Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Lo, when Moses didst return from the mountain, he spake unto the people: “People!” And the people didst say, “Yeah?” And, in his best Charlton Heston voice, Moses proclaimed, “I have many words from the Almighty—about ten-ish.” Verily, Moses gave the people the commandments, a lesser known of which was, “THOU SHALT MAKE CHINTZY RELIGIOUS…
Amy Winehouse’s “Frank” took its fast-and-easy hold on audiences with opening track “Stronger than Me,” a bouncing number that made sweet love to Winehouse’s knowing voice, while pushing the track’s subject away for not being man enough for her. Perhaps it was telling that Winehouse began her mainstream career with a hefty world-weariness that the greats of jazz and blues take a lifetime to cultivate. When she came on the scene, Winehouse – almost immediately the darling of music critics who praised her raspy cynicism and jazz roots – seemed somehow already old.
For the many who would not discover her until ‘Rehab’ became a pop culture staple (and something of a mean-spirited soundtrack for tabloid readers who followed her drug and alcohol problems), Winehouse’s fatigue was something of an absolute, a perpetual state of personal angst. This clouded Winehouse’s lighter material, her playful sense of self on tracks like “Fuck Me Pumps” and “Moody’s Mood for Love,” and made her a public punch line for many.
When I first heard that Drake was firing shots at Kanye, I didn’t care. That’s the problem with yacht rap: It’s too comfortable for a real beef. Back in the day, rap beef was something entertaining. Who can forget when Cam’ron called 50 Cent “a gorilla with rabbit teeth” (below, rabbit teeth at around the…
Last night, a re-run of the episode of “The Nanny” with Bette Midler was on, a joyous reminder of what Fran Drescher used to be. A woman with enough comedic sense to call someone a pisher. This episode had about 20% more Jew than other episodes of “The Nanny.” There was noticeably more yiddish in…
Attention world. I know that, statistically, most of you probably live in New England, New York, or New Jersey. I know that because all the interesting synagogues and most of the independent minyanim are up there. I also know that because there are yeshivas and seminaries and Jewish day schools there. If you don’t have…
In 2000, as my Jewish identity finally began to blossom and my awareness of current events followed suit, the Second Intifada broke out in Jerusalem. At that point, I decided pretty quickly I was interested enough, even invested enough, in Israel that I wanted to work on it for the rest of my life. That…
In case you haven’t been paying attention to the rest of Jewish blogosphere all week, here’s the new Beastie Boys 11-minute action figure adventure music video directed by Spike Jonze: Wait. What? Shabbat Shalom!
An article in the Forward by Naomi Zeveloff bears this headline: “New Push To Link Jewish Boomers To Community.” In the print edition, the headline reads, “A New Initiative To Help Boomers Connect To Communal Life After They Retire.” The article blew my mind because so much of the language used and the motivations ascribed…
Oaxaca has everything: beautiful scenery, delicious food, and a party (with parades, fireworks and more) pretty much every night. Yet after three weeks here, I think I’ve discovered the one thing it lacks. Jews. A few days after I got here, an elderly gentleman stopped me on the street. “¿Usted eres Judio?” In broken Spanish,…
The New Jersey Jewish News, a weekly print publication in New Jersey has honored our new editor, David A.M. Wilensky, with a profile and a charming mug shot (see that thing to the right). In the article, Wilensky says some things about New Voices and about the voices we represent: Speaking about the “official” Jews,…
Gabe Schivone, a student at the University of Arizona, recently returned from Greece, where he was planning to join the flotilla to Gaza. His boat never left port and he returned to the U.S. After a lot of phone tag, he and I finally did a short Q&A over email. His answers may be predictably…
Not a day goes by that I don’t think, “Of course he married a shiksa.” This is what I think while watching television. Is that sick or what? Perhaps something has infected me. Maybe it was something I ate. But now all I can think about when I see a Jew on a screen is,…
OK, so technically, Amazon is having a Kindle sale on nearly 1000 books through July 27th, with prices ranging from $0.99 to $3.99. The selection includes such must-haves as Susanna Clarke’s wry English fantasy epic Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell ($2.99), cult classic Pride, Prejudice and Zombies ($0.99), and Roger Ebert’s compilation of his most…
A lot of things suck about Jewish eating culture, like keeping kosher, keeping kosher for Passover, and the fact that the kosher Dunkin Donuts at 86th and Amsterdam in Manhattan closes at 9 p.m. But fasting is the worst. I should say now that I’m actually a pretty good faster. I drink enough before the…
“So this is where deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon exists: In a vast white space populated by magically appearing and reappearing figments of his imagination.” [+972 Magazine] PunkTorah, of all people, becomes only the second outlet (after us, of course) to do any real reporting on the demise of JDub. [PunkTorah] Herman Cain proves his…