Mr Congeniality

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Luke Ford

Watch the whole show:

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Self-Control in an Age of Excess By Daniel Akst

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Luke Ford

This book sounds like a great idea that is shoddily executed.

The New York Times says: Mr. Akst’s attempt to touch on the whole web of influences on human behavior, however, leads him frequently to veer off the central subject of self-control and flit from one marginally related topic to another. In one sentence he refers to the role mobs play in lynchings and in the very next he is discussing how ovulating women tend to wear more makeup and jewelry at a singles bar.

The result is a laundry basket of a book that includes studies on happiness, a disquisition on the virtues and drawbacks of laissez-faire governance versus the welfare state, and the preference of the rich and powerful for masochism over sadism.

Mr. Akst’s prose has its own pitfalls. The book reads as if he wrote it with a collection of quotations in his lap. After a while you feel as if you are stuck sitting next to a shameless name dropper on a long transcontinental flight on which the “fasten seat belt” sign stays on. Nor is his analysis helped by a cloyingly informal tone that refers to advocates of reason as “a bunch of old farts,” or asks “just what the heck we mean by” self-control.

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Overnight Sleep Study

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Luke Ford

I’m going in for an overnight sleep study Jan. 13.

I’m excited. I’ve had trouble sleeping since 1988.

Here’s what to expect on an overnight sleep study:

A sleep study, or polysomnogram, is a recording that includes measurements used to identify various sleep problems. During sleep testing, small metal disks (called electrodes) are applied to your head with adhesive. The adhesive is easily removed and doesn’t damage your hair. The other electrodes are applied with EKG-type sticky pads. These are necessary to monitor brain waves (we do not read your mind or your dreams), muscle movements, breathing, snoring, and heart rate. Soft belts around your chest and waist monitor your breathing. A sensor attached to your finger monitors your heart rate and blood oxygen levels. None of these devices are painful or dangerous and all are designed to be as comfortable as possible.

The sleep study, its analysis, and its interpretation are part of a complex process. After the study sleep, technologists process or “score” the large amount of data collected. A physician specializing in Sleep Medicine then interprets the information. This is a time-consuming and detailed process that may take some time to complete. Please feel free to call us with questions.

How will I be able to sleep with all those wires on me?

The wires are gathered behind you in a ponytail and it is attached to a box about the size of a small Kleenex box. This will enable you to roll over and change positions easily. The technical equipment and technologists are in a separate room from your bedroom.

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RIP Gerry Rafferty

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Luke Ford

According to Wikipedia: In 1978, Gerry Rafferty cut a solo album, City to City, which included the song with which he remains most identified, “Baker Street“. The single reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 2 in the U.S.[3][4] The album sold over 5.5 million copies, toppling the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in the U.S. on 8 July 1978.[5] “Baker Street” features a “glistening”[6] saxophone solo by Raphael Ravenscroft which remains a mainstay of soft-rock radio airplay.[6] In October 2010 the song was recognised by the BMI for notching up over 5 million plays worldwide. Stuck in the Middle With You has achieved over 4 million plays worldwide, and Right Down The Line has achieved over 3 million plays [7]

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Nixon In China

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Luke Ford

A nurse phones in to Dennis Prager and says there’s a dramatic difference between the care in private and government care. You can tell the difference when you walk in the door. The staff is much happier at a church or private facility.

Dennis: “The government is meaner.”

From DennisPrager.com:

Tuesday, January 04, 2011 Radio Show
H1: Nixon in China
Prager H1: Democratic governors in California and New York must act like Republicans in order to save the budgets of their states. They’ll have to fight the unions, the people who got them elected, to do it… The latest science recommends that you treat Alzheimer patients with compassion. We needed studies to figure this out?

Tuesday, January 04, 2011 Radio Show
H2: 16 Tons
Prager H2: Dennis begins with Bob Herbert’s article in the NY Times that claims “The fundamental mission of the G.O.P. is to shovel ever more money to those who are already rich”. This is why people join the left: they believe such nonsense about conservatives. Also, The Wall Street Journal names key supporters of the Democratic party: trial lawyers, government employee unions, and wealthy environmentalists.

Tuesday, January 04, 2011 Radio Show
H3: Ultimate Issues Hour: Prager on the Bible, Part 1: “Says Who?!”
Prager H3: This is the first of a series of 2011 Ultimate Issues Hours dedicated to exploring the relevance of the Bible. It’s a relatively new idea that Biblical literacy is not important. Dennis poses the question, “Do you have an instruction manual? If not the Bible, then what?”

