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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
telecart's InsaneJournal:
| Friday, January 2nd, 2009 | |
| 4:22 pm | Oh Nine Happy New Year, my faithful devotees. 2008 has been weird. A lot of changes, and I'm not quite sure they're all for the best. It remains to be seen. New Years Eve was a particularly odd experience. I went hopping around, met a coworker friend and hopped some more. I was all over town, but nothing felt even remotely fun (despite being seriously wasted). I took this picture somewhere in Florentin.  Kinda weird to be partying when an hours drive away a quarter of a million Israelis are under rocket fire. Why does this feel so familiar? Tel-Aviv is so fucked up like that. No real resolutions; I just need to get away for a bit. Oh, and I've been volunteering a lot for the Labour Party in the coming elections. 39 days is not much time, and I feel like I'm too old for this shit, but I'll be damned if I fall for the same deathwish apathy enchantment half the people I know seem to be under. Anyway. Yeah. Happy New Year. Current Music: John Frusciante - In Relief | Powered by Last.fm |
| Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 | |
| 1:08 pm | Vote. Dear Yankee Friends, I am not an American, but I am a citizen of this planet, residing well within the sphere of influence of the USA. Since I cannot vote, you, my dear Yankee friends must do it for me, if not for yourselves. Those who know me know I don't buy the usual biparty lines. I'm a very independent thinker, with Libertarian overtones. Having said that, I urge you to vote Barak Obama. Not Nader or any of that cockshit. Make a serious commitment to the betterment of this planet, don't prove a point. I was a Hillary supporter, and unlike many others I'm not head over heels for the Obama/Biden policies (I have a particular disgust with Biden's War on Drugs politics and Obama's economic plan is merely a better bet than McCain's, not a full-proof plan by any means). Having said that, another four years of GOP will doom our civilization. Really. Psychology plays a big role in economy. It also plays a big role in diplomacy. And the world wants Obama, by a large margin. This is significant; With most people getting what they want, optimism for a better future can once again pour into our global markets and respect for American leadership will grow. Do not dismiss this; It is of key importance to the well-being of our society. In 2000, we all thought Americans made a mistake, or Florida, which was governed by a Bush fucked it up for all of us. And that is forgivable. 2004 is when we really started getting disappointed in American leadership. I think in every corner of the United States people can agree with that now. Make 2008 a better choice. Vote Obama. I'm Shay and I approve this message. Current Music: Foreign Affair - Ghosts Can't Run Away |
| Sunday, October 12th, 2008 | |
| 2:59 pm | Writer's Block: Transportation Current Music: Burial - Archangel |
| Monday, July 7th, 2008 | |
| 11:34 pm | Waltz with Bashir Not normally one for posts dedicated to movie reviews (hell, not really one to post at all nowadays), but I just got back from seeing Waltz with Bashir, and I feel like I need to let something out on the proverbial page else I explode with indigestion. First off, it's an amazing film, go watch it. For my Yankee friends, I'm not sure when US screening starts, but keep an eye on IMDB or your local listings, it's definitely a film worth going to the movie theatre for. I spoke of this earlier with ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} curare, there's a quality to Hollywood films in general, which does not skip over Hollywood War films, that makes them... Larger than life. It's not just the silverscreen, but something about them always has an aspect of "epicness".Israeli war films, in the tradition of Avanti Popolo and Kippur tend to bring it down to the utmost human level. Perhaps you need to be an Israeli for this, but it feels like I could there. This could have been me, in this film. Waltz with Bashir takes this personal dimension and rolls with it. The film can be described as an animated auto-biographical pseudo-documentary, revolving around the filmmaker Ari Folman's attempt to reconstruct his memory of the events that took place during his service in Israel's first Lebanese War. The filmmaker goes on a personal journey through his distorted hallucinations and half-memories, interviewing people who were there with him, trying to clear his path to the truth of what happened. The cinematographic choice of making most of the film animated (in a style reminiscent of Linklater's A Scanner Darkly) is brilliant. The overall theme of the film has to do with a distorted, escapist reality and the