Jewish comedy not just a punchline

If comedy is your poison of choice, you’re in luck: There’s a nine-day supply available at this year’s Toronto Jewish Film Festival.

Although the lineup includes the usual assortment of dramas (including last year’s Oscar-nominated Beaufort), history lessons (Everything is Personal, about the long-time feud between Israeli leaders Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres) and offbeat Holocaust films (The House on August Street), festival organizers seem to have laboured especially hard to inject the schedule with cinematic and televised comedy.

“It’s part of what we call our sidebar programming,” festival curator Ellie Skrow says. “We did Jews and black music two years ago, and blacklisted screenwriters last year. This year, it’s comedy. Some of these films were quite hard to get. That’s what I try to do: find material not readily available.”

Uma Thurman ‘freaked out’ by accused stalker

NEW YORK — Uma Thurman’s hands shook slightly and her lips quivered as she told a jury about the bizarre card she received from her accused stalker.

It bore a drawing of an open grave, a headstone and a man standing on the edge of a razor blade. A spiral of random words — the actress read some aloud — referred to “chocolate, mouth, soft, kissing” and declared, “My hands should be on your body at all times.”

“I was completely freaked out,” Thurman testified Thursday at Jack Jordan’s trial. “It was almost like a nightmare; it was scary.”

Jordan occasionally drummed lightly on the table with his fingers during the “Pulp Fiction” actress’ testimony, rarely looking in her direction. Defence lawyer George Vomvolakis said he had instructed Jordan not to stare at Thurman while she testified “because we don’t want to make her uncomfortable.”

The actress said Jordan had tried unsuccessfully to get into her trailer while she was shooting the movie “My Super Ex-Girlfriend” in lower Manhattan’s SoHo area in November, 2005.

Patriotism eclipses Olympic torch protests in Hong Kong

HONG KONG — A patriotic crowd of Chinese citizens waving flags shouted down a group of pro-Tibetan protesters here today, as the Olympic torch began its journey through the streets of Hong Kong marking its return to Chinese soil after a controversial tour of 20 international cities.

Despite drizzle, thousands turned out for the event amid heavy security and vastly outnumbered demonstrators — some carrying Tibetan flags and pro-Tibetan placards — who had come to protest for democracy and human rights.

Police had to protect a 21-year-old university student, identified as Christina Chan, who draped herself in a Tibetan flag, then defiantly waved it on high towards the crowd.

She was packed into a police van as an angry crowd shouted obscenities at her.

No friction here

TORONTO — Despite reports to the contrary, Toronto Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell and club president and general manager Bryan Colangelo are on the same page as they try to put last season behind them and focus on the future.

“I met Sam [on Wednesday] and it was a normal, end-of-season meeting,” Colangelo said yesterday. “We discussed a lot of things – the season, the off-season, the state of the team, our relationship, everything. It was a good meeting and we both walked out of the room on the basis that he was coaching the team moving forward. I thought I put this to rest the other day, but let me say this: We have no intention of making a coaching change, period.”

Mitchell’s future in Toronto was in the news again because of story on Yahoosports.com quoting unnamed sources that the two were engaged in “constant confrontations” this season over tactics, in particular the stalled development of sophomore centre Andrea Bargnani.

Father charged in connection with Yellow Quill deaths

Christopher Pauchay’s family believes he is “suffering enough” and does not need to face a criminal trial in the freezing deaths of his two young daughters on the Yellow Quill First Nation three months ago.

Tracey Jimmy, Pauchay’s common-law wife and the mother of the girls, said in a phone interview Thursday her husband plans to plead not guilty to the charge of criminal negligence causing death.

And she will support him through his upcoming trial.

Canadian telescope to search for nearby asteroids

OTTAWA – Canada is preparing to launch the first space mission ever to search for asteroids between Earth and the sun – the type of asteroid most likely to slam into our planet.

Fittingly for this country, the Near Earth Object Surveillance Satellite is not a Hubble-sized monster. It’s a 60-kilogram microsatellite, costing a mere $10 million (including the pricetag for launch) yet able to deliver science results never seen before.

NEOSSat will search for asteroids that are closer to the sun than Earth. These are nearly impossible to see from our planet’s surface – there’s too much atmosphere and sunshine – but easier to spot from space.

Nickelback singer fined in drinking-and-driving case

SURREY, B.C. — Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger will have to pay a $600 fine and spend a year without driving after a judge sentenced him Thursday for drunk driving.

Kroeger, whose real name is Chad Turton, was stopped for speeding in his red, $175,000 Lamborghini in suburban Surrey in June 2006.

His blood alcohol reading was 0.14, almost twice the legal limit.

Kroeger, 33, arrived in court well before the hearing Thursday morning wearing a long black trench coat.