The Schmooze lies at the intersection of high and low culture. Here, the latest developments and trends in Jewish art, books, dance, film, music, media, television and theater are all assimilated into one handy pop culture blog.
The Schmooze
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How London Fell Hard for Middle Eastern Food
Getty Images “Quietly, unexpectedly — and without anybody bothering to consult me — Jewish food has become really, really good,” The Guardian’s food critic Jay Rayner said at London’s Jewish Book Week earlier this month. “Frankly, I’m appalled.” Rayner was referring to London’s new love affair with Middle Eastern food. Salt beef and bagels and…
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Watch Bette Midler Sing Kim Kardashian Tweets
What’s better than mocking a Kim Kardashian tweet? Hearing Bette Midler sing them out loud. During an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Monday, the Broadway star took the comedian’s signature bit, “Celebrities Read Mean Tweets,” one step further, belting out such gems as: “Ugh, I hate falling asleep with all my makeup on,” and…
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Peter Max Paints Frank Sinatra
The Peter Max March 2 opening night private reception for his “Peter Max Paints Sinatra” extravaganza was wall-to-wall and shoulder-to-hip-with celebrities, friends, admirers and Max collectors. Among the evening’s eye-catching beauties and “names” — Tony Danza,, Steven Van Zandt, Elaine Sargent and several Russian-accented stunners. When I told 74-year-old (and still fabulous) Nancy Sinatra — there with her…
The Latest
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Ruth Bader Ginsberg is So Cool, She Has Her Own Lego Figure
Maia Weinstock Forget Lego Friends — MIT news editor Maia Weinstock has created custom legos any mother would love to have her daughters (and sons!) play with. A real life (Lego) Justice League! In honor of International Women’s Day (Sunday, March 8), Weistock created a custom lego set of the four Supreme Court women justices. Including…
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Behind the Scenes With The New Yorker’s Fiction Maven
Photo courtesy Jewish Book Week London As fiction editor of The New Yorker, Deborah Treisman’s job is one of the most enviable in the literary world. It is certainly one of the most influential. In fact, The New York Times described it as a job that carries the literary clout equivalent of St. Peter at…
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Ben Bram Wants to Bring A Cappella Back to the Masses
Kevin Olusola, Ben Bram, Scott Hoying, Mitch Grass, Kirstie Maldonado and Avi Kaplan of Pentatonix at the Grammys // Getty Images Back when we rounded up 11 Jewish Things To Watch For At the Grammys, we directed your attention to the main televised performance that featured on screen. But a few hours before Tony Bennett…
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Video Killed the Bar Mitzvah Boy
(JTA) — Another slick bar mitzvah invitation video of questionable taste has gone viral. This time it’s for the impending bar mitzvah of Brody Criz, whose invitation consists of him starring in a Jew-ified medley of pop-song parodies — including one of “Blurred Lines,” the song to which Miley Cyrus famously twerked. Fortunately, Criz doesn’t twerk,…
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Remembering Cardinal Egan, Who Studied Hebrew in Rome
Cardinal Edward Egan — who died on March 5 at 82 of cardiac arrest — was a frequent welcome presence at Jewish-related events. My last chat with him was at the December 19, 2012 “Vodka and Latke” celebration honoring Rabbi Joseph Potasnik’s “Special Birthday” [his 65th] held at the New York City Fire Museum. Addressing a political…
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‘When Blood Ran Red’ Drama Wins Playwriting Prize
Ben Gonshor The first-ever David and Clare Rosen Memorial Play Contest, an international playwriting competition for projects with Jewish and Yiddish themes, has chosen its winner, Montreal-based Ben Gonshor. His historical drama “When Blood Ran Red” chronicles the friendships between African-American actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson and leading Soviet Jews after World War…
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This Kid Just Won the Bar Mitzvah Video Wars
Move over, Sam Horowitz. I dub thee Brody Criz, King of Bar Mitzvah videos. The soon-to-man has created what is probably the most insane bar mitzvah invite ever by parodying Pharrell, John Legend, Lorde, “Frozen” and others who shall remain nameless — gotta keep a little mystery. I both love and respect this kid and…
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PHOTOS: In Israel, Purim is the Biggest Party Ever
Forget about Halloween! Purim is the real party in Israel. Every year, thousands of children head to school dressed up in their finest costumes, their mishloach manot in hand. That goes for grown ups too (any excuse to tap into your inner child). In cities across the country, big parades, called Adloyada, travel through town,…
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