Last night my friend Jill's boyfriend, Sa'ar, gave a sort of "unplugged" performance at a small nightclub in South Tel Aviv. Sa'ar is an actor/singer/songwriter who appears regularly in a local teeny-bopper telenovella called "Our Song." He also wrote the theme song for the new TV show of Ninette, who won "A Star is Born" - the Israeli version of "American Idol" - the year before last.

Ninette, who turned out to be a very sweet girl with her feet firmly planted on the ground, showed up with her entourage and a bunch of other local stars. And so, naturally, did the media. When we arrived, Jill and I were hugely amused to see that the tiny club was jammed with photographers and a film crew. Ninette - who was sitting right next to my table - was being interviewed by an entertainment reporter.


Ninette's on the left.


Sa'ar performing a love ballad he wrote for Jill.


Sa'ar and Jill, after the performance.

The crowd was enthusiastic, everyone had a great time, and I was finally lifted out of the vile mood that has been dragging me down for the past few days.