THE OSCARS. So many memorable/cringeworthy/hilarious/morally fraught moments! Let’s recap, shall we?

The big question in the lead-up to the ceremony was whether Cate Blanchett would thank Woody Allen if she won Best Actress for her performance in Blue Jasmine—as PR expert Howard Bragman pointed out in Slate, Blanchett was going to be “playing for history,” whether she liked it or not.

And play she did, in a speech equal parts sincere and savvy: first she praised her fellow nominees, then she graciously thanked Allen for casting her (cue brief applause), and then she segued into a rousing cry in support of films with female protagonists: “Audiences want to see them, and in fact, they earn money. The world is round, people!”

How could anyone take umbrage with Blanchett’s brief Woody Allen shout-out when she was using the most public platform in the world to advance the visibility of women? Exactly. It was the lean-in to end all lean-ins, and it succeeded brilliantly because it was was strategic, heartfelt, and true.

John Travolta famously fluffed his introduction of Broadway star Idina Menzel, and in half a second the internet was all over it like rash, with a parody account set up for “Adele Dazeem”:

THANK YOU, JORN TROMOLTO!

— Adela Dazeem (@AdelaDazeem) March 3, 2014

Menzel’s performance of “Let It Go” was still amazing, because as Shakespeare presciently noted, a Broadway star by any other name is still as sweet. (Side note: Travolta claims Scientology helped cure his dyslexia. Science!)

Bette Midler, looking stunning in Alaïa, performed “Wind Beneath My Wings” as part of the Academy’s tribute to members who died in the past year. (We don’t have video of the performance, but for old times’ sake, here’s the montage from Beaches.)

And in one of the best gags of the night, host Ellen DeGeneres ordered pizzas for everybody and hit up Harvey Weinstein for the bill: “No pressure, only a billion people watching. Whatever you feel is right,” she deadpanned. She took up a $300 collection in Pharrell’s hat, but no-one knows if the delivery guy actually got the tip. (TMZ is on it, though.)

What else?

Best documentary short went to The Lady in Number 6, which tells the remarkable story of the late Alice Herz-Sommer, a Holocaust survivor and virtuoso pianist.

Lupito Nyong’o was gorgeous and delightful and utterly unaffected and now everyone wants to be her best friend. (Watch out, Jennifer Lawrence?)

There was The Selfie That Broke The Internet.

Bill Murray improvised a lovely tribute to Harold Ramis.

Matthew McConaughey delivered one of the most narcissistic and entertaining acceptance speeches of all time, thanking God, and—in a you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up moment—himself, ten years into the future, for being his hero. (Time is an accordion, amirite or amirite, Detective Cohle?!) But in the paper-scissors-rock hierarchy of Hollywood, Weinstein still trumps the Almighty, so HALLELUJAH for that.

Until the next awards season: just keep living, everybody. Amen.

The post Alright, alright, alright: 2014 Oscars Round-Up! appeared first on Jewcy.

Ellen DeGeneres, you dancing, gift-giving queen. For the holidays, she’s created an almost, perfect gift for your friends, parents, and pets. A sexy calendar starring Renaissance Man James Franco as Mr. December.

Donning a Santa hat and a speedo, with his lovely face superimposed on the body of some, sufficiently chiseled, man, Franco’s eyes meet yours as the cat on his shoulder inaudibly says/purrs “take us home with you.” Alas, because nothing is ever truly right, the theme is all off. Where’s the menorah at, DeGeneres? Hanukkah may be all up in November this year, but it ends in December. Franco is, in fact, a part of the tribe. So, add that menorah—Photoshop, a glue stick, what have you.

Franco Instagrammed:

Happy holidays.

James Franco Stars in Ellen DeGeneres’ Perfect Calendar: No Clothes, a Cat and Some Photoshop! [E!]

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If you never tire of reading about your favorite vegan celebs (or vegan-cheating ones), then we have great news for you. All you plant-eating Jews who dreamed their favorite ‘90s sitcom star-turned-Ph.D. would write a cookbook, your wish has come true! (Ok, maybe that’s just me.)

That’s right, Mayim Bialik announced yesterday that she’s currently working on a family-friendly vegan cookbook with nutritionist Dr. Jay Gordon to be released next fall. (For a taste, check out her mini potato kugel recipe.) A regular contributor to Kveller and contributing editor at Tablet, (in 2009 Bialik wrote about how her Orthodox Jewish beliefs changed her style,) she decided to become a vegan after reading (yet another vegan-friendly Jewish celeb) Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals.

While you may be familiar with her parenting advice (breastfeeding three-year-old anyone?) from the book she published this past spring, this is Bialik’s first cookbook, so we thought we’d help her scope out her competition.

1. The other Jewish teen celebrity-turned-mother-turned-vegan-turned-cookbook-author: Alicia Silverstone

Silverstone “freakin’ loved gefilte fish,” but in the past few years has established herself as one of the most outspoken (and extreme) of vegan celebs. Bialik may breastfeed her 3-year-old, but does she pre-chew her son’s food? With her own vegan lifestyle blog, The Kind Life, and her vegan guidebook/cookbook which came out in 2009, Silverstone may be a tough act to follow in terms of exposure, but the jury is still out when it comes to the actual recipes.

2. The Oprah- and Ellen-approved famous Israeli chef: Tal Ronnen

Famous for his food, not his acting, Ronnen was chosen by both daytime TV queens to teach their staffs about veganism. In 2008, he helped Oprah’s crew survive a 21-day cleanse and in 2010 taught Ellen how to make meatless stew (he also catered her wedding to Portia de Rossi). His cookbook The Conscious Cook is the best kind of food porn. Bialik might get more attention, but it’ll be tough to beat Ronnen’s drool-inducing recipes.

3. One-half of the Post Punk duo behind the Vegan Bible: Isa Chandra Moskowitz

OK, outside of the vegan universe she may not be as famous, but anyone who’s ever cooked vegan has read her blog or owns at least one of her cookbooks, especially the Vegan Bible, aka Veganomicon. (Along with Terry Hope Romero, she co-hosted a vegan cooking show, The Post Punk Kitchen, from 2003-05 on community access television in Manhattan and Brooklyn.) Though she’s not religious, Moskowitz’s recipes are filled with Jewish inspiration (they include everything from latkes to borscht) and are much more approachable than Ronnen’s (re: simpler) for the everyday vegan cook, making her Bialik’s stiffest competition.

Have another favorite Jewish, vegan cookbook author? Let us know in the comments!

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• A photograph of Mayim Bialik breastfeeding her three-year-old son made it onto the ‘despicable’ end of New York magazine’s approval matrix.

• Robert Caro, whose much-publicized biography on Lyndon Johnson has taken nearly 40 years to write, met his wife at a Hillel mixer in New Jersey.

• Howard Stern steals the show as the new judge on NBC reality show America’s Got Talent.

• Maya Rudolph does a pretty good Nicki Minaj impression.

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