Monday, July 12, 2010

SO LONG BLOGSPOT!

THELOVESCHACK HAS MOVED


THELOVESCHACK.COM

thanks for all the memories!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

LeBron Comes Out




Saturday, July 10, 2010

Beavis and Butthead are back.

According to The Examiner, Beavis and Butthead is back, with 30 new episodes. Same original sketch artwork, but an update of new music videos.




Friday, July 9, 2010

Ay Yo Jews! Holy Rollers Trailer and a mini review





Wednesday, July 7, 2010

DeNiro Kick

His name is Rupert Pupkin







Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Bob Probert (1965-2010) An Ice Hockey Legend

Bob Probert was one bad dude.




Saturday, July 3, 2010

Fugazi+Minor Threat+The Evens + Embrace




Friday, July 2, 2010

Brandon Bird is a cultured artist.

Here are some of my favorite prints:



Thursday, July 1, 2010

Three Movies To Watch Right Away

Towelhead (2007) written and directed by Alan Ball


American Beauty according to an Arab American Girl set in 1990's Texas. Her neighbor, (Aaron Eckheart) is a Texan lunatic, her father a controlling and egregious bastard. Watch what happens when "daddy issues" and pubescence mix in the melting pot of Houston Texas.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Paul Simon sings on Sesame Street




I wish i was a child actor in the 70's.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

USA's Response To The World Cup



This video was created by an American student who took footage of crowd reactions around the country after the game winning goal scored by Landon Donovan against Algeria. I was in my living room.



Friday, June 25, 2010

The Soft Pack + Wavves

I thoroughly enjoy these two bands at the present moment in time.







I think you should too!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Ron Artest Game 7 Post Game

Best post game performance in NBA history.


On a separate note,


Monday, June 21, 2010

Sean Dunne Makes Movies

I came across one of Sean's films on Free Williamsburg a great blog about things Williamsburg related. Check it out if you haven't.


This one was featured on FW. A mini-documentrary about a bowling hustler who currently lives in Staten Island NY. Is there another Staten Island? Probably not.  He tells some stories, talks about hustling while his italian Staten Islandian charisma fuels the entire movie.


The Bowler from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.


Music Monday Volume 3



Twitter has a trend called "Music Monday". Every Monday, users can suggest different artists to their followers. This mix is inspired by "Music Monday"

The Soft Pack- "C'mon" (From The Self Titled Album)

Frightened Rabbit- "Swim Until You Can't See Land" (From the album Winter Of Mixed Drinks)

Warpaint- "Billie Holiday" (From the EP Exquisite Corpse)

Foo Fighters- "Band On The Run" (Wings Cover) (From the compilation Radio One Est. 1967)

MF Doom- "Rap Snitch Knishes" Feat. Mr. Fantastik (From the album Mm...Food?)


DOWNLOAD HERE

Saturday, June 19, 2010

What The Tea Party'rs Are Really Saying (The New Left Media)




I think to best understand a group or political party, one must understand who makes up these groups and how great a party would be with these people at it.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Still Flyin- "Good Thing Its A Ghost Town Around Here"

A video that makes the song even better. CHECK IT!

The Importance of The Deer Hunter

You know when wait too long to see a movie? Everyone around you seems to be talking about it and you have absolutely no idea what they're talking about? It almost diminishes the quality of the movie. You don't even want to like it.

I've always found that my local library has the best movie collection I have yet to see.... in movie collections. I recommend going to your library and discovering those movies before you quickly hate the movie because you hate yourself for not seeing it.

 The Deer Hunter is an incredible film. I'm not very good with describing what makes a good film and what doesn't. But this guy does:


Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Girls in Bands

I


like


girls


in


bands



don't you?

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

MF DOOM- RAP SNITCH KNISHES




I'm not sure why I've slept on this guy for so long, but his jams are for real. This beat alone has been in my bloodstream for the past three days. Check this and don't be like me anymore.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Readhead Love

Thursday, June 10, 2010

The Three Best Jewish/Israeli You-Tube Videos on The Internet



I always thought people in LA were retarded.




read about the video Here and why Israel is apologizing.






The reason why this video is so funny is because, it is so true.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

@'ING CONTEST #1

This weekend I went to a comic book convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. If you've never been to a comic book convention, comic book store, comic book anything, I highly suggest it. Growing up around comic book art (my brother is a comic nerd) My interest never spanned further than Wolverine and his awesome razor blade fingernails.

