THE BRAVE NEW LAND

Surfs up! Well, it was anyways. We had a few days of really fun little waves at Kibbutz Nachsholim (web cam at http://www.nahsholim.org.il/Site/Templates/homePage.asp ) and Moshav Dor but for a week now it has been quiet and flat. I found a site to check the wave report from a surf shop in Haifa ( http://www.point-break.org/waves.php ) and it keeps lying that there will be waves and when the time comes… nothing. We went to buy Josh a board at the surf shop because he rode mine one day and loved it. We actually went to buy a Morey Doyle (big soft surf board) but ended up getting what my friend Shelly from Nachsholim called a fish. I think it will be a good learning board for Josh and since he wants to learn, so be it. (Stories of Josh learning to snow board are now spinning out of control in my head! – you know, crying, temper tantrums, anything he can do to get the attention of some pretty girl that thinks he is hurt on the side of the run, running away in the parking lot on a pe...

This piece, I believe, is destined for the ‘back pocket philosophy’ section of the Blog. Sorry if it is a bit boring, I just needed to write something about it to get my thoughts out and actually, I wrote it quite a while ago, but was waiting for… I don’t know what… maybe just a cool little intro like this one, ha ha… I have been thinking a lot about communication. I work and live in an environment in which it is a constant struggle to do this. I find myself on a daily basis wondering when we communicate if the meanings and the understandings are the same. At work when everyone is speaking in German, I just stand there, trying to get the gist of it all. Sometimes I catch myself feeling like I do understand. I wonder if this is because we humans are social creatures and deep down we all want to be included in our surroundings, or do I really understand a little from things like voice intonation, and body or sign language. Maybe it is a combination of things or I just hear what I want to...

Not much to report today. Had a great couple of runs on the skate ramp after work last night, cleaned the house this morning for Shabbat, did some work on the adventure/sci-fi book i am writing (teaser text below), and today will meet some friends for afternoon tea and crumpets, go to Shule, maybe go surfing tommorow, and that is about it. Shabbat Shalom kulam, and enjoy the text... "The room went silent which, when the loud crash from behind Dudoo occurred, made everyone jump and look towards the direction of the noise. Fran was there, in the room, and had heard and seen everything. She was creeping towards the group when she knocked over a pile of bow-staffs and some other martial arts equipment that had been leaning against the wall in the dark of the entrance. She stepped into the room, with eyes gleaming red, and began to smile… no, more like grin and as this grin spread across her pointed face, it seemed to continue into a gaping sharp toothed grimace as her face began to st...

Tu’B’Av or to be Guroodle, that is another question altogether! Tu’B’Av is a day in Israel that is a lot like Valentines Day in the States. A few years ago, Adele and I decided not to celebrate Saint Valentines Day because we are Jewish. This was great for me! I didn’t have to worry any more about hearts or flowers, about candy or jewelry! I could just treat it like any other day and just ignore the massive onslaught of guilt and marketing coming from every public source imaginable. Life was a little easier, a little simpler. Then, about a year or two before we moved to Ha Aretz, I learned of the existence of a Jewish holiday that is about celebrating love. Oy Va Voy, I guess I don’t get off that easy, do I? So, in typical male fashion, I ignored it. I ignored it in the States, and then when I moved to Israel, I ignored it some more. I had lots of good reasons like the Milchemet Lebenon Shniah, (The Second Lebanon War) that we landed right in the middle of. I was busy with Ulpan (Langu...