|
 |
|
|
| Thursday, November 27, 2003 |
'Baad' girl
Affter being out for three weeks, Madonna's second (yes, second) Kabbalah kid's book will reach #1 on New York Times best-sellers list on Sunday. Once again, the Associated Press incorrectly reported that the book is based on a 300-year-old Ukrainian tale called "The Baad Shem Tov." First of all, it's the Baal Shem Tov. And secondly, he was a person, not a tale. Also this week comes word that Madonna's first Kabbalah kid's book, The English Roses, will be made in full-length animated movie with Madonna lending her voice talents to one of the characters. We can only assume it'll be better than Madonn'as last foray into filmmaking, Swept Away.
|
| Wednesday, November 26, 2003 |
The mysterious case of the Queer ketubah
Tuesday night's episode of the popular makeover show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy featured a rather odd placement of a ketubah (marriage contract). While making over the home of New Jersey Jew Richard Miller the Queer folk took Miller's ketubah off of his bedroom wall and placed it on the wall of the master bathroom instead since it didn't match the decor of the new bedroom. While none of the Fab Five are Jewish and perhaps didn't realize what the document was, we can only assume that someone on the crew is Jewish and should've said something.
|
|
Bar none
Actress Jennifer Westfeldt, who graced our cover in March 2002, is back in the limelight after receiving critical praise for her indie hit Kissing Jessica Stein. She's now on Broadway appearing in the 50th anniversary revival of Wonderful Town. And while she did sing some notes at synagogue in the film, she tells Entertainment Weekly that she's a bit nervous about singing on stage. "As an actor, you can make many valid choices, but as a singer, you hit the note or you don't -- and that's scary."
|
| Tuesday, November 25, 2003 |
Kallah maidel
 Mazal Tov to, um, Jewish virgin Tori Spelling on her engagement to no-name actor Charlie Shanian. No word yet on whether the wedding will take place in the good ol' 90210.
|
|
Jackie's joke
Borscht-belt comedian Jackie Mason, whose new Broadway show is closing next week after lackluster attendence, has always promoted himself as an equal opportunity offender. Well, it seems to have gotten him into some trouble now. "Polish people hate the Jews, they just don't remember why," Mason told a New York radio show host. That commented prompted a lashing by the Polish American Congress' Anti-Bigotry Committee (yes, it does exist). Mason's spokesperson didn't help much when he told the New York Daily News, "God bless American democracy when crackpot groups can be heard in the media." Oy.
|
|
In Pam we trust
 Don't worry: Blond bombshell Pamela Anderson is not attending classes at the Kabbalah Centre. At least not yet. However, she does have faith in God and, to that end, has started teaching at her son's Sunday School. "It's reading the Bible, getting out jelly beans and setting the kids a good example," Anderson says. "There have been bad times and good times and I have had religion to get me through. I think it's important as I've always believed in God." Um, we think so too. As far as we're concerned, Sunday school never looked so good.
|
| Monday, November 24, 2003 |
Bad Santa
It's that time of year again. Time for silly Santa stories. This one comes from Amstermdam where a pair of Santa's helpers staged a failed heist in a local post office. Apparently, when they were chased away by postal patrons, the little guys escaped on a bicycle. Seriously.
|
|
Life imitates art
Wayne Kramer knows from bad luck. He's experienced it all his life. "My family has a legacy of terrible luck," the Jewish screenwriter told the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. "It's like a black cloud hovers over us." More from that article: "He described how he survived the anti-Semitism at boot camp, only to be shipped off to Angola to shoot a training video. 'They didn't bother to give us malaria pills,' Kramer said. While on leave for the High Holidays two months later, he experienced severe chills and was rushed to the hospital. 'I was told that the strain I had would either kill me or that I'd completely recover, with no recurrences,' he said. Of course, he got it twice." Oh, and the life imitating art part? Kramer's new movie, Sundance favorite The Cooler starring William H. Macy, is about a guy so unlucky that a Vegas casino hires him to sit next to people so they'll lose.
|
| Friday, November 21, 2003 |
Damsel in distress: The New York Post's gossip pages report that our favorite Jewish Star Wars actress, the extremely pro-Israel Natalie Portman, is eyeing the coveted role of Lois Lane in an updated Superman remake. May the force be with her.
|
| Thursday, November 20, 2003 |
Oy baby!: We couldn't think of a better name ourselves. Oy Baby, a new video for Jewish babies, offers "a captivating journey of familiar Hebrew songs for both babies and any nearby adults to enjoy," according to a press release. Accompanying the music are various Judaica, toys, and puppets. In between songs, your little bundle of joy learns Hebrew letters and the joy of tzedakah. Apparently the creators wanted something like this for their own kid, but couldn't find anything. We, however, are simply enamored with this line from the press release: "Mr. Rogers would kvell if he could see and hear OyBaby."
