We are at the URJ Biennial this week.

Come see us and say hello if you are in the San Diego area or attending the Biennial. My husband Webb and I are exhibiting at the Biennial to sell No Limit Texas Dreidel wholesale to retailers who want to sell the game next Hanukkah. We also want to talk to non-profits who don't have a shop about affiliating with ModernTribe.com and earning 10% of the sales that come through them. Come say hello and/or send your synagogue representative over to get some information on selling NLTD in your gift shop.

Also -- see Jennie on TV talking about Modern Menorahs on CBS affiliate morning show Channel 46 Better Mornings. It aired yesterday, Tuesday December 11th on the last night of Hanukkah. I look like a little dwarf standing next to the 6 foot tall, skinny beautiful bean poll reporter. I'm going to have to get thinner if I keep getting on TV. : )

Shlomi Schillinger's Menorah on Front Page of Dwell.com

Shlomi's menorah deserves the kind of placement Dwell.com has given it on December 4th. Check it out:

Dwell.com

Buy it only at ModernTribe.com.

Jennie on Good Day Atlanta this morning!

I only have a minute before the next TV station comes to my house to film a segment. Here is segment one -- done live this morning on Fox 5 Atlanta. It was an exciting but nerve-wracking experience. We only had a few minutes to set up, no rehearsal. Wham, I was on TV. I was so nervous but I think it turned out OK.

Have We Arrived?

Organic Google Search Finds Moderntribe.com. Sort of.

Getting ones new website to show up under a general word search is very difficult. So I was thrilled today when I googled for Hanukkah.

Search for "Hanukkah" or "Menorah" on google today and find a picture of me and my daughter -- above "the fold" no less. The irony of it is that although I'm quoted in the accompanying article...

Jennie Rivlin Roberts noticed many young Jews acquiring multiple menorahs on their own, to suit their more modern tastes, and started an online company, ModernTribe.com, selling "hip Judaica" to serve them.

She says the nadir of menorah design was in the 1980s, when brassy models were popular.

"I have a really ugly brass menorah from my family," she said. "I take it out every year and light it, but it's not at all my aesthetic taste."

..the picture is of me and my daughter with my "ugly menorah"!

LA and DC are Going All Spin!

Saturday (after sundown, of course) we are proud to be part of two Hanukkah events happening on separate ends of the country. No Limit Texas Dreidel will be played, tournament style, at the Los Angeles Federation Young Leadership Division's Chanukah Bash at the X Bar in Century City and the Young Professionals' Kesher Hanukkah Party of Washington DC at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue.

Jon Layne of Party Layne, a very popular event production company in LA and Detroit, found NLTD through our Heeb Magazine promotions. He excitedly called and asked how he could integrate NLTD into the annual event which expects 300-400 young adults. I shipped Jon a game and since then he has become sort of a NLTD evangelist because he loves the game so much. Check out Party Layne's Blog to keep up with party trends.

The Young Professional's Kesher of DC is having all 50 expected guests play NLTD at the same time! The winner and runner up get ModernTribe.com E-Gift Cards.

These events are playing NLTD tournaments in very different ways too. Read here about two ways to do NLTD Tournament Style.

Check back for pictures from these events.

Optimize Your Latke Frying

We make hundreds of latkes for our Hanukkah parties. My husband's alter-ego is "The Optimizer" so he is always measuring and tweaking to find the best way to do everything. Read on to learn from our mistakes:

1. Use lots of oil. The oil should not be "coating the pan." Those potato lumps should be swimming in the oil. We prefer a vegetable oil, not olive oil's stronger taste.
2. The temperature of the oil is critical. Either use an electric grill that allows you to set the temperature of the oil or, if using the burners (like we do) use a thermometer to measure the temperature of the oil. The oil needs to be between 350 and 375 F. When frying lots of latkes you are constantly adding oil. You should wait for the right temperature or your latkes will be too greasy (if oil is not hot enough) or burn (too hot).
3. The most time consuming and boring part of making lots of latkes is grating the potatoes and onions. Yes, use a food processor... but better: buy pre-shredded potatoes and diced onions. Both are available (separately) in frozen foods. We tried this last year and this version was almost as good as freshly grated... and 300% less work!
4. Fry ahead of time and then freeze. We've spent many Hanukkah parties stuck in the kitchen. Now we know better. Fry ahead of time. Put the latkes on cookie sheets. Cover. Place the cookie sheets in the freezer. Once frozen, you can put the latkes in zip lock bags, thus making room for more latkes. The night of the party, heat on the cookie tray at 350 F for 20 minutes or so.
5. I'm sure many would protest, but which latke recipe doesn't really matter as long as you use potatoes, onions, and eggs. Matzah meal vs. flour? Not important in our experience.
6. Gourmet toppings are nice but you can't beat apple sauce and sour cream.

