Hier, dans la Presse, un article de la section voyage, signé Caroline Rodgers  mentionnait Petra dans les Dix endroits menacés par le tourisme de masse.L’article se retrouve également sur son blogue Une Journaliste à bicyclette

@ Lise Giguère - Al Khazneh, le plus connu des tombeaux royal de Petra

Je me suis aussitôt sentie immensément triste pour ce joyau de la Jordanie et du même coup, j’ai ressenti comme un immense privilège d’avoir pu passer quelques heures dans cette cité rose en ruine que beaucoup d’historiens et d’archéologues classent parmi les plus importantes merveilles de l’Antiquité.

Je me souviens encore avoir marché sous le chaud soleil de la Jordanie, dans ce long corridor de murailles qu’empruntaient autrefois les caravaniers

@ Lise Giguère- On s'y rend à pied, à dos de chameau ou à dos d'âne

pour tout à coup voir surgir, à travers la faille des rochers, le Al Khazneh, le plus connu des tombeaux royal de Petra qui ressemble à un palais !

@ Lise Giguère - L'apparition du palais entre la faille des murailles laisse sans voix

Malgré les «vendeurs du temple», des larmes d’émotion ont brouillé ma vue et, depuis, il m’est arrivé souvent de louer Indiana Jones et la dernière croisade, simplement pour la fin qui a été filmée sur le site de Petra, pour voir et revoir cette image inoubliable.

@Lise Giguère - Le Al Khazneh,

En quittant le site, avant de reprendre la route, je me souviens avoir fait un arrêt pour admirer de loin cette montagne plate sur laquelle, m’a-t-on dit, on célébrait autrefois des sacrifices rituels.

@ Lise Giguère - Au milieu de la photo, voyez le large plateau. C'est là-dessus qu'auraient eu lieu les sacrifices.

Troublée par ce lieu chargé d’histoire et de splendeur, c’est en silence que j’ai fait la route inverse. Seul le passage dans le Wadi Rum, le désert dans lequel a été tourné le film Lawrence d’Arabie réussit à me sortir momentanément de ma torpeur.

@ Lise Giguère - Le Wadi Rum

Selon l’article de Caroline Rodgers, l’an dernier, le gouvernement jordanien a averti que le nombre croissant de touristes menaçait ce site , classé dans le Patrimoine mondial de l’UNESCO depuis 1985. Elle ajoute que 3 000 visiteurs s’y rendent chaque jour alors que les infrastructures sont prévues pour 2 000 personnes.

Voici d’autres  images

@ Lise Giguère

@ Lise Giguère - Eh oui, on y vend des gogosses et l'on se sert du nom d'Indiana Jones.

@ Lise Giguère - Quelle merveille cette cité rose

@ Lise Giguère

by John Cooper – ReelLoop.com

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and its recent sequel are great adventure videogames that springboard off of Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider, with much more fluidity and cinematic flair than we’re usually accustomed to in gameplay. That said — it’s a videogame, and like all videogames, it will shine most brilliantly as something interactive, while a film will only diminish its value.

Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer, the screenwriters behind A Sound of Thunder, the upcoming Conan, and Sahara have been tasked with bringing Uncharted to life on the big screen.

As an adventure film, this has plenty of potential — about as much as it stands to derive many of its qualities from the Indiana Jones franchise. However, that vacuum left by Indy’s last crusade has never been successfully filled by any successors.

Amazon Specials!

The 29-year-old shot a series of film stills as she urged TV viewers to vote for their favourite Sky Movies’ Christmas Day line-up.

What caption should go with the photo? If you think of one put it in the comments.

I think it’s a tad ironic that the Roman numberals (sic) for to-day can be pronounced ex-live.  Like I’m trying to kill something with this blog post.  I’m not; it just seems that way though.

I’m a day behind on NaNoWriMo because I went to see my high school play yester-day.  I don’t remember the name of it offhand.  It was pretty good.  It wasn’t what I expected from reading the handout thing.  (I can’t think of what it’s called.  It’s like a church bulletin, but for a play.  Play bill maybe?)  Although one other year the same thing happened.  The play was still good.  I had the same thing for the trailer for UP.  When I saw the movie, it wasn’t what I had expected from the trailer, but it was good nonetheless.  I don’t know where I’m going with this…. 

It was a good play.  I also get extra credit in my English class if I write five sentences about what I liked or didn’t like.  That’s easy!  And extra credit!

So what else is new?  Classes.  I have new classes for a few months.  Until March.  I’m the kind of person who can’t do math in their head that relates to months.  … March = three.  Twelve minus  November… one.  Four months!?  Maybe?  I don’t know.  Sounds good.  Anyway.  I have:

APE.  Advanced Placement English.  Again. 

Psychology – from looking at the book, I think this will be a fun class.

German – well, one good thing – it’s the last trimester of German ever!

Physics – I’m going to get physics confused with psychology.  I mean look: Capital P, silent letter, Y.  They are too similar.  I’m kind of worrying the math will be too much.  I’m bad at math, as can be evidenced by the above.  This class has given me some funny stories already.  Two of which I remember and will relate.

Music History and Appreciation – for the first two weeks, well, full week and three days (due to Thanksgiving Break), we have a sub.  I’m not quite sure that she knows what she’s doing.  She’s better at teaching that some subs I’ve had.  Actually, she’s probably better than some full-fledged teachers I’ve had.  I don’t know if it’s fitting to the class though.  The irony is that we have a sub because the real teacher had rotator cuff surgery.  My dad had that in October, and ‘the rotator cuff’ was an answer for quiz bowl last week.  I totally forgot to talk about quiz bowl.

So, quiz bowl started last week.  I was late because I had to go to the doctor because I had stitches in June.  He had to check to see how I was healing.  I got back at the end of the third round, so I got to be in the whole fourth round.  I don’t have enough points to be considered varsity yet.  I will be angry if I don’t get enough.

OK, funny physics stories.  I might as well say phunny physics stories.  OK, never mind, that’s just dumb.

My physics teacher has two kids, and she was going to take them to get the Swine Flu vaccine (you can spell SWINe FLu with atomic element symbols!).  But they were both sick and ergo couldn’t get it.  Her daughter was “coughing like an old man who smoked”, and her son had pink-eye.  “What am I supposed to do?  Put an eyepatch on him?  ‘He’s a pirate.’  Pirates need vaccines too.”  That’s one of my favourite phrases now – Pirates Need Vaccines Too!

The second story was about my chemistry teacher (from last year), who is also the quiz bowl sponsor/coach/whatever-appropriate-term-of-leadership.  One day over the summer for a teacher work day, he came in wearing sandals, frayed shorts, and a t-shirt.  Most teachers at my school usually dress up, like, professionally for school, so this was unbefitting.  She was wondering if he had spent the summer on an island and if he’d built a radio out of bambo and coconuts. 

