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I am pleased to let you know about a Teleseminar on Jewish humor being taught by past Book of Life guest Rabbi Moshe Waldoks. Reb Moshe is the co-editor the The Big Book of Jewish Humor, and he was featured on our Purim episode in March, 2006. He was a hoot, and now he'll be sharing his secrets for two hours, live, on Thursday, June 12, 2008.

The program is called Beyond "Laughter Through Tears": A Short History of Jewish Humor. You can participate by phone or through your computer. It'll be held twice that day, once at 1pm eastern, and again at 9pm eastern. Space is limited and registration is $20.

I hope you all don't think that I'm doing a commercial here. Reb Moshe emailed me about this event and asked me to spread the word, and I obliged because it sounds really cool and because I like to support the use of technology and social media in Jewish education. And because, having interviewed him, I know he'll be a great speaker on this subject!

Get more info and register at www.askmoshewaldoks.com.

Click the play button on this flash player to listen to the podcast now:

Or click MP3 File to start your computer's media player.

SHOW NOTES:

The Book of Life hosted a live, call-in show on February 7, 2008 with special guest Pamela Ehrenberg, author of Ethan, Suspended. Our discussion topic was "what makes a book Jewish?" This recording of the call-in show has been edited for clarity and sound quality, but is essentially the same show heard by those who listened live on the big day.

Many of those who called in are well-known as authors or bloggers. Follow these links to learn more about the voices you hear on this episode (listed alphabetically):

> Maggie Anton, author of the series Rashi's Daughters

> Barbara Bietz, author of Like a Maccabee, and blogger at Barbara's Book Blog

> Marie Cloutier, blogger at The Boston Bibliophile

> June Cummins, Associate Professor of English & Comparative Literature at San Diego State University

> Andi Davidson, past member of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee

> Pamela Ehrenberg, author of Ethan, Suspended

> Brenda Ferber, author of Julia's Kitchen

> Rita Frischer, past Chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee

> Janet Gingold, author of children's novels and nonfiction

> Mary Claire Mahaney, author of Osaka Heat

> Elizabeth McBride, blogger at Mommytown, who tried to submit questions by chat; we ran out of time, but I want to acknowledge her participation

> Kathe Pinchuck, current Chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee

> Hazel Rochman, author, and editor/reviewer for ALA's Booklist

> Linda Silver, author/editor of The Jewish Values Finder (book and database), and another past chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee

Thanks to everyone who participated!


Background music is provided by The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band.

Books and CD's mentioned on the show may be borrowed from the Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel. Browse our online catalog to reserve books, post a review, or just to look around!

The Book of Life's experimental live call-in show was held yesterday, and it was a success! A number of people called to share opinions about our featured book, Ethan, Suspended, and about what defines a Jewish book.

The show was recorded, and I'm editing it now; soon it will be added to the regular podcast line-up. I apologize in advance for the sound quality. My own voice sounds kind of broken up, while other callers came through loud and clear. I may, in fact, try re-recording my own comments if I can get it to integrate with the rest of the conversation.

Many of our callers were well-known figures within the Judaic literary community, so I will provide links in the show notes to lead you back to some of their special projects (blogs, books, and so on).

Thanks so much to everyone who called and to everyone who listened live, and thanks again to featured guest author Pamela Ehrenberg!

Click the play button on this flash player to listen to the podcast now:

Or click MP3 File to start your computer's media player.

In this special "Bells & Whistles" edition of The Book of Life, host Heidi Estrin gives instructions for accessing the live Book of Life call-in show being held on Thursday, February 7, 2008, 3-4pm EST.

The theme of the February 7 program is "Funny, That Book Doesn't Look Jewish" and our guest will be Pamela Ehrenberg, author of the middle-grade novel Ethan, Suspended. We'll take calls about Ethan, Suspended, and about what makes a book Jewish in general.

What follows is a transcript of the podcast, for those of you who prefer written to auditory instructions:

On Thursday February 7, 2008 from 3 to 4 pm eastern standard time, The Book of Life will host a live call-in show using the Talkshoe service. The show is entitled "Funny, That Book Doesn't Look Jewish." Our special guest will be Pamela Ehrenberg, author of the middle grade novel Ethan, Suspended, and our discussion topic will be what makes a book Jewish. We'll do this Diane Rehm -style: first I'll chat with Pam about her book, and then we'll open the phones for questions about comments about Ethan, Suspended AND about defining Jewish literature.

If you simply want to listen to the discussion, go to our website, bookoflifepodcast.com, on February 7 at 3pm and click the PLAY button on the Talkshoe widget you'll see in the right-hand column. The show will play through your computer's speakers. If you're busy on February 7, don't worry... the show will be recorded and added to our regular podcast for later listening.

If you'd like to participate in the discussion, you can call in on February 7 between 3 and 4pm eastern time using any phone or voice over IP. Please be aware that the phone number is NOT toll free.

To call in to the show, dial 724-444-7444. It will ask for a Call ID that identifies The Book of Life as the show you want to reach, and that number is 10816.

At that point it will ask you for a 10-digit PIN number, but if you don't have a PIN you can simply press 1 and the pound key to sign in as a guest. Here's the deal with PIN numbers: If you sign up for a free account and create a PIN, the system will tell me who you are when you call. My hosting control panel will show your name instead of just showing an anonymous caller from your area code. It just makes it easier for me to keep track of what's going on and who's participating.

I encourage you to go to Talkshoe.com ahead of time and sign up for a free account so that your name will show when you call in... but if you don't want to, that's okay, I still want you to call and participate in the discussion.

Talkshoe also provides a way to do chat via text during the show, but I plan to ignore that feature. I think just hosting the discussion will keep me busy enough without that.

So that's it! Please mark February 7th on your calendar and plan to call in! In the meantime, check out pamelaehrenberg.com to learn more about Ethan, Suspended. In a starred review in Booklist, reviewer Hazel Rochman said that "Ehrenberg focuses on themes of race and class without sounding preachy" as Ethan moves in with his grandparents in DC and finds himself suddenly in the minority as the only white, Jewish kid in his school. I really enjoyed Ethan, Suspended and I think you will too. I can't wait to discuss it with you on February 7th!

Below Paul Collier the author of The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It and a Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University explains why guilt is no solution for poverty.

To date policy towards the bottom billion has been driven predominantly by guilt: America’s guilt about slavery, Europe’s guilt about colonialism. (more…)

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