Conventions work like this: There are tables designated to different artists who sell books, original artwork, and sketch commissioned pieces of artwork  for people who come to the shows. Think of 300 specialized and individual merch tables in a big convention hall. It's pretty cool and the majority of the people are really nice.

There are also people who come dressed up as different characters. Here is an example.


Monday, June 7, 2010

Music Monday Volume 2


Image was found on Digg. Here!

Twitter has a trend called "Music Monday". Every Monday, users can suggest different artists to their followers. This mix is inspired by "Music Monday".


Boris- Pink (From the album Pink)
Erykah Badu- Window Seat (From the album The New Amerykah Part 2)
Flying Lotus- Nose Art (From the album Cosmogramma)
Phil Collins- Don't Lose My Number (From the album No Jacket Required)
Caravella- Coquette (TBA)


Download the mix Here!

RP?

Friday, May 28, 2010

MIA's Born Free + videos from Romain Gavras

In case you've been hiding underneath the hipster rock like I have, you for some reason haven't watched this video yet:



M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.


The director also has a pretty interesting film coming out soon:


notre jour viendra - feature film trailer from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.



Will there soon be a genre of film called "hipster"? I don't like using the word either but when I think of what "hipster's" might find visually stimulating it's something like this:


The Last Shadow Puppets, The Age Of The Understatement from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.


What can be more hipster than a brief description on your wikpedia page?

Romain Gavras is a French director. Wikipedia Look Yourself

Thursday, May 27, 2010

SOUNDCLOUD

SoundCloud: The Tour from SoundCloud on Vimeo.




the future freaks me out.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Everyone is ripping off Patton Oswalt

So here is a routine that Patton Oswalt did a few years ago on his album "Werewolves and Lolipops"







Here's some other "comedian" telling the same joke, scroll to 2:45 to find the joke. Or you can watch his entire routine which was taken from Patton as well:



I'm not the first one who noticed this, Patton actually did, and he wrote a letter to the comedian.

"I’m really hurt. It feels unpleasant. I worked very hard on those jokes – honed them night after night, kept challenging myself to make them funnier. Plus, I have a constant gallery of friends and colleagues in my head – Louie CK and Dave Attell among them – against whose work I compare my writing, and ask myself, sometimes harshly, if I’ve truly gotten my stuff to their level."
Read the entire letter Here


So obviously someone who enjoys the work of Patton or follows his work or any comedy for the matter, would come to expect that there is a anti- plagiarism force that will eventually exploit the joke thief.


This kid, takes the same joke that was originally plagiarized and uses it in his speech during the COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY commencement.




Nice job dude, now your the SECOND person to be found out stealing the joke. He's like the plagiarized plagiarizer.


Here's some other notable joke stealers:






got any good jokes?

Monday, May 24, 2010

Music Monday Volume 1

Twitter has a trend called "Music Monday". Every Monday, users can suggest different artists to their followers. This mix is inspired by "Music Monday".


Here are my top five songs for this week:


1. The Roots- Dear G-d 2.0 (From the new album How I Got Over)
http://www.mediafire.com/?nmimyziy2uj

2. Bruce Springsteen- Tenth Avenue Freeze Out (From The Album Born To Run)
http://www.mediafire.com/?zynztme5njy

3. David Cross- I Can't Get Beer In Me (From the album Bigger and Blackerer)
http://www.mediafire.com/?ttzhgglz3mz

4. Those Darlins- Let's Talk Dirty In Hawaiian (From the compilation of John Prine songs: Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows)
http://www.mediafire.com/?dnu2vtmzmtd

5. Washed Out- Belong (From the album High Times)
http://www.mediafire.com/?gzzin0mdj5w


What music do you suggest for Music Monday?

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Todd Strauss- Shulson - "Big Pussy"

Todd Strauss-Schulson- "Big Pussy"

BIG PUSSY from ulteriorproductions.com on Vimeo.



Here's a clip of a conversation with the director:



Growing up in Millburn New Jersey didn't provide for many cool moments. One of the few was finding out that your cool older friend had a cooler older brother who directed music videos.





Watch more of Todd's video's here Here


Buy Caren's cool clothes Here

Friday, May 21, 2010

Louis CK "Louie"

After picking up Season One of Lucky Louie this week, I'm super excited for Louis CK new show Louie







According to Variety, the show should be out later this year.


