Former Forward hand and “From Schlub to Stud” author Max Gross is flaunting his schlubby ways on WCBS for all of New York to see.
Now, some might be surprised to tune into WCBS and see a schlubby young man with a wild red Jewfro talking up a book with a subtitle like “How to Embrace Your Inner Mensch and Conquer the Big City.” But, as Max notes in his television interview, we are living in a very schlubby era — Seth Rogen, Jack Black, etc. — so it’s not altogether surprising that the mainstream media is taking note.
Still, I would argue that “From Schlub to Stud” has the potential to further raise the profile of this funny Yiddish word. Indeed, judging by the results of a Google search for the word “schlub,” Max may very well be schlubdom’s foremost living exponent.
Awhile back, I blogged about the New York Post article that would turn out to be the genesis moment of Max’s schlubby project.
Full disclosure: I am mentioned briefly in Max’s schlubby book.
Former Forward hand Max Gross looks into the state of kosher wine — only, he discovers, some vintners are playing down the fact that they happen to adhere to Jewish religious law. Writing on Jewcy.com, Gross reports:
Recanati wine is desperately trying to pass for gentile.
First off, there’s the name. Nothing about “Recanati” sounds particularly Jewish. In fact, it sounds vaguely Italian. (Which doesn’t hurt a wine.) Then there’s the fact that the front label is extremely simple—there is nary a Hebrew letter in sight, only the brand, the vintage, the grape and the region. You have to take a close look at the back to find the kosher stamp. And if you were to call the PR department at Recanati, they would admit that no, they’re not really advertising the fact that they’re kosher.
“We’ve been encouraging wine shops to start an Israeli section,” says Michael Wolff, the senior brand manager for the Israeli wine, which is produced in the Galilee. The idea is to get away from the “kosher” label and all its connotations.
Recanati is hardly the only Israeli wine hiding the inconvenient fact that, yes, they’re also kosher. “We don’t really talk about the kosher aspect of our wines,” says Marsha Palanci, who does marketing for the Israeli brand Yarden. “We market it as an international wine.”
Read the full article.
Former Forward staffer Max Gross is not only my friend. He is also my hero.
When he wasn’t busy writing some of the strangest stories ever published in a Jewish newspaper, Max was kind enough to give Forward readers a glimpse into his exciting personal life. As his not-so-alter ego “the Hapless Jewish Writer,” Max would relate his adventures learning how to cook, playing poker (and even beating the occasional poker ace) and miraculously winning horse races — often in the interest of impressing the fairer sex. Few topics were too private to share. He even wrote about his experiences going to a matchmaker.
Now Max has brought his shtick to his new employer, the New York Post. And for his latest escapade, Max is emulating fellow Jewfro’d schlub “Knocked Up” star Seth Rogen. Max writes:
No one in the world wants you to see the new comedy “Knocked Up” more than I do.
For years I’ve been a schlubby ne’er-do-well sporting an unwieldy Jewfro. I spent nearly three decades fighting off double-chins and man-boobs. My style of dress is an embarrassment to anybody except a stoned college student. But every doofus has his day, and when I saw the smash comedy last week, for a gleaming, shining moment I thought:
Because of Seth Rogen, I’m so getting laid.
The Post devoted almost two full pages (complete with pictures) to Max’s account of his efforts to work his Rogen-esque charms on some lovely ladies. The full story is here.
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