Jew or Not Jew Unplugged

Monday, March 19, 2012

Profile: David Rabinowitz

http://www.jewornotjew.com/profile.jsp?ID=1285

The prominent discoverer of dwarf planets is Michael Brown, who is not a Jew, but is in our gallery of Michael Browns...

Friday, March 16, 2012

Profile: Jewish Autonomous Region

http://www.jewornotjew.com/profile.jsp?ID=1284

We profiled animals, plants, and companies... why not places?

The picture is a sign for Birobidzhan, the capital of the region.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Profile: Andrew Garfield

http://www.jewornotjew.com/profile.jsp?ID=1283

Yeah, today's profile chronicles what actually happened: Zev asked me what score we should give Garfield and I thought he meant the furry fellow pictured above. The profile, as written, is more or less the conversation that followed.

On the plus side, this trailer doesn't look half bad. Y'know, for a reboot that no one is asking for and fewer will understand.

Suggestions by Esther from Canada, Jason from Vancouver, Paige from Pittsburgh, Rozzie from Oakland, Noga from Israel, Laurie from North Carolina, and Jeff from Phoenix.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Profile: Lev Leviev

http://www.jewornotjew.com/profile.jsp?ID=1282

This actually started as a completely different profile, but once I got into Borat mode, I couldn't stop. Apologies.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Profile: Ossie Schectman

http://www.jewornotjew.com/profile.jsp?ID=1281

More about Schechtman and the Jewish origins of basketball can be seen in the film, The First Basket.

Suggestion by Ezra from New York.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Profile: Ricki Lake

http://www.jewornotjew.com/profile.jsp?ID=1280

Well, at least her show was a tad better than Jerry or Maury...

Suggestions by Bruce from Cambridge, IL and Miriam from Burbank.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Profile: Alanis Morissette

http://www.jewornotjew.com/profile.jsp?ID=1279

How big was Alanis in the 90s? Kevin Smith cast her as G-d in the (somewhat) classic Dogma in 1999. How many times did Eddie Vedder play an almighty deity?

Exactly.

Suggestions by Slava from Baltimore, Nazmir from Malaysia, Malcolm from Antwerp, and Max from San Diego.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Profile: Adah Isaacs Menken

http://www.jewornotjew.com/profile.jsp?ID=1278

Mark from New York suggested we profile Irene Adler, Sherlock Holmes' femme fatale. It's not clear whether Adler was Jewish (one can easy make an argument one way or another), but one of the theories was that she was based on Menken...

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Profile: Queen Esther

http://www.jewornotjew.com/profile.jsp?ID=1277

Happy Purim, everybody!

JONJ on NEWSru

For those who read Russian, Israeli website NEWSRu.co.il did a lengthy profile and interview with us. For those who don't, here's the English translation.

Creators of the website posses not only a brilliant style, but a real Jewish self-irony. Articles are often turned into small studies that show significant historical and cultural knowledge.

Thank you, Pavel, for the opportunity!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Profile: B&H Photo Video

http://www.jewornotjew.com/profile.jsp?ID=1276

How bad are B&H's radio ads? It dropped them 2 (TWO!) whole K scores. That's right, B&H would have been a perfect score, except for the fact that their ads make me want to drive over there and beat the crap out of whoever makes them. And I work in advertising, so you know I have a higher tolerance than most for that stuff.

On the other hand, the story about the camera, as related in the profile, is absolutely 100% true. They spent hours helping with a camera (getting it properly set up, updating drivers, etc.) that they never even sold us.

So yeah, good place. Y'know, so long as you don't ever listen to the radio, anyway.