I think I will have fun in physics.  For the stories at least, if not learning physics. 

I also have a story relating beer and the pope.  And German.  So, I was in German class, and the other level (the one that actually learns German) was learning about occupations.  They learned that ‘pope’ in Papst.  Alexic people, like I, might get this confused with Pabst, which is a type of beer.  I just thought this interesting that if you flip one letter in ‘pope’ in German, you get a kind of beer. 

My film for to-day was Raiders of the Lost Ark.  I’d forgotten how long and suspenseful it is.  I’m kind of rediscovering some films by watching one every week.  My album is the fourth CD of my Swing Tanzen Verboten series that I got back in March.  This one has some French and Belgian music in it too. 

OK, so I think that’s all I have this week.  I’ve probably forgotten something, but chances are it’s not too interesting.

I have to go catch up on NaNoWriMo.

Happy Friday! Woot! I got out a little early from work today and worked out a nifty deal.  I have to work for about two hours this weekend but because of that I get Monday off.  That means that I have the entire week off next week which is nifty even if it isn’t for the best of reasons.  I found out today that a friend of mine from tech school actually had his wisdom teeth taken out about a month ago so I got to talk to him a little about it.  Unfortunately, he told me that his bottom holes haven’t closed up yet so he still has to clean them out and everything, such a pain, I really hope mine heal up a bit faster but probably not.  He also said it only took him about 2 weeks before he could eat normally again so I guess that isn’t great but not so bad either.

So currently I am doing my standard sitting and relaxing.  I gave into my craving for junk food and got Burger King for dinner.  I figure since I cant really eat for a couple weeks I may as well enjoy it now.  I am watching Indiana Jones because it just felt like the thing to watch.  It’s the old school Indy, Raiders of the Lost Ark, I still haven’t seen the new one and I am still deciding if I really want to.  For now my weekend will consist of sleeping as much as possible, eating good food, teaching, taking care of a friends cat while she is gone and generally relaxing.  I think this may be the weekend I actually get a nice bath, it should be pretty nice.

I got in a phone call with hubby today, I like getting time to actually talk to him, even if it is just while he is on his way home from work.  He was exhausted from work but more than that he is just so generally exhausted and worn down.  I feel bad for him, really he does it to himself but I can’t help but feel bad for him.  He is wearing himself so far down and he doesn’t even know the last time he was happy or went out and actually had fun.  Right now all he has is basic survival and that doesn’t make anyway really happy.  I really hope for his sake he moves up here, he needs a space where his issues aren’t so compounded and he can think beyond just the basic survival.  Even if we don’t make it I think that just getting him in a better environment would at least show us really if we had a chance or not.

By James Bradley

As teenage girls across the world quiver in anticipation of seeing the latest movie in the Twilight saga, many are left wondering why?

New Moon is the second high budget movie based on the best selling novels of Stephenie Meyer. And another in a long line of movies which have little originality about them.

Some of the largest movies over the last few years have been based on novels: Lord of the Rings; Harry Potter and even Bridget’s Jones’s Diary. Whilst some were just simple sequels and remakes, such as the two Spiderman sequels and a third one planned.

Sometimes they get really ridiculous and you end up with a prequel which is actually a reboot of the original. Whilst still containing characters from original continuity – thank you star trek for blowing my mind.

But why has Hollywood started churning out movies with plots and themes which have been used a thousand times before?

Could it be the feeling of security that comes from the familiar? Watching movies with no new plots and familiar characters would be comforting to modern man, when everything else is changing five times a day.

Or is there an ulterior motive? And the only reason these movies are released is to draw in as much money as possible. And the easy way of doing this is by rehashing old ideas and getting them out fast. This could be a reason according to Maria Panayi of Stripe Communications, a marketing firm based in Edinburgh.

She said: “Movie producers like to strike while the iron is hot and ride the crest of a wave, so to speak. Improvements in digital technology mean that a product can be turned around within a short time frame, and this meets the demand for instant gratification.

“In terms of marketing and PR, by adding another layer to a product, such as a sequel, it means it can be marketed as a package and has a longer lasting shelf life.”

Which does kind of paint the picture of movie goers as some kind of addicts who need to get their fix of CGI goodness and predictable plotlines.

The latest Indiana Jones movie seems to be proof of this, a movie which took almost $800 million since its release, but has almost been universally panned by critics.

Of course there is one last reason which may be behind all of this. It could be that the writers have run out of ideas.

It could be that there’s only so much you can do with a brave hero and his plucky female sidekick before it starts to get samey. And there’s only so many ways for a lone woman to take down the nest of face eating crab men whilst swearing a lot.

So how are we going to inspire a new generation of writers to create cinematic masterpieces?

Certainly not by having a sequel for every film ever made, and not just taking old ideas and flipping them about. And definitley not by having Matthew McConaughey playing the same character in every movie he makes. Someone has to tell him that he is just repeating the same movie over and over. I don’t care how big your abs are - that’s no excuse for poor judgement.

But hey, could be worse. At least they aren’t remaking Clash of the Titans.

Wait? What do you mean they are…

Well, today I am going to talk about YouTube. Another thing I have done so far in addition to doing videos is doing collaborations with other YouTubers. So far I have done three collab videos w/ three different YouTubers, the latest one being a collab on AngryAussie’s latest episode of his wildly popular “TFU Friday (as seen above).” I may be doing more collabs in the future mainly as a way to keep busy on YouTube while I come up with new ideas for videos.

Also early in my career a YouTuber (who is no longer active on YT) used a clip from my Indiana Jones review video as part of a video shout-out before she left YouTube. Other than that, I filmed original collab clips for another YouTuber who was celebrating her 2-year anniversary on YouTube and I also filmed a clip for a wedding card video for Cory “Mr. Safety” Williams that was made by another YouTuber. I am still open to the idea of collabs w/ other YouTubers, but only if it doesn’t involve traveling, mainly because I can’t really afford to travel right now. But as long as I can film a clip to send out, I am open to the idea of video collabs.

So basically the joy of video collabs is that it will give you some exposure and may lead people to watch your videos and if they like what you do, they can subscribe to you. It also shows that the YouTube community is still pretty good despite what other people say.

“No matter how hard you try, you just can’t beat a LEGO wookiee. Lucas Arts and TT Games’ have struck stud – that’s gold, in LEGO terms – with their lighthearted, blocky take on the Star Wars franchise. Though moving on to tackle Indiana Jones offered similar charm and adventure, the subject matter just doesn’t captivate players as readily. The original Indy flicks were pretty awesome, but we already got a rather mediocre PSP title that focused heavily on those quality films. Last year’s film revival of the series sparked a reason to make LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues – a game that still manages to be fun despite being based upon a movie that most fans think should have never been made.”

