E-Monk's Live Blog

Recently I've been told by several people that I complain a lot about the heat. I won't even try to deny it, because it is true. The heat this summer really takes its toll on and I have issues dealing with it. But why is that any different from past years? I've been living in the Israeli coastal plain for nearly 30 years and it's not as if the summers were particularly pleasant: the temperatures were always stable at around 29°C and the humidity revolved at around 70%. Yes, there were a few days of higher temperatures, but these heatwaves were not frequent and ended withing a few days. But this year seems to be different. I honestly cannot recall a single day with temperatures bellow 32° in the past month or so. To make things even worse, temperatures of 34° and more are very common (in fact, this is the forecast for today) and we had a week long heatwave with temperatures that reached 39°. Add the same amount of humidity as before and you will reach the inevitable conc

...So this is my first day at work. One word can describe this whole scene: casual. No screaming, no shouting, no crying - no drama. Just simple exchange of papers and polite words, promises to keep in touch and handshakes. But the void just grows: the job loss, the dissolution of the partnership, my friend's visit's end - all in the same week. But voids do not stay empty for extended periods of time - they get filled by the first thing that happens to flow into them. This situation can be harmful and I've been there - having too much free time on my hands was not good for me and in many ways finding a full-time job saved my life. But voids can also be a potential source of energy and free time can be a mean to self-development and creativity. At the end, it will be my choice and my responsibility of how to use this free time that was given to me. I just need to make the right decision and stick to it, and obviously find some people to support me in that. Will you help me?

On Friday I met my friend E who's visiting Israel for the first time and I planned to take her to visit Nachalat Benyamin and Shuk HaCarmel in what was once the center of Tel Aviv. Howevert a combination of hostile weather and a financial crisis forced us to change our plans and head to the air conditioned space known as Dizengoff Center. After working in that shopping mall for almost two years I knew that this place attracts the weirdest and most disturbed people Tel Aviv can offer, and it's an odd bunch indeed. Obviously E got somewhat excited seeing names like Mango, Zara and Accessorize but I couldn't blame her - her reaction was not much different than mine when I see names like Canon or HTC. We went on and visited several other shops until we reached a cosmetics shop. While E was checking some products, one of the sellers with her hair partly dyed green approached me, pointed at my camera and said in Hebrew "This camera can see everything ". Fortunately whil

You shouldn't follow rules which make no sense. You shouldn't follow rules that are unfair or unjust. Rules and laws that were made by humans should be criticized and checked for their relevance, sense and fairness in order to maintain the already fragile trust between citizens and law enforcement organizations and the governments. But who are we to judge if a rule makes sense? Actually, we have the right and authority to do so. If we find a rule or a law which should be cancel it's our right - no - our duty to try and change it. We can do it by either voting, lobbying, applying to the supreme court or, if all fails, use civil disobedience. However, before you decided that a law, a rule or a regulation does not make sense, remember this: sometimes, you cannot see the whole picture or foresee the consequences of breaking this law. And this is why .