Month: July 2011

  • Tzur Hadassah update: It’s getting crowded in here, yo.

    Boom, trach. The housing politics are exploding in Tzur Hadassah and its surroundings. To sum up, there’s been a long-time-coming plan to build 1,500 apartment units in dense buildings 7-9 floors each, located on a plot of land considered part of Mavo Beitar, right across from Tzur Hadassah. Doing this would do three negative things,…

  • Palestinian chicken can save Israel.

    Or so believes Larry David. Hey, it’s worth a shot; nothing else has worked. [h/t sabraatheart]

  • Moussa’s looking out for my children.

    Scene: In the office to sign papers, at the water fountain, filling up my water bottle with Bebe Bjorned to me, Moussa is standing at the sink washing paint off his brushes. “You bring your baby to work a lot.” “Well, I’m only here to do quick things. I haven’t been working the last few…

  • The Bezeq Parrot does Ke$ha. Of course.

    He’s done it again… Warning: May cause urge to get the F out of the country. Bezeq Parrot does Ke$ha to sell you cheap international phone rates Don’t shoot me, I’m just the deliverer. Actually, it’s a pretty good deal – 10 shekel for unlimited international land line calling. As long as the Parrot doesn’t…

  • My time at the Human Genetic Center.

    I found out a year ago that the variation of the BRCA gene, which gives women a hereditary risk for breast and ovarian cancer (on top of usual risks), was found in a tested family member. I decided after this past pregnancy to get tested. I like having information, and I don’t think I’m the…

  • That pilot is me…

    Scene: Sixt car dealership, Jerusalem. Sasson the excellent salesman is chatting away at my husband, with me listening as I inspect the silver Ford Focus in front of me. “So, what’s the difference between the Mazda 3 and Ford Focus?” “Go with the Focus, trust me. The time of the Mazda 3 reigning in Israel is…

  • Things I love: Telling it like it is to the NYTimes.

    Like this quote, from this recent New York Times article: Israel Debates Two-Day Weekends, and Its Lifestyle “People really look forward to Election Day because you get the day off and it’s not a religious holiday,” said Gil Hoffman, political correspondent for The Jerusalem Post. “The problem is that this government is so stable we…

  • Bebe update: Three months.

    Let’s share a warm welcome with Bebe, fresh out of the fourth trimester. How do I appreciate you, little one? Let me count the ways. You are delicious. Your face is actually edible; not in a creepy Twilight way, but in a way that I could take bites of you and it would never be…

  • Bed times.

    Isn’t it amazing learning about yourself through your kids’ personalities? Realizing which of your traits they’ve received? Every time I discover a new way we’re alike, I learn so much more about myself… Koala is that kid in nursery. That kid. The one who, at nap time, stays awake. Shuffles around. Looks at the ceiling…

  • I swear this just happened.

    Bebe keeps spitting out her pacifier, which drives Koala nuts. He picks it up and puts it back in. She spits it out. He runs across the room to his toys. “What are you doing?” I ask. “Tools,” he responds. He runs back over with his little blue hammer, and holds it up to Bebe’s…

  • Today’s aliyah zen.

    Truest aliyah propaganda ever. From 1971, artist Robert Aroyo, published by Israel’s Ministry of Immigration and Absorption. We don’t promise you a rose garden

  • A picture is worth… wait, what?

    Here I am, reading the latest copy of בקיצור, the biweekly Matte Yehuda ‘news’ publication. It’s got its usual collection of local fare – who’s who, what’s new, sales, sales, sales. But now, something new. I came across this ad and my first reaction was, Oh, how horrible… Yes, a picture is worth a thousand…