United Statesian

Dear Citizens of the World! The outlook is bleak! Israel is at war, but not with another country. It is at war with its own brand of extremism. Many believe that the Arab Spring will unleash the extremists in the Arab world, long held down by dictators, causing Israel to be more at danger. Thus far, this has not been the trend. I personally believe that the Arab Spring will be a positive thing for the region and Israel. The threat, as I see it, comes more from a homegrown extremism. Although small, it is quite vocal. Being Jewish is more a race than a religion. Only about 20 percent of Jewish Israelis consider themselves religious. And, the extremists are only about one percent of that 20 percent. That one percent of the 20 percent gets many of the headlines inside...and outside of Israel. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4162611,00.html The 0ne-percent have many privileged here in Israel. Most do not work or do the three-year mandatory ...

A weathered door from the Cathedral in Morella Dear Citizens of the World, Tourism in Spain is equivalent to eating. Most destinations are known for their gastronomy as much as their monuments. Morella, a mountain village in the North of Castellon (along the Med between Barcelona and Valencia), is no different. Local "rosemary" honey from Morella During our visit to Morella we did spend some time walking around the area and checking out the monuments; however, the focus of the day was really the lunch and specialty shopping for local foodstuffs. Local sweet wine/spirts... we decided on the Garnatxa The day did not come without it's challenges. We ate so much for lunch that it was tough to complete a proper cheese tasting -- we ended up with three types of cheese... and we normally avoid lactose! Reflection of the sky and street in a large decanter full of red wine Remember, when visiting a Spanish village there are three rules to follow: 1. Get advice on a good restaurant...

Dear Citizens of the world! It's Spring...time for Spanish country weddings! I have been to a few weddings but this one took the cake for length and for... rowdyness. Any celebration in Spain involves food. The wedding was three days of eating, but with a ceremony and white dress somewhere in the middle. The white dress The festivities started with a long dinner, dancing and drinking until the wee hours on Friday. Saturday morning's ceremony was "traditional" but the tossing of rice and rose pedals became a pumelling that had everyone diving for cover. After a snack of rosquilas (the local version of donuts, but with more grease), we headed off to lunch. In between the various courses, the bride and groom were "forced" by their rowdy friends to do all manner of rituals. The groom being paraded around the reception wearing only a diaper.. . After lunch came dancing, drinking, a siesta and then more eating that evening. The grooms friends cutting his t...

Dear Citizens of the world, The demon dogs have abated and I am slowly regaining my strength. My first week back to the grind was a tough one, but thankfully it was shortened by a holiday on the last Friday of January. Thus, I was free to line up outside the Mapfre Foundation Exhibit Hall in Madrid for a rare treat: The Musée d' Orsay traveling show . Since the famous impressionist museum is being renovated, a small collection of pieces from the likes of Manet, Monet, Renoir, etc are being put on display around the world - first stop Madrid. Cool January Sunrise in Madrid on the Gran Via To top it off, the visit is free! My favourite piece is: " La estación de Saint-Lazare " from Claude Monet. If you are in Madrid, give it a look-see. The United Statesian

Dear Citizens of the world, After finding this figure in a large nativity scene ( Belen in Spanish) in a small church in the Pyrenees. I immediately decided to find out more and write a blog. The cagón could be translated as the pooper, crapper or sh!tter. I will use the translation of " pooper " for this post. This image was shocking to me because I am used to the traditional scene of the happy family, three kings, angels, some farm animals, etc. Apparently, the tradition of the Nativity Pooper comes from the Catalan region of Spain. The Catalan name is " Cagagner " (click for orignal source in Spanish) . The Pooper is a symbol of good luck and prosperity: Poop = fertilizer = a good harvest = prosperity = happiness The pooper also gives a more "real" feel to the scenes. These nativities in Spain are huge. They cover several square meters with tons of bark, sand, dirt... and figures that include the poopers. The nativity scenes even include mechanized f...

Dear citizens of the world, I am now trying to send photos to participate in as many photo contests as possible. It is a great way to learn and an incentive to improve. The hard part is choosing the photos. The art of photography is so subjective; each contest has so many possible winners. It is also very personal. Many pictures I take mean something to me, but I don't know how others see them...or what they see. Even if two people agree that they like a photo, they probably don't like it for the same reasons. The above picture is from a bridge over the Bosphorus, outside of Istanbul: it is taken in winter, the weather is cold and crisp, the shot is taken in Europe, but the far shore is Asia, the massive bridge dwarfs the container ship, the mosque in the foreground is plain, elegant, clean, double minarets are complimented by the double supports of the bridge, smaller boats at the bottom help balance the picture and reinforce the contrasts, both modern and new... Many more a...