Happy Frying!

Mainstream Stores Best & Worst for Hanukkah

Of course I want you to shop at ModernTribe.com. But if you can't, don't want to, or just don't have the time to wait for shipping, here is the skinny on some of the mainstream department stores' Hanukkah offerings. Have a beautiful, modern Hanukkah!

Disclaimer: Some department stores vary their stock depending on the community -- so if there are many Jews in the community, they will stock more Hanukkah stuff. Therefore, these findings may or many not be true for your "brick and mortar" location.

I have covered Target in previous posts.

Uh oh, may steal ModernTribe's business: Crate & Barrel. They have two very nice looking nickel plated menorahs. I haven't seen them up close but, darn, they look nice and I'd love to be able to offer them to you myself.

Some nice, but traditional, things: Saks Fifth Avenue. These Eleni's New York Happy Hanukkah Cookies look beautiful! Has anyone tried them?

The mainstream of modern: Nambe at Macys and Bloomingdales. I plan to offer the Nambe line in the future. If you want Nambe Judaica now, they have it. I don't like the Nambe menorah however; it looks great with candles but loses its design appeal without them.

"No products found for Chanukah. Did you mean chunky?" JC Penney, Dillards, and KMart come up blank in the Hanukkah department.

Not my taste but a selection of goods: Walmart, Kohls, and Bed Bath and Beyond

Jewish Product Bloopers Part III: Search for Hanukkah or Chanukah at these websites and get:

Kenny G "Miracles - The Holiday Album." the only Chanukah item online at Sears contains one "Chanukah Song" among 10 other Christmas songs. But, I do believe Kenny is Jewish.

A Nativity Votive!? Watch those keywords Bloomingdales!

Woof & Poof Jolly Old Saint Nick at Nordstrom along with rows and rows of other Christmas decorations. I still consider snowmen, angels, and fairies Christmas decor. Do you?

Warning: Target misses with their gelt.

I've tasted a lot of gelt. When we were trying to pick a gelt to sell with No Limit Texas Dreidel we got samples from Israel, Belgium, and around the USA. Target's is decidedly, and by no slim margin, the worst I've ever tasted. It's waxy, greasy, and tasteless. Maybe they confused the Hanukkah candles with the Hanukkah gelt? It pains me because Target has it's own brand of gourmet-ish chocolate called Choxie. I want to see this massive merchandising machine create gourmet Choxie gelt. Let's work on that one for Hanukkah 2008.

Here's the Hanukkah display for Target and then that's it for criticizing my favorite store for it's Hanukkah missteps. (I do it 'cause I luv ya, Target!)

The Ugly Menorah with Modern Company

We did a photo shoot the other day and my husband took a few. We took my "ugly menorah" (a traditional brass menorah with the Maccabee motif that I've had all my life) and surrounded it with modern menorahs. I love the way this picture turned out. You see the Woodland Linking Menorah (unlinked) and a little bit of the Cube Menorah.

Cute Hanukkah Stuff at Target!... (for dogs)

Jewish Product Bloopers Part Two:
Target has cute Hanukkah stuff for dogs but not people.

On October 31, Halloween day, Target had moved the Halloween stuff to the end caps and stocked the aisles with Christmas decorations. Of course I immediately went to search for the Chanukah end cap to see how my favorite store is representing my favorite holiday.

On the way to "Stationery" (which is where Hanukkah stuff is displayed), I passed pet supplies. "Whoa! is that a Hanukkah dog sweater? And a cute silver collar with a star of David?" Absolutely. Isaac Mizrahi has included Hanukkah stuff for dogs in his winter line of doggy accoutrement. I immediately picked out a sweater and collar for my doggy then headed toward Stationery.

