Jewish History & Culture
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A Sunny Hungarian Rhapsody
As winter chill gives way to spring sun, it’s not too early to start planning a summer trip to Budapest. Budapest, Hungary’s capital, straddles the Danube, with historic old Buda on the hill, and Pest with its atmospheric 19th century and Art Nouveau architecture. In recent years, many of the Budapest’s historic sites have been […]
Schindler's Impact (The 10th Anniversary of "Schindler's List")
In May 1995, I found myself in Lviv, Ukraine. My father died two years before, and I was there on a roots trip. I wanted to see the city where he grew up and perhaps unearth some of the information that he could never bring himself to share, such as the names and birthdates of […]
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Conal's the Poster Boy for 'Art Attack' (Guerrilla Poster Artist Robbie Conal)
You’ve seen them around town: a poster of a grinning, gnarly Arnold Schwarzenegger with red eyes and the words, “Achtung, Baby,” scrawled in German Gothic type across his forehead. It may have made you smile; you may have felt it was in bad taste. Perhaps a bit of both. In any event, you probably thought: […]
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Newman Cares (Randy Newman)
Are we the luckiest people in the world to live in Los Angeles, leading the lives others only dream about? Or is this the most unfair city in the nation, where the few are insulated from the harsh realities of the many? And what, you may wonder, does any of this have to do with […]
The Living Desert (Palm Springs, The Desert and Deanne Stillman's "29 Palms")
As I write this, it’s 64 degrees in Santa Monica and Sub-Zero is just a brand of refrigerator I covet. On the East Coast, there is a record cold spell and everyone is paying rapt attention to the wind-chill factor. The climatic difference can best be explained not merely by boasting or gloating — but […]
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When Television Challenged America (Rod Serling)
Around this time of year, I’m often prone to recall Rod Serling, who was born on Christmas Day. I’m helped along by the fact that PBS ran their “American Masters” portrait of Serling over the New Year’s weekend even as the Sci Fi Channel ran a “Twilight Zone” marathon. It makes me wonder: Where is […]
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