What's Next?

אשר לא קראתי בסידורים

2011-10-21T09:07:00.000+02:00

אשר לא קראתי בסידורים ובמחזורים אני קורא בהרים. בהרים אומר אני את כל התחינות והמזמורים. מן הגיא העמוק למדתי את הזעקה, כמו מכלא. והרבה תפילות זכות למדתי מן התכלת. בראשי ההרים ראיתי חרותים כל הפיוטים. וכל הפסוקים חקוקים במדרונות החשופים והמוכים. וכל דברי הזעם - בצוקים. יצחק שלו

Why the past?

2011-06-03T09:38:00.000+03:00

If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck

Tout y est

2011-05-04T22:05:00.001+03:00

une triperiedeux pierres trois fleurs un oiseauvingt-deux fossoyeurs un amourle raton laveurune madame untelun citron un painun grand rayon de soleilune lame de fondun pantalonune porte avec son paillassonun Monsieur décoré de la légion d'honneurle raton laveurun sculpteur qui sculpte des Napoléonla fleur qu'on appelle soucideux amoureux sur un grand litun carnaval de Niceune chaise trois dindons

The World According to Americans, redux

2010-11-13T08:35:00.005+02:00

Three years ago, I had a post "The World According to Americans". But time flies and creative people have kept working on the theme. Here are two newer versions. As usual, click to zoom and enjoy!In the other direction, it appears that in 1976, the New Yorker had a cover which prefigured the style: "The World According to New Yorkers", I would call this:Now, I have the case of this map which is

Sons of Terror

2010-07-10T09:55:00.005+03:00

I recommend highly "Son of Hamas" by Mosab Hassan Yousef.Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a founder of the Hamas, Sheikh Hassan Yousef, discovered when he was 17 that despite his loathing of Israeli occupation and despite his love and awe for his father, he could not allow innocent bloodshed and that Palestinians were not set free by violence, they were locked up by violence. The trigger to these

Just a Picture

2010-05-08T10:21:00.001+03:00

Rue de Varize, Paris, August 2008

"Stitches", by David Small

2010-05-05T08:00:00.006+03:00

This is an article which is difficult to write. "Stitches" is a deeply stirring - disturbing, some would say - story. It's been actually five months that I've wanted to write it.David Small tells in his graphic novel "Stitches" the story of his childhood and teenage years, growing up in a destructive family environment, going through cancer and an operation to remove the tumor which left him

Le charme discret de la péninsule sinaïque

2010-05-01T07:45:00.001+03:00

Les aventures de J. S. sur les traces de Moïse R. Très chers amis, Votre très cher et néanmoins modeste correspondant, le reporter J. S. de Jérusalem, est allé pour vous visiter la péninsule sinaïque, se faire rôtir sur ses plages de sable fin, tester les différentes herbes locales, admirer les coraux encore plus locaux et gravir le Djebel Moussa sur les pas de celui qui lui a donné son

Si vous deviez élire le meilleur titre de film porno

2010-04-20T20:00:00.000+03:00

Bien sûr tout le monde connaît "Blanche fesse et les sept mains". Comment-ça non ? Puisque Marsu a donné le ton dans son billet sur les nanars, je me lance. Il est une tradition dans le monde du porno, monde qui a ses us et coutumes comme les cordonniers et les francs-maçons (si, si !), il est disais-je une tradition quasi sacrée qui veut que le titre d'un film qui se respecte soit une

Florilège OSS 117 - Rio

2010-04-19T22:55:00.004+03:00

Mon florilège, juste pour le plaisir, de ce film au mauvais goût parfois si bien (dé)placé qu'il percute à la fois sous la ceinture et au-delà du raisonnable.OSS 117 apprend que le père Noël n'existe pas :OSS 117 : Mais enfin Armand, le Général de Gaulle n'a-t-il pas dit que toute la France avait été résistante ?Armand : En effet, il l'a dit.OSS 117 : ...Armand (l'air navré) : Il l'a dit.OSS 117

Sweet and Low, A Family Story

2009-12-27T19:51:00.006+02:00

A Jewish family from Brooklyn; a charismatic grandfather who started from nothing on the Lower East Side and lifted himself out of poverty; a daughter disinherited for no reason; an author who writes bluntly about his family, at the risk of infuriating some.All this reminded me remarkably of something: my own family.In the case of Rich Cohen's family there was also a successful company, fraud and

Jesus H. Christ

2009-12-25T18:19:00.007+02:00

Dear all,First of all, for those of you who read French, I posted an article on my friend Tom's blog. The article deals with the recent revelations that the H in "Jesus H. Christ" stands for "Hussein" and how it proves that Jesus was a hidden Muslim.I want to recommend indeed the best research ever done on the subject of the H (until the recent aforementioned revelations): Tenser, said the Tensor

My top two Mac annoyances... and workarounds!

