Month: June 2013

  • Fifty-Two Frames: HDR/Contrast

    It’s fair to say I don’t fully understand contrast in photography and didn’t really ‘get’ this week’s theme. The series of photos I actually worked on didn’t seem like contrast to me. But neither does this. Week 26: HDR/Contrast Here and there.  

  • It’s a bird! It’s a plane! Yeah, it’s a plane.

    Universe, if you know how liable I am to get distracted, why would you send low-flying planes buzzing past my window, across the street from my house… for two hours?! First, I was all, go go go WARPLANE! Then I was all, go go go FIREPLANE! Finally, I concluded, it’s really probably just go go…

  • And we’ll have the rest of the talk in about 8 years

    Let today be marked as the day my 2-year-old daughter discovered… armpit hair. Dozing in bed together, Bebe’s head nestled into my side, she’s stroking her fingers against my inner arm. Suddenly, she lifts her head up, eyes wide. “Ima! Ima… Ima… what’s this?” I stir and look over at where she’s staring. “Huh?” “Ima’s arm?!’…

  • Fifty-Two Frames: Heights

    Week 25: Heights What are we keeping out?

  • #tomorrow13: The missing demographic; the outsiders left further out

    #tomorrow13: The missing demographic; the outsiders left further out

    From the first couple hours I spent at the Israeli Presidential Conference on Wednesday, throughout the end of my attendance today, I had a nagging thought I couldn’t shake. Someone was missing. I had the same thought last year, when it was awkwardly clear there were barely any women speaking (though the ones who did…

  • #tomorrow13: Dan Ariely on online dating & the ideal BMI to snag a man

    #tomorrow13: Dan Ariely on online dating & the ideal BMI to snag a man

    What is it about online dating makes us roll our eyes? The lying? The misunderstanding? The misleading profile pics? At a panel at the Israel Presidential Conference today, Professor Dan Ariely, famed and beloved behavioral economics expert, presented what he’s found are the major issues with the online dating platform, and how it could be…

  • #tomorrow13: Guessing at tomorrow – health, terrorism, climate, economy, politics, and of course, Yair Lapid

    #tomorrow13: Guessing at tomorrow – health, terrorism, climate, economy, politics, and of course, Yair Lapid

    By far the most engaging panel of the day: Will Tomorrow Be Better? Some great sound bytes in here, and not just because the panel was moderated by Channel One’s Oren Nahari and joined by former newsman Yair Lapid. Note: Some of these excerpts are transcription, some shortened for readability.  Israel’s economy: Finance Minister Yair Lapid When…

  • #tomorrow13: Behavioral economist Dan Ariely says we’re good, dishonest people

    #tomorrow13: Behavioral economist Dan Ariely says we’re good, dishonest people

    Waiting on line to enter a session, I became totally consumed in fascination over the behavior of some of the other people in line. Of course I use the term line loosely. People queued up early, creating a mob scene within five minutes. I couldn’t help but focus on a particular woman at the absolute front, pushing at…

  • #tomorrow13: Bill Clinton on Israel, peace, and how to change Us vs Them

    Another year, President Shimon Peres turns 90, and we join together for the fifth Israeli Presidential Conference. I know there’s quite a bit of criticism and controversy when it comes to the event. It comes from a good place but there are also good questions to ask about who isn’t present and what isn’t said. But…

  • Fifty-Two Frames: Portrait

    The one day my son did not wear his beloved black kippa to kindergarten was the one day I needed to take a portrait shot for Fifty-Two Frames. Divine intervention? Since living in Israel, never has it been more trendy to debate religious practice, engage or disengage from extremism, ritually cross-dress, or hate people you…

  • Tzur Hadassah update: New pool, new bus, new neighborhood, new park, and… Swiper.

    It’s been a while! Plenty to update on Tzur Hadassah. In no particular order, except for saving the weirdest for last… five bits of small town news: 1. THE Tzur Hadassah Pool You’re not a true Tzur Hadassian if you’re not already putting on your floaties in impatient anticipation for the new pool, possibly making…

  • Unicorns, leprechauns, EL AL customer-friendly UX, & other mythical creatures

    For months, I’ve been trying/failing/procrastinating/trying again/failing again/sighing/punching walls in disbelief/trying again to log in to my EL AL Matmid Frequent Flyer account and handle some points issues. I’ve tried online, I’ve called, I’ve tweeted, my travel agent has tried for me, but nothing helped, and yet on every log in attempt, I’ve gotten an assortment…