Speaking of William, he has a new video out this Passover. Introducing, Bitter Herb…

Remember the Matzah song starring my buddy William and Michelle Citrin? Michelle has put together a video of outtakes from their antics filming last year. You can see the original here.

The second in an occasional series of posts about story pitches that were rejected by editors.

Most pitches leave my inbox in the form of two or three-paragraph ideas. But this one was so unusual that I thought I would have a crack at a first draft and see if an editor would be interested enough to ask me to expand on it. The answer was no. But one of the perks of having a blog, I suppose, is that I can at least publish it here:

Anyone who has tried their hand at a foreign language has tripped up over similar sounding words. I once informed a smoking compartment full of Russian army recruits on a train that my father worked “budil’nikom” (as an alarm clock) when I meant to say “bukhgalterom” (as an accountant). Just the other week, Hillary Clinton presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with a cheap prop, a button that was intended to symbolize the realignment of US-Russian relations. Unfortunately for Clinton, her State Department translator got a little mixed up and the word “peregruzka” was printed on the button – meaning to overcharge – rather than”perezagruzka” to reset. It’s the sort of mistake that America’s cool commander-in-chief, President Barack Obama, will not want to make when he meets Russian President Dmitri Medvedev at the Group of 20 economic summit in London next week.

Here then, for the President and his advisors, are a few words with which he may want to take additional care during conversation:

*First and foremost, if the President notices a member of the Russian delegation pointing towards him and using the word “dylda” he should not be alarmed. A “dylda” is a lanky person.

*Russians love a bit of bawdiness. When sitting down to dinner, the President may wish to impress his Russian counterpart with a colloquialism such as “obozhrat’sia” meaning to stuff one’s face. This should never be confused with “obossat’sia” which means to wet oneself.

*At the end of the meal, pancakes may be served. As many Westerners already know, a “blini” is a pancake. But “blin” is a colloquial way of saying “damn.” (According to some Russians, it was also a humorous way of referring to a former American president as “Blin Clinton.”) President Obama may wish to stick to the international language of pointing at the plate of pancakes and smiling.

*After dinner, the President may like to declare himself “syd” or full up. Unfortunately, to the untrained ear, this is almost identical to “ssyd” — another word for describing the act of wetting oneself. Better perhaps, to let out a sigh and pat his belly.

*On parting, President Obama may wish to inform President Medvedev that he would like to write to him in future. Here, the danger lies in the stress on the verb “pisat’,” to write. “Ia khachu pi-SAT’” means I would like to write. “Ia khochu PI-sat’” means I would like to pee. When the verb involves doing something towards the president of a nuclear power, Mr Obama may want to make doubly sure before making any formal pronouncements.

My thanks to Dezik (slang for “deodorant” in Russian) for his linguistic advice and expertise.

My favorite book from Recuperatio on Vimeo.

A Brooklyn Lad’s boy Billy gives his first public reading. It’s also an excellent advert for ABL’s latest blog venture Recuperatio, dedicated to stimulating the economy by promoting all things American. Never mind that A Brooklyn Lad has been a US citizen all of six months or that Billy is technically half-British. This little blighter was born on the fourth of July. And I don’t think you can get more American than that.

A blog post about Twitter. That must measure at least a 4.3 on the self-obsessed, insecure, attention-seeking, narcissistic, scale. Well, what do you expect from a journalist-cum-blogger?

Glow in the dark sheep are a pretty tough act to follow. But I think these extraordinary British birds are just as entertaining. Maybe someone should open an Alternative British Zoo? (Via PemC.)

There’s a troubling story in today’s New York Times about the conduct of Israeli soldiers during their incursion into Gaza::

Amir Marmor, a 33-year-old history graduate student in Jerusalem and a military reservist, said in an interview with The New York Times that he was stunned to discover the way civilian casualties were discussed in training discussions before his tank unit entered Gaza in January. “Shoot and don’t worry about the consequences,” was the message from the top commanders, he said. Speaking of a lieutenant colonel who briefed the troops, Mr. Marmor said, “His whole demeanor was extremely gung ho. This is very, very different from my usual experience. I have been doing reserve duty for 12 years, and it was always an issue how to avoid causing civilian injuries. He said in this operation we are not taking any chances. Morality aside, we have to do our job. We will cry about it later.”

Soldiers’ Accounts of Gaza Killings Raise Furor in Israel (NYT)

It might be a blatant ad for Samsung, but this Sheep-powered LED display is extraordinary. (Via Sofie!)