MY URBAN KVETCH

Celebrate Jews Who Inspire You: "Jews That Do" contest

2009-12-07T07:14:37-08:00

[cross-post from ROICommunity, which, along with Jewlicious, is a cosponsor of this competition] Do you know someone who is an overachiever, achieves incredible feats, inspires you with their imagination and creativity, sets your soul aflame with the power of their dedication and ideals? These people, they leave awe in the wake of their awesomeness, they make the world a better place, they make you want to be a better person....

Full Disclosure: Bloggers to Reveal When They Get Free Stuff

2009-12-03T22:27:54-08:00

Two kids' t-shirts (one of them on the model at left) and a onesie from Rabbi's Daughters. Occasionally, review copies of books, some of which I actually end up reviewing. A comped dinner at a now-closed Beverly Hills eatery that turned out to not have been a comp at all. A basket of Hanukkah goodies last year from OhNuts, which I unfortunately never got to review, even though it included...

Rabbinical Students Form New Gay/Straight Alliance in Jerusalem

2009-12-03T21:59:31-08:00

Here in Los Angeles, I'm involved with a community called IKAR - more than a synagogue, it's a community of people who are passionate, diverse and committed to social justice and activism. Although the majority of IKARites (and the community itself) falls denominationally under "Conservative," the commitment to activism crosses denominational lines. (And yes, they're on Twitter: follow them at @IKAR_LA.) Some of those community members are now in Israel,...

All the World's a Kitchen: Cantor Shares Music and Tradition "In Bubby's Kitchen"

2009-12-01T09:00:00-08:00

When you imagine a kitchen, you focus on its potential to serve not just food, but entertainment, conversation and tradition. The foods prepared in a kitchen are chosen by the chef-in-residence for their pragmatic nutritional value, fueling and sustaining a family. But as the ingredients are assembled, equally important is the deeper resonance: the passing on of family custom, the forging of an atmosphere that binds people together over food...

The Big Question for Jewish Innovation

2009-11-30T15:00:00-08:00

[cross-post from ROI Community] When it comes to Jewish innovation, what's your big question? Last week, I presented on Jewish innovation at the Milken Community High School in Los Angeles, California. The school prides itself on its pluralism, as well as its "moral, spiritual, and intellectual way of life which, in the context of community, refines the human being (tikkun atzmi) and repairs the world (tikkun olam), and the students...

'Perdidos': The 'Lost' Season Six Promo en Espanol!

2009-11-30T11:18:03-08:00

We last had a new episode of 'Lost' last May, which left us with crazy questions and cliffhangers to ponder during the rest of the spring, the entire summer, the entire autumn, and part of the winter before we got to our month of promised new episodes in "January" - which we all now know means "February 2." Some people are going to great lengths to avoid spoilers for the...

Finally, Envelopes That Taste Like Bacon: 'Mmmvelopes'

2009-11-24T23:09:15-08:00

If you're like no one I know, then you've always dreamed of envelopes without that gummy adhesive taste, and instead with the taste of smoky, meaty bacon. Now your dreams - and many rabbinic nightmares - come true, with Mmmvelopes, made by Baconnaise, a company (with an engagingly written website) that makes everything bacon-flavored. Their bacon salt, as a point of fact, was inspired by a kosher wedding. Technically, EatMeDaily...

Hanukkah Flash Mob in Jerusalem

2009-11-23T15:02:00-08:00

It's not "Food Court Musical: All-Hummus Edition," but it's a start.

Your Tweets: The Book!

2009-11-23T11:08:38-08:00

[Repost from ROICommunity.org] If you're a fan of Twitter and fancy yourself a writer who really ought to be a published author, now you can be! Tweetbookz, the brainchild of the Definitely Something team (ROIer Jacob Shwirtz and business partner Asael Kahana) now binds your Tweets of 140 characters into a softcover or hardcover book for your friends, family members and bookshelves. You can follow this project on Twitter at...

"It's Esther Week on G-dcast.com!"

2009-11-22T20:29:08-08:00

(The above quote comes to you courtesy of Sarah Lefton, the talented leader of the animated G-dcast series, longtime member of the ROI Community and all-around inspirational human being.) Look, I know America's obsessed with "Twilight: New Moon" this week. But for about four minutes, why don't you forget "Team Edward" and "Team Jacob": try on "Team Leah" and "Team Rachel"? This G-dcast does not have Jacob's rock-hard wolf abs,...

Manifesto: Social Media and Jewish Organizations

2009-11-17T16:44:27-08:00

I "virtually attended" this year's JFNA General Assembly via Twitter, specially noting the tweets about the social media workshops and the night-time Tweetup: the sense of excitement was palpable, not just that people who already use Twitter showed up for drinks, but that there were many older people there, people who were less experienced with social media, but wanted to learn. There was a time in my life when I...

Global Entrepreneurship Week: Pop Judaica Acquired By ModernTribe

2009-11-16T10:20:35-08:00

This post is in honor of Global Entrepreneurship Week, and celebrates two women entrepreneurs who have taken the Jewish merchandising world by storm. They started separately, in two different cities, both answering their needs for more Judaica and Jewish-themed gifts. Sara Schwimmer Marcus walked into a New York City department store one holiday season and found herself "inundated with red and green merchandise and Christmas carols over the loudspeakers. I...

In-Depth Studio Interview: Michelle Citrin

2009-11-16T01:49:29-08:00

My friend, the amazingly talented Michelle Citrin, gave a long interview and an in-studio mini-concert to Toronto's "Professionally Speaking," hosted by Randall Craig. Don't miss Michelle's upcoming gigs in December in New York and in England at LimmudUK. Check Michelle's website for the latest information.

This February, Frolic With LimmudLA

2009-11-12T22:56:33-08:00

Seriously, because all these people are going to be at the LimmudLA Conference in February. Want to see a list of presenters (being updated all the time!)? Check it out to read names such as, well, everyone I've met in Los Angeles in the last year, and the Greenbergs (Yitz and Blu), and one Yonatan Gordis from the Center for Leadership Initiatives (which organizes ROI, among other programs). Oh yeah,...

History, Short-Attention-Span Style: Newsweek and Facebook Present "The Decade in Seven Minutes"

2009-11-11T11:36:56-08:00

Do you remember the world before Facebook? Before music lived on a computer, or was transmitted through your white earbuds from your iPod? In the last ten years, there's been death and destruction, human and natural, worldwide. There were cultural advancements and economic depressions. Go back even further. Remember Y2K? Elian Gonzalez? Hanging chads? And then, of course, there was 9/11. And everything else. We know all of this, of...