OONA! Some of you Jmericans may have NP figuring out the lingo, but IRL, some of us need aid in RBTL. HTH.
(For a translation, check out JewishDatingReview‘s guide to “Understanding Online Dating Lingo.”)
GL, macher! HB, ya hear?
According to The Chicago Tribune’s Allison Benedikt, over eight million people watched the Cohen family seder on Fox’s teen soap The O.C. a few weeks back. It may not sound like a milestone considering these are the same people who brought us the nauseating phenomenon of “Chrismukkah,” but authentic representation of Jewish life on television might now finally go beyond Fran Drescher, Seinfeld shtick and the inexplicable use of the word “chutzpah.”
So kudos to creator Josh Schwartz for puttin’ on a pure Pesach for his dysfunctional interfaith familyand for refraining from coining a new momzer holiday like “Eastover.”
We’re still dealing with seder dishes while everyone else seems to be laying around in their underpants, so here’s a coupla items to keep it fresh:
*Just when you thought wet matzah plus eggs equals breakfast, here comes matzah porn (c/o Jewschool; requires membership).
*Dizzy Gillespie’s drummer Stan Levey passes on to a place where he can bang on the trap set for eternity without disturbing the neighbors.
*Britney Spears may give her spawn a “Hebrew” name like Miriam. Then again, she might name the zygote “Vegas.” What’s evreet for “doomed to retarded parents”?
…but by Spir-IT! alone (hoo-HA!) shall we all live in peace! If you ever attended Jewish summer camp, BBYO, Shabbat sing-a-longs or any other Reform Jewish American event, you probably recognize that song. Its author, Debbie Friedman, has sold more albums that all other Jewish musicians combined (but if we tally again next year, Matisyahu may give her a run for her money.) Her folksy original tunes are as recognizable as the traditional synagogue liturgy (she wrote “The Dreidel Song.” ‘Nuff said) and her music has been incorporated into some Reform services, which has rankled many a Reform leader. This controversy is covered by a new documentary called “Journey of Spirit” by former camper Ann Coppel, who focuses more on Friedman’s success at creating community among Jews than what detractors say about her. As far as we’re concerned, anyone who can inspire a roomful of strangers to put their arms around each other and sing transcends whatever “rules” the rabbis believe she’s breaking; it’s all about the love for each other and Hashem.
“A Journey of Spirit” is currently making the rounds at film festivals around the country.
Fans of Jay Leno were treated to a little late night nosh with the premiere of JibJab‘s latest offering: The Matzah rap video performed by none other than heeby Suburban Homeboy Smooth-E, the same talent responsible for the “Hanukkah Hey-Ya” phenomenon that was one everyone’s lips last winter.
This makes the third animated Passover parody (here’s one and two) of the season. Sensational!
In related Jewish rapper news, 50 Shekel has officially retired.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach! May your seder table be full of joy as we remember the bitter tale from whence we all came.
Studies suggest that as many as one in 250 people suffer from gluten sensitivity (also known as coeliac disease), an immunological disorder that puts everything from pizza to matzo on the forbidden foods list. Thank heavens for Jmerica’s resident nutritionist Emily Bender, who has offered up some tasty matzo meal-free alternatives for Passover! OUKosher.org also suggests oat or spelt-based matzos for a gluten-free seder table; available by special order.
For more information about gluten, wheat and other food sensitivities, start here.
CollegeHumour.com posted this hilarious essay by the self-effacing Steve Hofstetter about keepin’ Pesach while everyone else on campus is partying with their Wonder bread and Twinkies, not to mention that ubiquitous beverage of yeast, barley and hops
(all verboten): “Waving beer in front of a Jew on Passover is like waving a donut in front of a fat guy on a diet.”
On a related note that we almostalmost forgot because we no longer enjoy the long, lazy afternoons of being a stoner college student, today is 4/20, which surely means something to these guys.
*tsk*tsk*tsk…Jewish actess Natasha Lyonne either forgot her appointment with a New York judge yesterday because she was too busy driving drunk through the streets or she just doesn’t care that a warrant has been issued for her arrest. The American Pie star was charged with criminal mischief, harassment and trespassing after “an unexplained fit of rage” (PMS? Hangover? Lost out on an audition to Natalie Portman?) last December when police said she went apesh*t in her neighbor’s apartment, ripped a mirror from the wall and threatened to sexually molest the neighbor’s dog.
C’mon, Natasha, get it together! Sure, lots of celebs recover their careers from the ashes of bad publicity, but do you really want to go down in the Hollywood annals as the girl who went to jail for attempted rape of a canine?
The art of Maurice Sendak is the subject of a new exhibition at The Jewish Museum, where visitors can peruse the 140 original drawings, posters, theater sets and costumes produced from Sendak’s designs (partial online gallery here) as well as snuggle into a gallery transformed into the jungle inspired by Max’s room in Where The Wild Things Are. (And what kid, grown-up or not, has not dreamed of that?)
Sendak, born in 1928 to Jewish immigrants, has been working with playwright Tony Kushner on an intense children’s book/opera called Brundibar that, rather than answering the questions of life through art, has only brought more questions for Sendak. While one might think writing for children capricious, “he now feels that we can never truly overcome our own demons, never tame the wild things.
Well. That’s depressing. But his illustrations always make us smile and we’ll definitely be checking out the exhibit when we take a field trip to Manhattan next month.
Congratulations to the Catholics; you have a new pope. No, he’s not the Jewish one. So now we can all stop trying to read the smoke signals coming out of the Vatican and get back to cleaning out the chametz from the cupboards.