2009-12-22T17:21:00.007+02:00

Since I bought my Mac, several months ago, I've had trouble getting used to the Finder. Coming from Windows and Linux environments, I've had to learn to replace Enter by Cmd+O, Alt+Enter by Cmd+I, Backspace by Cmd+(, etc.I will get used to all this, no doubt. But two things I miss dearly. And all over the Internet, people complain about these two things: No way to cut and paste files and folders

Berlin by Night

2009-10-06T16:49:00.006+02:00

A few pictures of Berlin by night, taken with my cell phone... Hotel Berlin, Berlin, really nice:Potsdamer Platz, view 1Potsdamer Platz, view 2Near the Museum Island, on the way between the Brandenburg Gate and Alexanderplatz

Apocalypse Now: War and Madness

2009-09-08T08:44:00.010+03:00

Who is mad? Kurtz, Willard, Kilgore? All three of them? The Americans in general, probably?You may know or not know how dear is to me everything that touches Cambodia and Vietnam. A film like Apocalypse Now could only have a deep impact on me.Until last week, Apocalypse Now had been a gap in my culture. I finally dived into it - cautiously, at home, over four days, ingesting this masterpiece bite

Pascal Revisited

2009-09-05T21:27:00.002+03:00

Pascal said famously:The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothingToday, we say:The forces of affection that bind us to each other preceded the rise of the rational brain. Love's reasons have always been subcortical, though love's execution may require careful plotting.Well, that's actually a quote from a book I recommend highly, Social Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman (p. 190). The

Farewell to a Faithful Telephone

2009-09-05T20:48:00.002+03:00

After over four years of good and loyal service, my Nokia 3100 has passed away.I came to think of my Nokia 3100 as my guardian angel and I'm parting from it with difficulty.I pledged to change it only after I reached the number of 10,000 sent text messages... and I actually went beyond that, sticking to it till it stopped working completely, last week.I bought my Nokia 3100 in late 2004 or early

Do Snow Leopards Hibernate?

2009-08-31T19:57:00.004+03:00

I really wonder whether snow leopards hibernate...Apparently the answer is no. How did I get interested in this question suddenly?The story goes like this. I'll upgrade soon my Mac to OS X v10.6 a.k.a. "Snow Leopard" and I'd like it to hibernate after it's been in sleep mode for a while, a functionality absent from v10.5 a.k.a. plain "Leopard". So I type "snow leopard hibernate" in Google...What

Swearing helps withstand pain

2009-08-29T21:36:00.003+03:00

From Science & Vie, September 2009:Cursing diminishes the experience of pain and increases tolerance to it. Richard Stephens and hiscolleagues at Keele University in Great Britain have observed the behaviour and pulse of volunteers immersing an arm into water at 5 C. The result is astonishing: they could keep their arm immersed for a longer time when they were allowed to swear and curse ad

A Liberating Dream

2009-08-27T00:34:00.005+03:00

I just turned 10 and my name is Joseph. I live in Paris with my parents and sister. The environment at home is so oppressing that I still occasionally shit in my pants.I suffer especially from the meals which are taken ritually in the kitchen: they are a concentrate of coldness and stress. There are rules ranging from how to hold your fork to eating everything in your plate. The vegetables are

Revolutionary Road

2009-08-16T22:54:00.002+03:00

When a friend recommended heartily that I see "Revolutionary Road" (Sam Mendes, with Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio), I was certain it was a lighthearted romantic comedy he had pleasantly watched with his wife.The movie is set in the 50's. April and Frank are a young couple with two children. April has had enough of suburban life. Frank is bored to death by his job in a cubicle. When April

הבן שלי / Impressions

2009-08-14T21:43:00.003+03:00

The movie "HaBen Shelli" (My Son) by Jonathan Gurfinkel revolves around a father-son relationship. The father wants to see in his son the courage that he himself lacks.Avi (Danny Steg) is divorced, works in the military and is afraid to leave the military for a civilian life. His 9 year-old son, Ron, loves and admires him. There is great collusion between father and son. Soon though, Ron is

מימינו בכסף שתינו

2009-07-29T22:43:00.004+03:00

Yesterday night, when I read these verses from Eikha (the Book of Lamentations), I thought of the universality of the feeling of injustice: נַחֲלָתֵנוּ נֶהֶפְכָה לְזָרִים, בָּתֵּינוּ לְנָכְרִים....מֵימֵינוּ בְּכֶסֶף שָׁתִינוּ, עֵצֵינוּ בִּמְחִיר יָבֹאוּ.נחתלתנו נהפכה לזרים, בתינו לנכרים....מימינו בכסף שתינו, עצינו במחיר יבואו.Our inheritance (land) was turned over to foreigners, our houses to

