jerusalem

news slices in the snow (85sec version)

news slices in the snow (85sec version) : I made this last feb, 06/02/2008 after I'd heard about the terrorist attack in Israel. I'd read many of the online stories about it, so in this video some screenshots of the news stories / websites are cut-up and sliced and rotated in 3D (to represent the multiple levels and perspectives wrt the region & it's problems) on the screen whilst in the background, snow is falling to cool things down whilst steam is rising. the soundtrack has the sample 'over & over' as I was wondering when it (conflict in this region) would ever end. part way through the news slices started looking like a folded paper bird - let's hope it's a bird that brings peace to da middle east!! (as my friend Angus used to say)

it seems it might be apt for this year too. I've been following the recent stories regarding Israel & Gaza listed @ www.aliak.com/content/summer-holidays

this isn't the original version - it's a new version of the first 1min 25sec so it'll play here on flickr (since they have a 90sec video limit)

06/02/2008 original version @ www.aliak.com/content/news-slices-snow
09/01/2008

filename=20080206_news_slices_in_snow130-exp.mov

made in isadora

I haven't felt like making a new video yet. maybe I need to stop reading the news / info sites

this is a video from a couple of clips taken in May 2008 when I was in Jerusalem. there's usually a break circle most Thursday nights and other nights in warmer months. usually there's quite a crowd. it's hard to get a good shot!

Jerusalem break circle @ Ben Yehuda from kath on Vimeo

VloMo08 - day 6

http://blip.tv/file/1437796

http://vimeo.com/2170390

blog entry = http://www.aliak.com/content/vlomo08-day6-jerusalem-break-circle-ben-yehuda

view other people's videos @ http://mefeedia.com/channels/vlomo08 & http://vimeo.com/groups/vlomo

my quick review of Homesick - by Eshkol Nevo

I bought this book as I was looking for a book in English (as I can't read Hebrew) about every day people living in Israel since I've been visiting Israel. I wanted to get more of a feel for the people and their lives. plus I've been feeling homesick for my own country and home. many of the places and things mentioned in the book were very familiar to me since my stay here and the characters seem like friends now. at first I found it hard to work out who was speaking as all the characters say "I" - they are each telling their own story in first person throughout the book. once I got used to this the characters grew on me. I loved the simple details mentioned in the book about everyday life and I have a mental picture about them living their lives now. I'll be keeping an eye out for more books by the author as I really enjoyed this one and recommend it to anyone who would like to read about life in Israel (ie not the media-portrayed view of Israel)

a friend asked me how I like israel and if I keep up with the politics there. I haven't written much about my stay here apart from some notes & thoughts in my notepads, so this is just a quick reply to remember / trigger some memories. (scattered / stream of consciousness thoughts warning! some things might need fact checking too - I'd have to look up old notes)

and this is a link to 'most of the hebrew that I know list on live-vicariously-through-joni blog I came across whilst searching for the spelling of ta'im (tasty) the other night. this list is more words than I know, but I do know quite a few of them!

today was Memorial day where the fallen people of Israel are remembered. there was a nation-wide siren last night at 8pm but I was still at work so missed it. today was a public holiday, as is tomorrow for Independence Day - the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel. at 11am this morning there was another siren. I left the apartment with about 1 minute to spare. the guy from upstairs ran down the stairwell just in front of me. he made it out the gate then the siren started. I was still in the front yard and I didn't want to move once it had started but I took a video from behind the green gate. the man from the laundromat was standing near his motorbike. another man stood by the car he was unpacking. a man stood on his balcony across the street - head bowed. another man put his grocery bags down and stood by them on the footpath across the road. the cars stopped. it was silent except for the ringing of the siren which could be heard across the city. this is the first siren I've heard throughout the city. afterwards, the siren wound down and stopped then daily life continued on.

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Israel National News Memorial Day 5768 (2008) Honors Israel's Fallen

"The Defense Ministry reports the number of fallen in the Jews' war for the Land of Israel since 1860 as 22,437. This number includes soldiers - not civilians - who fell since 1948, as well as all Jews killed between 1860 and 1948 in the struggle for the Land. The total number is 132 higher than last year, including 31 who were murdered or fell in battle since last year's Memorial Day, as well as others who died of their wounds or were recognized as IDF war casualties this year."

"The year 1860 was chosen because it was then that Jews began to move outside Jerusalem's Old City walls and build new neighborhoods there."

...

History of Israel's Fallen
"The 1948-49 War of Independence was Israel's costliest war, with more than 6,000 dead - one percent of the Jewish population at the time - and 15,000 wounded."

"During the ensuing seven years of relative quiet, 101 Israelis were killed in "1,339 cases of armed clashes with Egyptian armed forces, 435 cases of incursion from Egyptian-controlled territory, and 172 cases of sabotage perpetrated by Egyptian military units and fedayeen [terrorists] in Israel. So said Israel's Ambassador to the UN Abba Eban to the UN Security Council on October 30, 1956 - the day after Israel began the Sinai Campaign in response to Egypt's violation of international agreements by blockading the Israeli port of Eilat. A total of 231 Israeli soldiers died in the eight days of fighting."

