The Kustanowitz Kronikle 25 Years of Purim Parody

In the summer of 1987, IBM introduced its first laser printer, ushering in a new world of desktop publishing for users of the IBM Personal Computer (PC). Al Kustanowitz was an early user of the new printer and associated desktop publishing software. As a member of the IBM marketing team for the new technology, he created examples to demonstrate how it could be used for business and home printing. One of those examples was a family newsletter that he called The Kustanowitz Kronikle.When Purim came around the next year, Al, long a fan of creating Purim parodies, came up with the first Purim issue of the Kronikle. It was distributed to a small group of family and friends. Once bitten by the Purim parody bug, he worked to create an even funnier issue year after year.As the years went by, the distribution list grew and grew. When the Kustanowitz Kids overcame their embarrassment and started to share the Purim Kronikle with their friends, they were recruited to contribute funny parody descriptions of the most popular movies of the previous year. Because the Academy Awards were presented shortly after Purim, they appeared as the Kronikle’s Oscar picks.In 2004 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences moved their telecast from March to February, before Purim. So with the Oscars already awarded, the Kronikle created its own Silver Gragger awards to be announced each year on Purim.This book is a collection of the first 25 years of the Purim Kustanowitz Kronikle. Future issues will be posted each Purim on Al’s blog, Jewish Humor Central (www.jewishhumorcentral.com).