Merry Radiation Christmas

Spending the holidays next to my first fire of the year in my (newish) home. Hope you're near some warmth too, whether it be near burning wood or warm significant other.

Our New Baby

He's a bundle of goodness. So he may be my roommate's dog, but I love him like he's my own. His name is Chupchik (a punctuation mark in Hebrew to produce a foreign sound in the Hebrew alphabet) and he was adopted earlier this summer from a family who used to praise him on his "barking at Arabs" ability. Needless to say, we think he has a better home now.

Here he is with Taki, his sugar-daddy. Like father like son-of-a-bitch. I think this photo is ADORABLE. You decide.

I believe he's got a bit of Italian Greyhound with a tinge of something else. What are your thoughts?

Michigan

I know. It's been a while. Things have happened and things have been quite the same.

Before I delve back into the blogging world, I'd like to share with you a little film I conjured up while visiting my friend Kyle's family on Lake Michigan. The time there was magical and I've gained a new family. Thank you to the Mills family for embracing me as one of your own. Oh...and thanks to Sally Mills for pushing me to blog more.


Michigan from Stephen Slater on Vimeo.

Happy Anniversary to Me

One year ago today I moved to Israel. I can't believe it's been so long - seemingly so short. Usually I live in a city for a year, the honeymoon ends, and I'm quickly thinking of the next place to be. For the first time in my life I'm not having those thoughts. Puts a smile on my face.

It's beginning to look a lot like New York City

So it's been snowing here for two days straight. I've been stuck at home watching movies and trying to stay warm.



Don't I live in the Middle East?



(thanks Shai and Ben for the photos!)

T-Giving and X-Mas

Okay. So it’s been a while since the last posting. I’m sorry. The owners of the free internet we were stealing finally caught on – or moved. We’re not quite sure, but thank goodness there was no confrontaion.

So a lot of holidays have past for you silly, non-Israelis. And, like any good ex-Pat, I celebrated them here, too.

Thanksgiving was held at my friend Taki’s flat. It was spur-of-the-moment so preparations were rushed. I also cooked/prepared most of the meal to great success, if I do say so myself. (Thanks Ina Garten!) Parmesan mashed taters, roasted eggplant, a fresh, herb salad with mustard vinaigrette. It was all Top Chef up in that joint. Except for the canned cranberries. Tom Calicio would have considered that a total failure…that is, if he didn’t know that I HEATED THEM UP! That’s right. Warm cranberry sauce. Delicious. Thoughts?


Can't you just smell the goodness?

For Christ’s Birthday, Taki and I decided to go to the American Colony Hotel in East Jerusalem for a bit of Christmas flare. We ate lovely and had horrible pictures taken in front of the Christmas tree:



We tried many times to get a good one. This is it. Don’t complain. Just accept.

Anywho, as any good American would celebrate, we went to The Church of the Redeemer in the Old City after our delicious meal. It was filled to the brim with people. I also heard a very popular song in Jerusalem during the service: Go Tell it on the Mountain. It was like I was in Georgia, at home with my family (which is par for the course…usually) and wrapped in a warm caftan usually worn by older women. But hey, that’s the spirit of the holiday, right? Thinking these warm, female thoughts, we decided to go see a drag show to cap-off the evening. Again. Nothing says Christmas like female-impersonators. Right mom?

I took a trip to Bethlehem with Taki and Kyle for the celebration of the Greek Christmas at the church where “Christ was born.” It was an amazing experience. The church is surprisingly modest yet full of character. It soon became crowded with lots of different people from around the globe. I heard a few languages I barely even recognized. The church didn’t really seem to have any service what-so-ever, yet you heard chanting and prayer throughout. It was not a time for anyone who might be claustiphobic. Taki mentioned that he didn’t need to stand on his own two feet, he just simply let his body go and the weight of the people next to him kept him afloat. It was wild. We left after many hours of waiting around for something. It didn’t come. The Palestinian President was there but was nowhere to be found.

Hope you had a Happy Holiday, y’all.

And yes.... I did say Holiday.

Weird Sighting #३

I recently met a cousin of Barry Manilow while at a gig in Ashdod, Israel. His name is Itzak and he has wonderful things to say about him.

What's crazy about it all is that he looks exactly like this gentleman: