Well, that was exhausting.

Round One of our Jewish Celebrity March Madness had some predictable results (did anyone really think Jake Tapper could take the Notorious RBG?), but also some upsets, and some really close races.  Here’s a recap of just a few showdowns:

• Neither member of Broad City is making it past the first round! Abbi and Ilana won’t have to go head to head.
• Winona Ryder held a lead on Rachel Weisz until the last few hours of the competition, and then BOOM! Ditto a last-minute reversal taking the round from Paul Rudd and giving it to ScarJo.
• Bette vs. Babs? Dylan vs. Joel? Bette, and Joel, it turns out.
• In a stunning turn of events, Drake is out in the first round! Let’s hear it for Daveed Diggs!
• Bernie loses, yet again, though this was much closer than the 2016 primaries.

And so, we present to you, the Round 2 bracket:

Go ahead and vote below; you have until Friday morning the 24th, 9 a.m. Eastern Time. Also, keep tweeting us angrily (new hashtag— #JewishCelebs); you had the moral high-ground for Round 1, but now, these are your picks.

And is the anticipation killing you? Well, if you sign up for emails below, you’ll have the results of Round 2 emailed to you, before Round 3 is live:

THE ACTORS:

THE MUSICIANS:

MOVERS AND SHAKERS:

OTHER:

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Barbra Streisand spoke to the New York Times this weekend, and while the whole piece is magic, it includes this important factoid:

“It’s Streisand, as in ‘sand on the beach,’ not ‘Strize-and,’ a mispronunciation that has plagued her at least since she first appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in the early 1960s.”

WHAT? Oh God. I’ve been saying it wrong my entire life. So let’s take stock of some other Jewish celebrities, and see how we should pronounce their names:

Idina Menzel: Menzel actually changed the spelling of her last name (from Mentzel) so that people would pronounce it correctly (MenZEL), but the tricky part is her first name: EYE-deena? UH-deena? Well, in a clip with her ex-husband Taye Diggs, he seems to address her as “ID-deena,” backing up all of the intense fan message boards I found while researching this piece (and they say “UH-deena” is fine too).

(Also, insert Adele Dazeem joke here.)

Jeff Goldblum: I recall this clip:

But, for real, it’s pronounced “Goldbloom.”

Ralph Lauren: Sure, his birth name is actually Ralph Lifshitz, but all the same, it’s LOR-en. Not Lor-EN.

Jake (and Maggie!) Gyllenhaal: Dude, just give up with this one:

But really, the G is said softly, like a J.

Elie Wiesel: Elie is said “EL-ee.” Wiesel is said “Vee-ZEL” (But hey, if you want to pronounce the W the American way, just call it a transliteration. It’s a minor sin.)

Leonard Bernstein: The last syllable is said “Stine” (like Jewish horror-writer R. L.). Ditto for Oscar Hammerstein (I or II).

Gal Gadot: She’s not French, for HaShem’s sake, and even Wikipedia will tell you: the vowels in “Gal” and “Gad” are like the A in “father.” The O is in between an English short and long O: Listen to her say her own name here.

Most of all, pronounce the T. DO IT FOR WONDER WOMAN.

Noam Chomsky: Most Jews would say that Noam is two syllables: No-OM (second syllable rhymes with calm). Others (like Wikipedia) say it’s one, like “Gnome.” Chomsky himself says it thusly. Is it one syllable or two? Let’s try another example.

The jury may be out on this one. But he doesn’t seem to be correcting people either way.

(Finally, I’m no celebrity, but let me use this opportunity to publish online that the first A in Gabriela is like the A in “father,” and that Geselowitz is said like there’s an animal in it: “Gazelle-o-witz.”)

And now, go forth and be a pedant when someone mispronounces any of these names!

Image via Flickr

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Last night, at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, Glamour Magazine honored legend Barbra Streisand with its Woman of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award. Katie Couric presented Streisand the award at Glamour’s 23rd annual gala aimed at showcasing women for their work in entertainment, philanthropy, education, fashion, and politics. With these criteria in mind, it’s no wonder Streisand was honored. In a recent article, Glamour needlessly justified the award.

Legend is not a term to be thrown around lightly, but here it fits. Consider the laundry list: She’s won two Oscars, five Emmys, eight Grammys, and a Tony. Not to mention the Golden Globes, the Kennedy Center Honor, the American Film Institute Award, and the two Peabodys. She’s America’s best-selling female recording artist and the only woman in the top 10, and her album roster reads like the inventory at a jewelry store: 51 gold albums, 30 platinum albums, and 13 multiplatinum albums in the U.S. alone. And that’s just the music. Go Netflix her endearing Funny Girl, her super-romantic The Way We Were, and her historic Yentl—she was the first woman to write, direct, produce, and star in her own film. (And then there’s that little Fockers franchise, which owes a healthy portion of its laughs to her portrayal of a cringeworthy mother.) This year President Bill Clinton sang her praises at Lincoln Center’s Film Society Awards, she gave her first-ever concert in Israel, and she saw the doors open on the cutting-edge research center for heart disease that she funded. “As a young woman I wanted nothing more than to see my name in lights,” she says. “I couldn’t have guessed how much more satisfying it would be to see my name in stainless steel on the building at Cedars-Sinai hospital that says ‘The Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center.’

A nearly unattainable EGOT! Her own hospital wing! Meet the Fockers! But even with all that, Babs still keeps a sense of humor about her high-power celebrity status.

“It’s funny, I was always kind of lazy. I didn’t want this role; I didn’t want that role. Some I turned down because I was having a love affair! I’ve always liked working really hard and then doing nothing in particular. So, consequently, I didn’t overexpose myself; I guess I maintained a kind of mystery. I wasn’t ambitious.”

“OK,” she says, laughing. “I was ambitious too. I’m a dichotomy.”

She’s one of the rare honest and relatable celebrities that audiences just want to be friends with. Like Jennifer Lawrence or Tina Fey before we had either. And, she never conformed.

“I didn’t do what people said: ‘Change your name, cap your teeth, change your clothes, cut your nose down.’ My nose was part of my heritage, and if I had talent to sing and to act, why wasn’t that enough?”

A true inspiration.

And finally, Glamour has left us with some words of wisdom, from Babs herself.

“One, find your passion. Find what you love to do,” she says. “Two, trust your instincts. Three, stay true to yourself—people respond to authenticity, and they can smell a phony. Four, don’t fear your self-doubt. Doubt can motivate you, so don’t be afraid of it. Confidence and doubt are at two ends of the scale, and you need both. They balance each other out.”

And five? “Take risks. Don’t stand on the sidelines. Get involved. It’s your life. It’s your country. It’s your world.”

Streisand showed up to the ceremony with her handsome husband, Josh Brolin. The night’s other honorees include Lady Gaga, Malala Yousafzai, Gabrielle Giffords, Catherine Martin, Kerry Washington, Liya Kebede, Christy Turlington Burns, Natalie Massenet, Carissa Moore, and Melinda Gates.

Previous: Barbra Streisand ‘Flattered’ By the Duck Sauce Song Named After Her

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Far an akshen iz kain refueh nito: For the disease of stubbornness there is no cure.

TAURUS (APRIL 21- MAY 20): Taurus, the bull, is a fixed earth sign, often depicted with its horns pointing upward toward God. These ‘horns of the law,’ confer the Taurean bull with godly power and moral authority. Taurus is an important sign during Shavuot, the festival of the giving of the Torah, as Kabbalists believed Taurus to represent the law of the Torah. Furthermore, the four rivers of the Garden of Eden are thought to represent the four fixed signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius.

Taurus is ruled by Venus, the goddess of love. As Taurus extraordinaire William Shakespeare wrote in Twelfth Night, “Shall we set about revels? What shall we do else? Were we not born under Taurus?” Often thought to be hedonistic fools for love, due to both a love of pleasure and material delights, Tauruses often need someone to take them by the horns.