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Supertova.com – A Free Jewish Dating Site

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Luke Ford

I just signed up this morning (it was easy) after getting the following email:

I wanted to write to you personally to let you know about my Jewish Initiative. I’m the founder of a website called “SuperTova” which is 100% Free, No Fees Ever, Jewish Online Dating web.

http://www.supertova.com

I began my project less than a year ago and decided to make my platform free in order to grow member involvement. This will ultimately increase the connection between Jewish singles, without any monetary commitment. It’s free for the purpose of “Growing and Preserving Our Jewish Nation”….

In less than a year, membership has grown to over 12,000 Active and is spreading throughout Israel, Canada, Europe, and South America.

In less than a year, 3 engagements, 1 official marriage, and countless dating success stories of relationships evolving that would not have evolved otherwise.

If at all possible, im asking for your commitment to help spread the word to all your friends. The more members we have, the more success stories.

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Dead-End Kids

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Luke Ford

From DennisPrager.com:

Monday, January 03, 2011 Radio Show
H1: Dead End Kids
Prager H1: The NY Times might have published the most important story of the year on the first day of the year. It concerns the fate of young Europeans. They are educated and frustrated. They have no opportunity. Socialism blocks them at every turn…

Monday, January 03, 2011 Radio Show
H2: Educated and Frustrated
Prager H2: Dennis continues on his theme from last hour – the Left kills opportunity. The over educated young people in Europe are a living example. But the Democrats see Europe and want to emulate it.

Monday, January 03, 2011 Radio Show
H3: Syriana
Prager H3: The President used the Congressional recess to appoint an ambassador to Syria for the first time since Syria orchestrated the assassination of the prime minister of Lebanon in 2005. Is this not rewarding despicable behavior? And to what end? To maintain dialogue with a dissembling dictator?… Hillary Clinton had a chat with Hugo Chavez in Brazil. Did he sing to her?… Sniffer rats are used to detect land mines. When will PETA object?… Only 21 drugs were approved by the FDA last year, a woeful number… Coptic Christians were murdered in Egypt over the weekend by a suicide bomber. Christians are no longer welcome in the Arab Middle East.

Michael Young: Why Is US Placating Syria

Monday, January 03, 2011 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 2:11 PM
The President used the Congressional recess to appointment an ambassador to Syria for the first time since Syria orchestrated the assassination of the prime minister of Lebanon in 2005. The very measured Michael Young calls it foolish, but it’s clear that he thinks it’s stupid and counterproductive.

Young Europe: Educated and Frustrated

Monday, January 03, 2011 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 12:09 PM
The most important story of the year and we’re only three days into it! Do these young Europeans understand why they are in this position? That socialism is a dead end. That only free market capitalism can save them?
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Videos featuring lewd jokes and anti-gay slurs were produced on Torah Talk

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Luke Ford

Luke Ford, the self-proclaimed “Moral Leader” since 1997, apparently created, produced and starred in the short movies, which were broadcast to entertain the world’s starving for Torah.

In one scene, two female rabbis stand in a shower stall aboard an aircraft carrier, pretending to wash each other. They joke about how they should get six minutes under the water instead of the mandated three.

In other skits, rabbis parade in drag, use anti-gay slurs and simulate masturbation and a rectal exam. Another scene implies that a rabbi is having sex in his shul with a donkey.

They’re all part of a series of short movies produced in the hovel and broadcast to hundreds of people on YouTube. The man who masterminded and starred in them is Luke Ford — now the co-commander of Torah talk and a self-proclaimed Moral Leader.

The videos, obtained by the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles this week, were shot and edited by Orthodox Jews deployed supporting yeshiva study in the Holy Land.

In the videos, Ford indicates that he’s trying to entertain his fans. The clips were shown roughly once a week on YouTube, according to a few rabbis who were assigned to the internet at the time. The rabbis requested anonymity for fear of retribution.

The rabbis who spoke to the Jewish Journal estimated that Ford made a few dozen videos and said not all of them contained sexual jokes and anti-gay remarks.

Read On.

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Frum Video.com

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Luke Ford

What will they think of next?

Here’s an excerpt: “This is quite a unique site that deals with frum orthodox jews and sexuality. Often times, if not always, this part is not discussed. Or its discussed in negative terms.We believe that this is incorrect, and sex is not against religion, but instead supports it. As we see from recent examples from everyday life, frum people who live in Brooklyn, Boropark, or in Monsey, are very similar to their secular brethen. We also want to mention, that this site has nothing to do with David Frum, though we like his ‘axis of evil’ phrase.”

I was shocked and appalled when I looked at this site and wanted nothing to do with it. I could barely make myself write about it. Shouldn’t some things be private? Do we have to dirty the most holy things? Oy, what will the goyim say?

I know that when I get married, relations will be special in a way that secular people will never understand.

Al email: “Putting kerchiefs on non-Jewish actresses does not make them frum Jewish women. Of all people, you should have recognized that the women in the videos are not what they purport to be.”

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