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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Books
Ryan Braun Yanked from ‘Jewish Sports Stars’ Cover
If you’re Jewish, and a sports star, you probably have an assured spot in David J. Goldman’s “Jewish Sports Stars: Past and Present.” But if you’re found to be violating Major League Baseball’s enhancing drug policy, you might not make the cover. So it goes for Ryan Braun, the disgraced slugger who was suspended for…
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A Fashionista Sukkah
Observant Jews were pretty peeved when New York Fashion Week fell at the exact same time as Rosh Hashanah this year. But fast forward two weeks, and one member of the fashion elite is actually making religious observance easier, and more fashionable. Israeli-born fashion designer Elie Tahari has partnered with Joey Allaham, owner of Prime…
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Journey to the Heart of Alzheimer’s
To paraphrase a famous fundraising slogan, a mind is a terrible thing to watch wasting away. But that’s what filmmaker Alan Berliner does in his moving and lovingly motivated documentary, “First Cousin Once Removed,” premiering on HBO September 23. Berliner’s subject is his cousin, Edwin Honig (1919-2011), the noted poet, translator and teacher, who spent…
The Latest
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A ‘Criminal’ Emmy Omission
Adam Klugman is not pleased with what he sees as a “criminal” omission from last night’s Emmy ceremony. Sunday’s awards show failed to include his father, Jack Klugman, of “Odd Couple” and “Quincy” fame, in a special tribute planned for Cory Monteith, James Gandolfini, Jean Stapleton, Jonathan Winters and Gary David Goldberg. Klugman, who passed…
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Home for the Holidays
Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree “There’s more?!” exclaimed a colleague rather incredulously upon learning that I was going to be out of the office for the third time in as many weeks because of the chagim, the Jewish holidays. She didn’t know the half of it. Though they make a hash of my schedule…
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Andy Samberg Ties the Knot
Andy Samberg married Joanna Newsom this weekend, dashing the hopes of Jewish singles ladies everywhere in one fell swoop. The couple, who have been together for five years, tied the knot at the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur California, USA Today reported. Samberg, 35, and Newsom, 31 announced that he would be putting a…
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Lena Dunham’s Awful Emmy Dress
Unless you were hiding under a rock (or like me, don’t have the luxury of cable) you are probably aware that the Emmys were last night. TV’s greatest night gives stars a chance to shine, even if the characters they play often don’t (Bryan Cranston’s Walter White meth suit on “Breaking Bad” is one example)….
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A POW’s Unlikely Friendship in Lebanon
The drama and tension of life in the Middle East are a potential goldmine for filmmakers. Few have excavated that terrain more successfully than Israeli director Eran Riklis. “Zaytoun” (Olive), which opened in New York September 20, is his latest movie to examine the region’s politics in micro-terms. There was an Israeli Druze cross-border wedding…
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Stars and Theater Greats Gather to Fete Hal Prince
“How about an a photo for the Forward?” I asked Harold Prince during our chat at the September 16 American Theatre Wing’s “Hail the Prince of Broadway” Gala at the Plaza. Prince — winner of 21 Tony Awards for, among others, “Show Boat,” “Evita,” “Sweeney Todd”. “Candide,” “Cabaret” and “Fiddler on the Roof” (more than…
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Madonna’s Sukkot at Kabbalah Rabbi Memorial
Madonna, one of the world’s most prominent Kabbalah followers, decided to skip the funeral of mentor Rabbi Philip Berg — and instead attended a joyous memorial in New York. The mystic Material Girl joined other followers of Berg at kosher hot spot Prime at the Bentley hotel in Manhattan, the New York Post reported. The…
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James Franco, Paparazzo
James Franco is channeling Perez Hilton on his Instagram feed this week. The “This Is The End” star has made a collage of pictures showing him doing fairly innocuous things, complete with scandalous headlines scrawled in MS Paint. One set, captioned “James Franco in love?” shows him cuddling with another man, addressing the many jokes/rumors/quips…
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