Adam Soclof
By Adam Soclof
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The Schmooze Should Jewish Chatbot Count in Minyan?
(JTA) — Robots can hold a conversation, but should they count in a minyan? A chatbot at Britain’s University of Reading was heralded this week as passing the Turing test, showing a conversational ability that managed to fool people into thinking it was human. Using the fictional identity of 13-year-old Ukrainian boy with the name…
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The Schmooze There Could Have Been an Anti-Semitism Scene in ‘D3: The Mighty Ducks’
(JTA) — If you feel Disney’s “The Mighty Ducks” trilogy could have ended better, you’re not alone. Producer Jordan Kerner recently told Time that part of his original plot line for D3 — the Ducks failing to defend their title at the international Goodwill Games — would have featured an off-the-ice fight triggered by an anti-Semitic…
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Food Bacon-Flavored Ritz Crackers — Kosher!
(JTA) — Ritz has a new bacon-flavored cracker hitting shelves. But unlike most things bacon-related, this Nabisco product bears a kosher symbol. “There was much discussion over the decision about this product,” said Rabbi Moshe Elefant, COO of the Orthodox Union Kashrut Department. The box for the new Ritz cracker has the signature O.U.-Dairy certification…
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The Schmooze How Jennifer’s Bat Mitzvah T-Shirt Ended up in Africa
(JTA) — While reporting on the phenomenon of T-shirts originating in the U.S. and winding up in Africa, NPR Planet Money recently turned up a Bat Mitzvah T-Shirt in Nairobi and asked for help tracking down the owner. Hey Internet! Help us find the owner of THIS SHIRT http://t.co/kV2l7C6j3Z “Dancing w/ Toons @ Jennifers Bat…
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The Schmooze Lip-Synching Bob Dylan’s ‘Rolling Stone’
(JTA) — The first official music video for Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” is making the rounds on the internet. And Dylan’s endorsement is only half the reason why. The video, produced by media start-up Interlude, includes a novel interactive channel-tuning button, each channel mimicking a different cable channel or news program, featuring cameos…
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The Schmooze Sam Horowitz’s Very Modest Bar Mitzvah
Rabbi David Wolpe — a Los Angeles pulpit leader currently ranked No. 3 most Newsweek-y rabbi – came out against 13-year-old Sam Horowitz’s burlesque Bar Mitzvah video, calling “egregious, licentious and thoroughly awful.” Quoting Wolpe in his Washington Post Op-Ed published August 15: Poor Sammy. I say this with no irony. What remains to him…
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