|
|
A-bombs and Tinsel: You have to say this for Jews, we don't have any issues when it comes to portraying our holidays. Christians sometimes do. "An Enola Gay Christmas," opening Off-Broadway on December 4 will feature "the mother of the pilot of the infamous bomber" that dropped the A-bomb on Japan -- trying to clear her name. Says the program: "What better way than a feel-good Christmas show broadcast from the downstairs of her suburban Miami, Florida home? The show features her singing a little, cooking a little, decorating a little and doing a little cocaine." Oh what holiday spirit. We can recommend a few Jewish lawyers to help Mrs. Gay with her case.
|
|
Jewish American Dreams: Viewers of the hit TV series, American Dreams, will notice a few more tribesmen this season. Co-creator, and Jewish to boot, Jonathan Prince spoke with The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles about the new characters. They include a half-Jewish college kid, a Jewish American G.I. in Vietnam, and an Orthodox med school student (what else) with a chain smoking habit. We're so proud.
|
|
I'm too sexy for this list: We're sorry to report that not one Jew made this year's list of People magazine's top ten sexiest men alive. They did, however, give special mention to half-Jew David Arquette for going from "dud to stud." Maybe we'd be better off trying out for season two of Average Joe.
|
|
Lewinsky's love lost: Our favorite Jewish intern is in the news once again. In the December issue of GQ Magazine, Monica Lewinsky tells the men's magazine that her past dalliances with President Clinton has hurt her love life. "The one thing I don't do well with, with a guy, is ambivalence," the zaftig Yid says. "I want to shake them and say, 'C'mon, just like me! Do what I say!"' Um, we're racking our brains here and still can't figure out why nobody would want to date her. Has she tried JDate? Perhaps she should start her own reality show -- Who Wants to Marry Monica?. We'll help produce.
|
|
Hoosiers for Hebrews: From a report this week by SI.com's Seth Davis comes this random observation: "There aren't too many experts in the field of Jewish major college basketball players, so my thanks once again goes to Philadelphia's Brian Schiff, who reports that Princeton has a whopping seven MOTs (Members of the Tribe) on its roster, while Ivy League rival Yale has four MOTs. Shifty is also high on Jeff Horowitz, a 6-foot-8 freshman at the College of Charleston. Shalom to that. "
|
|
'Science' class: Kelly Preston, John Travolta's better half, is out promoting her new role in Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat. On Thursday's episode of Live with Regis and Kelly (yes, we watch), Preston told the hosts about an elementary school that she started. She, however, neglected to mention that the school -- like her and Travolta -- are proponents of the oft-ridiculed cult-like religion known as Scientology. "There’s often an Scientology-related interest behind Kelly Preston's various causes," said a long-time observer of the church. "She is a very effective proselytizer." Hey, we'd do whatever she tells us.
|
| Wednesday, November 19, 2003 |
Reality TV bites: After the surprising success of reality TV, it doesn't come as much surprise that television crews followed around the participants in the ill-conceived Geneva Accord. Highlights from that film were shown this week on Israeli television, which gave a rare and intimate glance at Mideast diplomacy. For example, at one lull in the debate, lead Palestinian negotiator Yasser Abed Rabbo wryly observed, "I'm sure the majority on both sides condemn us as crazy.'' Could The Real World: Jenin be far behind?
|
|
It's the end of the world as we know it: Just when we thought NBC was wising up after canceling the ill-fated Coupling, our favorite network announced that they are developing a mini-series about a physicist and a nun racing to avert the apocalyptic final showdown between God and Satan as foretold in the Book of Revelations. The six-part drama will air after NBC's final Summer Olympics telecast in late August of 2004.
|
|
Let's make a deal: A question we'd like answered: How many Metrodox make pacts like this one?
|
|
Awarding his basic instinct: It was announced this week that actor Michael Douglas, the son of Jewy Kirk Douglas, will receive an honorary Golden Globe award in January for his work in the entertainment industry. Doesn't this seem a bit redundant? He's already married to Welsh babe Catherine Zeta-Jones -- how much luckier can one guy get?
|
|
Producing a hit: Mel Brooks must be pretty happy these days. "The Producers", the Broadway adaptation of his 1968 movie of the same name, broke records this week by selling $3.6 million in tickets in 12 hours. The reason? Tony winning stars Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick have returned to the Hitler farce for a limited four-month engagement starting December 30th.
