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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‘Fiddler’ Writer Joseph Stein Dies
It’s hard not to hum “Sunrise, Sunset” (swiftly flow the years…) when reporting the death of Joseph Stein, the playwright who wrote the Semitic-kitsch musical classic “Fiddler on the Roof.” According to the BBC, Stein died at a New York hospital from complications after a fall; the writer had been in care suffering from prostate…
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Leading Lady with a Diabolique Sense of Justice
On September 30, the 25th anniversary of the death of beautiful French actress Simone Signoret, Les éditions Michel Lafon paid homage by publishing an augmented edition of an acclaimed biography by Emmanuelle Guilcher, “Signoret: a Life.” Signoret’s own two memoirs have just been reprinted by Les éditions du Seuil: “Nostalgia Isn’t What it Used to…
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Pizza, Bagels and ‘Brooklynized’ Water — Oh My!
Any bagel connoisseur knows that the secret to a delicious New York City bagel is a highly-sought after ingredient: local tap water. In the summer of 2009, Gothamist broke the story that a south Florida company, The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Company, designed a water filtration system with the goal of replicating the taste of…
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Hummus Shortage Looms in Israel
It’s a crisis sure to rock Israel and devastate the quality of life for Jews and Arabs alike: a possible hummus shortage. The past year’s scorching and drought-plagued weather has already taken a toll on fruit and vegetable crops in the Middle East. Prices for salad ingredients have skyrocketed and now there are signs that…
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A Gadget for Gods and Days
Though about half of the 16 artists in the current show at the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue in Washington, D.C., are Jewish, curators Eloise Corr Danch and David Zuckerman unabashedly admit there is nothing Jewish about the exhibit, beyond the Jewish venue. In the catalog to “I’ve Gone Looking for that Feeling Everywhere: An…
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Israeli Chess Fest
In a whirlwind affair, 30 year-old Israeli grandmaster Alik Gershon broke a world record Thursday when he played 523 people simultaneously. The display took place in Rabin Square in Tel-Aviv and lasted over 19 hours. According to the New York Times, Gershon needed to beat at least 80 percent of his opponents and easily topped…
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Fake Health Ministry Posters: Milk Causes Cancer
Crossposted from Haaretz Citizens in several cities across Israel were surprised last week to see posters bearing the Health Ministry logo warning of the “damage of milk consumption.” The posters included a long list of almost all illnesses that doctors know to be associated with milk: “Studies have found that milk causes juvenile diabetes, hardening…
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Grimm Dioramas for Young and Old
When Tine Kindermann was a little girl, she thought all Americans liked to dress up as trees. Patrolling her city in West Germany after the Holocaust, camouflaged soldiers would wear leaves as part of their uniforms. Now, after 20 years living in the United States, Kindermann has let us peep into secret worlds, juxtapositions of…
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‘In Treatment’ Goes American
Crossposted from Haaretz Tonight treatment will start for three new patients in the third season of HBO’s “In Treatment.” This season will depend entirely on American scriptwriters, and according to Hagai Levi, who created the show that was originally an Israeli hit, that will only help the program. “There was something in previous seasons that…
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Houdini Exhibit Honors Magician, Art and History
On Halloween, 84 years after Harry Houdini vanished forever (er, died), the famed Jewish magician will return to the stage, this time in an exhibit at the Jewish Museum in New York. “Houdini: Art and Magic” opens on October 29 and will feature a life-size projection of the great magician performing his water torture act,…
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Synagogue Unearths 100-Year-Old Time Capsule
As the old saying goes, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. That was certainly the case yesterday when deteriorating documents, newspapers and coins were unearthed at the Jewish History Museum in Tucson, which once served as Arizona’s first synagogue. The items were found in a time capsule buried inside a cornerstone of the building…
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