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Nov, 21, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Money matters?

Caroline B. Glick: Civilization walks the plank

Nov, 20, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness

The Kosher Gourmet By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto

Nov, 19, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality

Elliot B. Gertel: 'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them?

Nov, 18, 2008

Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason

Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster?

Nov, 17, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason

Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit?

Nov, 14, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia

Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead

Nov, 13, 2008

Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic

The Kosher Gourmet by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla

Nov, 12, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers

Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks

Nov, 11, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad?

Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate

Nov, 10, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built?

Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist

Nov, 7, 2008

Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality

Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy

Nov, 6, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism

The Kosher Gourmet By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes

Nov, 5, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors

Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie

Nov, 4, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law

Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East

Nov, 3, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart?

Jonathan Tobin: Was He Wrong About Everything?

Oct. 31, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Our Immutable Noble Essence

Caroline B. Glick: Running against Bush

Oct. 30, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: The End of the Special Relationship?

Steve Lipman: 'Kid Kosher' Gets A Title Shot

Oct. 29, 2008

Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: GET US THE TAPE THE L.A. TIMES REFUSES TO RELEASE, AND WE'LL GIVE YOU CASH!

Dr. Ari Korenblit: Making The Write Choice for President

Oct. 28, 2008

Mona Charen: Denial runs through American Jewry

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Sell-off to capitalism or sell-out to Islam?

Oct. 27, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Are tax deductions for charitable donations moral?

Jonathan Mark: The Mystery Of The Arab-American Vote

Oct. 24, 2008

'Why aren't all religious people vegetarians?': Response by Miriam Kosman

Caroline B. Glick: Testing Obama's mettle

Oct. 23, 2008

Daniel Pipes: Obama Would Fail Security Clearance

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A fast chicken dish with an Asian accent

Oct. 20, 2008

Gary Rosenblatt: Still One Torah

Jonathan Tobin: Government 'Gifts' Are Not Free

Oct. 17, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Sukkos and the Great Meltdown

Caroline B. Glick: The disappearance of law

Oct. 16, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Copying DVDs: RIP OR RIPOFF?

Cal Thomas: Blaming the Jews (again)

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Oct. 17, 2005 / 14 Tishrei, 5766

Turn on, tune in, tune out

By Mitch Albom


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Last week, Apple announced that, with its newest iPods, you can download TV shows. That's right. For the low, low price of just $1.99, you now can watch the most recent episodes of "Desperate Housewives," "Lost" or select other ABC programs simply by downloading them into your iPod. The advantage, as the advertising boasts, is that you now can see your favorite shows whenever you want.

It's a funny phrase, "whenever you want." It reminds me of when Holly Hunter accuses William Hurt of declining ethics in "Broadcast News." She says, "You totally crossed the line," and he says, "They keep moving the little sucker, don't they?"

It's the same with "whenever you want." You think you get it. But then that little sucker moves again.

For example, I'm sure whoever invented the VCR was figuring you now could watch your favorite programs "whenever you want."

And whoever invented TiVo really must have figured he'd cornered the market. After all, you actually could watch the start of a program while the finish was happening live. Talk about "whenever you want!"

But they keep moving the little sucker, don't they?

And now you don't even need a TV set.

Now "whenever you want" means on a bus, on a plane, in the office or in line at the bank. Whenever you want, you can stick those little white buds in your ears and you can watch Eva Longoria or Teri Hatcher or those beautiful, sweaty people lost on an island.

I keep waiting for the day when you can see your favorite programs while you sleep. All you do is press a button and your own boring dreams are replaced by "The West Wing."

To be honest, it's happening already. What used to be time to think, to talk, to imagine — yes, even to daydream — now is seen as "wasted minutes" that could be better filled, meaning another episode of "The Sopranos."

There is no premium on quiet time. Quite the opposite. Standing in line, sitting on a train, riding in the back seat — that's all time you could spend watching those important programs you missed. And what were you doing when those programs were on?

Probably watching other programs.

What we've created here is a world that can tune out reality — every minute of the day. Check pro athletes as they leave a locker room. Half the guys have their ears covered in giant headphones, swaying to their private music, looking blankly at fans as if they were scenery.

Check out an airplane, with so many people on headphones or mini-DVD players the flight attendants' most frequent sentence is no longer "Something to drink?" but "Excuse me! Hello?"

When we were kids, we used to tease our grandparents about their addiction to soap operas. Who watched TV during the day? Only old people or housekeepers, right?

Now we're grown, and, apparently, we are more eager to sit in front of a screen than our grandparents ever were. We'll watch "SportsCenter" for breakfast, "Oprah" for lunch, "CSI (pick a version)" for dinner and now — thanks to iPod — pretty much anything else any other time of day.

It is hard not to "ooh" and "ahh" at such technology. But those words should be followed by a few more. Like, "what for?" Even the people who invented TV programming back in the 1940s never thought about going all day and all night. They went to a test pattern, presumably because it was understood that certain hours were for entertainment and certain hours were for the rest of life.

Now, all of life's a stage and each of us merely here to watch the players. Anytime we want.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

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