Jewish Sex and Love – Jewcy

Idina Menzel is Marrying a Newsie!

Gabriela Geselowitz — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 16:06:11 +0000

Remember back in 2013, when Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs split up? Remember the despair, the sadness upon hearing them sing together everytime since then that you’ve listened to the RENT Cast Recording? Well, the time has come to move on, because Idina certainly has. Last week, the Broadway star, recording artist, and Queen of Arendelle announced her engagement to one Aaron Lohr.

Who is Lohr? Well even if you haven’t seen him onstage in the likes of See What I Wanna See (Menzel was in that, too), you’ve likely encountered his work, even if you don’t realize it. For example, he was in the latter two films of the Mighty Ducks trilogy, and appeared onscreen in RENT (in which Menzel also starred).

Here’s his number in the 2005 film:

Plus, and the man is a bona fide Newsie. He appeared in the 1992 cult film as Mush, a character with limited screen time but more depth in fan fiction, which we do not suggest you actively seek.

And, finally, if none of this impresses you, he was the singing voice of Max in A Goofy Movie.

Iconic.

We can’t figure out if, like Menzel, Lohr is Jewish (he may at least be of some Jewish descent). In any case, mazel tov to the happy couple, and to Idina on her brand new album! What a month she’s been having!

Image via Wikipedia

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A Jewish Group for the Sexual Outsider

Amiee Kushner — Tue, 24 May 2016 19:37:13 +0000

The Jewish people have a long history of unconventional relationships. Early on in the Torah we find Sarah, the wife of Abraham, unable to bear children. In order to provide him with the children they both desire, Sarah convinces Abraham to take a second wife, her handmaiden Hagar. Is it possible this was the first documented case of compersion? Later in the Tanakh we encounter Delilah repeatedly tying up her lover Samson in her chambers in an effort to subdue his strength. You have to wonder what else was happening that he let her do it three times?

While these Biblical stories had less-than-happy resolutions, perhaps they connect in some way to sexual minority Jews today, where the likes of bondage and non-monogamy are increasingly cause for celebration. Who knows? Maybe open discussion can lead to happier endings.

Jewish individuals in the San Francisco Bay Area who identify as polyamorous, non-monogamous, kinky or who engage in BDSM, tantra, sacred sexuality, sex work, and more are joining together in a newly organized group: Jews United In Celebrating the Erotic, or JUICE. The founders of JUICE, Noam Birnbaum and Jill Nagle, have discovered a surprisingly large, relatively untapped network of overlapping identities. Two months ago they created a secret Facebook group to coordinate discussions and events. While you can only get into JUICE by invitation from a current member or through a screening process at Meetup.com, they have already amassed over 500 members. They have hosted two happy hours that have drawn over 50 people each, as well as a first night Passover Seder that incorporated traditional Passover ritual elements, along with some whimsical sex-positive Jewish humor.

JUICE’s mission statement says, in part, that the group provides “a safe and welcoming sex-positive space for Jews and our allies,” which Birnbaum and Nagle say is needed because of the historical marginalization of Jews who enjoy non-traditional sexual identities and practices. This marginalization was underscored when the group’s inaugural press release was rejected by the local Jewish newspaper, The J Weekly.

Birnbaum further explained, “JUICE seeks to create venues where sex-positive Jews can be completely honest about who they are, and be accepted and celebrated by others of like kind. Oh, and it would be fun if we get a couple good shidduchs out of it!”

A voluntary new member survey produced interesting results of identities and practices including that: 86 percent are into BDSM, kink, and fetish practices; 76 percent are in some way non-monogamous; 23 percent are involved with or curious about sex work; and 67 percent are into or curious about tantra and sacred sexuality. It reads a bit like the oft-cited Pew Study from 2013; in JUICE the Jewish identities are as ranging as the sexual identities: 84 percent of survey participants are self-identified as Jewish, 6 percent are not Jewish, and 10 percent say “it’s complicated,” which is the pretty much the most Jewish answer possible.