|
|
Madonna's political foray: We're not sure what to make of this, but our favorite Kabbalah-spouting celeb is getting involved in politics. According to published reports, Madonna held a fundraiser at her L.A. home on Sunday night for Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark. Perhaps it's because Clark, whose last name used to be Kanne (pronounced KAY-nee), was born to a Jewish father.
|
|
The Pianist stinks. Again: A recent New York Times Magazine article remimnded us of a point we made last year. In an article about the dearth of Oscar-worthy films that come out in December, Verlyn Klinkenborg pointed out that, sometimes, movies that don't deserve awards receive many accolades simply because they were released later in the year. Case in point, as we've discussed on several occasions, is last year's wildly undeserving The Pianist.
|
| Sunday, November 16, 2003 |
I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And, doggone it, people like me: Jewish satirist Al Franken may be running for public office, according to a report in last week's issue of Newsweek. The former Saturday Night Live alum and best-selling author of Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right may run for senator of his home state of Minnesota in 2008. A funny-man in government is nothing new for Minnesotans. Remember, they were the ones who elected Jesse "The Mind" Venutra as their governor.
|
| Thursday, November 13, 2003 |
Mazal tov: Contrary to the recent findings of the National Jewish Population Survey, Jews are still marrying within the faith. And to that end we here at the Yada blog wish a hearty congratulations to former Saved by the Bell sweetheart Elizabeth Berkly (a yid from Detroit) who got married to Greg Lauren (Ralph's nephew). Jewish tradition says that when a couple gets married, their slates are wiped clean from any sins committed while they were single. Does that include Showgirls?
|
|
Weighing in: In an interview with Jerusalem Post in which he says he wants to make a film in Israel, Oscar-winning Rocky director John Avildsen says he can't stand boxing. Yo, Adrienne, isn't that ironic?
|
|
Not your Torah's Miriam: Let us just say, this is not the Miriam you learned of in Hebrew school. Absolutely no relation to Moses, the Miriam of British television's There's Something About Miriam is a transsexual. In other words, she has a penis. Too bad the six men who try to woo her don't know that, or rather didn't know that. The show has been yanked and the men are filing suit for being duped into cuddling and kissing the penile-enhanced pretty girl... uhm... guy... uhm... yeah.
As for the title, there's no Ben Stiller in sight, nor any Mary's. That's good for Ben Stiller and will likely keep the Christians (who might take offense to a Virgin Mary with a penis) at bay.
|
|
Song of ass-ents: The song "Three Wooden Crosses," recorded by singer Randy Travis and produced by the Christian record label Word Records, was named "Song of the Year" at the 37th annual Country Music Awards last week in Nashville. Mel Gibson must be so proud.
|
|
Cyber nut: Despite the fact that we are a Webzine and a big proponent of using the Net to disseminate information, we are incredibly troubled by the story of a Palestinian woman who used an Internet chat room and promises of sex to lure an Israeli teenager to his death. Well, we can all rest easy now. Temptress Amana Muna was sentenced to life in prison late last week for convincing the 16-year-old Israeli boy, who bragged to friends of his impending affair with an older woman. Man, and we thought lying about our looks in an AOL chat room was bad.
|
|
Madonna, the sequel: It wouldn't be a week without a Madonna mention. And this week is no different. The pop icon-turned-mystic has released her second of five children's books this week. This one, entitled Mr. Peabody's Apples, is also taken from a Kabalistic lesson from Chassidic master the Baal Shem Tov (1698–1760) taught to Madonna by one of her rabbis. However, some news reports stated that the book was based on the 300-year-old myth of Baad Shem Tov, which led several religious experts to ask the inevitable question: "Could this be a typo? Or did the Baal Shem Tov have an evil twin?"
|
| Wednesday, November 12, 2003 |
This is a movie about Jesus: And you guys were worried about The Passion. Take a look at the book, soon to be a motion picture, Cloning Christ. This little ditty tells the story of a devoutly Christian geneticist Max who finds the true cross of Christ, which has apparently been preserved in some Jerusalem cave. Hence it's chock full of Jesus DNA, but the find sets of a firestorm of conspiracy and tragedy, sending Max into the arms of (get this) two Jews. And what do these Jews do? "Max puts his trust in Sara, a Mossad agent who is the niece of Max's trusted friend, Rabbi Morty Kohn, who helps him to slowly restore his faith," -- in Jesus of Nazareth. (pauses for response) Yeah, that's what we said.
The book was apparently written as a modern-day Christian adaptation of the Job story, and it's been picked up by the Orion Entertainment Group. Add it to the list of Christian flicks that Jews may or may not like. At least we'll have stuff to write about.
posted by | | | |
