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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Meijer de Haan: More than Just a Jewish Student of Gauguin’s
The 19th century Dutch painter Meijer de Haan (1852-1895), whose life was cut short by tuberculosis, has been so overshadowed by his mentor Paul Gauguin that even New York’s MoMA, which owns Gauguin’s 1889 portrait of de Haan, misidentifies the sitter as “Jacob Meyer de Haan” (sic). More than merely getting de Haan’s name right,…
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Sarah Silverman Gets the Ax
Looks like there will be no follow up to “Wowshwitz,” this year’s season finale of “The Sarah Silverman Program,” which just got axed from Comedy Central. Deadline Hollywood reports that Comedy Central did not renew the show for a fourth season despite a Twitter campaign to keep it alive. The show was on the chopping…
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Rebbe in a Box!
Praying by the graves of long-deceased holy men is a time-honored Jewish practice, especially on the recent holiday of Lag b’Omer, when thousands flock to the resting place of R’ Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron. But what about kohanim, who are not allowed to come into contact with the dead, or even enter a cemetery?…
The Latest
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Walter Hess, Poet of Survival
As far as Holocaust poetry goes, in general I stand with Adorno: it is barbaric. The subject’s too loaded, too heavy and too sacred to approach with crafted words. Yet, having picked up Walter Hess’s collection of poems, “Jew’s Harp,” I was swept away by the depth of its lyricism, gentleness, and sheer beauty. Hess…
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What Did You Do in The War, Zayde? Robert S. Cone of the Filthy Thirteen
Reports that Jack Agnew, a member of the so-called Filthy Thirteen, a US Army combat unit during World War II that inspired Hollywood’s “Dirty Dozen,” has died at age 88, should remind us that the sole Jewish member of that group is still enjoying a well-earned, peaceful retirement in Delray Beach, Florida. Robert S. Cone,…
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RIP Israeli Burger King
Israelis have been shunning Whoppers, causing Burger King to shut down all of its 55 locations over there, according to an article on JTA’s website. I never thought my health-conscious American Jewish parents’ refusal to let me eat any fast food growing up, echoed the sentiments of our homeland. Though unlike my folks, instead of…
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Look Jewish? Psychologist Nancy Etcoff Explains It For You
In a world where some Jews still get nose jobs in an attempt to look less Jewish, it is invaluable to have Nancy Etcoff, a clinical instructor in psychology at Harvard Medical School, explain why people react the way they do to beauty and appearance. For those already planning their fall calendar, on September 1,…
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Shmuley and Joaquin Phoenix: Separated at Bris?
Just asking.
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Nigerian Yiddish Speaker Charged With Fraud Jumps Bail
John Star, a Yiddish-speaking Nigerian national, has jumped bail after being charged with mortgage fraud, the New York Daily News reported today. Star learned Yiddish as a child from his adoptive parents who were Orthodox Jews and raised him in Switzerland. Apparently his Yiddish came in handy when committing mortgage fraud in New York. “He…
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Paul Burlin: An Artist Who Deserves Rediscovery
Sometimes posterity can play odd tricks on talented artists. Paul Burlin (1886-1969), born Isadore Berlin in New York, was rediscovered repeatedly during his lifetime, only to fall into subsequent obscurity. Now a new biography by Michelle Wick Patterson, “Natalie Curtis Burlin: A Life in Native and African American Music,” about Burlin’s ethnomusicologist wife, sheds light…
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Architects: Start Designing Your Sukkahs Now!
With Shavuot less than a week away, dairy foods and all-night study sessions are more on our minds than building a sukkah, a task almost half a year away. But for innovative architects hoping to reshape the temporary dwelling in a new form, the time to start working on their designs is now. From September…
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