Check out the full review here at GamesRadar.

*Update for 11/19/09*

New Breakdowns!

SideShow Indiana Jones Dr. Henry Jones Sr.

Hot Toys Batman Dark Knight Harvey Dent/Two Face (Limited Supply)

How’dy im currently working Eastern US timezone so I’m not late 2 days on the trot. So here’s a picture of an Indiana Jones hat. Quite clearly he’s one of the few true American legends.

Good morning.  Epix is about to take the stage at this the last day of Streaming Media West.  Watch the keynote live at:  www.livestream.com/streamingmedialive/beta. Presentations this weekend at streamingmedia.com/west.  We’ll be posting the remarks here along with a summary of what was said this week by other content distributors and producers:

Emil Rensing, Epix
Epix is a joint venture of Paramount/Lionsgate/MGM that launched three week ago as a FiOS Pay TV cable channel that for $10/month makes its content available to subscribers on any platform :  on TV, on demand, and online.  Epix owns the multiplatform rights for all their titles in the PayTV window of 9-10 months after theatrical release for at least 2y and doesn’t have restrictions on their content like legacy cable providers who signed deals 10 years ago and now have to renegotiate rights for TV Everywhere.   Currently offering 180 first run blockbuster movies and classics, Epix seeks to grow it’s library to 3,000 titles as well as offer outstanding original and event-based programming similar to the HBO, Starz, Showtime model.  Programming like Madonna and Kings of Leon concerts, Sam Shepard’s  Tough Trade and Charlize Theron’s Atlas Shrugged.  Seeking to become home to original storytellers….original programming builds brand for the network.  In terms of the size of the Epix acquisition budget, having just launched they are small now 62 staff, a third focused on digital, wondering whether sponsored star-studded sitcoms like Easy to Assemble and Justine Bateman’s FM78.tv then become an attractive option. Emil Rensing, founder of Next New Networks, shares space with Boxee in New York, is a digital guy agnostic about formats, hoping to see Epix on that toaster we’ve been talking about.  A media business, Epix is proud of its technology partners who provide a seamless playback experience: Akamai, Adobe, ClipSync. Amazing friending feature allows you to invite up to four friends to sit in a virtual screening room, watch the movie together, and chat via pop up speech bubbles.  The friends do not need to be an Epix subscriber. You can check out Epix this weekend.  Three day passes are available at www.epixhd.com/invite.   Watch Iron Man, Cloverfield, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, all four Indie Jones movies, even Scorsese’s Mick Jagger doc, Shine a Light.  Epix will be the first to run the Star Trek movie in the new year, so stay tuned.
(per SMW remarks)

Anthony Soohoo, CBS
CBS distribution strategy online, on mobile, in the connected home has been open, non-exclusive hyperdistribution to AOL, Yahoo!, Google, MSN. CBS.com watch full shows. TV.com nexgen navigation with integrated TiVo functionality and online personalized guide watchlists for the 20mm users of TV.com (2mm iPhone app downloads).  TV shows now, movies in the pipeline.  CBS Web Originals believes there are different ways to tell stories in terms of byte size text format, take about 3-4 different shows on a quarterly basis, on a project finance basis, find a sponsor working with the creators, then distribute across CBS properties and CBS Audience Network, bring expertise on sales side, largest video sales force out there, CBS Interactive is the 4th largest video player in the world, reach on a monthly basis 120mm.  Offer content creators sales and distribution piece mixed up with the TheInsider.com, TV.com, Chow.com, CBS.com.  300 syndicated partners.  A combination of having limited resources and it being early stage for the connected devices, focusing more on mobile right now.  TV Everywhere great for consumer, but only 52% of broadcast nets making content available, 10% cable nets, no economic model/measurement.
(per Commonwealth Club SmarterTV remarks)

Tom Gorke, MTV
Tasked with monetizing content off owned and operated 300 websites worldwide, goal is multiplatform, to stay close to consumer, drive awareness and traffic.  MTV is the largest provider of content to Xbox and iTunes.  The biggest driver of paid download to own is the need for portability, take it with you on the flight.  The need to aggregate a library of content has matured.  Done well on Hulu, Fancast, Atom, GameTrailers, DailyMotion, Veoh.  MTV is all about automation, too much content, it wouldn’t scale if had to customize, even putting a flag in a feed is tough.  Have close relationship with syndication partners, provide exclusive one off promotional content, lots of assets, art work, graphics.  Syndication partners care most about reliability and regularity of delivery, and standards of quality of content.  FB pulls a lot of content from MTV.  Really saw the power of Twitter during the VMAs with Kanye West.  MTV integrates Twitter into sites, audience of engaged folks.  Leading provider of mobile content, sold over 1mm of the 16 iPhone apps, VCast.  Live streaming tentpoles like Kids Choice Awards, VMAs. Live streaming is completely different technology (Ustream, Justin.TV, Kyte, Livestream).  When Ashton Kutcher did his Fantasy Football Show on Ustream viewership went from 100,000 to 1mm viewers, it had a watercoolers effect and was played everywhere all at once.  For the experiment, bought ad unit and inserted Ustream player – was expensive.
(per SMW remarks)

Vanessa Pappas, Next New Networks
500mm streams online in 3 years, 30mm views/month, believe in super-syndication concept, be where the audience is.  Yahoo! has been great for family entertainment, long form does well on iTunes.  TubeMogul is integrated in content management system but do a manual refresh to optimize sites that perform for you.  Recently hired category manager from YouTube.  Know your syndicated partner’s audience.  On Twitter you can’t just post and pray, need to have dialogue with engaged community.  Share office with Boxee, getting on Boxee, Roku..
(per SMW remarks)

Brett Wislon, TubeMogul
Free supersyndication service to Blip.tv, Break, Brightcove, DailyMotion, eBaum’s World, Facebook, Graspr, Grind TV, Howcast, i2TV, Imeem, Metacafe, MSN Video, Myspace, Revver, Sclipo, Sevenload, Streetfire, Twitter, StupidVideos, Veoh, VideoJug, Y! Video, YouTube, Viddler, Vimeo, 5min, Zoopy.  Best campaigns are hybrid like the recent intentionally lame Windows 7 videos.  Got 5.5mm views in September, impressive for a brand.  http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/video-windows-7-launch-party-parody-is-bleeping-genius/3.  Most have given up on trying to make money in online video.  Although YouTube is 50% of the game, study found that those that also syndicated to niche sites saw a 100x increase in viewership than those just on YouTube.  Greater success with vertical focus.  Analytics allow you to see where video is most embedded, can see if a specific mommy blog is an important outlet and starting feeding them exclusive content which they love because content drives traffic.  Moving from super-syndication (content everywhere blast) to hyper-syndication (content to engaged fans fast).  FB has no video strategy but is a top ten video site.  Study found most engaged viewers came from Twitter.
(per SMW remarks)