Bulletin météorologique de l'Ordre Nouveau

2009-07-20T23:06:00.004+03:00

« L'Observatoire de Berchtesgaden communique :État du ciel :Allemagne : très couvert ; plafond bas ; de grosses formations de nuages sont observées, comprenant notamment des nimbus, des cumulus, des Mosquito, des Lancaster, des Halifax et des cirrus ; de très fortes chutes d'acier sont signalées, en particulier dans les régions de Berlin, Stettin, Mannheim, Ludwigshafen et autres centres

How to Look Like a Biker

2009-05-22T14:48:00.002+03:00

How to Look Like a Biker(www.wikihow.com)Focus on the colors: Wear as much black and red as you can. It would look good on t-shirts, bandannas, your bikes, and any other items that would be easily visible.Wear the right clothing: Leather pants, jackets, vests, gloves, all of these would look good and protect you in a crash. Get the gloves studded, and the jacket or vest with a customized logo on

Un quiz sur l'humanitaire

2009-05-22T01:15:00.003+03:00

J'ai participé au quiz de MSF sur l'humanitaire et j'ai été déclaré... "expert" !Ce n'est pas vraiment mérité mais je dois dire que je suis fier d'avoir su situer le Tchad sur la carte, de ne pas avoir inversé les dates de la famine en Ethiopie avec celle de l'épidémie de paludisme au Burundi ou d'avoir pu donner l'espérance de vie du Malawi à deux ans près...A vous de jouer : http://

Three Songs

2009-05-10T20:46:00.019+03:00

Children stories can be so revealing...Three songs or poems (the same word applies in Hebrew and I can hardly make the difference now) touched me particularly in a collection of stories for children called שרשרת זהב.They convey so beautifully the truth of the child's experience that I cannot but share them with you.שלומית כהן-אסיףכשעצוב ליאמרתי לאמא : "עצוב לי!"לך תשקה את העציצים", אמא

Narratives

2009-05-09T22:02:00.012+03:00

Reading the New York Times article Parks Fortify Israel’s Claim to Jerusalem, I was reminded of one of the disturbing things taking place here.The Israeli government, through its Nature and Parks Authority and Antiquities Authority, has contracted some of the most important areas around the Old City to a settlers association called Elad whose primary goal is to populate the "biblical" Jerusalem

Quotation

2009-05-02T13:47:00.003+03:00

I am convinced that it was my misfortune that my father was spiritually very distant from me and that even my mother had no love for me. When my oldest brother died unexpectedly (without my mother transferring her feelings from him onto me, and my father, also, remaining as reserved as ever), I resolved that one day I would show them. Now this day has come and gone. No one remembers this day but

Looking for a new bike

2009-05-01T18:20:00.006+03:00

Where have I been? What have I been doing??? Well instead of writing intelligent things on my blog, instead of running and sleeping, I've been surfing the internet for my next motorbike.I've been going through the models available in Israel and I can't make up my mind!I currently own a 2008 Joyride 125. Jolly Jumper (that's its name, after Lucky Luke's faithful mount) serves me well for my

Summer dreams?

2009-05-01T17:31:00.004+03:00

Did you hear about the fact that mosquitoes can be tricked by a source of heat and carbon dioxide which mimics the signals that it uses to locate its victim?When the first mosquito of the season came to disrupt my sleep, I was reminded of that and went out (on the Internet) looking for a trap which would attract mosquitoes more than my poor skin and restore my sleep to its main function:

The Malediction, by Rachid Mimouni

2009-03-24T00:07:00.003+02:00

Rachid Mimouni's La Malédiction is an intense and poignant tale of love and hedonism, hatred and fundamentalism, revolutions and fate.Two generations, two revolutions. The FLN and the Islamists. The ones who were "terrorists" for the French but are now the heroes of the Algerian nationalist movement. And the ones who waved the Koran to have their turn and would carry out the worst attrocities

New Website for the BrightSource Family

2009-03-16T20:59:00.002+02:00

Did I mention that Luz II changed its name and became BrightSource Industries (Israel)?BrightSource Energy, which has always been our parent company, has a new website, http://www.brightsourceenergy.com/ and you can find specific information on BrightSource Industries (Israel) at http://www.brightsourceenergy.com/bsii.The new website has a new design, more actual pictures, mainly based on our