"The Six-Day War broke out on June 5, 1967. Along with the stunning victories, over 770 Israelis were killed."

some sites with news of Israel

http://jerusalempost.com : Jerusalem Post - this is the online version of the Jerusalem Post newspaper

http://www.jerusalem-times.net - The Jerusalem Times - this is based in East Jerusalem and has Palestinian & Arabic news, though their website is often hacked so there's not much to read there

http://www.sderotmedia.com - Sderot Media - news and info about the city of Sderot which is targeted regularly and constantly by missiles from Gaza. myth busting site - here you can see that Israel actually helps Gaza residents and counter arguments against the propaganda that the media portray about the area.
articles with people living in Sderot

http://www.israelnationalradio.com - English radio documentaries and programs

http://www.israelnationalnews.com - Arutz Sheva - Israeli news site. you can receive daily email summaries of articles

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articles

most of the cafes and taxis here in Jerusalem listen to Galatz Radio - this is the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) station. army service is a part of everyone's life here in Israel with teenagers having to serve after they finish high school. they have a Hebrew news services & play popular Israeli and International music.

another station I've listened to online is Israel National Radio as some of the shows are in English. they have interviews and music programs and also Jewish specific programs so it's interesting to listen. I listened to some programs after the Yeshiva was attacked by the terrorist. and today being Memorial Day, there's a special program of songs that every Israeli knows. another program has an interview with local Israeli trance artists ITP - Individual Thought Patterns

of course there's also Voice of Peace Radio which used to broadcast from a ship in the Mediterranean Sea off Tel Aviv. VOP was very popular with the Israeli people and peace protester Abie Nathan was it's main stalwart. this was the first Israeli pirate radio station broadcasting from 1973 to 1993. it's since closed down, though I read they might start it up again one day - not sure if this has happened. they had a reunion in 2006, and a double album tribute cd was released in 2007.

so I don't forget ... here's the events coming up at Uganda & Sira. I went to Music House today and bought some more Israeli / Jerusalem based music. the guy in the store told me about Uganda and Sira, a couple of places in Jerusalem where you can see / hear live electronic & experimental music.

Uganda myspace page

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Sira events :

right click to download the audio mp3 file

a sound walk through the old city of jerusalem

today I went to the western wall and left a note in the wall with my friend Angus' (RIP) name (this is what the Jewish people do - it's their holiest place being the last remnant of the Temple which was destroyed a couple of times) and then went to the Church of Holy Sepulchre (built over the spot where Jesus died so a holy spot for Christians) and lit some candles for him. and I went to Dome of Rock, one of the holiest places for Islam but because it's friday only Moslems are allowed in so I took a photo at the door. (this is the closest I've been able to get to Dome of the Rock - it's always closed when I go). I recorded video whilst walking but the camera was by my leg so most of it is of my legs walking on the stones, so I've extracted the audio. I felt so bad that I couldn't get home to Brisbane in time for his funeral. I've been thinking about him non-stop so I wanted to remember him and leave something for him in Jerusalem. if there is a God and he is close to this spot then I wanted to make sure he was looking out for Angus. I thought of other people close to me who'd passed away too, and lit candles for them too in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on my next visit. this walk was for Angus.

I always get a bit lost in the Old City. the market lanes and labyrinth starts looking the same and I often can't see above to get a sense of direction. so I tend to always go to the Wall first, then work my way in from there. today was the first time I found the quickest route to the Dome of the Rock - which is quite obvious in hindsight but I've always missed it and walked past. not knowing how to read Arabic has been part of the reason on other visits. the Christian quarter area is less marked too. some of the streets have recognisable names but I seem to miss the signs to the Church. today I was determined though and I had less offers from market stall owners to visit their shops. I went in the afternoon when most would be closing up soon. I was thinking of my friend the whole way, sometimes getting a bit teary.

the sound was recorded on a Nokia N95 8Gb phone - it was recorded along with video and I extracted the audio only later. I've left my mini-disc, microcassete recorder and microphone back home in Australia now so I carry less gadgets. I wondered how much disk space would be used up but it was less than 2Gb and I still have plenty left.

here's a flickr slideshow of the photos from the walk :
photos only

15/02/2008

it snowed in Jerusalem for a couple of days. the first day many of the roads were closed. the stores close - the city shuts down. my workplace was closed for both days (so a long weekend for some!). the second day by mid morning the sun was out and sky was blue.

snow in the middle east! lots of fun!

the music is "Snow" by Severed Heads off the Gigapus album
http://www.sevcom.com/

30-31/01/2008, jerusalem, israel

http://blip.tv/file/get/AliaK-jerusalemSnow649.flv
http://blip.tv/file/get/AliaK-jerusalemSnow649.mp4
http://blip.tv/file/651524