Hillel Tigay In 1999, Hillel Tigay was one half of the now defunct Jewish rap group M.O.T., which stood for Members of the Tribe. On songs like “Kosher Nostra” and “Oh God, Get a Job,” Tigay’s “Hebe-hop” alter-ego, Dr. Dreidel, riffed on such timeworn subjects as Jewish gangsters and gelt-minded mothers.… Read more »
Walter Ferguson’s childhood encounter with birds piqued a lifelong interest. Road kill, for most people, is something you try not to look at too closely and leave behind. But for Walter Ferguson these misfortunate animals could be a prized treasure. Ferguson, one of the world’s preeminent wildlife artists, would never wish for a little creature to be maimed. However,… Read more »
The 2012-2013 Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra season will feature five local composers, including two world premieres by Tucson artists, “Running the Rim” by Jay Vosk, which opens the series in October, and “Landscapes” by Peter Fine, which will conclude the series in May. The Vosk premiere will be… Read more »
Yafit Josephson as an Israeli army officer in "New Eyes" (Courtesy Invisible Theatre) As a struggling young actress in Los Angeles, Yafit Josephson should have been glad to get parts — any parts. Yet Josephson, 30, who was born in L.A. but raised in Israel from age 2, who served proudly in the Israel Defense Forces before moving to California to study… Read more »
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Thought your daughter’s odd behavior was just another preteen phase? There may be an alternate explanation: The dybbuk is back. The malevolent spirit from 16th-century Jewish mysticism and folklore reappears in “The Possession,” a Hollywood film featuring Matisyahu and Kyra Sedgwick now showing in Tucson.… Read more »
The Mitzvah Magician (Kar-Ben Publishing) BOSTON (JTA) — A giant googly-eyed fish, mischievous magicians and sukkah-eating squirrels are among the characters in a new crop of engaging Jewish children’s books that relate to the observance or themes of the Jewish High Holidays. Here’s a rundown of the new books: Oh No, Jonah! Tilda Balsley,… Read more »
NEW YORK (6NoBacon) — Mayim Bialik, who nearly lost her right hand thumb in a car accident two weeks ago, told “Access Hollywood” in an interview that immediately following the accident, her first instinct was to get out of the car, fearing it would explode. “Many Denzel Washington films”… Read more »
New mom (Susan Kovitz) shares the joys and woes of parenting in a scene from ‘Motherhood Out Loud’ coming to the Invisible Theatre. (Susan Claassen) The Invisible Theatre will begin its 2012-2013 “Season of Love” with the Southwest premiere of “Motherhood Out Loud.” A series of vignettes covering every aspect of motherhood — from stepmoms to single mothers, immigrant moms to grandmothers, new moms to empty nesters, — “Motherhood Out Loud” was written by… Read more »
Laurence Gavron, a French-born filmmaker whose film "Black Jews, Juifs noir en Afrique" tells the story of African tribes that claim to have Jewish ancestry. (Courtesy Laurence Gavron) PRETORIA, South Africa (JTA) – Filmmaker Laurence Gavron is on a journey to document lost Jewish tribes in Africa. The French-born Gavron, who has made Senegal her home since 1989, says she was immediately taken by the project, which she says combines her passion for Africa with the mystery… Read more »
Nathan Englander (Juliana Sohn) NEW YORK (JTA) — Author Nathan Englander recently received the 2012 Frank O’Conner International Short Story Award for his latest collection, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank.” He spoke with JTA about the impact of his Jewish education, the challenges of translation and why he’s… Read more »
WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (JTA) — Fans of the long-running Showtime series “Weeds” know that writer and creator Jenji Kohan is not afraid to pepper the show with Jewish themes. While the show, now in its final season, has changed its flavor over the years and gained some critics, many devotees… Read more »
A Nicho by Anita Rodriguez with the doors open, showing a Chanukah scene. (Anita Rodriguez) LOS ANGELES (JTA) – Artist Anita Rodriguez’s “aha” moment came after reading “To the End of the Earth: A History of the Crypto-Jews of New Mexico.” The 2005 book by New Mexico’s former state historian, Stanley Hordes, tells the story of the Southwest’s Converso settlers and the elements of… Read more »
Alan Kaufman, owner of The Pickle Guys, the only pickle store in the once pickle-filled Lower East Side of Manhattan, June 2012. (Josh Lipowsky/JTA) TEANECK, N.J. (JTA) — Walk into a kosher deli and a big bowl of pickles is typically waiting at the table. Ever wondered why? “Pickles are vital to the deli experience,” says Rabbi Gil Marks, author of “The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food.” Deli mavens know that the tastiest cuts… Read more »
Aaron Sorkin, the playwright, television writer and Oscar-winning screenwriter of “The Social Network,” is causing a stir with his new HBO series, “The Newsroom,” about the inside antics of a cable news show and its commentary on American journalism. Sorkin’s “The West Wing” and “Sports Night,” among others, have… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — My “Spidey Sense” is tingling! Almost half a century after the comic book superhero Spider-Man was conceived by Jewish writer Stan Lee, a Jewish actor named Andrew Garfield will don the red and blue Spandex for the forthcoming cinematic reboot of the Spider-Man franchise. As… Read more »
Sheila Wilensky I’m an undisciplined reader. I’m always reading a few books at a time, at least one novel, a memoir and some other nonfiction. Here’s a sampling of my recent reading, with and without Jewish connections. When I find a novelist I like I’ll read everything she’s written. At this… Read more »
Peter Singer speaking at a Veritas Forum event on the Massachusetts Institute of technology campus, March 2009. (Joel Travis Sage via CC) SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) — He’s been brandished “the most dangerous man on earth,” accused of being a “public advocate of genocide” and likened to Josef Mengele, the notorious Nazi “Angel of Death.” Yet he’s also been hailed as “one of the world’s 100 most influential people” and “among the… Read more »
(N.Y. Jewish Week) — Many of the best comedians have had deeply troubled pasts. But Moshe Kasher, a rising 32-year-old comic and author of a new memoir, “Kasher in the Rye,” takes the old adage to a new level. He began psychotherapy at age 4 and started using hard… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — “Girls” begins with the conversation that many parents of 20-somethings dream of having someday real soon with their floundering children: No. More. Money. This is what the parents of 24-year-old Hannah Horvath, played by series creator, director and writer Lena Dunham, tell her over dinner.… Read more »
Ron Ben-Israel, a former dancer, has gone on to become the host of Food Network's "Sweet Genius." (Food Network) TEANECK, N.J. (JTA) — As the minutes on the clock tick away, the chefs run about their kitchens furiously trying to complete their Taj Mahal-themed desserts. “What have I got for you now?” booms the thickly accented master pastry chef Ron Ben-Israel as he overlooks the chefs’ workstations. “Another… Read more »
