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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Coming Soon: Adam Yauch NYC Park?
You’ve got to fight for your right — to rename a New York City park for the late Beastie Boy Adam “MCA” Yauch. That’s the message from a fast-growing movement of fans who are urging legislators to rechristen Brooklyn’s State Street Basketball Courts — and possibly State Street Park — after the fallen Jewish rapper,…
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Video: Worst Seinfeld Episode Ever?
On “Watch What Happens Live” last night, Andy Cohen got Jerry Seinfeld to divulge some juicy secrets about his hit 90s sitcom, including which actresses had the worst breath and which episode he liked the least, the L.A. Times reports. The big loser? A third-season episode called “The Alternate Side,” in which Elaine’s 66-year-old boyfriend…
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Brooklyn Synagogue Wins $250,000 Grant
Brooklyn’s Congregation Beth Elohim is one of four winners in Partners in Preservation’s grant competition. An initiative by American Express, in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Partners in Preservation used a social media campaign enabling 40 historic places in New York to drum up support for their preservation projects. Congregation Beth Elohim…
The Latest
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Q&A: Philip Kaufman on Martin Buber and His Cat
Nearly a half-century after making his first film — the Hasidic-inspired “Goldstein” — director Philip Kaufman is having a moment. MoMA recently hosted a weeklong retrospective of his work, from brainy pop (“The Right Stuff”) to high art (“The Unbearable Lightness of Being”). Film scholar Annette Insdorf just published “Philip Kaufman” (University of Illinois Press),…
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Dan Savage Invites Brian Brown for Bible Debate
Dan Savage took National Organization for Marriage president Brian Brown at his word when he said he’d debate the Bible’s stance on homosexuality and marriage anytime, anyplace. Answering that public challenge, Savage issued an invitation of his own on his “Savage Love” podcast this morning. Brown has been asked to Savage’s house in Seattle for…
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Lea Michele’s 14 ‘Secret’ Tattoos
Come on, Lea Michele. The Shmooze is not in the habit of taking our favorite starlets to task for the silly things they say on late-night television, but Lea Michele’s chat with David Letterman last night caught our attention. Would it have killed the “Glee” star, who snagged spot #14 on Maxim’s straightforwardly salacious Hot…
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Bar Refaeli Tops Maxim’s Hot 100 List
Men say they appreciate the inner beauty of a woman, but it’s the outer kind that carries the day on Maxim’s new list of the world’s 100 hottest women. It is also evident that for this Maxim’s audience, beauty goes hand in hand with youth. Some of these women are awfully young, but thankfully there’s…
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Q&A: Taylor Mac on Fabulous Tenement Songs
Since moving to Manhattan to launch his performing career 17 years ago, composer, playwright and actor Taylor Mac has graced stages from Sydney to Spoleto to San Francisco. But the Obie Award-winning artist has never been invited to perform uptown — until now. On May 24, at The JCC in Manhattan, Mac will premiere “Sleep…
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Monday Music: The Face of Ladino Dream-Pop
Any artist working in “World Music” (likely the vaguest genre for which Billboard tracks sales) has to determine the role traditional sounds play in their compositions. They hang suspended between the present and the past; too much fealty to the canon and the recordings become academic exercises in evoking a world long gone. Update your…
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Law and Order: Special Yiddish Unit
So, you think there isn’t much work out there in the public sector for Yiddish speakers, right? Well, think again. If you just happen to speak the mameloshn and have always wanted to serve the public, then there’s a job for you. It seems the police department in Israel’s capital is looking for native Yiddish…
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Einstein Museum To Be Established in Jerusalem
Crossposted from Haaretz The Israeli cabinet approved the establishment in Jerusalem of an Albert Einstein museum on Sunday, which will display items from the estate of the man who is considered the greatest scientist of the 20th century. A sum of NIS 1 million from the budget of the Prime Minister’s Office’s national-heritage promotion program…
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Yiddish World A photo of my bubbe when Jewish stores still had Yiddish signs
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