I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the two new flags that have shown up on my flag counter, so vitejte to my first visitors from the Czech Republic and to Switzerland, bienvenue or wilkommen, depending on which part of the country you come from.
I originally started this blog to catalog my thoughts and stories, but I’ve deviated from that somehow with rants and videos and other things. I do have more stories to share, plenty more, and maybe they’ll emerge in the coming days of highway boredom, starting tomorrow when my dad and I begin the drive back to Wisconsin.
But for today, I digress…to present the very first edition of:
That’s So Jacob: Pop Culture Showdown
Episode 1: The War of the Roses.
In recent years, Israel has needed more nurses and carers for the elderly and the handicapped than they can supply, so more and more people from the other end of Asia are recruited to fill those gaps. They come from many countries, but mostly from the Philippines. The growing numbers of Filipino caretakers in Israel has even made the word “Filipino” synonymous with “nurse.” It doesn’t matter if they’re a Thai Filipina, an Indian Filipina, a Vietnamese Filipina…they’re all in the same category. Their growing numbers have created a presence in the country, and among them is 47-year-old Rose Fostanes, who just today won the first season of Israel’s version of the reality competition, The X Factor. Called Israel’s Susan Boyle, she is expected to become a musical success even though she will probably go back to her job as a caregiver, because that’s why she’s in Israel in the first place. For no good reason, I have put her up against actress/comedienne/Presidential candidate Roseanne, the original “domestic goddess.” Let’s see how it goes.
Age?
Rose: 47 as of last week.
Roseanne: 61. Man does she look rough.
Religion?
Rose: Christian
Roseanne: Mormon/Jewish/Kabbalah/Twitter
Sexuality?
Rose: Openly lesbian, and in a relationship.
Roseanne: Straight, but probably had a lesbian phase. Currently dating after three failed marriages.
Relationship to LGBT?
Rose: See above.
Roseanne: Very liberal. Has several gay siblings and included a multitude of gay characters on Roseanne, including primetime TV’s first gay kiss, and probably the first lesbian kiss as well. Roseanne felt that her show should strive to represent a microcosm of America, and that microcosm included gay people, which no other show did at the time.
Relationship to Israel:
Rose: Um, duh, she just won a reality competition there.
Roseanne: Aspiring to be the next Prime Minister of Israel.
Island of Choice:
Rose: Luzon, the Philippines, where she was born.
Roseanne: The Big Island of Hawaii, where she is in runs a nut farm.
Years of Television Experience:
Rose: Since the 26th of October, 2013.
Roseanne: 26 years (Roseanne premiered on the 18th of October, 1988).
Degrees of Separation:
Rose: 2. Apparently, she’s a friend of a good friend of mine, who sang with her and her band from time to time at Tel Aviv bars.
Roseanne: I have no idea.
Regrettable Round Hairstyle Choice:
Rose: Her audition look. Grown out and better-styled over the course of the series.
Roseanne: Around Season 2, when she got the “Dorothy Hamill” cut.
Vocal Claim to Fame
Rose: Her audition for The X Factor, “This is My Life,” by Shirley Bassey.
Roseanne: Her infamously screechy, profanity-laced, saliva-laden rendition of the National Anthem, which is pretty much all you need to know. But she can sing, and in Hebrew, too:
WINNER:
It was a close one, but congrats, Ms. Fostanes – show ’em how it’s done, tulip.
Let’s get a reaction shot from the runner-up:
Typical Roseanne, always with the shade-throwing. Better luck next time.
That’s So Jacob 