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Idol Chatter

I was at a dinner party the other day–you know, a little chips, dip, some chile, good conversation, and to wash it all down, He’brew: The Chosen Beer! Imagine my surprise when I noticed the bottle, whose label has what looks to be a very happy Hasidic man (I think) holding up two beers triumphantly,…

I was planning to stay out of the whole debate over Hollywood’s current critical darling, “Brokeback Mountain,” a.k.a. “the gay cowboy movie.” I even resisted the impulse to respond to fellow Idol Chatterer Donna’s eloquent analysis of the movie. But yesterday I happened to run across this article from the Associated Press about how a…

Frontline, one of PBS’s flagship programs, most famous for controversial political reports on issues such as the use of torture by the United States, brings viewers a different kind of story–“Country Boys,” airing tonight through Wednesday, Jan. 11, at 9pm EST. “Country Boys,” a documentary directed by David Sutherland, follows the teenage years of Chris…

William Safire, in his weekly “On Language” column in the New York Times Magazine, writes about the origins of the word “good,” in an effort to explain its common contemporary usage in the phrase “I’m good,” which usually means something along the lines of “I’m Okay,” or “I’ve had enough,” or “I can handle it.”…

Craig Gross and Mike Foster, a.k.a. “the porn pastors” and founders of XXXChurch.com, are at the country’s largest porn convention this weekend, the Adult Expo in Las Vegas. They’re there to remind customers, producers, and porn stars that Jesus loves them, too. Gross and Foster, former youth pastors, started their self-proclaimed “#1 Christian porn website”…

NBC’s “My Name is Earl” is predicated on the spiritual idea of karma–and while it may fall somewhat short of the concept’s traditional Hindu meaning, Earl has doggedly tried, week after week, to right all the wrongs he’d done in his life. Despite the premise, the show is hardly spiritual. Except for last night’s episode.…

Woody Allen’s newest film, Match Point, starring Scarlett Johansson as Nola Rice, and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as Chris Wilton, is a far cry from the typical screwball comedy for which he is famous. Opening nationwide today, this well-acted (for the most part) drama will surely lure audiences well beyond Woody Allen’s usual fan base, but don’t…

With NBC’s “The Book of Daniel” debuting tomorrow night, the Episcopal Church is weighing in on the drama–which centers around an Episcopal priest and his troubled family–via a blog of its own, cleverly titled “The Blog of Daniel.” Idol Chatter owes the Church a thank-you for focusing one of the blog’s early postings on a…

This week’s revelation that Hasidic reggae artist Matisyahu makes a guest appearance on Christian band P.O.D.’s new album is not news in itself. Collaborations between Christians and Jews are increasingly common–Rabbi Lawrence Kushner and Gary Schmidt of Calvin College have even made a nice children’s book together. And artists from Willie Nelson to Sinead O’Connor…

MSNBC.com’s Scoop breaks the news States-side that Gwyneth Paltrow is demanding “proof” that her newly-renovated London home is haunted. According to London’s Daily Mail, Ms. Paltrow feels that her current pregnancy is not going as easily as her last one and she is attributing it to “dark energies” in her home. Purchased in 2004 from…
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