A Picture is Worth a Lot.

I have been lusting after a new camera for a while. I wanted one of those spiffy Nikon SLRs that do HD as well as stills, but they are well out of my price range. I have noticed that carrying a big camera around is really a pain, and I often prefer to walk around with the little Fuji J10 in my pocket rather than the bulky Canon SX10 (is that a Fuji in your pocket or are you just...) I have been less than satisfied with the pictures from the SX10, it is probably me and not the camera, but none the less I want something better.

Then tonight I read about these tiny SLRs that are hitting the market. Just check out this Sony NEX-5 Alpha featured in this New York Times article. I think this may be the camera for me. Small and nimble but great in low light. Just the thing for a budding archaeologist. Now all I need is the cash.

Number One

The army is central to life in Israel. It's not really surprising considering that males spend three years of their lives on active duty while females spend two. Then there is the endless cycle of reserve duty that keeps the chaps tuned up. So, of course, the military is often a central topic of conversation. Many of Blacksono's friends are in the army and when they get together the talk invariably moves onto army matters.

At squint central the conversations during lunch have become quite repetitive. It has got so bad that we have decide to number the various threads. The army is of course number one. So someone will just say "number one" and all the squints will nod sagely and munch on in silence. I need to teach this to bso and his friends. Just think of the number of words they can save.

A Winner Day

You know it's going to be a winner day when you come to your uncle's house and get told that you have to do the music blog. (In this family, the music blog is the hardest blog of them all.)

This video was passed around work a couple of weeks ago. I like it... I like the song, I like that the video takes place in my stomping grounds, I like that the thinga-ma-gig looks like something we could piece together with the flotsam and jetsam in the basement:

Then I saw this one by the same guy:



So after, I decided to use these videos, I went downstairs to work on my 2 guitars. There's the one that I'm ever so slowly building, and then there's the one that I play everyday. Well, everyday-player had an unfortunate run-in with the floor and, this being an unforgiving country, it got beat-up pretty badly. Blackpetero helped me with the repair and then helped me with the other guitar. I took another leap forward on that one today.

Building always makes me think of my guitar heroes and fast-ass bluegrass music:



Yee-haw people. Yee-haw.

Little Boxes

I like the painted utilities boxes all over raanana. These are near the city hall.

We are the Minority

According to the new Central Bureau of Statistics annual social survey only 42% of Israelis over the age of 20 describe themselves as being secular. 25% claim to be "not very religious traditionalists" - whatever that means. I find this very disturbing indeed. I was always under the impression that us secularists were at least a slight majority. I am starting to feel lonely in this country of madmen. I have spent the last three months listening to lectures on the Old and the New Testament, and now more than ever cannot understand how anyone can take these books as being more than (often confused) myths of morality. The more I learn about the basis of the Judea-Christian religions the less sense it makes. So as this country (and world) become more religious, I move in the complete other direction.

The article goes on to say that over 90% of non-haredi Jewish men work as do over 80% of non-haredi women (this is versus 52% of haredi men and 61% of their women). The best news is that 88% of Jews are satisfied with their lives as are 82% of Arabs (satisfaction is highest amongst haredi men). On the other hand with those sort of satisfaction figures one has to wonder about the validity of this survey - they probably only surveyed people in mental institutions.

Tel Yavne

Years ago when I was at school we were taught about a vineyard in Yavne where the Sahedrin sat and judged Israel. So I have been wanting to check out Tel Yavne for a while. I set out on my own this morning and went to have a look.

This tower can be seen clearly from route 42 as you drive past Yavne itself. I am not really sure what it is and I will have to spend more time looking it up. Google maps seems to think it's a part of a Crusader castle, but my encyclopedia points to its being part of a mosque that was built over a church. I could find no map of the site so I'm really not sure. There is restoration work being done on it and it sticks out like a sore thumb on the skyline as you drive past.
Yavne was quite the town in antiquity. According to legend, Rab Yohanan Ben Zakkai persuaded Vespasian to leave Yanve and its sages alone, after the destruction of the second temple. So it became the seat of the Sanhedrin and the origin of rabbinic Judaism (and the birthplace of the Mishnah). After the second Jewish revolt (130-135 CE) the Sanhedrin moved to the Galilee and that was the end of Yavne's claim to fame.
Apparently, Yavne has not been seriously excavated, which is strange considering its prominence in Jewish history. I see that "Foundation Stone" started a dig in 2008 and there is word on the web that Tel Yavne is going to be turned into a "Jewish theme park" in the future - heaven forbid! There are numerous walls and many, many sherds of pottery all over the place, but it seems much is still hidden in the tell.
I am not sure what this is. Is it the remains of a dome from an old house or part of a Roman building. I have no clue. When I come to sites like this, it becomes so clear to me how much I have still to learn.
This looks like a cistern. The hole is quite deep and filled with assorted junk as is much of the rest of the site.
I spotted this nice wall on one side of the tell. The stones are very nicely cut and everything is nice and square. I have no idea when its from.

