I think that software programming and predicting the Apocalypse share one primary rule that should always be kept in mind. If you want to be taken seriously now and in the future, NEVER give an exact date when your code will be done or when the world is going to end

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today's photo is of a slightly altered sign. Sometimes I wonder why I continue to put up with the bullshit of the east village/lower east side, then other times silly things like this make me remember the culture of creativity that keeps me here.

A few of my old friends from childhood have moved frighteningly to the right over the years and nowhere is this more clear than when it comes to the politics of Israel.

Today, when President Obama suggested that an Israeli return to the 1967 borders would be a good starting point for a resolution to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, they all freaked out.

Seriously, the right projects this myth that the current right wing hard line Israeli government is how it always has been and always will be. There is no opposition view possible other than those offered by terrorists.

They seem to forget the assassination of Yitzak Rabin. The former hard-liner saw the logic of the opposition and realizing that it was either a state of permanent war or an active pursuit of peace, became an advocate for change. He was killed after speaking and singing at a fucking peace rally for gods sake. Those that benefited from his murder are now running Israel.

It's nice to see Obama show some leadership, initiative and backbone for once.

My grandfather, before he left Lithuania in the 1920s was a zionist; he had a pass to get on a boat to Palestine -- he never made it there, he grew impatient. He grew tired of the anti-jewish violence of eastern Europe and made his way across the Atlantic.

I once asked him why, being an orthodox jew and a zionist who almost moved to Israel instead of Canada and then the US, he had never visited Israel.

From his perspective, the state of Israel was a giant mistake. His group of zionists, which I later learned was sometimes referred to as Autonomist Zionism, explicitly rejected the idea of a Jewish State.

They looked at the history of Jews in Europe and they saw pogroms, forced conversions, organized attempts at extermination and a people being constantly on the run. They then looked at the history of Jews in the middle east, and they saw communities allowed to put down deep and long term roots. It's really easy to forget that until the founding of the State of Israel, jews living in arab nations lived a much more secure and comfortable life than their comrades in Europe.

For my grandfather, the vision was autonomous communities of jews living in the arab nation of Palestine. In his opinion the US and Britain, eager to have a friendly outpost as a tool of the Cold War, granted State power to the right wing of the zionist movement and that's were it all went bad. It really shocked me to think about it, was there really a faction of the zionist movement that was not also imperialist and colonialist? I have not been able to find much documentation of this faction but my grandpa rarely told lies.

It's an interesting perspective and provides an interesting context for thinking about current events.

today's photos

Today was a long day. I could randomly grab some urls and post them; there are a number of things I do want to pass along but when I just don't have the time to say what something worth posting. So, I've decided to slightly change my plan for this year of daily posts.

I'll continue to post a photo or two every day, but I'm only going to post links or other content when it feels right. I think I'll bore fewer people and maybe feel a little less stress this way.

I had a bunch of things to say today but I've just run out of steam. It's been a long day and I can't focus enough to write anything substantial.

So, I offer you these two links to images that are pretty cool. A woman was on a commercial flight high above Florida when the Space Shuttle launched. She posted two photos of what it looked like from her seat as the shuttle pierced the clouds. I hope she and the folks on the shuttle enjoyed their flights.
http://twitpic.com/4yg4ur
http://twitpic.com/4yg6hs

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and for today's photo(s) from here in NYC

back in the day, this stack would have been gone in a couple hours to be used for various construction purposes (stairs, walls, tables, etc.).
 
 

nothing within reach is safe from graffiti