P_S If you haven't downloaded David Cross's new album, do it and laugh. Here

Here's a clip from the album:

Friday, May 14, 2010

Shad -TSOL + Portland Cello Project- The Thao & Justin Power Sessions





Download That Record





Download That Record


I promise to give some more detail posts in the near distant future.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

"Das Racist is the new Kool G Rap"

and my favorite rap group.




Das Racist - 'Fake Patois' from dallas penn on Vimeo.


"where'd you get this place? the hell hole store?"




they may be the most intelligent and idiotic rap group ever, which makes them the most mediocre rap group ever, you feel me?




I'm pretty sure hip hop doesn't get any cooler than this:



Download they're mixtape for free Here


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Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Mayweather + Mosley and Tazering at Baseball Games

I like Boxing, When I watch, I see more than two grown men beating the shit out of each other. It's not elegant and it's not beautiful, but there is a grace and in most instances a great deal of respect between the fighters. A respect that seems to be diminishing through popular sports throughout the world.

Here's part 1 of the fight that happened last week:






Here's part 2:




Also, this happened last week:


When I was kid, someone ran on the field and a guard had to catch them.

What is up with people getting tazered at baseball games?



You may remember that guy from:


I'm not sure what this dude is doing to warrant all this violence. That beard sure must be inciting.

KEEP TAZERS OUT OF BASEBALL STADIUMS!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Stream Flying Lotus "Cosmogromma" on NPR

or right here:





I'm vibin.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Bar Mitzvah's+ Matisyahu



Ben Stiller used to be really funny. What happened?




This kid probably got to touch at least 2 pair of gentile boobies at the his Bar Mitzvah after party.



If you haven't listened to this song yet, think of what Bob Marley would have been singing about in 2010.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Tegan and Sarah dance

IN UGG Boots!





The blue one has a cute butt. I'm turned on.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Keeping up with the Internet

I apologize for not updating sooner. This week has been absolutely the craziest of my life.


I just found a link to the New Pornographer album "Together". Take a listen:

Mediafire Link!


Listen to a preview:





I haven't listened to the album in full, but I'm shaking knees to see what it sounds like.
What do you think?



Saturday, April 10, 2010

The Tiger Woods Commercial



uhhhhhh, is this an advertisement for a mortuary? Does Nike now bring people back from the dead?

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Space Ghost Cowboys-"Graveyard Bed"



Directed by the amazing Matt Figler.
Stream and download the album for free here:

Sunday, April 4, 2010

The Internet Is A Sidewinding Puzzle (Diggy's Blog, Taz Arnold, Bastards Of The Party)

I was watching a new episode of Run's House. The episode was about how Diggy (one of Rev's sons) got his labtop taken away for doing too much blogging and not enough homework. I went to check the blog and was pleasantly surprised.

Diggy's Blog (Life of the Jet Setter)


Did some reading, found out that Diggy also raps! And he's not so bad. I won't give him too much credit because that beat is from the classic Nas track "Made You Look".

Diggy - Made you look Freestyle (Flow Stoopid) from Diggy Simmons on Vimeo.


One of the best rap songs, EVER!


I kept searching and found a great interview with Taz Arnold, musician and fashionista.




He discusses some topics regarding modern day fashion and it's affect on culture. While talking about his fashion lines, opinions on Ralph Lauren, and some other fashion lingo bingo. During the interview, someone mentioned the documentary, Bastards Of The Party. I found it on Google Video, and will probably lose the next 90 minutes of my life, but hopefully gain some knowledge about about some gang wars in California.



Enjoy the Sunday. YOU KNOW I DID!

News on News

I ask you to take the news test to see which broadcast company gives the most unbiased, fair, and complete coverage of the recent scandal within the Vatican to cover up Pedophilia accusations at the Pope. If you are unfamiliar just watch the clips, and come up with your own judgements.

CNN



AL-JAZEERA


FOX News


BBC (won't allow embedding)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8602823.stm

ABC (only copy the link)
http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/catholic-church-in-crisis-over-scandal-18974636

CBS (I couldn't find anything on the Pope, but this looked fun!)

Watch CBS News Videos Online

MSNBC

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


CBC (Won't allow embedding)
http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/ID=1452425104


What do you think should happen with the Pope?

That scene from Network when that guy goes crazy.




is how I feel right about now.

hows about you?

Saturday, April 3, 2010

NEW TOKYO POLICE CLUB TRAILER!