The Spammer Was a Poet

2009-03-14T03:52:00.003+02:00

From an anonymous author:Any skyscraper can negotiate a prenuptial agreement with a self-actualized abstraction, but it takes a real rattlesnake to satiate a dolphin behind a particle accelerator. When the so-called cashier is vaporized, the earring from a tomato trades baseball cards with an umbrella. A snooty nation is childlike. A vacuum cleaner inside a corporation is temporal. A fruit cake

My Leica

2009-03-10T22:24:00.004+02:00

I haven't been able to understand fully why yet, but having my Leica with me or having a digital camera change things completely.The Leica is heavier, longer to take out of its bag, fixed focus lenses and uses film which costs time and money to develop.The digital camera is versatile, fun to use and pictures cost nothing.But overall, taking a few careful pictures with the Leica, expecting the

A voté !

2009-02-10T13:20:00.002+02:00

Today I taught the election officials in my booth to say "A voté !" (French for "Has voted") when the person puts his or her ballot in the box. It's the ritual in France and I remember fondly this moment when accompanying my mother to the elections as a kid...

Rush Limbaugh: a sense of humor?

2009-01-31T09:56:00.007+02:00

It's so unbelievable that I assume it's a joke: browsing through Rush Limbaugh's site I found out that he advertises for "Club G'itmo" (read: Guantanamo) and sells T-shirts "Club Gitmo - When America Was Safe":Orange for "club members" (an allusion to the orange jumpsuits of the prisoners)...and their friends ("My Mullah Went to Club Gitmo and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt")...But the worst is

Psychology and electricity bill

2009-01-31T09:48:00.003+02:00

In the NYTimes article Utilities Turn Their Customers Green, With Envy one can read:The district had been trying for years to prod customers into using less energy with tactics like rebates for energy-saving appliances. But the traditional approaches were not meeting the energy reduction goals set by the nonprofit utility’s board.So, in a move that has proved surprisingly effective, the district

Saying more than hi to my readers

2009-01-30T09:18:00.011+02:00

Dear blog readers,Books, movies, treks, work... There's a lot of exciting things going on these days so let's give a try at updating you.BooksI'm a Martin Winckler fan these days. I started with La maladie de Sachs (The Case of Dr Sachs) which I mentioned on this blog in my post entitled Secrets, went on to read his first novel La vacation, and most strikingly Les trois médecins, which is both a

Saying hi to my blog readers

2009-01-30T09:10:00.003+02:00

Quote of the day:Mistakes are almost always of a sacred nature. Never try to correct them. On the contrary: rationalize them, understand them thoroughly. After that, it will be possible for you to sublimate them.-- Salvador Dalí Idea of the day:Run for twenty minutes, four times a week.Book recommendation of the day:Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman

Israeli Solar Powers African Villages

2008-12-13T10:17:00.003+02:00

Well, that's the title of a post on isRealli "The new blog of Israel" which I stumbled upon.When you look into it, beautifully designed webiste and projects brochure, the association mentioned, Jewish Hearts for Africa, has two completed projects and four ongoing projects, including one of each in Uganda for a community of 130 Africans who are orthodox Jews. They seek funds for another dozen

(Un)Fair Trade

2008-11-14T09:58:00.002+02:00

Jean-Pierre Boris's excellent book "Unfair Trade: The Black Book of commodities" has been published in paperback... in French and is available in German.I thought for a minute that it had been translated in English when I saw the title "(Un)Fair Trade" but it was actually the cover of the German edition.For those reading French or German it's a fascinating book.

FoxNews on Obama

2008-11-07T09:33:00.003+02:00

I have a lot to say about this election but for the moment just a funny line.FoxNews' Marrecca Fiore writes:It's been a stressful two years for Barack Obama. He’s campaigned nonstop, day-to-day, hour-to-hour, flying to different states and sleeping in different time zones. He's also had to fight off the typical character attacks and mudslinging that hit any candidate for office.Knowing who

Secrets

2008-09-20T21:57:00.019+03:00

Philippe Grimber, Un secretI stumbled recently upon the short book by Philippe Grimbert, Un secret, which has inspired the movie by the same name. Telling his own story, with a few adaptations, the author brings us to discover the tragic family secret which was hovering over him as a child, until the age of fifteen.The narrator is a young child, born after the war in Paris, the only son to

Wars in Lebanon

2008-07-12T16:32:00.000+03:00

I have just published a post (in French, I'm afraid) on Waltz with Bashir, Ari Folman's movie on what is now referred to as the "first" Lebanon War.But it would be unfair not to write as well on the excellent movie about the "second" Lebanon War by Yariv Mozer: My First War.[I let my rice burn on the gas while I was pondering how to introduce these two movies side-by-side, the first about the "

7 am in Rotem

2008-07-12T13:00:00.004+03:00

People told me I look like a Bedouin... Behind me the solar field is still sleeping, the tower and boiler are now complete, question of days before these black panels receive hundreds of kilowatts of natural, renewable solar energy!

