December 6, 2002 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 9
There is more to Hanukkah then a dreidel A plethora of gift ideas to light anyone's menorah
by Anthony Glassman
It's finally here. After a year (roughly) of waiting, the world finds itself in the midst of the most important eight days of the calendar: Hanukkah.
Okay, by the time this article comes out, Hanukkah will be almost over, but there are still a couple of days to buy presents, and readers with a particular sadistic sense of humor can always call the gifts given to the goyim on December 25 “Hanukkah presents" as an act of Semitic protest.
From web sites for queer Jews to films that would make your mother leave the room, there's something for everyone available this Festival of the Lights.
In terms of film, Woody Allen collides rather violently with Kiss Me, Guido in Ariztical Entertainment's Hit and Runway.
Hetero huk Alex, who works in his family's restaurant in New York, is also an aspiring screenwriter. He gets a break, though, when his cousin shops out one of his ideas to a studio. The Hollywood bigwigs like the action film's concept, but want it turned into a comedy.
Enter Elliot, the neurotic nebbish, a character undoubtedly modeled after the Lord of the Nebbishes, Woody Allen. He is an accomplished
leave under the Hanukkah bush, er, menorah. One doesn't really leave Hanukkah presents anywhere, does one?
First, there is Queer Jews (Routledge, $19.95), edited by Caryn Aviv and David Schneer. Looking at the entire spectrum of
queer Jewish experience, with submissions by gay men, bisexuals, lesbians and transgendered people of every stripe, the book does a marvelous job of gathering a veritable
playwright who can help Alex tweak QUEER JEWS cornucopia of treatises.
his script.
The problem is, can straight Alex and gay Elliot co-exist long enough to finish the script? Can they agree on anything?
After film, there's music. How about a double-dose of good Yiddish boys?
*******Y DAVID *** & CARTR AVIN
First off, there's Skott Freedman's Anything Worth Mentioning, the bisexual singer/songwriter/pianist/activist's third album. He's played Pride festivals, he's made the college circuit talking about biphobia. Now see him shirtless in the liner notes.
Mellow, with an occasional touch of funky, and a voice sometimes reminiscent of Barenaked Ladies, Freedman is an accomplished musician, definitely nearing the top of his craft and gaining muchdeserved international attention.
Now, for someone already af the top of the game, and continuing in a piano vibe, look no further than Rhino Records' The Michael Feinstein Anthology, 43 songs from the master of the ivory-tickling showtune.
Among these are eight previously unreleased tracks, including one with Liza Minelli, as well as two songs with Rosemary Clooney.
A brief warning, though. You had better like Gershwin.
Of course, if a certain gift recipient would prefer quiet interrupted only by the soft swishing of pages turning, two new anthologies might be the perfect present to
Some of the pieces are very personal, like a Jewish lesbian discussing why she chose to have her newborn son circumcised, while others examine issues in a highly academic light, like Oscar Wolfman's "Remaking Family: Canadian Jews, Sexuality and Relationships," which examines the intersection of identities in our neighbors to the north.
On the other hand, Found Tribe (Sherman Asher, $15.95), edited by Lawrence Schimel, tells only the first-person. It is the comingout stories of seventeen gay Jewish men, Schimel included. While giving voice to men ranging widely in age, it does just cover men, leaving it a bit more one-sided than Queer Jews, but for men it should be just as satisfying.
For those who like fiction, there's always Blood in My Hairspray by Ohioan Steven Schreibman.
Damian Shtup, top-notch hairdresser, finds himself being stalked after a Mafia don's wife goes belly-up in his posh salon. Can the stylist and a sexy cop unravel the intricate web of deadly deceit before Shtup winds up needing more than mousse to solve his problems?
WWW.JEWCY.COM
The best part is, if you read this quickly, you can get over to Body Language in Cleveland and get the author to sign it to the recipient. He'll be there from 2 pm to 4 pm on Saturday, December 7. For more information, call 216-251-3330.
Finally, the internet has brought forth just what those aforementioned queer Jews have been waiting for: Jewcy, at www.jewcy.com.
"Being Jewcy is a lifestyle," explains cofounder Jason Saft. "It's pro-Manischevitz, pro-Jewfro. It's knishes with a knasty attitude."
It's also cute. A personal favorite is the Jewcy "rock 'n' roll" T-shirt, which says "Jewcy" on the front and "Shalom, Motherfuckers" on the back.
Well, come on. Gene Simmons is Jewish, "and if he can get away with stuff like that, why can't gay Jews? Of course, perhaps the cutest part of it all is the Hebrew letter shin in place of the "w."
One tiny little warning: these are not the new-jack, baggy T-shirts they're selling here. These are the old-school, kinda stretchy, hug-the-curves T-shirts. Thank God I asked Saft for an extra large, or I would look like a stuffed kischke.
JENCY
Jewcy T-shirts