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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A Maccabee Among Translators
The great poet Chaim Nachman Bialik (1873-1934) also produced translations that helped re-energize Modern Hebrew. Bialik’s renditions of Friedrich Schiller’s 1804 drama “Wilhelm Tell” and Cervantes’ “Don Quixote” are examples, as detailed in “The Russian Jewish Diaspora and European Culture, 1917-1937.” Yet Bialik’s “Quixote” was unfaithful to the original, according to an essay by Marianna…
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Books Author Blog: Revisions for the Paperback
Earlier this week, Theodore Ross wrote about the Manhattan eruv. 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: I found my first error in my book in this sentence in the introductory chapter,…
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Woody Harrelson on Holocaust Humor
No matter what he does, Woody Harrelson will always be known for his Emmy Award-winning role as Woody Boyd, the lovable, intellectually challenged bartender on the TV show “Cheers.” Since then, however, he’s built a career as a serious and intelligent actor, landing highly-praised roles in films such as “The Messenger” and “The People vs….
The Latest
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Tuesday’s Shmooze Celebrity Roundup
Sunday’s Emmys were a font of Shmooze celebrity news. First off, Mayim Bialik made Jewish moms and dads everywhere kvell at the awards ceremony on Sunday night when she gave a shout out during a red carpet interview to popular parenting blog, Kveller.com. Did you notice that “Two Broke Girls” star Kat Dennings was slouching…
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A Bad Date With Ehud Olmert
This month it was Israeli-British journalist Mira Bar-Hillel’s turn to write for the “I Once Met” column in The Oldie magazine, a UK publication aimed at a more mature audience. The timing couldn’t have been better, because she chose to write about her one — and only — date with disgraced ex-prime minister of Israel,…
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Joy Tomchin on Producing Movies and AIDS
Real estate investor Joy Tomchin never imagined her name on a movie marquee. But a phone call from a stranger changed that. David France, a journalist and author, had found Tomchin through mutual friends; would she consider producing his film? “I said, ‘Who is this guy? He’s just asking for money,’” she told the Forward….
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Monday’s Shmooze Celebrity Roundup
Claire Danes, who won an Emmy last night for her portrayal of CIA agent Carrie Mathison on “Homeland,” wows in a Tel Aviv fashion spread in the New York Times’ fashion magazine. In Israel to shoot scenes for the show, she posed in designs by Vanessa Bruno, Emporio Armani, Comme des Garçons, Louis Vuitton and…
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A Sneak Peek at ‘Girls’
For those of us who consider Lena Dunham’s “Girls” the latest necessary TV addiction — don’t deny it, this includes you — the release of a trailer (below) four months before the next episode is nothing but a tease. A cruel, mocking tease that we’ll nevertheless indulge in for the sake of seeing something —…
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Books Author Blog: Looking Up in New York
Theodore Ross is the author of “Am I a Jew?: Lost Tribes Lapsed Jews, and One Man’s Search for Himself.” 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: As this is my first…
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Gospel Trombone Choir for Atheist Jews
Even without its clever premise, Jacob Garchik’s latest album would still make for great listening. This is the sort of music that makes you stop in your tracks and mutter, “What is that?” It’s not every day that one hears a trombone choir — let alone one augmented with sousaphone and slide trumpet — playing…
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Friday’s Shmooze Celebrity Roundup
There’s lots to report for those who just can’t get enough news about Natalie Portman. Fans who take a keen interest in the actress’s choice of scripts learned that producer Tom Hanks is eyeing her for a starring role in his movie version of Erik Larson’s bestselling “In The Garden of the Beasts.” Those who…
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Film & TV The new ‘Superman’ is being called anti-Israel, but does that make it pro-Palestine?
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Fast Forward Tucker Carlson calls for stripping citizenship from Americans who served in the Israeli army
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Music ‘No matter what, I will always be a Jew.’ Billy Joel opens up about his family’s Holocaust history
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Culture She was my Hebrew school bully — and I finally learned what happened to her
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Nazi collaborator monuments Nazi collaborator monuments in Mexico
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