NEW YORK (6NoBacon) — Are Israel’s recent publicity problems finally over? Or did they just get worse?
In the wake of the vote granting the Palestinians upgraded status at the United Nations, and just days after “Sesame Street” actress Sonia Manzano called Israelis “bullies,” Honey Boo Boo of TLC reality show fame offered a respite.
Adi Segal, an Israeli fan of the “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” star, sent her a letter from a bomb shelter during the recent Gaza conflict.
“We watch your show every time we feel terrorized and threatened and you light up our faces,” wrote Segal, a college student. “We watch it in our bomb shelters and panic room, and rejoice in the happiness and joy you spread. When you are playing redneck games, eating sketti or dumpster diving, we feel like we are dumpster diving along your side and forget the sad reality that is outside. Your family is a shining beautimous beacon of hope for the Middle East.”
In response, the toddler in tiara took a photo of herself with the letter and an inflatable hammer emblazoned with the Israeli flag and posted it on her Facebook page. Is this the next step in Israeli hasbarah? Is it connected to the recent firing of the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon?
Maybe next year we’ll be able to watch “Land of Milk and Honey Boo Boo.”
Lena Dunham book leaks
The book proposal that landed “Girls” creator Lena Dunham a $3.7 million publishing deal was leaked online on Monday.
The 66-page proposal explains the ideas behind the book, “Not That Kind of Girl,” and reveals it will be divided into six sections: Work, Friendship, Body, Sex, Love and Big Picture, the Christian Science Monitor reported. The structure of the book by the Jewish actress, writer and director is inspired by the late Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown’s “Having It All.”
“I’ve never kept a diary,” Dunham wrote in the introduction. “I remember being given a journal around age six, penning a long paragraph about my massive crush on Colin Bliss (what a name!) and then leaving it casually strewn open on the kitchen counter for my parents to ‘find.’ Here was my feeling: if a girl writes in her diary and no one’s there to read it did she really write at all?”
Some notable quotes from the proposal include: “Every ice pop I ate, every movie I watched, every poem I wrote was tinged with a fearful loss,” and “I’ve been in therapy since I was seven.”
The leaked proposal was posted on various blogs and websites, but was taken down when Dunham’s attorney intervened. There is still no word if she is writing the book naked while eating cake.
The future about nothing
What if the most popular sitcom of all time took place in 2012?
SeinfeldToday, the creation of Jack Moore, the editor of BuzzFeed Sports, and comedian Josh Gondelman aims to answer that question.
On Twitter, the two imagine what a modern-day version of the show about nothing would look like. One of the tweets predicted that “Elaine joins JDate so she pretends to be Jewish. She meets an amazing guy who dumps her for being ‘too Jewy.’ George discovers falafel.”
“I’m pretty much constantly watching episodes in the background while I’m doing anything,” Moore told the Atlantic Wire. “I have a thumb drive with the whole series on it that I keep in my bag pretty much all the time.”
Zach Braff’s new relative
There’s nothing quite like discovering new branches of the Jewish family tree, espcially when that branch reaches all the way to failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Zach Braff, the Jewish star best known for the film “Garden State” and the TV show “Scrubs,” recently discovered that he’s related to the ex-governor of Massachusetts through a common ancestor. And not just any ancestor, but one accused of witchcraft in the 17th century, according to report from MSN.
“It’s very bizarre because believe it or not, I thought it was another prank on the Internet because I’ve been killed off on the Internet, I came out of the closet on the Internet, a lot of things have happened to me on the web and I start getting wind that I was related to Mitt Romney through a witch!” Braff said during an appearance on “Rove L.A.”
“That sounds like a joke, but this genealogist, who I guess has way too much time on his hands, went and tracked my mother’s maiden name and figured out she grew up in Rhode Island and discovered that Mitt Romney and I are related through the very last woman who was killed through the Salem witch trials,” he went on. “And I thought it was like a tabloid thing, [but] it was a reputable genealogy journal, so yeah, Mitt and I are related through a witch!”
We’re not quite sure what this means for the tribe, but Braff would certainly be an interesting edition to the Romney family portrait.
Mayim vs. ‘The View’
“Big Bang Theory” actress Mayim Bialik came out with the upper hand this past week after cashing a check from ABC for appearing on “The View” last year.
The show’s hosts made some incendiary comments, suggesting her divorce was a result of her attachment parenting methods, which include breastfeeding her 4-year-old and having all her children sleep in the same bed with her and her soon-to-be ex-husband.
“I like that less than a week after ‘The View’ bashed me and blamed me for my parenting choices causing my divorce, I got a residuals check for my appearance on their show from last year which was about my parenting book. Heehee,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
“The hands-on style of parenting we practice played no role in the changes that led to this decision,” she noted separately on her website, dismissing speculation that her parenting style played a role in the ending of her marriage. “Relationships are complicated no matter what style of parenting you choose.”
Bar sees you when you’re sleeping
You better watch out, Bar Refaeli is coming to town.
The Israeli supermodel posted a photo on Instagram wearing a Santa suit with the caption “Good Morning Santa!” She appears to be either hung over or exhausted.
Of course, a photo of a famous Jewish model wearing Christmas gear couldn’t pass without comment. Jewish and Israeli followers of Refaeli expressed their feelings, mostly along the lines of “You know you’re Jewish, right?” Some hoped that she would find God; others said she should just convert to Christianity and get it over with. Others accused her of “betraying Israel.”
It was the second time in the past few weeks that Refaeli found herself in the center of a social media storm. During the crisis in Gaza, Refaeli tweeted, “I prey [sic] for the safety of the citizens on both sides and for the day we will live in peace and harmony Amen.” For some reason, Refaeli’s decision to hope for the safety of both sides made many people, including some minor celebrities, accuse her of being “unpatriotic.”
In response to the latest criticism, Refaeli tweeted in Hebrew, “It’s very entertaining to read criticism of a picture I uploaded wearing a Santa Claus costume as I spend most of my days rehearsing for a Chanukkah show, happy holiday!”
Refaeli will play the role of Cinderalla in an upcoming play in Israel.
Nice Jewish Guys Calendar is back
Attention ladies (and gentlemen), it is time again to greet the 12 nicest, most pleasant-looking guys — guys who will always call the next day, bring you soup when you’re sick and be nice to your mother. Yes, the 2013 Nice Jewish Guys Calendar is here, just in time for the holiday season.
The man behind the idea is TV producer Adam Cohen (Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars”), who told BWB that he came up with the idea in 2010 after joking with friends about “how all calendars have firemen or pin-up hotties.” As for the lucky guys, Cohen said, “Some are friends of friends of friends, some answer Internet listings and others just find me.”
They are all single. But, Adam adds, “Hopefully by the time the calendar comes out, they get snatched up.”
Cohen has a vision: “If this calendar can accomplish anything, it would be my hope that women give this guy a chance out at a bar. He’s funny, nice and a great listener. What’s not to like!?”
So what are you waiting for, go get it. Mr. April is even holding two puppies!
(For more Jewish entertainment news, visit 6nobacon.com, the illegitimate child of JTA.)
