Arts & Culture
Hey Judes: Dylan and the Beatles Transformed
When poet-provocateur Allen Ginsburg pulls up in a golf cart on the side of the highway and asks, “What now?,” Jude – one of six versions of Bob Dylan in Todd Haynes’ film I’m Not There – looks at the … Read More
Another Place, A Foreign City
Maya Arad’s novel in verse, Another Place, A Foreign City appeared in late 2003 and quickly became one of the most successful books of the year, despite it being entirely composed of 355 rhyming sonnets. Like Vikram Seth’s The Golden … Read More
The Hipster Beard: Creepy or Essential?
[Note: The following is an opinion piece on the creepiness of hipster beards, those scraggly face-warmers sported by young, underemployed, flamboyantly-dressed men in cities across the nation. For a defense of these beards, see Andy Selsberg's response.] One of the … Read More
The Friday 5: Top Alternative Bagel Toppings
Don't get me wrong: a bagel with cream cheese is one of the most perfect foods. But sometimes I just want something more…substantial. Sometimes I feel like getting creative, and there's nothing wrong with a little experimentation! So if you're … Read More
The Kingdom Breaks Through the (Smoke) Screen
(Welcome, Stumblers!) The Kingdom, still playing in major movie houses, may be the most important recent contribution to the public discussion of U.S.-Saudi relations. Surprisingly and even hearteningly for those who follow developments in the desert monarchy, the film begins … Read More
The Nation Pans “The Israel Lobby”
What a carnival it has been seeing the liberal-left react to the ungenerous reviews of The Israel Lobby. Surely a sign that knee-jerk charges of anti-Semitism and the reductio ad Hitlerum hobble any substantive debate about Israel – ah, if … Read More
Diamond in the Rough
In his new collection, The Family Diamond, Edward Schwarzschild, author of the novel Responsible Men asks if being good is the same as doing the right thing. After all, a person with good intentions, a relatively clear conscience, strong personal … Read More
Year-Round Cultural Atonement
Whether you’re Orthodox or atheist, you’ve no doubt encountered non-Jewish works of art that resonate with fundamentally Jewish teachings about repentance and forgiveness. Yom Kippur asks us to atone for 24 hours straight, which seems like a power cleanse for … Read More