While some members of JUICE have expressed a desire to find romantic matches, and others combine their Judaism in practicing sacred sexuality and tantra, most are just excited to have found a network of like-minded Jews.

Take Catherine Rose, who is an alternative relationship counselor, has a polyamorous family, and an interest in kink. She has found her desire to connect with the Jewish community reignited by JUICE. Her Jewish background growing up largely consisted of family holidays and attending Jewish summer camp, but she mostly disengaged as an adult. When she discovered JUICE she thought, “Wow! These are my people, I have to go meet them! I didn’t even realize I would be excited by the prospect of this, it actually took me by surprise.”

One kinkster who was raised in a Conservative household in the midwest and who continues to be active in the Bay Area Jewish community (and who didn’t want to be named for this article) describes himself as living a double life to some extent. He said, “my connection with the kink community and kink play is something I’ve pursued on an individual basis, but everybody want to be understood. If you can find a way to connect with people of a similar background, it makes it that much easier to understand each other. JUICE is the icing on the cake for me.”

Several older members of JUICE, including a 30-year practitioner of polyamory, kink, and tantra who also wished to remain anonymous, have expressed anecdotal evidence that the number of Jews active in alternative sexual communities in the Bay Area is higher than expected given the size of the Jewish population here. There is much speculation as to the reasons why, but Rabbi Jeremy Sher, who is familiar with JUICE and its mission, told me:

“I think Judaism is a sex-positive religion. Judaism is pro-sex, not anti-sex. From a modern perspective we ought to make room to celebrate and encourage people’s fulfillment, and moving beyond the idea that sex can only occur within marriage. I think consensual sex between adults is a wonderful part of life and ought to be celebrated. That’s just an authentically Jewish idea, so I’m happy to see Jews who agree with that.”

Despite the successful events, JUICE is a young group experiencing some growing pains. With a relatively small Jewish community and the rapid expansion in membership, confidentiality and how to approach it quickly became a topic of energetic debate. Unlike other online communities specific to sexual identities that allow for anonymity, utilizing Facebook to coordinate (even as a secret group) ensured that everyone would be identifiable by their real names and photos. There have been instant revelations of fellow synagogue congregants, co-workers, and neighbors, not to mention romantic entanglements. While these occasions haven’t led to crisis, they understandably make members nervous.

While some members see JUICE as a step towards being more open with their identities in Jewish communities, others are still fiercely protective of their privacy. After seeking input from members Birnbaum and Nagle settled on a simple statement of “Think of this group as a kind of Sexy Jews ANONYMOUS. Keep people’s membership in the group, attendance at events, and attribution of things you’ve heard said in the group, STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL unless you have explicit permission to do otherwise. If in doubt, err on the side of confidentiality!”

The fact that Jews active in sex-positive communities are engaging in these conversations could be a sign of a growing movement toward greater acceptance in the Jewish community.

Rabbi Sher believes, “We are pretty far [from being ready as a community]. That said, people are less bigoted when they have information and I wish that everyone could have a rabbi they could call up and say ‘talk to my mom about poly[amory].’”

As our bubbies would say – from his mouth to God’s ears.

JUICE’s next event is a happy hour in San Francisco on Monday June 6th. If you are interested in joining JUICE or attending the happy hour, you can request to join through the Meetup group.

Amiee Kushner is an active leader in the San Francisco Jewish community, COO and contributing writer at BrokeAssStuart.com, and the founder of the super-not-kosher Jewish food blog JewishHeathens.com.

Image Credit: Amiee Kushner

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Breaking Up is Hard to Do—Especially in the Orthodox World

Rachel Delia Benaim — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 21:30:56 +0000

It wasn’t quite lunchtime or dinnertime when I met my friend at a cafe on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. It had been five weeks since my broken engagement, and this was the first time I was seeing my would-have-been bridesmaid, who lives three blocks from my Washington Heights apartment.

