Card Ya

Thought this was novel in the store. 

They have a digital calendar with the date from 21 years ago.

It says:

To Purchase Tobacco Products You Must Have Been Born On Or Before This Date.

 Thank you for showing you I.D.

Ah, easy to match the DOB on the I.D. presented to the date on the calendar.  

Nothing to calculate, no mistakes. 

They raised the age for smoking (cigarettes and vaping) in Maryland to 21 on October 1, so it’s the same requirement as for drinking alcohol.

Luckily for me (even though I’m over 21), I don’t really do either–definitely not the smoking, and the drinking limited primarily to the Kiddush prayer on Shabbat. 😉

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Is Beer A Color?

So thought this was an interestingly funny flip chart. 

It’s titled “Colors”.

And it has the typical ones you’d expect: blue, red, green, yellow, orange, purple, black, white, grey, brown, and tan. 

But thrown into the mix is beer (and Summer)–maybe these go together! 

Perhaps, someone had a little too much beer when asked about colors.

On second thought, maybe beer is a color.  😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Best Cup of Tea

So my daughter went out for dinner in Israel and she sends me this photo of an amazing cup of tea. 

– Cinnamon

– Lemon

– Ginger

– Mint

What’s so great is you can actually see the cinnamon stick, mint leaves, and lemon and ginger slices. 

It’s completely fresh and healthy, and not just from a tea bag or minced up tea in a tin. 

To me, this looks absolutely appetizing and delicious!

Usually, I’m a Snapple Iced Tea type of a guy, but for sure, I’d go for some this fresh tea from Israel…L’Chaim! 😉

(Source Photo: Minna Blumenthal)

Loneliness Is Death

There is a very important article in the Wall Street Journal today on the link of loneliness to death. 

Frightening loneliness statistics:

– One in 11 Americans over age 50 “lacks a spouse, partner, or living child.”

– More than 1 in 4 baby boomers is divorced or never married.  

– 1 out of every 6 people lives alone. 

Research indicates that loneliness leads to early death. 

The impact of loneliness is equivalent to:

– Smoking 15 cigarettes a day

– Drinking 6 alcoholic beverages a day

Loneliness is worse for mortality than:

– Obesity 

– Physical activity

“The effect of isolation is extraordinarily powerful…we have to address loneliness,” says the former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 

Whether you are extroverted or introverted, we all need human interaction, sharing, caring, touch, and love.  

Truly, no man is an island!

Those that are stranded on loneliness island need to escape it and make their way back to human civilization.

Alone our lives are dull and stunted; but together, we have the inherent social dynamics to be able to experientially learn, grow, change and mature. 

Alone we die–together we live. 

It’s not just power in numbers, it’s life itself. 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

The Yom Kippur Diet Plan

So Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar is a 25-hour day of repentance, prayer, and fasting. 

This last Yom Kippur, someone mentioned to me that some people take the idea of fasting and apply it to dieting during the year by doing a 3-day fasting. 

Uh, that sounds pretty severe and maybe even a little dangerous. 

But it got me thinking that on Yom Kippur we fast for a day and then eat a meal, so why not do that daily for dieting. 

Just subsist on one main meal a day–basically limiting intake of food to a few hours in the evening. 

This made sense to me as a moderate way that I could stay focused and disciplined without any food for about 20 hours at a time, but still give myself something to look forward to with a proper, natural dinner–almost like a natural give and take that I believe I could live with (at least for a good while). 

I thought let me give this a try!

And I did. 

First without drinking or eating. 

Then I rethought this after a few days and getting parched, and said just drink zero-calorie drinks, but no food or caloric intake during the day until the meal at the end of the day. 

And I’ve been doing this now since Yom Kippur 2 weeks ago. 

I have actually lost almost 10 pounds in that time and feel great. 

It hasn’t been hard–except for one day when the synagogue had a mega Bar Mitzvah kiddish/luncheon and I sat there and didn’t have a thing!

But otherwise, I go to work and all my activities, including working out–sometimes twice a day–and without any food.

It seems to be working. 

While previously, I stayed completely off any carbs, and still gained weight–now, I allow myself to eat everything (kosher) at dinner and am losing!

I wonder if I am on to something with this new “Yom Kippur Diet.”

I pray to Hashem that I’ve discovered something good and healthy here and am committed to seeing it through. 

(Source Graphic: Andy Blumenthal)

Everyone Drinks

So this is a water fountain on steroids. 

Not 1, not 2, but 3 drinking spouts. 

Adults, children, and even pets can all get theirs.

And at the same time…no one goes thirsty!

So simple, yet why make people wait and take turns.

Drink everyone, drink to efficiency. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Wine Bottle Extraordinaire

I took this photo of one of the amazing wine bottles at an event last evening at Magen David Synagogue. 

Apparently, a very talented lady in there makes these special bottles. 

Unfortunately with the lighting, this picture does not near do them justice for how exquisite they looked. 

They were in different colors of lacing, with beautiful beads, hamsas, and other decorations, as well as pictures of our honored sages, and their names in hebrew over the photos. 

I asked facetiously one lady who was taking home a bottle whether she was going to drink it all that evening, and she pulled the bottle close to her and leaning in to me said, “This is going in my display case!”

And that truly is where these belong…they are amazing.

The wonderful lady that painstakingly makes these gave how many of them charitably so they could be auctioned for benefit of the synagogue. 

Aside from a wonderful soul, this person is very talented and should seriously start a business with these because they are awesome! 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Whiskey Pie

So I picked up a Powerball ticket this week…hard to resist with a jackpot of $360 million!

The store that sells the lottery tickets sells liquor.

I see these 3 bottles side-by-side.

And it’s for whiskey.

The whiskey has cherry, pecan, or apple pie flavored liquor.

The ladies pictured on the bottles are sitting on the different pies. 

And this “Pie-oneering” whiskey is called Piehole!

70% proof, and makes for quite some table talk. 

Not surprisingly, they never has this at the kiddush in shule on Shabbat! 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Thirsty And Hungry

I took this photo today of this funny banner hanging out a thoroughfare window in Washington, D.C.

This big 6 feet banner says “Moms Drink For Free.”

So not sure, is it a special running at the local bar for the holidays or a wish by a bunch of mom’s looking to get toasted?

Now, look carefully to the right, and you can see in the next window the messaging continues and it says “+ Send 1 Pizza.”

So these “moms” are not only thirty but apparently hungry too–they want pizza and brew!

Not sure to what happened to “moms” just being normal mothers and good role models, and not hanging their menu cravings out the window in downtown. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

PaRTy ANiMaL BeWaRe!

Just thought this was so cute.

Elephant with a jet pack, helmet, and goggles.

Looks like he’s ready for some fun.

Honestly, though I never understood the incessant party types.

Drinking, smoking, fooling around–basically, getting into trouble.

For a straight Jewish guy from the Bronx, I got enough with regular life stuff to keep me plenty busy.

It’s good to let loose a little, but party animal I am not.

On second thought, what have I been missing all these years. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)