David Wadler’s Assorted Thoughts

Would someone tell Kanye West to stop being such a diva? I’ll give him a pass on his Katrina rant since it wasn’t inherently vain. But Kanye has been whining about not winning awards with great regularity.

I really can’t believe the reports about the Dustin Diamond (Screech) sex tape. It seems — odd as this sounds — too good to be true. But who could come up with such an ingenious PR ploy.

And if it is a media stunt, the perpetrators are really dedicated. Check out a preview of the purported video.

I’ve heard it argued that Nathan’s hot dog eating champion, Takeru Kobayashi, is the most dominant “athlete” relative to his competition in any “sport.” If you have the stomach to watch this year’s contest, you might catch a glimpse of Joey Chestnut, who recently ate 50 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes, as he tries to bring the title back to the U.S. Pepto Bismal anyone?

A few years ago, I was in Washington Square Park when a friend of mine ran up to me and said, “There’s a Jewish guy singing Reggae and he’s ridiculously good.  And he’s not Jewish like you…he’s one of those serious Jews.  You know — with the beard and the hat.”

“Lubavitch?” I asked.

He nodded and I followed him to the stage where I saw that he was right.  The performer, Matisyahu, has since been signed to a major label, put out albums, and appeared on a variety of television shows.  You can check out a recorded live performace, Live at Stubbs. Or since the Passover season is upon us, The So Called Seder: A Hip Hop Haggadah.

Matisyahu has seemingly kicked off a whole generation of edgy Jewish music.  In fact, I think that I saw Yitzchak Moshe Jordan (Y-Love), performing that same day in Washington Square Park.  And if you want something that sounds a bit more urban, check out JewDa.