Results of more simpsonizing!...

Strange, but captivating.

Dave simpsonized!...

I uploaded my press photo to simpsonizeme.com, a web site that renders your picture as a Simpson's character. Perhaps there is an opportunity to be a cartoon character rather than a professor. Strange similarity is what you are thinking, right?

Well, here is the result of my simpsonization:

Pretty close, eh?

A pity that few people will watch...

This weekend I watch a movie, Ushpizin, on DVD. The movie is about a poor, ultra-Orthodox Jewish couple living in Jerusalem. They are so poor they cannot scrape together enough money to buy a Succah, a temporary dwelling religious Jews stay in during the fall festival to commemorate the time of Exodus. Nor does the couple have the means to purchase the four plant species, upon which devout Jews are commanded to make blessings during the holiday. The most important species, the citron, is considered a blessing for having male children. Trust me, all works out in the end. The movie is funny, touching, and thought-provoking. I highly recommend it, but few people actualy will probably see it in the United States. It has grossed just over $1 million in the United States since it was released. A pity, for it is truly a story of a miracle and a testament to the power and honor of waiting and hoping patiently for what you really want in life.

At the end of the movie there is a beautiful song sung over a scene of a religious ritual. The words:

One must pass in the world
Through some confusion,
Some obstacles,
Some changes,
Until he understands.

A man has to pass
Through this world
On a very narrow bridge.
And, the truth is sharp
Like a strand of hair.
And, the main thing is
Not to be afraid at all.

We’ve got to rejoice
And never forget
What we really are.

There is God. There is only God.

Yes, the movie is a mitzvah!

Capitol Hill Bean Soup with Chuck Grassley, then Representative from Iowa...

Back in 1978 -- when I worked for 10 months, two weeks, and ten hours for the University of Northern Iowa -- I traveled to Washington often to work with YouthWork, a private, intermediary firm between the U.S. Department of Labor and local governments with funds from the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act. Youthork was headed by Corinne Reider, who is now Executive Director and Treasurer of the John Hartford Foundation, which is dedicated to improving health care for older Americans. The University also asked me to meet with various politicians when I was in Washington. That is how I met then-Representative Chuck Grassley from Iowa, who is now United States Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa.

Chuck Grassley is the senior United States Senator from Iowa. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was chairman of the Finance Committee from January to June 2001 and from January 2003 to December 2006, and he currently serves as the committee's Ranking Member. He is a graduate, with two degrees, from the University of Northern Iowa, which was the common thread that brought us together.

Chuck (yes, he preferred Chuck) took me to lunch at a restaurant in the Capitol Building. Its specialty is Capitol Hill Bean Soup, which I ordered and enjoyed. Before lunch even began, we launched into a debate about the role of dairy products in the Consumer Price Index, which was the subject of a New York Times front page article just several days before. To my great surprise, he was knowledgeable about the issue, understood the Consumer Price Index, and had a definite opinion that differed remarkably from mine about the weight of dairy products in the Index. We debated for about ten minutes. He was testing me, I think. He warmed considerable after that debate, as we talked about his farm, our families, and Iowa. It was a great meeting, after which we had this picture taken on the Capitol Building steps:

I know these "grip-and-grin" photos are stock items, but I did appreciate this momento of our meeting that this photo represents. We had a great time at the lunch so many years ago. I know, some of you might have issues with his voting record, but I think he has been honest and straightforward with his dealings. And, he usually chooses his positions based on his personal convictions and beliefs -- and he rarely wavers. There is something admirable about that.

I had some coffee, and I thought about all who are working hard to make our country great.

i carry your heart...

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)

i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

--ee cummings

A quiet day of reflection.