Tel Aviv Rooftop

In our daily lives we play different people (colleague, parent, friend, competitor) and , as the number of roles increase, we stand to forget who the 'real'  me is. Purim (like all carnivals) gives us the legitimacy to stop pretending that we're not pretending and play out a role in public. A local couple showing their appreciation After several years of tension and negotiations between the bar owners of Florentin and the authorities, this year, the police and the municipality decided to cooperate: they blocked streets to the area, set an 18+ age limit and gave the annual Purim Florentin street party the freedom to play loud music all night, sell alcohol on the street and generally go crazy. There are similar street parties on New Year's Eve and Independence Day. Many people wore bunny ears. Japanese nuclear scientists was another strong theme.   Some people took to acting our their fantasies a little too vividly. For others, Purim mi...

Thanks to J for sending me this excellent and thought-provoking documentary  on what happens when the overly protected principle of intellectual property clashes with the freedom and creativity unleashed by digital culture. http://vimeo.com/8040182 Here's the blurb: "Immerse yourself in the energetic, innovative and potentially illegal world of mash-up media with RiP: A Remix Manifesto. Let web activist Brett Gaylor and musician Greg Gillis, better known as Girl Talk, serve as your digital tour guides on a probing investigation into how culture builds upon culture in the information age. Biomedical engineer turned live-performance sensation Girl Talk, has received immense commercial and critical success for his mind-blowing sample-based music. Utilizing technical expertise and a ferocious creative streak, Girl Talk repositions popular music to create a wild and edgy dialogue between artists from all genres and eras. But are his practices legal? Do his methods of frenetic...

None of these photographs of old Tel Aviv shops are of Minimarket Eden At the beginning of every month I get a text message from the local minimarket - Eden -which is spitting distance from the Rooftop. Wherever on the planet I happen to be situated, this text message will politely remind me that its time to settle my monthly tab. This is not the only technological innovation introduced by Nissim, the dynamic young manager. He started a customers club and there was also a deal (which seems to have expired) that returned your VAT if you bought for over 100 shekels. At Minimarket Eden, the shelves are well stocked with goods ranging from basic to organic, the prices are marked and the staff is helpful and friendly. It wasn't always this way. When we first moved into the neighbourhood the minimarket was run by Arnon and his wife Aliza and was much scruffier and simpler affair. Arnon's father Yosef, who was the original owner, who used to help out in the shop, was th...

  Untitled Came across +972 , an Israeli English language blog portal offering news, comment and analysis from Israel and the Palestinian Territories and written by some talented Israeli bloggers with guest writers.  Recommended for fresh views.