this video was taken on 25/09 - I went to the Mechane Yehuda markets in Jerusalem where there was a special area setup to sell the etrogs (citrons), and reeds. during this time of year, huts are setup around the city restuarants and people's houses - some people live in them for the week. it's serious business choosing the citron - it's meant to be beautiful, without marks.
the Dead Sea is the lowest point on the Earth. I've been a couple of times. the first time was late afternoon so there was a beautiful sunset behind the mountains. these mountains are not far from Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.
last night I went to Tel Aviv to the MASH Bar (more alcohol served here) to watch the England versus Croatia football game with one of the guys in my department who was here for the week. there was also an Israel game on around the same time so the bars in Jerusalem were showing it instead, or showing the England vs Croatia match without sound. England lost shilesh - steim (3 to 2 to Croatia) which means they have failed to qualify for Euro 2008. apparently the coach was sacked today..
this is a video of England scoring their first goal and the crowd in the bar's response. I broke my camera so can't see what I'm shooting anymore. most of the people in the bar were England supporters apart from a few Russians who were going for Croatia (as there was also a Russia vs Andorra match on at same time - Russia won this so they were happy!). so the crowd roared when England scored!!
the children's pavillion at the Israel Museum had an exhibit on water. so this has a few parts of the exhibit plus the sculptures and fish pond outside.
the music is "Walk on Water" by Oforia on the BNE Life Is... album (Israel label)
this is Tel Aviv in the summer (at least one day of it..) - a slide show video or some of the buildings, the grafitti, beach, Mediterranean Sea, crowds on the beach, the cafe/bars on the beach. the music is Balkan Beat Box "Hermetico". the music store owner where I bought this cd said this band is really popular with the Israeli kids these days. the video is a bit long - I probably should have cut out half the photos or split it into sections but it was a nice day so I remember it more when I see the photos.
I can't pronounce the name of the street properly yet - the security guy at work had a little smirk when I said the name as he was calling me a taxi, but here's a quick look at my new apartment. I'm used to living in hotel rooms so this place is HUGE in comparison! I thought the last one felt big. I moved in this morning which took all of 5 minutes. luckily I recognised it this evening when I came home - many of the buildings look similar in Jerusalem and definitely on this street! it's near the Jerusalem Theatre and not far from Aza (Gaza) St where there's cafes etc. so more places to explore! plus now I have my OWN internet connection - I'm no longer sharing with the neighbours who like to connect internet phone boxes which cause the wireless to drop out :(
the only bad thing is that yesterday I dropped my camera on the floor - the stones are really hard here. it landed on the lcd viewfinder which smashed internally. there's no mini eye viewfinder - just the lcd screen, so I'm now shooting blind. true point and shoot ;) luckily it's still taking photos and videos or I'd really be crying!
the This Is Not Art festival is one of my favourite arts / music festivals - I try to make it along each year if I'm in Australia. it happens each year in Newcastle, north of Sydney in Australia. It comprises multiple festivals - TINA, Electrofringe, National Young Writers Festival, National Student Media Festival, Radioactive (community & student radio), and others (changes each year). At the end of the festival there's a market / zine fair. by this stage everyone is worn out from attending all the workshops, performances and nightly gigs. and the creative juices have been flowing for the past week. I didn't make it back home for this year's TINA, but this video is a quick snapshot of the 2006 zine fair - become the whale! indeed!
I don't know what it is about these mud pools but I could watch them all day. I'm mesmerised by them - the sounds, trying to guess which one will explode the highest or next. it's a mathematical problem just waiting to be solved!!
video taken @ Rotorua, New Zealand - April 14th 2007
I've been doing an online course called "The Crazy Wisdom of Philip K Dick" at Maybe Logic Academy for the past 8 weeks. the teacher is Erik Davis, a PKD scholar (amongst other topics). it's been great. each week we read parts of a book (The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch & VALIS) or watch a film (Bladerunner & A Scanner Darkly), then answer questions posted on the MLA course forums. the discussions have been great - I've learnt so much from it and have many things to keep researching. lots of different topics - religion, technology, parallel worlds, different meanings of time, gnosticism, philosophy, modern culture, and many more.. I'm sad it's over really.
I'm also doing the Technologies of Persuasion course with Douglas Rushkoff teaching - though I've fallen behind in this one. Also I've just enrolled in a self-study class of Robert Anton Wilson's (RAW) called Tales of the Tribe - so far it's about studying ideas in different literature works.
so if you're looking for a short course to do that will make you think - I highly recommend these!!
the bboys were back in Ben Yehunda mall as I was coming home from work tonight. usually I've seen them there Thursday nights (equivalent to Friday back home as the weekend is Fri-Sat here not Sat-Sun as it is back home). they were just warming up I think. trying a bit of popping & locking this time.
Jaime Olsen (REPHRASE from Sydney) is hitting Melbourne on Saturday 24th November and he is bringing his 100% LIVE show!!
Rephrase is on the road in 2007 to celebrate release of his latest and greatest album "Little Victories" plus upcoming remix compilation. After hearing the cry of excited Melbourne breakers; he's decided to pack up his sax and sequencers and synths to bring us his 100% live show. He'll be up on the big stage at Roxanne Parlour for one night only on Saturday 24th November.
|| Extra! Extra! || Rephrase is now playing 100% LIVE at his upcoming Melbourne show!!
Breaking news from Got Funk HQ ...
Jaime Olsen (REPHRASE from Sydney) is hitting Melbourne on Saturday 24th November and he is bringing his 100% LIVE show!!
this is about 3 and a half minutes of my drive to work in Jerusalem - taken this morning. most days the taxi driver takes me through the religious area. sometimes along the freeway 'begin north'. I like going through the suburbs as it's more interesting to see people on their way to work or doing their daily tasks in the morning. at night it's late and dark so it's harder to take video. I sometimes worry about filming people, but the compression and reduction in size has made the people unrecognizable, and yet enough to trigger my memory. I love the Jerusalem stone buildings (limestone I think) - there's a rule that says all the buildings in Jerusalem have to be made of Jerusalem stone. I think it helps keep it's character. the old buildings are large blocks of stones, the newer ones are just 1inch veneer and some are starting to incorporate plates of glass.
the song is "My Life" by Echotek, an Israeli artist - from the album "Life Is... Dimensions" on Israeli label BNE records. I bought a few of their releases during my last visit - great sounds!
12/11/2007
(it's just cut edited in QT pro with the raw clips and was a bumpy ride - I must go to a lot of places with potholes..)
this is a video of my friend Tim's band - Personal Space Invaders aka PSI. it was taken a couple of weekends ago at Hope and Anchor in Islington, London where they performed live. the crowd loved them!
I was standing to the side so the audio for vocals was lost a bit by my camera. :(