How's the Hanukkah stuff for people? Disappointing as usual. The end cap included: cheap, "Made in China" branch menorahs: one in "gold tone" one in "silver tone." I took one of the menorahs out of the box so I could see the quality. To say it was cheaply made is being nice: I could see the screws that attached the stems. I'm not going to go on... because it will sound nasty and I am a nice person. I just have zero tolerance for schlock!

I will let a picture say 1000 words. I plan to take a snapshot of the display to illustrate this post. Check back soon. In the mean time enjoy pics of cute Zavy in her Mizrahi attire.

Jewish Product Bloopers Part One

Some of the coolest Jewish stuff is made by "mainstream" or secular designers. And we are so thankful for them including Hanukkah stuff in their designs. (Thank you!)

However, since many of these designers not Jewish, they sometimes make mistakes.

I was tickled to open December's copy of Blueprint Magazine and find that the only Hanukkah items the magazine profiled were Bloopers. The magazine displays two beautiful Hanukkah cards both with abstract menorahs. They are beautiful, blue (of course), but count the candles:
Note: -- I sell these cards -- because they are beautiful, handmade letterpress cards. I want to support high design of Judaica and these design houses who are creating them. So, I forgive the mistake of the missing Shamas. Do you?

Cool Judaica will Fix Everything!

If you are in San Fran on Thursday, November 8th at 7:30 PM, there is a thought provoking program hosted by Progressive Jewish Alliance. Young, Jewish, and (Dis)Connected is about how, why and, more specifically, why don't younger Jews feel connected to Israel and to Jewish life in America.

You know my answer for younger Jews' disenchantment with American Jewish Life: schlocky Judaica and boring dreidel games!

We are fixing the schlocky/boring problem at ModernTribe.com. But I bet Professor Ari Kelman, Joey Kurzman from Jewcy.com, Sarah Church from PJA, Heidi Winig from American Jewish World Services, and Jeremy Lizt of New Israel Fund have some other ideas on the subject.

It's free but RSVP: bayarea@pjalliance.org or 510-527-8640

NLTD in Celebrity Gift Bags?

I got a call today from Nancee Borgnine from an event and PR company called "Connected" asking us to bring No Limit Texas Dreidel to the American Music Award's "Celebrity Gift Suite". It's not free of course, not to mention the cost of flying out to LA and staying at the Sofitel Hotel in Beverly Hills. But it sounds terribly exciting and oh, for the chance to get No Limit Texas Dreidel in a big Jewish star's hands: Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld, Ben Stiller, Madonna... That'd be amazing...

Invited Celebrities Include:
Justin Timberlake- Beyoncé - Linkin Park - Daughtry - Rihanna - Jimmy Kimmel - Fergie - Avril Lavigne - Carrie Underwood - Rascal Flatts - Maroon 5 - Toby Keith - Robin Thicke - Norah Jones - Tim McGraw - The White Stripes - John Mayer - Akon

I'm so out of the pop music scene, I don't know who half these people are. Maybe Jimmy Kimmel will bring Sarah Silverman. OOooo, I'd love to get a NLTD tattoo on her!

What do you think? Should I stay or should I go?

What's a Jew to do?

If I was a Jew in San Francisco I'd be at Progressive Jewish Alliance gathering this Thursday in Berkeley. PJA will be screening Hineini, a documentary film entitled "Here I am" in Hebrew, about a student coming out as a lesbian and establishing a gay-straight alliance at a Jewish high school in Boston. You can preview the film here, on the Keshet website.

The screening is part of PJA's marriage equality campaign, "Bringing the Orange Under the Huppah." PJA is asking that straight couples include an orange under their wedding canopy as a show of support for marriage equality. Read more about PJA's campaign.



The orange under the huppah is an extension of the new tradition of putting an orange on the Passover seder plate. The orange has become a symbol of Jewish inclusion of gays and lesbians and, in the words of the inventor of the Passover tradition Susanna Heschel, anyone who is "marginalized within the Jewish community."

Jewish opinion about homosexuality and gay marriage is heated, complex, complicated and way beyond the scope of this blog. But basically, Orthodox opposes, Conservative opinion is mixed, Reform is accepting, and Reconstructionist and Humanistic Judaism support marriage equality. A nice primer is Wikipedia's article on Homosexuality and Judaism.