CHAMP from Graham Wright on Vimeo.



I'm peeing my pants in excitement. You probably should be too, if you knew what was good.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Hurricane J/Live From Ardsley NY

I went to The Hold Steady show tonight in Ardsley New York @ LIFE/ The Place To Be

The venue reminded me of the typical Bar Mitzvah hangout spot. If you've been to one, you've been to them all. Arcade games, Flat Screen TV's, a bowling alley, and this big dancehall room.

The crowd was super middle aged, like Moms and Dad's who were definitely not in their early 30's. Less bumping around, which provided for more of a Bar Mitzvah atmosphere. I was wondering when they were going to bring out the chair and start the horah.


But this place wasn't Jewish friendly. No non-bread products for Passover! WTF LIFE?


Anyway, enjoy the clip of my new favorite song:

Thursday, April 1, 2010

SEMEN SEMEN SEMEN

thanks Nick Pizzolato for bringing this to my attention


Semen Stats

Monday, March 29, 2010

Fear[s] Of The Dark- Trailer/ Mini Review / Focus On French Film @ SUNY Purchase



I want to give you a head's up on one of the better events that has become a annual success @ SUNY Purchase. During the weekend of April 9-11th, the Focus French Film Festival comes on campus, screens films, and gives away free food. Some of the best modern French Film is screened throughout the campus, most of the screenings occur at the PAC (Performing Arts Center) but some are screened in the Humanities Theater located in the Humanities Building.

One of the films being screened during this year's festival, is titled Fear[s] Of The Dark . A collection of animated short films that not only frighten the soul, but provide for some of the most beautiful cinematic artwork I've ever seen on a screen.


Sunday, March 28, 2010

Logorama- 2010 Oscar Award-Winning Animated Short Film

I think it speaks for itself:


Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

The Hold Steady- Hurricane J




This song was released earlier this week and I can't stop listening. I'm so excited for this release and this band and the future for late guys in their 30's playing rock n roll. Go catch them before the mid-life crisis'.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Sex G-d Cowboy






i love these videos.

Kitsune Noir

Usually blogs have little lasting effect on my memory. I came across Kitsune about two years ago, and forgot about it, came back to it, forgot about it again. Not only is this blog spectacularly creative in the material it covers, but Bobby Solomon (the creator) fuses both fashion, design, and music together in his stylish and innovative blogging.


Every week he releases a Mixcast featuring different songs his commenters suggest or songs he throws together for a supberb free downloadable mix.

This is volume 29.


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tracklist:
Meet Me in the Garden by Dent May
Here Comes The Sun Again by M.Ward
Here Comes The Sun by The Beatles
Foolin’ by Devendra Banhart
Holiday by Vampire Weekend
Like Castanets by Bishop Allen
The Swimming Song by Vetiver
Oh, Magnolia Tree by Ducktails
Kay-Ray-Ku-Ku-Ko-Kex by Múm
A Higher Power by Jens Lekman
The Line by Wave Machines
Oklahoma, U.S.A. by Yo La tengo
Saturday by The Clientele

Download it Here!


I strongly suggest if you choose one website to get lost in today, pick this one. If you enjoy innovative art and design or want to discover some new jams, this is your website.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

The New Ted Leo



I'm diggin. I really like that Ted Leo is almost 40 years old and still one of the coolest people on the planet. Here's a clip from earlier this year @ The Meat Locker.




He also has did a co-interview with Spin talking to Paul Weller (The Jam) they talk to each other.... about each other. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to react when reading two artists conversation about how great the other one is, but I didn't mind this one too much.



How lucky is Jools Holland?

Listen to Ted Leo, listen to Paul Weller, smoke crack like Amy Winehouse.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Broken Social Scene – “Forced To Love” & “All To All”


 



What do you think of the new Broken Social Scene?

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Manufacturing Consent: A Movie about Noam Chomsky




If you have a couple hours to sit down and watch an incredible documentary, make sure to watch this one. The first time I heard about Noam Chomsky was in a NOFX song. I wish I would have looked him up a tad bit sooner.

I'm too tried to give a description so heres one from Wikipedia!:

Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992) is a multi award-winning documentary film that explores the political life and ideas of Noam Chomsky, a linguist, intellectual, and political activist. Created by two Canadian independent filmmakers, Mark Achbar and Peter Wintonick, it expands on the ideas of Chomsky's earlier book, Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, which he co-wrote with Edward S. Herman(Wikipedia)

Please just watch the first 10 minutes. This documentary will change the way you watch media. Not porn though, you'll probably still watch that the same way.


