hello dear fellow deviants. its that bloody time of the year again when u have to wreck your brain as to what to give (usually: BUY) to your loved ones. or the people u r just obliged to exchange this tradition with. or if ur lucky, u just celebrated hanukkah, ate well and that was that. i got a piece of hanukkah as well, as i was in israel - returned a couple days ago. i needed to go see wtf is all the fuss there about - u know - bombing busses and building a wall... walls are not a specialty of only germans and the chinese any longer.

i was lucky enough to find someone online from the palestinian side, journalist/activist Yasser Alhaj, who was a nice host and showed me around. him and his family offered me a place to stay in their home at the Deheisha refugee camp. very enlightening experience. in Israel - Tel Aviv- i got to meet plenty of israelis then. heard all kinds of views. all in all, i have to say it DOES look pretty bad. i cant see a solution in the near future. with different religions and all, its really fucked up and complicated. i wrecked my brain but will have to pass on the certain nobel peace prize that solving this would have merited me... i packed my bags and returned to the cold dark north. all the while the israelis that stayed in my home were VERY happy to return to the sun after 2 weeks here... so the home exchange went well all in all, but they did get a little home sick well, i was kind of happy to see snow too when i returned.

the place in Tel Aviv where i stayed was really neat though. i dont think id ever want to live there necessarily, its a very american-inspired car-city (built for cars, not pedestrians, people live outside the city mostly, and come to work downtown), but for staying a while i really liked my 'home'. 23rd floor in sheraton city tower... lol

i can recommend home exchange and my offer/request to deviants regarding this stands i need a city home though, since i dont even have a driver's license. but other than that, im interested in most places in the world. from nepal to NYC...Reykjavik or Rio De Janeiro maybe...?

some pics, rest are in Flicr.

my view from the 'home'. sun setting down on TLV city


hanukkah celebration on friday 11th


the wall, seen from palestinian side


i was sad to find a lot of dA art sold on the market. i doubt the artists have been informed let alone compensated. if i had seen my work there, i think i might have just stolen it.


besides many other people, i was happy to meet some deviants! actually i didnt even get to see all whom wrote me, which i am sorry for. i met Gil in 2004 in helsinki, so he was at the top of my list... 5 yrs passed, it was a great reunion. then there was ~irisdall who took me shopping and :TomahawkR: who introduced me to a fancy 24/7 breakfast place. israeli breakfast with a flavoured sparkling wine (which some know as champagne, but it really isnt).

so what does your christmas/end of year plans include? im just working as per usual and hanging out with friends. well, thats pretty common too. i am in a spot where i dont know about my working future after january. i might continue to another job in the company i currently work for, or might go unemployed, which sucks of course. the job market is not that great atm. then theres always istanbul, which i am still obsessed about...

oh and i have to share this with you: i agreed with a dutch book publisher to have 'sleeping beauty' on the cover of the local print of James Ellroy book Blood's a Rover

so thats what it will look like our very own `SeaFairy on the cover.

no links this time, but check out these songs on youtube;
Jenni Vartiainen: Malja
Say Hi To Your Mom: Blah Blah Blah

jen