A recent CNN report called the Golan Heights "occupied territory", thus disregarding it was won fairly in a war initiated by Syria. Why do I still get annoyed by the media? I should know not to expect any better from them.

Recently two people passed away:

1. Patrick Swayze
2. Norman Borlaug

Norman Borlaug was a geneticist who saved millions of lives by developing disease-resistant varieties of wheat. He rightly received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, as well as top civilian awards in the US and India.

Patrick Swayze was just an actor.

Why is it I knew about Swayze's death immediately, whereas Borlaug's death went unnoticed? (By me, in any case.) If not for seeing it on a blog somewhere, I wouldn't be posting this. Swayze makes better news. Why?

Swayze was a celebrity, a national "hero", if you will. I think Western society chooses its role models poorly. Not that Swayze was a bad guy, but he only dedicated his life to making films like "Youngblood" and "Dirty Dancing" while Borlaug was busy contributing to human progress and saving lives. Everyone should have heard about his passing.

Another excellent video, a must-see, essential:

www.thethirdjihad.com

Senator Harry Reid (Nevada) sent a letter to President Obama, saying he supports Obama's decision to make the Middle East an administration priority, but clarifies that it won't work unless the Arabs:

1. Recognize Israel's right to exist
2. End terrorism
3. Respect previous agreements with Israel

It's nice to hear there are sane people left in the world, but I'm not holding my breath.

Menendez says it like it is. His floor speech on Israel's history:

I found this amusing:


Experts Agree Giant, Razor-Clawed Bioengineered Crabs Pose No Threat

For the first time in at least 25 years! I got an itch over the last few months to play again, so I'm finally going to get to scratch it tomorrow night. I'm joining a group of guys that play once every two weeks in Metulla. It's quite a shlep, but, hey, you only live once!

Oh, and I hope they don't play like this:

I got an email with this photo linking to www.trappedingaza.org/:



I didn't click the banner, nor did I forward the email to any of my contacts. I just wanted to say that.

Who controlled the Middle East throughout the course of history? This is a great summary by Maps of War:

A smile tells us a lot about people. Some people are distant and hold back their emotions, while others are warm and have no problem revealing emotions. Can you tell the difference between a genuine smile and a fake one?

I scored 17/20.

In anticipation of Philippe Karsenty's appeal to French court on his guilty verdict of, Middle East and Media Expert Tom Gross Re-examines the original coverage of the famous incident in light of questions that emerged over the past seven years: Al Dura - What Really Happened?


I added this to my video list.

The story of stuff is an excellent site about production and consumption in Western culture. The whole cycle of using resources - production - distribution - consumption - disposal is wrong and using up our planet's resources, causing pollution, making people unhappy.



I really connected to this. People must have been much happier a couple of generations ago. We are taught to think that progress gives us free time for leisure, when actually we are enslaved to this cycle of consumption. I was always annoyed when purchasing poorly constructed merchandise, now I'll get doubly vexed by how cheaply products are made these days. Even cheap washing machines are disposable and can't be fixed!

VideoJug: Dance Moves: An Emergency Guide For Men

I recently bought a new Sony CyberShot.

It's a really cool camera, and I'm using it heavily. It has an awesome X10 optical zoom, a lot for a non-SLR camera and probably the most important feature. I like taking pictures. My pictures aren't great, but I recognize (or imagine?) a knack for photography. While searching for online tips, I fell across this post: the rules of photography composition:

Step 1: Keep it simple
Put simply, composition is the art of making things look right. The visual language used is ancient and its principles can be seen in everything from classical architecture to blockbuster movies. There are Five basic rules to keep in mind when lining up or editing your photograph. That may sound complicated, but once you understand the principles involved you'll find that you start following them instinctively.

Step 2: The rule of Thirds
Nothing will dilute the impact of your pictures more than clutter. Think about what your picture is OF - and then change your position or reposition your shot to make that the most prominent part of the picture. If necessary, get closer to your subject so it fills the frame and dominates what's around it.
Notice how in films and television, the most emotional moments of the story are mostly shot in close-up, as visual proximity to a human face instinctively makes us feel closer to that person. This is a tool you can use to not only effectively frame you picture, but also lend it more emotional prominence, particularly if you're photographing people.