Here's that NOFX song, you punx:

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Weather Girls- It's Raining Men




It's pouring right now in Purchase, which inspired me to post the song that I always think about whenever I'm in a rainstorm.


Sunday, March 7, 2010

Mr Warmth: Don Rickles

When I was 12 years old, I bought Chris Rock's comedy album, "Bigger and Blacker". Although I probably understood a fourth of the jokes on the album, I played that disk until the plastic wore off. He had these amazing commentaries on race and modern culture that for some reason struck a chord with a pre-pubescent white boy from suburban New Jersey. How can anyone not love "No Sex In The Champagne Room"? Not this guy.


I've been enamored with standup comedy ever since I bought that album.




A few years ago I came across this documentary and immediately fell in love. Not only because the movie had all these hotshots stroking Don Rickles ego for an hour and a half. But I couldn't stop watching, every time it came on HBO, I was hypnotized. It's strange because most of the film is composed of other people telling stories about their relationships. Something that should be boring. The film discusses his life and upbringing, his time in the Navy and how he slowly became one of comedies all time greats.




I've watched this clip numerous times. Not only because the clip is a comedic gem, it's this immaculate time capsule of the coolest generation of celebrity that has ever existed. Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Neil Armstrong, and Ronald fuckin Regan! Can you imagine what that after party looked like? Dean Martin was smoking on the show!





The Eighties didn't slow him down like some entertainers (see: The Rolling Stones) He's almost seventy years old in that clip and as fresh as he ever was. Making fun of Whoopie will never not be funny.





Hanging out with Conan and poking fun at Andy Richter, just like he should be. Even when the heckler screams out, he puts her down like it was scripted in his act. There is something so special that lacks in contemporary comics.






Still making fun of Regis. I love this man so much. I hope one day I can see him perform. I better hurry up.


Sunday, February 28, 2010

The Soothsayer Satire: Sam Schachter Studies? by Devin Doyle

Devin wrote this great piece that was featured in the The Purchase Indy
I think it's good to laugh at yourself sometimes or most of the time or for me, all the time.

By Devin Doyle

According to the Purchase College Registrar, major events coordinator and campus personality, Sam Schachter, is going to become a major here at Purchase, starting in the fall of 2010. Students will get the opportunity to earn a four-year undergraduate degree in the study of the young man’s biography, his opinions on everything from music to sports, and his future ambitions in life.
Many prospective Purchase students are relieved that a college is finally offering the major they have been looking for. High school student, David Deytraype, from Forest Hills, NY, is hoping to study that major next year as a freshman. “I have been a huge fan of Schachter’s since I was twelve years old,” says Deytraype. “I really hope to work for Schachter in some way after college. I even grew a beard like his!” Nebraska high school student, Alan Spangreen, won a $25,000 scholarship to Purchase after writing an essay entitled, “Schachter Schock,” which argued that Culture Shock should be renamed after the event’s sole organizer. “I’m honored that the scholarship board allows me to come to Purchase to pursue my dream,” Spangreen tells The Independent. “My financial situation wouldn’t have allowed it otherwise.”
Many undecided Purchase students have now found their niche in this new major. Ethan Kahn, sophomore undecided, thought of majoring in Gender Studies, but instead has decided to major in Sam Schachter. “You know, there’s really nothing you can do with a Gender Studies degree, but the world is your oyster if you have a degree in Sam Schachter,” Kahn says.
A student majoring in Sam Schachter will be offered a highly comprehensive curriculum including such classes as:

• “Introduction to Sam Schachter” (3 credits) An introduction course, which spends two semesters detailing the basic history of Schacter’s twenty plus year life, along with some of his core values.
• “Applied Theories of Schachter” (2 credits) Studies all the decisions Schachter has made at Purchase as a coordinator and organizer and compares them to major events coordinators in 20th century world history.
• “Queer Schachter” (3 credits) Taught by the renowned Gender Studies professor Dr. Laura Henlock, this course re-contextualizes Schachter from gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender perspectives
• “LoveSchack Practicum” (4 credits) A senior-only class in which students develop theses of their own based on opinions found in Schachter’s blog.

The Registar is also considering offering a minor called “Steve Sabel” in which students will juxtapose the careers of Sabel and multiple Presidential nominee Bob Dole

I thought that was fucking hillarious, what did you think?

