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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Hanukkah YouTube Round Up: Eight Candles and a Shammas
It seems like so long ago that The Maccabeats warmed the hearts of millions and inspired thousands to take pop songs and make Hanukkah themed YouTube videos. Those friendly Yeshiva boys have split, seemingly, into StandFour and the intriguingly named The Maccabeats. While the schadenfreudistic side of me would love to see live footage of…
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Books Author Blog: Hurricane Sandy and Big Government
Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz is the Founder and President of Uri L’Tzedek, the Senior Rabbi at Kehilath Israel, and is the author of “Jewish Ethics & Social Justice: A Guide for the 21st Century.” Newsweek named Rav Shmuly one of the top 50 rabbis in America. His blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy…
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Stephen Fry Wrestles With Wagner
Stephen Fry has one of those faces you likely recognize but don’t know why. Did he live in the old neighborhood? Did you go to school with him? Or, as is the case, is he someone almost famous? Fry was a Golden Globe nominee for playing the title role in the 1998 film, “Wilde.” He’s…
The Latest
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Hasidic Gangnam Style
While you were eating latkes… A bunch of Brooklyn Hasidic men went totally Gangnam Style at a wedding. Their version is in Yiddish and English instead of Korean, and there’s no “sexy lady” involved—neither in the lyrics, nor on the dance floor. The video is quite a sight to behold: The late Amy Winehouse’s house…
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Celebs Tweet for Hanukkah
‘Tis the season to be tweeting. Celebs (Jewish and non-Jewish alike) took to the Twittersphere to send their Hanukkah greetings or to enlighten followers about the holiday. Here’s what some of them had to say in 140 characters or less: President Barack Obama: From our family to everyone celebrating Hanukkah, Chag Sameach. Lena Dunham: Happy…
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Books Author Blog: The Values We Live By
Earlier, Debra Band discussed how she visually expresses biblical stories and shared the back story behind “Arise! Arise!” Her blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For more information on the series, please visit: One of the remarkable things that I…
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Mel Brooks, Out of His Element
Spend an hour with Alan Yentob and you quickly realize just how good Dick Cavett is. Yentob hosts “Mel Brooks Strikes Back!” a conversation with the comic genius that premieres on HBO December 10 at 9 p.m. It comes a little more than a year after Cavett performed similar duties in another HBO special, “Mel…
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Sonny Berman: The Jazzing Jew
Earlier this year, the Library of Congress website analyzed an unpublished 1946 jazz recording which the Library acquired last year of a jam session in Oklahoma City featuring trumpeter Sonny Berman, a talent well worth remembering. Born Saul Berman in New Haven in 1925, Sonny was sassy, no-holds-barred, and witty, blithely adept at be-bop as…
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Hanukkah Videos Galore
We almost thought we weren’t going to have a selection of new Hanukkah videos to share with you this year. Particularly stressful was our waiting to see if the Maccabeats would come out with something. We waited and waited, and finally, they released their original “Shine” a mere two days before the first candle was…
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Honey Boo Boo’s Israeli Fan
As we learned earlier this week, Adam Levine doesn’t care much for Honey Boo Boo. But others clearly feel differently. Barbara Walters named the child beauty pageant contestant and reality TV star one of 2012’s Most Fascinating People. She also has an admirer in Adi Segal, who lives in Israel. Segal recently wrote Honey Boo…
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Books Author Blog: Festivus!
Earlier this week, Joshua Eli Plaut wrote about Jewish Santas. His blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For more information on the series, please visit: Festivus, the secular December holiday credited to a screenwriter of the 1990s television sitcom “Seinfeld,”…
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