50 Best Websites of 2007

Time magazine recently chose their favorite 50 websites for the year. They have a nice little list going and Web 2.0 style, they are asking their readers to rank them personally. Take a look here.

It's a neat way to check out some savvy places real quick.

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העצ הנד’ב The Giving Tree

For the past week I have been searching for an apartment or a “flat” as Israeli’s say. Though many people tend to dread this task, being a newcomer to Israel, I have found this process to be quite rewarding because it gives me a brief peek into many different peoples’ lives. While searching, I have found one familiar book to be on nearly everyone’s shelf (and yes I am the type to judge my potential roommates by their bookshelves)—Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree. I think widespread popularity of this book actually says quite a bit about my experience with people in Israel, they are immensely giving.

For the past two weeks I have been staying with my friend Shalev and his family. Aside from giving me a place to stay and my own key, they have fed me more food than I imagined I could consume and provided me with the immense amount of support that I’ve needed to find an apartment and a job. Although I’ve often been disillusioned with the effects of globalization, I have found that it is quite nice to find these kinds of commonalities with people who live thousands of miles away from where I grew up in the United States.

Here is a link where you can have The Giving Tree read to you in English. It’s always nice to review the book, especially if someone else is reading it to you like you were a child ☺.


Shel Silverstein - The Giving Tree - The most amazing bloopers are here

The First View of the Rubble

He hung himself and no one found him for three days. The final story to be told of him is how his rotting body created a distasteful stench and bothered the neighbor’s nose. His name is never mentioned, but I come to know him through his discarded belongings, laid to rest amongst the ruins of a house that was demolished by the government.

A twisted American flag lies buried in the infectious waste. The landlord says he will rent his room for free to anyone who is not Russian, Ethiopian or Arab. A young woman is outraged by the landlord’s comments and informs his tenants that their landlord is a racist.

Suicide is illegal according to Jewish law and the Israeli government. Yet, from his illegal destruction, legal racist comments are the only things built from this rubble.

I learned a lot about this place from a dead nameless man and his waste.

Kiss the Ground

Sitting at concourse B31 of John F. Kennedy International Airport, I rub my face into my hands, mixing my tears with the sweat that coats my palms. Since I last sat in this concourse, waiting to depart to Israel for my first time, Eretz Yisrael, or The Land of Israel, has been calling my name, and often times screaming it. Now, in my last few minutes on American soil, tears are rushing from my eyes in an effort to express the immense gratuity and disturbing detachment that I feel from America.

For twenty years, home has stretched from sea to shining sea. From welcoming me in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty to lulling me to sleep with the tides of the Pacific, American soil never ceases to provide me with the nutrients I need to grow, or the solid ground I need when I need to weep. Such a loving and beautiful home I am privileged to reject; I suppose that’s the closest to tasting freedom I’ll ever get.

It is a tradition for new immigrants to Israel kiss the ground when they step foot onto the new soil. My father kindly encouraged me to kiss the ground for him when I land. Though I find such acts of nationalism to be aggravating, minutes from my departure, I am tempted to bend down and kiss the American soil instead.

Saying "See Ya Later" To American Jewry

Tomorrow, I will leave the United States and my Jewish-American community and move to Israel for the year. Nervous that being a Jew in Israel may taste too sweet for me to ever return, I decided to get one last taste of American Jewry by spending my day in New York City at the The Jewish Museum.

This month the museum is featuring an exhibit entitled, "Dateline Israel: New Photography and Video Art." Before I stepped onto the New York City pavement, I was able to view the exhibit online. The stunning web display revved my already boiling enthusiasm and provoked further excitement for the adventure to the museum that lay ahead.

The following morning, my brother Mick and I left his comfortable suburban house in Commack, Long Island and began the journey to New York. Many miles, a subway ride and museum entrance fee later, Mick and I entered the exhibit. Although Mick had not scanned the website and found the exhibit to be fresh and engaging, I was surprised to find that I had spent time and money to view essentially the same exhibit that I had viewed online.

Nearly all of the pieces that were displayed elegantly on the walls were also posted to the website in a easy to view slide show. Every caption that provided more detail about the artwork was on the website as well. The greatest advantage to stepping inside the museum and paying the fee was that all of the video footage could be seen and that the guards were uniquely friendly and inquisitive.

The staleness of my physical experience with this exhibit raisesmany questions about the museum galleries of the future. By searching "Museums and Websites" on Google, I was able to find a few websites that keep lists of museums' websites. However, I was distressed to not find any discussion of the differences between physical and virtual galleries. Will Internet galleries take the place of museums? Will we pay a fee to enter a website and browse highly interactive curated web pages? Are webmasters the new curators?

In the end, I found myself wanting to believe that the websites overly thorough display was a kind gesture by the curators at The Jewish Museum who were more interested in educating the public than attracting people to the museum who would pay an entrance fee.

Clearly the trip was still a fruitful adventure, provoking questions about the way museums are using their websites and the future of curatorial work. Additionally, I was able to visit the two floors of permanent exhibition that I had not visited online. However, most importantly, I was able to say goodbye to the land where "All men are created equal" and the land where the Jewish people have lived and practiced their religion freely for generations -- America.

See you later American Jewry... To Israel my friends!

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending and participating in my friend’s brother’s Hindi wedding. My friend, Aruna, has been raving about how stunning the wedding would be for over a year, she was right. If you ever have the chance to attend a Hindi wedding take it. Though I can’t promise that all weddings will be as well orchestrated as this was, I’m sure that the colors and dancing alone will be vivid enough to memorize you for years to come.

Here is where you can view an album of the pictures that I think best illustrate the array of life and light that was presented here: Luthra-Pandya Wedding Album

The even posed many opportunities into the exploration of identity. Most notably the different Hindi traditions that throughout the wedding . As was explained to me many times, the bride and the groom's family had different traditions because they came from different areas in India. therefore, this wedding was discussed as "very multicultural" by many people within the family. I saw this cultural convergence as a ritual mash-up which gave me plenty of inspiration for the possibility of having a unique traditional wedding in the future.

Pausing for Independence Day

As an American, I find Independence Day to be one of the most devastating days of the year. My American nationalism was shot by the war in Afghanistan and murdered by the war in Iraq. However, this independence day, I heard the voice of an American. Here is what she said:

American Fireworks on Independence Day

The earth is shaking
violently
from the pollutants
erupting inside her.

While

A dog is barking
horrors
from the explosives
pelleting the sky.

And

Soldiers are shuttering
silently
from the rockets
shattering the peace.

Our

Parents are rocking
fiercely
from the shots
riveting their future.

And our

Children are swallowing
poison
from our American
nationalism.

Today was my last day as a passive American; time to activate. I am leaving Seattle tomorrow for a year long exploration of national identification. My current travel plans are:

• July 4th Seattle, Washington
  
• July 5th Washington D.C.
  
• July 8th New York City, New York
  
• July 12th Tel Aviv, Israel

Time to say see you later to the USA.

See you on the road,

Alison

Israel National Radio and "The Aliyah Revolution"

The article that I noted in my previous post has generated quite a buzz throughout the blogosphere and has even spilled over to the radio.

You can get the audio version of the debate on the Israel National Radio's "The Aliyah Revolution" show by clicking here.

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