Saturday, February 27, 2010

I'd rather watch the trailer.

a few films that are tickling my salivary gland:














Is that enough pretentious foreign language for you? I think not!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Updates.

If you follow this blog, you probably know that all but one person still updates. And most of you probably know who it is. So here's some updates on what's going on.


I did an interview with Chris Vaughn about the upcoming details for Culture Shock for The Independent. ( The weekly Purchase College publication) However, they haven't put it online yet. : (

Chrissy Vitolo (The Brick) wrote an article about the last Culture Shock meeting. I thought it went well, some people didn't like the atmosphere. Read about it: Here



Last week, Shack Attack Records had a release show to celebrate the physical release of our first compilation. Blake Portnof made this great video of the show/event.



Here's a couple more videos from the show:







You can buy the compilation and help build a hospital in Ethiopia: HERE


WW4R665NSXW7

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Phoenix Gets American Cool!

Grammy Winners!



A Paramore Cover!


SNL Performance!


An Interview with Snooki!




And even with this despicable media blitz, they're still the coolest band in the world.

Live from Paris via Blogotheque's Take Away Show

Monday, February 1, 2010

My trip to Israel

I usually don't do "personal posts" on the blog, but because I was away for so long, and thus could not post for sometime, I thought I would explain and document what had taken up 15 days of my of my life. If your expecting a post about how great and wonderful Judiasm is, you can stop reading now because this is not what I'm going to discuss. Instead, I want to show you a few video clips and pictures from my trip. I'm not going to be able to cover everything, we did about 50 activities in 10 days, and it would take a week to upload and describe everything, so I'm going to describe the personal highlights of my trip.



The first full day of the trip took us to the Old City in Jerusalem. To be more exact, on top of King David's fortress. During our time at the castle, we ate some challah bread, danced the Horah and of course, took some pictures. Here are a few:

Throughout the trip, I made sure to take 10-40 second video clips of most places we visited. This is a video of us dancing on top of the Old City Fortress:



Our next location was to the old ruins of Jerusalem. In Judaism this is the holiest location. However, it is incredibly holy to both Muslims and Christians. Members of both faiths venture to this location from all over the world. We then continued to the Western Wall, or what some call The Wailing Wall. A Wikipedia description below to describe the unusual name:

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"The name “Wailing Wall”, and descriptions such as "wailing place" appeared regularly in English literature during the 19th century.[4][5][6] The name Mur des Lamentations was used in French and Klagemauer in German. This term itself was a translation of the Arabic el-Mabka, or "Place of Weeping," the traditional Arabic term for the wall.[7] This description stemmed from the Jewish practice of coming to the site to mourn and bemoan the destruction of the Temple."


We then proceeded to walk around more of the ruins, receiving profuse amounts of information about the sight. Our tour guide (Josh) which you'll probably see in at least one of the pictures, was not only one of the most educated incredible human beings I've ever interacted with but one hell of an intelligent man. I think I've retained maybe 10% of the things we were told. This country is rich with history stemming from literally more than two thousand years ago.

Some pictures of the ruins:

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A review of the Shwarma from the marketplace near the ruins.



Next stop was to the shuk (Marketplace) at Ma Yehuda. Those Jews, they love their marketplaces. I guess you need somewhere to go if grocery stores are unavailable. There are grocery stores in Israel but this is way better. These pictures were taken on a Friday afternoon, right before Shabbat where the majority of the country comes home to pray, eat, and be with family.


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Not only does this trip provide educational and religious purpose, it puts you in some great situations. This guy standing next to me, came up to me at an event. Believe it or not, this didn't seem so outrageous because I knew that he was on a Birthright program. I could tell he was close to my age but I had never seen this person before. He told me that someone from his hometown (Yorktown, NY USA) told him that that a guy with a bald head and beard would be in Israel on Birthright (I'm sure there are many bald man with facial hair that live in the country), so he asked if I was that man, and it turned out I was.
A quick little fact, Jews make us .02 of the world's population. So statistically, it was meant to be we'd eventually stumble upon each other.

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The next day we woke up early to take a trip to a special place called Lifeline For The Old where people who are disabled or in old age create art and crafty gifts. The members make toys, buttons, clothing, Judaica (fancy Jewish stuff) and the proceeds go to keeping the place open. Now this may seem like some Happy Gilmour gimmick, but her is an explanation:

"In this environment of focused energy and creativity, participants master challenging and rewarding tasks, while simultaneously forming bonds with newfound friends and peers around them.In this environment of focused energy and creativity, participants master challenging and rewarding tasks, while simultaneously forming bonds with newfound friends and peers around them."