Valse avec Bachir

2008-07-12T12:30:00.000+03:00

Cher Blog,Je retourne à toi après un long silence. ככה אני.J'ai pensé à toutes sortes de résurrections possibles à ton égard : te remplir de mon hébreu débutant, te confier ma vie intime, te remplir de critiques de livres et de films, te dédier à l'énergie solaire, te tuer (pour te ressusciter au troisième jour sous une autre identité bien sûr).Ce soir je suis content de t'avoir. Je viens de voir

Google.org invests in BrightSource Energy!

2008-05-15T08:29:00.006+03:00

See the announcement and a picture of our Pilot Plant in the Neguev on Google Blog!Google is one of the investors of round C which was closed a few days ago.From the Press Release:BrightSource Energy, Inc. (...) has secured $115 million in additional corporate funding from its Series C round of financing, bringing the total the company has raised to date to over $160 million. Google.org's

Sustainable development

2008-05-04T22:49:00.003+03:00

Finally something reasonable in sustainable development: Lighting The Way In IndiaNotice from the article that it took: - a local engineer with both education and a vision; - a credit infrastructure (microcredit?); - labour force with some prior skills (the TV repairmen)to succeed in this project.The article doesn't mention it but two other requirements which are not present in parts of Africa or

I have at least one friend...

2008-05-02T17:12:00.002+03:00

Pessah in Hebron

2008-04-14T23:35:00.002+03:00

Contribution

2008-04-14T23:13:00.002+03:00

A friend's contribution. Location unknown (Jerusalem?)

Good sample

2008-04-14T22:56:00.003+03:00

King George St, Jerusalem, near the "Bank Hapoalim".

Largest purchase agreement of solar power ever signed!

2008-04-02T10:53:00.002+03:00

By whom? By Luz II's parent company, BrightSource Energy!1. http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8767338?source=rss2. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/01/BUA1VTCJT.DTL&feed=rss.business3. http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9907089-54.html?tag=nefd.top4. http://eastbay.bizjournals.com/eastbay/othercities/sacramento/stories/2008/03/31/story5.html?b=1206936000^1612419

Thank you for polluting!

2008-02-27T09:41:00.002+02:00

Those of you who have seen the movie Thank you for smoking (Wikipedia link) may remember a few good lines from the gifted spin doctor, Nick Naylor.But Nick Naylor is an amateur. Read the newspaper to learn the art of spin from pros! In today's IHT article "Flooded village files suit, citing corporate link to climate change":But Svec said, "Rather than unreasonably suing companies for the weather,

Jerusalem in the snow!

2008-01-30T09:45:00.000+02:00

A quotation

2008-01-29T16:26:00.000+02:00

From which movie is the following quotation?First, trust no one, whatever his uniform or rank, unless he is known to you personally. Second, anyone or anything that approaches within 200 yards of the perimeter is to be fired upon. Third, if in doubt, shoot first, and ask questions afterwards. I would sooner accept a few casualties through accident than lose the entire base and its

The Last of the Just

2008-01-25T02:16:00.000+02:00

André Schwarz-Bart's book, Le dernier des Justes (The Last of the Just, אחרון הצדיקים), received the most famous literary prize in France, the Goncourt (1959).I have a particular relationship to this book. Because of a similarity in the name, people asked me over and over "are you in the writer's family?" What is this famous book all about for so many people to try to relate me to its author, I

Jerusalem in the fog

2008-01-25T01:26:00.000+02:00

In the background, the walls of the Old City.

אז... מה?

2008-01-19T18:35:00.000+02:00

רחוב רחל אימנוRachel Imenu Street, Katamon, near my placeניות, פינת טשרניחובסקי והרצוג, קרוב למנזר המצלבהNayot, corner of Tchernichovsky and Herzog, on my way to and from work, near the Monastery of the Crossאצטדיון טדי קולק, מלחהTeddy Kollek Stadium, Malha - I like how both sides of the signboard were tagged...

Lifta, with which "eye"?