Dressed in her black skirt and J Crew vest over her Kiki Riki, she arrived at promptly 4:30. She asked me about school, she asked me about my roommates, but not once did she ask me how I was doing. Not once did she bring up the ‘incident,’ my source of emotional turmoil.

Within half an hour, I was fed up. I needed to talk. Didn’t she see that my eyes were red and bloodshot? Didn’t she notice the fifteen pounds that had melted off me in the last month? Didn’t she see the bags under my eyes?

“So, want to know about my ‘hashtag’ broken engagement?” I asked, with a hint of desperation in my usual sardonic tone.

She stared at me. After a moment, she became over-animated. No, she didn’t need to hear about it, she said, but she did want to comfort me: “It’s, like, so good that people aren’t treating you like a stigma,” she said over our salads. When I look visibly confused, she added, “like, broken engagements are stigmatized, but it’s so good that everyone’s treating you normal and, like, not a stigma.”

I took a sip of Merlot. So this was how my life was going to be now. Great.

***

We had finally finished cleaning up my fiancé’s parents’ Jerusalem apartment from the engagement party they threw us the night before, when his parents told him they needed to speak to him. Later that night, he went on a walk with his father. I stayed in their apartment watching TV—after all, how long could it possibly take? When they came back more than three hours later, he told me we needed to go for a walk. Protesting because of the bitter cold, I asked if we could just talk inside. “You’ll want to be outside for this one,” he told me.

I layered up, donning his thick pullover, black thermal leggings, a black knee-length skirt, striped knee socks covered by black winter boots, and my black coat. I guess my subconscious was already prepping me for the upcoming mourning period.

With that, we stepped onto the narrow, winding roads of Palmah Street together for the last time. We had many memories of these roads—my fiancé had moved to Israel over the summer to conscript to the army, and this was the third time we had been in Jerusalem together in the last six months.

“My father wants us to postpone our engagement indefinitely,” he said.

Seeing as we’d been engaged for just more than five weeks, and that his parents had encouraged us to have a short engagement, I was at a loss.

“What does that mean?” I asked. “Does it affect our practical plans?”

He wasn’t sure.

“Where is this coming from?”

He was silent.

“Talk to me—what just happened over the last three hours?”

“What I just told you,” he said.

“But why did that take three hours? What else happened?”

He didn’t know.

After dancing this confusing tango for about fifteen minutes, I asked if we could speak to his parents—after all, they seemed to be the ones with the answers.

After waiting outside a theater for twenty minutes, his dad walked out sporting a grin fit for a Cheshire cat. The air was tense. He asked about our day, or something mundane like that. “I was wondering if you could explain what’s going on,” I blurted out, seemingly incapable of small talk.

“We need to test your relationship,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve gotten to know my son more this month and now I see that he’s irresponsible. He’s not ready to get married. He’s not a man.”

“Huh?” I said, in total disbelief of what this father, who had wanted us married within four months, was now saying about his own son. “I don’t see that in him—could you give me an example of what you’re talking about so I can understand?”

I looked at my fiancé hoping he would stand our ground, champion our cause. Nothing. He looked more like an injured child than I’d ever seen him in our two and a half years together. I felt like someone had punched me in the gut.

“Look,” I said, trying to digest everything that was happening. “Could we sit down in the morning and talk about this? Maybe if you and your wife have specific concerns we can alleviate them or work on them—we’d be more than happy to do that.”

He looked at his son, no longer addressing me, the girl he clearly regarded as unfit to clean his shoes.

“I’ve decided and that’s it. Can I go to sleep now?” With that, he walked away.

Naturally I broke down on the spot. My fiancé said nothing.

***

On the first day of my last semester of graduate school, my fiancé ended our engagement over the phone. I called to wish him goodnight. He told me that he didn’t know what he wanted. I was confused. We had discussed this. He wanted to marry me. He wanted to find a way to make it work with his family. It was difficult, but that was what he had said he wanted.

