Sundown: In Praise of Freaks

• Tired of always honoring Jewish saints like Golda Meir and Jonas Salk? Why not vote for your favorite Jewish “anti-hero,” complete with “accomplishments which are inseparable from their flaws”? Choices include photographer Diane Arbus (“multiple birth fetishist”) and rocker Joey Ramone (“freak”). [Washington DC JCC]
• He might not quite qualify as an anti-hero, and he’s certainly not short on adulation, but the definitely-flawed literary giant Philip Roth has received a 10,000 euro prize from Germany newspaper Die Welt. Staying true to national character, the publication lauds the author’s bang-up job portraying “the tragedy of human existence.” [Publishing Perspectives]
• Rapper Shyne, who changed his name to Moses Michael Leviy in prison, will be released today after serving nine years for assault. [Gossip and Gab]
• A blogger was stopped in her tracks from “making etrog jam and giving it out to women as a segula [charm] for easy delivery” when she learned that the citron fruits, not normally eaten, are heavily doused with pesticides. [Ingathered]
• Samaritans, a sect in the West Bank sometimes known as “Palestinian Jews,” celebrate their own version of Sukkot, with one main difference: they build their huts indoors. [China View]