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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Anastasia Michaeli: Gay People are Miserable
First it was scuffles and water fights in Knesset; now it’s homophobia. Anastasia Michaeli just doesn’t seem to get the conventions of normal inoffensive behavior. You probably remember the model turned politician from the ugly saga in January when she threw a cup of water at Israeli-Arab lawmaker Raleb Majadele during a Knesset discussion. Or…
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Adam Lambert Tops ‘Sexiest Men in Pop’ List
When it comes to sex appeal, it looks like Jewish pop stars have it. How else can The Shmooze account for the fact that three out of the 10 men on Billboard’s “sexiest men in pop” list are members of the tribe? Billboard polled 600,000 readers, who let it be known that the sexiest male…
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Books To Vitebsk and Back Again
“Do the dead know that life still exists, somewhere?” the 17-year-old literature-loving, sex-obsessed Samuel Glass asks in “The Odyssey of Samuel Glass.” Since his adored father’s sudden death, he is desperate to leave the confines of his north London suburban home. His desire to “get away from the doom-laden cloud that pervaded the house” is…
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Recipes Author Blog: Why Self-Publish?
Earlier this week, Pnina Jacobson and Judy Kempler wrote about the aging Jewish community and the Australian Jewish community. In today’s post, they discuss their decision to self-publish their cookbook One Egg Is A Fortune. Their blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author…
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Andy Samberg To Star in BBC Series
After seven seasons with Saturday Night Live, Digital Short darling and Jewish feminist Andy Samberg decided to leave the show earlier this summer. But Samberg fans shouldn’t fret. It won’t be long before his affably goofy face fills your screens once more — even if you don’t go see him in Adam Sandler’s latest vehicle,…
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White and Jewish, by the Numbers
Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree At first blush, numbers seem to be nothing if not neutral, especially when compared with words. Language makes known its intentions from the get-go; numbers, in contrast, don’t freely divulge their meaning and are susceptible to all manner of manipulation. Little wonder, then, that modern-day Jews have had a…
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Mom Helped Kid Paint Swastikas
When Jon Lovitz tweeted his outrage over an anti-Semitic act of vandalism in Southern California this April, his ire was directed primarily at a group of teenage girls he called bullies. Lovitz’s friends, parents of a teenage daughter, found feces left on their doorstep and swastikas and the word “Jew” painted in maple syrup in…
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Author Blog: One Egg Is a Fortune
Judy Kempler and Pnina Jacobson’s cookbook, “One Egg Is A Fortune,” is now available. Their blog posts are being 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 Egg Is A Fortune is a collection of recipes…
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Director David Weissman on the AIDS Epidemic
There is a heart-wrenching moment in “We Were Here,” David Weissman’s documentary about the AIDS crisis in San Francisco, which stands out from the rest of the film. Ed Wolf, an activist and one of the five people extensively interviewed by Weissman, remembers a conversation he had with the father of a hospitalized and infected…
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Gilad Shalit To Report on NBA Finals
Former Hamas captive and recently discharged IDF soldier Gilad Shalit has just landed his first post-army job — and it’s a plum one. A long-time sports fanatic (he’s especially fond of the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team), Shalit will be the new sports commentator for the leading Israeli newspaper, Yediot Ahronot. Israel’s Channel 2 News…
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Italian Soccer Star Taunted By Racist Fans
As many had feared, racism has reared its ugly head at Euro 2012. Italian football star Mario Balotelli was subjected to non-stop verbal abuse during the Italy-Spain match earlier this week at the Arena Gdansk in Poland. The Mirror reported that 300 Spanish fans made monkey chants at Balotelli, and that the stewards (ushers) thought…
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