Because it is possible to post something cheerful on one's journal, even in these times

Hallelujah; my computer is now back to nearly-working order! I should be around much more frequently in the next week than I was this week.

Meanwhile, according to the Times of London (by way of Arts and Letters Daily), there was a recent competition for the funniest and most offensive religious jokes. (The group running the contest, the Christian humor website* Ship of Fools, is apparently testing the boundaries of British legislation outlawing religious hate speech.) All of the jokes are available here. I found one (voted the sixth funniest) particularly amusing:

( I don't think this is offensive to anyone, but it is a joke that does mention several religious groups, so I'll cut it )

*I stand corrected. After reading more of the website, I have discovered it is not a humor magazine per se, but rather, to quote its introduction page, "a magazine of Christian unrest." The journal editor says, "We're here for people who prefer disorganized religion to the organized kind." As a disorganized Jew, I can definitely approve of that.

This message has been brought to you by creative spammers everywhere

I have just received an email from Hillel.

Hillel.

I do not mean Hillel as in the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. No, a person named Hillel, who seems to be lacking a surname, has emailed me.

I am excited. It seems that the great and famous rabbi Hillel, who has been dead for approximately two thousand years, has sent me a letter.

Of course, I don't think the late teacher approves of me very much. The subject line of his email reads, "Why let people know about your intimate life?"

...Also, why has Rabbi Hillel's letter been placed automatically in my spam filter?