[tws]

Happy Birthday, America! To honor and celebrate the 232nd quasi-official birthday of my native nation-state, I've got a bunch of cool photos of Israel. I proudly present...



Let's just get right into it. Anyone who's been there knows that Israel is one of the most top-to-bottom beautiful places in the world. Let's start at the top. On day one, our group went for a lengthy but rewarding hike up in the Golan Heights.



As a group of 40, we met and made friends with a number of Israelis, particularly on a night out in Tel Aviv, which is one of my favorite cities in the world now. Since the group was predominantly female, we met a number of attracted Israeli men. One night, some friends and I went to Levantin 7, a rock club and saw a great show by loud rocker Aviv Mark and his friends. Afterward, one guy, who told us a lot about the show, managed to let his wallet fall into my friend Andrea's hands. He managed to keep her from wandering off, though.



The most rewarding part of the trip was getting to go on it with my sister Britt and her best friend Kat. We took a number of great photos at various spots to make our mom happy, including this one at an oasis near the Dead Sea. Mike, one of the trio of Philly guys on the trip, expressed his enthusiasm to our right.



Another one of the most rewarding parts of the trip was getting to meet and travel with eight cool-as-hell soldiers from the Israeli army and air force. Like my friends from the trip have expressed in other blogs, they were all 20,21 going on 30 considering the good the military does for you when you turn 18.



All joking aside, we got to hang out and talk everything from life, work, school, relationships, and of course, music, on the bus. One of the soldiers, Lior, had actually founded a prominent ska band called Cuban B when he was younger. Another, Lior (its a common name), is checking out Andrea's iPod on a long bus ride here.



We got to spend another night out in the tourist neighborhood of Jerusalem, which was fun, though aside from some of the best frozen yogurt I've had, didn't have a ton to offer other than jewelry and gifts. I did get this awesome photo of my sister walking up to Anat, another one of the soldiers, as she was on her phone.



We took the inevitable trek up to Masada one morning ridiculously early to see the sunrise. It was worth it. Afterward, our lovable tour guide Hagai gave us the full story of Masada and we hiked down the massive snake path.



After a series of events that involved swimming at an oasis and floating in the dead sea (it BURNS but it's worth it), we wound up in Bedouin tents out in the desert. Somewhere in there, there was a camel ride. (Photo props to Jenny, if she's reading this).

I think we hiked up Ein Avdat the next day. This photo is how great the Negev is, in a nutshell.



We wound up back in Tel Aviv, which reinforced it as one of my favorite cities. We wandered around the flea market area, where I bought some records and found this old jukebox buried underneath some chairs and such in a shed. It didn't look operational.



There are more where these came from, but I have to get going for now. In conclusion, go to Israel. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to return a bunch of messages to friends in the MidEast.

Happy birfday, America!

[tws]

Strange how two weeks out of touch, out of the country can bring such chaos upon returning. Granted, it hasn't been the horrible sort of chaos; it's just been really hard catching up and reorganizing everything. Israel was unbelievable. I'll post a few of the best photos from the trip on here sometime in the next couple of days, resized for your viewing pleasure.

For now, check out some great comedy shows this month.

AGITCOM!
Friday, July 18
8 pm - $10
THE DC IMPROV LOUNGE
It's Eric Moberg who organized this and will be MCing for myself, Jake Young, Eli Sairs, Seaton Smith, and Aparna Nancherla. It will be an amazing time and I implore each and every one of you to come and witness this spectacle.

ARLINGTON CINEMA N' DRAFTHOUSE WITH PAUL F TOMPKINS
Friday, July 25 & Saturday, July 26
9:45 pm - $18 - 21+
2903 COLUMBIA PIKE, ARLINGTON
One of standup's most outstanding figures, a veteran of such classic comedy as "Mr. Show" and his own specials, will be headlining and I'm hosting in this great, great venue. Come out!
More info here

Alright, RADIO tonight!! Gotta run.

[tws]

The Spinto Band, the pride of Wilmington, Delaware, are finally coming out with a new album, apparently called "Moonwink." It's been a long three years since they dropped "Nice and Nicely Done." Granted, they toured their asses off for about two years after that. I think I saw them and caught up with them about four times in DC. I was supposed to do some stuff for Spintonic Productions (their creative umbrella site); I should probably follow through on that. Any way, here is a video for their new single "Summer Grof." Enjoy the mess.

[tws]

Why the Operation Ivy quote, you may wonder? Well, it's the summer, and say what you will about Operation Ivy (it had better be good, people); that CD comes back out as soon as the weather warms up and sounds just as good every year. Even during the winter it kicks ass. I still have this "UNITY" plate I painted in New Hampshire about 8 years ago sitting somewhere.

Summertime is in full swing now; at least, it feels that way outside. Up in CT this weekend, the heat got sweltering, and even a tempest that struck West Hartford on Saturday night didn't break it. I wasn't complaining, though, since the weekend was a blast and plenty of good fortune smiled upon me in various ways.

So what to go into? I'm going to be all over the world this summer. In some instances, for comedy, and others, for just getting back out of the country. Also, I'll be making an appearance or two up at Rififi in New York, which I'm really excited about.

Some of the shows I'm the most looking forward to this summer are in July. On the 18th I'll be doing a show in the DC Improv Lounge (the second room there) with Mighty Jake Young, Eli Sairs, Aparnancherla, Seaton(s of fun) Smith, and Eric Mo(not less)Berg. On July 25-26th I'm opening for Paul F. Tompkins at the Arlington Cinema n' Drafthouse. If you aren't familiar with the work of Paul F. Tompkins, familiarize yourself. The man is heeelarious.

Also, another radio show tomorrow night! Check out the "RADIO" thing on the left there for more info and the recordings of last week's show.

Also, we're filming something this week, hopefully.

Can you take this suspense anymore? I think not. Here's something that's awesome but alternately depressing. It's awesome because you've got sound, color, the whole gamut. And one Danish guy beats the crap out of another. It could be staged, based upon the recent rash of "office working snapping and beating the shit out of other office worker" viral videos on the web now. Which is depressing, since this fad is making light of the fact that most of these people probably have every reason to flip out. No one really knows how (or even that they SHOULD) manage stress and learn to focus on their passions as much as their job. It's the only way to stay sane. If you don't you may end up like this guy. And if you're an asshole, you may end up like the guy on the right who no one comes to help.