Today’s Jewish Birthday: Emmy Rossum

Courtesy of Wikipedia Emmy Rossum (September 12, 1986) is an American actress, director, producer, singer, and songwriter. The accolades she has received include a Saturn Award and Critics’ Choice Movie Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award, an Independent Spirit Award, and two Critics’ Choice Television Awards. Born and raised in New York City, she began professionally performing as […]

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Emmy Rossum Read More »

Jewish Celebrities, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Return to Israel after a Vacation a Pleasure Despite All

Life in Israel is anything but sweet at the moment, with a difficult political situation, war in Gaza, over one hundred hostages still being held by Hamas and the heat of high summer. And yet, coming back to our home after being away for over a month was sweet and enjoyable. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

Return to Israel after a Vacation a Pleasure Despite All Read More »

Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

Parsha Ki Teitzei: Mother Bird’s Feelings are a Jewish Concern

In our world today, there’s a pressing need for greater compassion and empathy. Many are suffering silently, and it’s crucial that we learn to listen with open hearts and minds. Leave it to the wisdom of the Torah, of Hashem, to guide us to do so, with the mitzvah of sending away a mother bird before taking her eggs or young. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

Parsha Ki Teitzei: Mother Bird’s Feelings are a Jewish Concern Read More »

Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Play Adds Much Needed Laughter to Political Season

Now some folks feel that politics is no laughing matter. Our leaders must be smart, charismatic, trustworthy and cool under pressure. There is little room for levity or indecisiveness. Luckily for San Diego audiences, PowPac Theatre believes the polar opposite. Directed by Melissa Malloy, The Outsider provides a delicious comic relief to the tug-of-war we’ve been watching in this election year. [Eva Trieger]

Play Adds Much Needed Laughter to Political Season Read More »

Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Sept. 11 Memorial in Jerusalem Conflated with Oct. 7th Remembrance

The ceremony was held at the 9-11 Living Memorial where the names of all 2,977 of those victims are permanently engraved in an amphitheater dominated by a large empty tomb topped by a sculpted American flag with a representation of a flame at its tip. [Donald H. Harrison]

Sept. 11 Memorial in Jerusalem Conflated with Oct. 7th Remembrance Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Harry Connick Jr.

Courtesy of Wikipedia Harry Connick Jr. (September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and former television host. As of 2019, he has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 16 million in certified sales. He has had seven top 20

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Harry Connick Jr. Read More »

Jewish Celebrities, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Israel, Gaza, Russia, Ukraine Prompt Vociferous Trump-Harris Exchange

Presidential opponents Donald Trump and Kamala Harris clashed on numerous topics during their 90-minute televised debate in Philadelphia, but perhaps most vociferously about the Israel-Hamas War and the Russia-Ukraine War. It started when ABC reporter Linsey Davis posed a question to Vice President Harris about how she would go about breaking the “stalemate” in Gaza. [Donald H. Harrison]

Israel, Gaza, Russia, Ukraine Prompt Vociferous Trump-Harris Exchange Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

An Actor of Many Voices Stars in ‘Fully Committed’ at Scripps Ranch Theatre

Older readers may recall Sybil, a 1973 book about the life of a woman with multiple personalities.  Suffice it to say that the subject of that book has nothing on Dennis Peters, the one-man phenom who portrays Sam and the other 30 characters in Scripps Ranch Theatre’s “Fully Committed. ” [Eva Trieger]

An Actor of Many Voices Stars in ‘Fully Committed’ at Scripps Ranch Theatre Read More »

Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Hounding the Headlines: Protecting Pets from People

Watching the news with my human, I heard that J.D. Vance claims that Haitian immigrants have eaten cats in Springfield, Ohio.  As a dog, I know that cats don’t taste good enough to be ground up in my food.  If they were delicious, I can guarantee that some entrepreneurial person would recycle dead ones into a new product called The Farmer’s Cat.  [Elona Baron]

Hounding the Headlines: Protecting Pets from People Read More »

Lawrence Baron, Staff and Bylined Contributors, The World We Share, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

New Device Can Measure Pupils’ Reactions Even When Eyes Are Closed

Tracking changes in pupil size can help identify a state of wakefulness in sleep, anesthesia, and intensive care and help track the depth of sedation, detect seizures and nightmares, and recognize pain or responsiveness that may occur after trauma and in intensive care departments. The researchers say that this technology has strong potential to become an important tool in clinical care. [Press Release]

New Device Can Measure Pupils’ Reactions Even When Eyes Are Closed Read More »

Israel, Press Release, Science, Medicine, & Education, Technology

Wiesel’s 1973 Novel ‘The Oath’ is Worth Reading Again

The plot is interesting, enlightening, and engaging, a delight to read. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 because of what he wrote about the horrors of the Holocaust, Russia, and other subjects.  He artistically paints his characters in his poetic style, as Rembrandt painted in oils and brought his subject to life with his paints. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

Wiesel’s 1973 Novel ‘The Oath’ is Worth Reading Again Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Staff and Bylined Contributors

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Jared Diamond

Courtesy of Wikipedia Jared Diamond (September 10, 1937) is an American scientist, historian, and author. In 1985 he received a MacArthur Genius Grant, and he has written hundreds of scientific and popular articles and books. His best known is Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997), which received multiple awards including the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction. In 2005, Diamond was ranked ninth

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Jared Diamond Read More »

Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Insider Tells Lives of TV Sports Producers, Broadcasters, and Athletes

Steinfeld sketches his interactions with basketball player David Robinson, baseball strong man Cal Ripken Jr., and broadcasters Robin Roberts, Bob Costas and Merle Harmon.  He devotes an entire chapter to WNBA superstar and fellow Jewish community member Nancy Lieberman. [Donald H. Harrison]

Insider Tells Lives of TV Sports Producers, Broadcasters, and Athletes Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors