The Future of New Jewish Culture: Panelists Speak Up

Hey Peeps! Starting Tuesday, April 17th, the people at Speakers' Lab are going to be posting statements by the panelists of the upcoming Now What: The Future of New Jewish Culture event. You can get 'em here and at the Forward's Arty Semite blog. I hope you'll check in each week and get some interesting convo going!

Now What? The Future of New Jewish Culture

There's a great project coming from our friends at the Posen Foundation. It's called Speakers' Lab and the first Speakers' Lab event is a 'town hall' conversation about new Jewish culture on May 15th.

But Speakers' Lab isn't just about events. They've got a super snazzy website with artist interviews, panelist statements and other really cool content. Call me totally biased and partial just because I'm one of the panelists, but I'm really diggin' it.

Here's their description of the event:

Ten years ago, a new generation of young, proud, irreverent Jewish artists and writers began redefining American Jewish identity. The movement was called New Jewish Culture, and it created an explosion of music, literature and art that pushed the boundaries of American Jewish identity. 

But after recent foldings of major New Jewish Culture enterprises, the culture is at a crossroads. What is its future? What can emerging Jewish artists expect from the next decade? Join us on May 15th at 7pm at the 14th Street Y for a moderated town hall event with nine panelists at the forefront of New Jewish Culture. Raise concerns. Ask questions. Join the conversation. 

Free and open to the public. Reserve a ticket now!

These are the cupcakes of our affliction

Something happens to me when I go shopping for food on peysakh. It's like I enter a dream where kosher for passover baby powder is a rational thing and I wonder if I'll eat anything for the next week. And then I go home and eat a whole bunch of chicken salad on matze crackers and stop worrying about it.

Som

Lord knows you'll want a refund once you taste their cup "cakes"

$7.99

For the pious family looking for a baby's butt kosher enough to eat from

Is it neros or neronim? Stop messing with my head?

Jet Setting

Hey! You guys know how much I love Reboot/Stereophonic/Idelsohn Society, right?

So, I was delighted to be a guest on Beyond the Pale, a terrific radio program on WBAI, to talk about the newest IS project, Songs of the Jewish-American Jet Set. I was joined by co-guest, the effervescent, and youthful, Ariel Federow, with the incomparable Jenny Romaine conducting the whole shebang.

We had great time in the studio, listening to tracks from the CD as well as related tunes. There's some So Called, some Mickey Katz and a couple of fun surprises.

We also dug into questions of mystification, nostalgia and the uses of material culture. You should definitely give it a listen. Beyond the Pale podcast here! (And iTunes downloads here)