Introducing G-dcast

You've heard of a podcast, how about a G-dcast? Each week, G-dcast presents a cartoon depicting the story that Jews are reading in the Torah each week (aka the Parsha of the week) Check out a different 4 minute cartoon each week - some tell stories, some sing country songs...and then there's the hip hoppers, too. New G-dcast episodes drop on Mondays. Created by the designer of the Jews for Jeter and Yo Semite t-shirts, this is the most innovative Jewish site we've come by in a long time! Mazel Tov!

Shtetl Mentality

All you need is a celebrity or politician to throw a Yiddish word around, and suddenly everyone is a buzz and kibbitzing. NY Times columnist Maureen Dowd recently quoted a top Democrat as saying "I'm telling you, man, it's something about our party, the shtetl mentality."

Of course, most people have no idea what "Shtetl" even means. Thanks to Maureen Dowd "Shtetl," a Yiddish word meaning "a 19th-century Eastern European Jewish village" is currently the #4 most searched word on the internet! Could you plotz?

Read Maureen Dowd's entire NY Times article here.

Feel free to kvetch or kvell in the comments section.

Introducing our Kvetching-Editor-at-Large

We'd like to introduce you all to The Chosen Blog's new Kvetching Editor-at-Large Chavi Edwards!

Chavi is a nice Jewish girl (by way of conversion!) from Missouri and Nebraska. Her impressive resume includes a Bachelor's of journalism as well as copy editing gigs at the Denver Post and Washington Post. Currently she's headed off to the University of Connecticut at Storrs to get her master's degree in Judaic studies. Her other blogging credits include her personal blog Mamaloshen as well as JewsByChoice.

If you're a nice Jewish Boy, pay attention! Chavi is an active Twitterer, an ocassional poet who used to do slam poetry, she enjoys photography (check out kvetchingeditor on flickr), and spends as much time reading nonfiction Judaica and the occasional fiction book (she just finished Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon). She's a middle child and only girl, and her family still lives back in Nebraska. She like dogs, not a huge fan of cats, and considers herself a grammar nut who likes to relax by editing.

Stay tuned! Chavi will be posting periodically here at the Chosen Blog about all things related to Judaism and pop culture. Be sure to read her entertaining first post below on Bar Mitzvah's Round the World!

Thank you for being a friend....

Today, the world mourns the loss of Estelle Getty, best known for her role as the lovable Sophia on the TV show The Golden Girls.

Did you know that Estelle Getty, born Estelle Scher, started out her career in the Yiddish theater?

Tune into the Lifetime channel this Friday, July 25th when they air ten of the best episodes of the Golden Girls featuring Sophia. Let's all enjoy one last cheese cake in her honor!

Jews for Jeter

Here's a bit of news for all you Jeter fans out there: The New York Post is reporting that 24 Hour Fitness Clubs will be opening "Jeter-styled gyms" in New York this summer. Jeter is lending much more than his name to the sophisticated clubs. He has a hand in the design of the clubs and will also appear in advertising campaigns and make promotional appearances at the gyms.

Are you a Jew for Jeter? Get your Jews for Jeter t-shirt HERE!

Natalie's Directorial Debut

A few weeks ago we reported that Natalie Portman was adding "Designer" to her resume with the debut of a line of shoes in conjunction with fashion house Te Casan. Well this renaissance woman will now be making her directorial debut with a screen adaptation of "A Tale of Love and Darkness," Amos Oz's memoir of growing up in Jerusalem in the '40s and '50s. Word has it that the film will be made in Hebrew, so you don't know Hebrew, now is a good time to learn!

Vote for Jerusalem Monopoly!

The makers of Monopoly are inviting fans worldwide to vote in an online contest that will determine which 22 cities will be etched in the collective memory for a new global edition of the 75-year-old board game. The contest, which got under way this week and will continue through February 28, will allow Monopoly fans the world over to cast their ballots for the 10 best cities out of a pre-selected list of 68, including Jerusalem!

Make your vote count here!

Jews Who Rock

Mazel Tov to Amy Winehouse, who won five Grammy Awards last night including Best New Artist, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year! Like a good Jewish girl, she had her mamaleh up on stage with her as she accepted her award. Now let's hope she quits the mishegas and sticks to rehab.