“Is this the last time we’re ever speaking?” I asked, assuming he would say no and we could build from there.

“Yes,” he said choking back tears. “Know this is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

“Sucks,” I said. You can always count on me for my eloquence and emotional expression. “Good luck. Bye.”

Click. By severing the phone connection, I felt like I had severed a vital limb. But where were the paramedics?

***

In a national online poll of 565 single adults conducted by Match.com for Time Magazine, 20 percent of participants said they had broken off an engagement in the past three years, and 39 percent said they knew someone else who had done so. Forty percent of all marriages in the U.S. end in divorce. And everyone and their brother breaks up with a significant other at some point. Break-ups are painful, certainly, but they’re not heavily stigmatized.

But in the Modern Orthodox Jewish community, a broken engagement is regarded differently than it is in the secular world. Our community places so much importance on marriage—in some circles, it is still the marker of ultimate success. When a couple becomes engaged, they meet a societal ideal. If they break the engagement, for whatever reason, they then fail to meet this ideal. A break-up tarnishes both parties with failure, even if they’re otherwise successful individuals. People whisper. They’re uncomfortable. What, they want to know, is wrong with these two people?

So people don’t talk about their break-ups, and friends skirt around the topic. Silence creates stigma—which leads to more silence, which leads to more stigma. My father, quoting Job and Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, encouraged me to take my heartache in silence and leave everything up to God. He was there for emotional support, but he didn’t think I should be speaking about my relationship.

This pressure—and stigma—is felt more acutely by women than men in the Modern Orthodox community, I think, because status is conferred less readily upon us. In recent years, Modern Orthodox women have taken leaps in carving out spaces of equality within the framework of halakhic Judaism. My current roommate is one of the founders of the Washington Heights’ Kol B’Ramah partnership minyan, in which women can lead parts of the prayer service. Another close friend has taken on the cause of women’s leadership in Jewish communities. Her mission is to ensure that women can become presidents of synagogues, make announcements from the pulpit, and lead communal (though not ritual) events.

I have found that my friends willing to champion the role women in Judaism have been more understanding of me, and more accepting of my broken engagement “situation.”They don’t see me as broken. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s because they know that women are more than silent voices behind a partition in synagogue. They know that a woman’s worth isn’t measured solely by her status as a wife, fiancé, or partner.

The first time I went to shul in Washington Heights after “the incident,” I bumped into a group of girls I had known briefly in college. They wished me mazal tov, but when I gently explained “I’m not engaged anymore—but it’s OK! How are you?” they made up an excuse to walk away faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo.

So I understand why my would-be-bridesmaid was concerned I might be treated like “a stigma,” and why my father encouraged silent stoicism. But over the last few months, I’ve come to the realization that if we just spoke more honestly about our break-ups, the stigma would be diminished. People would no longer literally cross the street to avoid me, concerned I might infect them with my single-hood (or perhaps because they don’t know what to say).

As my relationship crumbled, my voice and ability to tell stories, to reflect, kept me sane. I spoke to my friends. I spoke to my family. I was never silent. I experienced a traumatizing misfortune: the person I trusted most in the world, the man I would have spent my life with, let me down. But that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with me—or even wrong with him, for that matter.

Just as there is new a openness to talking about sex education and mental health issues in Orthodox communities in order to de-stigmatize those topics, why don’t we talk about break-ups and romantic disappointments more honestly? This will help undo the fear of being seen as “damaged goods.”

Has it affected my dating life? Well, some people ask uncomfortable questions about me, like, “Why didn’t her fiancé want her? She seems like a catch, but obviously there’s something more…,” but frankly, I don’t want to date those people. I have realized that anyone who views me as stigmatized isn’t someone I can build a life with—our ideologies and perspectives are too different.