Brandon White, FUNimation
License anime content, aim to meet the needs of the licensors in Japan.  Syndicated via ad-supported video, iTunes, Xbox/Zune, PS3.  Use YouTube for fingerprinting.  Plan to syndicated across all CE devices – mobile, Blu-ray, web-enabled tvs.
(per SMW remarks)

Jim Louderback, Revision 3
Syndicates 20 shows including Diggnation broadly anywhere, anytime, any device, want to be where our audience millennial men live.  Auto-syndicates with Tubemogul but still need to manually refresh metadata at each site.
(per SMW remarks)

Dominik Rausch, Eleven Minutes Production, Easy To Assemble
EasytoAssembleSeries.com is a sponsored star-studded sitcom that has garnered 4.2mm+ views between its Season I & II on MyDamnChannel, YouTube, Ikeafans.com, KoldKastTV, Hulu.  Also distributed on iTunes.  In talks with DVD sales, releasing on hotel networks, subtitles for 10-15 additional countries in Europe & Asia.  Innovative series where in addition to celebrities like Illeana Douglas, Justine Bateman, Tom Arnold…IKEA is a co-star.  Web series same premium quality as film, all 10 episodes of second season strings together as a movie.  Production company is thinking of new ways to make content adapting to fragmented time-shifting society.  As traditional TV distribution disappears, new media will take over distribution for all platforms.
(per Commonwealth Club SmarterTV remarks)

Brent Friedman, Electric Farm
Production budget for Crackle’s Woke Up Dead is over $1mm, high for a web production but has talent attached which attracted integrated sponsors like Kodak.   (Premise of show is friend trying to monetize fact that friend is a living zombie, sub-plot pitching to brands for sponsorship).  Sometimes you have to take a risk to get a bigger payoff just like more marketing dollars equals more views.  Kodak also cross-promoted on their own site which over a million monthly uniques.  Valemont is a success with an engaged community of 25,000.
(per SMW remarks)

Thom Woodley, Dinosuar Diorama
All-For-Nots co-produced with Eisner’s Vuguru.  Doesn’t like sponsor integration, hurts show creatively, prefer ad-insertion, and smaller more engaged audiences of 50-100,000, hasn’t quit his day job as ad agency exec yet. Show All’s Faire about the Renaissance Faire reaches 20,000 Renaissance Faire fans plus sci fi, comics and comedy buffs.
(per SMW remarks)

The Ruins of the Nabatean civilization reached a world famous status after appearing in the Indiana Jones Movie The last crusader and also recently voted one of the new seven wonders of the world. Located in the Arabah desert in southern Jordan this ancient city is an impressive archeological achievement with buildings like the Treasury carved into the mountain slopes.

Getting there from neighboring Israel is an easy task specially after the peace treaty signed in 1994 and a enjoyable trip through the desert. I departed with a good friend of mine in evening from Hertzelia to Eilat. For that we had to take a minibus to Tel Aviv main bus terminal and there a bus to Eilat.

The port city of Eilat is the southern most point of Israel on the banks of the Red Sea, from her you can literally see Jordan and Egypt. The city is quite small and the waterfront is covered by massive 5 stars hotels and resorts. To get to Eilat is a simple but long ride or an expensive plane ride. Israel is a very small country and its relatively easy to move from point A to point B with the local government busses called Egged. The main terminal in Tel Aviv is called “Tagana a merkasit” and there are Egged and private lines operating.

The terminal is a quite busy place, with a shopping mall in the first 2 floors and with tight security operating at all times. As in all Israel but here in particular you must be really careful of never leaving your bags unattended and be cooperative with all security matters, bags and people are checked at all entrance points to the terminal. Eilat busses depart from the last platform on the 4th floor you can either buy the ticket to the driver or in the window located at the center of the building in the 4th floor. its recommendable to buy some snacks and water before boarding since the ride can be long, dry and tiring.

Busses leave every hour or so and its an average of 5 to 6 hours to get there although sometimes can take longer depending on transit conditions and the route the bus takes. They are all equipped with AC There are 2 main routes to get there but different bus numbers, including the 790 (direct bus), 390, 393 and 394. Additional busses leaved from Haifa, Jerusalem, Ashdod and Afula. The main road goes through the Negev desert, and passes by the dead sea, Dimona and Be’er Sheva. Advanced booking is available and recommended on summer times or weekends.

As we approached the city it became clearer that we were not going to be able to cross the border that day, it was getting dark and we were unsure about the operation times of the border. Also we had no idea of what could happen after we crossed. I started talking with some people in the bus to gather some information but no one seemed to know about the border. Suddenly a Woman kindly offered a space for  us to crash at her house until the next morning arguing that would be safer for us.

We both agreed happily knowing that the hearts of Israelis are always open for visitors, and actually once in the house we were amazed by their hospitality as they served us diner, coffee and even left us a whole room for us to sleep in a bed (we didn’t care to sleep in the floor either!). Next morning we got woke up and took a cab from her house to the border. There is no other means for transportation between border and the city. It was a 10 minute ride at that early time and when we arrive at the Arava border crossing we were almost alone.

The border crossing was pretty straight forward, we exited Israel with no hassle at all. After paying the exit fee of 90 shekels we got our passports stamped and carried on into a walkway of around 100 meters surrounded by barbed wire. I got the impression that we were under someone’s watch all the time (and it was probably true…). We arrived at the Jordanian side and got our luggage lightly checked we proceeded to get a stamp but we needed visas. The person working at the office was not there at the time and we had to wait for the officer around 20 minutes or so. Finally he arrived and stamped a total of 3 stamps, using a whole page for the entrance!

After this we left the terminal and found ourselves completely lost, the only thing after the gate was a taxi with a fat guy on it with a huge I-can-charge-you-any-price smile on his face, we negotiated a fair deal for a round trip and took of. Actually the white cab stopped a few minutes after leaving the border telling us that he could only take us up to that point and we needed to change cars to proceed. I noticed when I got down the cab a inscription on the door that said border taxi only or something like that so I relaxed until the other cab arrived.

Once on the second cab is a easy 3 hours ride through the arid desert to the town of Wadi Musa. This small town is pure hotels and mosques with its main activity being Petra’s base. We got dropped at a Hotel with an extremely cheap room 5 Dinar. It was still early so we decided not to wait and go straight to Petra, and it was worth it, we stayed until 8 and watched the sunset from the Monastery.

