Well, it's been a busy February for me. (And it's still got some ways to go!) And, to be perfectly honest, a big percentage of what kept me busy had to do with my alma mater. Yeah, sometimes people (a person?) teases my over-enthusiasm for YU. But can I help it? They really pulled something good off this month- well, all the time, I guess, but here I got to participate. Centered around the Sefarim Sale (winding down in a few minutes, so if you haven't been there, get moving- beam over if need be), once again a happy opportunity to part with my money- numerous times- were the premiere of the movie on the Rav, which is a great accomplishment and which was presented in a well arranged evening; R' Rakeffet's first speech uptown in a while, in which yours truly is mentioned in passing; a visit to the Wittenberg wrestling tournament to see some cousins; and a special Alumni Night at the Sale, which ended grandly as the result of a chance encounter. I'd already gotten all the books I wanted, so I got some YU ties and other merchandise. One of the salesmen got my number right away and offered me a bunch of YU books- which I already had, of course. Golden domes...
And, of course, Kollel Yom Rishons (and shiurim from R' Leiman, and more) scattered throughout. You can read a quote from me about KYR here. And although I might seen like a good Epikoros (eh, I shouldn't brag: an Am Ha'aretz) here and on other blogs, I mean that bit about the goodness of Torah. Maybe I'm going soft (or good, take your pick). And, of course, as this entry makes clear, the bit about alumni relations is heartfelt as well. I even bumped into Richard Joel at the Kollel, and again at the Sale, this Sunday, and while I got to tell him that it was good to see him there, I'd have liked to have give him a "Shkoyach" for everything. Instead, I got one (long story). Ah well.
Anyway, it all leaves me in too good a mood for a rant. (I think I see the Chofetz Chaim smiling over my shoulder.) I'll restrict those to other blogs. (He's frowning.) Better, I might just continue my practice of ceasing to read blogs that can make me mad. (Smiling again- whew!)
And so I'm closing out a nice long weekend (yay for taking holidays off, for once!) watching The Lord of the Rings, for some reason. When watching the opening of the first movie, I often wonder about the reactions of people who were big fans before Peter Jackson came around (I myself only read the books later). I know it gets to me. Viggo Mortensen has a weird nasal tone during the Council scene, by the way. And, for the first time, I wonder why no one noticed all the building going on in Mordor, especially considering that you can see it from Gondor. Oh well.
And I'm watching YouTube videos of Denny Crane as well. Shat rocks. And, speaking of YouTube (they've proved that they merit the CamelCase, a rarity on this blog), here's one of the funniest things I've ever seen. I think the only proper response to the last line is, "Um, nope. That pretty much sums it up." I do wonder if Dinesh D'Souza, himself a Dartmouth alum, would see this as yet another "indictment of our entire American society", another reason to dump Israel and adopt Sharia. (No one's really mentioned the Israel angle in all the critiques.) Actually, I don't much care.
Oh, and a mini-celebration that I'll soon be paying my taxes, which is pitiful, but hey. It's good to be high on life. Onward and upward through February! Warmer weather ahead!