So I'm sorry I could not be more help, but this site is a bit of a mystery. There have been a few salvage digs and some test pits, but I can't seem to find a single map of the site so I have no idea what I'm looking at. Still I had a great time bashing through the bush and climbing over the tell. It started to get hot and I made my way down and drove on home.

A Vision of Students Today

I spent the last two days in strategic planning for the school's technology department. I just don't get enough strategic planning at work, so I do it in my spare time as well (not). Thinking about where computing will be in 3 years (let alone 10 years) is a scary exercise and I am tired and shagged out. One of the teachers showed us this YouTube video which is certainly food for thought. What a world.

Aziza III

So the other day bwo came home only to find Aziza, the cleaner, wearing something "personal" of hers that she stretched beyond recognition. She was nearly fired. The Facebook discussion along with the 22 comments is pasted below. I know it's almost impossible to read, but if you're interested (and you should be) go look on bwo's wall to read it in its original form. I could find no way to post a link to a FB discussion so you will have to do the legwork yourself (or strain to read it below).



I called for her firing - and it's not the first time I have requested this. Bwo is a kind soul and really the only way we will be able to get rid of Aziza is by leaving the country. But, I came home today to find what is pictured below roasting in the oven. Aziza's rice stuffed red peppers in a slightly peppery sauce with zatar pitot on the side. It seems that while Azizia is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, she knows one thing. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. They are delicious.

Space Toilet

I have always been fascinated with how people use the toilet in space. My brother-in-law Yann sent me some YouTube pointers. This is very interesting stuff. It seems so complicated I've decided I'm not going to be an astronaut after all.

Edward Sharpe and The Magenetic Zeros

I am a dedicated follower of NRP's Tiny Desk Concerts. It's the interweb at its best. You get to see all sorts of musicians (I have never heard of previously) in a semi-relaxed atmosphere, but with good recording quality. My current favorite is Edward Sharp and The Magnetic Zeroes, sort of a cross between Kesey's Merry Pranksters and the Manson Family band (to quote one of the YouTube comments). I bought their album and it's currently on the top of my playlist alongside Die Antwoord (which is the complete opposite). Anyway here is their Tiny Desk set. I like it.

A Cat

A like cats. This is not one of ours, it's just one of the random cats in the neighborhood. So perfectly regal and catlike. We have lots of cats in Raanana. They fill our spring nights with song.

War is Hell!

They say wars are usually fought in summer. Well we have an ongoing war that has been fought all year round. We have a cruel and capable opponent on our northern border and they take no prisoners. I'm talking about the hummus war with Lebanon. In January, 50 hummus chefs in Abu Gosh used a satellite dish to contain what was then the world's largest plate of hummus (according to the Guinness world records people) beating out a record set a few months earlier in Lebanon.

This weekend 300 Lebanese chefs make 10,452 KG of hummus pummeling the Israeli record of a mere 4 tons. This is real war. Lebanon is upset that Israel has "stolen" their national dish. Today they are trying to set the falafel record. These are the kind of wars I can live with. Read more about it here.

Khirbet Qarta (Dustrey)

I dragged myself out of bed this morning. My 50 year old body was still recovering from partying hard. I took off for Atlit as my brand spanking new "Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land", bought for me by the squints, said there is some interesting stones in the area. True, these are mostly Crusader ruins which I don't find quite as interesting as Pre-history but it's quite close and an easy drive. I had a fine time clambering over the rocks and shrubs and communing with cows.

This is the view from the observation tower near Khirbet Qarta. This Crusader castle was built after the smaller one at Qarta, but unfortunately it's slap bang in the middle of the most secret army base and so there is no access. It looks quite composing from a distance.
This is Khirbet Qarta (or Dustrey) it's on a hill about one KM from the sea in a nice little park (if you ignore the trash and drug paraphernalia). It's build on a sandstone hill and is quite small. It was built in 1118 CE before the big castle pictured above (which was built around 1220 CE) and was a sort of police station used to deter robbers and pirates that preyed on the local traders. In fact it was built after the Crusader King Baldwin I was nearly killed here by bandits in 1102.
These are the stables which are impressively cut into the sandstone cliffs. They housed the fort's horses and you can still see the troughs they would eat out of.
I believe those holes in the side of the cliffs near the stables are for wooden ceiling beams. Although they do seem a little close together to be multiple story so I'm not sure.
This is the cistern at the top of the hill which is where the small courtyard of the fort is situated. There are quite steep walls surrounding the top on all sides.
This is the fort from one corner.
This is another corner. Quite an imposing structure and built to last.
The whole family was sleeping so I was all alone except for my friends the cows. They certainly checked me out. There is a really nice nature trail around the fort and when I came back home I found this pdf file of the free info booklet (in Hebrew) they promised to have in the little box near the beginning of the trail. Except that all there was in box was a frightened lizard, some empty cigarette boxes and a crushed maccabi beer can.

