So that was 2009...

...and it was quite an eventful year for us anglosaxies. The biggest event of the year happened in the final month, a certain new addition to the ranks at anglosaxy castle. Here he is, little JuniorMarkII, otherwise known as Daniel.

He has brought a certain amount of action to the house, and, er, a few sleepless nights. But he's a great little kid, pretty relaxed and doing great.

We also moved out of Tel Aviv. Oh yes, The City That Never Sleeps is now having truly sleepless nights, as the Galilee welcomed us with open arms into the cradle of moshav living. We moved two months ago, and from what I've seen so far, I like it A LOT. The kids are having a great time too, and the missus is very happy, so all's good...

Work-wise I haven't stepped back into the pits of a corridor for quite a few months. I've been doing freelancing gigs here and there, and building up the world famous igoogledisrael.com (see the best posts of 2009 here). I also worked on something over the summer connected with Twitter, but thanks to some stupid, stupid developers, I ended up wasting way too much time on it without any real results. Never mind. Unfortunately, it looks like I might have to step back into the depths of corridordom, and with an offer on the table from a particularly big company, I might have to take it. Tis all about the money innit.

Anyway, this blog will continue, just for the 3 people who sometimes drift by. Posts won't be regular but because Google loves this site, it will get updated. For those of you who understand, then great, for those of you who don't, just ignore this paragraph.

Happy New Year to you and yours!

Madonna's concert in Tel Aviv: a review

So, the Queen of Pop paid Israel a little visit this week. In fact, she's still here. So Mads, if you're reading, nice job love! And can I touch those biceps?

Seriously, a knockout concert, the lady knows how to put on a performance. If you have the chance to catch her live, go and see her (although you'll have to wait for the next World Tour now, as the Tel Aviv gigs were the last of her tour). I was well impressed.

And here's the full review of the Madonna concert in Tel Aviv over at igoogledisrael.com, go check it out.

Mooning

I'll give you a ring sometime

Rings from Carmel Market, Tel Aviv

Whatever they're paying you mate, it ain't enough...

Where the hell am I?

Tel Aviv is changing, changing fast

Just a few years ago this skyline simply didn't exist. Not sure I'm a big fan, but it does look kind of impressive...

Feeling the sand between your toes...

Flush

...with cash we are. Well, with a few cheques that'll help pay off the mortgage to be precise. We signed a contract yesterday with the new tenants. The yuppie couple I spoke about here didn't want in the end, and the gay couple decided it wasn't big enough for their purposes, so we ended up advertising again. Up popped another batch of eager hopefuls, this time it's another yuppie-type couple. God bless for yuppie couples! And God bless the rental crisis in Tel Aviv, because no matter what they say, it's still ongoing...but let's hope it crashes significantly when we need to rent again!

Moz

Wow. Morrissey was in Tel Aviv last night and was class. A mix of the Smiths and his own stuff, he really has some great songs under his belt. And I was very impressed with the audience, they were singing along to most of the songs, even a couple I didn't know. Not sure what he has against Kylie Minogue, and I'm not sure everyone understood the opening string of phrases spouted in a deep Manc accent (Stock Aitken Waterman...Heysel Stadium...etc), but it made me smile...

Siouxsie didn't turn up, nobody knows why (and when telling the crowd this, Morrissey handed over the mic to a girl in the front row that ended up with a "Thank you for coming to Israeeeellll!" which brought the house down...), but the opening act, an Israeli called Assaf Avidan with his band The Mojos were actually pretty good. And the New York Dolls were pure rocknroll, pure entertainment and much much better than I anticipated.

And, as usual, people have already uploaded their videos. Here is the one and only Morrissey encore which made me go all goosebumpy...

Jump ducky, jump!

What the feck is that duck all about, perched on top of Tel Aviv City Hall...?

Tel Aviv Port

Queue up in an orderly fashion please...

It's that time again. After two years of moaning, whining Yemenite tenants, we're renting our cute little pad in Tel Aviv. All because of that pesky dollar business, which has meant a serious reduction in our shekel rental income (why the fuck is this country still so tied to the dollar?). The new contract is in shekels of course, and a seriously high figure was advertised (I hid behind the sofa as the missus pressed Enter to confirm the online ad's details). Didn't stop the hordes calling. 30 people turned up for the half-hour window of opportunity we setup. And 8 of those wanted to sign up on the spot. Now we're down to two options, not sure which one to go for:

• Gay couple: He's a moshavnik, and he's a regular Tel Aviv rent-boy (I'm joking). The missus assures me they are luverly, and cuddly too. Though the missus worries that moshavniks (who live on these) are "untidy".
• College boy and aspiring actress: Nice couple, in fact, way too nice there's something fishy about 'em. Her father is a big-shot CEO of the Israeli branch of a huge international corporation, and his father is a pilot...

Eeny meeny miny moe...

Ugly hotel, nice graffiti

Rockies

Revenge of the Killer Bikini Girls

Love on the rocks

Very slick

* Taken with phone cam

Walk across the rooftops IV

And this would have made it even easier, if I wasn't such a stoopid...


* Taken with phone cam

Walk across the rooftops III

OK, so not exactly rooftops in this one, but this might have given it away...if I wasn't such a stoopid...


* Taken with phone cam