Streaming Israel is a site full of short videos taken with a smart phone and qik in Israel. It's an exploration of things that are perfectly ordinary in Israel. What do the cities really look like here? What is the traffic like on Jabotinsky street in Petach Tikvah at 9 in the morning? What are people doing at the park at 8pm on a Friday?
TV Commercials -- offensive or funny?
There's a bit of a trend going on in Israeli advertising these days in which advertisers imagine what our neighbors and other folks who don't like "us" or something about their product would have to say. There are two of these commercials from Satellite TV company YES. One is of ultra orthodox men in black coats and hats singing and dancing about how terrible YES HDTV is because it allows you to sin with clearer pictures. (You know, 'cuz you shouldn't see all that stuff they have on TV...) There's another commercial in which the Iranians get all excited about destroying Israel until they realize that their war timetable is going to interfere with watching their favorite Israeli TV program.
There's another commercial for a fuel efficient Nissan that depicts Arabs cursing the car because it saves so much fuel. I've heard that this one has gotten a reaction. Someone (or ones) has launched a website .. duh-duh-duh! ... cursing Nissan because of the ad.
Ummmm... duh... "We don't do stupid stuff like cursing cars because they are fuel efficient, and I CURSE YOU for even suggesting that we would!!"
Can people just stop being caricatures of the worst of themselves for a minute? PLEASE?
Miriam Schwab at IsraelPlug suggests that someone should start an initiative called "Sense of Humor for Middle East Peace"
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Here's the commercial: |
Here's a news bit on it (forgive me that it's FOX... I couldn't find anything else): |
Now, there's one piece that all falls into place with that FOX news piece. MBC ran a story about the ad and then started a conversation about how Israelis are fueling profits with "hatred and racism". Shall we compare this to the sorts of things in Arabic TV that fuel hatred against Jews and against Israel? This commercial is a JOKE. That lovely mouse that taught Palestinian children to hate Jews and was "killed by Israelis" after getting too much international attention was NOT A JOKE. Can you see the difference?
I think Miriam is right. We need a "Regional Get a Sense Of Humor Day" here.
Luis Tarraga in Petach Tikvah
Luis Tarraga is originally from Bolivia but has lived in Israel far more years that I have. I found him playing music in the downtown area of Petach Tikvah and grabbed this video. You can find more of his music, as well as information about booking him and his partner Sigal, together known as Los Chaskis, for an event at http://www.loschaskis.com
Tourist Fluff
Today I have some videos for you that aren't mine. They are tourist fluff, sure, but they're kinda pretty. Never fear, more wonky QIK videos of the streets of Israel will be here shortly. :)
This one is from Israel-on-Blog. See also http://www.visit-tlv.co.il/
And here is a slide show with music called "beauty israel" (sic) from mahra999 on YouTube
Sunset in an Imaginary City
There is a meme on the Internet in Hebrew that Petach Tikvah doesn't really exist. It's equivalent to the Iowa doesn't exist meme in the US. This idea tickles my fancy, so I've started writing stories set in an imaginary Petach Tikvah, too.
This photo was taken on the pedestrian bridge that goes between Belinson Hospital and The Big Mall in Petach Tikvah. on 21 July 2008 with my cell phone.
Site update
The look and feel of this site (and the main AlwaysSababa site) has been bugging me for a while. It just didn't feel right. So, I did a little hunting and I found this Bluebreeze theme on Theme Garden. I like it. I need to create a nice semi-transparent star of David motif thing for the logo to replace ol' Drupalicon in the header and in the favicon spot, but other than that, this theme just sort of fits, I think.
Let me know how you like the new look.
Crowded Bus
Mobile post sent by lishevita using Utterz. Replies. mp3
Ceasaria, Israel (Roman Ruins)
The road to the Roman ruins in Ceasaria.
The aqueduct and the beach
My youngest describes the aqueduct for us.
Entering the national park in Ceasaria
Talking to my youngest at the old city of Ceasaria.(btw, this is what homeschooling "looks like" for those who wonder about such things)
Me being a smarta-- about the modern use of the ancient ampitheater. Also, I call the Mediterranean and "ocean". Yes, I always do that. I grew up next to the Pacific, and it's hard to see that much salt water and call it a "sea" instead of an "ocean". It's a cognitive jump my little brain just hasn't made.
The final video of the day. My phone battery was just about dead by this point. You can't see the roadies so well, but trust me, they were down there getting ready for a concert.
