Timelies!

Remember the argan oil ita posted about? Here's a picture of goats climbing an argan tree. I've never seen goats in trees before. [link]

I stayed home sick yesterday. The good news is that I'm not appreciably sicker. The bad news is that I'm going to have to go to work. Man, I need a new job. Or, preferably, to win the lottery.

It sounds like you had no lull.

We're never in a news lull. It contradicts the definition or something.

It's especially crazy because he recently retired from his party, formed a new one, got plenty of politicians from both sides of the "political map" to join him. The new party ("Kadima", which translates to something like a combination between "onward" or "forward" and "let's go") still doesn't have any platform, other than being Sharon's party, for better (people who supported the disengagement in August) or worse. [Edit: x-post with amych]

Sharon's split with Likud and the formation of the new party have been talked about a lot, but the impression I got was that any big changes were going to come from the political shift and not due to his health.

Oh, that was huge. It totally re-wrote the political map, and nobody expected that.

Also, his oldest son is about to go to jail (for some elections-money fraud. The son claims his father hadn't known anything. Nobody velieves him, and lots of people were angry at Sharon for letting his son take the blame and pay for something he was a part of, for his own political strenght), and that's been a really big issue, as well.

What are Sephardic goodies for the holiday I am not going to attempt to spell again?

Nothing in particular, frankly. The jelly-daughnuts are universal, for everybody, and latkes are considered more Ashmenazi (even though now everybody makes them because, well, they're yummy), but there's nothing specifically Hanukkah-Sepharadi dish.

The holiday that has lots of special cookies is Purim (at least for some, if not all, Sepharadim).

Oh my goodness! Goats in Trees!

Also, his oldest son is about to go to jail (for some elections-money fraud. The son claims his father hadn't known anything. Nobody velieves him, and lots of people were angry at Sharon for letting his son take the blame and pay for something he was a part of, for his own political strenght), and that's been a really big issue, as well.

I hadn't heard about this at all. Oh dear.

There was a thing on public radio this morning, about Sharon's new party, and whether it will collapse without him. I expect it's a little different in a parliamentary system, but third parties never survive for long around here.

signed,
never voted for that big-eared Texan crazy, but was a resident of Conencticut when Lowell Weicker got a bug up his butt.

The holiday that has lots of special cookies is Purim (at least for some, if not all, Sepharadim).

Hamentaschen!

My internet is sloooow. I'm blaming it on humanity.

It is making googling hard, which is making it hard to work (no, really. I'm trying to diagnose a firewall issue and need to learn something, anything about macs and firewalls.)

I expect it's a little different in a parliamentary system, but third parties never survive for long around here.

Well, there are so many here. A few years ago, people from both biggest parties tried to create a new one, the "Center" party. It got nowehere. A little later, another new party was formed based on, to put it blantly, opposing religious people. It went stronger and stronger with each election, but it didn't manage to do much, so I guess it'll get fewer votes in the upcoming elections. Those are the biggest new parties that I can remember, so things can go either way. Well, could. Without Sharon himself, I really don't think this new party has too much to offer. [Edit: more often than not, the people who joined it are considered opportunists who ride on his coattails, not like even pretending to follow some sort of ideology.]

Hamentaschen!

Oh, yeah.

My mom also makes 5 or 6 different kinds of cookies, especially for Purim (and hardly ever, any other time of the year). They're awesome. In Purim, one of the things you do is trade dishes with friends, send a little basket with goodies to a few friends. My roommates can't wait each year for the one from my mom.

Note to self: If I go to Israel, go during Purim.

Hey, Nilly!

My neighbors were screaming their heads off last night and woke Li'l Sphere up over and over again. There was some sort of game on, right?

It was boring though. You just knew how it was going to end.