No matter how you feel about homosexuality Hineini is sure to give you much to think, discuss and argue about and all Jewish denominations support that.

Bringing the Orange under the Huppah
Thursday, October 25, 7:30 pm
JCC of the East Bay, 1414 Walnut St, Berkeley
Click here for more information about the event.

Do you look Jewish?

In this month's PresenTense Magazine (which I absolutely adore) the cover article is, "You Don't Look Jewish" which profiles converts who, because of their black or Hispanic or [insert non-Caucasian ethnicity] heritages don't have the stereotypical European/Semitic appearance. Sure converts may not "look Jewish" but many Jews (maybe most -- who knows --) don't "look Jewish." One of my favorite groups on Flickr (the online photography community) is Jewish Faces M&Ms. The organizer of the group writes, "we are all colors ..like my favorite candy." There are 1,120 photos and you can watch the slideshow to see how many different faces and "looks" there are.

Skinny Jeans for Not-Skinny Genes

"...if the look you are searching for is that of a fat midget – go put on a pair of skinny jeans."
-Mike, a designer and the owner of the Shandan jeans shop, on 38 Sheinkin St., Tel Aviv, explains why he is opposed to the skinny jeans

Leave it to the Israelis to tell it like it is. Although the girls above sport them fine, some in the Israeli fashion world are lamenting the skinny-jean comeback as much as I am:

"they are ugly, and I believe this fad will soon die out, the main reason being that unless you are a model who is 5'9" tall, this type of jeans will make your ass look big. And unfortunately, most Israeli girls sport a large behind, and are not very tall."

It's not only a Diasporic phenomenon; shouldn't bootcamp unload some of that junk in the trunk? Read the original article by Hohit Ori Day with good pictures of Israeli booty by Arnon Maoz and Elad Hizki on Sheinkin.com, an e-magazine about Sheinkin Street, one of Tel-Aviv's hippest (hippyest?) fashion shopping streets.

Celebrate Fair Trade Month with Kosher Kippot!

In California, Progressive Jewish Alliance is the address for Jewish anti-Sweatshop work. PJA works in collaboration with non-Jewish groups on getting major purchasers of clothing (The City of Los Angels, San Francisco and Berkley; the University of California system, etc.) to purchase only sweatfree garments, while working in the Jewish community to get Jewish summer camps, day schools, synagogues and other organization to do the same. Progressive Jewish Alliance is now offering sweatfree yarmulkes (skullcaps) through their "Kosher Kippot" program. They will work with you or your organization to coordinate sweatfree kippot purchases with educational workshops about labor rights and Jewish values. The program is particularly popular with Bar and Bat Mitzvah kids. PJA has more information on their website: pjalliance.org and in the Bay Area at their office: bayare@pjalliance.org or call them at 510.527.8640.

It's Not Easy to be Sweatshop Free

While contacting Jewish non-profits for ModernTribe's affiliate program, we communicated with a woman who said her organization only affiliates with shops that sell products manufactured under "fair working conditions," like those advocated by Sweat Free Communities and Global Exchange. She asked if we knew anything about the working conditions at our products' manufacturing facilities. Because 95% of our products are made in the United States or Israel, and many of them are handcrafted housewares, we didn't think child labor, poverty wages, forced (slave) labor, and unsafe working conditions were likely problems. According to our affiliate contact, handcrafted by the artist/designer him or herself likely meets the standard of fair labor. But Made-In-The-USA or Israel does not ensure fairness: There are sweatshops in both countries.

Thankfully, child labor, poverty pay, and dangerous working conditions aren't called "unfair" in the United States and Israel: they are called illegal. Sweatshops should be less prevalent in the US, Israel, and other countries which have comprehensive labor laws.

Israeli labor laws are extensive. You can read them here at the Israeli Ministry of Trade and Labor's Web site. However, I don't know how well these laws are enforced. Please share, readers, if you know.

