Friday March 18th, 2011

Happy Friday everyone and more importantly, Happy Purim! I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived to work this morning to find a red-velvet lined cape, kings hat and scepter (amongst many other treats and trinkets,) compliments of a co-worker who is currently in the process of moving out of his apartment, and knew that I above anyone else would appreciate the gifts. Little did he (or a vast majority of my co-workers for that matter) realize that this weekend marks the Jewish holiday Purim! In layman's terms, Purim can best be described as the Jewish version of Halloween, where children and adults alike can dress up, replacing candy corn with hamantaschen and wine with Manischevitz (or any other kosher wine). I have many fond memories from my upbringing in Jewish day school of day-long Purim activities. All the girls would dress up as Queen Vashti or if you were a good girl-Esther and the boys dressed up as Mordecai or if they wanted to be a rebel King Hamen (boooo). While Purim is perhaps the most joyous and fun holiday in the Jewish calendar, it also holds a great amount of significance, commemorating a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination.The story of Purim, is told in the Boook Of Esther, a young Jewish woman living in Persia with Mordecai, who acted as her father figure. One day, after being bored of his wife Queen Vashti, Esther was taken against her will to join the King of Persia's harem. The king fell in love with the beautiful Esther and immediately made her queen, unbeknown to the king, was the fact that Esther was a Jew. This is where Haman comes in. Haman, was the kings evil adviser (think Jafar to the king in Aladdin) who made fats enemies with Mordecai who refused to bow down to him. From there on out, Haman was determined to exterminate all the Jews of Persia, starting with Mordecai and Queen Esther. Haman's plan foiled quickly, after Esther plead her case (and batted those beautiful eyelashes) at the king who in a change of heart saved the Jewish people and killed Haman and his ten sons instead.


Friday Headlines

Jewish Students Find  Purim Parties World-Wide
http://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/1470165/jewish/Students-Celebrate-Purim-Worldwide.htm

5 Best Purim Parties In NYC!
http://newyork.timeout.com/things-to-do/this-week-in-new-york/1016219/five-best-purim-parties?cmpid=TD031711


Jewish Holiday Of Purim Is Celebrated in Israel
http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/03/18/6293692-jewish-holiday-of-purim-is-celebrated-in-israel

Hamantaschen For Purim: A traditional Treat You Can Make At Home
http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/03/18/hamantaschen-for-purim/


Warlocks Attending Charlie Sheen Tour Casting Healing Spells
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/03/18/warlocks-attending-charlie-sheen-tour-date-casting-spells-actor/?test=faces

Bradley Cooper on Limitless: It's About Power
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bradley-cooper-limitless-power-169181

Photo Call: Arcadia Opens On Broadway, Arrivals, Curtain & Party
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/148904-PHOTO-CALL-Arcadia-Opens-on-Broadway-Arrivals-Curtain-and-Party

Kardashian Mania
http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/kardashian_mania_keub8QiGCPKReJ59r1zVcJ

What's So Special About Purim?
http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Opinion/Article.aspx?id=212606

The Strokes Return To SXSW With Triumphant Set
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1660183/the-strokes-sxsw.jhtml

How Did 50 Female Celebrities Get Hacked
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/hackers-hit-jessica-alba-scarlett-johansson-miley-cyrus/story?id=13166046

For Director Brad Furman, The Lincoln Lawyer Could be a Pivotal Film
http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20110318_For_director_Brad_Furman___The_Lincoln_Lawyer__could_be_a_pivotal_film.html

Being A Crazy Bitch Is Paying Off For Charlie Sheen
http://dlisted.com/node/41244

Rebecca Black Cried Over All The Nasty Comments
http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/celebrity.news.gossip/03/18/rebecca.black.ppl/

Exclusive: Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro Discuss Making The Great Escape Artist
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-perry-farrell-dave-navarro-discuss-making-the-great-escape-artist-20110318

Why Rebecca Black Is A Demon-Wizard Child Piper
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/blogs/pop-life/why-rebecca-black-is-the-demon-wizard-child-piper-who-will-lead-us-to-reason-20110318

It's finally here..The NYT Paywall.

An important announcement from the publisher of The New York Times

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