My 5 new favorite blogs, in honor of Blog Day
Today is International Blog Day, and bloggers are supposed to recommend 5 new blogs to create a greater sense of community in the blogosphere. Incidentally, Blog Day was created by an Israeli, Nir Ofir, who created BlogTV which I wrote about on israelplug a while back!
If only it was easy to narrow it down to 5! But that’s how this game is played, so here are some new blogs I’d recommend to you.
1. Jewish Humor Tube– posts funny Jewish or Israel related videos including this hysterical video from an Israeli extreme challenge TV show. Which makes me wonder, is this the closest Israeli TV gets to Double Dare? Where’s the slime?!
http://www.liveleak.com/e/b0e_1215189445
2. The Jew Spot – I found Monica’s blog from the list of bloggers who participated/watched the NBN JBlogger Conference . Monica interviews really cool and interesting people in the Jewish scene such as Idan Reichel and Chloe Jo.
3. Sex and the holy city – an unapologetic blog about the sexual escapades of a young woman in Jerusalem. Truly a meeting of Sex and the City and Jerusalem.
4. EngrishFunny I’ll be honest here, I have a major weakness for funny English signs and misspellings. Whenever I travel, which isn’t nearly enough these days, I’m always on the lookout for funny spelling mistakes.
5. Smitten kitchen – an amazing food blog that Yitz showed me, with the most stunning pictures that’ll leave you wiping up your keyboard from drooling over the beautiful bourbon peach hand pies, cold-brewed iced coffee, dimply plum cake, or whatever else is on the menu.
Happy Blog Day! Pass it on.
All about beer in Israel
In honor of the 4th annual Beer Festival coming up August 27-28 in Jerusalem, I thought I’d write all about beer in Israel.
The beer festival plans to bring 50 Israeli and international beer flavors to the table and beer drinkers in Israel are looking forward to tasting something other than the 4 or 5 that make it onto the typical restaurant menu.
I hope Dancing Camel will be there because I’ve been wanting to try their flavored beers ever since I heard about them. Over the holidays last year, Dancing Camel created etrog and jelly doughnut flavored beers in honor of Sukkot and Chanukah, and when it comes to my beer, the more flavor and girlier, the better. The Dancing Camel is a microbrewery in Tel Aviv started by an American named David Cohen who has already gathered somewhat of a cult following.
If you’re inspired by the beer festival to make your own and compete with Goldstar, there’s a company in Mevasseret Zion called The Winemaker that sells beer starter kits and offers courses on how to start brewing. I think I heard about them from Hakerem, an Israeli wine blog.
[Update: Thanks to Jerusalemite, here’s link for the festival and sad to say, the list of beers featured doesn’t include The Dancing Camel. ]
And here’s a song about beer to get you in the mood for the festival.
Kitzur: Find definitions for Hebrew abbreviations and acronyms
My friend Keren let me in on a secret Hebrew weapon called Kitzur, which gives you the definition for thousands of Hebrew acronyms and abbreviations. I immediately went to the slang section and was amused by all the ridiculous abbreviations like “Gvinatz” for Gvinah Tzehubah (the ambiguous but ever popular Yellow Cheese). Um. Can’t remember the last time I heard someone order using either of the 2 shortened varieties. But if you try it, good luck, and let me know how it goes.
The phrases in the slang section are especially helpful in the following situations:
a. You want to pretend you are/were in the army
b. You want to be an ars (punky, annoying Israeli teenagers)
c. You are easily amused by just how many words and phrases can be shortened into ridiculous combinations that would have an Israeli get his/her whole family together to point and laugh at you if you decided to actually use some of them.
Use these phrases with caution. Some will help you fit in, but others could be disastrous for your post-Ulpan departure (but I would love to hear the outcomes). So, only start using one of the phrases once you’ve looked up the definition in English (you can use Morfix) and actually heard it used in context.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find Zabaj in the listings…
P.S. For those of you still in abbreviation mode, I found a site, Abbreviation that gives definitions of English abbreviations and acronyms. (Thanks, Make Use of)
kIDs tALk NEWS: It is time the news is reported by the little people!
It is time to hear the news from kids! Enough of bias reporters and jaded stories…let’s hear what they have to say.
Ok…here you go. Check out what my video chug has been up to, reporting from the streets of Jerusalem. This news package is on cell phones. This is their first story of many to come. Also check out the blooper reel. And we want your feedback. Tell us what you think we should report. We would even be happy to report about your companies, non-profits, special events, interesting people, etc. Just let us know!
