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
Jews in Narnia
Earlier this week, Lavie Tidhar wrote about his fixation on historical figures and being compared to Philip K. Dick. His blog posts are being featured this week 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: Michael Weingrad made…
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Friday Film: One Last Pin Prick
Naomi Jaye does not speak a word of Yiddish, but that is not stopping her from making the first contemporary Yiddish-language feature film in Canada, and only the second in North America. The 38-year old writer, director and producer is busy with pre-production on “The Pin,” which will begin filming in March 2012 in Toronto…
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North Carolina Rabbi Welcomes Immigrants
A rabbi in North Carolina is letting people know — in a big way — about the biblical injunction to welcome the stranger. Rabbi Eric Solomon of Beth Meyer Synagogue in Raleigh is a member of a Uniting N.C., an interfaith coalition that has put up billboards in support of immigrants. “Once they’re here, the…
The Latest
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Jewish ‘Nutcracker’ Comes to San Francisco
Tired of the same old Nutcracker? Looking for a new — and Jewish — twist on that holiday classic? Look no further than “The Jewish Nutcracker, A Maccabee Celebration” in San Francisco. World Dance Fusion is presenting this holiday season a performance that unites the Tchaikovsky’s score with a fusion of various international dance genres….
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Pictures at the JCC
Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree When American Jews first discovered the Jewish community center, or JCC, way back in the 1920s, what drew them in droves was the novelty of its indoor pool and well-equipped gym. Today, the JCC’s constituents are just as likely to be drawn by the art on the walls as…
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Liz Taylor’s Jewels Fetch $116 Million
It is no secret that Elizabeth Taylor loved jewelry. The fact that her signature fragrance was called White Diamonds was a big hint, as was the fact that she always appeared in public laden with baubles and bangles (the real kind). So, it may not come as a shock that the auction of Elizabeth Taylor’s…
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Dancing Through Exhibits
Crossposted from Haaretz When Sharon Lockhart was 22 and backpacking in Israel, in the early ’80s, she spent two months tomato-picking in a moshav in southern Israel, saving up for her next destination — India. Back then, one could hardly guess that decades later she would return, a successful artist, studying Noa Eshkol’s work and…
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Hanukkah, Festival of Black Lights
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you combined Hanukkah with an electroclash dance party? The Brooklyn art collective CHERYL have, and this year, they’re holding their own version of the festival of lights complete with fake blood, glitter, and, of course, jelly doughnuts. Their part-disco part-performance art project, “CHERYL does CHANUKAH,” will be…
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Out and About
The latest issue of the Laba Journal is out: “The Laba Guide to Noah’s Ark.” Muslim silversmith Kamai Rubaih is helping to preserve the art of Yemeni Jewish silver jewelry. Shane Baker tries to give away “A Biographical Dictionary of Yiddish Writers in the Soviet Union.” Catholics in Paris protested against a so-called “blasphemous” play….
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Ohio Doctor Still Practices at 100
Dr. Fred Goldman, who celebrated his 100th birthday on December 11, is still going strong — not by relaxing in retirement, but by working. Goldman is the oldest licensed physician practicing medicine in Ohio. The doctor still works three full days a week, seeing patients in his non-computerized office (he calls it “the dump”), and…
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Paul Mazursky From ‘Curb’ to Warsaw and Beyond
At 81, Brooklyn-born screenwriter and director Paul Mazursky may be most familiar to some HBO-TV viewers as Sunshine, the ill-fated poker dealer in “The Sopranos” and Norm, strictly unamused by Larry David’s antics in “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” A new book, “Paul on Mazursky,” out from Wesleyan University Press this fall, reminds us that Mazursky’s varied…
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