Rachel Delia Benaim is a freelance religion reporter whose work has been featured in Tablet Magazine, The Diplomat Magazine, and The Gibraltar Chronicle, among others. She lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

(Image: Shutterstock)

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JDate’s New Advertising Campaign Launches Today

Elissa Goldstein — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 21:00:42 +0000

“Find someone who wasn’t on your Birthright trip.” “Shiksappeal is overrated.”

JDate has a new advertising campaign, and—much like the experience of online dating—you’re either gonna love it or hate it. The ads, which launched today online and in New York’s Times Square, have elicited a mix of responses from the Jewish community. For some, the punchlines evoke cheesy (but benign) borscht belt humor. For others, they reinforce negative cultural stereotypes about Jews and gentiles.

Jeff Newelt, comics editor at Heeb and social media/public relations consultant, described the campaign as “obvious and hackneyed,” and many on Twitter agreed:

If my eyes roll any harder they’re gonna roll right out of my damn head http://t.co/F0sjJxKbvS

— Daniel Sieradski (@selfagency) February 13, 2014

Cringeworthy is too polite – @JDate‘s Brash New Advertising Campaign: Clever or Cringeworthy? http://t.co/oUxhUKjrTm via @tabletmag — Tema Smith (@temasmith) February 13, 2014

*cringe* RT @tabletmag .@JDate’s brash new ‘Get Chosen’ ad campaign: clever or cringeworthy? http://t.co/x8GRJOaOVE pic.twitter.com/AhkWZqlF3l — liprap (@liprap) February 13, 2014

But responses were positive too:

A genius is behind the brilliant advertising of @JDate http://t.co/ygUQwNQxkG via @tabletmag

— Andria Kaplan (@Andria_Kaplan) February 13, 2014

I think the @JDate ad is funny and clever, but consider my comedic track record. Also, still not subscribing http://t.co/Oy0HdqQyXa

— Rabbi Josh Yuter (@JYuter) February 13, 2014

Tablet Magazine put the question to their readers on Facebook, and a comment war basically erupted.

Nu, what do you think? Clever or cringeworthy? Would you ditch OKCupid for JDate?

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Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel Announce Separation

Alexis Gutter — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:06:57 +0000

Today is a sad day for enthusiasts of musical theater and perfect genetics: Broadway power couple Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel are separating after 10 years of marriage. While the Internet is buzzing with announcements of the talented (attractive, perfect) pair “calling it quits,” let’s all just take a deep breath. For now they’re just separating, not divorcing. I mean, Kris and Bruce Jenner are still married, right? Hanukkah may have passed, but maybe there’s room for another miracle this year— let’s hope the Diggs-Menzel’s have enough oil left for another year. Re-light each other’s candles! No day but today!

Menzel and Diggs, both 42, met while costarring in the original production of Rent on Broadway. (Fun fact: Menzel worked as a bar mitzvah singer while in school at NYU!) They got married in 2003 and had a little boy, Walker, in 2009. But more recently, a rep told People that though the pair is separating, their “primary focus and concern is for their son.”

Earlier this year, Menzel alluded to People that life with Diggs wasn’t perfect. “We work at it,” Menzel said. “I’m not going to glamorize it or glorify it — we go through tough times like everybody else, but we love each other very much. We try not to be away from each other for more than two weeks at a time and we try to find new ways to communicate.”

Well, duh. Between Tony Award winning Menzel’s recurring role on Glee, and other projects like Disney’s Frozen and her upcoming musical If/Then, plus all of Diggs’ projects, like his most recent film, The Best Man Holiday, things get busy.

In December’s InStyle, Diggs was featured as the “Man of Style,” and he dished a bit about how sexy he finds Menzel’s laid-back style. “…When she’s wearing a sweater and it’s falling off one shoulder and she’ll throw on some jeans that fit just right and some chunky heels… it’s so sexy,” Diggs told InStyle. “Man, my wife does that whole look really well.”

