Lawrence (Laurie) Baron, now retired, served as the Nasatir Professor of Modern Jewish History at San Diego State University. He served from 1988 to 2006 as director of SDSU’s Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies. He was the founder in 1995 of the Western Jewish Studies Association.
He writes two satire columns for San Diego Jewish World: “Humoring the Headlines” under his byline, and “Hounding the Headlines,” under the byline of his dog Elona.
“Making Room for the Jews: The House I Live In (1945),” AJS Perspectives, Summer 2023, 86-88.
“The Revolt of Job: Salvaging the Lost World of Rural Hungarian Hasidim,” Journal of Jewish Identities, 16:1-2 (January/July 2023), 181-198.
“Persistent Parallels, Resistant Particularities: Holocaust Analogies and Avoidance in Armenian Genocide Centennial Cinema, in Armenian and Jewish Experience between Expulsion and Destruction, ed. Sarah M. Ross and Regina Randhofer (Berlin: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2021), 267-296.
“The Pioneering American Jewish Women Directors from Elaine May to Claudia Weill,” Jews and Gender (Studies in Jewish Civilization), ed. Leonard Greenspoon (W. Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 2021), 217-243.
“I’ve presented him with the best data I have. I put it on charts and graphs because I know he doesn’t read. Now if I can only convince him it is not fake news.”” “If he thinks there’s nothing to lose giving Covid19 patients with hydroxychloroquine because it cures malaria, I’d like to persuade him to let me inject his vocal chords with Botox assuring him it will protect him from coronavirus because it removes wrinkles and lessens migraine pain.” [Satire by Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
Book 1 Genesis
Book 1 Genesis — In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and carved out spaces for dog beaches and parks. God created Dog in his/her own temperament to make sure Adam and Eve and their descendants never felt alone and to bring them their fig leaves and sandals in the morning. When Adam and Eve violated God’s command not to eat from the Tree of Wisdom, they and their dogs were expelled from the Garden of Eden, and dogs were required to wear leashes. {Elona Baron, in memory of Ozzie, as told to Laurie Baron]
The Downtown Seder: City Winery’s annual Seder which streamed Monday night features famous singers like David Broza and Peter Yarrow, comedians like Lewis Black, and prominent public figures like Dr. Ruth and Jerry Nadler. The 2014 Downtown Seder is also online. Here are some other examples of streaming Passover fare: [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
In an interview I conducted with the President over Zoom, he explained why he has not contracted the coronavirus and has been so successful in mitigating its spread. I guaranteed him that it would be off the record. I kept my promise. I’ve recorded this on paper and not on vinyl. [Satire column by Laurie Baron, PhD]
Editor’s Note: Columnist Laurie Baron has been scouring the TV and Internet services for movies of Jewish interest that you can watch at home. Combined with the previous installments of his research, it is quite a collection. Here are links to Parts I, II, III,IV, V, VI, and VII.
I should have compiled this list during March for Women’s History Month, but better late than never. I’ve been doing research for the past 2 years on American Jewish women directors and wanted to share some of the films by the pioneers that you can stream at home. Although a considerable number of women directed films during the silent era, those numbers dwindled to two, Dorothy Arzner and Ida Lupino, between 1930 and 1960. The decline of the studio system and the political and social movements of the 60s opened up opportunities for more women directors in the next decade. Jewish women were disproportionately represented in their ranks. [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
As the pandemic creates shortages of supplies that doctors and nurses need, we need to repurpose things that could substitute for what we lack. [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
Editor’s Note: Columnist Laurie Baron has been scouring the TV and Internet services for movies of Jewish interest that you can watch at home. Combined with the previous installments of his research, it is quite a collection. Here are links to Parts I, II, III, IV, V, and VI.
Although the stock market has rallied in the past week, the companies whose initial public offerings have been doing well may not portend a rosy future. These successful startups and their advertising campaigns demonstrate that investors are banking on bad news. [Satire by Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
Humor columnist Laurie Baron says President Trump should heed the advice that can be gleaned from popular songs. He cites the works of Frank Loesser, Bob Dylan, Tim Hardin, PartyNextDoor, and Bon Jovi.
