group of Knesset members to become the new government. The Knesset, having been elected by the people, can dismiss a government by voting that it has no confidence in it any longer. I think it's a neat system.

* * *

The system of voting in the JIB Awards is simple. It's totally based on a "Power to The People" approach, and you, as one of "The People" can vote... but just until May 16, 10PM, NY time. Please click on each of the links below to vote for The Dry Bones Blog in each of the 5 categories. Time is Running Out!!!

Vote Dry Bones for Best Overall Blog

Vote Dry Bones for Best Jewish Humor Blog

Vote Dry Bones for Best Jewish Culture Blog

Vote Dry Bones for Best News & Current Events Blog

Vote Dry Bones for Best Pro-Israel Advocacy Blog

Thank You,
Yaakov (Drybones) Kirschen

Congressional Vote

Okay, the U.S. Congress has shown what power its vote has. Now's your turn to flex your muscles by casting a vote. The difference is that in our Jewish & Israeli Blog awards there's no enemy.

* * * As you know, we're doing really well in the first round of voting for the 2007 JIB awards (Jewish & Israeli Blog Awards). Dry Bones has been nominated in five categories.

If you haven't voted yet, please take the time to click on each of the five links below and cast your vote for Dry Bones.

Each link will open a separate window for that category. Vote for Dry Bones in that category/window, then close it and return to this window to click on the next link for the next category.

Best Overall blog

Best News & Current Events blog

Best Pro-Israel Advocacy blog

Best Humor blog

Best Jewish Culture blog

antiSemitism (2002)

Today's cartoon is from five years ago, today. April 26, 2002. Not very old, and I never set rules for defining how old an "Oldie" has to be in order to be posted as a "Golden Oldie"... but it's interesting to see that only five years ago we were debating what has turned into a tsunami of world-wide hate.

* * * As you know, we're doing really well in the first round of voting for the 2007 JIB awards (Jewish & Israeli Blog Awards). Dry Bones has been nominated in five categories.

If you haven't voted yet, please take the time to click on each of the five links below and cast your vote for Dry Bones.

Each link will open a separate window for that category. Vote for Dry Bones in that category/window, then close it and return to this window to click on the next link for the next category.

Best Overall blog

Best News & Current Events blog

Best Pro-Israel Advocacy blog

Best Humor blog

Best Jewish Culture blog

Yom Ha'Atzmaut

Today, April 23, is Yom HaZikaron, Israel's Memorial day. I finally managed to get the giant flag I bought tied to the railing of the roof for all to see.

Tonight the mood will change from sadness and remembrance to the joy and celebration of Israel's Independence Day: Yom Ha'Atzmaut.

* * * This week is also, appropriately enought, the first round of voting for the 2007 JIB awards (Jewish & Israeli Blog Awards). Dry Bones has been nominated in five categories.

Please take the time to click on each of the five links below and cast your vote for Dry Bones.

Best Overall blog

Best News & Current Events blog

Best Pro-Israel Advocacy blog

Best Humor blog

Best Jewish Culture blog

Tourism & Terrorism (1996)

For this cartoon I drew a cool-looking Uncle Shuldig enjoying Israel's sea, sand, and sun. He is wearing swim goggles and standing chest-deep in the Mediterranean Sea. Note the birds flying past in the background and the sun hanging low over the horizon.

Q: How do we know that it is late afternoon and not early morning?
A: The sun, in the cartoon is real low, and since the Mediterranean is on our West Coast we see the sunsets over the sea (but not the sunrises.)

JIB Awards 2005

The excitement of the Second Annual JIB (Jewish & Israeli Blog) Awards has died down. Thanks to you readers and voters, the Dry Bones Blog snagged four Gold Medals including Best Blog (Overall)! No other nominee came in first in more than 2 categories!

The JIB Awards were created in 2004 by "Aussie Dave", of Isreallycool.com. Be sure to check out Dave's blog. You can see his posting of the final results here.

Dave's concept enabled us to discover and enjoy lots of Jewish and Israeli blogs that we otherwise would probably not have heard of. One such find, for me is a cool blog called "Because I'm In My Twenties And it's What You Do". We came down to the wire, battling each other in the Best Jewish Humor Blog category. Dry Bones won, but had we not been in the running, I'd have voted for them. Click here to check them out. And when you do, leave a comment, and tell 'em "Dry Bones sent you".