Segacs’s World I Know

I feel really bad for any blue collar workers out there with legitimate grievances, which are surely getting lost in the shuffle. (Hat tip: Jonathan).

Looks like some people are taking it a bit too seriously.

Tuesday night, I went to see my Habs beat the Bolts 4-3 in overtime in preseason action.

It was the first time I’ve ever been to an exhibition game, and I wasn’t expecting it to have quite the same excitement level as a season or playoff game. Luckily, I was wrong. Even despite Latendresse’s ejection from the game in the first two minutes, and the fact that we spent half the night killing penalties, it was easily some of the most exciting hockey I’ve ever seen.

Can’t wait for the real season to begin next week.

These ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are traditionally the days when Jews ask forgiveness from people and from G-d for any wrongs we might have done throughout the year.

I’m not religious by most definitions, but I’ve always liked the concept, and particularly the notion that we need to be forgiven by people before we can be forgiven by G-d. The latter part is personal, but the former is, I believe, a prerequisite for all people of any religion or background who live in a society. See, a sin against G-d, such as failure to keep Shabat or eating pork, could only potentially affect the person committing it, so it’s up to each of us to decide for ourselves what we choose to observe. However, sins against our fellow human beings cause real harm to people. It’s the so-called “victimless crime” argument; a crime becomes more serious due to the consequence of committing harm to someone else.

So, in that spirit, I ask forgiveness from anyone reading this who I may have wronged in the past.

And, if you’re in the process of doing the same, and one of the people you happen to have wronged last year is Stephen Colbert, here’s how to make amends:

Best wishes to all for a happy and healthy new year.

No, not the words of a typical Jewish bubby – it’s the Israeli fashion industry urging too-thin models to put on some weight:

Top Israeli retail companies have agreed not to employ overly thin models for their advertisements, joining a growing global campaign to fight anorexia within the fashion industry.

Adi Barkan, a leading fashion photographer, said he had secured commitments from firms that account for 60 percent of advertising volume in Israel to turn away models whose body mass index — the ratio of height to weight — is less than 18.

And just in time for the holidays, too! All those models’ parents will be so happy when they ask for second helpings of potato kugel this weekend…

Heading westward to the Big Apple Big Smoke tomorrow, for a few days. Try not to miss me too much.

That’s pommes as in apples, not pommies as in Brits, by the way. Which suits me just fine, because it’s apple season and they are incredibly good this year.

And just in time for Rosh Hashanah too. Apples and honey… mmmmm….

It’s also leaf-peeping season, an activity with a comical name but lots of great photo ops. It was a beautiful day today, sunny and clear and hot enough to be mistaken for summer, but with that fabulous fall crispness in the air that just makes it great to be alive. Here are a few pictures from today’s foray out to Parc Saint-Bruno:

Soon enough, it will be winter and we’ll all be grumbling about the cold. In the meantime, let’s all enjoy fall, while it lasts.

Four years ago, I blogged about the National Geographic survey that found, among other things, that 11% of young Americans couldn’t pick out the United States on a world map.

Now, National Geographic has conducted a new survey. Like the last one, you can test yourself.

Any improvements in the results? Well, judge for yourself.