The Weekly Schmooze: Lisa Frank is back!

JPost column on hottest Jewish news: Nir Barkat takes on Gangnam Style; UK looks for the Jewish Mum of the Year.

By LAHAV HARKOV
weekly schmooze 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
weekly schmooze 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Any female growing up in the US in the 80s and 90s knows that the coolest supplies in school had Lisa Frank designs on them – whether they were purple painter pandas or rainbow-spotted Dalmatians or VW beetle-driving aliens. For those of you who miss the girliest graphic designer out there – who happens to be Jewish – she is collaborating with Urban Outfitters to sell stickers, folders, notebooks and, of course, Trapper Keepers. The very elusive (though Buzzfeed managed to find her photo) Ms. Frank agreed to be interviewed – but not filmed – by Urban Outfitters and her office has giant models of her most famous characters. Plus, Mila Kunis thinks Lisa Frank is cool too – she appeared in a 1993 ad for the brand, when she was only 11!
If you thought "Gangnam Style" parodies were a thing of the past, you thought wrong. The Hebrew University Student Union made "Jerusalem Syndrome," one of the best Gangnam videos out there, with a brief cameo appearance by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat:
While we're still discussing funny business – Judd Apatow is going to guest edit the first-ever comedy issue of Vanity Fair. Editor Graydon Carter said Apatow "revolutionized filmed comedy by creating scripts and cultivating a stable of actors in much the manner that Preston Sturges and Woody Allen have done in the past." Apatow, in response, joked that he didn't realize he wouldn't get paid when he offered to edit the issue.
Judd Apatow (Reuters)
Judd Apatow (Reuters)
Across the pond, in the UK, a strange new reality show is pitting Jewish mothers against each other to be crowned Mother of the Year by The Jewish Times and get a job as the paper's first-ever agony aunt – British for advice columnist. Among the challenges participants in "Jewish Mum of the Year" face are planning a Bar Mitzvah (or Barmy, as some UK Jews like to say) and matchmaking. Here's a preview of the new show:
The Weekly Schmooze collects the hottest Jewish culture news from around the world. Ranging from celebrities to philanthropy to quirky communities, we're here to schmooze about Jews. If you have any news to share with The Weekly Schmooze, write to: weeklyschmooze@gmail.com.