Daily One Inch Button - Free High Fives

During the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana, the posting of buttons will continue (thanks, post options!) but orders will not be processed until Wednesday night iy"H.

You know you want one.

Seriously, how else are people going to know about your free high five policy? You think that you can just stick out your hand and say "high five" and you're going to get action just like that?

Actually, I take that back. I know it's possible because I did an experiment once where I would ask for a high five in the middle of casual conversations. They are always given upon request. Try it for yourself.

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Daily One Inch Button - Japanese Pot Stickers Gyoza

I don't know about you but these pot stickers look delicious. Do you know how to make pot stickers? It's okay if you don't know, you don't have to be embarassed because I didn't know how to make them before I saw this awesome video on the preparation of them.

Japanese pot stickers have a rich garlic flavor, which means that my mother would love them. (My parents friends used to tease her and ask if she made her cake with garlic as well.) They are thinner than Chinese pot stickers so if you are carb conscious, this is the way to go. Way to go, Gyoza!

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Daily One Inch Button - Pat Morita

He tutored the Karate Kid and taught him: Wax on, Wax off.

He was brilliant as Sam Pak on MASH.

He was the one that ran Arnold's diner. I think the joke back then was that nobody expected him to be the Arnold. Even though he was only on for a couple of seasons, he was still hilarious and I loved to watch the episodes with him as a kid.

Check out this awesome highlight reel here; it shows some nice old images of our man Mr. Morita.

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Daily One Inch Button - Vampire Bear Flowers

Vampire Bear enjoys a good work of art as much as the next bear, but this one in particular holds a special place in his heart. Why is that? Well, it could be related to the fact that he is a fan of Van Gogh in general. On the other hand it could be that it reminds him of a certain letter in the Hebrew alphabet that has a nice soft F sound. It could be a combination of the two. That's right, it's this beautiful letter that he is teaching this week over at Learn to Read Hebrew with Vampire Bear.

Sunflowers were a great choice for Van Gogh, weren't they? So full of light and cheer.

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Daily One Inch Button: How About Just Coffee?

Maybe it's just me, I don't know. Sometimes when you go into larger coffee chains and all you want is just a cup of coffee (milk and sugar to be added later, of course) and you get bombarded with a million choices, none of which are just a plain black cup of coffee.

I believe it was Dennis Leary who spoke about liking coffee flavored coffee, none of this vanilla with caramel on the inside of the cup garbage. If I wanted a thousand calories in a cup, I could just puree a steak and drink that; I shouldn't be drinking it in the form of a cup of coffee with more sugar than actual coffee.

Maybe I am getting old.

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Daily One Inch Button - Crossword Games

You're sitting at a table with three of your closest friends. You have this square board in between you and each of you systematically places these curious wooden tiles down on the board, forming and adding to words. What is going on? Are you performing some sort of ancient ritual to summon a spirit?

No, you're playing one of the best games ever. You know the one to which I refer. It contains exactly one hundred tiles but the possibilities for words just go on and on and on - well, so long as the words you create have seven or so letters, not counting words which are created by adding to already existing words. What's the world record for longest word created in this awesome game? The uncontested word is apparently Sesquioxidizing. Nice word.

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Daily One Inch Button - Curry Rice

This is not for the faint of heart. This is some pretty powerful stuff right here. Sure, you can argue that there are mild curries available but are they really curries unless they burn a hole in the plate? Is it really salsa unless the tips of your hair ignite after the first mouthful?

Interestingly, curry became popular in Japan in the 1960s. Compared to many other popular foods in Japan, it is extremely easy to make and therefore does not take out a lot of time for cooking. This could be one of the many reasons that it became so popular and why it remains popular.

Then there's the real reason. That's right, because it's delicious.

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Daily One Inch Button - Twitter

Take a look around you.

How many people are doing everyday mundane things?

Out of all of these people, what percentage do you suppose goes onto their Twitter account at some point to write about something that just happened to them?

As it turns out, I'm a bit of a Twitter addict. Thanks to my phone, I can update my Twitter as often as I want - and somehow that always ends up being just a few too many times per day. What are your experiences with instant short blogging?

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Daily One Inch Button - Vampire Bear Newspaper

Keeping up with the news, are we? Our dear friend Vampire Bear loves to read the daily Hamodia with all of its tidbits about what is new in the world, the humorous photo section (not to be confused with the more serious photo section with various rabbis at diverse events) along with a great weekly magazine complete with new recipes to try out. This last year was particularly interesting as VB didn't really know that much about the Shemittah year and now he knows quite a lot thanks to the newspaper.

Newspaper has an 'n' sound and that reminds him of the letter 'nun', and I'm not referring to the people who dress in habits. You can learn all about the different letters of the Hebrew aleph bet, or at least how to read them, at Learn to Read Hebrew with Vampire Bear.

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Daily One Inch Button - Enjoy Today

Why so serious? Very easy. It's just astonishing to me how things can change so quickly, how things in life can be going a certain way one day and then be completely overturned by the next day. This may be looking at things in an overly pessimistic way and to that I counter with this: you can also see the possibility of hope tomorrow. However, you should cherish everything you have today and not take them for granted. Instead of complaining about your job, be thankful that you have a job at all. Instead of complaining that you have to take the bus somewhere, be grateful that there is a bus to take.

