Erev Shabbos Jewish Blogging (kind of like Friday Cat Blogging, but with fewer cats and more Jews)

Apparently, Mayor Bloomberg of New York is considering regulating against metzitzah b'peh, which the Times describes as the rite during which the mohel "sucks the blood from the circumcision wound to clean it." When mabfan told me of the Times article, the following exchange occurred:

gnomi: This might be a problem.
gnomi: Just in general.
mabfan: hm
gnomi: I mean, Bloomberg regulating against brisses can't go well.
mabfan: Nope.
mabfan: I have his home phone number if you want to call him
mabfan: He's in the book
gnomi: Heh. "Hello, Mr. Mayor? I don't live in New York, but I think you're going to cause yourself a lot of trouble if you regulate against brisses."

The Last of 2005's Reading

Here are the books I read November-December 2005:

51. Strachey's Folly by Richard Stevenson
52. Tongue Tied by Richard Stevenson: Two more mysteries following the adventures of Stevenson's gay detective Donald Strachey. Fun, fluffy reading.

53. Racing for the Bomb by Robert S. Norris: This biography of General Leslie R. Groves is a comprehensive look at the man who became the military head of the Manhattan Engineering District that built the atomic bomb. A fascinating look at his life from birth to death, at 800+ pages (including bibliography and notes) it is quite dense, but it is simultaneously an engaging read.

54. Invincible Vol. 1: Family Matters by Robert Kirkman
55. Invincible Vol. 2: Eight is Enough by Robert Kirkman
56. Invincible Vol. 3: Perfect Strangers by Robert Kirkman
57. Invincible Vol. 4: Head of the Class by Robert Kirkman
58. Invincible Vol. 5: The Fact Of Life by Robert Kirkman: The trade paperback editions of Kirkman's comic book Invincible. It's the story of Mark Grayson as he comes into his powers and tries to deal with being a super-powered teenager while still having to complete high school and start college. Funny and powerful all at the same time.

59. American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin: Almost a companion to Racing for the Bomb, this is a comprehensive biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the civilian head of the Manhattan Engineering District. Reading the two books in a short time gave me a multifaceted view of certain events, seen from the perspectives of these two very different men who nonetheless found a way to work together and, more than that, found themselves friends. Bird and Sherwin show both the positive and the negative about Oppenheimer, giving a balanced view of this very complex man.