The Arts

CD Compiles Music from Jewish and Other Ghettos

Frank London, jazz trumpeter, band leader, co-founder of the Klezmatics, founder of the Klezmer Brass Allstars and co-founder of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, is one of the most important figures in the Klezmer Renaissance. A graduate of the New England Conservatory, majoring in Afro-American Music, he is also well schooled in World Music. Currently, he serves on the music faculty of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Purchase. [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Debut Novel Takes Us to a Dystopian Planet

The action in this debut novel by San Diego County resident Cheryl Brin occurs sometime in the distant future on a planet called Tyra, which has descended into mutual suspicion and warfare between the countries of Altira and Donira.  Altira has a feudal system of government, dominated by landowners, while Donira has a socialist-style ideology, which some revolutionaries believe is not pure enough.  Vakor, a country far more technologically advanced than either of the two rivals, once dominated the planet and its rulers would like to do so again. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

Prison Inmates Tell Their Stories Through Theater

Thanks to Covid-19 many of us experienced “lockdown” in our homes, yet we can’t begin to imagine what life is like for those who are truly locked down and sequestered from polite society. That is, until the Playwrights Project teamed up with San Diego State University, nine years ago, to bring us Beyond Prison Walls. This innovative, honest and empathetic showcase brought us into the hearts and minds of those who’ve served time at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility and Centinela State Prison. [Eva Trieger]

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘Nomadland’ wins big at pandemic Oscars as Zhao makes history

Published by AFP Hollywood (United States) (AFP) – US road movie “Nomadland” emerged as the big winner at the Oscars on Sunday with three major prizes, including a history-making award for director Chloe Zhao, as Hollywood celebrated its most glamorous night with a unique pandemic-era gala. Zhao’s drama about marginalized Americans roaming the West in

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Good News from Israel (April 25, 2021)

NETANYA, Israel — In the April 25, 2021 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
–Over 80% of Israeli adults have now been vaccinated against Covid-19.
–Israeli optical breakthrough allows for early detection of skin cancer.
–Israel marks Earth Day with national clean-up and new sustainability center.
–New Israeli-developed microchips are the fastest ever.
–Israel signs hi-tech agreement with one of the world’s largest carmakers.
–Discovery in Israel of the oldest example of alphabetic writing. [Michael Ordman]

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Business & Finance, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Ordman, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, The World We Share, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA

This Year’s Oscar Predictions

This year’s nominees consist of intimate dramas or recreations of politically or socially relevant events or situations. Among the eight movies nominated for best picture, The Father, The Sound of Metal, Mank, and A Promising Young Woman feature protagonists suffering from some addiction, disease, disability, or trauma and examine how these afflictions affect their careers or personal relationships.  [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]

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Lawrence Baron, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Young Actors Take Us Beyond Prison Walls

How do you readjust to life as an ex-con? Will you make better choices? Surely, that experience will always be a part of you, but does it have to define you for the rest of your days? These are questions explored in San Diego by Playwrights Project, the SDSU School of Theatre, Television and Film and former inmates of the Richard J Donovan Correctional Facility. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Author Adopts Maimonides’ Principles as True Judaism

Emuna is the Hebrew word for faith, and in his newest book, 13 Principles of Emuna, Rabbi Lazer Brody passionately reexamines Maimonides thirteen assertions, ranging from the fervent belief in one God to acknowledging the future resurrection of the dead and the coming of the Messiah, through a traditional orthodox-Jewish frame of reference. [Fred Reiss, Ed.D]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion

Israel Lowers Its Cultural Standards of Excellence

The Israel Prize is awarded for academic or social excellence, and serves as Israel’s attempt to provide its own version of the Nobel Prize. Sadly, I have never attended a Nobel Prize ceremony, but I have read about it, and I know it is a very stately and serious occasion. Just imagine, if the ceremony would be the occasion for a series of pop singers to pop up, sing and play at the tops of their voices a medley of songs of questionable taste (and certainly not my taste). But that was the overriding tone of the Israel Prize ceremony last night. The whole occasion left an impression of bad judgment and inferior standards. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Lifestyles, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts