As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know. ~D. Rumsfeld
... it is. I can feel it when it is still early in the morning. Around 07:30 there already is some 'stickiness' in the air. But it's still nice. Soon though I will have to start walking even earlier to avoid the fatal combination of heat and humidity that make every step you take feel like you lift extra kilos in movement.
The first photo is of a flower I think a tree wanted to give me (don't laugh!) - he dropped it right in front of my walking feet :-) I carried it around on my walk and smelled on it from time to time, since the smell is absolutely exquisite. Is it a Jasmine? Anyway, the second photo is of a clutch of those flowers in the same tree that 'gave' this flower to me.
On the way I saw more lovely flowers - which I see actually every day, everywhere around here and I thought I better photograph them before they are gone. As one of the photos shows - they do fall off. Those flowers btw, that are laying on the ground in that photo are hairy ... I don't know if this can be seen in the other photo of it, but I did my best to show it (meaning I was practically laying flat on the pavement, hahahahaa - I just don't look up anymore to see how people are staring at me).
The little fish were very abundantly present in the sea today. But what was even more remarkable is that not as usual when you hardly see them, but only their shadows, they sort of surfaced and seemed to be sunbathing ON the water. Soooo cute! The photos don't do the sight of that any good. They seem dull and grey-ish, but on the contrary - looking at them with the naked eye - they were shiny and vivid and looked as if they were returning the rays of the sunshine.
That's it. I'm still smelling my flower from time to time - I put it in some water.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Left early (approx. 07:30) and walked my way up to the beach as usual (only that this is Thursday and not Shabbat). The sea was calm and very, very lovely. When I was there at the beach yesterday afternoon the sea was rough. It's probably to do with the tide. The moon was there up in the sky together with the sun and I always like that sight. They're supposed to be each other's opposites so never meet. But they do. Often around here actually.
As I waded through the water an exciting struggle caught my eye. As I came closer I saw it was a tiny little crab pulling a small (but way larger than him) fish away from the shore and into deeper waters. I don't know how it shows on youtube but this clip can be well seen on WMP. I also made a small clip about a closed shell I saw laying near the sand, but still in the water - that had still the animal in it who was from time to time sticking his head out - but on the clip it is hard to see, so I haven't uploaded it.
After a loooooong - very slow and relaxing walk, wading through the water - I decided to take photos of the kiosk near the Opera Building, that I have known ever since I live in Israel and of which I saw very sad things yesterday: graffiti "shouting" out about the social injustice being forced upon them by the Tel-Aviv municipality who is, like it seems together with all municipalities here in Israel, after money and money only. I find it sad to see the character of Tel-Aviv disappearing slowly slowly. If you look at the boulevard there is nothing that tells you you are in Tel-Aviv - one can easily think he's walking around on a boulevard in some tourist city in Spain or any other country willing to to kill its identity for money....
The "movie" of "The Struggle", hehehe :D
Two bugs that caught my eye while crossing Nordau beach because the male (I think) was fervently pursuing the female bug. He just didn't let go of her racing all over the pavement hahaha
The front of the kiosk (it was still closed) saying: "Here a luxury tower complex will be build over the back of a family that lost someone in a war" and: "A license is being taken away because fortune is controlling the government?" and: "The connection between fortune and government brings about the eviction of a family having lost a family-member in war after 70 years [of being there] - Corruption has won."
Here, amongst other things, is written: "Not the Iranian threat, not the Hamas nor the Hizballah will bring us to our end, but the corruption within us."
Amongst other things this says: "Did you see a Yemenite on the Boulevard?" - that is the answer we got when we requested an alternative place of business. (the kiosk seems to have been established in 1938)
Left around 9 (I should again start to go to sleep earlier in the evenings). The walk was pretty cool, warm but there was a nice breeze. Wore the dress I bought earlier (the only dress I own) but found out that the skirt of it restricts my leg movement because it is too narrow below the knee. (It looks wide though). I thought that since I always get wet when wading through the sea I will use a dress that I can tie up and wear shorts underneath, which is what I did. But I guess I overestimated the depth till where I can go or perhaps the waves were too fierce - I still got wet - grrrr :D
The little fish that I see every year swimming right on the brim of the water are back. I never see them in the winter and I wonder what they do then, where do they go? Actually you can't see them because they are of a transparent white color which you will only notice after you see their little shadows at the bottom swimming around.
Here are photos of: 1. A fat tree on my way to the beach. One of the fattest I have seen actually. 2. A leaf that started growing right in the middle of the stem of the tree. 3. A wet Orev (I hate them, but I've never seen a wet Orev before and lo and behold today I saw 2, each in a different place). He is preening himself.
Hana asked me to come with her to a department store in Dizengoff instead of going to the Boulevard, and I agreed. I arrived at the corner of Arlozorov and Dizengoff because they had shut down the road for traffic. And I thought this was something that perhaps is because it is Friday -
it was not. There was a music festival (albeit small) and that's why. It was very nice and here are some clips that I could shoot. It was called the Motomusic festival and there was hard rock, punk, breakdancing, reggae and other stuff....
On Independence Day I set out on my usual walk to the beach and was surprised at how quiet it was while there seemed to be an awful lot of police around. Because the sea produced nice waves I decided to walk towards the "Nemaal" (harbor) a bit just to have a peak. Then this beautiful bird flew right over my head and settled on a lamp post. Thinking that he wouldn't probably give me a chance to catch him on camera again, I started shooting him. He then decided to sit near the fishermen (who -as far as I can see- never catch anything) on the railing. By that time more people -mostly children- got him in their eyesight and approached him. He decided to fly away. At least that is what I thought. Well, I was wrong. He was putting up a great show of pretending to fly away and returning. But when I took this photo I still thought it was a chance of one in a million to have him photographed this way. Yup: the bugger fooled me, LOL.
In the end I stayed around the Boulevard all day since more and more people gathered and from the drumming sounds of a parade of foreigners demonstrating support of Israel near Hilton Beach I realized I had completely forgotten the festivities that were going to take place there. Hehehe...
It was a wonderful day, sunny and windy, and as far as I can tell everybody was happy. It was also the very first time that I saw public mobile toilets in the streets :D
Herebelow are:
1. the photo of the bird 2. a photo of police on horses 3. a photo of my favorite fighter airplane, the f-16 4. youtube clip of the foreign israel supporters 5. youtube clip of a few moments on the Boulevard 6. youtube clip of demonstration of the f-16
After a terribly sad day everything all of a sudden changes and people go 'crazy' with happiness because of the Independence that is celebrated... A very strange, weird feeling as if a button can be pushed to change one's mood.
When the sirens go off in order to remember the fallen soldiers in Israel it is like the whole world stops turning for 2 minutes. It has always impressed me a lot. Here's a very short clip of today's 2 minutes of sirens of not so good quality because it was very windy and sunny... besides the fact that I could hardly see what was on my lcd screen.
And, underneath is what it is all about... A road sign like there are all over town in preparation for Independence Day in different designs and on different subjects showing photos of what 'random people' find 'the flag' (Israel) means to them. I liked this one:
If you walk the boulevard in the early morning hours you will find that most people are walking for sport, dressed with impressive brand sportshoes etc. But if you go later you will notice that everybody is strolling. Two different kinds of passing the time at the beach, I suppose.
Anyway I think season has started since it was over crowded today. The photo underneath will show you that. Brrrr.... it kept me from my usual wading through the water and I kept to the sidewalk. Around the time I went (afternoonish) I know there is folkdancing and so I enclose a very small clip to show this very, I think, cheerful 'happening' there. It always lifts my spirits when I see it.
Israeli men (no insult intended) usually are not very shy to start with you but today I had a 'rare' experience: a Spaniard started with me. I would not even mention it but the 'approach' he used was one I never heard yet, so I thought whoever reads this must get a good laugh out of it as well: "The sister of my mother -who is over there (and he pointed in a general direction) - and I saw you near the folkdancing and we both just have to compliment you because you have such a beautiful face." (He needs glasses LOL) - Anyway, this young man opens a spa in Barcelona. Or, at least, that is what he wished I'd believe hahahaaa...
I heard Spanish, Dutch, English, German, Arabic and of course Hebrew at the beach today. I like that. I like variety....
This morning on my Friday-walk-to-Shuk-HaCarmel-Walk I got to see a bird I've seen around here sometimes but I never had the chance to photograph. I caught him on my camera this time... I feel like telling him "Good Boy" :D:D:D
I have no idea of the name of the bird though... Neither of the flower I saw in the garden of one of the houses I passed and I thought was pretty enough to shoot it in order to put it on the internet's eternal life :D
