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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German Judaica Exotica Kitsch Minimal Techno
It’s always dangerous to post a video that you don’t really understand. It’s too amazing a piece to pass by without mention, so apologies if this YouTube feature includes nudity, blasphemy, banal repetition or racism — I don’t think it does. It certainly does have strange 70s looking beards, obscure rituals and someone who looks…
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‘Massive Liquidity’: Poetry and Art Rock
“All art constantly aspires towards the condition of music” Walter Pater famously wrote. While this statement is usually understood in terms of an author’s subconscious intentions, and an artwork’s ability to transcend its form and content, there are some artists who purposefully make their works musical. This is certainly true of Steve Dalachinsky, and not…
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Jewish Man Sues Na’amat for Discrimination
In some Jew-on-Jew legal action, a male employee who was fired has sued his former employer, the Jewish women’s organization Na’amat, on grounds of religious discrimination. According to Marshall Garvin, Susan Schwartz, his supervisor at Na’amat, harassed him for leaving work to say kaddish for his recently deceased mother. Garvin, an observant Jew from Riverdale,…
The Latest
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Kristin Chenoweth Dishes on Jewish Men
Fans of singer and actress Kristin Chenoweth will be able to read in the January issue of Prevention magazine what she says about gay adoption (she’s all for it), botox injections (she’s all for those, too — and gets them every six months) and Jewish men’s apparent affections for her. The 43-year-old blonde, who has…
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Newark Synagogue Building Turns 100
Crossposted from Samuel Gruber’s Jewish Art & Monuments I’ve previously written about the centennial of the classical-style Temple Concord in Syracuse, dedicated in September 1911. Another impressive (Greco-Roman) Temple-like synagogue building celebrating its centennial this year is the former Oheb Shalom synagogue in Newark, New Jersey, designed by Jewish architect William Lehman (1874-1951) and dedicated…
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Books Bringing the Lower East Side to Life
Earlier this week, Chris Moriarty wrote about writing her new book and songs of hope and failure. Her 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: One of my main goals…
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Out and About
Listen to Itzik Manger read his poem, “A Tree That Stands.” Artist Jacqueline Nicholls and Forward artist-in-residence Eli Valley talk to Jason Solomons about Occupy Wall Street and the Israeli tent protests for the Guardian’s “Sounds Jewish” podcast. John Berger talks to The Paris Review about reimagining Spinoza’s sketchbook. William Deresiewicz writes about being an…
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Viral Video Leaked Sensitive IDF Info
Oops! A six-minute YouTube video showing classified IDF maps and command-and-control systems went viral over several months before authorities caught on and removed it. But it was too late to undo possible damage that might have been done, as many viewers had already downloaded the video to their personal hard drives. Ynet has posted the…
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Richard Tauber, a Mighty, not Schmaltzy, Tenor
Today Richard Tauber, the Austrian tenor of Jewish ancestry, is a genuine icon, as the title of a splendid 5-CD box set of his recordings from EMI Classics indicates. Yet his life is a cautionary tale of how critics should reflect on the possible impact of their words. By the 1920s, Tauber had achieved matinee…
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Fisher vs. Shatner; Star Wars vs. Star Trek
Carrie Fisher and William Shatner have taken their gloves off, duking it out in YouTube videos over which is better: Star Wars or Star Trek. They poke as much fun at each other’s having aged over the years as they do at the relative merits of their respective legendary productions. Fisher, looking svelt but wearing…
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Julian Schnabel Auctions Surfboard for Charity
Visual artist and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Julian Schnabel has donated one of his limited edition “Blind Girl Surf Club” surfboards to a charity auction in California for Surfers Healing: A Foundation For Autism. The black surfboard, which has a picture of a girl with a purple mark over her eyes on one side and “Blind…
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