Naftali Bennett IS Andre from The League

Most people that know me know what a huge fan of the FX TV series 'The League' I am, especially the comedic stylings of Paul Scheer, better know as Andre, the nebbie character who is way more successful than his peers but who is nonetheless the butt of pretty much every joke due to his absurd fashion style and ridiculous mannerisms.

You also probably know me as a centrist to the core politically - someone who eschews ideology across the board (heck, it's the reason I called this here blog the Common Sensorium). I am far from a supporter of ideological causes, both in Israel where I live and in the U.S. where I still vote and spend about 6 weeks of the year.I definitely have ZERO interest in supporting an ideologue like Naftali Bennett, head of the right wing Bayit Yehudi party in the upcoming Israeli election.

Which is why I was so shocked to discover that Naftali Bennett and our beloved Andre (aka Paul Scheer) are in fact one and the same person!

As Exhibit A, I provide irrefutable photographic evidence. I bet you can't even guess which of this is Bennett and which is Andre:

In my utter state of shock I fired off an email to Andre's Bayit Yehudi campaign manager, Andre Bennett (no relation I'm told). Andre Bennett neither confirmed nor denied what is now clearly the undeniable truth, that Naftali Bennett and League star Andre are one and the same person. However, when asked how he could be running as such a cleancut, religious nut type while helping write and starring in what is possibly the most depraved TV show of all time, he did give me one of his patented 'Child Please!'s (actual patent the property of Chad Ochocinco).



What more proof do you need?

So for all you potential Bayit Yehudi voters out there, I just hope you realize that you're supporting a candidate that shoots porn in his upscale downtown loft and then screens it at a Succa Party for Baby Geoffrey's Jewish preschool teacher. Sick, just sick!

Snow in the Desert

Well, not really. Jerusalem has been getting snow since recorded history. The word 'sheleg' already dates back to Isiah  (and maybe older - feel free to chime in if there's older biblical references to snow). [Actually, I looked back and it dates back as far as the book of Exodus, referring to Moses' hand being white like snow at the scene of the Burning Bush]

Here's our snow day in pictures.

 Early morning view from our kitchen

 Our parking lot

Our car

 Buildup on our balcony

 View from Zohara's window, looking east

 My favorite shot - the view from our balcony at roughly 8 a.m.

 Getting ready to rock out with our snowsuits out!

 Snow day!

 Winter wonderland

 Car driving wrong way in traffic circle near our house!

 A serious storm!

 Yours truly

Singing in the Rain

So here we are in day 3 of our 5 days superstorm. We've passed the high wind phase and are in the steady, non-stop rain phase. Tomorrow we enter the dropping temperatures with a chance (I'll believe it when I see it) snow phase. It's weeks like this I am extra grateful I work from home.

Here's the view from right behind my building - we had 2 fairly large downed trees that resulted from the 100 km/hour (60 mph) winds we had yesterday. There were downed trees all over the neighborhood.

We have been very impressed with the city's response to the storm. Yesterday I saw city workers out with chainsaws in the peak of the wind gusts taking down dangerous trees and branches before they got blown onto people and cars. Then on the way back from dropping the kids I noticed a downed telephone pole with lots of electric wires across from our bedroom window. I called the police who then came to check it out. They called the telephone company who called me for directions to the downed pole. Again, in the midst of 100 kph wind gusts they removed the pole and neutralized the wires. Then today I got another call from the police asking me to rate their response time, courteousness and whether the problem was resolved. What is happening to Israel?! Seriously amazing.


This is the mall in Modiin, where a bunch of my coworkers live. Pretty crazy.

All in all, the Kineret is at its highest level in years and maybe it's just me but I find extreme weather events (or at least tracking them from the comfort and safety of your own home) entertaining. Up to a point of course. I'm not about to go singing in the rain.