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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Adam Lambert Outsells Adele
Glamberts rejoicing because their idol has made it to the number one spot on the Billboard chart. In what After Elton is calling a historic achievement, Adam Lambert is the first openly gay artist to have made it to the top. Lambert came close when his first album, “For Your Entertainment,” made it to the…
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Friday Film: Debbie Goodstein on ‘Mighty Fine’
The film “Mighty Fine” is ostensibly about the fictional Fine family — a Holocaust survivor mother, a father with temper issues and two daughters who bear the weight of his problems. Joe Fine (Chazz Palminteri) means well. It’s the 1970s, he’s in the rag trade and business is bad. Even moving the family and business…
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Barry Manilow: I’m Not Like Joan Rivers
In anticipation of a performance in Dublin yesterday, singer Barry Manilow sat down for a cozy conversation with the Independent. There was some talk of “Mandy,” “Can’t Smile Without You” and “Copacabana,” but for the most part, Manilow used the opportunity to reveal some interesting tidbits about his family’s past, as well as about his…
The Latest
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Their Parents Were Nazis
Monika Hertwig remembers leaving a screening of Schindler’s List suffering from shock. “I kept thinking this has to stop, at some point they have to stop shooting, because if it doesn’t stop I’ll go crazy right here in this theatre,” she told the BBC this week. Hertwig’s not a daughter of Holocaust survivors. She’s not…
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Naomi Campbell and the Palestinian Press
Supermodel Naomi Campbell has found herself at the center of a row over press freedom in the Palestinian Authority. She has just spent her 42nd birthday in Bethlehem, where she lit candles in the Church of the Nativity. “As much traveling as I’ve done, I’ve never come here,” she told a Palestinian television station., going…
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Q&A: Barry Sonnenfeld on ‘Men in Black’
Understandably, Barry Sonnenfeld seems surprised by the question. He pauses briefly, chuckles and then says, no, he doesn’t believe any of the Men in Black are Hasidim. “But,” he quickly, adds, “some of them could be in disguise.” As far as he knows, none of the MIB aliens are Jewish, either. “I don’t really think…
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Israeli Horror Comes to Life
“THE STATE OF ISRAEL IS UNDER ATTACK,” blares the headline in May’s Rue Morgue magazine. But the threat’s not coming from the usual suspects. This time, it’s zombies, serial killers and apocalyptic plagues that have the country on high alert. And it’s happening on the big screen. Israeli horror is finally coming into its own…
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Video: Bar Refaeli Can’t Get a Date
It turns out that landing the number one spot on Maxim’s Hot 100 list doesn’t necessarily mean that you can get a date — at least according to Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli, who went on Conan last night to talk about her Maxim picture. “No one hits on me. No one flirts on me,” she…
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Yee-Haw! Natalie Portman To Star in Western
We’ve seen the talented Natalie Portman play all different kinds of roles, from Luke Skywalker’s mother Padme Amidala in “Star Wars” to ballerina Nina Sayers in “Black Swan” to the ill-fated Anne Boleyn in “The Other Boleyn Girl.” Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, we will be treated to seeing her star in a western….
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Eau de Michael Bloomberg
These days, so many celebs have their own signature fragrance — so why not New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg? That’s what environmental activist Philippe Cousteau Jr. proposed on Monday evening at the Fragrance Foundation’s 40th Anniversary FiFi Awards. “Someone asked me long ago, if you could go diving or into the jungle or on an…
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Books Author Blog: The Magic of Summer Camp
Earlier this week, National Jewish Book Award winner Jonathan Krasner discussed his use of the word “boys” in “Benderly boys.” 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: When my 10-year-old daughter heads…
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Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
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Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
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News School Israel trip turns ‘terrifying’ for LA students attacked by Israeli teens
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Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
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Culture Cardinals are Catholic not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?
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Fast Forward Halal restaurant opening in Congress is like ‘Muslim conquest of Jerusalem,’ says GOP congressman
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Fast Forward Germany formally classifies far-right AfD party as extremist, in blow to Nazi-linked populist movement
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Fast Forward Trump taps shock jock Sid Rosenberg and a Haredi newspaper publisher for Holocaust Memorial Council
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