And what made me smile was Hanan Ashrawi. The fierce, secular, Palestinian grandmother and member of the Legislative Council. Her whit, ability to have absolute command on history and the facts, and her non-emotional skill in this debate-style interview really gave me a glimmer of hope. It was sort of a reminder that there are plenty of seemingly capable, non-Islamists lunatics who are ready to take over IF AND WHEN the Palestinians actually get a state. It would be Israel's best security interest to give them one . . . putting people like Hanan in charge. I also just love how you can hear the call to prayer in the background during the last seconds of the interview . . . takes me back!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Made me smile today, thank you Hanan Ashrawi
I'm sitting in a Starbucks in San Diego country right now. I just sent out to two copies of the second draft of my book, Surfing the Middle East: Deviant Journalism from the Lost Generation, for testimonials. And then . . . I pulled up Al-Jazeera on my computer and started watching those wonderful videos they have at the bottom of their website. But the one I"m talking about is "Palestinians' UN bid gets a boost."
And what made me smile was Hanan Ashrawi. The fierce, secular, Palestinian grandmother and member of the Legislative Council. Her whit, ability to have absolute command on history and the facts, and her non-emotional skill in this debate-style interview really gave me a glimmer of hope. It was sort of a reminder that there are plenty of seemingly capable, non-Islamists lunatics who are ready to take over IF AND WHEN the Palestinians actually get a state. It would be Israel's best security interest to give them one . . . putting people like Hanan in charge. I also just love how you can hear the call to prayer in the background during the last seconds of the interview . . . takes me back!
And what made me smile was Hanan Ashrawi. The fierce, secular, Palestinian grandmother and member of the Legislative Council. Her whit, ability to have absolute command on history and the facts, and her non-emotional skill in this debate-style interview really gave me a glimmer of hope. It was sort of a reminder that there are plenty of seemingly capable, non-Islamists lunatics who are ready to take over IF AND WHEN the Palestinians actually get a state. It would be Israel's best security interest to give them one . . . putting people like Hanan in charge. I also just love how you can hear the call to prayer in the background during the last seconds of the interview . . . takes me back!
Surfing in Israel, the movie
This video represents everything cool and alluring about surfing in Israel. I highly endorse giving it a watch, and think that the main dude, Hani, is surfing in Jaffa, just below Tel Aviv. (Note that I mostly stayed up in the Haifa area, north of that.) I also really like the filter they used on this video too . . . very "new Middle East."
Hani Surfboards from Russell Brownley on Vimeo.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Why self-publishing Surfing the Middle East is BETTER
OK guys, so I've taken some time to write about the entrepreneurial spirit of how I'm bringing my hardcover book and apps to market--and I'm very close to leaking my publishing company's Executive Summary on this blog--but before I do, let me share a theory and tactic that makes my model for self-publishing better than traditional publishing.
Simply, it's believing in the visual aspect of the project. In doing so, Zentro Media and I created the Surfing the Middle East iPad app. Additionally, I've found a wonderful graphics dude (straight out of college and couldn't find a job, like me) who I've hired, and we are drafting a 16-page, color insert that will go in the middle of my hardcover book.
I mean, you wanna see the trip, right? You wanna see pictures from the places I describe in my journy of surfing from Israel to Lebanon, right?" Here is a draft of what we've done thus far:
For published excerpts of Surfing the Middle East, CLICK HERE.
Simply, it's believing in the visual aspect of the project. In doing so, Zentro Media and I created the Surfing the Middle East iPad app. Additionally, I've found a wonderful graphics dude (straight out of college and couldn't find a job, like me) who I've hired, and we are drafting a 16-page, color insert that will go in the middle of my hardcover book.
I mean, you wanna see the trip, right? You wanna see pictures from the places I describe in my journy of surfing from Israel to Lebanon, right?" Here is a draft of what we've done thus far:
For published excerpts of Surfing the Middle East, CLICK HERE.
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