Adam Mansbach politely asks you to go to sleep

(image courtesy of Akashic Books)

A while back, Overheard Newsroom tweeted this gem: "You can start a story with a quote twice in your career. Once when you're an intern, and again if the pope ever says f---."

Adam Mansbach does say "f---" a lot, but he isn't the pope - therefore, it took all my willpower not to start this post with this absolutely perfect line…

What’s your Passover soundtrack?

Passover is my favorite Jewish holiday, largely because it has so many great songs. Chanukah, sure, some good songs there too, but they're a bit childish, maybe. Passover, however, has the motherlode of great Jewish ditties - Chad Gadya, Echad Mi Yodea (Who Knows One), Dayenu, Adir Hu - and even the rest of the seder sounds something like a Broadway musical, with participants randomly breaking into song (B'chol Dor VaDor, Mah Nishtana,…

Israelis! On your TV!

Israelis are all over the tube these days, both on and off the screen. Here's where you can find them:

Oded Fehr (right) with Morris Chestnut on "V"

V

If ABC's sci-fi show "V" can't be bothered with any sort of interesting plot advancement or a modicum of un-nauseating writing, at least they could give their (probably almost non-existent) female audience a bit of eye candy. Enter…

Have your earplugs ready, Israel - Justin Bieber is coming

Justin Bieber - only slightly older-looking than my 9-month-old son.

Israel, get ready for a rampaging horde of zombies in 2011. No, we're not talking about the second season of "The Walking Dead." These zombies are a little more prettified, and definitely more vocal - screaming, crying teenage girls. That's right - Justin Bieber is coming to Tel Aviv.

JB will be performing at TA's Yarkon Park on…

Pink is pregnant with a new little MOT

Pop/rock star Pink (aka Alecia Moore) is pregnant with her first child. The father is Pink's husband, motocross racer Carey Hart.

Pink's mother is Jewish, which makes her little bun an official MOT. It remains to be seen if it will be a boy or girl, but Pink told Ellen DeGeneres on her show Wednesday that her mother has wished Pink a daughter just like herself - which isn't exactly a compliment, since Pink was apparently a pistol (and not…

Don’t call Obama ‘Hitler’ around Michael Ian Black

Warning: there’s some sassy language below, but it’s for a good cause.

Yay Michael Ian Black! Thanks to the superfunny actor-comedian for calling out a bigoted heckler, mid-set, no less.

Gawker reported today that when Black mentioned President Obama during his comedy routine Saturday night in Ohio, a heckler yelled “Heil Hitler.” Black was furious:

 "How dare you compare Hitler to this president or any…

“Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story” plays SFJFF in Berkeley, Palo Alto

"Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story" has its 2nd and 3rd showings in the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival this weekend: Saturday, July 31 in Palo Alto and Sunday, Aug. 1 in Berkeley (see below for listings). Last weekend, the 90-minute documentary played at the Castro Theatre.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Q-and-A with Israeli concert pianist Benjamin Hochman

Benjamin Hochman, 30, a distinguished concert pianist born and raised in Israel, makes his San Francisco Symphony debut Saturday, July 10, at Davies Symphony Hall. Hochman is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Mannes College of Music, and now makes his home in Manhattan. He has performed with orchestras and in chamber groups all over the world. He spoke to J. reporter Stacey Palevsky by…

What if your favorite novelist edited your newspaper? Readers of Ha’aretz find out.

What a cool experiment — handing over editorial duties of Ha'aretz for one day to the country's most celebrated novelists.

For the second time, Ha'aretz published its special edition June 2 in honor of Israel's book week. While most of the section was planned well in advance, Ha'aretz editors scrambled at the last minute to ensure that some of the content spoke to the botched flotilla raid, which happened just two days before the Author's Edition was published.

Get yourself an illustrated haggadah

As a child, I always got antsy during the Passover seder. My dad insisted on never skimping; as a little girl, this drawn out mealtime ritual felt like an eternity to me. I'm pretty sure I snacked on matzo throughout the seder to distract me from my growling belly.

One more thing helped me get through the seder. The Animated Haggadah.

I loved this book. While all the…