Tu B’av: Where’s the Love?
Check out this funny clip brought to you by the witty Benji Lovitt. Tu B’av is the Israeli version of Valentine’s Day. Benji wants to share this holiday with a hot Israeli girl, but does a hot Israeli girl want to share it with him? Watch the video to see if Benji can bring it!
15+ Places to work off the Jerusalem 15 – The good, the bad, and the ugly
Gyms in Israel. Grr. I am only complaining because I am from LA where the gyms are huge and the models are extra thin. Where a gym is open 24 hours and there is always a machine available. Where customer service and great deals on membership do exist. Can’t there just be one gym like this in Jerusalem? Just one!
Here is a list of fitness centers in Jerusalem with some honest commentary. Warning: Lots of anger. (Thanks, Rebecca, for putting the list together)
Bodyline
Phone: 02-6783864
Address: Malha Mall
Genders: Men, Women
Comments: This gym is the closest thing to a real gym in Jerusalem and cheaper than most of the other gyms too! Check it out as long as you don’t mind shlepping to Malha for a workout and did I mention walking through the mall in your nasty sweaty clothes!
Body Control Studio
Phone: 02-5865831
Address: a801 Hakisufim, Ramot
Body & Soul
Phone: 02-6788861
Address: Hamusachim 5, Talpiot
Genders: Men, Women
Comments: Well friends, this is the shadiest gym I have ever been to and I’ve been to almost all of them. Two years ago they did renovations and left the gym open during the process. That’s right, I was working out with some guy chipping off paint and asbestos over my head. Did someone say gyms are for getting healthy? Finally, after lots of Israeli-style arguing, the manager said I could have three months free, since in typical Israeli fashion, the one week of renovations took three months. But of course when it came time to give me the three months, he suddenly had no idea what I was talking about. Also, the machines were almost always broken. And it is located in one of the shadiest parts of Talpiot figures that it would be since it is such a shady gym!
**UPDATE** It seems the gym has finally got their act together and respecting the customer a little bit more. They now have top of the link equipment and their new studio is located on the bottom floor and awesome classes, not to mention they have babysitting for your little one when you work out. What exactly is the babysitting, well watching the baby in the stroller and if he or she cries they’ll come looking for you. Still better than nothing. They also have decent deals and if you sign up with a friend then you both get an additional month of free membership.
First International Jewish bloggers conference in Jerusalem – geeky or cool?
A few years back I avoided reading blogs at all costs. I was afraid of landing on endless posts about a cat’s latest dietary restrictions or how cute it is when a 3 year old drools on the couch. And if I did find a blog that seemed useful, how could I trust the information? At the time, I couldn’t see the value of reading or writing a blog.
Fast forward to present.
Today, the blogosphere has grown up and most blogs adhere to an unofficial set of standards because they realize that the only way to gain readership is by providing meaningful and reliable content. So it’s no surprise that blogs are my first stop for finding out what’s happening in my city, what trends are happening in my industry, and what videos are likely to crack me up. In fact, I can hardly remember the last time I visited a static website.
And, as the blogosphere naturally evolved into social media (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter), people have stopped seeing bloggers as geeky, and started seeing and respecting their talent for being “social” and providing and recommending premium content to the web.
As for the Jerusalem blogging scene, all of us nerdy or cool kids, depending on your take of the whole blogging culture, are invited to the First International Jewish Blogging Convention in Jerusalem at Nefesh B’Nefesh HQ on August 20. Sorry for posting about it rather late, although I think I was the first to break the news on Twitter.
Rafi at Life in Israel brings up an good point about how anonymous bloggers will participate. Paper bags over their heads? Nametags that say “Anonymous”? I guess they can watch the event live online, but I have a feeling it won’t be the same. In any case, I’m looking forward to meeting all of my fellow bloggers and have to make sure to catch up on my reading.
The event is to be from 5-8:30 and includes panel discussions with bloggers Treppenwitz, Jewlicious, IsraelMatzav and Hirhurim, WhatWarZone, Oleh Girl, My Shrapnel, and My Right Word.
The Big Felafel gets a new look
I apologize for slow posting lately, but I have some goodies coming up for you. The Big Felafel’s first birthday is coming up in 3 days, so I decided to take off its diapers and give TBF a more mature look. If you’re reading this in a feedreader or your email, come by The Big Felafel and let me know what you think of the new design.
The Big Felafel 