So which countries are the worst offenders of fair working conditions? On the US Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs website, you can read and research their reports on abuses. An excerpt on child labor:

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), there were an estimated 211 million children, ages 5 to 14, working around the world in 2000. The majority of the world's working children, according to the ILO, are found in Asia (127.3 million), followed by Africa (48.0 million), Latin America and the Caribbean (17.4 million), and the Middle East and North Africa (13.4 million). While Asia has the highest number of child workers, Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest proportion of working children.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find research or records on particular factory/manufacturing plant violators. How does a retailer research whether any individual manufacturer meets fair labor standards other than to ask the manufacturer directly about their policies regarding employing children, wages, work schedules, and work conditions?
---
added on 10/03/2007
---
Here are the "Fair Trade Criteria" from the Fair Trade Federation

• Paying fair wages in local context;
• Supporting participatory workplaces;
• Ensuring environmental sustainability;
• Supplying financial and technical support;
• Respecting cultural identity;
• Offering public accountability; and,
• Educating consumers.

Google Post II: What's Important to Jew?

Interesting. We are discussing Google policies and then I get an email from my Aunt to sign a petition to get Jew Watch removed from the top of Google's organic search results. That Jew Watch comes up first is true. You can google it now and see. The petition is also real and reports over 300,000 people have "signed" it. But, truly, there is no way Google is going to alter their organic search results. As we are learning, Google is hyper-governing (if inconsistent) with their paid advertising and completely laissez faire with their organic search. And, at least the laissez faire part, makes sense. The organic search is like the public's "vote" for important and relevant information for the keyword. Unfortunately some quack has created a monolithic site and apparently lots of other quacks link to it. Jew Watch is important and relevant to quacks searching for quackery on Jews.

How about you, Jew? Got a website? LINK TO what is important to you about Jews NOW:

I choose Wikipedia's article on Jews.

NLTD To Be Reviewed by Google: "Gambling" Disallowed on Ad Words

No Limit Texas Dreidel may be kicked off Google Ad Words. I just had a "chat" with the Ad specialist and it doesn't look good. We'd set up Google Ads because dreidel is so commonly misspelled: dreidel, driedel, driedle, draydel, etc. etc.. We had every combination of dreidel with poker, and no limit, and hold'em, and holdem so people googling for us could find us. I looked up our account today and all our keywords had been disapproved. During the chat with the specialist she speculated that NLTD may be disallowed because it fits their definition of gambling. My shocked response was, "it's chocolate: you spin the top and win chocolate."

There is chance and there is wager: but so is true with Mah Jong, Monopoly, and the traditional dreidel game. What differentiates these games along with NLTD, is that the wager isn't something of real value: points, play money, and chocolate.

What do you think? I'd really like to hear some opinions on this.

Here is Google's policy for gambling:

And here is our chat transcript:
Tai: Hello, thanks for your patience, Jennie. I'm happy to help you with your Google AdWords account.
Jennie: Great!
Jennie: I have a few campaigns
Tai: Would you mind waiting a moment while I pull up your account?
Jennie: I see two of them have disapproved keywords
Jennie: sure.
Tai: Ok, which are these?
Jennie: lets look at ModernTribe first
Jennie: [the name of the campaign]
Jennie: all these keywords are disapproved
Jennie: why?
Tai: I believe it's because your ad text references gambling, which is a prohibited product per our product policy, so all keywords associated with it will be disapproved as well.
Jennie: ok. This is a problem for me. I mention poker because our game, which is played with chocolate coins for Hanukkah is a riff on poker. I can't use the word poker?
Tai: I would suggest not including words about gambling in your ad if you want your ad to run. You can read our policy at:
Tai: https://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=47220
Jennie: so any type of poker is considered gambling?
Tai: Yes.
Jennie: so how do I go about getting my keywords re-approved, now that I removed "poker" from my ad?
Tai: I would suggest also removing other gambling-related terms like 'Texas Hold'em' from your ads, Jennie. Let me check for a moment on the best way for your keywords to be re-reviewed.
Jennie: thanks. Is there any way to get this over-rid, considering my game is No Limit Texas Dreidel which is a dreidel game, played with chocolate but is a spoof on Texas Hold'em poker?
Tai: Thanks for holding, Jennie. I found that your keywords will be re-reviewed with any ad text changes, so there's nothing additional you need to do.
Jennie: let's talk about The other campaign
Jennie: [Campaign Name]
Jennie: All these words are disapproved. But the ad isn't disapproved
Tai: I am first researching the answer to your other question, Jennie, then I'll be happy to take a look at that next campaign.
Tai: Jennie, I don't believe that even spoofs on gambling would be allowed by our product policy. However, if you'd like me to double check with our policy team, I'd be happy to do that then get back to you in the next few days with their answer.
Jennie: OK. Thank you. Can we discuss the other campaign.
Jennie: I now understand why maybe poker keywords would be disapproved. But why all keywords. When the ad isn't disapproved?
Tai: Sure, let me look it up.
Tai: This is the same situation; that your words are disapproved per our product policy.
Jennie: but all the words?
Jennie: how do I fix this?
Jennie: I need to remove "poker" I understand
Tai: I'd suggest deleting all gambling-related keywords.
Tai: Right.
Tai: Then you can modify your ad text to prompt them to be re-reviewed.
Jennie: OK. Is the review by robot or by a human?
Tai: By a human.
Jennie: OK. So if "No Limit" is the name of my game, can I keep "no Limit" as the search words?
Tai: Jennie, I am going to check on whether your product is allowable at all per our product policy. You might want to hold off making changes until I get back to you about this.
Jennie: It's a Hanukkah game, played with chocolate
Jennie: you've got to be kidding me
Jennie: do you know what the dreidel game is?
Tai: Again, I would suggest you read over our product policy page.
Tai: This clearly lists gambling games played even for fun to be prohibited.
Tai: However, I will be happy to run your particular situation by our policy team and get back to you about it.
Jennie: but, every "game of chance" is a gambling game. Even traditional dreidel
Jennie: You spin the top and win chocolate
Tai: Jennie, I can see that you are frustrated, but this is not a productive conversation.
Tai: As I said, I will check with our policy team about this, and let you know the result.
Jennie: I'm not frustrated
Tai: Is jennienina@gmail.com the best email address for me to use/
Tai: ?
Jennie: Jennie@ModernTribe.com is better
Tai: Ok, I will get back to you, most likely by next Monday.
Jennie: OK.
Jennie: Thank you!

