Holy Exposures

I grew up watching the Flintstones reruns.  It put a twinkle in my eye when I recently read that Alan Reed, the voice of Fred Flinstone, was a Jew.

Reed, born in 1907 as Edward Bergman, grew up in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan in New York City.  He learned quickly how to mimic any of the neighboring nationalities.  He even landed his first job in show business cast as a typical Italian wise guy.   According to an article in Tablet Magazine, Alan pulled much of his Flintstone voice from the mannerisms of his Galitzianer grandfather, and the quarrels he would have with this Litvak father (mixed marriages didn’t go well in those days…).

There was something ephemeral about Fred Flintsone’s voice.  It had pathos and empathy but joyful, loyal, and with authority when needed.   It’s no wonder the Flintstone’s where the first animated series prime-time television success.  With great story-telling, interspersed with spice from current events (Cary Granite…), there was always something to see.  It was good family fun, without curses, inuendo, or failed parent-child relationships.

Alan Reed had the perfect voice for his character. The deep baritone was reassuring and comforting, allowing the story to develop naturally. 
You can buy the complete seasons of the Flintstones on DVD.

Renewing your USA Passport in Tel Aviv, Israel

A (not so) funny thing happened at the USA embassy today as we were updating one of our kid’s USA passport. On the form it asks for your child’s place of birth. We wrote Jerusalem, Israel.

The (very friendly) employee at the embassy must process hundreds of these passport requests every week. He asked us a few questions, in Hebrew since the local processing staff at the embassy are Israelis. He reviewed the form in our presence to make sure everything was filled out correctly. He then  asked what city was our child born, and we responded “Jerusalem”, he very quickly and matter-of-factly crossed off “Israel” from the form, so that it was plain to see.

I wonder if there are other cities of birth in the world for which the country is left blank on the passport application of our beloved USA?

This article was posted yesterday on techexposures.com and it definitely gives us something to think about what’s in store for the hi-tech industry in Israel during the coming months.

The Financial Crisis – Internet startups will suffer

I attended a conference of about 40 CEOs and founders of start-ups last week in Herzlya, Israel.  The focus of one of the meetings was to discuss the current financial crisis and how it will affect the operations and viability of these companies.

One of the CEOs commented that he had just raised several million in capital for his start-up and that the money had hit their account only three weeks ago – just on the cusp of Wall Street’s meltdown.  He said he felt like Bruce Willis in Die Hard as he ran as fast as he could from a burning skyscraper that was about to explode.  He remarked that had the deal been delayed for even a week, he probably wouldn’t have been able to close the round, or that the terms would have been severely altered.

In attendance were also partners of some big name VCs.  One of the VCs (who is headquartered in Silicon Valley) told us that he has already instructed his Israeli portfolio companies to begin firing employees.  In his words,

“It is not enough for the CFO to tell me that they didn’t hire the 3 that were in budget.  They also have to fire existing employees”.

He believes that this (recession) downturn will last throughout 2009 and into Q1 of 2010.

Another VC thought that the amount of deals in 2009 would be lower, but that there will still be dealflow, and that this is actually a good opportunity for raising smaller sums (e.g. $200K).  The bigger VCs have traditionally avoided investments of less than a few million dollars.  Now it appears that many VCs will be ‘competing’ with angels and private equity groups to find the gems out there for $500K or less initial investment, with an eye on sustaining them until a Series A round can be raised in better market conditions.

The affects of the fallout from Wall Street in the coming months are too early to measure, but it’s clear that most sources of new funding will dry up at least until the credit crisis has passed.  Existing companies will have to squeeze their purse strings tight, and possibly begin proactively laying off to ensure enough capital remains to keep the mother ship afloat.

The man in the photos is Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (Shlit”a).  These posters were part of the last Israel national government elections.  The posters are for the Sha”s party, which is comprised of ultra-orthodox Sefardic Jews of Middle Eastern and North African descent.

Rabbi Yosef was the Chief Sefardic Rabbi of Israel in the 1980s (Rishon Leziyon) and is considered by many the leading living religious authority on Jewish laws for the Sefardic community in Israel and worldwide.  He is the spiritual leader of the Shas party and has, since its inception, either hand-picked or given explicit approval of all the party’s candidates.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef wants you to vote Shas

One of the posters has additional handwritten text which says “Whoever votes for Shas in the elections, Rav Ovadia Yosef promises him heaven (Gan Eden) without sin.  So only vote Shas!”

Editor’s Note:  You can’t beat that!  Just vote for a political party and all your sins are absolved.  Maybe we can teach something to the Americans?  Who knows, one day you may see a campaign poster that says “Barak Obama guarantees you heaven (with 70 virgins) if you vote democrat” in the coming elections

Complete 24-hour Live Radio Broadcast

Let’s continue in the theme of nostalgia and of feeling what it was like to live in America in 1944.

Here’s the actual live broadcast of NBC Radio on June 6, 1944, D-Day, as the Allied troops invaded the shores of Normandy, France.  This historic day signaled the US invasion of Europe to repel the Nazi forces.

The recordings offer a unique look into the world at that time and also how American consensus was building as each hour passed.  The news reports trickled in throughout the night as the American reports relied on Nazi news reports until the Supreme Allied Command, under the leadership of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, confirmed with it’s first official communique about the allied landing.

The day’s broadcast includes the soap operas, crime dramas, and comedies played in their entirety with the occasional news bulletins pre-empting the usual broadcast programs.

Download/Play files here:

Full Day Live Radio Broadcast from September 21, 1939 in Washington DC, USA 

Did you even wonder what it was like to be living in 1939 in America? How about September 21, 1939 to be precise?

This is perhaps the most amazing discovery for history buffs and lovers of nostalgia. WJSV, a radio station in Washington DC on the CBS network, recorded an entire broadcast day to preserve as a time capsule for generations to come.

The broadcast day begins at 6AM local time and continues through to midnight. From the hourly news reports of World War II approaching (the European War) as America waivered between isolationism and taking sides with the allies.

There’s the soap operas, comedy hours, dramas, music from the day, and the peculiar local reporting along with providing home addresses of listeners whose birthday or anniversary had arrived.

I present for you here the full day’s broadcast in it’s entirety in nineteen (19) one hour mp3 files. Prepare to have time set asside for this. Once you get started, you will be soaked in to the day!

Download Links Here: September 21, 1939 WJSV Washington, DC