Step 3: Balance
So although simplicity is important, simply centering your subject in the centre of the frame gives a very static, formal look to the picture. While this may be fine for certain subjects, you'll usually want to add more dynamism to your pictures.
Imagine your rectangular frame is divided into thirds both vertically and horizontally. Where these sections intersect are the optimum places for placing the focus of your picture to compose a pleasing image.
Which intersection you choose to place the important part of your picture on is up to you, but realize that if you are shooting a moving object it helps to give them room to move to in the picture, which means putting more space in front of them than behind.
Naturally, this rule can be subverted to create a narrative - in this case impression that they are soon to come to a halt or walk out of the picture.
Horizontal lines such as lampposts and trees and horizontals like the horizon should also be placed on the divisions of the thirds, rather than in the centre of the picture.

Step 4: Framing
Balance is a hard concept to explain. Basically, it's about preventing an image looking lopsided. This can mean balancing a picture of one person by including another, incidental character. Or framing the shot so the focus of your picture is balanced by another, complimentary object.
You'll just have to judge what feels "right" in the image, but it might help to imagine a pair of scales in your pictures. Where you have a concentration of colour, objects or light on one side of the picture, try and put a contrasting or complimentary setup on the opposite side of the picture to balance it out.
Balance can also be demonstrated by it's absence; deliberate unbalance gives the impression of movement, like the train has just nipped past this sign...

Step 5: Placing
Framing is the act of placing a person or object in the foreground of your subject to give depth and add interest. Consider using part of the surroundings if you are photographing a person, or placing people in a landscape photograph to give a sense of scale.
When photographing a subject, try to avoid overlaps of colour between your subject and the background or elements of the background protruding "out" of your subject. This looks at best distracting and at worst plain stupid. It's happens because we perceive the world in three dimensions and inevitably focus only on what's in front of us, while photography flattens that world - bringing the tree we hadn't noticed several feet away directly into our image.
Pay close attention to the viewfinder on your camera when composing shots as this gives us the best indication of what our picture will look like and should make any unnoticed background intrusions plain.
The opposite of unwelcome additions to your subject is managing to crop people out of the picture. This is easy to avoid if you are shooting individuals or small groups, but harder if you are shooting small crowds or something with people in the background. There's something instinctively unpleasant about incomplete faces to a viewer, so try and avoid it when shooting or crop it out of your images when editing.
The shape your subject makes should fit the rectangular frame of your photograph. That is to say, try and mentally trace the outline of your subject. The patterns of light and dark, strong straight lines and blocks of colour can be viewed as a geometric pattern. Pay attention to where these shapes point to and how they sit within the frame, as this will help you to compose a pleasing image.
Finally, think about any lines that are formed in your picture. Try and use them to lead the viewer into the picture. Lets' say you've placed the subject of your picture on the junction of a third, try and use any lines formed by the surroundings to point towards or lead the eye of the viewer to this point.
Also consider that straight horizontal or vertical lines produce a since of stillness in a picture, in a similar fashion to central framing, so for more exciting images try and introduce more diagonals into your image. while tilting the camera my not be an option, repositioning yourself in relation to what your photographing may work.
Also bear in mind that curved lines - especially those that curve twice to form an "S" are generally more aesthetically pleasing than those that are straight.
Don't forget, you can subvert any or all of these rules for narrative or artistic reasons so feel free to play around. But you can't break the rules unless you know what they are.

From francophiles:



A red balloon follows a little boy around the streets of Paris. Winner of the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, 1957.

It rained this morning, the first time for me this year. I say for me because it already rained at home, but I wasn't there, so I missed it. This time I got to enjoy it.

I really love winter in Israel. I love the rain. I love the damp fresh air, the smell of wet earth, the clear view once the rain stops. Some people get depressed by overcast skies. Not me - I revel in them.

Sometimes I love Photoshop:

I hate air conditioning. I mean, it's good when it's used frugally, but when the atmosphere indoors feels like antarctica and my joints ache from the temperature abuse, then I hate it. A good test to find out if you're overdoing it with the canned air: open the front door to the humidity outside. If the hot air mass causes a front to develop in your living room and a little tropical storm starts, then the thermostat is too low...

It seems that the army has learned its lesson after the 2nd Lebanon War last summer. I had a day of reserve duty yesterday, where we reviewed the state of my company's equipment.

First, it was the first time I ever saw my unit's wartime storehouse, containing basic military equipment as well as our unit's specific medical supplies. The equipment looks like it's in good condition.

Second, the commanding officer said explicitly that the unit's budget suddenly jumped after the war. The storehouses were mostly empty before summer '06, supplies being used for daily use. Nobody foresaw the war, especially in the age-of-peace atmosphere prevalent in the upper echelons of the IDF. Incredibly, the supplies were entirely replenished a few weeks before the war started. Now, storehouses are full.

Like I said in an earlier post, I recently had an exercise for the first time in years. It really does look like attitudes are changing in the army. Slowly, but changing.