Cash in on Your Embarrassing B’nai Mitzvah Moment
JewishTVNetwork.com, which has launched its own user-generated channel, wants to celebrate by holding a contest to find the funniest, most embarrassing bar/bat mitzvah moments. Think “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” but with kippot.
Online users as well as comedians will judge the video clips submitted to jewishtvnetwork.com, and the winners will be announced on April 1.
Judges will select a grand-prize winner, who will receive $10,000, while two more (most viewed and most votes, selected by users) will each nab a $1,000 prize.
In order to submit videos, users need only fill out a form and upload the content, which can be in almost any format. JewishTVNetwork.com will then review and post the video on the site. Once posted, all visitors can view, vote and comment on the video.
— Staff Report
’30 Rock’ Fans Howling at ‘Werewolf Bar Mitzvah’
The Oct. 11 episode of the NBC sitcom “30 Rock” featured Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) doing a six-second Jewish-themed bit spoofing of the 1983 Michael Jackson horror-themed video for “Thriller.” Titled “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah,” Morgan, backed by several dancers dressed up as werewolves, sings lines like, “Boys becoming men. Men becoming wolves.”
Sounding more like a tongue-in-cheek ode to Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s 1962 novelty song “Monster Mash,” the sketch became a viral Internet darling in the run-up to Halloween.
However, NBC ordered the video removed from YouTube since the network is starting its own video-sharing service, Hulu.com.
In an effort to make nice with online fans, NBC has posted a full-length version of the song and is asking people to create their own “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah” video. The main catch: You must sign up for myNBC to upload the video to the “My Werewolf Bar Mitzvah” group. The video will be removed if posted to any other video-sharing site.
To learn more and to download the song for your video, along with the required ’30 Rock’ bumper for the end, visit
http://www.nbc.com/30_Rock/video/werewolf_bar_mitzvah.shtml.
— Staff Report
Bat Mitzvah Collects iPods for Troops
Oak Park student Kelsey Paule is collecting new and used Apple iPods in working condition and iTunes cards to send to American soldiers serving overseas. The 13-year-old started “Operation: Bring Music to a Soldier’s Ears” as a mitzvah project in advance of her bat mitzvah this month, according to The Acorn.
The portable media players will be sent soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as wounded soldiers recovering in stateside hospitals, through Pasadena-based nonprofit Soldiers’ Angels. Paule, who will record a message to each recipient, is hoping to collect 100 iPods by the end of the year.
To donate, call (818) 355-2570 or e-mail {encode=”ctlca24@gmail.com” title=”ctlca24@gmail.com”}. For more information about Soldiers’ Angels, visit http://soldiersangels.org.
— Staff Report
Big Bat Mitzvah Spender Arrested
A business owner who famously spent more than $8 million on his daughter’s bat mitzvah was arrested. David Brooks, 53, of Old Westbury, N.Y., the former chief executive of DHB Industries, was arrested Oct. 25 on charges that he bilked his company of millions. His publicly traded firm sold body armor to the U.S. military. Brooks has not been with the firm, which changed its name to Point Blank Solutions, for more than a year.
Brooks allegedly made $185 million in illicit profits after selling company shares using fraudulent claims. He also had reportedly funneled money meant for charity to maintain his lavish lifestyle. He faces up to 25 years in prison on each of eight counts. Rock stars ranging from Tom Petty to the Eagles, Aerosmith, 50 Cent and Kenny G performed at the lavish 2005 bat mitzvah of Brooks’ daughter, Elizabeth.
Brooks’ defense lawyer, Paul Shechtman, told the Newsday newspaper that he believes his client may be allowed out on bail if he agrees to be monitored by guards in detention at his mansion in Old Westbury.
— Jewish Telegraphic Agency
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