manner in which we, as human beings, try to deal with a reality that is more distorted than our delusions. The stock film that is used and is not animated, if it were presented in any other context, would be chilling to a degree that it becomes uncanny and unreal. The way in which it is presented left the audience, myself included, in solemn silence. And a single tear. There's so much more I want to say about the way this movie made me feel, but I simply lack the words. Foremost, though it alludes to the collective subconscious, Waltz with Bashir is a personal film. Thus, I can only conclude that the experience I am going through now, as I try and work out the movie in my head, is a personal one as well. All I can say is that the emotional impact, at least for me, has been enlightening, if a bit overwhelming. When I left the theatre, I was sure I could never bear to see this film a second time. By the end of writing this post, I think I need to go see it again. |
| Friday, June 27th, 2008 | |
| 2:03 am | Keeping with the times SO It appears I'm starting to work for 5min.com this Tuesday. I have a trial-period of course, but I think I'm gonna be a good fit there. Wish me luck! I'm a bit late jumping in on the startup parade, but you know, I figured it was bound to happen sometime. My position at the Gemius project, though much more promising (and a slightly higher pay) just wasn't going anywhere. Been there for three months now, and still no contracts signed..So.. You know, a man's gotta work. (Though if any of you faithful readers are looking for a job and have a bit of patience, drop me a line) I'm also applying for an MBA program focusing on business and marketing psychology. Two days a week BS at the College of Management for a couple of years. It's right up my alley, career-wise, and you know, doesn't hurt the CV one bit. Especially if I ever want to gtfo of this country. (That is unless any of you faithful readers know a cheap/fast way to get me an H1B visa (or better) =]) What else is new? oh yeah, West Coast Extravaganza 2008 was absolutely incredible. I had an amazing time. Got to see some really great people, family, and friends. I missed a few of you too, I know (sorry Brad), I wish I had more time. I tried to extend my stay, but there were just no flights, and I'm already overdrafting about a month's salary, and that's before I paid rent or had a job, so... I wish I could move Berlin, London and New York City to California and move somewhere in between. Where's my fucking teleporter, future? *shakes fist* Well, I think that's it. End Transmission. Current Music: Leonard Cohen - So Long, Marianne |
| Saturday, May 24th, 2008 | |
| 2:05 pm | Yeah yeah, fuck me etc Tel Aviv San Francisco, back from Los Angeles, stopping over in Frankfurt. 1/6 TLV-FRA 1/6 FRA-SFO 6/6 SFO-LAX 15/6 LAX-FRA 16/6 FRA-TLV weeeeee! |
| Monday, May 12th, 2008 | |
| 6:20 pm | Scene in Tel-Aviv: Monitor Hell. |
| Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 | |
| 10:57 pm | 27 Years Asleep Well, it's time I posted a bit of an update I guess on what's going on in my life, for posterity if nothing else. I just booked me a flight to SFO and LAX for the beginning of June. I'll crash at my sister's place in Palo Alto, and then catch a plane to LAX to meet up with Ariel and Maayan (my usual travelling partners) as well as Roy and Jenny who we'll be staying with and stealing their car and booze and food. I'm probably about two weeks away from finishing my stupid empirical research paper (finally), and I might be starting a new (much higher paying) job real soon. Since the week of my birthday, I've been pretty much in a constant drunken stupor. It helps me sleep, but is probably not the best new years resolution for the fine age of 27 (ie: "become an alcoholic"). I do seem to have much more of a social life now than I had a few months ago when I was in the deepest pits of school-related hell. Enough with the good. I'm beginning to accept that despite all the effort I put into it, I may very well not be continuing next year to a Ph.D program in the states. I met with Prof. Lee Ross from Stanford for dinner on my birthday (we'd been exchanging emails regarding my application and he suggested we meet when he was in Israel), and spoke with him about it. I'll spare you the gory details, but it boils down to: A) I am not an American and B) I do not have much experience in academic research. Now, obviously, generally nobody who finishes their BA has had the opportunity to be a research assistant. This is true for most schools. However, exceptional students might have overcome the obstacles involved and made it anyway. This is of course much easier if you are studying your BA in Princeton rather than City College, but, (and I quote) Life Isn't Fair. Regarding the not-being