Onestateoratwostatesolution

Your sentiments exactly

Someoldjoannanewsom

Having only figured out how to embed videos into this web log thing here are a few outstanding fascinations of late. Repeated listening essential and comparing of both recorded and live versions. Mister Ebby, who drove all the way from Galway especially for the concert at extremely short notice, kindly gave me a copy of her earlier album, 'The Milk Eyed Member' and some other stuff from earlier E.p's. Thisisawaitingfurtherlistens

Arabic Dabke Dance

Dabke is the most popular Arab folk dance of Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. It literally means "stamping of feet". Sang at joyous occasions, the Dabke leader is supposed to be like a tree, with a proud trunk and hands in the air, setting the rhythm which the others follow. Instruments used include: the lute (pear shaped guitar), mijwiz (type of clarinet), tablah (hand drum) and the daff or rikk (tamborine).

'The groom is beautiful but he is already married to another man'

In other words, the region is well suited to settlement but was already inhabited. I guess Arthur James Balfour (Balfour Declaration of 1917) has a lot to answer for..
Yesterday I read a very interesting story about a movement starting amongst women in the Israel and Palestine Territories. Amongst women from both sides of the conflict. Israeli women who travel from Tel Aviv in their cars, and cross the border into the occupied West Bank. There, they pick up some other women, Palestinian women and their children and smuggle them back across the border for a day trip to Tel Aviv, primarily to enjoy a day at the sea. For many of these Palestinian people, it is their first time ever to get to go to the seaside even though where they are from it is not that far to the Mediterranean sea.. [Note.: Israel & the Palestine Territories is about the size of Wales]

The belief of these brave women is that civil action is the only way forward, that breaking an illegal law will help make it become legal. It is a real case of Thelma and Louise for these women, breaking the law together from both sides. It is illegal for a Palestinian person to enter Israel without a permit which is only given to 1% of the population (Population of West Bank 2,514,845; Population of Israel 7,602,400). Likewise it is illegal for an Israeli person to smuggle a Palestinian across the Green Line. This covert opperation means they are subject to being snapped at by border officials at any point of this excursion. Both groups of women could face imprisonment for a simple day at the sea.

 

Since 1991 the travel restrictions have been heavily enforced, with israeli government imposing strict criteria for obtaining a permit. Permits from Gaza are also very rare.
On Friday I am travelling to Israel. I am a mixed bag of how I feel about it. I do think that there is something special about the movement of these women, and their refusal to accept that they should be enemies.

Somenewjoannanewsom yes Ys yes

The ethereal and wonderful harpist, pianist and singer-songwriter Joanna Newsom played last night in the Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin and this finally offered an opportunity to see her perform live for the first time. Having missed her play the both All Tomorrow's Parties (ATP) with Matt Groening, and The Green Man festival in Wales this past August, it was very exciting to have her in Dublin again since she played the Olympia in April 2007. Since the release of her third studio album, 'Have One On Me' (Feb '10), she was with her 5 piece band playing the first night of their tour, having confessed to doing very little practice over the summer months.
 
Newsom was incredible to see however and certainly failed to disappoint, as she honestly felt she had done after her last Dublin performance, candidly telling the story of her overhearing in a restaurant the table behind her criticize the gig she just played, and having to escape under a friends coat. This, also a brave story to tell at the start of just the third song to a larger Dublin crowd with the new Grand Canal capacity of 2111 people who were slow to warm up after Roy Harper's support gig. The sound in the new theatre was pitch perfect and beautifully crisp, like she was singing next to your ear. This assisted nicely with the deciphering of her astonishingly cryptic lyrics which I would love to have her explain to me one day. Her, me, Lola Montez and a few dozen daddy longlegs.

There would be more photos but the lady snapped at me for taking my camera out at the venue.:

Here is the set list from the gig. September 14 2010, Grand Canal Theatre. Check out the trombone player who also requires some attention.

1. jackrabbits
2. have one on me
3. easy
4. kingfisher
5. inflamatory writ
6. autumn
7. soft as chalk
8. monkey and bear
9. good intentions paving company
10. Encore:
11. peach, plum, pear

During the gig she had to pause for a few minutes to superglue her fingers from playing the harp as she had not kept her callus's during the summer. She was engaging in some banter with the crowd. I wanted to ask her would she try playing our new Samuel Beckett Bridge which opened in Dublin recently..