So kiss and make up, you two. Puh-puh-puh-please don’t do this to me.

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Porn4Jews, a Non-Pornographic Porn Site

Lauren Schwartzberg — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 16:27:39 +0000

On November 26, just a couple of nights before Hanukkah, a gift for the Jews appeared online—Porn4Jews. At Porn4Jews, there aren’t any steamy pictures of Bar Refaeli or Adam Levine (you’ll have to go to People for his bare chest), so don’t get too excited. This isn’t like any porn you’ve seen before. It’s not even pornographic. Like everything else that’s uniquely Jewish, this’ll pleasure you in a different way, specifically, with laughter.

It all started with that infamous Pew study. The results—like how one-in-five American Jews describes themselves as having no religion— surprised Sarah Rosen, the blog’s creator, who still finds her Jewish identity significant, especially in her search for the perfect mate. “I’m not particularly religious, but I found it funny that what I find attractive is the age-old tradition of a Nice Jewish Boy (but with a serious sense of humor), even though I don’t live on the Upper West Side in 1956,” she wrote me in an email. “I wanted to celebrate, comically, the fact that some things haven’t changed.”

The Tumblr features pictures of good looking young Jews with captions like, “Let’s make some babies and send them all on Birthright,” “My bubbe taught me to make it hot and steamy,” and “Your dad and I agree about Israel.” It’s amazing. Give yourself a break today, and check out some porn on your work computer.

See more at Porn4Jews.

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Restaurateur Offers Discount for Patrons Who Turn Off Phones

Romy Zipken — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 21:02:31 +0000

Outisde of Jerusalem, Abu Ghosh offers 50 percent off for patrons who turn off their phones

You’re on a dinner date with a great person; someone you really like. You’re talking about your hopes and dreams and nightmares and pets, when you see another couple sitting near you, presumably on a date as well, but they’ve got their iPhones in their hands. One’s playing Candy Crush and the other’s watching porn. You freak out. You do not want to become this couple. You sabotage the date you’re on in order to prevent a similar pathetic future, and you go home to watch a couple hours of E! True Hollywood Story.

Fear not. There’s hope! One man, a hero, really, is saving the art of the dinner date. His name is Jawdat Ibrahim and he’s the owner of Abu Ghosh, the famous restaurant six miles outside of Jerusalem. Ibrahim is offering patrons 50 percent off of their bills if they turn off their damn phones during the meal. Amen! Algemeiner reports:

Ibrahim is the owner of Abu Ghosh, a well-known restaurant named after its hometown, located about six miles outside of Jerusalem. He said at first he tried to collect cell phones at the front door after witnessing groups of friends or married couples sitting in silence, staring at their screens each day. When he realized this wouldn’t be practical, he decided to introduce the discount.

“Technology is very good. But just when you eat, just especially when you are with your family and your friends, you can just wait for half an hour and enjoy the food and enjoy the company,” he said. “A lot of people, they sit down and they don’t enjoy their food, their company.”

Think of it. That delicious Middle Eastern food. That wonderful conversation. That belly rub you’ll be getting after you’re done eating. It can all happen if you hold off on the texting, tweeting, and playing until after dinner. And, customers seem to be loving it. Let’s hope some American restaurants follow suit.

If you’re not down with this genius idea, maybe Dr. Ruth’s endorsement will sway you:

I criticize couples who are closer to their PDA than partner so here's a restaurant with a concept I like http://t.co/fOvldgxB18

— Dr. Ruth Westheimer (@AskDrRuth) November 21, 2013

(Photo by Lucky Business/Shutterstock)

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JDate Announces Winner of “Next Top Proposal” Contest

Romy Zipken — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 17:21:59 +0000

Back in September, JDate announced that it was looking for the “Next Top Proposal” video. The rules went something like this:

JDate®.com, the iconic community responsible for more Jewish marriages than all other online dating sites combined, is in search of the most surprising or unique JDate marriage proposal. Former JDaters® who met their fiancé or spouse on JDate and who captured their engagement on camera are encouraged to share their proposal videos via JDate’s Facebook page for a chance to win a seven night all-inclusive stay at Breezes Bahamas.