1 Foot in the Grave

If you judge a party on how long it takes to recover, this one was a killer. I am finally getting back on my feet. Yesterday I was a total wreck and could hardly move. Things I remember from the party.

• Lots of people actually brought chips. Thanks, I now have enough chips to last me a good few months.
  
• Most people wore black and those that did not felt bad. It made it hard to point people out though ("see that guy over there, the one in black!").
  
• Rami does a mean speech as does cousin Avril.
  
• It's matzeget not mishkefet, fool!
  
• There were enough french fries.
  
• Shirley can dance.
  
• The squints can party.
  
• The Hevreh are special and I'm very lucky to have them.
  
• Bwo spent 3 hours (seriously) trapped in the nail place and thus could only go shower as the party started.
  
• Two huge kegs of beer, but only one working tap. So much to blacknephewo's surprise and shock we ended the party with one full keg.
  
• Just because I'm 50 does not mean I like music from the 50s. Luckily this was quickly fixed.
  
• As with all good parties, someone had be carried out. This time it was on Ravid's shoulders.
  
• Wisely, no one was thrown in the pool. Dana swam willingly.
  
• Martin's onion soup was better.
  
• For the first time in probably 30 years the four class of '77 in Israel, were together.
  
• Jo's father probably drank more than anyone else.
  
• Barry's house rules for parties.
  
• I got really good presents. Especially the walking stick.
  
• The gravestone cake with 50 candles was 100%. And Alona's chocolate and Viv's cheese cakes were consumed in seconds.
  
• 200 chickens gave their right arms to party with us.
  
• Thanks all of you. I'm a lucky, lucky bastard.
  

Brian and Irit's pictures can be seen here.
The "blackpetero hevreh video" Is now available on YouTube. Thanks again Brian and Irit and the hevreh (I like it with an H at the end).

Feel free to leave your one line comments.

Faster Than The Speed of Chrome

Now that I'm fast approaching my half century I've been giving serious thought to what I want to be when I grow up. I love these Rube Goldberg machines they seem to be building for commercials lately. If this computer thing doesn't work out maybe I can get a job making these cool setups. Check out this video Yuval pointed me to.

Die Antwoord

I follow my South-African friends in LA through facebook. They are way more in touch with what is happening out there than I am. It sometimes feels like I'm stuck somewhere between the mesolithic and neolithic. Anyway I have been hearing more and more about "Die Antwoord" ("The Answer" in Afrikaans) and so I spent some time last week listening and reading. A strange bunch I must say, but very cool. Check out their website. It's quite something. This is the "official" video for "Enter The Ninja". There is some good stuff coming out of Africa (and not just the World Cup).

The Numbers

Raanana is very proud of it's numbered traffic lights. Ahuza is a long street with many side streets and traffic lights. A few years back someone had the good idea of numbering these, so if you are coming to visit, just turn at traffic light number 13 or 14 and you're sure to find us. Overall a good idea considering that the streets have different names each side of Ahuza.

Lag BaOmer

Lag BaOmer is my least favorite holiday around here. It just encourages wanton destruction of property and the environment. For weeks all the kids in the neighborhood sneak around stealing and hoarding wood, all of which is imported into this country. The bonfires were a little smaller this year and the pall of smoke seemed a little less horrendous. Maybe the little rain we had during the night cleared the air (see even god does not like Lag BaOmer), or maybe the locals are becoming more aware of the environment - Nahhh never.

Nahal Hadera V

I have only three photos this week, as the site, while interesting, was hard to photograph. I read about Nahal Hadera V in a book that I will talk more about next week. It's a small but (I found it) interesting site near Hefsiba and Hadera. The site was excavated seriously by TA university in the late 90s and is attributed to the Kebaran culture from something like 22500-17000 (yes thousand) years ago. This was around the end of the last ice age. I found an approximate pointer to the site and set out on my own this morning. I wandered around in the bush and found nothing. As I was about to leave disappointed, I saw the corrugated iron covering so popular around here for protecting sites. Score.

This is the view from the site. The Hadera power station looks like a Pink Floyd album cover, all it needs is the flying pig.

There was one side of a pit exposed. You can see the enormous amount of flint sticking out of the section (all those white stone like things). That's completely cool. Of course, I never touched the section, you have to leave it for some future archaeologist to work on. There was plenty of flint laying on the path that led to where I parked my car. Funny I never noticed any on the way in looking for the site, once I found the site I saw flint everywhere.

This is what the pit looks like. Quite sad actually. I am sure people come in all the time and look for nice lithic artefacts. It's amazing that the site is so old. They also did a archaeozoological study on the faunal remains at the site and found that the two most popular species were mountain gazelles and fallow deer. The book says it was quite a big site by paleolithic standards (at least 500 sq. M).

I spent a while looking at the lithics in the sections and just enjoyed having found the site. I suppose the sea must have been a way off in those days, just as the ice age was ending. I wonder where they got the raw flint to make their tools from. I did not see much in the way of rocks around. Hmmm, I suppose I should do more reading.

Very cool indeed.