The Arts

In India, she was ‘untouchable.’ In New York City, she became an author.

Sujatha Gidla was only 2 years old when she first realized she’s different. One day, her parents had a fight. Her mother stormed out of the house and headed for the railway station. There, she bumped into a colleague, who was also with her daughter. “My mother was carrying me and she was carrying her […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International

Film academy elects cinematographer John Bailey as its new president

LOS ANGELES—Cinematographer John Bailey, whose credits include such films as “Ordinary People,” “The Big Chill,” and “Groundhog Day,” will be the new president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, charged with helping to lead the nearly 90-year-old institution through the next phase of its ongoing public transformation. In a meeting on Tuesday

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Dennis Prager strikes a sour note with Santa Monica symphony

WASHINGTON, August 9, 2017 – In April 1805, Viennese concert-goers heard a new work by Ludwig von Beethoven. His Symphony No. 3, dubbed “Eroica,” was dedicated to a man he believed embodied republican principles. Ludwig von Beethoven. On his symphony’s title page, the composer wrote a short dedication: “Written on the subject of Bonaparte.” Shortly

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA

Keith Urban pens emotional note following the death of country icon Glen Campbell

Keith Urban It didn’t take very long for the Nashville community and its stars to come together following the death of country legend Glen Campbell. The “Rhinestone Cowboy,” who passed away on August 8 after a long and public battle with Alzheimer’s disease, inspired many people throughout his television and musical career. RELATED: Keith Urban

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials

Interview: Kyle Mooney and Dave McCary of SNL talk new film, ‘Brigsby Bear’

There’s some debate between “Saturday Night Live’s” Kyle Mooney and Dave McCary about which “Saved by the Bell” character they loved most as kids. “Was Screech our Brigsby?” McCary asks. “Nah, man. A.C.,” Mooney laughs back. A “Brigsby,” in these terms, is a reference to their upcoming film “Brigsby Bear,” in which Mooney’s character James

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Jewish artist takes on Twitter for enabling anti-Semitism

Best known for shaming Berlin memorial goers with ‘YOLOCAUST,’ Shahak Shapira stages protest over social media giant’s failure to delete offensive messages By Times of Israel staff An Israeli-German artist best known for his “ YOLOCAUST” project, which combined selfies taken at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial with images of concentration camp victims, released a video Monday

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International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Glen Campbell’s Alzheimer’s battle added heroic coda to a pop-country star’s life

LOS ANGELES — I witnessed up close the ravaging effect that Alzheimer’s disease was having on Glen Campbell in the later years of his life. This was in 2011, when I interviewed him at his Malibu home shortly after he’d gone public with his diagnosis. At that point, although his short-term memory was failing rapidly,

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, Science, Medicine, & Education

The world mourns the passing of music icon Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell The country music industry is reacting with grief to the August 8 passing of icon Glen Campbell at age 81 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. His impact on the music world has been massive since he scored his first hits in the late ’60s. We’ll never forget his masterful guitar work

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, USA

Israeli filmmakers to team teach at SDSU

SAN DIEGO (Press Release)– Award-winning Israeli filmmakers Nir Bergman and David Ofek will serve as visiting lecturers at San Diego State University School this fall. Bergman and Ofek will be team-teaching at San Diego State from August 25 to December 18 through the Schusterman Visiting Israeli Artists Program, which is bringing 13 prominent Israeli artists

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Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Sequel’ meets with cool reception, placing 15th at box office

Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Sequel” drew a lukewarm response from moviegoers, ranking 15th at the box office in its first weekend of wide release and earning tepid reviews from audiences. The sequel to Mr. Gore’s influential 2006 climate-change documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” has earned about $1 million since its limited release July 28, prompting one

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Peres documentary to include Obama, Clinton and Streisand

  LOS ANGELES (Press Release) — Former US President Barack Obama was recently interviewed for an upcoming documentary on the life of the late Israeli statesman, Shimon Peres, by Moriah Films, the two-time Academy Award™-winning film division of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Barbra Streisand, a close personal friend of Peres, will also be interviewed for

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Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Rabbi tells rationale for accepting Torah as divine

Reason to Believe: Rational Explanations of Orthodox Jewish Faith by Chaim Jachter, Menorah Books, New Milford, CT, © 2017,ISBN 978-1-940516-71-4, p. 234 plus appendices, $24.95 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D.  WINCHESTER, California – If believing is having faith in the evidence, then one might suspect that religion and reason share no common ground, but this is not the

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

Got a Jewish novel in your drawer? Now might be the time to pull it out

Although it’s still tough to find an interested publisher, several new outfits offer increased opportunities — online and on shelves By Renee Ghert-Zand Author Sharon Hart-Green spent nearly a decade writing her debut novel, “Come Back For Me,” about the the lives of first and second generation WWII refugees and Holocaust survivors in Canada and

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International