Jewish Stereo Types

...you can always try a little incentive: Video posted by Bomborarius Of course, if sugar doesn't do it for you, you can always try a vacation: Video posted by Ikenna Mokwe Although, you really don't want to take it too far... Video posted by Master Okay, so Mary Poppins was a childhood favorite (I know all the words to "The Perfect Nanny" by heart, and I mean EVERY WORD) and it's is still one of my favorite movies. If you haven't anything else to fill your time this weekend, I heartily recommend a rewatch. ... There are PENGUINS! *** The songs for Mary Poppins (and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Jungle Book and Bedknobs and Broomsticks , among others) were written by the Sherman brothers, Robert and Richard. They were the sons of Tin Pan Alley songwriter Al (Avrum) Sherman and like their father, were Jewish . For Mary Poppins , I forgive them for writing this: (And now you'll have that stuck in your head all weekend. Shabbat sha...

With thanks to my brother, who sent these to my mom and me: Video posted by Shedd Aquarium Video posted by CBS Chicago I think the whales enjoyed that more than the penguin, actually! * * * * * And since "things that make me happy" is a wee teensy bit unstructured, I shall add happy songs--not necessarily songs that make me happy, just songs (preferably those that meet the overall brief of this blog) ABOUT happy. Like this one--"Put on a Happy Face" from Bye Bye Birdie : Video posted by LPL musicals Hey, I am an adult speaking to you, and when I say "smile" I expect you to SMILE! (Besides, the physical act of smiling can really make you feel cheerier .) *** The songs for Bye Bye Birdie were written by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse, and while I have no reason whatsoever to think that Lee Adams has Jewish roots, Charles Strouse is Jewish , and Bye Bye Birdie was his first full-length Broadway musical --for which he won his first Tony Awa...

I had a good dramatic, emotional, Fathers-Day-appropriate song all ready to go for today. But my father passed away a little less than a year ago, so I decided to look at a thing he always enjoyed instead. Rather than a single song, therefore, I thought we'd take a look at a movie musical that, no matter what you might believe from the title, is really about a father: Mary Poppins . How we know that Mary Poppins is really about the father and not about Mary Poppins is that the father is the only character that changes over the course of the film. Mary Poppins herself doesn't change--Mary Poppins NEVER changes. Jane and Michael don't change--we first see them being brought back home after running away, and near the end of the film we see them being brought back after running away. Mrs. Banks doesn't change--she is concerned about her children but distracted by her suffragette activities all the way through. But Mr. Banks changes--and he changes as a father . What coul...