By Oliver B. Pollak LOS ANGELES — Amazon Prime has started running a Canadian comedy drama series set in Toronto. Erica Strange, a thirty-two-year-old single, plucky and career frustrated, is played by Erin Karpluk and her middle age time traveling therapist, Dr. Tom, by Michael Riley. It is a bewitching and beguiling mix up. At
Amazon Prime series has Tikkun Olam theme Read More »
Oliver Pollak, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
“Not only was she a woman, but she was Japanese” – Glenn Scott Wright, director, Victoria Miro Gallery By Heather Z. Rothstain LOS ANGELES – I wasn’t interested in her work, then I watched this documentary. Move over Warhol, stand back Claes Oldenburg, Kusama’s time is now! Kusama Infinity – The Life and Art of
Talented artist Kusama overcomes prejudice Read More »
International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The name of the author, the actress Simone Signoret, caught my eye and I bought Adieu Volodia for 50 cents (521 pages, hardback) last summer while browsing the stalls at a village brocante, a kind of flea-market in rural France where the locals bring out the items they wish
1985 novel by Simone Signoret still captivates Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Love, Gilda, a CNN documentary by Lisa D’Appolito; to open Friday, September 21, at the Landmark Theatre in San Diego’s Kensington neighborhood. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – While growing up, Gilda Radner was teased unmercifully about being overweight. Her mother even put her on diet pills when she 10 years old. Knowing
If you’re an SNL fan, you’ll love ‘Love Gilda’ Read More »
Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Women in Peace subject of study at the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice The Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego is focusing on the role women can play in peace-making, with panels planned Oct. 23, Nov. 7, and Nov. 8 on the campus. Featured will be Rosa Emilia
Editor’s E-Mail Box: September 13, 2018 (3 items) Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Middle East, USA
By Oliver B. Pollak RICHMOND, California — A conversation over the breakfast table with friends started with the question, “What book do you wish you had not read so you could read it for the first time?” We pushed the concept to include, what do you wish you had read that you have not read?,
Rereading Leon Uris’s ‘Exodus’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Oliver PollakBy Pamela Pollack Fremd SPOKANE, Washington — I am a tough cookie, in my dreams, but Pick of the Litter, directed by Dana Nachman and Don Hardy, had me teary eyed from moment one in the documentary when different people talked about how their dogs had saved them. Equally warm and fuzzy moments followed when the
Pick of the Litter: A Canine Lover’s Treat Read More »
The World We Share, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Dan Wingard LOS ANGELES — I was saddened to read of the recent death of the great Neil Simon. I didn’t know him personally, but I felt like I did because I was lucky enough to perform in all three of the plays which form his autobiographical “BB” trilogy: Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues (in two
In memory of Neil Simon and his BB trilogy Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — As ever, returning to Israel after two months of absence is something of a culture shock, particularly when it comes to driving a car. One is reminded with alarm that rules are no longer rules, the word ‘courtesy’ does not exist in the Hebrew language, and the overall feeling
Home again in Israel Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and FoodComing Home: Living in the Land of Israel in Jewish Tradition and Thought by Rabbi Dov Lipman, Gefen Publishing House, Jerusalem, © 2018, ISBN 978-9652299369, p. 141, $14.95. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – Dov Lipman, author of Coming Home, has selected a propitious time for publishing a book about the historical and emotional ties
Israel in global Jewish tradition and thought Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionBy Stanley Tiger SAN DIEGO — The following is a touching story about two great minds – one, a Jewish atheist respectfully confronting a religious Jew. Their reflections are in keeping with the solemnity of Rosh Hashana. The old friends and collaborators unexpectedly met while in Washington, D.C.. Nobel physicist, Richard Feynman (1918 – 1988)
Science v. Religion, a.k.a Feynman v. Wouk Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Science, Medicine, & Education
Paraguay reverses self; moves Embassy from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv The American Jewish Committee expressed deep disappointment over Paraguay’s decision to close its recently opened embassy in Jerusalem and return it to Tel Aviv. “This diplomatic reversal is shocking,” said Dina Siegel Vann, AJC Director of Latino and Latin American Affairs. “Paraguay has
Editor’s E-Mail Box: September 5, 2018 (9 items) Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
By Mimi Pollack SAN DIEGO — Sandi Masori is like the song by the Rolling Stones, “She comes in color everywhere… She’s like a rainbow.” She wears many colorful hats in her life as an artist, businesswoman, and single mom. She was the owner of a balloon business, Balloon Utopia, and now owns a business
Sandi Masori: One Woman, Many Hats Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Mimi Pollack, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
The Family Tabor by Cherise Wolas; Flatiron Books © 2018; ISBN 9781250-081452; 381 pages plus acknowledgments, $27.99 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – This mystery novel absorbs readers’ attention not only because they are in suspense about the disappearance of one of the main characters, but also because the narrative illustrates that no matter
A spiritual novel with a mystery, or vice versa? Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison