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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On Walk of Fame, ScarJo Thanks Jewish Mom
Jewish mothers — the butt of so many jokes — don’t always get the respect they deserve. For that reason, the Shmooze commends Scarlett Johansson for specifically thanking her own Jewish mother as she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday. Posing in front of her star in a black and…
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Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch Dies at 47
Adam Yauch, a member of the seminal hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, has died at age 47. Yauch, also known as MCA, had been treated for cancer since 2009. Brooklyn-born Yauch founded the Beastie Boys in 1979 with Mike “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horowitz. They achieved fame in 1986 with their first full-length…
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Books Author Blog: Blazing Saddles It Wasn’t
Earlier this week, Gerald Kolpan shared the story behind Eli Gershonson, a photo gallery of some of the historical figures in his novel, and the story behind how he came to write “Magic Words.” His blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog…
The Latest
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Video: Camp Ramah Gets Shout-Out on ‘Girls’
Whether or not they are fans of the new hit HBO series “Girls,” former Camp Ramah-niks may want to tune into this week’s episode on Sunday at 10:30. In the episode, titled “Camp Friend,” their summer home-away-from-home gets a shout-out. Now, would that technically be product placement or guerilla marketing? Doesn’t matter — either way,…
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Two Men Charged With Stealing Kabbalah Books
Crossposted from Haaretz Two Jerusalem men have been charged with stealing rare, ancient Judaic books, estimated to be worth tens of thousands of dollars, from the Israel National Library. Yisrael Pinto, 26, and Yekutiel Barkman, 23, used false documents to steal 18th-century books, according to the indictment submitted to Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court about two weeks…
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Friday Film: Poetry of Sign Language
In feature films the deaf have made for exotic yet sympathetic characters. From Jane Wyman as the saintly eponymous innocent in “Johnny Belinda” (1948) to Marlee Matlin’s Oscar-winning turn as a self-possessed, sexually confidant woman in “Children of a Lesser God” (1986), their portrayal measures our society’s slow acknowledgment that the deaf are, well, people….
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High Hopes for High Israeli Voices
In London last June, an Israeli voice of world-class beauty rang out in the storied Wigmore Hall, part a concert of Italian Baroque, Ladino, Hebrew and cantorial music. 34-year-old countertenor Yaniv d’Or, who studied at Jerusalem’s Rubin Academy and the UK’s Guildhall School of Music, “enthralled” one English critic with his “smooth toned, powerfully resilient”…
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Popchips: Racist, But Kosher?
Popchips execs didn’t have cultural sensitivity in mind when they had Ashton Kutcher (with brown-face make-up and a sing-song Indian accent) comically portray a Bollywood producer named Raj in the company’s latest advertising video. The commercial has been yanked and Popchips has apologized to the Indian-American community for its $1.5 million misstep. The offending Popchips…
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Slideshow: Noam Galai and ‘The Stolen Scream’
There’s a good chance you’ve seen Noam Galai’s face — even if you’ve never heard of him. That’s because a 2006 photo he took of himself screaming has been copied and used without permission by people, groups and companies around the world. “The Stolen Scream,” as the photo is called, has gone viral, appearing on…
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Israel’s National Library Redesigns Despite Protests
Crossposted from Haaretz Over the vocal protests of hundreds of Israeli architects, the National Library is moving forward with a controversial competition to select a firm to design its new home. Earlier this year, over 750 Israeli architects called on the organizers of the competition to call it off and launch a new one. The…
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Even Shimon Peres Can’t Afford To Fly El Al
When it comes to international air travel, Israeli President Shimon Peres, is just like the rest of us. He’s getting slammed by airline baggage fees and is shopping around for the best deals. So, that’s why he’s flying Air Canada instead of El Al. The 88-year-old balked at the $4,700 fee Israel’s national carrier was…
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News Is the crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism the new Red Scare?
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