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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Books
Author Blog: Mother/Writer
Earlier this week, Ramona Ausubel wrote about why she’s a writer and not an actress. 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: I have been a writer for my whole adult life….
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Bono: ‘Hope Springs Eternal’
U2 front man Bono surprised Israeli passers-by earlier this month with his sudden visit to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. On Wednesday, BuzzFeed published the note Bono left behind at Jerusalem’s King David Hotel, which consists of a poem about how “hope is like a faithful dog,” and his sketch of “a dog called Hope.” “In…
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Q&A: Screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin on ‘Ghost’
Screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin is standing in the back of the Lunt-Fontanne Theater just off Broadway watching his latest baby, “Ghost: The Musical,” unfold. Rubin won an Academy Award for his screenplay about, well, a ghost. He never imagined it as a musical. Yet here it is. Already a smash hit in London (tickets have…
The Latest
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Roseanne Barr Calls for End to Mommy Wars
The last time The Shmooze noticed what the outspoken Roseanne Barr was up to, she had just announced that she was running for the Green Party’s presidential nomination. Now, we’ve taken note that she has inserted herself into the recent debate ignited by Hilary Rosen’s comments about Ann Romney’s “never having worked a day in…
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Broadway ‘Porgy and Bess’ Rests on Lead Roles
The avowed intention of director Diane Paulus and writer Suzan-Lori Parks in “reimagining” “Porgy and Bess” was to invest the opera with a sensibility that would reach modern audiences and “fully realize the characters.” That is, they hoped to achieve a theatrical authenticity they believed was missing in the original. Their statements, which included a…
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Calling Out Ricky Gervais for Anti-Semitism
Jon Stewart seemed uncomfortable with some of the things guest Ricky Gervais was saying about famous Holocaust victim Anne Frank and the Nazis on the Daily Show on April 11. But while Stewart took it no further than trying to humorously push back at Gervais during their broadcast conversation, a guy in Boston named Dan…
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Holocaust Doc Bought by Austrian Company
Crossposted from Haaretz An Israeli documentary about four siblings who retrace their father’s experiences during World War II, when he worked in the stone quarries of the Gusen concentration camp in Austria, has been bought by Austrian distribution company Timm Film. David Fisher’s “Six Million and One,” which is showing now in Israeli theaters, will…
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Aung San Suu Kyi Wins Elie Wiesel Award
Political unrest at home will keep her from attending in person. But Aung San Suu Kyi, the iconic political activist who endured years of persecution before winning a seat in Burma’s parliament this year, will be honored with The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Elie Wiesel Award at a glittering ceremony at National Harbor in…
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Lisa Edelstein Gets Naked for PETA
Actress Lisa Edelstein bared all — literally — in a campaign for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, known by its acronym PETA. She posed lying nude on what appears to be a bed of super-sized leafy greens for a poster encouraging people to try vegetarianism. The phrase “Eat Green to Go Green” is…
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What Is the Use of Judaic Studies?
Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree These days, people (i.e. parents) often ask me about the utility of Judaic Studies, especially when it comes to finding a job in a rocky economy like ours. In response, I go on and on about the ways in which Judaic Studies hones one’s critical skills, facilitates a multi-disciplinary…
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Jody Rosen on New Jewish Culture
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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