Sister Ray Binowitz

Hi Folks,

A couple of interesting JewPunk mentions in the news.

First, the blog Heeb 'N' Vegan (exactly what it sounds like) published a brief interview with me a few days back. A shame they had to cut out all the jokes, but still nice of them (Mike Croland, to be specific) to give me a platform on which to shout about my book.

http://heebnvegan.blogspot.com/2008/10/books-tying-holocaust-other-jewish.html

Second, looks like JewPunk (my JewPunk, at least) has finally made it to the Holy Land. The Israeli News Service namechecks my book in an article about Lou Reed's upcoming concert there.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/154917

http://israeljewishnews.blogspot.com/2008/10/velvet-undergrounds-lou-reed-to-perform.html

Speaking of Lou Reed in the Land of the Fathers, what's up with that? What, Hymietown's not good enough for him (please see Reed's album "New York" and his reference to Jesse Jackson's fond moniker for that city before jumping all over my ironic ass).

Seriously, the Zayde of Punk in Israel conjures visions of Moses, the tablets and B'Nai B'Rith trips gone wrong. "Thou shalt bathe thyselves in White Light and White Heat; thou shalt have no other co-founders before thee (especially John Cale); thou shalt hit thy mainline; thou shalt hit it sideways; just like, blessed be He, just like, the Lord our God, just like, Sister Rabinowitz sez..."

Over and out,

Beeb the Heeb

P.S. Fond of finding JewPunk in the most unlikely places? Consider that Reed's family name was originally Rabinowitz and that the song "Sister Ray" conjures associations with that. Think I'm nuts? Consider then that fellow JewPunk founder, Daniel Rey of Shrapnel, was originally known as Daniel Rabinowitz before coming up with an appellation more stage-worthy. Hmmmmmmm...

Dylan, Berlin, Enfield and more

Hey Everyone,

After a looong silence, I'm back and ready to fill you in on some news.

Rather than blather on at length about all that's happened, let me give you some brief previews of updates to come while also filling you in on a couple of readings in a couple of weeks.

First, the previews:

1. I recently returned from my week-long book-tour in Germany. LOTS of interesting stories about German punks, cold war sites and the proper way to spell schisse (shit). Stay tuned.

2. Before Germany I went up to Hibbing, MN, birthplace of Bob Dylan. Not quite Germany, and yet not as far as you'd think. Some truly amazing experiences there -- among them, drinks and chit-chat with Bob Dylan's high-school pal Leroy Hoikkala. For those unfamiliar with Leroy, he was the drummer in little Bobby Z's first band!

3. Speaking of Germany, this past weekend I went to the home of Dresden Dolls front-freulien Amanda Palmer. Amanda wasn't there (on tour in Germany, in fact), but her roomies and guests put on some rock-solid entertainments. In honor of Halloween it was covers night, "undercovers night" to be specific. All the cover tunes dealt with espionage and spies. A perfect rendition of "Secret Agent Man" by the Spy Orchestra--or "Spykestra"--was a highlight of the event. I also got to wear the Lenin medal I picked up in the former East Germany and to dance a near strip to the tune from "The Full Monty." Very scary.

Ok, so much for the previews. Now let me update you on a couple of readings:

I'll be in Western, Mass, Sat-Sun, Nov 15-16 as part of local PBS affiliate WGBY's super-cool book festival. Saturday at 6 PM I'll be at the Barnes & Noble in Enfield, CN, and Sunday at 2 PM I'll be at the Barnes & Noble in Holyoke, MA. Also on hand at 6 PM in Holyoke will be my old MFA pal Pam Thompson, who'll be reading from her fab new novel "Every Past Thing." She's not to be missed.

As much as I'd like to keep blogging, work unfortunately calls.

So, till next time, auf wiedersehen!

s