The Weekly Schmooze: Mara Wilson stays sane

Jewish culture news worldwide: Tea-time with Hitler; Jewish teen takes supermodel to prom; Lil Dicky raps about being white and Jewish.

By LAHAV HARKOV
weekly schmooze 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
weekly schmooze 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
LA Jewish day school student Jake Davidson tried to make every teenage boy's dream come true and take a supermodel to prom, by posting a YouTube video invitation to Kate Upton.
Upton had to turn the 17-year-old down, due to scheduling issues – she's filming The Other Woman with Cameron Diaz, Nicki Minaj, and Leslie Mann this week – but there's no need to feel bad for Davidson. Danish-born model Nina Agdal, who has also appeared in the SI swimsuit issue, offered to be his date, instead. Agdal, 21, who had never been to a prom, showed up in a glamorous green gown and didn't know what a corsage is. Still, Davidson shouldn't get his hopes up for a second date. Only days later, gossip magazines paired Agdal with another Jewish man – Maroon 5 singer and The Voice judge Adam Levine.

If we're already on the topic of Jewish celebrity love, Scooter Braun, manager to Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen who was on this year's Jerusalem Post list of 50 Most Influential Jews, is reportedly dating Yael Cohen, founder of the organization "F**k Cancer." A Bieber fan outed the couple on twitter.Mara Wilson is best known as a child star of films like Matilda and A Simple Wish, but now she's all grown up and no longer acting (in movies, at least). Wilson wrote an article on comedy site Cracked.com titled "7 Reasons Child Stars Go Crazy (An Insider's Perspective)," which has gone viral since it was published Tuesday. The 25-year-old NYU graduate's list is insightful and provocative, mixing personal experiences with advice and a generous sprinkling of humor. It's worth reading.
Another viral hit this week was a teapot. Yes, a teapot sold at JCPenney that just so happens to look like Hitler. Ever since some redditors made the Hitler-teapot connection, news sites and blogs have been posting photos of the pot, saying the lid looks like his mustache, the handle his hair and the spout and bell are doing the Nazi salute. What do you think? Does the teapot look like Hitler?
JCPenney, on their part, say the resemblance is unintentional, pulled the Michael Graves-designed product and took down the billboard that sparked so much notice.

JCPenney may not want people buying Hitler teapots, but Jewish rapper Lil Dicky doesn't shy away from the Holocaust. In fact, he says his rhymes are "sicker than the Holocaust," in a song called "Jewish Flow" that was briefly banned from YouTube, before  he won an appeal to put it back up. Here's the very NSFW song.
Dicky's Jewishness plays a huge role in his songs, his album art and his vision as a rapper. He doesn't hide the fact that he's "Jewish, and white, and pretty average looking. And I grew up in a suburban home right outside of Philadelphia. With outstanding parents." Instead of rapping about typical hip-hop topics (beginning "life as a poor, violent man, only to see your fortunes turn once you started rapping," as he sees it) he's rapping about the things he can relate to, and instead of reclaiming the n-word, he jarringly uses the k-word. Here's a song in which he raps about the advantages and disadvantages of being a "White Dude."
Last week, the Schmooze posted a preview of the PBS documentary Mel Brooks: Make a Noise and some fun clips from Mel Brooks' films. Since then PBS put the entire documentary online for viewers in the US. Unfortunately, the video does not work in Israel, but other readers can enjoy it here.
If you have any news to share with The Weekly Schmooze,write to: weeklyschmooze@gmail.com