To go back the cab picked us up in the morning from the hotel as we agreed, after all we were going to pay for him only at the border. During the way back we fell in love with the desert so we decided to stop for a few hours in Wadi Rum, near the border with Saudi Arabia. It’s one of the most mystical places I have ever visited, and you could just stare at the vast emptiness for hours.

We got dropped at the border, were a Bedouin officer checked our bags and let us pass, not without playing with us a little bit asking if we had drugs in our bodies, not fun at all!! We got stamped out of Jordan and back to Israel, this border actually was very relaxed and empty but we got delayed because some Jordanians wanted to enter Israel with a lot a LOT of things including plants and animals, to which the border officials didn’t know what to do.

After entering Israel we walked all the way back to the Bus terminal, since there were no taxis at the border… it took us about an hour and we had just enough time to have a falafel and catch the last bus back to Tel Aviv.

Yabancı bir kaynakta yukarıdaki üçleme beğenisini yansıtan bir grafiğe rastladım ancak tek bir kişinin yorumumu ya da bir istatistiğin sonucu mu olduğu bilgisi yoktu. Spiderman 3′e biraz haksızlık edildiğini düşünüyorum ayrıca X-Men’lerin de yüksek olduğu kanaatindeyim. Onun ötesinde basit ama güzel bir çalışma olmuş, insanın bu üçlemeleri oturup yeniden izleyesi geliyor…

#7 He’s Known For His Weapons/Tools

Indiana Jones is always seen with a British Mark VII bag, a pistol and that 10 foot long bull whip. Not to mention his hat (fedora of course), leather jacket, boots and khakis. These were his staple gear and he has them in every movie. When he pulls out the whip, there is either an escape involved or someone is about to get their rear end handed to them. He uses his gun, but he’s not unstoppable with it. It’s just a gun, yet, he doesn’t hesitate to shoot when shot at. He is so familiar with his weapons that his enemies know him for his weapons as well.

Lying on a table, those tools and weapons are just that: tools and weapons. But in the hands of Indiana Jones they become tools that save the day. People regain hope for survival and freedom when those weapons and tools are in his hands. As a boss/manager/leader/pastor, when the tools are placed into YOUR hands, do your employees/volunteers feel hope? Do you inspire hope when you are in charge? If you were to tip toe into the office one morning would you hear laughter and happiness, only to find it disappear once everyone realized that you had arrived?

Indiana Jones is not 007. He doesn’t shoot a gun and hit his target with pinpointed accuracy. His whip doesn’t magically destroy legions of enemies at once like a character from The Matrix. But he (1) knows his weapons/tools,  (2) he’s profecient with them and (3) he tries his best to know where they are at all times. How do you fair on this check list?

It’s 1945. Indiana Jones hitches a ride on the Queen Mary, now known as the Gray Ghost. Unfortunately, a U-Boat full of Nazis do as well.

Hitler has placed a bounty on the former luxury liner, but the secret she’s carrying makes her the most dangerous vessel afloat.

November 18th, 2009

Focus Passage: Proverbs 14:15-18

¹⁵ Only simpletons believe everything they’re told!
The prudent carefully consider their steps.

¹⁶ The wise are cautious and avoid danger;
fools plunge ahead with reckless confidence.

¹⁷ Short-tempered people do foolish things,
and schemers are hated.

¹⁸ Simpletons are clothed with foolishness,
but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

Stop Here and Reflect Before Reading Ahead

There is a naivety to youth that I don’t necessarily miss.  Sometimes I miss the carefree feeling of no mortgage.  Less worries.  More hair. But I certainly don’t miss that unmistakable vulnerability that characterizes early adolescence.  It’s the tendency to trust the first story that we hear . . . to listen to the first voice that speaks.  In some cases, to place ourselves in danger because we can’t recognize it.

Now, some of that trusting nature is great!  It’s idealism that keeps us young and often makes us feel invincible.  As one who spends most of his days around teenagers, I’m no stranger to the “trusting” soul.  I could not begin to recount the thousands of students who have sat in my office to lament their current situation.  On almost all accounts, there is usually another human being involved in their issue.  A boyfriend.  Girlfriend.  Classmate.  Parent.  Online friend. Whatever the issue, there is usually an influence that was exerted within the boundaries of some sort of relationship.

I stole the car because my friend told me it wasn’t illegal.  I slept with them the first night that I met them because they told me they loved me.  I snuck out of the house because my friend convinced me that my parents were being unreasonably strict.

Ah, but don’t be so quick to judge the young ones . . . adults have their own versions of being easily influenced.  I got into irreparable credit card debt because the commercial said the rate would never go up.  I lost my temper towards that lady at the office because another coworker told me what she had said about me.  I fudged on my taxes because my accountant said that the IRS would never find out.

In the end, “only simpletons believe everything they’re told!”  (vs. 15).  With the advent of the information age, knowledge rains down upon us like a blitzkrieg of digital data.  But as any college professor will attest to, only information that is credibly-received from a credible source will hold up when the grade is determined.

Therefore, this passage leads us towards being “prudent” and “wise” by being cautious and carefully considering our steps.  Caution?  Ah, now there’s an adventurous concept!  I just don’t think that they’ll ever make an Indiana Jones movie about caution . . . Indiana Jones and the Dewey Decimal System. I can see it now . . .Harrison Ford knocking reference books off of their shelves with the crack of his whip . . . just before he sits down to spend a few hours reading them just to make sure that the journey he is considering is safe.

Imagine typical villain in diabolical voice with thick German accent: “Dr. Jones, I see that your paper cut is deep!  How about this lemon juice!  Aha!”  Yeah, I just don’t think that would do well at the box office (although it couldn’t be much worse than the last Indiana Jones movie.)

No, we prefer to jump and then check the bungee cord!  We like to push send and then proofread the email.  We like to speak our minds and then think about what we just said.  But as this passage plainly states, to be “reckless” and “short-tempered” without considering the outcome only leads one into the not-so-serene landscape of Simpleton.  For that matter, some of us could probably run for mayor of Simpleton!

Just like Forrest Gump, no one wants to be called foolish . . . or “stooopid” as he would say it (insert your own poorly-executed southern accent here.) In some cases, we can’t avoid foolishness altogether.  But as a principle, we can seek Godly wisdom and counsel . . .we can slow down and prayerfully think things through before setting out on our course.  We can ask for directions before driving off of the cliff.

We can be prudent and wise . . . it may not sell many movies, but it sure beats the alternative: foolishness.  Somebody call Steven Spielberg!

In a galaxy far, far away… there lived a photographer named Jeff Zoet.  And in order to bring balance to the Force, and because he is a good guy, he agreed to be interviewed by this Jedi warrior wannabe!  Glad that all of you enjoyed the first part of this interview…  and as a special treat, Jeff has given me the exclusive on the below photo…  Yep, never seen before till here!

Coming soon to a theater near you

So without further adieu…  Episode II!

What’s your current setup (ie camera of choice, computer of choice, editing software, other fun toys you love)?

For my cameras, I’ve always been a Canon guy. Had a couple back in the film days, and just grew up with them as they entered digital photography. Always loved using them, and prefer them even after playing with some friends’ Nikons and other brands. For computers, I have been using Apple for about 12 years now. I currently have a 15 inch Macbook Pro that I edit on, since it seems like I’m always on the move and have to work where ever I am. I use Windows all day at my day job, so I am very familiar with that too, but it’s no where near as enjoyable as a Mac. And then for software, I stick pretty much with Adobe products across the board. I use Photoshop and Bridge for photo editing (really need to try Lightroom one of these days), and keep busy with After Effects and Premiere Pro for my other work. My lighting gear consists mostly of Alien Bee lights and a variety of accessories including Pocket Wizard wireless transceivers, which I don’t think I could ever live without.

Some of my favorite shots of yours of late have been your movie inspired themes. What led you to pursuing this project theme?

I’ve always been a fan of all things pop culture. When it comes to photography, I like to do what inspires me, and movies are definitely on the top of that list. I feel that my skills at Photoshop, as well as photography and lighting are finally to a point where I can take on more complex projects. But I also have another motivation for the sudden burst of these types of shots. I’ve recently launched a new website called becomepopculture.com where I encourage everyone, not just people who consider themselves models, to make the leap from just being a fan of pop culture, to becoming a part of it themselves. I really enjoy taking these types of shots, and hopefully it will appeal to a wide range of people looking to escape from their every day life for a bit.

So far I think I have seen Flashdance, 300, Wonder Woman, Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, and Star Wars. Did I miss any?

I think that’s all of them to date, minus the original titles I’ve done (like Hell Hath No Fury, The Garage, and Dangerous Curves… just to name a few)

Any sneak peeks on the next movie that you will tackle?

There’s always a bunch brewing in the back of my mind, but some concepts that are currently “in pre-production” if you will, are 3 more Star Wars characters (yeah, I’m obsessed. I know), and I’ve also been working on a Ghostbusters shoot. Just still trying to find a location that will work for that one! (if anyone has access to a unique older looking library that I can shoot in, let me know! Haha.)

I personally am a big movie nut. Also a super hero nut of sorts. So in your expert opinion, what has been the greatest super hero movie to date and why?

I’d have to say that the first X-Men movie has been the best, and most important comic inspired movie to date. Prior to that movie, there was only a small niche of people that would be interested in watching films like that. That resulted in not as many people taking it seriously, and studios not willing to spend the money on them, or attempt to find some realy talented people to make them. But X-Men opened the flood gates to a wider audience to appreciate them, and helped push the visual effects to near perfection. An I’ve been enjoying watching some of my favorite characters finally make it onto the big screen… most importantly Spider-man. Loved Spidey since I was a kid, and he will always be my favorite. In fact, watch out of a little Spider-man influenced self portrait in the (hopefully) near future!

What is your take on the landscape of being a photographer in Pittsburgh?

Can’t compare it to other cities, but I think it has potential. I’ve been spending most of 2009 bulking up my portfolio with the types of shoots I love to do. So 2010 will be the test to see if I can make the leap into getting some more work published. At that point, I’ll have a more decisive answer to that question.

Your wife is featured in several of your photo shoots (like in 2 of the 4 photos above). How long have you been married? Has she been a willing participant or just prefers you shoot her instead of other lovely ladies?

Monica and I were married October 11, 2008. So at this point, just over a year. We’ve been together since 2004 though, so she has seen the start of my photography career leading up to it’s current state. She has always been my biggest supporter and number one fan. When we first met, she wasn’t a fan of having her photo taken. But as time went on, she has enjoyed it more and more. All of the shoots that she’s been in over the last two years has either been a joint idea, or something I thought she’d be perfect for and asked her to do before approaching anyone else for the idea. I mean, come on… she’s hot! Who wouldn’t love to work with her!

It looks like you have all of your social media outlets covered (Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, blog). Do you use these social media/marketing sites often? Have you found them to be effective in promoting yourself and landing more work?

Haha… often? That’s an understatement. I can’t even imagine starting up this side business with all of the outlets that we have today. We are definitely spoiled. When starting out, I got almost all of my paid work from people who contacted me on myspace. Now I get most of them through Facebook, or from referalls of friends who know of me from Facebook. I find that the easier I am to find online, the better chances I’ll have of meeting new clients. Of course having a unique last name helps too. I mean, if you type just my last name “Zoet” (pronounced Zoot by the way) into Google, I think I’m the third listing. So yeah, I like having a large web presence. I also try to have links on my sites to all of the others, so people can bounce around to see the different things I have online.

What are some of the intangibles that you think it takes to be a good photographer?

Just an overall understanding of light, composition, contrast, depth, scale, and being able to answer the question “why did you do that”. There’s a reason behind almost every little detail of my shots. If you don’t know why you are doing certain things, then you won’t know how to correct them and make them better.

Any advice for those that would like to take their photography to the next level?

Just figure out what you want to achieve and do it… whether it’s popular or not. Don’t let excuses like not enough time, or not enough education get in your way. You want to do something bad enough, you make time for it. You don’t know enough, get online and research, or go to a book store and look up something you want to learn. Too many people have the mind set of “One day I’m gonna do this” when I prefer the approach “Look what I’ve accomplished so far”.

Future goals or lofty dreams of your future in photography?

Just hoping to start getting published more in the next couple years. Maybe start doing some shoots with those bigger budgets I mentioned so I can really let the ideas fly. Besides that, just making sure that I’m enjoying myself and pushing to get the full potential I have to create art.

Anything else you want to share?

Whew. No, I don’t think so. Haha, I think I covered almost everything there. Now get out there and accomplish something people!

THANKS AGAIN JEFF!! Hope you all enjoyed this second part of the interview!  Comments always appreciate and don’t forget to drop Jeff a message or check out his other work at http://www.jeffzoet.com   Next up is a video compilation on Friday of one of my recent photo shoots and some tips on location scouting for a photo shoot.  A post next week with some book recommendations, and a little insights into camera shopping for Black Friday!  Also have the next 3 interviews lined up which I am excited to share!!

is that Indiana Jones in the parking lot? Maybe the next installment of the movie is being shot in Detroit!

