June 2007 - David Peretz CD at the stores

Remember I told you about my friend David, who is realising hid CD soon? click on thetitle and watch the trailer. its good. and its him

Finally.
At me new flat. thanks to H the intenet is working.
A lot is happening, will share with you later.

Can you, one of my five readers, remind me to say NO to new jobs, lectures to give, voulnteering options? Can someone remind me I am allowed to have an evening in, a relaxed week, a quite Shabbat?
I forgot how to do that myself. thanks

Bright Eyes

My friend D did a big Mitzvah yesterday - he introduced the music of Bright Eyes to me. Its unbelievably good. It is a must. Click on the title and discover them too.

My new flat is lovely. The first thing I took out of the boxes were me books. this time they are sorted by language (separate bookcases), and type not in alphabatic order, I am not OCD, you see.

The strike is on its fourth week. The seamster might be cancelled. The student might go on a hunger strike.
Olmert is still not talking with them.
Nice.

The movers are here. Packing, chatting to each other in Russian. I forgot most of my Russian, but I can still follow the conversation. they think I have to many books. I wonder what they will think about my shoes.

Thanks to Limmud had a chat with a very important Israeli author this morning. I love discovering the small personal stories behind all of those big names. He hates flying. He is not the only one, surely. he is hust more real to me now. Not just a nice printed name under a book title.

I am studing few of his works at uni, I can ask him now exactly what he meant. (not)

I am doing some piece of work for the Shlichut Training, co-ordinating the get to know the UK track. Last night we had JL, talking about the History of the Jewish Community and Identity. I had with me a copy of the JC with the top 35 influenctial people in the Community. J made a clever point. Last year the JC had the to 50 list -Why are the doing this again?
(Lets put aside the British passion to surveys and making lists), his argument it : The person who was nominated last year as the most important Jew wasn`t the one they hoped to. Which means - After Rabbi Louis Jacobs being declared as the most important Jew the JC had to make another list and put the Chief Rabbi at the top.
Its an interesting argument. not sure how accurate it is, but it does reflect the identity crisis the community is at.

Must admit I was pleased to see the I personally know three people from the list, Six degrees of separation and all of that.
(No, I didn`t count Borat)

Be`er Sheva, The air is dry and warm, light wind comes and calms the sand. Summer in the desert.

I have no Internet connection at my computer at home, I don't blog from work, so now instead of reading/writing about Masculinity I blog, not a wise use of my uni hours, I know.

updates:
1. I am moving on Friday, very excited. not sure how on earth they will get my book case into the lift.

2. Shabbat situation - its getting better. Sometime defining the problem is the path to the solution.

3. Last night did some shopping in the mall here in Be`er Sheva and thought to myself that if I go to malls it better be here not at Jtown, as here down south they need my money is more needed then in the centre of Israel. Not sure I can commit to that but its worth trying.

4. The Israeli blog sphere is all rambling about outing. few weeks ago Gal Uchouvski outed few popluar singers in his column in the Tel Aviv Time Out. I find the discussion about the authenticity of an artist fascinating - should we expect the to be honest? How come we are fine when politicians lie to us, but we are angry when a rock star misleads us when she sings?

5. Olmart should resign, Now. Finally after three years I can openly discuss Israeli politics. go to haaretz.com and read the report about the war in Lebanon.

6. Good things are happening to good people. It makes me happy.

Zeek

Its intersteing. Its geeky. Its cool. Its Jewish.
It is a Jewish Journal of Thought and Culture.
and its really good. Click the title and discover new things.

Few of you asked me why I haven't mentioned Yom Hazikaron or Yom Haatzmaut here.
I wrote a whole piece about my family, collective memory and the week between Yom Hashoah and yom Haatzmaut. But I couldn't post it.
I guess it was too personal, I guess I need some distance from my thoughts.
Remind me to do so in few months.
thanks

The student strike is getting a bit out of control here, I am afraid.
Its the fourth week, no one is willing to negotiate, 10 students were hurt in a violent demonstration yesterday in Tel Aviv.
There are rumors about canceling the semester, about making it a month longer into the summer.
Its a funny thing a students strike - you are paying money just for not going to university.
Just like the gym.

After a year of blogging I decided to become more academic about it, and now I am using Google Analytics.
So, Last week I had 20% new readers, one from Madras India. I also have one reader from Bristol. On the 18th of April I had a reader from Harbin, China. Cool.
Its a great tool shame I don't understand the lingo. If only they would have told me at school, that one day I will need statistics for my writing , I might have put some more effort.
Back in the 90`s I couldn`t see the point of all those numbers running around me like headless chickens.

My mug has been mugged.
Cannot be found anywhere at work. Shame. Its a Little Britain mug. With Andy and Lou.
What a kaffuffele.

Ross Geller knows where I work!

So I heard about the West Wing mentioning Kiriat Moriah - the educational campus of the Jewish Agency - where I work. I thought its an urban myth. But no - Its real, and its on Friends.

Thanks to M for sending it to me.
I think its a past Machonik. Any better ideas out there?

Facebook madness.
I was just asked to confirm that my brother IS my brother.

The Music of David Peretz

David Peretz ia a close friend of mine, we meet at uni. As a native Beer Sheavatte he showed me some of the city`s secrets. He is a musician, and if you click on the title you can hear his single. Its good. very good. Enjoy

Tomorrow night I will read my poetry at the annual confrence my department is having.

Neighbours - the Israeli version

I am moving to a new flat. New to me. I met with the flat owners, this guy and his mother. We had a nice chat, discovering we are the same age. While playing Jewish geography we realized we went to the same school for a year. His mother was very excited, she told me that she also went to this school, on her days they had this legendary head teacher, who influenced her, and a lot of the students in a very deep way. The school in the early 1950`s had many students that were refugees from the Jewish Quarter or new immigrants living in the Maabarot.Her name was and is Shoshana Raziel. Shoshana saw them as her own children, it was her life mission and responsibility to ensure the education they receive will open the doors to Israeli society. Thanks to Shoshana she is a teacher herself. This great headteacher is my great aunt Shoshana. tears of excitement. the conversation goes on, they ask me how exactly I am a relative of Shoshana. I explain, The mother cannot believe. Her parents were my other aunt`s neighbours for many years.
So the families go together for more then 50 years. Once a neighbour, always a neighbour.

(I am moving in two weeks, its off Emek Refaim, by myself)