Tauruses are substantial, practical, lovers of luxury, bluntly direct, and sensuous. You have the power to heal and soothe others, and are hypothetically relaxed yourself—but strong currents of nervousness run below the surface. Although you are usually reserved, you can be pushy, with a tendency toward backseat driving if you think you know what’s best for others. You would do well to me darf leben un lozen leben—live and let live. As your fellow Taurus Barbra Streisand says in Yentl, “Why is it people who want the truth never believe it when they hear it?”

Taurus governs the throat and neck; that is, you serve the head (ruled by Aries) and can be quite obedient, prefering to wait for something than to run after it. Although you are uncomfortable taking risks, you have great determination to stick to a course of action. This is usually a good thing, but can mean you obstinately refuse to change. Ask advice from everyone, but act with your own mind: Barat zich mit vemen du vilst; un tu miten aigenem saichel.

Mars in Taurus from April 20 to May 31 will give reinforce your bullish strength, while Mercury in Taurus from May 1 to May 15, will help you focus your mental energy on the material, earthly things. Now is the time to make way for new ideas, which will come in handy when Mercury enters its home sign, Gemini, from May 15 to May 31.

Famous Taurus Jews: Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, Golda Meir, Barbra Streisand, Jerry Seinfeld, Mark Zuckerberg, Theodor Herzl, Bea Arthur, Irving Berlin, Billy Joel, Burt Bacharach, Howard Da Silva, Hank Azaria, Elaine May, Phil Silvers, Don Rickles, Lainie Kazan, Nora Ephron, Maya Deren, Tori Spelling, Aaron Spelling, Charles Grodin, David Krumholtz, Genya Ravan, Lena Dunham, Tavi Gevinson, Saul Bass, Jack Klugman

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Take comfort in the fact that planets will be moving into your sign in the coming weeks. However, be careful with your words when Mercury moves from Taurus to Gemini, one of its home signs, on May 15. You’ll feel a sudden jolt in your imagination, which has heretofore been a bit farshluggineh (literally, shaken or mixed). Use this energy wisely. Gemini rules talk and news (read: gossip), but don’t let your inner yenta get the best of you.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 20): Cancers, ruled by the moon, are often emotional and moody—if not downright pessimistic. Just when it seems like life is adding up to bupkis (absolutely nothing), the new moon Eclipse in Taurus on May 9 will help bring you back down to earth. There’s a difference between being realistic and giving yourself over to needless suffering! Meanwhile, avoid any major commitments (signing a contract, etc.) for the time being; wait until closer to the middle of the month to tie up loose ends.

LEO (JULY 21-AUGUST 20): What can be said about Leo that hasn’t already been said about America’s Next Top Model? You regal beasts are fierce! Not that there’s anything wrong with that—and to you flashy Leos that’s nisht geshtoygen, nisht gefloygen (neither here nor there; it doesn’t matter). You’ve been in a fugue for far too long, now is your time to shine. Ruled as you are by the sun, you should take pride in the fact that you were put on this earth to give light—and your creative force can do just that.

VIRGO (AUGUST 21-SEPTEMBER 20): You think you know what’s best for everyone? You muttelmessig (meddlesome person, kibbitzer) Virgos can be so pushy! Der kluger bahalt dem saichel; der nar veist zein narishkeit (a wise man conceals his intelligence; the fool displays his foolishness), and it would be wise for you to keep your advice to yourself for once. With your ruling sign, Mercury, in Gemini (also ruled by Mercury) from May 15 to May 31, try to reign in your desire to tell people what they should be doing. Instead, with Venus entering Gemini on June 1, tell them how they make your life more bearable!

LIBRA (SEPTEMBER 21-OCTOBER 20): Libras are guilty of being almost too forgiving of others—letting people walk all over you for fear of changing the fabric of your life. You may be a yiddisher kop (smart person), but the shtuss (a minor annoyance that arises from nonsense) you’ve put up with makes you seem like you’re dangerously close to becoming the ill-fated schlimazel. On May 9, the new moon eclipse in Taurus offers you a chance to start a new chapter in your life. Whether this means relocation or finally putting your foot down, stand up for yourself and how you want your life to proceed.

SCORPIO (OCTOBER 21-NOVEMBER 20): The full moon lunar eclipse in your sign on April 25 had you waiting on tenterhooks. As always, Scorpio assumes vos veyniker men ret, alts gezinter iz (the less said, the better – lit., the less you speak, the healthier). Your ruling planet Pluto’s continuing retrograde isn’t helping much to get you out of hiding. However, Scorpio boasts two out of the three Beastie Boys (MCA, may he rest in peace, was a Leo) giving you extra incentive to fight for your right to party!

SAGITTARIUS (NOVEMBER 21-DECEMBER 20): Everyone knows the old adage that those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it, nu? With your ruling planet Jupiter in Gemini, which is considered to be quite lucky, you will find resolving tense issues from the past much easier. Make the most of it! However, because Sagittarians require a great deal of freedom, you may find working on relationships alle ziben glicken (not what it’s cracked up to be; lit. all seven lucky things). Fuhgeddaboutit! Relationships will be a big focus this year—while the grass is always greener, try to stay positive about what you’ve got.

CAPRICORN (DECEMBER 21- JANUARY 20): Take a cue from David Bowie, the Capricorn glam king chochem (genius): turn and face the strange changes. While may be consistently rockin’, you never know what life will throw your way—but you can prepare yourself for the possibilities. Az me muz, ken men: when one must, one can! Since you can’t fight change, continue to work on resolving past issues. for you capricious Capricorns, di shversteh arbet iz arumtsugain laidik: the hardest work is to go idle.

AQUARIUS (JANUARY 21- FEBRUARY 20): Deigeh nisht: don’t worry so much, Aquarius! It’s time to put on your dancing shoes—the energy on May 18 is favorable for finally letting loose! Venus, the planet of love, forming a favorable angle with your ruling planet Uranus heralds the possibility of a surprising night of fun! Although you Aquarians are turned off by anything too shmaltzy, you can still mach a leben (have fun) and still be true to yourself

PISCES (FEBRUARY 21-MARCH 20): Because your head is often in the clouds, you are prone to taking bubba meisah (old wives tales) too literally. Before you spit three times (to ward off the evil eye), take a look at what’s in front of you. Although the other signs of the zodiac could take imagination lessons from you, it can become dangerous if you close yourself off to reality completely. Spend too much of your time contemplating yeneh velt (the other world; the world to come), and you’ll miss the best that this world has to offer.

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 20): With your ruling planet Mars in Taurus from April 20 to May 31, your impulsiveness will slow down considerably. However, it will be replaced with stamina and endurance. Trigger-happy though you may be at any other time of the year, now you will be forced to consider the consequences of your actions. Men iz dir moichel di t’shuveh, nor tu nit di avaireh: never mind the remorse, don’t commit the sin!

What’s Your Sign?
Aires, the Headstrong Fire Sign
Pisces, the Dual-Natured Water Sign
Aquarius, Sign of Contradictions
Capricorn, the Cardinal Earth Sign
Sagittarius, the Adventurous Archer
Stinging Scorpio
Lovely, Lawful Libra
Virgo, the Anxious Maiden
Leo, King of the Jungle

***

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Tonight Barbra Streisand will be awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York. In advance of the honor, Babs answered a bunch of reader questions for the New York Times. Here’s what we learned:

The six people, living or dead, she’d want at a dinner party? “George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Edward Hopper, Gustav Klimt and Fanny Brice.”

“At the moment,” she says, “I’m not that interested in myself.”

And, most importantly, this:

Q. How do you feel about Duck Sauce naming that disco hit after you? Appalled? Flattered? Indifferent? MARY, New York

A. Flattered!!

While this is probably the first time a song has been referred to as a ‘disco hit’ in at least a few decades, it’s nice to know that Babs has a sense of humor about the catchy house track bearing her name.

The post Barbra Streisand ‘Flattered’ By the Duck Sauce Song Named After Her appeared first on Jewcy.

• Barbra Streisand will sing at the Oscars this year, her first performance there since 1977. [NYDN]

• Cholent saves lives. Actually though. [Tablet]

• ‘You Had to Be There’ podcast hosts Nikki Glaser and Sara Schaefer talk about their new MTV show, Nikki and Sara Live, which premiered last night. [Splitsider]

• This just in: cool Shabbat dinners happen in New York City. [Observer]

• We’d probably go see Bloomberg: The Musical. [NYT]

• Meet Animated Saul Berenson [College Humor]

The post Daily Jewce: Babs to Perform at the Oscars, Cholent Saves Lives appeared first on Jewcy.

Just as much as Chinese food on Christmas Day is a veritable Jewish tradition, so to is the movie you inevitably head to afterwards. This year, will you be seeing Judd Apatow’s latest man-child flick This is 40, or will it be the Barbra Streisand/Seth Rogen buddy comedy The Guilt Trip? You could always ditch both of those and go see Billy Crystal and Bette Midler as the ‘other’ grandparents in Parental Guidance—either way, your movie options are pretty damn Jewish this year.

Tablet’s movie critic J. Hoberman has some thoughts about the three films, all more Jewish than Chinese food on Christmas. Unfortunately, however, his diagnosis isn’t pretty:

But just what is a comedy? Their nominal happy endings notwithstanding, all three movies reek of male failure. Perhaps because they are played by beloved icons Streisand and Midler, the Jewish mothers in The Guilt Trip and Parental Guidance are wacky and endearing. What’s more, however annoying the advice, their wisdom is essentially right; the best that could be said for the Jewish men is oy vey. The Jewish father in This Is 40 (Paul Rudd) is in danger of going broke and having to sell his house, in part because he is helping to supporthis supremely feckless father (Albert Brooks); the Job-like Jewish son (Rogen) in The Guilt Trip can’t keep a girlfriend or successfully market his idea for a “green” household cleanser; the Jewish grandfather in Parental Guidance (Crystal) has lost his job and possibly his mind. Not a “Hebrew Hammer” among them.

A Jewy Little Christmas [Tablet]

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• Move over Jason Schwartzman, Jenny Slate is heading to Parks and Recreation as Jean-Ralphio’s twin sister, Mona Lisa Saperstein. [EW]

• Rachel Shukert counts down 10 things we loved about 2012. [Tablet]

• Judd Apatow interviews celebrated spiritual teacher Ram Dass over Skype. [GQ]

• Why are Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler’s latest movie characters not Jewish even though they’re so, so Jewish? [Hollywood Reporter]

• Relatedly, we really hope this a very bad photo and not what Babs looks like these days. [LA Times]

• Who’s on first? Jerry Seinfeld has a guess:

The post Daily Jewce: Meet Mona Lisa Saperstein, Babs is Back on the Big Screen appeared first on Jewcy.

• Meet Israel’s first female pimp, currently serving a 30-month prison sentence. [Tablet]

• Gawker is here to help you figure out which New York Times Hanukkah story your mom will send you this year. [Gawker]

• Bar Refaeli posted a picture of herself in a Santa suit, and people got pretty pissed. [Jerusalem Post]

• An eerily in-depth look at Judd Apatow’s entire life. [BroBible]

• Just so we’re clear, Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen do not make out in their new movie, The Guilt Trip. [NYT]

• Meanwhile, Time columnist Joel Stein tried to recreate the movie’s plot by driving Babs from her home in Malibu to Beverly Hills. [Time]

The post Daily Jewce: Israel’s First Female Pimp, Bar Refaeli’s Santa Controversy appeared first on Jewcy.

• A list of ways to help after Hurricane Sandy, no matter where you live. [Tablet]

• The Simpson’s diabolical CEO Mr. Burns endorsed Mitt Romney. Krusty the Clown would never have done that. [LA Times]

• “The Vienna Rite,” Judith Berkson’s new opera, follows Salomon Sulzer’s real-life creation of the modern synagogue. [NYT]

• Jewish actress Marissa Jarret Winokur, best known for her role as Tracy Turnblad in the Broadway production of Hairspray, lost 60 pounds—and says she’s still considered a chubby actress by Hollywood standards. [Hollywood Reporter]

• Jewish author Mitch Albom was the Mick Jagger of Southern New Jersey in the 1970s. [Tablet]

• Barbra Streisand explains why she’s voting for Obama:

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