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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Video: Spinning Class With Max Greenfield
Max Greenfield, who plays Schmidt on “The New Girl,” has shown that you can turn some kibitzing into some tzedakah. A few weeks ago Vulture made up a mock cover for a workout video that it imagined Greenfield’s “lovably preening” Schmidt character might have made. It was all just a joke, but Greenfield kind of…
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‘The Dictator’ Meant Those Ashes for George Clooney
Whoops! You know those Kim Jong-il “ashes” that Sacha Baron Cohen — in character as the Supreme Leader of Wadiya — spilled all over Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet at the Oscars? Well, it turns out that they were originally meant for George Clooney…and that the provocateur is contrite over the incident. Last weekend,…
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Israel Museum to Feature Interactive Movie Screen
Crossposted from Haaretz A huge, interactive movie screen made by Israeli designer Ron Arad will be the backdrop to films and performances at the Israel Museum in August. The cylindrical installation at the Jerusalem museum is one of dozens of exhibits, events and activities that make up this year’s Jerusalem Season of Culture, which begins…
The Latest
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Remembering ‘Price Is Right’ Creator Bob Stewart
I was so obsessed with game shows like “The Price Is Right” as a 1970s kid that I would fake illness, skip school, and play along at home. Until today, I had no idea that the show’s creator, Bob Stewart, was born Isidore Steinberg to Russian immigrants. But I should have figured that a show…
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‘Wild Things’ Author Maurice Sendak Dies at 83
Maurice Sendak, author of beloved children’s books such as “Where the Wild Things Are” and “In the Night Kitchen,” died May 8 at age 83 of complications from a stroke. Sendak, who was born in Brooklyn to Jewish immigrants from Poland, broke the conventions of children’s literature with his dark and psychologically acute early books….
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Why Yiddish Matters
On May 15, Speakers’ Lab and the Forward will present a moderated town hall-style event called “Now What? The Future of New Jewish Culture” at the 14th Street Y in downtown New York City. In preparation for the event, each panelist was asked to respond to a question related to his or her work. The…
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Monday Music: Berlin Celebrates Amalia Beer
Amalia Beer was one of 19th-century Berlin’s preeminent salonieres. The Brothers Grimm and Humboldt, the poet Heinrich Heine and composer Felix Mendelssohn were all regular guests at her famous soirées. On May 6, this vanished world was briefly resurrected in the confines of the Berlin Philharmonic’s Chamber Music Hall with a program that combined music…
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Is Miguel Cotto’s ‘Kosher’ Tattoo Illegal?
While Puerto Rican boxer Miguel Cotto’s fight against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. this past weekend in Las Vegas was clearly fair (Cotto lost in a unanimous decision), Rabbi Jason Miller is questioning whether it was completely kosher. Actually, the rabbi was concerned not about what went on in the ring, but rather about what Cotto was…
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Books Author Blog: Historians, Biographers
Dr. Abigail Green is the author of “Moses Montefiore: Jewish Liberator, Imperial Hero.” 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: What makes a good biography? I thought about this question a lot…
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Israel Library Wants Kafka Manuscripts Online
Crossposted from Haaretz The National Library in Jerusalem has prepared a program for handling Franz Kafka’s manuscripts and promises to make them and other rare collections available on the Internet. However, the court has yet to rule on the fate of the Czech writer’s manuscripts. The manuscripts, part of the literary estate of Kafka’s close…
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Out and About
The New York Freudian Society is attempting to update its image by changing its name to the Contemporary Freudian Society. Listen to the only known recording of Freud speaking. Watch a previously unseen Beastie Boys video from the unaired third season of “Chapelle’s Show.” Director David Cronenberg will take a turn in front of the…
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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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News School Israel trip turns ‘terrifying’ for LA students attacked by Israeli teens
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Culture Cardinals are Catholic, not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?
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Music After decades of waiting, we’re finally getting a Bob Dylan-Barbra Streisand duet
In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward Explainer: What the Israeli occupation of Gaza would mean for Israelis and Palestinians
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Yiddish אויסשטעלונג אין אונגערן — רמזים פֿון הילצערנער שיל פֿון 18טן יאָרהונדערטExhibit in Hungary displays remnants of 18th century wooden synagogue
אינעם 18טן יאָרהונדערט איז די קהילה אין נאַזנאַ געווען די צווייט גרעסטע אין גאַנץ טראַנסילוואַניע.
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News Is the crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism the new Red Scare?
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Opinion Trump’s cuts are a war on Jewish literature, thought and history itself
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