This is the latest game that I worked on, in a limited capacity – I did some of the boss levels, which we haven’t done before in a LEGO game…not on this scale, anyway. This game is the first outing for our new split-screen tech, which I think is brilliant. It’s also got vastly improved vehicle physics, and a nifty level editor. One of the early reviews criticises the editor for not allowing you to make levels that look like the ones ingame, which made me laugh…and grind my teeth, metaphorically speaking. Some people still seem to think game development is a breeze and we spend all our time just playing around.

See what the press think overall at MetaCritic. Not many reviews up yet but that will change. The Guardian gave it 5 stars, so I hope that one gets included. I suspect we’ll get the usual mixture of “Meh” from the hardcore gamers and “Woot!” from the casual sector.

I’m certainly enjoying it, perhaps because I wasn’t on the project from the very beginning. There’s loads of levels I didn’t play myself during development, and the cutscenes keep making me laugh out loud. Definitely one to be proud of.

That bastion of truth Wikipedia has compiled a list of the highest grossing flicks of this decade so far, and if you look closer at the top 20 films at the box office, only one movie has not been based on a past film or (remake/sequel), or an adaptation of an established property. You know the sources: comic, book, play, Hasbro toy etc. I highlighted in a previous post (quite brilliantly…) the upcoming film releases based on old products. However, I did not realise the full extent of the Old Rope+Short Attention Span=Money formulae.

Want to know the the only original feature film to make it into the the top 20 of this decade?

Finding Nemo, which nestles in well at #15 with $864.6 million.

Further still, if you look at the top 30 films from this decade thus far, there is only one other original film property among the pack

DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda, #30 spot with $631.7 million.

Worryingly, out of the top 50 grossing films of this decade, there are only 9 movies based on original premises and properties. Out of the nine, five, yes FIVE of those nine films have come from the Pixar Studios camp. A damning indictment to an industry built on grandiose spectacles. How spectacular can something be in its third incarnation? Maybe Up! wasn’t the rendered Citizen Kane it has become accepted as, rather, an original story that dared to depict death in a children’s movie.

Cheers Pixar.

As for the rest of you layabouts….

You can find the entire top 50 below:

1 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King New Line Cinema $1,119,110,941 2003
2 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest Disney $1,066,179,725 2006
3 The Dark Knight Warner Bros. $1,001,921,825 2008
4 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Warner Bros. $974,733,550 2001
5 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Disney $960,996,492 2007
6 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Warner Bros. $938,212,738 2007
7 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Warner Bros. $929,022,922 2009
8 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers New Line Cinema $925,282,504 2002
9 Shrek 2 DreamWorks SKG $919,838,758 2004
10 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Warner Bros. $895,921,036 2005
11 Spider-Man 3 Columbia $890,871,626 2007
12 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Warner Bros. $878,643,482 2002
13 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs 20th Century Fox $878,615,229 2009
14 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring New Line Cinema $870,761,744 2001
15 Finding Nemo Disney / Pixar $864,625,978 2003
16 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith 20th Century Fox $848,754,768 2005
17 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Paramount $833,229,011 2009
18 Spider-Man Columbia $821,708,551 2002
19 Shrek the Third DreamWorks SKG $798,958,162 2007
20 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Warner Bros. $795,634,069 2004
21 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Paramount $786,636,033 2008
22 Spider-Man 2 Columbia $783,766,341 2004
23 The Da Vinci Code Sony / Columbia $758,239,851 2006
24 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Disney $745,011,272 2005
25 The Matrix Reloaded Warner Bros. $742,128,461 2003
26 Transformers DreamWorks / Paramount $709,709,780 2007
27 Ice Age: The Meltdown 20th Century Fox $655,388,158 2006
28 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Disney $654,264,015 2003
29 Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones 20th Century Fox $649,398,328 2002
30 Kung Fu Panda DreamWorks SKG $631,736,484 2008
31 The Incredibles Disney / Pixar $631,442,092 2004
32 Hancock Columbia $624,386,746 2008
33 Ratatouille Disney / Pixar $623,707,397 2007
34 The Passion of the Christ Newmarket $611,899,420 2004
35 Mamma Mia! Universal $609,841,637 2008
36 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa DreamWorks SKG $603,900,344 2008
37 Casino Royale MGM / Columbia $594,239,066 2006
38 War of the Worlds DreamWorks / Paramount $591,745,540 2005
39 Quantum of Solace MGM / Columbia $586,090,727 2008
40 I Am Legend Warner Bros. $585,349,010 2007
41 Iron Man Paramount $585,133,287 2008
42 Night at the Museum 20th Century Fox $574,480,450 2006
43 King Kong Universal $550,517,357 2005
44 Mission: Impossible II Paramount $546,388,105 2000
45 The Day After Tomorrow 20th Century Fox $544,272,402 2004
46 Madagascar DreamWorks SKG $532,680,671 2005
47 The Simpsons Movie 20th Century Fox $527,071,022 2007
48 Monsters, Inc. Disney / Pixar $525,366,597 2001
49 WALL-E Disney / Pixar $521,268,237 2008
50 Meet the Fockers Universal $516,642,939 2004

Dré

Hey, I know that guy!

Hello there, fans of all things classic and LucasArts. This week LucasArts is proud to announce that yet another entry of the classic games has hits the Nintendo Virtual Console. With Super Star Wars’ as a trilogy hitting recently and Zombies Ate My Neighbors just two weeks ago, we have learned how many fans there are who are waiting for the classics to be released. As of today we have release Indiana Jones Greatest Adventures for your classic playing.

Set across the original three films prior to Crystal Skull, IJGA is quite beloved by collectors. A personal favorite of mine thanks to the solid platforming and (at the time) mind-blowing graphics. Those who’ve played it remember it – the classic platforming and shooting of old with that iconic whip-across-gaps that could only be done if that perfect piece of wood was sticking out of the wall.

Many nights were spent trying to get through the game. I don’t remember if I ever did, but I doubt it. This one, like Zombies Ate My Neighbors, is another shining example of those incredibly difficult games you simply cannot put down. The Himalayan raft scene from Temple of Doom might be the most fond of my memories, but the biplane sticks in there. After all, The graphics were totally top of the line – just look!

Go Indy Go!

Okay, maybe not now. But at the time it was amazing on a home console. Ahhh, memories. Nostalgia makes all those old videogames feel like they have the poly-count of The Force Unleashed.

Indiana Jones’ Greatest Adventures is out now in North America on Virtual Console, and this Friday worldwide. Be sure to drop a comment with your favorite memories – I know I’m not alone. Oh, and passwords for the later levels.

from June 8, 2008

We were on the bus for the umpteenth hour and we were headed back to New York, with just one more school to see- Yale. Yale University late Saturday night after graduation was sure to be jumping, so I was looking forward to seeing the outside of yet another closed school, and a two hour ride was right up my alley.

