Dec 26-28, Haifa

Haifa is beautiful. Following the Russian immigration, it became the center of Russian life in Israel. So much so, in fact, that Hadar, the older part of town where my grandfather lives, is now almost exclusively Russian. What is not Russian is orthodox. That might be the more surprising half. Haifa, long the bastion of Sabras, would have balked at the notion that a "Dati" population would spring up, but spring up they have.

So where are the Sabras? Burbs. Ah, yes. You know you're a first world country when you replace your condo in the city for an upgrade in a new development on the next rise over. New Romema, Vardiya, and so on have all popped up, usually with a shopping area at the summit and housing perched on the surrounding hill in concentric circles. Kids don't play together in the street as much any more. People drive rather than ride the bus to work. Progress people, progress.

Oh, and all Israelis have HDTV. All of them. HoT is one of the major providers, offering not just VOD, but gaming, trivia, and shopping, all from your remote.

Coming home exhausted one night from an urban hike, we caught "Idiocracy." I had no idea this movie was ever made, but it has B-movie appeal out the wazoo. Here is a promo for Brawndo, which in this dystopian future has replaced water as the sole source of liquid nourishment:



[ EDIT - Commenter Jeremy brought this to my attention: www.brawndo.com. OMG, you can actually buy the stuff. Similarly, this Wall-E fanboy loves: http://buynlarge.com/ ]