American thing, it's a little trickier and he used much vaguer language, as application committees are not supposed to take financial resources into account at all. However, it's kind of impossible to ignore the fact that foreigners will not be receiving any federal grants or most scholarships, and so, take their money from the respective departments. Another fun and fine factor to consider is that Tel-Aviv University screwed me royally, and just released my final transcripts and certificate of BA conference to me late last week, though it is backdated to 10/2007 (!!!) Of course, in any sane institute, such as many of the finer schools in the US, they don't really understand why they have to even consider a student who cannot provide final transcripts during application, or even as late as February. Hence, I've received rejections from schools who never even saw my final transcripts. I'd imagine my application may not have even been considered for many of them for this reason. Anyway, nothing is final, but it has become apparent that despite trying to keep an open mind and always preferring to be success oriented in such endeavors, I may very well need to plan what I intend to do in the coming years instead. In August my lease is up, and though I'm pretty sure I could extend it, that's only a few months away, and I need to start figuring out what I intend to do with my life, or at least the next year. The thought has occurred to me to just go. Ditch everything and take a flight to New York. I feel in my bones that it's where I'm supposed to be. Even with my current visa, I can stay for half a year. That's a long good while, and hopefully I'd be able to get some kind of job, or maybe apply for a green card. Berlin is another city that calls out to me, but I think that ship might have sailed already. I could of course find a real grown-up job (as much as I love working at a comicbook store, that shit is never meant to last), and start getting my life in order in Tel-Aviv (or probably Yaffo). you know, mortgage and shit. Finally, I could decide to go to school here (though not in fucking TAU). The IDC have a few good MA programs. I'm not even too late to apply for this fall. (another hidden option is work hellahard for a few months, maybe move in with my parents for the cheapness, and fuck on off to new Zealand for half a year.. but.. yeah, I dunno). Anyway, off to drink. Current Music: Burial - Archangel |
| Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 | |
| 11:55 pm | 27 It always gets better rigt after my birthday... So... Any minute now... Yes..? |
| Tuesday, January 15th, 2008 | |
| 5:40 pm | Perspective; Los Angeles and Israel Phenomenal Cosmic Power, Itty-bitty Living Space. |
| Tuesday, December 25th, 2007 | |
| 1:30 am | It's that time of year.. 1) DRINKING BUDDY OF THE YEAR - Dina. I'm a rotten friend, but she tries. 2) LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD (longest friend) - Ariel and Moshe. Most of our lives, and relatively bullshit-free. 3) NEWCOMER AWARD - NEWEST FRIEND? - Dana 4) HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR? the 5 seconds after finishing my GRE. 5) LOW POINT OF THE YEAR? - School-related anxiety which has kept me locked up for far too long 6) BEST HOLIDAY? - The retarded student strike? 7) BEST SONG OF 2007 - Wasn't really into 2007 musically. I can't bloody well give it to Thou Shalt Always Kill. Maybe something off the new Burial. 8) MOVIE FOR 2007? - Technically it's 2006, but I only got to see it in 2007; The Fountain 9) BEST VACATION? - weekend in Berlin! 10) WHO DID YOU SPEND VALENTINES WITH? Fuck Valentines 11) BEST RELATIONSHIP? That would be telling ;) 12) WHAT WERE YOU FOR HALLOWEEN? My boring-ass self 13) RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR? I'm tempted to say the Cafeteria, but really it's Olive who have served me best this year. 14) BOOK OF THE YEAR? I've hardly read anything from 2007 really, but wth, let's give it up for Crooked Little Vein. 15) BEST DECISION MADE THIS YEAR? To start thinking about shit. 16) WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR NEXT YEAR? Pee Aitch Dee 17) MOST STUPID IDEA WHEN DRUNK? Haven't been sufficiently drunk to do anything radical. I did call Noa this week at half past whenever in the morning and sang the chorus to Song for the Dumped on her voicemail. 18) TV SHOW OF THE YEAR? THE WIRE. 19) FRIEND YOU SPENT THE MOST TIME WITH THIS YEAR? Probably Tal. 20) BIGGEST CHANGE OF THE YEAR? I moved? Graduated? whatever. It's been hectic. 21) BIGGEST RETARD AWARD? So many to choose from, but let's all give a round of applause to our student union leader, and his brilliant plan to stop progress at the expense of his hostage constituency. 22) NEW YEAR RESOLUTION? Finish up my shit and graduate. Live a little. |