2008-01-05T22:36:00.000+02:00

I spoke about Lifta in a previous post but I realize I didn't post any of the pictures I took myself...I had with me two cameras, a digital one (Canon G9) and a film one (Leica M6). It is therefore a good occasion to compare the quality, usability and philosophy of both cameras. Should I start with the pictures or the discussion?I actually have only three pictures from the Leica for a reason I'll

Haaretz article on Solar Energy Bid

2008-01-02T10:54:00.000+02:00

Hebrew version follows.Israeli firms will not receive any preference for solar power plant By Avi Bar-EliThe tender for building a solar power plant in the Negev will not give preference to Israeli companies. The inter-ministerial tenders committee decided that foreign firms can participate in the tender without a local partner.The decision was made, among other things, to avoid the

Achievements

2007-12-28T00:50:00.000+02:00

What's next? The question always remains, I guess, by definition of our inability to predict the future.Before my future catches back with my past, I managed to get a few things done:Got my driving license for a 500cc motorbikeChose and ordered my scooterInstalled wireless internet at homeImpressive, ain't it?Number 1 took me only 8 months, an achievement. With number 2 I made all my friends

Canon G9 and a Poser

2007-12-27T23:44:00.000+02:00

Actually, in Lifta I took only a few pictures with the camera you could see me aiming on the picture. I was mostly using a new digital camera I purchased recently: Canon G9.I'm impressed by the ease of use and the quality of this compact 12 Mpx!Typical example to show the definition:And let me offer you a poser by the way: what are these two letters which can be seen everywhere on the walls, bus

Lifta

2007-12-20T21:15:00.001+02:00

Tell you a little bit about life in Jerusalem? Today in the evening the skies fell upon the city and water went running to the former valleys now occupied by roads: Emek Refaim (the valley of the ghosts), Emek Hamatsleva (the valley of the Cross), Sderot Begin (not so romantic: a large urban highway...)Most of the time, though, the weather is really pleasant, even if you live in a house without

Woaw, it's been ages!

2007-12-14T16:01:00.000+02:00

So much happened since my last post... or so little, who knows?The latest is that I finally got my driving license to drive motorbikes in Israel. Actually, I still have to go to my favorite place in Jerusalem, the licensing authority to get the license itself. I'm now considering which motorbike to buy. I wrote at one point about the model which reminded me so much of Cambodia, the Honda Innova (

Garbages

2007-11-10T15:40:00.001+02:00

Edit: For the record and upon general request, I supply a translation: "Olmert, pull education out of the garbage!"

Luz II Pilot Plant

2007-11-06T13:58:00.000+02:00

On Rotem's website: http://www.rotemi.co.il/Luz2/

After the concert

2007-11-02T12:13:00.000+02:00

Big smiles, aren't they?

Concert: Ehud Banai & Mashina

2007-11-02T12:00:00.000+02:00

Ehud Banai and Mashina in a joint performance in Caesarea, last Thursday.The performance starts with a song inspired by a Sabbath zemirah:The amphitheater is packed:Lighting and tones change, everyone runs in all directions...And no one will let them go when they finish...

The World according to Americans

2007-11-02T07:58:00.001+02:00

"The World according to Ronald Reagan", by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist David Horsey (click to zoom):(source: http://www.csc.calpoly.edu/~bfriesen/images/reaganposter.jpg)It dates from 1982+ because the Falklands War and the occupation of Beirut by Israel happened in 1982. This original which was plagiarized to give the following variation:(source: http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2006

Luz II in the news

2007-10-30T15:31:00.000+02:00

Luz II latest steps are described in Globes online...

Jordan, impressions

2007-10-18T20:06:00.001+02:00

Am I back on the blog? I hope so. Let me try to add some impressions about Jordan that I didn't have time to write in the first post.Overall it was a great experience: it felt wonderful to be in the desert, sleep the first night under a beautifully clear sky, see the remnants of a hard-to-grasp past (this I discussed in my first post), drink excellent tea prepared by bedouins, (try to) smoke the

Surprise!

2007-10-18T19:27:00.000+02:00

My photographic creativity has now no limits and my journalistic talents will not be impeded anymore, hot news will arrive on your screens with pictures within minutes of their happening! In other words, I got my Canon G9!MeMy officeAnd my boss!

Jordan, a neighbor

2007-10-06T15:49:00.000+02:00

I took the opportunity of the Sukkot holiday to visit Jordan for a couple of days and relax for an additional day in Eilat.My plan was initially to visit on my own but it turned out it was simpler to book an organized tour for my first visit. The tour, with an Israeli company called Desert Eco Tours went thus:Sunday evening: entered Jordan at Aqaba crossing, were taken to a camping site in the

What will become of this blog?