The ban has been lifted!

43 years after being banned from Israel, the Beatles' remaining members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have been invited back to The Holy Landl! The year was 1965 and the Fab 5 were set to play a gig in the Holy Land when government officials refused to let them play out of fear that they would corrupt Israeli youth. (Wonder what they would have thought about Britney Spears and Amy Whinehouse back then!)

The Israeli ambassador to London, Ron Prosor, has reportedly sent letters to the remaining Beatles and their widows saying "We should like to take this opportunity to correct the historic omission which to our great regret occurred in 1965, when you were invited to Israel"... "We should like to see you sing in Israel."

Well, better late than never. Read more here.

He's baaaaack!

After a long hiatus due to the writer's strike, Jon Stewart is finally back on the air tonight with a new episode of The Daily Show. We can't wait to hear what he has to say about recent politics and see how he fairs without his writers.

Oh, and if you believe like we do that Jon himself should run for president, be sure to pick up the "Jon Stewart for President T-shirt" here for men, and here for women.

Jdate on the Market

Are you single, Jewish, and looking? Seems you're not the only one on the market. Jdate.com, the mother of all Jewish dating sites, is seeking a match too. Sparks Network, the parent company of Jdate is up for sale and looking for a buyer. Read more about it in the NY Times article here.

Natalie's Shoe Line

Natalie Portman can now add designer to her resume. This Hebrew hottie will be launching a shoe line in conjunction with the company Te Casan. How is this shoe line different from all other shoe lines? Well, for one, The Natalie Portman Collection is a vegan-friendly, leather free shoe line. Shoes will retail around $200.00 with 5% of the collection's profits donated to charity. The fashion savvy will have to wait until February to get their hands on Natalie's line, but can get a sneak peak here on Te Casan's website.

Jones Soda does Chanukah

He'Brew Beer has always been a favorite beverage of ours, but for those under 21, Jones Soda just came out with this awesome limited edition Jones Soda 2007 Chanukah Pack with flavors Latke Soda, Apple Sauce Soda, Chocolate Coins Soda and Jelly Doughnut Soda. YUM. More great news - it's kosher. Seems like the perfect beverage for a Chanukah party to us!

Bad-Mitzvah

When we heard last year that someone had hired Aerosmith and 50 Cent to perform at his daughter's $10 million dollar Bat Mitzvah, we thought it sounded a little Meshuggah. It turns out that the Bat Mitzvah girl's father is also a huge gonnif who was just charged with looting his own company to bankroll the party. David Brooks, who owned a bullet proof vest compnay was charged with tax evasion, securities fraud, and insider trading. (newsflash! When you steal it isn't considered a mitzvah!) Oy, we'll file this one under "bad for the Jews."

Jewish, and not cool enough

The world's largest Jewish House of Worship, Temple Emanu-el in Manhattan has just been hit with a $32 million dollar lawsuit. Get this - it seems that two former middle aged employees claim they were fired because they were not "young and hip" enough! The suit claims that "the ultimate goal was to replace and remove its older workers with young Jewish workers." This all occured after the congregation held a focus group exploring ways improve the synagogue's image. We have noticed a hipification of many synogogues in New York and a particularly suspicious rise in the number of hot young Rabbis. Could this be the next big Jewish Conspiracy?

Mazel Tov to Hebrew National!

Hebrew National hotdogs were always are faves, but now it's official - the kosher beef franks have been judged top dog by Consumer Reports magazine. Seems like answering to a higher authority has its perks!

Hip Hop Hurt

Israeli hip hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari was involved a serious car accident with a UPS truck in New Jersey yesterday.
According to a rep of the Grammy award-winning artist, she was rushed to a local hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries and was later released. Get well soon Miri!

If you haven't heard her music - it rocks! Miri was discovered by Wyclef Jean and has collaborated with artists like Kanye West and Alicia Keys. She released her debut album, The Hip-Hop Violinist in 2005. See her perform here.

The Bar Mitzvah from Hell

This news story really caught our attention today- a Montreal court awards money to a family whose child may have had the worst bar mitzvah ever. A janitor at the hotel where the party was thrown stole all the ice and then tried to sell it back to the family. We may have some dorky photos we’d like to hide forever, but at least no one got trapped in the elevators at our party.