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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Oldest Living Jew Dies at 111
Fannie Forman Buten witnessed it all: the roaring ‘20s, two world wars, the women’s and civil rights movements, JFK, Elvis, airplanes, moon landings, MTV and the Internet. She was also believed to be the oldest living Jewish person in the world up until her death last week. Buten, who was born in Austria in 1899…
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Jon Stewart’s Shout-Outs to the Tribe
At the 92nd Street Y last night, Jon Stewart talked with Terry Gross about politics, the media and — of course — himself. In the meantime, he was sure to play to his core 92Y audience: the Jews. Here are some of the shout-outs he made to the tribe: “It’s a pleasure to be here…
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Autumnal and Wingreen Sounds on CD
With the academic year underway, it is timely to pay tribute to CDs from teachers, whose artistry often outweighs that of more publicized career virtuosi. Queens-born Harriet Wingreen, longtime professor at the Manhattan School of Music and orchestral pianist with the New York Philharmonic, comes from a Lithuanian Jewish family whose name was changed from…
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New Train Coming
On the Yiddish Song of the Week blog, Forverts associate editor Itzik Gottesman writes about “An Ayznban a Naye,” or “A New Railroad Train,” based on a song by the renowned poet and songwriter Eliakum Zunser. Gottesman writes: “An ayznban” was sung by David Shear of New York City and recorded by me in his…
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How Forward Staff Members Fared on Pew Religion Quiz
You may not be smarter than a fifth grader, but do you know more about religion than the average American? The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life recently published results from a survey on Americans’ religious knowledge, which found that Jews are among the smartest religious group. (We knew we were smart,…
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Roy Lichtenstein’s ‘Mark That Was Art’
“Roy Lichtenstein: The Black-and-White Drawings, 1961-1968” opens and closes, quite fittingly, with doors. “Knock Knock,” a 1961 drawing, greets visitors entering the single-room exhibition. The title words splay from an all-white door, its shape defined by heavy, even black lines. Short marks indicate the thwap of invisible knuckles. Later, after circling the perimeter, you step…
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Sukkah City’s Cross-Country Plans in 2011
It may be hard to believe, but Sukkah City — the ambitious, large-scale architectural competition that took over Manhattan’s Union Square Park for two days last week — came from modest beginnings. “The idea came to me this past fall while I was doing sketches for my own backyard sukkah,” co-founder Joshua Foer told the…
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Philatelists Beware: Have You Seen a Hitler Skull Stamp?
In 1996, the New York Times reported that there were around 20 million stamp collectors in the country, and 550,000 of them were serious about it, carefully analyzing stamp research and slowly growing their collections. The hobby may not have much spark and intrigue, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a fruitful financial investment. More…
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The Best Part of Traveling
Earlier this week, Martin Fletcher wrote about stories he’s covered for NBC’s London bureau and about choosing a title for his book. His newest book, “Walking Israel: A Personal Search for the Soul of a Nation,” is now available. His blog posts are being featured this week on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish…
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Seth Rogen Is Engaged!
The 28-year-old funnyman proposed to his (also) 28-year-old girlfriend, writer and actress Lauren Miller, according to Life & Style magazine. “He surprised her with the proposal,” a friend of Rogen’s told the magazine. “She’d started giving up hope that he would ever pop the question.” The couple has been dating since 2004. Congrats!
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The Druze Who Can’t Come Back
Crossposted from Haaretz The documentary “Shout,” screened at the Haifa International Film Festival, outlines the dilemmas facing young Druze from the Golan Heights who leave to study in Damascus and cannot return. Minarets slice the skyline and gray residential buildings stand among them. Uniformed police pass through the streets scrutinizing passersby. Two young men in…
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Film & TV The new ‘Superman’ is being called anti-Israel, but does that make it pro-Palestine?
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Music ‘No matter what, I will always be a Jew.’ Billy Joel opens up about his family’s Holocaust history
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Music Remembering Ozzy Osbourne’s Jewish vow renewal
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Culture She was my Hebrew school bully — and I finally learned what happened to her
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Opinion Undocumented people need Jewish allies. Why can’t they find them?
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Fast Forward Minneapolis’ Omar Fateh is the latest democratic socialist and Israel critic to win his party’s endorsement for mayor
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Antisemitism Decoded Netanyahu tried to court young Trump fans — here’s why it didn’t work
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