2007-09-28T22:26:00.000+02:00

Where did it come from?My first blog was called "Joseph in Cambodia", and basically that was the story: Joseph's trip there. Even though I was working, I was basically a tourist visiting a foreign country.The present blog which you're reading received the name "What's Next" when I knew that my next destination would be Israel but I didn't want to disclose it yet (as my parents didn't know my

Talpiot Industrial Area

2007-09-28T01:42:00.001+02:00

A word of explanation: The Talpiot Industrial Area is today more of a commercial area than an industrial one. Shopping malls, furniture stores, car repair, Some parcels are yet undeveloped or neglected.From Friday, a couple of hours before the sunset, till Saturday, about half an hour into the night, the place is completely deserted, all businesses closed for Sabbath. A seemingly abandoned

חופשת קיץ - My Father my Lord

2007-09-17T18:32:00.000+02:00

My Father My Lord a.k.a. Hofshat Kaits (חופשת קיץ), by David Volach. 'Profound and deeply moving...'From the Variety review (excerpts)Set in a contemporary Israeli ultra-Orthodox community, "My Father My Lord" unfolds in a self-enclosed universe blessed with fleeting epiphanies but overshadowed by immutable, incomprehensible laws.Helmer-scribe Volach knows this world from personal experience,

Green Line

2007-09-17T17:52:00.000+02:00

"After which war was the Greeen Line drawn:Independence WarSix-Day WarYom Kippur War"Yesterday night, in the 1 vs. 100 game, Israeli version.The main contestant says "It looks falsely like a tricky question, I will not fall into the pit, I will answer the obviously true answer: the Six-Day War!"I was taken aback but that was nothing until the answers of the public came up: 80% of "the mob" got it

Where maths and politics meet

2007-09-10T09:51:00.000+03:00

"Want to understand robust fits? Analyze the Florida 2000 presidential vote..."That's indeed what Mathworks, the editor of Matlab suggests in the documentation of their Curve Fitting Toolbox!

Luz II in the news

2007-09-09T16:47:00.000+03:00

I wrote so far very little about the progress we're making at Luz II, because I never know exactly what information is public and what is confidential.An article appeared last week in the Israeli business daily Globes which will give you the good news without my taking any risk... read in English (also below) or in Hebrew online.California sunshine suits Luz II solar power stationThe company has

Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks

2007-09-07T12:30:00.000+03:00

I was told that I need to go to the theater to improve my Hebrew. So I went. I realized too late that the play was the translation of a Broadway show. Indeed it was good for my Hebrew but I was disappointed not to get my usual education on the complexities of the Israeli society at the same time. "Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks" is a light comedy which is not really worth a review, at least in

Miracles of technology

2007-09-07T11:34:00.000+03:00

"Hello everybody!" A webcam made its way into my home...

A quote

2007-08-31T19:13:00.000+03:00

Grégoire Ponceludon de Malavoy in Ridicule by Patrice Leconte - after seeing his hopes of draining the swamps his peasants die in vanish after he is the victim of a cutting remark deemed "worthy of Voltaire":[Speaking to the crowd laughing at him]Children will die tomorrow...because you ridicule me today.You envy Voltaire's wit.He would have wept.He was ridiculously compassionate.Whose turn is

A wonderful place

2007-08-31T16:48:00.000+03:00

I warmly recommend the Israeli movie "A wonderful place" by Eyal Halfon (איזה מקום נפלא, by איל חלפון).It is similar in it's structure to Alejandro González Iñárritu's Babel, if you've heard about that movie: three seemingly independent stories turn out to be tied one to another. But as much as I hated Babel, I loved A wonderful place. And as much as Iñárritu used human suffering to carry

More end to the endless frustrations?

2007-08-15T06:35:00.000+03:00

One of my earlier posts asked: "The end of the frustrations?"I know that in life, when you are lucky enough to have a full stomach, you feel satisfied. When I fold my clean laundry I feel satisfaction. When I get a haircut, I feel satisfaction. But all these are just a joke that nature (God?) plays on us: hunger comes back quickly, the laundry gets dirty and the hair grows back. So what's the

Hebron - Tel Aviv

2007-08-15T06:34:00.000+03:00

Hebron. The complex situation in Hebron cannot be easily summarized. I refer you to the Wikipedia article and my previous post. The group Bnei Avraham which I already mentioned in that post is active in supporting the Palestinians whose rights are impeded upon by the colonization (i.e. the settlers as persons and the security measures of the Israeli police and army that their presence has

Vacation!

