A formal apology and a few excuses...

Yeah, I know. Alright already, I get it. Back off man!

Sure, its been a while, but I haven't forgotten about you, I promise. I've just been busy, tied up, you know how it is. One minute you're here, the next you're in Jerusalem, never quite sure which way is up. But don't worry, I still care about you. I won't leave you hanging again. Trust me.

A quick overview to bring you up to speed:
Last you heard, I was all torn up over losing my camera. Truth be told, I was less upset about the physical camera than I was about being an idiot to let it happen. That said, I really miss my camera. I've been trying to do a lot of research on other cameras before I buy a new one because mine didn't take such great pics in low light but I think I discovered the secret. Practically no compact digital camera in my price range takes decent pictures in low light. I think I'll just be replacing the old one with a new one. Hopefully soon because when you don't have a camera you become keenly aware of all of the photo opportunities that present themselves daily.

A quick list of such missed opportunites:
1) Our first weekend away travelling we went to Tiberias to visit a friend, Israela. Israela took us on a fantastic trip around the Kinneret, better known as the Sea of Gallilee. We drove from the very bottom and made a huge loop, venturing up near the top of Israel near the Lebanon border, and returning to Tiberias on the other side of the Kinneret. It was quite a beautiful trip, punctuated by a delicious stop in a Druze village for sweet flaky pastries. Approximate number of photo opportunities lost: countless.

2) The following weekend we made our way down to Tel Aviv, a great city on the water. Staying in the worst hostel you can imagine, Gillian and I spent a pleasant weekend in the rain, shopping, eating international cuisine (Gillian's first sushi in months), and visiting with my parents' oldest friends in Israel. It had been ten years since I'd last seen them and we had the pleasure of meeting their sons and their families. An excellent time was had by all. Again, many photos were not taken, but thanks to Josh Perlman, who was kind enough to give Gillian his only-manual, 35mm camera for her trip to France, a few analog shots were snapped. After development perhaps I can find a scanner somewhere on campus...

3) This past weekend we took it upon ourselves to travel to Jerusalem where we stayed with other friends of my parents. Perhaps sometime in the future I'll go into further detail on these people and others that I have connection to here in Israel. For now, in the name of brevity and mercy, I'm only highlighting events, for your sake and my own. Anyhow, we took a ridiculous tour of Jerusalem on a bus with first-timers, kindly arranged by our hostess. Rushed through the Holocaust museum in 45 minutes, provided a passing glance at the Western Wall and sped through several Stations of the Cross in the Old City only to be locked inside a tacky souvenir shop was not the best introduction the the world's holiest city, but if nothing else it showed us where stuff was. The next day we returned to the Old City, exploring the shops and haggling with the store owners. We also stopped by the Israel Museum and explored the archaeology exhibit. That was kinda neat. Again, 35mm to the rescue, but a manual camera is cumbersome and many pics were ruled out cause it was just too much of a pain in the ass to figure out proper exposure.

I know I've glazed over a lot, but as with a donut, if you're gonna use glaze, pour it on thick. God I miss Krispy Kreme. Here's a list of other stuff I should have written about at the time but failed miserably to do so:
— Party @ Eli's (Cool guy we met on campus)
— Dinner at the conservative rabbi's house on Shabbat
— Renting a car (yes it is very expensive but it's been well worth it so far)
— Receiving packages from home (apparently, cheese doesn't go bad when shipped overseas. neither do Doritos)
— Food has been interesting and wonderful (a post focusing on this topic is sure to follow sometime soon)
— Our Hebrew tutor Ash (nice guy, details will follow soon as well)
— Cats (not the musical. Gillian and I have come to believe that feral cats are Israel's equivolent to our Squirrel. Therefore, we have decided to deem all Israeli cats as "Squattrels". Seriously, they are everywhere.

OK, so for the most part I think you're up to speed. Of course, this time of year requires me to mention something about how we're missing out on Christmas back at home, being in the land of the Jews and all. Honestly, I can't say I miss all of the fan fare that much. Some peace and quiet this year instead of the usual call for consumerism is a welcome change of pace. Although, our prospective New Year's celebration isn't panning out to be so interesting, so I think we both kind of miss that a little. Since everyone here celebrated the new year back in September, there is no falling ball of light to tune into here in the holy land. Oh well.

Again, I'm sorry for the month-long delay. I'll try not to let so much time pass before the next post. You folks deserve better and frankly, if I don't write down what I'm doing here I'll probably forget. As is I can't remember whether I had felafel or shwarma for lunch.

Lots of love...

When Good News Is Bad News...

I know you're expecting an update on what we're up to in Israel and I promise one is on its way, but on occasion the need will strike me to write about something other than myself. Shocking, I know.

Although overseas I have still made it a point to keep abreast of current events at home. For the past few days I have followed a story about a government that pays off journalists and strategically places propaganda in the form of ads and news articles in the news outlets of another country it is attempting to democratize. Perhaps you've heard of the story and I'm not telling you anything you didn't already know. On the other hand, perhaps you had no idea that the American government was undermining its own credibility and moral code of ethics, meanwhile embarassing every college journalism program around the country.

I believe it to be reprehensible when our own government resorts to fascist tactics to control the message of the media for its own gain. I believe it to be unforgivable when our own government bribes journalists, at home and abroad, to shill for its policies and undermine the institution of a free press. The very concept of a free press gives it the ability and some would say the responsibility to report acurately on current events and the people or groups involved. No journalist or news outlet should be beholden to any point of view other than their own.

I urge you to read into this story and seek out as much as you can about it. In my opinion it is a perfect example of all the issues building between Americans and our own government, not to mention the pathetic and reckless ways we're interacting with the people and governments of other countries.

I've included links below. Hope they let me back in the country when it comes time to go home in May...

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/03/politics/03propaganda.html

http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/D8E89HJG0.html

http://alternet.org/mediaculture/29151/