Week One: Jewish Living & So Much Fun!

Week One: I've gained five pounds and am developing carpal tunnel.

The game is selling gangbuster-ly. People are ordering multiple copies which makes our hearts sing. So thank you readers + shoppers (I know you are there even if you don't comment!)

Last night we did a photoshoot trying to come up with ad content for a new magazine coming out this November: Jewish Living. It's not for most of you Heebsters, I don't imagine. But it looks like it will be a great mag for young women with families. The magazine is going to be sold in Whole Foods. CROSSOVER. It's coming. I'm sure of it. Soon the entire country will be playing dreidel: No Limit Texas Dreidel, of course. Here is a picture from our photoshoot -- this is not for the ad as it promotes dangerous behavior (a small child near fire and small dreidels - oy!)


Shalom and have an easy fast.

When I Wish Upon a Jewish Star

I found a thoughtful write up on Jewish graphic design from a designer named Rev Cruz. He entered a logo design contest we sponsored on Worth1000 to design ModernTribe's logo. We asked the contestants to reinvent the Star of David.

Rev Cruz was one of many many (40+) submissions and it was one we really liked. We didn't end up choosing his design for our brandmark but we did purchase the design and will be using it somewhere -- I think it would look great on a t-shirt! What do you think?

Here is Rev Cruz's post:
Perelandran Chronicles: Logo Design: Center for Jewish Values and ModernTribe

and here is his super design he writes he emulated from club music innovators Hed Kandi:

Welcome Fellow Heebs!

Today is opening day at ModernTribe.com. It's been a long few weeks working with our webnerds trying to get the site up in time... in time for the banner ad? No. In time for the email blast? Sorta. You, dear Heeb readers, get to see our site first. Voila.

If you can take a minute to say shalom, tell us who you are and what you think of the site and products so far, we would appreciate it. Be nice: your shopkeepers are tired.

Pointing Guns and Knocking Skulls

Guns and skulls are hot. Through our 11 hour tromp through New York's Midtown neighborhoods, we saw these motifs over and over (e.g., 3Guns Vase by SuckUK). I soon found myself searching for skull tees.




Grave motifs for a country supposedly obsessed with safety and peace. Maybe it's an expression of our unspoken desire to be carrying that gun.

I wanted skulls for ModernTribe and was wondering... are there skull + star of David motifs? Yah. I hunted them down and you can find them here.