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I wish there were more of these types of places in The United States. It's amazing how creative these people were. Serving a purpose in life gives more of a reason to keep on living, despite how awful life can be at times, and this place was a perfect example and a testament at how we as humans can create beauty even at our oldest and sometimes toughest times.

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If I had to rate the destinations of the trip, this next location would be second on my list. Yad Vahshem, which is the Holocaust memorial in Israel, was not only a museum, but a monument center, education spot, and mourning space. I cannot explain how much power this place emitted. Now, most of you have heard of the Holocaust and I hope that all of you believe that it happened, but being here was more compelling then any synagogue or religious destination we visited the entire trip. I've never had such a heartfelt connection to being Jewish in my entire life. I had visited the national museum in Washington DC, but this was levels above the rest.

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I had family killed in the Holocaust, so being taught about it at times can feel redundant, but here I could not obtain enough information on the subject. So much terror, agony, and unspeakable crimes that occurred, it's difficult to wrap your head around why or how it happened. Every-time I learn something new, it makes me question how something so preventable could have been stopped. I strongly encourage anyone who hasn't learned about this time in history and may not believe that it "was as bad as people made it out to be" to look a little harder. These are only words. Make an attempt to at least once in your life visit the museum or a related monument. It's not only important for Jews, but for human beings to recognize what happened during the Holocaust.

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Throughout the trip, there is this kind of over atmosphere of death. We're in the desert, recollections of the Holocaust, and the constant reminder that we're still in a war zone. And although all of this is a part of the country, there still is happiness and joy to be had.

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We then took a trip from Jerusalem into the desert, to a Bedouin camp. A Bedouin is an Arab.. They usually live in rural areas like the desert or in compounds almost like outdoor camp areas. While at the camp we got to ride camels, eat incredible food, and venture out into the desert, where I had a tremendous bonding experience with the rest of the group. I didn't take any pictures of the bonding, but here are some of the camels and Bedouin camp images.

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From there we rode down south to my favorite destination of the trip, Masada. It may not seem like an incredible place, but Masada is a wonder that I have seen nothing like before. Originally a fortress and community for Jews way back when, It served as living area as far back as 70 CE (no one lives there currently)  I've heard stories throughout my life about how amazing it was and the importance it has had in my life has been repeated to me since I can remember.

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This was taken at the top of the mountain where you can listen to an echo if you speak loud enough. I can't hear it, can you?


The Dead Sea is notoriously one of the coolest places to visit in all of Israel. If you hadn't noticed because of the high salinity levels, it's extremely easy to float. However, because the salt is so powerful, if you decide to let the water near your eyes or open wounds, it burns very badly. Luckily that didn't happen, but I did hear about someone diving in head first. Crazy tourists!

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We then drove up to Tiberius and stayed in a Kibbutz where the food was delicious and the sights were magnificent. Tiberius is located in northern part of the country near the Kinerit, which is the main water source for all the country. We rode bicycles into the reserve, went bird watching, and saw the craziest rainbow in the history of rainbows. Afterwards, we spent time in the spiritual town of Tsfat, where Kabbalah was created and is still to this day studied and practiced. Some wacky dudes over there, but also some delicious treats:

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The Kinerit


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Golan Heights

The view of Syria
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Tsfat
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The following days were spent down in Ashkelon, near Tel Aviv. I wish I would have spent more time walking around, but unfortunately the trip did not allow us to do so.


Words, adjoining pictures and media can only speak so loud and describe so well. The experience's I had endured while on this trip made a huge impact and left a colossal mark on me not only as a Jew, but as a human being. There is an appreciation of life that I know I received from going on this trip. It's not about Arabs vs. Jews or donating money back to the country, and I know many of you have heard this is what Birthright is about. To me, it was about getting face deep into a culture and only coming up to breathe when necessary. People have been asking me about the trip, and I'm left speechless, I just can't express to them how incredible of a time I had. If your a Jew please take advantage of this amazing opportunity, and if your not Jewish and your thinking about going on vacation, choose Israel, it will change your life.


To find more information on Birthright, visit the site Here

This post is dedicated to the stray cats of Israel, they're everywhere!

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