You never know what tomorrow will bring and so you should focus on what you have now instead of what you are lacking.

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Daily One Inch Button - I've got your onions

I'm a little afraid of this button. What does that even mean?

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Daily One Inch Button - Sake!

Sit down with a friend or two and talk over a cup of sake. It's not quite the same feeling as chugging down a beer while watching American football at the bar, is it? If you are a fan of silly commercials, check out this sake commercial. It is sure to get you into peals of laughter.

This adorable sake button should also put a big smile on your face. If it hasn't done so yet, just try looking at it for a little bit longer.

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Daily One Inch Button - Mr. Rogers

When I was growing up, every day was a beautiful day in the neighborhood because I got to see Mr. Rogers. He would bring us into his home and show us all kinds of things that we may have never seen before. He was also great because he told us that we all have something special about us and that we shouldn't forget that. It made me so sad when I found out that he passed away, and watching this video made me cry just a bit.

I hope that when I have children some day, episodes of his show will be available on DVD or whatever we'll be using then (super-new-ray) to watch recorded material.

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Daily One Inch Button - Vav Vase

This week we are learning all about the fantastic letter called the Vav and what better way to remember the vav than to see this darling image of Vampire Bear watering a flower in a vase? True, the image would have also worked well with the actual letter called vase but I think I like how the vase looks like the vav in that it's sort of a long straight linear object. 

You have to respect Vampire Bear's approach to teaching how to read the Hebrew language. I know that I do. It's so great how he is helping to teach Goobie Bear and Shrimpy about the Hebrew language. Aren't you excited?

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Daily One Inch Button - Will *insert cliché here* for food

Will code for food. Will write for food. Will explain the significance of the contrast between Freudian and Jungian theory in the context of modern day psychoanalysis for food. We've seen them all. Okay, so maybe that last one is less often seen. Nevertheless, sometimes we are willing to do just about anything for food.

It's not always obvious what the giver of food requires of us in order to get the tasty food from them, so this button here takes the pressure off of you and onto them. They can maybe give you a list of choices of things you can do for food (Dance? Juggle? Life Coach?) and all you have to do is choose one. Choose wisely. Remember what Yoda said: Luminous beings are we. What does that have to do with this button? I'm not sure but I bet he would know.

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Okay, so I'm a little biased. I have a shadow priest. Please pardon the extreme nerdiness of this post. :)

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Daily One Inch Button - Ramen Noodles

Hark, we have returned to a regular non-rerun posting schedule! Tell your friends. No, really, tell them if you haven't done so already. You like your friends, right?

This is what I think people should anticipate after a long blustery day; it's a nice bowl of ramen noodles. Doesn't it look just divine? I can't think of a better way to end the day than with that delicious combination of noodles (spelt or otherwise) with a rich broth, a good combination of vegetables (don't forget the spring onions, please!) and just the right amount of meat, soy or real. I might just have to end this post a little early to make myself a bowl for lunch.

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Daily One Inch Button Rerun - Eastenders Bradley Branning

Unfortunately, reruns will have to continue for awhile until we settle into our new office on the East Coast.

Who could possibly forget the day that dear Bradley came to Walford? From the very beginning he has had some interesting things happen to him right up until he had his reunion with his long absent father. Who would have known that his father would end up being the man his wife would choose to sleep with and fool around with after a pretty nasty row? And did Stacey really have to kiss his father so soon before the wedding? We can only hope things go better for Bradley and Stacey.

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Daily One Inch Button Rerun - Vampire Bear Sawing Wood

Unfortunately, reruns will have to continue for awhile until we settle into our new office on the East Coast.

What is that handsome little bear up to now? He seems to be sawing a large log. Why would little Vampire Bear feel the need to saw a log? Is he living on a farm now, or is the farm just a vacation home? It's all about his awesome project to teach people how to read the Hebrew langauge - at his web site, ask vampire bear. There you can see all of the cool lessons in reading the Hebrew language.

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Daily One Inch Button Rerun - Stacey Slater

Unfortunately, reruns will have to continue for awhile until we settle into our new office on the East Coast.

Love her or hate her, Stacey is an incredible woman. People rooted for her and Bradley to make it and they did - and then of course it had to come out that she was sleeping with his father. Some people might say, "Can you blame him?" I say yes, I can blame him. That was just wrong.

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Daily One Inch Button Rerun - Ian Beale

Unfortunately, reruns will have to continue for awhile until we settle into our new office on the East Coast.

Twenty-three years - that's how long our man Ian Beale has been on EastEnders. By that, of course, it means that he has been on the show since the very first episode. From troubled teen to somewhat troubled adult, Ian has seen it all in Walford. Other Beale buttons are in the works, rest assured. The 25th anniversary button will be awesome. :)

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Daily One Inch Button Rerun - EastEnders Phil Mitchell

Unfortunately, reruns will have to continue for awhile until we settle into our new office on the East Coast.

Thought not quite as popular in the United States as it is in Great Britain for numerous reasons - the main one being that the show isn't broadcast in the US - plenty of people have a similar love / hate relationship with the Phil Mitchell. He seems to change love interests more often than the average person changes socks. He gives as well as he gets - well, he usually gives a lot better. Rock on, Phil!

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