2007-08-15T05:26:00.000+03:00

Cinema. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud is the depiction of an individual destiny (that of Satrapi), from her childhood in Iran before the Revolution, to life under the Islamic regime, her first attempt at expatriation in Austria and finally her exile in France. The graphics of this animated movie and the score convey the story very efficiently and I was definitely

Les visages pâles motorisés

2007-08-05T08:50:00.000+03:00

D'après cette dépêche de l'Associated Press :Ce samedi, à la mi-journée, les visages pâles motorisés ont établi un nouveau "record": 842km de bouchons.Quel style ! Quelle inventivité ! Les "visages pâles motorisés", c'est vous, c'est nous !Comme dirait Philippe Meyer: "Je vous souhaite le bonjour, nous vivons une époque moderne."

The end of frustrations?

2007-08-01T23:33:00.001+03:00

Finding a home in Jerusalem. 961 meters from and to the Lev Smadar cinema: I am happy to announce that I signed for an apartment! I love the small house in pinkish stone, the neighborhood, Katamon, and nearby German Colony, the terrace and it's view, the quiet street with trees on my side of the apartment. I'll be sharing the apartment with a young Israeli, Liran. I think I learnt a lot in the

Learn your maps!

2007-07-28T20:21:00.000+03:00

Films. Mixed feelings and a good surprise.The way After the Wedding started, it could have been anything. I actually thought it would be a Danish "Chabrol" movie, lashing out at the bourgeoisie and their dirty secrets hidden behind the façade of respectability, with a touch of Lars von Trier and his Dogme 95 for the filming style. It turned out on that, unlike in Chabrol, all the characters were

Road number 9 opens...

2007-07-25T23:41:00.000+03:00

Who cares?I don't but all the commuters from Tel Aviv and other places in the "Merkaz" who come to work in Jerusalem do. Everyone knows that bigger roads are not a solution to congestion because it's only a matter of months or years before the new bigger roads are locked by traffic again at rush hours. But in Israel, we (?) are good at technology and infrastructures, we like building them, we

Reality is boring

2007-07-25T09:43:00.000+03:00

From my silence you might have inferred that I'm in love. Nothing's quite farther from reality... unfortunately!Films. The Golden Doors, Control and most recently Ratatouille. Since the first two were respectively good and excellent, I'll talk about the third. A bunch of clichés on France, the hackneyed parody of a character split between his ambition and his background: originality was scarce

To apologize for the last post...

2007-07-24T16:45:00.000+03:00

I wanted to post some pictures but I'm desperately short of them... I really have to get back to taking pictures, even if it requires to go digital like everyone has done long ago ;-)This one is blurred, but you can guess it's your most humble, most obedient servant, experimenting with the Dead Sea's famous mud...

I like that one too!

2007-07-24T16:25:00.000+03:00

error: request for member ‘c_str’ in ‘iter. __gnu_cxx::__normal_iterator<_Iterator, _Container>::operator* [with _Iterator = Heliostat**, _Container = std::vector >]()->Heliostat::name()’, which is of non-class type ‘const char*’

Sof sof (finally) a picture!

2007-07-14T21:46:00.000+03:00

At Ein Gedi, after a dip in the David spring (Wadi/Nahal David)... In the back, the Dead Sea.

Frustration

2007-07-09T10:15:00.000+03:00

I was on the verge of important steps which I would have wrote about of course, had they materialized:- I was supposed to get an apartment and it didn't happen- I was supposed to get my Israeli ID yesterday and it didn't happen- I was supposed to get the driving license for small motorbikes and it didn't happenThe apartment is the sore point because I was just silly and didn't focus on the search

error: invalid operands to binary ‘operator*’

2007-06-26T14:53:00.000+03:00

My life, as you know is full of fascinating events which I'm eager to share with you.Right now for example, my computer tells me:error: invalid operands of types ‘’ and ‘’ to binary ‘operator*’What do you think the problem is? Does it mean "You should really get some vacation" ?

The Surrealists... and an apartment!

2007-06-16T18:15:00.000+03:00

The Museum of Israel has an exhibition on Dada, Surrealism and Beyond. Magritte's painting Le château des Pyrénées, Man Ray's nudes and portraits (Kiki's hands), Buñuel and Dalí's Un chien andalou... An amazing universe of fantasy and dream to dive into on a Saturday afternoon.I feel better of course since I found an apartment on Friday! I actually chose only the second one I visited, but I think

Sayed Kashua, Dancing Arabs

2007-06-12T23:58:00.000+03:00

Reading Sayed Kashua's Dancing Arabs (Hebrew: ערבים רוקדים, French: Les arabes dansent aussi) is a journey into the life of an Israeli Arab who faces the contradictions which come with this status and the humiliations of being a second-class citizen.As a child, he lives in the Arab village of Tira. He was terribly unruly until an accident brought him back on a more studious path. School is a