| Wednesday, November 14th, 2007 | |
| 1:15 am | |
| Monday, November 12th, 2007 | |
| 10:47 pm | Silence is Sexy So just a quick update, in case anyone still reads this. I know I've been off the grid since forever, but anyway: I did my GRE today. Got a 700 on the quantitative section and a meager 610 on the verbal section. Either way, who cares, at least it's behind me. Can't say I really put my heart and soul into studying for this, but fuckit, I think I gone done good enough. Now, I still have to finish my statement of purpose, go over some writing samples again and again and again in hellish autistic repetition until it looks like something remotely academic. Then, apply. Must do this soon. yes. This week. Then, I can finally dedicate time to finishing up my empirical seminar in psychology and then.. then.. I'll rest. (or not). (Ishould'vebeeninNewYorknowarghhh) Current Music: The Knife - Silent Shout |
| Sunday, October 7th, 2007 | |
| 3:00 am | world of neglected dimensions random clip: When we take a piece of some material and subdivide it into smaller pieces, we cannot carry on this process indefinitely. At some stage of this process the bits become so small that they cannot be seen with the most powerful microscope. At a further stage, we should reach a limit of the subdivision that the particles can undergo without losing their chemical character. Such a limit is called the molecule*. The smallest particle visible in the microscope is still about one thousand times larger than the largest molecule. So we see that between the molecule and the smallest visible particle there is a wide range of sizes. Findlay calls these the 'twilight zone of matter'; and it was Oswald, I believe, who called it the 'world of neglected dimensions'. Science & Sanity, Alfred Korzybski, 1933. * This is not the strictly the case, as many substances are composed of atoms or ions, but are not made of molecules. |
| Sunday, August 19th, 2007 | |
| 10:04 pm | Dear intarwub I need music. Recommend me something nice. No dubstep please (unless it's really good). Current Music: Modeselektor - Kill Bill vol. 4 |
| Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 | |
| 12:23 am | Goodbye Room Tomorrow I move. Tonight I sleep in packing purgatory. |
| Friday, June 29th, 2007 | |
| 1:46 am | Ends & Endings Today was my last day at school. Obviously I'll be there again many times, but still there's a sense of a finishing line of sort. No more classes in my BA anymore. I also received mein Referat in Kant's Critique of Pure Reason back. Got a 95, which represents 7% of the grade-score for my degree. Which is a good thing. After coming home, I started packing with the boxes I picked up from work yesterday. I figure I'll save myself a headache if I can get my books out (at least those I don't currently need) to my parent's basement before the move. Speaking of which, I still haven't found a place. It's time to put the search on into full throttle. I'm taking a look at something with potential Saturday evening, so here's hoping. Then I practically fainted with exhaustion. It's been a hell of a week. Now I woke up, quarter to 2 past midnight, hungry as hell. Luckily it's the "White Night" celebration thing in Tel-Aviv, so there's a lot of good restaurants with special deals. I think I'll have to go check that out. I missed the airing of Nosferatu, and I'm not down with any of the lectures this year, so I don't think there's anything else worthwhile to be doing except eating anyway. Current Mood:  sticky |
| Monday, June 18th, 2007 | |
| 9:11 pm | Occultation of Venus 18th June 2007 Look outside, peeps, it's beautiful.. Thanks to Noa for pointing this out to me. On a different note, I went karting this weekend, it was awesome. Next time I'm bringing a turtle to throw on Donkey Kong. Pictures soon. |
| Friday, June 15th, 2007 | |
| 5:34 pm | I know it's no laughing matter... But I just couldn't help myself.  Current Music: Cansei De Ser Sexy - Alala |
| Thursday, June 7th, 2007 | |
| 12:28 am | Honey catches dinner Snapped this shortly after Honey closed on a lil' spidery-ant-thing. I had a presentation today in my Measurements & Semantics seminar. I think it went pretty well. Or rather, relatively painless. Certainly better than the last time I had to give a presentation in a philosophy seminar. Later, I went to see an apartment. orbar, you live in a pigsty. I also finally had the time to get my hair cut. Not too short, jussa way I likes it. Then I went home, and on my way stopped at a used book store and got me a copy of Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. I've been meaning to read it for the longest time, and I was really pleased to have finally gotten around to it. It's been ages since I read anything for me and it's high time for a little reward :) |
