This week’s episode of The L Word (509: Liquid Heat), ended with an amazing sequence that cross-cut the characters during a heat wave power blackout. The intensity of the erotic ending was greatly enhanced with music by Freezepop, an American synthpop band, whose song ‘Swimming Pool’ is by far the most moving piece of music I have heard in years.
Have a listen:
Freezepop - Swimming Pool - lyrics
Late at night, the air was cool
We snuck into the swimming pool
You dove headfirst, I waded in
The scent of chlorine upon our skin
The stars were bright, the water clear
I felt your heat as you swam near
I held my breath, you held my hand
Moving away, further from land
The moon was full, everything blue
The water stilled, reflecting you
Floating right here with you next to me
Gazing at stars, we drift silently
Late at night, the air was cool
We snuck into the swimming pool
I went under and you followed
Let’s not think about tomorrow
Everything is perfect now (x8)
Everything is perfect now - I held my breath
Everything is perfect now - You held my hand
Everything is perfect now - Moving away
Everything is perfect now - Further from land
Everything is perfect now - The stars were bright
Everything is perfect now - The water clear
Everything is perfect now - I felt your heat
Everything is perfect now - As you swam near
Everything is perfect now (x4)
This track is from Freezepop’s ’Future Future Future Perfect’ album. You can buy it here.
I have always been fascinated by Tourette’s syndrome, which naturally manifested in my seeing virtually every documentary ever made on the subject, including:
That is why I was very happy to find out that Israel’s Channel 10 will broadcast an Israeli documentary about the subject titled ‘Involuntary‘ (2007), directed by Boaz Rosenberg . The film follows Alin Tubul (30) and Shani Nulman (18), two young Israeli women very different from one another, as they struggle with severe Tourette over the course of three years. The US National Institutes of Health estimates 200,000 Americans have severe Tourette’s, which might infer there are 4,700 Israelis in predicaments similar to Alin’s and Shani’s. If there is, in fact, strength in numbers, I cannot imagine how lonely it must feel to have Tourette’s in such a small country as Israel.
After watching that many documentaries, I categorize Tourette’s portrayal in popular media into three depth levels:
Hollywood’s Tourette, as depicted in TV and movies, emphasizing the quote-unquote funny side.
Tourette 101, as depicted in every documentary made so far, emphasizing the day-to-day struggle with social stigmas.
Full-blown Tourette’s, which I have yet to have seen in popular media, revealing the typical comorbid conditions of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), intrusive thoughts and suicidal tendencies.
I can only hope future documentaries will deal with this third category.
Here is a fascinating news story about Alin and the documentary, by Channel 10’s Nesli Barda (Hebrew):
(Please note that for some reason Alin Tubul is referred to as Alin Biton in the story)
‘Involuntary’ will be broadcast on Israel’s Channel 10 this coming Saturday, March 1, 2008 at 11pm.
What I want is for you to write ‘fuck me’ on your chest. Write it! Do it! And then I want you to walk out that door, and I want you to walk down the street. And anybody that wants to fuck you, say ‘Sure, sure, no problem.’ And when they do, you have to say ‘Thank you very, very much’ and make sure that you have a smile on your face. And then, you stupid fucking coward, you’re gonna know what it feels like to be a woman!
Channel 10 is the youngest of Israel’s three broadcast channels. Established January 28th, 2002, it is just over 6 years old and still struggling to snatch viewers from the leading Channel 2.
Over the years I have noticed Channel 10 is much too absorbed in finding a magic logo, a magic tagline, a magic bullet to make it grab the big ratings, believing that in substance versus style, the latter wins. The logo in the corner of my television screen kept changing, or in Madison Avenue Newspeak: evolving. Disregarding the use of different colors, on and off shadows and the odd use of 3D, I counted four principle logos in 6 years – that’s one logo makeover every two years!
Except for the logos changing, note that in 2005 the channel changed its name from ‘Channel 10′ to ‘Israel 10′ – and back to ‘Channel 10′ in 2006.
In addition, Channel 10 had used five different ad agencies over the years, which translates to the advertising budget changing hands every 15 months:
2002: Gitam BBDO
2003: Reuveni Pridan
2006: Grey Interactive Israel (Adler Chomski & Warshavsky)
2007: Zarmon Goldman
2008: in house
How many years does Nike use the ‘Just do it’ tagline? Twenty? Oh, no, Channel 10 will have none of that… I have counted five different taglines the channel used over the years:
2002: The entire country is 10 (כל המדינה עשר)
2002: That’s what TV is for (בשביל זה יש טלויזיה)
2004: Everyone is already watching 10 (כולם כבר רואים 10)
2005: TV that speaks to you (טלויזיה שמדברת אליך)
2006: Changing the picture (משנה את התמונה)
What? You want more? I feel like I am one bad sweater away from a Mike Levey Amazing Discoveries infomercial… Okay, okay, last one:
In six years, Channel 10 had managed to use three different domains as its main website: israel10.tv, 10.tv and nana10.co.il
6 years, 4 logos, 2 name changes, 5 ad agencies, 5 taglines, 3 websites. Consistency, thy name is Channel 10.
This week’s episode of The L Word (509: Liquid Heat), ended with an amazing sequence that cross-cut the characters during a heat wave power blackout. The intensity of the erotic ending was greatly enhanced with music by Freezepop 
, an American synthpop band, whose song ‘Swimming Pool’ is by far the most moving piece of music I have heard in years.
