‘On the Zoom’
There’s a site on my IPad/ Where we can all converse. /On the Zoom, on the Zoom. {Beach Boy parody by Laurie Baron]
Lawrence Baron
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.
Books to his credit, available on Amazon, include:
Projecting the Holocaust into the Present: The Changing Focus of Contemporary Holocaust Cinema
The Modern Jewish Experience in World Cinema
The eclectic anarchism of Erich Muhsam (Men & movements in the history & philosophy of anarchism)
His most recent articles are:
“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.
Streaming 1948
Streaming movies tell about Israel’s independence in 1948.
The Prescriber and Chief
Very few people are aware that the President studied medicine at Trump University where his grades were the highest ever recorded. He did so well that he was permitted to skip his internship and residency. He opted not to practice because he had to take over the family business. He has kept up with medicine by watching Dr. Oz and Grey’s Anatomy. Managing the pandemic has thrust him into the role of dispensing prescriptions for curing the coronavirus. [Satire by Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireStreaming the Armenian genocide
On April 24, 1915 the Ottoman Empire arrested approximately 250 prominent Armenians and deported them a month later to the Turkish interior where most of them were killed. Armenians annually commemorate April 24th as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. There are few movies about the genocide because Turkey has pressured countries to halt their production, limit their distribution, or undermine their reception. On the eve of Germany’s invasion of Poland, Hitler informed his generals of plans to massacre many Poles to achieve German living space concluding with this haunting question: “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” I’ve prepared this list to promote its memory and international recognition. [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
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International, Lawrence Baron, Middle East, Theatre, Film & BroadcastMedieval missives from the CBC
Imagine that historians recently discovered manuscripts from the Center for Bubonic Control (CBC), advising kings how to deal with the pandemic. Further, imagine Donald Trump hearing about these documents, and wondering if they might contain lessons for how he should handle the Covid19 crisis. [Satire by Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireGive Me Liberty or Give Me Breath!
The Liberate Protests to reopen the economy immediately are popping up everywhere. I’ve been reading the slogans on the signs held by the protesters and feel compelled to respond to them. [Satire by Laurie Baron]
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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireDoggie Diary
Today marks one month since Governor Newsom ordered the lockdown in California. Although the news is full of stories about how humans are coping with confinement, little attention has been paid to how having them at home 24/7 affects us dogs. I hope my diary entry fills this lacuna. [Humor column by Elona Baron as told to Laurie Baron]
Streaming Holocaust content
Amazon and Netflix feature a myriad of Holocaust feature films and documentaries. Here are a few recommended Holocaust films that you can stream. [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
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International, Jewish History, Lawrence Baron, Theatre, Film & BroadcastThe Coronavirus Olympics
All professional sports in the United States and the Olympic Games in Tokyo have been cancelled. Fans are clamoring for their resumption. Medical experts have approved the following sports for an upcoming Coronavirus Olympics to be held sometime in the future. [Satire by Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireMore streaming Jewish content
Mishmash of Jewish Films, Lectures, Podcasts, and Programs [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
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Lawrence Baron, Theatre, Film & BroadcastHow Shakespeare might have described Covid19
Now is the springtime of our confinement
Made mournfully frightful by the toll in New York.
A surfeit of time spent alone in our homes
Sheltering in place and bending the curve. …
[Parody by Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireStreaming films about the Haredim
For a long time most films dealing with Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Jews sided with individuals whose choice of lifestyle, partners, or vocations conflicted with the expectations of their families and community. While that is still true of many movies, in recent years films with sympathetic portrayals of traditional Jewish subcultures have emerged. Here’s a sampling of both kinds of cinematic depictions. [Laurie Baron, PhD]
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Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Theatre, Film & BroadcastNine lemonade drinks from the big Covid19 lemon
Sheltering in place, I try to find the positive things that have come out of living through the coronavirus epidemic. [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireStreaming Sephardic movies
There are fewer movies about the Sephardim than ones about Ashkenazim, and many of those that do exist aren’t available for streaming. Here’s a partial list of some you can stream at home. [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
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Lawrence Baron, Theatre, Film & Broadcast