Talk show host Larry King is reportedly hospitalized with COVID-19 in Los Angeles. King, 87, is being treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, ABC News reported Saturday. The Brooklyn born King hosted “Larry King Live” on CNN from 1985 to 2010 and more recently, helmed “Larry King Now” on Ora TV. King’s health woes have been […]
Larry King hospitalized with COVID-19, report says Read More »
Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
Joan Micklin Silver (1935-2020) passed away on New Year’s Eve. She belonged to a cohort of pioneering American female directors in the 1970s, many of whom were Jewish. Whereas most of her Jewish counterparts deal with Jewish themes in their films, she repeatedly returned to making distinctly Jewish films earning her the reputation of being the “the mother of Jewish feminist film.” [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
Mayim Bialik kicks off the new year as the lead in the new Fox comedy “Call Me Kat,” which is based on the BBC sitcom “Miranda.” “We’re doing an American version, which means more of an American sensibility, so we’ve adjusted it around my quirks and my personality,” said Bialik. “‘Call Me Kat’ is about
This striking coffee table book is a mix of Architectural Digest treatment visiting homes with gorgeous interiors, and crucial space dedicated to books, and brief philosophical blurbs about loving books. Thirty-two vignettes with lush photography reveal volumes owned by book collectors, authors and bookstore owners, and with a little help from a magnifying glass, the authors and titles on their shelves. [Oliver B. Pollak, Ph.D, J.D]
Bibliophilia, Bibliomania and Bookworms Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Oliver Pollak
Following are Jewish programs of interest to lay and academic audiences that may be accessed via the Internet, January 3rrd through 9th. They are listed in Pacific Standard Time. [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
Streaming Jewish Programs (January 3-9, 2021) Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Science, Medicine, & Education, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
The Reader’s Digest in July 2019 highlighted one quirky museum per state: the Alaska Hammer Museum; the Banana Museum in Mecca, in California’s Riverside County; Colorado’s Washing Machine; Mississippi’s Apron; Iowa’s Matchstick; and Ohio’s Pencil Sharpener museum. These are brick and mortar museums with street addresses, not the burgeoning online website museum. The author, Marissa Laliberte, overlooked the venerable Kool-Aid Museum in Hastings, Nebraska, in favor of the Klown Doll Museum in Plainview. I’ve been to the Mustard Museum in Horab, Wisconsin, and Idaho’s Potato Museum in Blackfoot. [Oliver B. Pollak, Ph.D]
There are museums for so many interests Read More »
International, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Oliver Pollak, Travel and Food, USA
Ivry Gitlis, arguably the last great 20th-century violinist, died on December 24 in Paris aged 98.Born in 1922 in Haifa into a family of immigrants from Ukraine, he got his first violin at age five.At eight, as a child prodigy, he was introduced to the founder of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Bronislaw Huberman. The latter
Legendary Israeli violinist Ivry Gitlis dies age 98 Read More »
Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
Li-rong (Lilly) Cheng, Ph.D., director of the Chinese Cultural Center at San Diego State University, loves well-told stories about China, whether they be fiction or non fiction. Over the years, she has been involved in promulgating stories of each type, and in two particular cases, the story telling has involved Jews. [Donald H. Harrison]
Exploring Jewish and Chinese connections in San Diego Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & BroadcastTune: California Dreaming
All the beds are full
In the ICUs
I must stay at home.
Watch TV or snooze.
Am I safe from Covid
If I live in L.A?
California lockdown
On such a winter’s day. … {Laurie Baron]
Parody: California Lockdown Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
In the Dec. 27, 2020 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been vaccinated against Covid-19.
A woman and a Druze Arab make Israeli Air Force history.
Historic signing of agreements between Israel and Morocco.
Two new Israeli fabric coatings protect against Covid-19.
Europeans are buying millions of Israeli flowers this month.
They will all come to Jerusalem. [Michael Ordman]
Good News from Israel (December 27, 2020) Read More »
Business & Finance, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Ordman, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA
Hotly anticipated superhero film “Wonder Woman 1984” has been met with terrible reviews – and accusations of anti-Arab racism. Viewers took to social media to express their concerns after the film premiered on the HBO Max streaming service on Friday. Critics online were quick to pan the DC Comics film, calling the movie “hard-to-follow” and
Critics slam Wonder Woman 1984 for ‘anti-Arab racism’ Read More »
Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
This new groundbreaking work helps a generation of Jews, many of whom have felt incapable of expressing prayer when speaking about the evils and horrors of the Holocaust. At last, somebody has come up with a way to help survivors, the children of survivors, and ordinary thoughtful people who have felt as if they were wandering in the wilderness of silence. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
A Siddur for the Holocaust Read More »
Bernhard H. Rosenberg-Rabbi, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
Romance of the Western Chamber is a 2 1/2- hour musical based on a play that first appeared in China as Xi Xiang Ji in the 13th century. It is a lovely love story of a poor 23-year-old man and rich 19-year-old woman who fell in love at first sight. The original play ran for about 20 hours. It was the most famous love story in Chinese literature and was made into a movie and several Beijing operas. It was adapted and turned into a musical by the late Dr. Howard Rubenstein, a San Diego physician and playwright who wrote ten very interesting plays. Rubenstein revised the play into modern English, reduced its time, and had Max Lee write music for it.
San Diegan wins posthumous plaudits for his rendition of a Chinese musical Read More »
International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
Filmmaker Patty Jenkins had a profound cinematic experience as a young girl watching Richard Donner’s “Superman,” which inspired in her a kind of wonder and hope that she wanted to share with others through the magic of the movies. That sense of hope is a keystone of her work in “Wonder Woman” and its sequel,