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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Out and About
Take a look at a series of photos taken by a young Stanley Kubrick titled “Life and Love on The New York City Subway.” How Herman Göring’s younger brother Albert saved dozens of Jewish lives. Adam Kirsch reflects on a “quasi-novel” about the assassinated Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich. “The Steins Collect,” an exhibit at the…
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Sacha Baron Cohen Shocks on Aussie ‘Today’ Show
Sacha Baron Cohen ruined some Australians’ breakfast appetites when he appeared this morning on the country’s Today Show to promote his new movie, “The Dictator.” In fact, he seemed to be making the show’s hosts so uncomfortable that at times it looked like they themselves might toss their cookies right there on the set. Dressed…
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Books A Jewish Magician at the Egyptian Theater
Earlier this week, Gerald Kolpan shared the story behind Eli Gershonson and a photo gallery of some of the historical figures in his novel “Magic Words.” 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…
The Latest
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Hillary Clinton (Gently) Turns Down Jason Segel
Jason Segel is a guy who looks ahead and thinks big. While complimenting his current co-star Emily Blunt (“The Five Year Engagement”) in an interview with Us Weekly back in March, he mentioned that he’d ultimately like the chance to appear on the big screen together with another special gal. Segel wasn’t talking about Mila…
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Why ‘Dialogue’ Journal Is One-Sided
Anyone who starts publishing a journal must feel dissatisfied about something. The editors of “Dialogue: For Torah Issues and Ideas” seem to feel dissatisfied about you. In the journal’s first issue, which appeared approximately one year ago, the editors explained the need for their publication: “There is presently no platform for the intelligent, Torah-oriented discussion…
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Q&A: Harvey Pekar Publisher Josh Frankel
Josh Frankel is an unlikely publisher and an even more unlikely entrepreneur. Yet he’s the founder of Zip Comix, the publisher of “Cleveland” — the critically acclaimed posthumous work by underground comics legend Harvey Pekar, author of the long-running autobiographical series American Splendor. Both Frankel and I went to Drew University, where he was a…
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Maggie Gyllenhaal Welcomes Baby Girl
Mazel tov to actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard on the birth of their second daughter, Gloria Ray! The new sister for their 5-year-old daughter Ramona was born on April 19 in New York. With no more details forthcoming from the couple’s reps at this time, US Weekly resorted to pulling out archival quotes about…
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Will Israeli Writers’ Festival Ban Politics?
Crossposted from Haaretz When the director of the International Writers Festival in Jerusalem wants to convince international authors to attend the festival despite pressure to boycott it, she often trots out the fact that an opening speaker in 2010 criticized Israel in his comments. But now the festival is instituting a new requirement: Opening speakers…
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Did Shimon Peres Serve Non-Kosher Meat?
President Shimon Peres is a proud advocate of Jewish culture and respect for religion. But has he been serving his guests treyf? The Israeli media is abuzz with the rumor that meat for Peres’s Independence Day celebration was bought from a non-kosher Arab butcher. The news site NRG reported that the meat was bought in…
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Books Author Blog: Historical Figures in ‘Magic Words’
Visiting blogger Gerald Kolpan shares some of the historical figures in his latest novel, “Magic Words: The Tale of a Jewish Boy-Interpreter, the World’s Most Estimable Magician, a Murderous Harlot, and America’s Greatest Indian Chief.” His blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author…
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A New Wrinkle in the Sordid Dudu Topaz Case
It is the celebrity tragedy that simply can’t be laid to rest. Back in 2009, Dudu Topaz, the actor, TV personality and one-time star of Israeli entertainment, committed suicide in the Ramle prison cell where he had been held for the preceding three months. He had been charged with — and confessed to — hiring…
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