#VoteYo

THE FINE FIVE - JULY 6, 2015:

(1) My cousin Talya Drissman Woolf, her husband Ariel, and her son just made Aliyah - the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to the land of Israel. Aliyah is one of the most basic tenets of Zionism. The concept of Aliyah (return) to the Holy Land was first developed in Jewish history during the Babylonian exile. During the Jewish diaspora, Aliyah was developed as a national aspiration for the Jewish people, although it was not usually fulfilled until the development of the Zionist movement in the late nineteenth century. Large-scale immigration to the area now known as Israel began in 1882. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, more than 3 million Jews from over 90 countries have "made Aliyah" and arrived in Israel. I'm sad to lose her as my potential 2016 vice presidential running mate, but thrilled she has made what I believe to be a wonderful decision.

(2) In making my phone calls for a story I'm working on, I had to contact someone with in the 954 area code from a 561 land line. Dialed twice, using the "1" prefix, with problems getting through each time. Dialed a third time, did not include the "1" prefix ... and had no problems whatsoever. Is this a new thing - we don't need to include the "1" when calling different area codes from land lines? Anyone else have this happen to them?

(3) Congratulations to the Detroit Tigers' David Price, J.D. Martinez and Jose Iglesias, who join first baseman Miguel Cabrera as 2015 American League All-Stars. Miggy is on the disabled list, so won't participate (sad face!), but the Tigers are represented nicely even with his absence. Yoenis Cespedis is on the list of five AL players in the final vote; click the link to vote for him! (You know you wanna!)

(4) I have no real issues with this year's All Star Game selections. That's a rarity. Maybe Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers should be on the roster instead of on the National League list of "to be voted in" ... but given the parameters on how players are selected (the fan vote for starters, the player votes for reserves, and the manager gets to choose seven players - and each team needs to have at least one representative), there's always going to be a few players with numbers that scream "deserving" but are not selected. 

(5) Congratulations to the South Carolina Senate for voting 37-3 to remove the Confederate Flag from state grounds. Now it goes to the state House.

FOODERCIZE FOR JULY 6, 2015

Weight: 246

Steps Taken: 3,869

Miles Walked: 1.76

CAMPAIGN 2016 NEWS OF THE DAY:

From The Week: "'Because of his wife': Donald Trump tweets then deletes attack on Jeb Bush" - How's that "Hispanic Outreach" going for you, GOP?

STUPID NEWS OF THE DAY:

From The Mirror: "Council loses nine-month legal battle with man who accidentally dropped orange peel" - No word on court cases involving passionfruit, apples, grapefruit (whole and segmented), pomegranates, greengages, grapes, lemons, plums, mangoes in syrup, cherries (red and black), bananas, or pointed sticks.

FLORIDA NEWS OF THE DAY:

From The Palm Beach Post: "Scott puts autograph on West Palm Beach spring training baseball bill" - I hope the eventual ballpark looks nothing like the monstrosity that was built for the Miami Marlins in Little Havana.

WEIRD NEWS OF THE DAY:

From Broadway World: "HAND TO GOD Audience Member Attempts to Charge Cell Phone On Stage" - time to amend those pre-performance "cell phones off" announcements.

VIDEO OF THE DAY:

Confuse-A-Cat: The service to call when you're at your wit's end about your cat, who is suffering from what vets haven't found a word for.

 

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY:

"Missing You," John Waite