Der Font is Farshtunken

The Web site development firm that is creating moderntribe.com handed over our "Coming Soon" page this week. When I opened the document in Photoshop, I got a message warning that I was missing a font: DIN Neuzeit Grotesk. Sound German to you? Babelfish translated the phrase for me as Modern Times Grotesque. I was a taken aback at how similar "Modern Times" is to "Modern Tribe"--just add "grotesque" (bizarre, absurd...). Because I was ignorant about fonts, I didn't understand then that "grotesque" simply refers to Sans Serif fonts. But the irony had already piqued my interest; I Googled and uncovered some interesting facts about DIN Neuzeit Grotesk.

Neuzeit Grotesk was its predecessor, designed by font source Stemple's Wilhelm Pischner in 1928. It became the standard font for German signs and was so throughout the Nazi reign, too. A quick Google image search found a few specimens of German and Nazi signs using the font (one example at top).

However, Neuzeit Grotesk is nowhere near as dominant or recognizable as Blackletter, a family of fonts including Fraktur, which was adopted as the font of the Volk (people) by the Nazi party.

In 1970 DIN, Germany's Deutsches Institut für Normung (the German Institute for Industrial Standards) made it the standard font for German road signs, as it still is today.

My Web site designers chose a German road sign font for my Jewish Web site. I didn't feel good about this, but how big a problem is it? I wrote to two typographers who have posted intelligently on the Typophile forum (typophile.com). Here are some excerpts from their responses.

From Nick Shinn, a professional font designer (ShinnType.com):

You are right to be concerned about DIN's "bad karma." It was an official lettering design made during the Nazi era, and has been used in autobahn signage in Germany since before WW2. There is nothing particularly "Nazi" about the design, other than its associations. Of course it shouldn't be an issue any more, but human nature is what it is. I don't have a problem with Germans or anything German, but my father for instance, who was a child in London during the Blitz, would never drive a German car or holiday in Germany. And of course, for many Jews the situation is one of the utmost sensitivity, so I really don't think you can afford to risk the situation that even one know-it-all type nerd might cry foul, because, if not a public relations disaster, it would be a nasty situation that could be easily avoided.

From William Berkson, Ph.D., a Jewish typophile, philosopher, author of Jewish Family Values Today, and executive director of The Jewish Institute for Youth and Family, Inc.

Personally, I wouldn't have a problem as a Jew using DIN, as it was created before the Nazi era, and continues to be used after. It really has German associations, rather than Nazi ones.

Like Nick's father, my late parents would never, never buy anything German. However, as the generation actually guilty of murdering Jews is now mostly gone, I personally don't think that attitude is justified any longer.

The chances of your use of DIN being complained about are extremely remote.

So what did I do about my Web site... well, I've largely removed Mr. DIN... but it is still there in places until I can get around to changing it. Those most curious, take a look and see if you can find it.

Extramarital Internet Hookups

I've been meeting people on the Internet... and my husband approves. I haven't met so many people online since I JDated back in 2003. Then, it wasn't unusual for me to meet three or four different Internet strangers a week. As a married woman, I sometimes miss those moments of anticipation ("will he look like his picture?"). Now, in pursuit of e-commerce, once again I am chatting with strangers and meeting up for coffee. It's different, but no less exciting. And so far, my business-related Internet hookups have been as successful as my romance- related ones (I met my husband on Matchmaker, a now- defunct Internet dating site).

Last Saturday we held a photo shoot for our new game, No Limit Texas Dreidel. We needed a nice Jewish girl to be the face of our product: pretty, wholesome-looking, and in her twenties. We are in our "mid-thirties"; if you are above the middle-age fault line of 35, you know people our age no longer know people their age. Trolling Myspace (browsing Atlanta/Female/Jewish), I found the perfect model but waited for weeks before contacting her, knowing that she'd likely be creeped out by strangers asking her to model. But after looking at the cost of professional models (and given that none of them look like real human beings anyway), I sent her the least creepy Myspace note possible, inviting her to Google me before she "My-plied." To my relief, she wrote back and agreed to talk about the project. She even remained enthusiastic about the project after I explained it required emoting with chocolate gelt. Before she showed up on Saturday, I was giddy with anticipation to meet my Internet hookup. To my pleasant surprise, that which so rarely does happened: She looked even better than her picture!