80’s icon and karmic chameleon Boy George (see him change from junkie to DJ and back again!) called out Madonna as a “hypocritical homophobe” for her devotion to Kabbalah, which he says preaches homosexuality is “a disease and should be cured.” If that were true, he might be right. But we couldn’t find anything that supported his claim; in fact, Michael Berg and the Kabbalah Center are very careful to include all people, regardless of sexual identity, into their culty club. As long as they’ve got the cash, that is.
Besides, the Boy seems to be making a bigger career these days out making trouble among his former celebrity friends rather than making records.

Sima Bakhar, aka Mrs. Israel, beat out more than forty other hot married women for the title of “Mrs. World” near Bombay last week. Bakhar brought the audience to its feet after announcing that “being away from her daughter” was the biggest challenge of competing in the pageant, which began in 1977 “with the intention of recognizing the contribution of a woman to her community, country and modern contemporary life” but has evolved to showcase “the modern married women who has imbibed style, grace, beauty and intelligence”

We thought we were up sh*t creek for the evening’s entertainment when our couch potato partner rented Without A Paddle because three dudes looking for lost treasure sounds just so dumb. But it stars J-man Seth Green, whom we adore for his self-effacing brilliance, as well as Matthew Lillard, who can be creepy (Scream) but funny in an attention deficit disordered kind of way (Scooby Doo.) Then there’s the smart guy from MTV’s Punk’d, Dax Shepard, who could make a paper bag explode into guffaws, even without a lighter. So these guys plus good dialogue, some rockin’ action/adventure scenes, a killer soundtrack and a cameo by Burt Reynolds as a grizzled mountaineer (“You got a purty mouth, boy”) beats out any comedy we’ve seen since the Hebrew Hammer. Even the meathead redneck villains go above and beyond stereotype

Interesting article from the Washington Jewish Week on the rise of Jewish drum circles. It says right there in Psalm 150 to “praise God with drum and dance, with flute and strings/Praise God with clashing cymbals/with resounding cymbals sing praises” but it’s the Jewish Renewal movement that’s recently combined the primal urge to pound and shake things with a sacred sense of spirituality. Why should Jewish noisemaking be limited to grogers on Purim?

Those of you who like to crack sexist jokes about “women drivers” can kiss Merav Schwartz’ tush. The first woman to pilot Israeli airline El Al commercial jets juggles 747s and motherhood, and kept up her schedule between New York and Tel Aviv until she was seven months pregnant. So next time you’re in the sky and you see a hottie in uniform, don’t assume she’s going to get you some ice for your complimentary soft drink.

Our favorite Jewish celeb watcher Nate Bloom notes that even though this isn’t a huge year for Jews Academy Awards-wise (no heart-wrenching Holocaust film nominee, no Billy Crystal) there’s still plenty of reason to plug into the tube Sunday night. Our eye is on Hotel Rwanda‘s Sophie Okonedo, the Jewish daughter of a British mother and a Nigerian father, for her supporting role in another sort of holocaust film. We’re very torn here at Jmerica, since Okonedo is up against our darling Natalie in the same category. May the best (Jewish) woman win!

We were gonna reflect on this week’s torah portion about the whole golden calf debacle but hey, we’re not really qualified. Best to consult your rabbi and we’ll just stick to the shtick.
Cartoon by Jordan B. Gorfinkel courtesy of the Jewish World Review.
Lights out!

London’s been out to recruit more Jews to their police force for awhile now in the name of diversity, but Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Ian Blair insists tough tribemembers on the force is the most effective way to combat crimes against the Jewish community.
He says in a article from this week’s TotallyJewish:

Worshippers at the Western Wall in Jerusalem were treated to some unwelcome PDA Tuesday when Natalie Portman locked lips with Israeli actor Aki Avni while filming a scene for the upcoming movie Free Zone. The daveners chased the couple away with cries of “Immoral! Immoral!” but the film crew got permission to return after peak prayer hours. Given this incident and her role as a stripper in Closer, could it be that seemingly innocent Nat enjoys exhibitionism?

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Safed’s top rabbi, warns gum chewers that spitting out your wad on the sidewalk or stashing it under a desk (eww!) when the flavor’s gone violates halachic law. “Gum cannot be thrown where others are liable to be disgusted by it,” he said, and added that while swallowing is a decent option, doing away with your Juicy Fruit altogether is the best solution for spiritual grace:
“Chewing gum is the practice of lower forms of life. It expresses inner tension and lack of control.” And we thought it was just tacky.
c/o Jewschool.