Jerusalem

It's early morning here in Jerusalem, but the bustle and street noise are pouring through our hostel windows on Jaffa Road. We got here on the Friday in time to go to the Wailing Wall to see the thousands of people lining up for Sabbath prayers. It was quite a sight with all the ultra-orthodox in their black suits and strange headgear. We met an American couple that evening at the Armenian Tavern, and ended up having dinner with them. Interesting folks. He works in Gaza for the UN, and commutes every weekend to their apartment in Jerusalem.

The next day we took a walking tour of the Old City, and then yesterday went to Holocaust Museum Yad Vashem. So now that we've had a couple of days of immersion in Jerusalem, we're off to the Palestinian city of Hebron. It will be an interesting contrast, I'm sure.

Israel continued

We've spent nights in Jaffa, Masada, Tiberius, Metula, and Nazareth. Tonight, we're back in Jaffa and will be heading to Jerusalem tomorrow. Here are a few first impressions:
- Israel isn't cheap. If you come here, expect to pay US-type prices
- Swarmas (sp?) are great street food! They're gyros with French bread or pita bread. I love them!
- Israel has been a friendly place. It's interesting to me that the friendliest so far are Arab Christians. I'm surprised there are so many of them.
- Israeli drivers tailgare only slightly less than Greeks.
- I didn't realize you can ski in Israel. We were at the slopes and saw the lifts!
- Israeli sunflower seeds are amazing! Spitz better look out. They have competition!
- It takes some getting used to seeing Israeli soldiers in coffee shops and malls with their guns casually slung over their shoulders.
- I didn't know that Israel grows huge amounts of bananas!

We'll spend a few days in Jerusalem and do some excursions to the Palestinian areas. Later next week, we'll probably go to Jordan for a few days.

One of these days, I'll try and do a post with photos, but so far, I'm too lazy. A good long post might have to wait till I get back

Israel

Sorry folks. It's been a while since I've done a posting, but a lot's been going on. I'll fill y'all in with a future post, but suffice to say that right now I'm in Tiberius on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, having a great time.

I get back to Seattle on November 14th.

I have a new toy

My new Kindle was delivered yesterday. Even though Barnes & Noble is coming out with an e-reader in November, and there are rumors of a Google version, I bit the bullet and bought a Kindle. I was looking at the reading material I wanted to bring along on my next travel adventure and soon realized that I'd be schlepping around with a suitcase half-full of books. I've got 10 books loaded in right now, with room for 1500 (or something equally ridiculous).

Initial good impressions:

-The screen is amazingly readable, even in bright sunlight.

-The font is easily scalable, so if I get stuck without my glasses, I can just jack up the font size.

-It has a built in dictionary that will give you the definition of a word without exiting the book and opening the dictionary.

-It has rudimentary web-surfing capabilities, and you can subscribe to newspapers or blogs.

Initial bad impressions:

-The screen is smaller than I thought it would be.

-The 5-way controller, kinda like a joystick, takes some getting used to.

-Turning a page takes just a smidgen too long to be seamless. You can turn a page in a real book faster than the Kindle loads a new one.

-The device is a bit too thin to fit comfortably in your hands.

I'll report back after I actually read a book on the thing.

Tattoos

Yikes!

Check out the 20 Worst Tattoos for Men. And if that's not enough for you, check out 20 Worst Tattoos for Women.

Hot Yoga

Imagine contorting yourself into unnatural positions for an hour and a half in a sauna. Imagine so much sweat pouring off you that you can hardly see. Or imagine the toxins fleeing your body and your muscles loosening in ways you never thought possible, all the while reaching a mental state approaching Nirvana. Which reality is it?

Daughter Caroline is becoming a member of the cult, and she convinced me to give it a try. What was the result?

I expected it to be a totally miserable experience somewhat akin to the 6th circle of Dante's hell. Or maybe the inner circle of the 7th. I expected it to be a form of torture to which no normal person would voluntarily submit.

My expectations were met, and I'm currently trying to arrange an intervention for Caroline.

Michael Moore Awards

Andrew Sullivan has been one of my favorite must-read bloggers ever since I started surfing the net a zillion years ago. He was one of the original bloggers who was doing it full time long before it was cool. He is an incredibly prodigious writer whose opinion I value, even if I don't agree with him all the time. In any case, one of his regular features is the awards he gives out regularly for particularly insightful or stupid opinions. His award for divisive, bitter and intemperate left-wing rhetoric is called the Michael Moore Award.

After watching Capitalism: A Love Story, I think Andrew Sullivan should change the name of the award. I saw no evidence of the attributes associated with the award in Michael Moore's latest film. Even though I've cringed at times like Moore's ambush interview of an obviously senile Charlton Heston in Bowling for Columbine, I've liked all his films. Michael Moore reduces his credibility whenever he goes over the top, but even when he does, the basis for his claims is essentially true. He restrained himself this time, and I saw only a hard-hitting, heart-wrenching, and sometimes funny movie. Everyone should see it.