With all the sweet, tear-inducing, online proposal videos, how was the panel of five judges to choose just one lucky couple? Well, while the three finalist videos were great and all, it was obvious that “I Do Love You,” the “best Jewish musical marriage proposal video,” was the winner, said judging panelist, Laurie Davis, author of Love @ First Click: The Ultimate Guide to Online Dating and founder of eFlirt Expert.

“I just thought that it was such a creative proposal, and anyone who puts that amount of thought, and effort, into popping the question has really given a lot of thought to their relationship.”

Davis said that it was a touch choice because whoever won would be awarded a dream honeymoon, making lasting memories. But if you’ve seen “I Do Love You,” you just know that this guy put in his all— this couple deserves some beach time.

Before they were crowned King and Queen of Viral Proposal Bliss, Eric LaBarre and Nina Sturtz rallied on Twitter to get votes:

Last day to vote and help us win the #JDateProposal video contest! Thanks for voting!"I Do Love You" @jewcymag #jewcy http://t.co/wHwHdEic56

— Eric LaBarre (@EricTheBar) November 1, 2013

Happy Friday! HELP US WIN AND VOTE! @EricTheBar and @jakewil did such an amazing job- it would be a shame not to win! http://t.co/IW4QsDy1bQ

— Nina Sturtz (@YayNina) October 25, 2013

It all paid off. If you don’t remember the winning video from last year, watch it again here. But get the tissues because this one has romcom game.

Previous: JDate is Looking for the Next Top Proposal

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Adam Brody and Leighton Meester are Engaged

Romy Zipken — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 15:48:02 +0000

It’s a joyous day for Adam Brody and Leighton Meester—the television heartthrobs brought to you by Josh Schwartz are engaged! Now, while it’s exciting and beautiful and lovely that the couple found each other, it’s also, embarrassingly, a bit sad to see Brody off the market.

If you came up loving Seth Cohen, Brody’s character on The O.C., you probably feel similarly. Cohen was the show’s obvious star. While Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie) was meant to be the strong, hunky male lead, it was Cohen who stole our hearts with his comic book collecting and his Death Cab For Cutie posters. He was emotional, charming, and, if the show had any semblance of real life, he’d likely have been “popular” in high school—looks run that world, and Cohen had the goods.

But, it’s not healthy or sane to long for heartthrobs past. Mazel tov, you guys! May your children too be blessed with onscreen facial symmetry.

And, let’s hope the proposal was as cute as this:

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Watch Improv Women Fake Orgasm in Katz’s Deli

Romy Zipken — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 16:09:59 +0000

If there’s one truth in our universe, it’s that When Harry Met Sally can never get old. Now, I’m partial to the “Waiter, there is too much pepper in my Paprikash!” scene, but Meg Ryan’s fake orgasm in Katz’s Deli is certainly memorable, and, apparently, repeatable.

Improv Everywhere, an improvisation troop that “causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places,” took to Katz’s Deli for a Meg Ryan inspired orgasm fest. Throughout the restaurant on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, women scream and moan like a haunted pleasure house. Waiters laugh. Patrons gawk. A man behind the counter at 1:07 is freaked, silently declaring “collaborative orgasms these days, amiright?”

Though fun and gross, the spectacle still doesn’t beat the fact that when filming When Harry Met Sally, Rob Reiner taught Meg Ryan how to fake orgasm, and, it was all in front of his mom.

Watch and enjoy, but not too much.

Previous: ‘When Harry Met Sally’ Will Always be Relevant
Rob Reiner Taught Meg Ryan How to Perform Her Famous Fake Orgasm

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