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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German Database Gives Access to Nazi-Looted Art
Cornelius Gurlitt is a curious man. The 80-year-old lived most of his life shut in his Munich apartment, rarely seeing visitors or leaving the house. His only companions were his 1,000 paintings, many of which are suspected of being looted from Jewish homes and bought from Nazi authorities by Gurlitt’s father during the Holocaust. As…
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Best Jewish Poetry of 2013
It has become the Forward’s tradition to highlight five memorable poetry releases of the year (see the 2010, 2011 and 2012 selections). And while some names may look familiar to our readers, others are appearing here for the first time. Please consider this list a conversation starter, and let us know who you would like…
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(Snow)Woman of the Wall
Jerusalem’s children get to play in snow only about once every 7 years. But when they do get that chance — as they did this past weekend as the country fell under a sheet of white ice — they take to it like pros. Facebook and Twitter lit up with photos uploaded from millennials from…
The Latest
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How Jennifer’s Bat Mitzvah T-Shirt Ended up in Africa
(JTA) — While reporting on the phenomenon of T-shirts originating in the U.S. and winding up in Africa, NPR Planet Money recently turned up a Bat Mitzvah T-Shirt in Nairobi and asked for help tracking down the owner. Hey Internet! Help us find the owner of THIS SHIRT http://t.co/kV2l7C6j3Z “Dancing w/ Toons @ Jennifers Bat…
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Theodore Bikel, Tevye Extraordinaire Celebrated at Symphony Space
The stars illuminating Symphony Space’s Peter Jay Sharp Theater at the December 2 “Miracle of Miracles” Hanukkah Gala were “Sunshine Boys” (almost 90) Theodore Bikel, (91 year young) Fyvush Finkel and (102 year sharp-as-a-tac stunner) Bel Kaufman. Honoree Bikel — who has portrayed Tevye more than 2500 times worldwide — witnessed the arrival of Hitler…
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‘American Hustle’ Inspired by Real-Life Jewish Conman
“American Hustle,” David O. Russell’s inventive and energetic take on the Abscam scandal, starts with a tone-setting (and laugh-inducing) placard on the screen: “Some of this actually happened.” But, of course, a lot of it didn’t, and in that terrain between fact and fiction, Russell and co-screenwriter Eric Warren Singer have re-imagined the story as…
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Tila Tequila Banned From Facebook
Did you think Tila Tequila had come to her senses and deleted her Facebook rant defending Hitler? Wrong. The D-list celebrity was banned from Facebook for 30 days and her previous entries removed from the social media platform. This was her response: So you want to talk about hypocrisy? Ok then let us talk about…
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Books Gary Shteyngart’s Star-Studded New Book Trailer
The nebbishy Russian-Jewish character author Gary Shteyngart has cultivated both in his books and in his public persona is back yet again in the humorous book trailer for his upcoming memoir, “Little Failure.” A bunch of Shteyngart’s friends, including James Franco, Rashida Jones and Sloane Crosley, play along with him in the video. The premise…
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Eric Roberts on What It’s Like to Play a Nazi
Actor Eric Roberts is pretty busy but he likes it that way. Roberts just wrapped “Escaping the Holocaust,” Josh A. Weber’s film about his own family. Weber’s grandfather, Max Fronenberg, spent a year digging a tunnel to escape a prison camp and saved 15 people but couldn’t convince the woman he loved to come with…
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Idina Menzel Hits Splitsville
Just when “Frozen” had you warm and fuzzy and believing in love, Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs have separated after a decade of marriage. “Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs have jointly decided to separate at this time,” reps for the couple told People magazine. “Their primary focus and concern is for their son. We ask…
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James-Franco-Printed Pants, Anyone?
James Franco’s ego has just reached new heights. The jack-(or James?)-of-all-trades actor recently posted a picture to Instagram of a shirt and pants combo featuring a pattern of his own lovely mug, with the caption: “Yum.” Some laughed, some cried, and some were genuinely excited. As one fan put it: “If this isn’t my Christmas…
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