In 1981, Project Kansas was hatched secretly in the boardroom of one of the most successful companies in the US. It was the desperate gambit of a company that was rapidly losing its footing, and it would set off a chain of…
When I was twelve years old, there was nothing I enjoyed more than going to the Shuk Machane Yehuda. The massive indoor/outdoor market in Jerusalem was an assault of sights, sounds, and smells coming from the garbled masses of people…
Alfonso Hernandez is a farmer who grows infected cacti on the Canary Islands (Pop Quiz! Where in the world are the Canary Islands?) While cactus plants are generally considered a nuisance, and plant infections don’t rank high on Top 10…
Parshat Shemini תשפד I was once asked, “Rabbi, you say that Judaism is the only true religion; the Christians say that Christianity is, and the Moslems say that Islam is! How do you know you are right?” I would like…
The Robert Y. Love was the little towboat that could. It spent its time merrily chugging up and down the Arkansas River, pushing barges loaded with asphalt, construction debris, coal, or oil. While it was only 104 feet long and 30 feet…
Parshat Tzav תשפ"ד This week’s portion, Tzav, details the different types of animal or grain sacrifices that one may need to bring. A sacrifice is called a קרבן (korban), the root of which isקרב - which means to bring close.…
It was clear that Paul Bryant was different the moment he was born. He did look a bit strange, his head seemed almost bigger than his body, but all babies are born looking a little strange, so his parents weren’t…
The information presented below is based on an article by Jordan Weissman in The Atlantic magazine, which appeared on Dec 27, 2013. I had my first whole cup of coffee at the age of ten. Oh, how I savored that…