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Raise the Debt Ceiling Already!
Posted: July 29, 2011 By: Leah Jaffee

Being home most of the week, I keep the TV muffled in the background. In keeping with the spirit of Tisha B'Av, evil lurks in remote places and guns down kids in Norway. On the heels of the horrendous crime in Brooklyn, I wonder what is up with people.

The cable news channels repeat the same debt ceiling crisis situation with breathless anticipation, incredulous frustration and baffled intolerance. I'm exhausted from listening to scripted platitudes. Get a brain! The Rabbi has often said, with hopeful encouragement, that I don't suffer fools gladly. Yep, the Rabbi is very astute. So, I haven't written a blog this week; "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything."

Light Tent

As a distraction, Aviva and I see the last of the "Harry Potter" movies. Renting the previous release, we catch up with the story one night and then hit the theater for the finale the following night. My heart chakra is all in a knot. The first of the series came out when Aviva was about 6. Sitting with her now, a month shy of 17, I remember her crying until I took her to the 2nd movie; a midnight showing motzei Shabbat years ago. Wow. I'm caught with a brain freeze when she tells me that she'll be able to vote in the Presidential elections in 2012. You're kidding, right?

Ah, yes, Presidential elections ~ that is how I come to have TV now. Raising the kids without TV for 20 years, I breakdown and order cable so I can track the 2008 election cycle. Back taking college courses, I allow myself the ritual of watching "Lost" . Other than that, pretty much just the news; who has time for TV? Apparently me, I've slipped into the nasty habit of watching late night crime shows instead of going to bed. I like "House", too. He's not very nice, acerbic and outright insensitive and rude. Makes me feel better about myself.

I watch a few of the cooking shows, especially "Chopped" and "The Next Food Network Star". I'm always yelling in the kitchen about how much time is left before an event. I feel at home with this intensity. Cooking kosher is like one huge extended "Chopped" turned reality lifestyle show. You can't use any of this, only that, but not together, with special equipment and finish before sundown, etc. etc. I don't know which is harder; cooking with or without restrictions. To be sure, you'll never catch me on TV wondering what to do with an eel, the back end of a cow, or a basket of dairy and meat. Not this lifetime.

Another election cycle is around the corner. Like a junkie, I won't be cancelling cable news anytime soon. I only have basic cable and turned down the opportunity to upgrade for $9.95 a month. Time is money, I don't have more time for TV....especially when the news is dismal, reality TV commercials are more than I can bear and life is short. Besides, I recognized what an addiction I have while at the drugstore the other day. Waiting for a prescription to be filled, I notice an aisle full of weird stuff which I recognize from late night TV; the battery operated pot stirrer, the shower foot scrubber that requires no bending over and the clasps that keep bra straps from slipping. I say to myself, this is all that crap "as seen on TV"! Sure enough, it is an aisle dedicated to those products that saves on shipping and delivery time. OMG. I've been watching too much TV!

My next project is to photograph and upload many of my favorite kosher food brands and finds. That is why I bought the tent pictured above. I also bought lights and am determined to learn to use my camera. And of course, a new round of events start once Tisha B'Av is over. So, lots to do.

Brother; GOP filibuster in the Senate. T.H.I.S.

(Thank Hashem It's Shabbat!)

Not watching

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