Red and Green are Blue Because of Blue...

...You see the Phillies colors are red while the Eagles colors are green and both lost to teams (the Dodgers and the Giants) whose colors are blue...

Good afternoon, congregants of Stroock's Books, and shabbat shalom.

We had to turn the heat on this morning. We can wear shorts today, just barely. But soon one must needs breakout the denim. Damn [Hey, you wanted autumn, knobhead. You got autumn-Ed]. 

We mowed the lawn, probably for the last time. Fun fact, we actually got one of them Ryobi battery powered mowers and it works just fine. One battery is more than enough to get the job done and it's interchangeable with the leaf blower and chainsaw. Holds out hand *ahem*. Not really. But Ryobi, if you're reading we're more than willing to have a Ryobi Tools and Equipment Week here at Stroock's Books - for the right price. 

The ceasefire is in effect. Hamas has till 12 PM Monday to release the hostages. The Israelis have warned Hamas that if crowds swarm the vehicles they will respond with air strikes to disperse and troops to rescue the hostages. We'll approach events with circumspectitude until the hostages are home. 

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are at the Western Wall this afternoon. We naysayed, but they closed the deal. Well done. And so say all of us. 

As predicted, 'Netanyahu gains traction while opposition loses seats after hostage deal, new poll reveals...' At JNS Jonathan S. Tobin appraises Bibi's war record. That appraisal is good. I got the hostages back is a powerful campaign message.* More analysis from The Times of Israel. Nut graph, as the J-School losers would say: Hung parliament, which is fertile ground for Bibi. Exit question: will Bibi call an early election ? Turns out he might. 

Our Bibi T-shirt should arrive today. 

Now watch the world adjust to the new normal with Israel as the victor and Trump overseeing the peace. The krauts have already announced that they're lifting their Juden arms embargo and the Austrians say if Eurovision is Juden-frie, they won't host the contest in 2026 as planned. 

Jersey Beat. We've no insights on the gubernatorial debate as of yet, though note Sherill's inability to answer questions on her personal and financial issues was not a good look. There were fireworks and Ciattarelli says he's going to sue Sherrill for defamation, which seems odd. NJ.com reports on the GOP's voter registration surge. Another good week for Jack, another bad week for Mikie. 

Sports Wrap or suck, anyway: Mrs. Stroock's Phillies are done....wow Giants! What's wrong with the Eagles? We watched the former (and saw some fine pitching) but not the latter. We were burned out on sports by then. Instead we watched episodes four and five of A Man in Full [Poof-Ed].

DOGE report: we probably need to add yet another chapter setting up the British invasion of Ireland. We can use this chapter to show the UDF or RUC busting a Prod terror ring or some such. Bastards. 

Will Almost Had a Heart Attack Week, fin: So we went on a diet. Lost some weight (gained most of it back the next year) and otherwise moved on. So ended 2015, in which we were diagnosed with gout, a heart problem, and lost out professorial job. Heck of a year, Brownie. Heck of a year. 

*Hamas held one Israeli hostage for a decade. Getting the hostages back is a huge deal.