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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Chelsea Handler Feud
There is apparently a feud going on between Today’s Talk hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb and Chelsea Handler. It all started when Handler called in sick at the last minute before a scheduled guest appearance on Gifford and Kotb’s show. Funny thing is she showed up feeling just fine on another show and…
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Books Do You Know These Jewish Jocks?
On Tuesday, Marc Tracy wrote about Jews in sports and Hollywood. 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: In the movie Airplane, a passenger asks for some “light” reading and is offered…
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The Two Davids of ‘Scandalous’
“Scandalous,” the new Broadway musical about evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, was written by Kathie Lee Gifford. No surprise there. Gifford is a well-known born-again Christian with, presumably, an interest in the work of a crusading missionary. But in a fit of ecumenical irony (or common sense), the two guys she picked to supply the bouncy,…
The Latest
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Why Philip Roth Will Keep Writing
We’ve reached a strange point in the ongoing saga, “Philip Roth: America’s Greatest Living Writer.” After releasing a new book every year from 2006 through 2010, he stopped without anyone noticing. In an interview with a French newspaper, partly translated by Salon on Friday, Roth announced that he was done writing novels. “Nemesis” would be…
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Sports Is Like Hollywood: They’re Both Jewish!
Marc Tracy is the co-editor of the new book “Jewish Jocks: An Unorthodox Hall of Fame.” 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: In “Operation Shylock,” Philip Roth wrote a passage that,…
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Guitar Pedals and Goat Strings
Shanir Blumenkranz’s extensive contribution to the world of radical Jewish music can only be compared to Robbie Shakespeare’s formative influence on reggae. Blumenkranz plays on numerous projects issued by the Tzadik label — so many of them, in fact, that his recognizable style of bass playing is virtually inseparable from the sound has come to…
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Russia Reverses Course on Boris Pasternak Doc
Russia’s Channel One commissioned “The Crime of Boris Pasternak” from Svetlana Rezvushkina’s Lavr Film Studio, and then — giving no reason — refused to air it upon its completion. Was it because the film wasn’t commercial enough? Or was it because the television station thought it wouldn’t interest young viewers? These are possible answers, but…
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Seinfeld Gives for Sandy
Celebs are still thinking and talking about Hurricane Sandy: Jerry Seinfeld has added an extra show to his current New York area stand-up tour. The comedian will donate the proceeds from that show in Long Island, along with those from two other sold-out shows planned for Brooklyn and Staten Island, to Hurricane Sandy relief. Bethenny…
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Roseanne Barr’s Presidential Run
Mazel tov to Rosanne Barr, who finished fifth in the presidential race. She garnered 48,797 votes across the country. Does that mean that the comedienne and activist is going to pack it in? Not at all. “I do not concede. In fact, I accept the job of unofficial President of the USA. I’ll serve Main…
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Where Diamonds Are A Londoner’s Best Friend
What 47th street is to New Yorkers, Hatton Garden, a street and area in the district of Holborn, has long been for Londoners a place to buy and sell jewelery. “Diamond Street: The Hidden World of Hatton Garden,” an anecdotally discursive, impressionistic history, was published by Hamish Hamilton. Its author, artist and writer Rachel Lichtenstein,…
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‘Selected Shorts’ Host Isaiah Sheffer Dies at 76
Radio personality Isaiah Sheffer died today in New York at age 76. Sheffer was co-founder and artistic director of the performing art center Symphony Space on the upper west side of Manhattan, and was known nationally as the long time host of the public radio series “Selected Shorts,” which began in 1985. Sheffer started Symphony…
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