Friday, April 22, 2005

Huh?

Elizabeth town has a pro basketball franchise? I didn't know.

Oh, my gosh. I feel sorry for Henry Miller. I'd have no choice but to do the same thing.

David Arquette is Jewish. Coco however will not be raised Jewish as Courtney Cox-Arquette has been baptised.

Shimon Peres and Tiki Barber. 'Nuff said.

GetArrested.com is a faux grassroots petition site. Who owns it, you ask? None other than Fox.

It's true. Olivia Newton-John is indeed a member of the tribe.

Bill O'Reilly is in Lucky 13. I'm still seeing the Jewish flick regardless.

Jewsweek talks with Lewis Black:
He originally intended to become a playwright, but switched to comedy mostly because he was funny.

His Jewish upbringing, he says, informs his work. "The thing you gain by being Jewish is the sense of being an outsider. So you have an empathy, a natural empathy."

He's never censored himself because he's Jewish. He never said, gee, I shouldn't make fun of this because of my religion. On the contrary, one of his most popular routines is about Christmas, which he gladly summarizes:

"Christmas is completely out of control. Every year it's longer and longer. It used to be the 25 days of Christmas. Now it starts before Labor Day. How long does it take you guys to shop? At what point do you not learn that items are most expensive before Christmas. So why don't you just put empty boxes underneath the tree this Christmas, with little notes attached, 'I'm going to get you this coffee maker ... if the price is right.'"

He has another routine, he says, about how the Christian right uses Old Testament quotations as an argument to prove that gay marriages are immoral:

"The Old Testament was written by my people, the Jewish people. But that book wasn't good enough for you Christians. You guys said, 'We got a better book and a great new character. You're going to love it.' And yet you are constantly interpreting our book. It's not your book! A lot of the problems we have in the country is that you Christians interpret the Old Testament. You don't see rabbis going on TV interpreting the New Testament."

Routines like these keep him playing to full houses the year 'round. He's on the road 250 days a year playing to packed houses, and has no intention of cutting back. "When you finally find your audience, it's kind of silly not to go out to see them. I was working that much before and I had no audience."

He actually tours on a bus, like a Jewish country western singer, accompanied by his opening act, a tour manager and the man who sells Lewis Black doo-dads, such as t-shirts, CDs and now, presumably, copies of his book.

Success hasn't mellowed him. Sure, he says: "The fact that I've reached a wider audience gives you a sense that you've accomplished something." Huh? There aren't people he wants to get even with?
Who is Jewriffic this week?
Image hosted by Photobucket.com

1. Best reason to have Internet access: The hilarious animated short from the makers of Shabot 6000.
4. Best dis of a kallah: "Understanding [is] vital in a modern society. If you see a rather manly person in women's clothes -- it might not be a lesbian. It might be Camilla Parker Bowles." -- Jewish comedian Billy Crystal, accepting an award for playing a gay man on Soap in the late-'70s, at Monday's Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Media Awards dinner.
6. Best lesson in stand-up comedy: "Two Jews walk into a bar. Michael Jackson" -- Comedian-turned-author Lewis Black explaining to the co-hosts of The View that you can end any joke with the words Michael Jackson and it's funny.

I'll be back after the weekend, stay tuned.

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