The remaining meals, I mean kids, were subdued. We only had to yell “shut up!’ two or three times. It was rainy and dark and we were tired. Maria and Ray had fallen asleep across the aisle from each other to cleverly make it look like there was nothing between them and I put The Perfect Storm on the DVD player.

The Perfect Storm is the true story of some New England fisherman who set out in their boat to fish the dangerous Reef of Doom, home to the tastiest swordfish this side of Atlantis. You see, the captain, played by George Clooney had a streak of bad luck. Despite being George Clooney and all the charisma that entails, he had not caught a single fish all season. In fact, the closest he came to a fish was when he saw the menu at Red Lobster. (He ordered the shrimp.) Well, Clooney and his men set sail for the farthest point on their map. Had they gone even one inch further they would have sailed right off the edge of the world. (These were old-school sailors. No fancy globes for them! Copernicus be damned.  He wasn’t a fisherman.) So after taking a long and excruciating tour of  coastal colleges they finally arrived and wouldn’t you know it? Some other guys got there first and caught all the fish. “You should have been here yesterday!” So they turned around and sailed straight into not one but three storms. Perfect! Long story short, they all died.

That was the peppy and upbeat film I put on the DVD player. Just the right thing to watch on a dark and rainy day- guys dying in a storm. But at least they didn’t resort to cannibalism- there were no students on board. Come to think of it, there were no women on board either but I won’t go there, not even to make my “salty seamen” joke.

Well, my monitor went out. Clooney looked all squiggly and Mark Wahlberg developed a strange case of facial blurriness. So I moved across the aisle (to my left) and sat next to Liz.

The lights were low. Everyone around us was asleep. The driver turned around and gave me a wink. It wasn’t long at all until, finally, Liz and I…..

… watched the movie.

What? What did you expect?

The rain had let up when we arrived in New Haven Connecticut, proud home of Yale University. It was, I think, somewhere between six-thirty and one hundred o’clock. The plan was to walk around Yale and go to a burger place that Maria had heard about for dinner. Then home. “Home,” ah yes, the mythical “Home.” Seems to me that I had been home once, long before leaving on this Odyssey. And much like Odysseus of myth, I already suspected that my family had given up on me and my friends despaired of ever seeing me again. (OK, my family gave up on me years ago and my friends already figure they’ll never see me again, so this isn’t much of a stretch. But its a nice literary touch and how about the use of the phrase “despaired of ever seeing me again”? I am an English teacher.)

Many of the kids had had it already. Probably 2/3 of them decided that they didn’t give a damn about Yale and just wanted to get home instead of walking around in the rain with us kooks. They were the smart ones and they stayed in the bus and prayed they would get home someday.

Well, New Haven seems like a nice quiet college town, at least the part we saw. It is a nice and affluent town, and even the homeless in the park were a little less shabby than the New York bums. Compared to the Chicago homeless, these guys were positively angelic. (See my old Chicago blogs for more on the Chicago homeless. Shameless plug!)

Well, the driver didn’t really know where to stop. (“What do you think, baby? That the entrance over there? I’ll find a place to park over there, baby.” I swear, if he hit on Liz one more time his fly would have melted.) We ended up a couple of blocks ahead of the school and walked through the park, where we were not accosted by the polite homeless and came to a church which was not part of Yale but we had to go into anyway. Liz has to visit churches, especially old and historic ones, which I must admit is cool, so I went in too with a few of the kids.

Something was going on in the church. People were filling in and were being greeted at the door. It may have been a wedding or a confirmation of perhaps Jesus had just risen. What did I know? I’m Jewish. But I went in anyway because it was a cool looking old church and Liz had gone in and maybe I’d have to get her out if there was trouble. Maria stayed outside, partially because she was asking random passersby where to find the burger place but mainly because she might have spontaneously combust if she set foot on holy ground.

Turns out it was a concert of some sort and we exited after a couple of uncomfortable minutes where I was sure that at any minute someone would walk up to me and explain the concept of tithing.

We crossed the street and walked down the block to find the entrance to the Yale campus. We found it, and we also found a nice old lady headed to the concert who gave us directions and also told us that Yale was where they filmed the Marshall College parts of Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull. (Yale therefore earned us two college points, bringing the total college tally to around 986 at that point.) And yes Marc, there is a new Indiana Jones movie.

YES! I WANT TO GO TO YALE WHEN I GROW UP! Remember when Indy and Mutt (still hate that name) motorcycle through the library? That was actually filmed in the dining hall. We walked right into a wide open dorm (I hope the Department of Homeland Security is reading this, and they probably are.) and saw the most magnificent architecture I ever saw in a foyer. It was better than that painting of the dogs playing poker, it was so cool. I also took the opportunity to find the Yale bathrooms, which were much nicer, bigger, and had better toilet paper than Harvard. Take that Philadelphia- I mean Harvard! For those of you keeping score, I have now taken a dump in two Ivy League schools, both in the same day. Why couldn’t we have stopped in Princeton so I could get the Northeastern Trifecta?

We then went to the dining hall, which was locked. We tried every door and they were all locked, until a kid tried the door all the way on the end and it was open. I think he may have picked the lock in hopes of currying some favor so we wouldn’t eat him. Well, in we went and there we were, right were Harrison Ford acted it up. So cool! I had just seen the movie a few days ago and the Raiders theme was still echoing in my head (it didn’t help that I had spent the past month on the bus) as I looked around and saw the kids rearranging the tables. I swear that is true! They sat down and immediately began to move around the plates and settings. I yelled at them to get up and saw Maria and some kids over at the soda machine helping themselves to drinks. I was sure we were going to get thrown out- at any time I expected someone to walk in and demand to know what we were doing there. But I was more afraid of what Liz would do to Maria if she got us banned from Yale so we got the kids out of there. And on the way out they were playing with the computers behind the register and had to be chased out of there too.

We walked around the campus in the rain and some of the smarter kids found a fountain and started splashing, like the rain wasn’t making us wet enough. They also stuck sticks and an umbrella in the fountain. Nice.

And that was Yale.

We walked to the bus in the rain, me without hat or umbrella, Maria in some kid’s sweater that she had commandeered, and Liz in a wet t-shirt. I’m a good boy. I only looked at her from the neck up. She teaches Sunday school.

We asked the kids on the bus if they were hungry and they all got nervous, but when we told then that we’d be walking to a restaurant they calmed down and a few came with us, the rest stayed on the bus. We were getting the food to go so we could eat it, yes, on the bus.

To Be Concluded in Part Last: Louie’s Lunch, gambling, and I get loopier.