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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Howie Mandel’s New Gig
Howie Mandel is trying to bring the holidays to America all year round. Host of the popular game show ‘Deal or No Deal,’ Mandel will produce and host a new show based on the holiday game favorite, White Elephant in which players choose a present from a pile full of wrapped gifts. They unwrap it…
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The Many Outfits of Lipa Schmeltzer
The other week we reported on a shoot of Lipa Schmeltzer’s latest music video, in which the popular Hasidic singer dressed up in an Israel Defense Forces uniform, along with members of the Nahal Hareidi, or ultra-Orthodox division of the IDF. That video, titled “Mizrach,” has now been released. The army uniform is just one…
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Books Author Blog: Remembering the Camondos
Earlier this week, Kati Marton wrote about Paris’s black marble plaques and the subject of race in France. 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: Now that I live part-time in Paris,…
The Latest
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Edon Pinchot Steals Show — Again
Singing alongside a talking dog and nude glittery dancers, Edon Pinchot did it again. Performing to a standing ovation, the ‘Jewish Justin Bieber’ stole the show in the semifinal round of America’s Got Talent. After the clapping (and shrieking girls) had died down, Judge Howie Mandel proclaimed Pinchot “the best singer of the competition” with…
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Nominees for Israel’s Most Coveted Film Award
For Israeli filmmakers the most wonderful time of the year is almost here. No, it’s not Hanukka or even Christmas — it’s the Ophir awards. Recently the Israeli Academy of Film and Television announced its nominations for the 2012 awards, which will be distributed at a ceremony in September. Modeled after Hollywood’s Oscars, the Ophir…
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Judd Apatow’s Tech-Savvy Teen
“Maude Apatow is addicted to technology, even though she knows it is destroying her,” pronounces the Twitter bio of Maude Apatow. Remember her? She played Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann (her actual mother)’s daughter in ‘Knocked Up.’ Maude and her little sister were the two giggly blonde girls who teased Seth Rogen, the clueless Daddy-to-be….
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Israeli Pianist Seeks Missed Connections
Out of curiosity, especially after reading the restless intelligence and enticing spin he recently gave his work on this blog, I went on August 14 to hear young Israeli pianist David Greilsammer make his debut at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival with a late-night, hour-long performance of wide-ranging repertoire. What I experienced was interesting and…
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Penn State Axes Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’
Penn State University officials are removing Neil Diamond’s hit, “Sweet Caroline,” from their in-game rotation at sporting events, according to the New York Daily News. The song includes the popular lyrics, “Hands, touchin’ hands/Reachin’ out/touchin’ me/touchin’ you,” which could be viewed as inappropriate in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Sandusky was an assistant…
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Radio Days Are Here Again
Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree Nearly 30 years ago, when musician and musicologist Henry Sapoznik first stumbled across a cache of aluminum transcription disks of Yiddish radio shows from interwar America, little did he suspect that they would find a home at the Library of Congress. Abandoned in an attic, deposited in a dumpster,…
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Natalie Portman Stumps for Obama in Black
Natalie Portman stumped for President Obama on Saturday at the Nevada Women’s Summit, where she spoke about the president’s commitment to women’s rights. Portman has a history of flexing her political muscle. In 2008, she defended Hillary Clinton against sexist barbs and then made phone calls for Democratic nominee, Obama. Four years before that, Portman…
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Art Shamsky Named Israel Hardball ‘Ambassador’
Facing the likes of David Wright, David Ortiz, and Robinson Cano, Israel would need a miracle to win the 2013 World Baseball Classic. But they’ll have the right man on their side. Retired Mets great Art Shamsky will go to bat as Ambassador for Baseball in Israel. Shamsky was a key member of the 1969…
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