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FOODIE-ISM (Barry Glassner & "The Gospel of Food")
This time of year finds me on the treadmill in the mornings, futzing around the gym, taking walks around the neighborhood, eating lots of grilled chicken salads. I'm in training -- not for the recent Los Angeles Marathon, but for the marathon weekend in May when my wife and I travel to another city with several like-minded couples without our kids to spend time listening to music and eating, eating, eating. New Orleans is a favorite destination; this year, for… -
ASSUME EVERYONE IS JEWISH
A couple of weeks ago I found myself in a seminar room at UCLA's Royce Hall attending a presentation by professor David Shneer of the University of Denver concerning Jewish museums in Los Angeles, a city he calls, "The Newest Jewish City in the World." As someone who has argued that Los Angeles is the premier Jewish city of the 21st century, I was eager to find academic support for my own theories. Everyone thinks of New York as the… -
My Punk Self
Recently I asked a 15-year-old boy what music he listened to. His answer: "No one you ever heard of." A perfect answer. Because what every fan needs, what every person should have, is music that is his own. Over the years, there's been a lot of music that has mattered to me. That I have enjoyed; that I have loved. But if you asked me what music was mine -- I would name without hesitation a bunch of bands that… -
Literary Paprika (Mark Sarvas and 'The Elegant Variation')
What better way to start the New Year than by sprinkling a little literary paprika? Consider this: Mark Sarvas, a New York-born son of Hungarian parents, a voracious reader, a Francophile and a foodie, comes to Los Angeles to be a writer, sells some screenplays and starts an acclaimed literary blog, The Elegant Variation (marksarvas.blogs.com/elegvar ). To top it all off, Sarvas has just completed his first novel, as yet untitled and currently being submitted to publishers. "Yoy Ishtenem!" If… -
Old Jewish Jokes
Tom Teicholz tellsJewish jokes Let us quote from sacred text: the 2005 Emmy Award acceptance speech by "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart. Spaketh Stewart: "When I first said that I wanted us to put together a late-night comedy writing team that would only be 80 percent Ivy League-educated Jews, people thought I was crazy. They said you need 90, 95 percent. But we proved 'em wrong." Welcome to Jewish jokes in the 21st century. Not really a joke, more of… -
Mamet's Question
David Mamet has written a book, "The Wicked Son: Anti-Semitism, Self-Hatred and the Jews" (Shocken/Nextbook), that is by turns bold, courageous, and outrageous -- it is a book that calls Diaspora Jews to the table and asks: "In or Out?" "The underlying premise of the book," Mamet told me recently, "is to all Jews: If you can't say of your fellow Jews ' my people,' get out of my way; I don't want to know you, because our people are… -
A DIFFERENT ISRAEL
When Israel is discussed these days, more often than not it is in terms of an existential crisis, or "the situation," or as the subject of international news headlines. However, reading recently published works by three different Israeli fiction authors, Etgar Keret, Benjamin Tammuz and A.B. Yehoshua, is a bracing reminder that there is an Israel beyond the headlines, a country that despite its short history and relatively small population has produced a world-class literature. Writing in modern Hebrew, a… -
A Passion for War (Steve Rubin)
To meet him, you might think Steven Rubin is a normal person. Tall, handsome, happily married with young children, he is personable, affable -- in short, one of the gentlest and nicest guys you could meet. But he is a man obsessed with war -- World War II to be precise. Recently, Rubin launched www.ww2daily.com, a Web site that posts a daily broadcast of the news that occurred on that day during World War II. Rubin began posting his broadcasts… -
Walk Like A Mom/Rockstar (Susanna Hoffs)
"Hannah Montana," a Disney Channel program I watch on occasion with my daughter, features a 14-year-old girl with a secret identity: she's actually a rock star. This is an absurd fantasy. In real life, the rock star at my daughter's school is a mom. Although she leads a double life, it is no secret. Her name is Susanna Hoffs, her band The Bangles has a long history (hits, breakup, back together again), and she also has a very enjoyable new… -
Hate the Game, Love The Player (Michael Tolkin and "The Return of The Player")
The fall season is upon us, with new books, movies and TV programs all vying for our attention as palliatives to the news of war, terrorism and melting ice caps. Even as the days get shorter and our own day of judgment looms imminent, we wonder: Is there a hero out there who can set us back on the path of reason, on a course of love, someone to heal us and show us the way -- someone, who is,… -
Kaplan's Collage
Here's Marty Kaplan blogging on Huffington Post about suggested treatments for Mel Gibson's "problem": "'Jew Like Me' is another strategy. Walk a mile in my shoes. Gain 10 pounds at my table. Wait two hours after lunch before swimming. Laugh that ironic meta-laugh right along with us when Jon Stewart says, 'Jewey.' Sensitize yourself to code like 'New York Times' and 'neocon.' Defend Likud. Like halvah. Who knows -- you might even get a development deal out of it. 'Gentleman's…